Back to 1958: Creating a Century-Long Family Empire

Chapter 55 – The Fly Trap

After leaving Hongxing Plastics Factory, Yang Wendong and Su Yiyi visited several other plastic manufacturers.

For these factories, producing a simple plastic board was child's play. Still, Yang made a point to visit multiple vendors so he could choose the best supplier.

A few days later, all five factories submitted their quotes.

Hongxing ranked fourth in pricing—and that's who Yang chose.

Why not go with the cheapest?

Because based on his business experience from his previous life, when dealing with an unfamiliar industry, and gathering multiple quotes, it was often a mistake to pick the lowest offer.

With such a simple product, even the mold processing was quick. Hongxing promised a turnaround time of one week, after which they could begin small batch production.

Meanwhile, Zhao Liming finalized an order with a lumber factory to ensure the workshop could continue producing in the meantime.

One day, An Yongqiang arrived at the factory in a car.

"Mr. Yang! Haha, I'm here to pick up my order!" he said as he stepped out and spotted Yang waiting, standing next to several boxes of packaged goods.

Yang smiled. "Mr. An, I made sure you were our first priority.

This entire first production batch is for you.

Mr. Zhao will have to wait."

"Well, I appreciate it," An said, laughing.

Every glue board he sold earned him a cut. While each unit only brought a small profit, the volume made it a very lucrative deal.

Yang added, "Production is still limited, but it'll scale up soon. You should focus on expanding your channels."

"No problem," An said confidently. "So far, your product's performance is excellent.

I've sold a few to ships sailing through Southeast Asia—some have already returned, and the crew gave great feedback.

They want more."

"Perfect," Yang said, nodding.

He had full confidence in the glue boards. In modern-day China, they were the number one pest control tool for a reason.

The product was the market's favorite.

Sure, their current price wasn't cheap.

But that was due to several factors: lack of scale, high component costs, the overpriced alternatives like rat cages, and the team's desire for early profits.

Down the line, they'd revisit pricing strategies.

A worker came over and began loading the boxes into the trunk and backseat of An's car.

"I'm off, then," An said with a smile. "Oh, and Mr. Yang—you really should get a telephone line installed. It's inconvenient not having one."

"Yeah, I'll take care of it," Yang replied.

Now that business was growing, he needed a phone.

Relying on people to pass messages was inefficient and unprofessional.

Just recently, one of the higher-tier injection mold factories had refused to discuss a deal because Yang's business card didn't list a phone number.

In this era, a phone wasn't just for communication—it was a symbol of legitimacy, like owning a car in modern times.

No phone? Then what kind of business were you running?

As the car rumbled away, Su Yiyi wrinkled her nose.

"I hate that smell," she said.

Yang chuckled. "Get used to it. We'll be buying one of those cars ourselves soon enough."

"Really? Those things must be expensive," she said, curious.

Yang nodded. "A cheap one's at least ten to twenty thousand. Anything better costs even more."

"That's more than a house!" Su Yiyi exclaimed.

"It's normal," Yang said. "Hong Kong doesn't produce cars. Everything's imported. Of course it's expensive."

He had recently learned how outrageously high car prices were—far above what he remembered from 80s Hong Kong movies and dramas.

He hadn't dug too deeply, but his guess was that car production was still recovering from World War II.

Demand outpaced supply in Western countries, so exports came at a premium.

Plus, container shipping wasn't widespread yet, and RO-RO ships (car carriers) didn't exist, which meant cars had to be shipped like general cargo—making logistics far more expensive.

"Oh…" Su Yiyi nodded.

Yang added, "Same logic applies to our glue board. We can sell at a high price in Hong Kong.

But in industrialized countries, we'll probably have to go cheaper."

"Why's that?" she asked.

"Because they have abundant steel," Yang explained.

"Rat cages are cheap there. Their chemical industries are also more advanced—poison is cheaper.

"Our board has its advantages, but we have to compete with local alternatives."

"Got it," she said. She was slowly beginning to understand, especially after months of Yang explaining industry and economics to her.

"Alright, let's go to the phone company and apply for a line," Yang said.

Running a factory meant money flying out constantly—but at least he had patents and strong partnerships, ensuring fast payment cycles.

In his previous life, countless businesses collapsed not because they lacked profits, but because they couldn't collect receivables.

Thanks to steady cash flow, the phone installation went smoothly.

Soon after, Yang asked lawyer Zhang Weida to register the glue board patent in over 30 countries, costing 3,000 dollars—a painful hit to his wallet.

But at the same time, Hongxing Plastics had begun mass-producing plastic boards, further reducing his factory's costs.

With more workers and more materials, output ramped up.

Zhao Chengguang, true to his word, secured his own sales channels and began placing bulk orders.

The factory grew busier by the day—while Yang finally started to breathe a little easier.

Since arriving in Hong Kong, he had fought for months to reach this point:

A small factory with just over 30 employees.

It might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but it meant Yang had built a foothold in the city—a launchpad for bigger things.

Still, he knew this wasn't enough.

The next two decades would be the golden era of Hong Kong's growth.

If he seized just a fraction of the opportunity, he could one day stand among the city's elite.

…

By early June, the weather had turned hot and muggy.

Air conditioning was still out of reach—but a few electric fans helped. Even those were expensive, imported from Japan.

One day, inside the office, Yang called in Su Yiyi and the others.

"Take a look at this," he said, pointing.

On the desk lay a glue board, but this time, it wasn't covered in rats—it had flies stuck to it.

Su Yiyi asked, "Flies? Why are they landing on it?"

Yang smiled. "Because this… is our next product: the fly trap."

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