"This is Mr. Jiang. Mr. Jiang helped investigate the information about the two shipyards."
After leaving Repulse Bay, the convoy was waiting outside the villa area. Wu Qianqian took a man in his early thirties. The man was introduced to Zhu Xuefeng. Mr. Jiang also brought two helpers, plus Secretary Chen and his entourage from Wu Qianqian's side, and the group was quite large.
"Hello, Mr. Zhu! It's an honor to meet you."
Mr. Jiang is not tall, and his appearance is very ordinary. He is wearing a suit, which looks very formal, compared with Zhu Xuefeng's casual clothes. He was quite formal, and his eyes were very lively. Although he was very enthusiastic, you could clearly feel his surprise.
Mr. Jiang was indeed surprised. He had cooperated with Wu Qianqian several times, received several information fees from Dongsheng Company, and had a certain understanding of Dongsheng Company. However, he never expected that the boss behind Wu Qianqian was so young.
"Hello, Mr. Jiang, I heard from Qianqian that you are very capable and have helped her a lot."
Mr. Jiang said politely, "You can take it from anywhere. Money takes care of things, and Miss Wu pays for it. This thing must be done beautifully. Mr. Zhu, you are really young. If Miss Wu hadn’t said that you were the boss, I would have thought you were a young man.”
< br>"You are joking, I need you to give me a good introduction today..."
Zhu Xuefeng was not too polite and directly asked Mr. Jiang to lead the way. Today we will inspect two shipyards and piers, and Mr. Jiang is responsible for the introduction. .
The group of people arrived at Taikoo Dockyard first. Taikoo Dockyard is located in the northeast of the island. It is a super prime location. It is still an industrial land. But with the rapid development of Xiangjiang, how can the island still retain industrial land? If we can get it When you get here, you will be the first Chinese to set foot on the island.
"Boss Zhu, this is the Taikoo Dockyard. The wharf over there is also called the Blue Chimney Warehouse Wharf. It is the Taikoo Dockyard jointly created by the Swire Group and the Blue Chimney Steamship Company."
Zhu Xuefeng nodded, this place is the Taikoo Dockyard. The territory of foreign companies used to be a good place to make money. However, due to the rise of the aviation industry, Swire Pacific has now shifted its attention. In the past few years, it has aggressively entered Cathay Pacific. It is said that it now accounts for 48% of the shares of Cathay Pacific. Not long ago, it returned Wu Qianqian had some troubles.
"Well, the place is not small. It can be seen that the glory of the past has failed to keep up with the development of the times."
A good site has suffered losses. It is really begging for food with a golden rice bowl. Nowadays, Taikoo Dockyard is showing signs of decay everywhere, and the workers are also listless. Zhu Xuefeng has only seen it from a distance on the ferry and the top floor of the hotel. This is the first time he has come to the site this time.
The location of the dock is very good. It is a deep-water dock and is built according to the terrain. However, the area is a bit small. There is no problem in docking the previous cargo ships. But if you want to dock a 10,000-ton cargo ship or larger, two ships will not be able to transfer. Yes, it’s true that it can’t keep up with development.
A series of eight docks, one of which is still working, a thousand-ton cargo ship is cleaning the barnacles on the bottom of the ship, and a dozen workers are working slowly, without a trace of energy, and full of vitality Xiangjiang seems a bit out of place.
There are also two medium-sized cargo ships loading and unloading at the pier. There are no cargo ships in more berths, but there are three cargo ships parked.
"The throughput here is so small now? Are those empty freighters their fleet?"
"Mr. Zhu, this is the main island, and of course bulk cargo will not be unloaded here. Of course, it is more convenient to go to Wharf Wharf. The goods unloaded here are all for the mainland. The two ships loaded and unloaded and the three ships docked are all Swire’s fleet. There are no other cargo ships here to load and unload now.”
"Well, that's it. It seems that Taikoo's situation is indeed not good." Zhu Xuefeng couldn't stand asking such a simple question. Fortunately, he was wearing sunglasses and no one could see his embarrassment.
"Here, it was very busy before World War II. The shipyard couldn't fulfill the orders at all. The Swire Ocean Fleet..."
After Mr. Jiang's eloquent introduction, under the leadership of the shipyard management staff, the group of people arrived at the shipyard. After going around in a circle, Zhu Xuefeng didn't ask any more questions throughout the whole process. He just quietly checked various devices, including those that had been sealed, and felt confident.
“Let’s go to the next one.”
Whampoa Dockyard and Pier are both on Kowloon Island, just across Victoria Harbor from Taikoo. They cover a larger area, although the value of the location is not as good. It's ancient, but it's also a rare prime location.
Tian Xing Ferry took the group to Kowloon Island. Not far from the ferry terminal is the Wharf Pier. Freighters are rushing in and out, and the flow is endless. It is completely different from Taikoo in the same city. A deep-water berth formed by reclamation is far away. Stretching out into Victoria Bay, dozens of giant cargo ships are docked waiting to be unloaded. The docking conditions here are indeed unmatched in ancient times.
“Let’s go, come back after seeing Huangpu Dockyard.”
With such a busy shipping industry, it can be expected that shipping will flourish again.
Whampoa Dockyard is not too far from Wharf, and Kowloon Island is only about the same size. They are both in Victoria Harbour, but the situation is completely different. It is similar to Taikoo Dockyard, with rows of docks standing on the seaside. field.
The situation here is slightly better than Taikoo Dockyard. There are a series of nine docks, and three of them are still working. Two of them are probably under repair, one is being repainted, and there is also a medium-sized cargo ship at the far dock. During loading and unloading, there were also several cargo ships lying on their backs.
“Only one-third of the docks have work, and the situation here is no better than that of Taikoo.”
Wu Qianqian sighed. These two companies were symbols of prosperity in Xiangjiang a few decades ago. Unexpectedly, they have declined so much now. The conditions of both companies are similar. The shipyard is the biggest drag. The freighters are still barely maintaining, and the terminal business is very little.
Both shipyards have a long history. The two shipyards once monopolized the ship repair and shipbuilding market in Xiangjiang. With their backing to the mainland, there was no shortage of orders here, and the positioning of Xiangjiang also contributed to the prosperity of Xiangjiang's shipping industry. , the prosperous shipping industry also greatly promoted the development of Xiangjiang. The two promoted each other, creating the prosperity of Xiangjiang and the glory of the two shipyards before World War II.
The scale of the fleet at that time was unmatched in Southeast Asia. It could also go to Europe and the United States to engage in ocean trade, which was also an extremely profitable business. Unfortunately, the ocean became a graveyard for cargo ships during World War II, even if it was hidden in Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong , were also bombed and plundered by Xiaotian, and were all destroyed. The Swire ocean-going fleet and dockyard alone lost a total of nearly forty ocean-going cargo ships.
After Xiaori occupied Xiangjiang, he directly occupied two shipyards. After the war, the two foreign companies regained ownership. After reconstruction and all facilities were updated, the business at that time was once again full of youth. It was extremely popular at that time, and it was mainly engaged in commercial freight from the mainland to the outside world.
Unfortunately, with the changes in the domestic political situation, a large number of businessmen fled with their money, and foreign trade quickly collapsed. It was not restored until after liberation, and it has not recovered until now. Coupled with the rapid development of the aviation industry, the growth of ocean freight has Costs have remained high, and it seems that they cannot keep up with the development of the times. The shipbuilding business has suddenly become extremely bleak.
With the expansion of the Wharf Terminal, the profitability of the two shipyards and terminals has been greatly reduced again. Freighters coming to Hong Kong have chosen the Wharf Terminal with more convenient logistics, even for replenishing fresh water, overhauling freighters, and cleaning the bottom of the ship. Businesses such as barnacles have also become extremely rare.
In the past ten years, we have been unable to make ends meet, with a large amount of equipment idle and shipyards shut down. We can barely survive by selling freighters from the fleet. However, the situation has not been truly alleviated, leading to the dismissal of a large number of workers, even if not many are left. Life is difficult for many workers. The average monthly income of workers is only HK$60 or 70. In order to survive, countless workers have no choice but to work as laborers at Wharf Wharf. Although laborers are hard-working, they can still earn a little more than HK$100 per month. The income of around HKD is still very attractive.
Swire Pacific shifted its interest to the aviation industry, real estate and sugar industry, completely stopping further investment.
"How many workers did Taikoo and Whampoa have at their peak?"
The investigator looked at the mysterious boss in front of him. Although he did not understand what the boss meant, fortunately he checked this information at the time. .
"In 1952, there were more than 3,000 Taikoo workers at their peak. Now there are less than 300 left. With the crew and management staff, there are barely 600 people. Whampoa is about the same."
Taikoo's ships There are still five cargo ships left in the fleet. These can only wander around Southeast Asia and cannot go any further. The two largest cargo ships now only have 3,000 tons, and the others are all small cargo ships of 1,000 to 2,000 tons. They will never go any further. Recalling the majesty of Xiangjiang's ocean freight fleet in those days, these ships are Swire's main assets now, and they cannot sail long distances without repairs.
There are only four ships left in Huangpu, and the situation is similar to that of Taikoo. We are really brothers and sisters.
I heard that Taikoo and Huangpu had a total of six large ships of more than 6,000 tons and had to be sold off. Zhu Xuefeng wanted to laugh in his heart. Four of them were bought by Chen Dong, and the money they gave them was not much. , after all, are not optimistic about the shipping market. The cost of shipping at this time is very high, which will be discussed later.
“Just like this, the two shipyards are still valued at more than six million by HSBC? It seems that the shipyard and the terminal are not far from being scrapped.”
Both shipyards are basically in a state of shutdown. There are no orders for new ships, and only cargo ships from its own fleet can be unloaded at the terminal, which has greatly reduced its scale. Wu Qianqian noted knowingly that although these cargo ships were a bit old, their main structures were fine and there was no serious corrosion. This was because the workers had nothing to do and they pulled them ashore to clean the barnacles.
"The overall situation is like this. The two companies together only have nine ships. The docks are all abandoned, and the valuation is obviously a bit high."
Zhu Xuefeng said with his eyes open. To be honest, the shipyard is idle, but all the equipment is complete and has been basically maintained and sealed. It is not too difficult to resume production.
“Also, there are too few ships and they are all small, so they can only run around Southeast Asia.”
Wu Qianqian had read it in the information, but after seeing it on site, she was a little disappointed. A freighter in this state would certainly be difficult to travel across the ocean.
“Boss, I asked, many of their ships have been converted into sand dredgers. Now the real estate business in Xiangjiang is good. Several bosses bought them and converted them to dredge sand. I heard that they can make more money than running a boat. "A lot."
"You mean Boss Huo from Lixing Real Estate, right?"
Wu Qianqian has also heard that people named Huo account for most of the sand used in Xiangjiang projects.
"Miss Wu is right, it's the Huo family."
Zhu Xuefeng knew that it was the Huo family that started very early, and now has a certain reputation in the real estate industry in Xiangjiang. Maybe Not many people know that the Huo family really started their business by digging sand.
He is really a businessman with a unique vision. In later generations, his family became the "King of Sea Sand" in Xiangjiang. It is similar to the alternative history of gold mining in the west in the 19th century. There may be few in later generations. Some people know that the famous Huo family actually relied on sea sand to rise.
I sell water when people are digging for gold. If you sell water, I will sell food and tools. Then I will design wear-resistant jeans. There are many really smart people. In addition to the gold diggers, these people have all made a fortune, Huo My family is also digging sand now, which is quite interesting.
"Have you ever had contact with the Huo family?"
Wu Qianqian was stunned, no way, the master even wants to get involved in digging sand?
"I've never had any contact with you. Sir, do you want to change these cargo ships?"
Knowing that Wu Qianqian had given the wrong answer and there were outsiders around, Zhu Xuefeng didn't bother to explain and smiled, "I don't have this idea, it's just I'm curious, let's go to Wharf and have a look."
"The business at Wharf was very good, but it's a pity that they didn't sell it at all."
When the land enclosure was proposed, Wharf Terminal and these two companies were both on the list. However, Wharf is now prosperous and has been listed. If you want to take over, you have to go to the stock market to collect shares. The current actual controller is HSBC & Co., which But the owner, who was not short of money, couldn't throw it away, so the two had no choice but to give up.
“Let’s go and take a look. They are both cargo terminals. Why are these two terminals not doing much work, but theirs is very prosperous? Let’s go and take a look first, so that we can have an intuitive feeling.”
After explaining casually, the group came to the Wharf Wharf again. It was indeed different here. There were many cargo ships waiting to unload on the wharf, and many dock workers were doing the most primitive handling like ants. .
There is also a simple mechanical ship unloading machine not far away. It seems to be of various types. There are several small electric cranes with a lifting capacity of about one ton, several electromagnetic iron suckers, and a lifting machine. These things are not available at the two docks, and I don’t know if they are sold or not at all.
The unloading of coal, yellow sand and other bulk cargoes has switched to slippery operations, and some general cargo loading and unloading also use mobile loading and unloading machinery. This has enabled many stevedores to get rid of levers, ropes and baskets, and the loading and unloading efficiency is improved. A big improvement, ship loading and unloading time is also greatly shortened.
The Wharf managers who were invited by Mr. Jiang are very proud.
“Unloading at our site is much more efficient than other places. It takes 3 to 4 days to unload a 700-ton coal ship at other terminals. We are now unloading a 10,000-ton coal ship. The ship is of good shape. It only takes 3 days, and apart from ours, it is difficult for other terminals to dock cargo ships of 10,000 tons and above.”
The Wharf side is indeed different. The pier that stretches out to the harbor is easier for large ships to dock. The equipment has left Taikoo and Whampoa piers far behind. It seems that a lot of money has been spent. It also has the advantage of geographical location, loading, unloading and transportation costs. It is indeed much more suitable than those two piers.
But taking three days to unload a 10,000-ton cargo ship is really nothing to brag about. Now in Shanghai, the deeds of one day to unload a 10,000-ton cargo ship are very low-key in internal newspapers. Shanghai’s equipment should not be as good as Wharf Pier relies on passion, strong collaboration and the wisdom of workers.
Of course, there must be some good things that are not available here. If we win here, we will have to arrange for people to go to Shanghai to learn from it. With the current good cooperative relationship with the mainland, these things should not be a problem. Say no. It is good that some business cooperation can also be formed.
“Those outside would rather queue here than go to other piers. As you can see, even if you queue for three days here, it will be completed earlier than at other piers. Besides, while queuing, the crew It’s so convenient to go shopping in Kowloon.”
It’s closer to the Kowloon business district, which is indeed a great advantage. It’s really a good place. No wonder later generations caused such a big stir for the shares of Wharf Wharf. Financial war.
"Mr. Zhu, Wharf Terminal raised HK$23 million after its listing, spent huge sums of money to expand deep-water berths, updated equipment, improved loading and unloading efficiency, and saved a lot of costs for freight. Those two companies didn't follow up, which is why the dock became like this." Mr. Jiang explained in a low voice.
"The investigation was very detailed, not bad."
Zhu Xuefeng glanced at the unremarkable Mr. Jiang in front of him with great interest. The information was very comprehensive, but this paragraph was not included in the report. Seeing that the master was interested in Mr. Jiang, Wu Qianqian said with a smile.
"I finally invited Mr. Jiang, and Mr. Jiang's information is very reliable."
"Well, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Jiang."
"It should, it should."
Mr. Jiang was still being polite, but Zhu Xuefeng had already turned around and sighed. This Mr. Jiang has good investigative skills, but his fees are not cheap. He is much darker than the gang in Beijing. , Wu Qianqian can buy an ordinary house in Xiangjiang for only five thousand US dollars per guano. He has to suggest that Wu Qianqian set up her own business investigation team as soon as possible.
“There are still too many freighters queuing up, and one Wharf Terminal is still too busy.”
“Now there are nearly 30,000 freighters coming and going in Hong Kong every year, and our Wharf Terminal accounts for 70 to 80%. It’s a pity that there is no room for expansion of the wharf, otherwise, more people will be loading and unloading here.”
The wharf managers were proud but also regretful. They also inspected two shipyards, but unfortunately the asking price was not low. A large amount of investment was needed, and the two shipyards without orders were a huge burden. I thought twice before making a move, otherwise there would be nothing wrong with Dongsheng Company.
Thirty thousand a year is less than a hundred ships a day, and the tonnage of cargo ships is not too big. For Hong Kong, which is known as a free port and is one of the top ten good ports in the world, this logistics is not an exaggeration. Zhu Xuefeng knew that things would get worse year by year. As long as he carried out his plan, the two shipyards and piers still had great potential.
Sooner or later, the industrial areas in Xiangjiang will have to move out of the main island and Kowloon, to more remote areas, and logistics will naturally follow. There are huge opportunities brewing in areas that are not promising at the moment. In addition to Zhu Xuefeng, No one could have imagined the speed of development and rapid expansion needs of Xiangjiang in the next thirty years.
Based on the memories of later generations, Zhu Xuefeng has carefully analyzed the existing land and development areas in Xiangjiang, and has sketched out several alternative plans in his mind.
In fact, there is a crazier idea, but the conditions are not mature now, that is to apply to the Hong Kong government for a piece of island reef, and then independently reclaim the land. According to the current policy of Hong Kong, the land formed by reclamation will be reclaimed. The sea people have great power.
The idea of building an island by blowing sand only exists in Zhu Xuefeng's mind and has not been communicated to anyone. After all, it is too crazy. The first step is to have his own shipyard.
"Mr. Jiang, thank you for your detailed introduction. Happy cooperation!" (End of Chapter)