Suiren Company

Under his constant urging, the two companies contracted to build the laboratories finally sent people over for an on-site inspection.

On February 18, the heads of the two contracting companies arrived at the garment factory with their teams. They began their on-site inspections, then discussed the laboratory plans and finalized the related details with Huang Xiuyuan.

The first company to arrive in Shanmei was Shenzhen Zhongjian Laboratory Technology (SLD), which had the advantage of being close by.

Right behind them was Tuozhan Technology Company from Nanjing. They sent a business manager along with a team to survey and plan the site.

At the factory, people from both companies recognized each other. After all, competitors were natural enemies.

A round-faced, middle-aged man wearing rimless square glasses smiled and held out his hand. "Mr. Huang, hello. I'm Jiang Mingzhang from China Inspection. This is..."

He briskly introduced his team.

Then came Yan Wenlong of Tuozhan Technology and his team.

Huang Xiuyuan got straight to the point. "Gentlemen, I'll be direct. The laboratory will be located in the factory buildings behind me. I've already sent you the other requirements by email."

Both parties quickly set to work, bringing their surveyors to inspect and assess the factory buildings.

There were two buildings at the garment factory, one behind the other. They were much alike in size, each with a footprint of 3,000 square meters (30 × 100) and a two-story frame structure.

The first building housed the production workshop and finished-goods warehouse. The second held the raw-material warehouse, cafeteria kitchen, and several offices.

Naturally, they planned to use the first building for the laboratory.

A few days earlier, Han Hai had brought people over to move the equipment, finished shirts, and raw materials. After a thorough cleaning, the production workshop was spotless.

Jiang Mingzhang and several subordinates took measurements while making notes and sketches in their notebooks.

The factory building was in excellent overall condition, and it was relatively new, having been built less than ten years ago.

Since it had originally been built as a factory, it was quite rugged and sturdy. Its ceilings were 5.2 meters high, and there weren't many walls, leaving plenty of room to work with.

Next, they inspected the power lines, the existing drainage pipes, and the water supply pipes.

All in all, they worked from around ten in the morning until after three in the afternoon.

The heads of the two companies, Jiang Mingzhang and Yan Wenlong, submitted their construction plans and overall quotes to Huang Xiuyuan.

He compared the two companies' plans. Overall...

China Inspection's proposal came to 4,100 yuan per square meter. For a 6,000-square-meter laboratory, the construction cost was 24.6 million yuan. Adding 8.5 million yuan for some of the equipment and laboratory permits brought the total to 33.1 million yuan.

The construction period was 75 days (±10 days).

Tuozhan Technology's proposal came to 3,750 yuan per square meter. For a 6,000-square-meter laboratory, the construction cost was 22.5 million yuan. Adding 6.7 million yuan for some of the equipment and laboratory permits brought the total to 29.2 million yuan.

The construction period was 120 days (±20 days).

After careful consideration, Huang Xiuyuan still chose China Inspection. There were several reasons: first, China Inspection's schedule was shorter; second, its location in Pengcheng gave it an advantage in both handling connections and carrying out the construction.

As for the extra three million yuan or so, Huang Xiuyuan didn't care much.

China Inspection's team was overjoyed to win the contract.

Tuozhan Technology, having lost the bid, could only head home dejected. However, Huang Xiuyuan instructed Lin Baijie to reimburse them for their travel and meal expenses. After all, even if a deal fell through, they could still part on good terms.

That evening, the two parties quickly signed the contract. Huang Xiuyuan told the finance team to transfer the payment to China Inspection as soon as possible. A one-third down payment was the default in almost every industry; anything less would cause the contractor's risk to rise sharply.

Lin Baijie and the head of the Legal Affairs Group were also stunned by Huang Xiuyuan's lavish spending.

After taking over the company's day-to-day affairs, Lin Baijie had also inherited the existing contracts, which gave him a clearer picture of the company's financial situation.

The office lease with Huashang Property Company cost 19,200 yuan a month, plus a one-time payment of 50,000 yuan for the transfer of the office equipment.

The acquisition of Hanhai Garment Trading Company had cost 2 million yuan, plus its debts of 12.73 million yuan, including bank loans, workers' wages, compensation, and outstanding payments to suppliers.

The recruitment contract with the headhunting firm Career International required a 300,000-yuan deposit. If all of the candidates they recommended came on board, the company would pay another 1.82 million yuan.

The purchase contracts with three laboratory equipment suppliers came to 54.38 million yuan in total. The company had already paid 16 million yuan in down payments.

The laboratory construction contract just signed with China Inspection came to 33.1 million yuan, with a down payment of 11 million yuan.

The various contracts added up to a total of 104.3992 million yuan already spent.

The company currently had 117.5592 million yuan left in its accounts.

Then there were monthly expenses of over a million yuan for salaries and office rent. Once the laboratory was finished, they would need to buy consumables, hire researchers and technicians, and more.

The company didn't yet have any concrete revenue-generating projects. Without taking out bank loans, these funds would last five or six years at most.

Still, Lin Baijie felt uneasy.

Huang Xiuyuan didn't seem like someone who knew how to save money. He figured that from here on, the company would be spending money like water.

Having just started the job, Lin Baijie didn't feel comfortable advising him outright. He could only wait a while and look for a chance to speak with him privately.

He didn't want the company to run out of money, nor did he want to find himself unemployed so soon.

February 20.

China Inspection's construction crew arrived at the first building of the garment factory with their equipment and began preparations for the work.

Meanwhile...

Lin Baijie had finally completed the company's name change. Its official name was now Suiren Technology Co., Ltd., commonly known as Suiren, Suiren Technology, or Suiren Company.

The former factory manager's office was now officially the chairman's office.

Lin Baijie reported on the recent work. "...Mr. Huang, the company seal has been made and is currently being registered. It should be ready for use in a few days."

"We've arranged for a fiber-optic broadband line and signed a contract with the telecommunications company."

"The company website's server has been contracted to Inspur."

After checking that the figures were correct, Huang Xiuyuan signed his name and gave an instruction.

"Baijie, spend the next few days looking into the factories around here. If the price is right, buy one. It should be at least 30 mu in area, preferably 50 to 60 mu."

Lin Baijie reminded him, "Mr. Huang, won't that leave the company short on funds?"

"Don't worry. I still have several hundred million overseas that I can put into the company at any time."

Hearing this, Lin Baijie felt relieved. He didn't know if it was true, but at least he wouldn't need to worry as much.

"By the way, when you inspect the factories, have Weichang bring people along. That way, the local toughs won't try anything."

"No problem."

Acquiring a new factory was really unavoidable. The garment factory was going to serve as a laboratory and office building, so the company's production operations couldn't stay there.

As it happened, this year's economy had been hit by the subprime mortgage crisis. Factories engaged in foreign trade had seen their orders drop by around 70 percent across the board.

This was a great opportunity for Suiren Company to acquire some factories on the verge of bankruptcy.

Huang Sixiao had already contacted three factories. Apart from Hanhai Garment Factory, which had been acquired, there was a toy factory and an accessories factory. Both had likewise been affected by the downturn in foreign trade.