Mixed in 1980

Chapter 516 Children
A hydroelectric power station, three expressways, six large ports, and six inland canals—not counting other things, how much investment would that require?

Trillion-dollar infrastructure projects!
After a quick calculation, the viewers in the live stream were all astonished at just how wealthy the Chen family must be to be able to allocate so much capital to infrastructure projects.

Trillions—that's money that's been taken out of the bank.

This isn't about net worth. Even the richest person in China has a net worth of just over 200 billion yuan, and that was in 2018 when the currency was significantly devalued.

Chen Fan's investments were all made in the 1980s and 1990s. How many times greater was the purchasing power of currency back then compared to today?
Ni Ping was also surprised, but she wasn't in a hurry to ask. She looked at Zeng Ali and asked, "What did you say?"

“We are businessmen. Without the support of the country, we are nothing in the outside world,” Zeng Ali said, echoing what Chen Fan had said years ago.

After thinking for a moment, he added, "This statement is basically the truth, and it will come true in many situations."

"Everyone knows the Huo family of Hong Kong, right?"

"In 1964, Britain launched a full-scale attack on the Fok family, taking back the land that the Fok family had acquired through auctions, and forcibly selling Starlight Realty, founded by Mr. Fok, to the British company."

"After the forced sale, no money was paid; all that was left for Comrade Huo was a debt note."

"To put it bluntly, it was robbery."

"Back then, Chen Fan acquired dozens of plots of land, controlled Hong Kong property prices, and forced the British to hand over their shares in Kwai Chung Port, telecommunications, electricity, and gas companies."

"It's not something he could have accomplished by himself."

"Back then, we sought cooperation with the government. The government allocated a piece of land in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen and invested in Xinghuo Real Estate, which helped us withstand the pressure from the British."

"Otherwise, those lands would have been taken over by the British long ago."

"Including some of our industries in Southeast Asia, Southeast Asian countries and European and American capital have also tried to take them away at low prices. We have cooperated with the government to prevent them from succeeding."

Upon hearing this, many people fell silent.

Ni Ping was silent for a moment, then recalled the information in the documents: "Was the land designated by the authorities the land where Xinghuo No. 1 to Xinghuo No. 4 buildings were later built?"

Zeng Ali nodded and said, "That's right!"

"Where did the large investments in infrastructure and the funds from Professor Xu's foundation come from?" Ni Ping pressed.

"I robbed it back then," Chen Fan said with a smile.

Xiao Sa joked, "Robbing a bank wouldn't be enough, would it? You'd have to rob a whole country."

"It's not enough to rob one country; we need to rob the whole world. We've basically robbed all the major economies in the world," Chen Fan said sarcastically.

"How did they steal it?" Xiao Sa asked curiously.

"We'll rob the Americans the same way. The Plaza Accord, you're familiar with that, right?"

"Of course!" Xiao Sa said with a smile.

“We started planning in 1984, seizing the best opportunity. In 1985, the Plaza Accord was signed, and the money just came in.” Chen Fan took out a cigarette from his pocket.

He handed one to Ni Ping and Xiao Sa: "Want one?"

Xiao Sa quickly shook her head: "I'll quit!"

Ni Ping came over frankly and asked directly, "According to the information I have, when you were reaping the benefits from Japan, you also trained a group of talents for the government?"

Chen Fan nodded slightly: "Back when China started preparing for the stock market, it lacked practical experience, so a group of people were placed under my wing as a training program."

"It just so happens that we went to harvest Japan."

"In 1984, China was short of foreign exchange. In order to train these people, the government actually spent 200 million US dollars to give them practical experience."

"From 1984 to 1988, two groups of people were sent here. Now these people are senior executives of financial regulatory departments or banks."

"They made a huge profit back then. They took in 200 million US dollars and swindled more than 2 billion US dollars in total. The Japanese were really unlucky."

"And what about you?" Ni Pingguo asked decisively.

Chen Fan lit a cigarette, held up four fingers, and Ni Ping asked, "Over forty billion?"

"Be bold, add a zero!"

Ni Ping exclaimed in surprise, "Over 400 billion US dollars? What did that mean in 1988? The world's richest man at the time only had assets of over 200 billion, right?"

"More or less." Chen Fan nodded slightly.

He took a drag of his cigarette and said, "Making money in finance is the fastest way, especially when you're taking advantage of a country. Taking that piece of flesh from Japan really fattened me up."

"Teacher Xu earned 18 billion back then, and Teacher Zeng and Teacher Zhao also made a lot of money, as did my sister and Sister Ying, who all made a fortune."

"Japan is really unlucky," Xiao Sa joked.

Chen Fan shrugged: "Back then, Japan was like a fat sheep being put on the table by Europe and America. How much they could eat depended entirely on how bold they were. Those who left early and quickly made a fortune."

"It was because we made money from the Japanese that we were able to invest in the Ertan Hydropower Station and the six major ports later on."

"This kind of harvesting is addictive."

"After reaping the benefits from Japan, we set our sights on the former Soviet Union. At the time, we predicted that the Soviet Union would disintegrate, and the potential profits were enormous. However, this piece of meat was not easy to eat."

"How did they eat it in the end?" Xiao Sa asked, playing the straight man.

“If there’s trouble in life, call the police; if there’s trouble with foreign countries, call the authorities. I’ll provide the money, Mom will provide the manpower, and we’ll all go down together and eat meat. There’s also Liu Jianxiong and Hua Sanshao.”

Chen Fan took a drag of his cigarette: "Those two are really talented. They were the ones who helped us build connections in the Soviet Union in the early stages. They sent money and women; they were really good at it."

"What did my senior brother say at the time?"

"Tell those two to watch their step. If they dare to cause trouble in the mainland, we'll deal with them sooner or later."

"Their behavior is indeed not very good." Ni Ping smiled and couldn't help but take a puff of her cigarette. One liked female celebrities, and the other was indiscriminate in his tastes.

"At that time, they were the most useful."

Chen Fan took a deep drag on his cigarette and recalled, "Without those two, it wouldn't have been so successful. After that heist, everyone involved was stuffed."

"By 1996, after all the assets had been transferred, each of them received more than $50 billion in cash."

"He instantly became one of Hong Kong's top billionaires."

"And what about you?" Xiao Sa asked curiously.

Chen Fan flicked his cigarette ash: "At the time, we received more than 500 billion US dollars in cash, and our mother took the lion's share, more than 1000 billion US dollars."

"They could have received more."

“At that time, we held shares in many mining and oil companies, but we were targeted by European and American financial groups and Russian oligarchs.”

"If it weren't for Mom's insistence, it would have been taken away long ago."

"By 1996, we had basically reached our limit in holding shares. After we sold our shares, many oligarchs were dealt with. We were lucky to get out in time."

"Was the investment large back then?" Xiao Sa asked.

Chen Fan shook his head slightly: "Compared to the returns, the investment is actually very small. We only put in more than two billion US dollars in the early stage, which is just a drop in the ocean."

"Making money was secondary at the time."

"After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the majority of the goods brought back from there were technology, equipment, and personnel, which all went to the government. At that time, I was mainly eyeing land."

Do you know the price of land?

Seeing the two shake their heads, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel smug: "The land we bought with rubles back then, we paid back after the rubles depreciated. In the end, it cost less than a dollar per acre of farmland."

"Isn't this a free gift?" Xiao Sa was stunned.

Chen Fan took a drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled: "Pretty much. We bought 30 hectares of black soil in Wuermao back then."

“There are 50 hectares of farms and 300 million hectares of forests in Russia.” “That’s equivalent to two or three capital cities?” Ni Ping asked.

Seeing Chen Fan nod, the live stream chat exploded. Now they finally understood why the Chen family could invest so much money in charity and infrastructure.

They're really good at robbing people!
With two or three farms and forests the size of the capital, one doesn't need to do anything else; just cutting down some timber and selling it each year would bring in an astronomical sum.

Such people may look like bandits, but they are actually quite likable. They rob outside, make money, and bring it back to build infrastructure. You can't find a single fault with them.

They are far superior to those who make money in China and then immigrate abroad.

No wonder Chen Yanyin said when she was arguing with someone online: "A clean and honest person can speak with confidence."

The official account even gave it a thumbs up!
After discussing his exploitation of Russia, Chen Fan continued, "Back then, I was young and had a strong drive to make money, so I liked to exploit others everywhere."

"In 1992, the pound crisis erupted, and the feud with the British broke out. I drove the pound's exchange rate down by 50%. Italy was also hit hard at the time, and the lira's exchange rate plummeted."

"The British were not convinced at the time."

"The agreement had just been signed when Britain started sabotaging things behind the scenes, banning the sale of Feixing mobile phones and smashing up all the Chinatowns in Britain."

"Feixing mobile phone, Chinatown supermarket, are they yours?" Ni Ping asked knowingly, as this information was in the documents.

The mere mention of it elicited gasps of surprise from the audience.

Who doesn't know these two companies?
Feixing, the most resilient tech giant, started by making pagers and then moved on to making mobile phones, always fighting Motorola to the bitter end.

The next competitors were Motorola and Nokia. After those two went down, Apple and Samsung came into the picture, and now Huawei has joined the fray.

It has always been a source of pride for Chinese-made products.

As for Chinatown Supermarket, it is the number one retail giant in China and one of the top three globally. Many institutions have assessed its market value at over 3000 billion US dollars.

If listed on the US stock market, its market value could potentially multiply several times through capital operations.

Its size is comparable to Walmart and Amazon, but both of these companies have market capitalizations in the trillions of dollars through capital operations.

Unfortunately, the Chinatown supermarket is not listed on the stock exchange.

Many investors are eyeing the opportunity and are putting pressure on Chinatown both openly and covertly, but the supermarket system in Chinatown is well-established and has a large amount of capital reserves, so it is not affected.

Now they're being told that the two companies belong to the same person, which is unbelievable. In that case, the richest man in the country is a joke.

Even a single hair on Chen Fan's leg is thicker than theirs.

After the conversation, Chen Fan continued, "1992 was a turning point. Feixing was banned from sale and supermarkets were vandalized. Given my temper, I would definitely retaliate."

"According to the official introduction at the time, they joined forces with the Huo family, the Li Zhaoji family, the Zhao shipping magnate family, the Dong shipping magnate family, the Hu Yingxiang family, as well as Sister Ying, Liu Jianxiong, and Hua Sanshao to attack HSBC, Standard Chartered and Hang Seng Bank."

"In the end, they forced British Capital to sell Hang Seng Bank for HK$1."

"This collaboration is a good start."

"By 1994, when the economic crisis broke out in Moxigou, they once again united to attack Moxigou and plunder it."

"Then in 1997, each of them was based in a country, following in the footsteps of Soros and other Wall Street capital, and began to reap the rewards in Southeast Asia."

“Starting from Siam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea were all conquered, until Soros attacked Hong Kong, at which point the two sides became hostile.”

"Then in 2007, the subprime crisis broke out, and they took the opportunity to exploit the major economies of the world again. It was all about exploitation."

"So you're saying you're robbing the whole world by exploiting one economic crisis after another?" Xiao Sa deliberately used the word "robbery."

Chen Fan also liked these two words.

She nodded slightly: "You could say that. If you do business honestly and want to make money, especially a lot of money, it's actually very difficult."

Why are Americans abandoning manufacturing?

"The reason is simple: finance is more profitable. By creating economic crises time and time again, you can reap the benefits from the whole world. Making money is much easier than in manufacturing."

"I can make money by studying Americans."

"Whoever they want to exploit, I'll get involved, or even strike first. I've taken down Japan, Britain, and Mexico by striking first."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Sa teased, "You should be the first person in the world to openly admit that you made your fortune through robbery."

"There's nothing I can't admit."

Chen Fan took out another cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag: "The rules are set by Westerners. Within their rules, we can rob them with a clear conscience."

"They robbed us back then too."

"They just come in with guns and cannons and rob people. Compared to them, my methods are quite gentle. This kind of thing will happen often in the future." He couldn't help but sneer as he said this.

The topic is somewhat sensitive.

Ni Ping smiled and changed the subject: "Have you considered the inheritance of such a huge asset? How will the children divide it?"

"You have five children, right?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan was slightly taken aback and scratched his head vigorously. Xu Jinqiu chuckled and said, "Did the boomerang hit itself?"

"I'm getting old, and I'm not as open-minded as I was when I was young."

“When he was young, he had a very relaxed mindset. He believed that making money was for the sake of comfort. If one was not comfortable, making money was meaningless. He always emphasized that one should not put the cart before the horse.”

"For children."

“We have always emphasized that the children should be allowed to do whatever they want in the future, as long as they find something they like. But now they are not willing to do so.”

"Actually, the division of family property was already discussed when we got married."

"In his words, 'Stop it, how are we going to divide this? If the three of you can give me a qualified heir, I'll be secretly happy.'"

"Find a capable person to inherit the majority, and the other children can each receive a small share. That's enough to last several generations."

"After the children were born one after another."

"The rules were set: one person would take the lion's share, and the rest would be divided into six parts. In the end, how much they received depended entirely on their own abilities."

“Aren’t there five children?” Ni Ping asked.

“He has five children, as well as his sister-in-law and niece. When he first started making his fortune, his sister-in-law was five years old and his niece was three years old. He spoiled them both as they grew up.”

"His most beloved children are his younger sister and niece."

“When the two kids were little, when we took them shopping, they didn’t even need to say what they wanted. As long as their eyes lingered on something for a few seconds, they would buy it.”

"Spoiled to an extreme."

"When they got married, they said that when the family property was divided, they would each get a share."

“After my sister-in-law grew up, she had no interest in these things at all. She stayed at the school to teach and is now a professor at Beihang University. She doesn’t care about business at all.”

"My eldest niece is doing better."

"She graduated from Peking University with a degree in accounting and now runs an accounting and auditing company. The family wants her to take over the other businesses, but the brat is unwilling."

"Chen Fan was quite angry about this."

At this point, Xu Jinqiu couldn't help but laugh: "As for the eldest daughter, she's just as troublesome. She's a top student, a PhD from Peking University, and was promoted to associate professor last year."

"But when it comes to the family business, just like her aunt, she doesn't care at all. If you say a few words, she turns her head and leaves without giving you a chance to speak."

"They don't care at all."

"Asking them to inherit the company is like asking them to die; it's enough to drive a person crazy."

(End of this chapter)