A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 11 Undercurrent
Wang’s Car Dealership.

Wang Chengyun sat at the tea table in the living room, sipping the finest tea, with a disciple standing below him.

He was wearing a long gown, looking very traditional and old-fashioned.

Wang's Carriage Company had over 200 drivers, and Wang Chengyun also had a dozen or so "disciples" who served as his assistants. These dozen or so people didn't need to pull the carts, but only needed to help him manage the company.

Wang Chengyun's business also began to extend to catering, but the business was not particularly good, and the car dealership was still his absolute industry.

"Go check to see if Yang Qingshan and Chen Guangliang really bought the car. And what are He Xiangdong, Pan Cheng, and others who resigned doing?"

Eight people resigning at once is obviously unusual.

The subordinate said, "Boss, maybe they bought a new rickshaw and are now pulling a pheasant cart."

A regular license plate is worth 200 yuan, which I believe is not something those "red-blooded people" can afford.

Wang Chengyun's face showed a sinister look that was rarely seen before. He said, "If that's the case, arrange for someone to steal the car."

Hard enough!
The subordinate nodded and said, "Since it has no license plate, it is ownerless. We can take it and put the old car's license plate on it, and then we can replace it with a new car."

Wang Chengyun used his power for personal gain and said, "Illegal rickshaws are illegal and have a huge impact on legitimate rickshaw dealers like us, so we have the right to punish them. The sudden disappearance of eight drivers may not be a big deal, but we can't let them continue to commit crimes in society."

In fact, Wang's car dealership also had some "wild cars", about twenty of them, so Wang Chengyun was a typical example of "the officials are allowed to set fires, but the people are not allowed to light lamps."

After the disciples left, Wang Chengyun continued to think about Chen Guangliang.

This young man is very special. Not only is he very strong, but I heard that he can read and write and has a very bright mind.

Originally, he hoped to take Chen Guangliang in as his disciple and train him well after a while.

But after the resignation incident, he found that Chen Guangliang was the kind of person who was "restless".

Since it cannot be used by me, I will naturally suppress it.

When Yang Qingshan and Chen Guangliang are left with nowhere else to go, they will naturally return to his fold.

Back then, Li Sizhong thought he could get rid of himself by buying a rickshaw, but he couldn't get a license. Wang Chengyun colluded with the patrol police to conduct a special inspection, and in the end he still had to kneel at his door for a whole night.

Finally, Wang Chengyun intervened and had Li Sizhong register the car under the name of "Wang's Car Dealership", which saved him from disaster. Of course, the license plate issue remained unresolved, but the patrol officers no longer bothered him.

Pulling the passengers in the rickshaw, he jogged on the road next to the Bund in later generations, "Huangpu Beach Road" - that is, Zhong Shandong First Road in later generations.

Chen Guangliang feels the Shanghai style of this era, which is a unique experience.

At that time, the Bund was still the dock of foreign companies from various countries, and the warships and cargo ships wandering in the Huangpu River were particularly conspicuous.

There will be an unusually large number of foreign warships in the Huangpu River this year, after all, the great powers are "euphemistically" protecting overseas assets and personnel.

Chen Guangliang was not too indignant. After all, he still had to rely on the concession for security and livelihood, not to mention that he hated the Japanese even more.

"Three grams of oil"

After parking the car in front of the Cathay Hotel, Chen Guangliang took the fare from the foreigner and paid double the amount.

“Very good”

The reason why the foreigner paid double was that Chen Guangliang made him feel the "exclusive" service.

At this time, Chen Guangliang was wearing cleaner and newer clothes than other rickshaw pullers, and his rickshaw was polished to a shine.

To put it bluntly, as long as Chen Guangliang and the rickshaw are there, many customers will choose him on their own initiative.

Needless to say, Chen Guangliang will take the initiative to communicate with the guests, and if the guests are unwilling to communicate, he will shut up immediately.

It can be said that Chen Guangliang was not only doing "hard labor" but also providing "service." Chen Guangliang liked to pick up "foreigners" the most, not because he was weak-kneed, but because it gave him the opportunity to communicate in English, and in the end, the fare would be a few more yuan.

"goodbye"

"goodbye"

This scene made the nearby patrolmen secretly gasp in amazement. Nowadays, rickshaw pullers can speak English!
A patrolman asked, "Do you want to go up and check it out?"

Another patrolman said, "What the hell? This driver has a license and is even close to foreigners!"

Chen Guangliang had already seen the two patrolmen, who were driving their car in the opposite direction without any expression on their faces.

Before leaving, he did not forget to take a look at the Cathay Hotel, which was opened in 1926 and whose major shareholder was Sassoon & Co. Similarly, the Cathay Hotel was also part of the later "Peace Hotel", that is, the South Building and North Building of the later "Peace Hotel" at this time belonged to different hotels.

In fact, the Peace Hotel was a name after the liberation. At that time, there were only the "Huizhong Hotel" and the "Huizhong Hotel". Among them, the "Huizhong Hotel" was run by the British merchant Huizhong Company.

Therefore, the "Peace Hotel" that appeared in a Republican-era TV series was just a synonym. The real one should be the "Huizhong Hotel", which has a suite where the Jewish tycoon Sassoon once lived.

After successfully getting rid of the two patrolmen, Chen Guangliang continued to solicit customers.

In fact, even if the patrol police checked, they would not be able to find out the license plate of his rickshaw. These are Li Chao’s original words.

Apparently, it was incredibly convenient to have someone from the Traffic Department as a partner.

At six o'clock in the evening, it's time to change shifts.

Today marks the first week of operation for the Yangtze River Car Company, so all nine drivers came to an open space in Fangua Lane, and three rickshaws were placed in front of them.

Chen Guangliang said:
"Let's have a short meeting. I think everyone understands that you are all shareholders of Changjiang Car Dealership. So unlike pulling carts before, you need to be more responsible and work harder."

"First, we must protect our rickshaws as best we can, keeping them clean and well-maintained. They are our common asset. Also, we must keep them within our sight. It's inevitable that some people will be jealous of our profits and do something bad."

"Secondly, we should also try to keep ourselves clean, wipe sweat with a wet towel and smile more often. Take me for example. As long as I stand there, no matter how many rickshaws are around, customers will habitually walk towards me and take my rickshaw. The reason is simple: both I and the rickshaws look cleaner."

"Third, to increase the Changjiang Carriage Company's revenue, I plan to have the drivers sell some merchandise, including soda and cigarettes. So everyone, be prepared. I'll be looking for training for you later. Don't worry, you'll get a commission from any sales."

Everyone listened, took notes, and felt happy.

Because Chen Guangliang always says "we are all shareholders", everyone has a strong sense of belonging.

Chen Guangliang has been reminding everyone about the first two points since the opening of the restaurant - to improve service and safety awareness.

In reality, for other rickshaw companies, how much a driver earns is irrelevant to them, so they don't care about your "competitive consciousness." But Chen Guangliang is different. He sincerely hopes that his drivers can earn more money and improve their quality of life.

The latter point was recently thought up by Chen Guangliang.

Earn higher income by selling small commodities.

It is very possible that a customer may be thirsty, want to smoke, or have some snacks while sitting in a rickshaw.

The rickshaw driver can also sell some goods to increase his income, and the rickshaw company can also get a part of the profit.

It can be said that three birds with one stone are achieved.

He Xiangdong immediately stepped forward and said, "What Manager Chen said makes a lot of sense. Recently, people from Wang's rickshaw dealership have been asking us about things. Boss Wang is not a good person, even though he usually smiles. So everyone should pay more attention to the safety of rickshaws."

Everyone nodded.

"Okay, let's go!"

(End of this chapter)