A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 173 The Thirties Are Coming
On this day, Chen Guangliang and Kong Xiangxi met secretly in a private room at the Dahua Hotel.

In fact, it was Kong Xiangxi who originally wanted to meet with Chen Guangliang, and the location was actually agreed to be at the Kong villa at "No. 250 Duolun Road".

But after receiving the invitation, Chen Guangliang chose a private room in the Dahua Hotel as the venue, citing "inconvenience".

Why do you say 'inconvenience'?

It's very simple. Chen Guangliang thinks that he is not your subordinate, Kong Xiangxi, so why should he go to your private villa? Does he need to report his work to you?

Although Kong Xiangxi was the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Chen Guangliang still felt that there was no need for him to flatter him.

What's more, Chen Guangliang vaguely knew what was going on, so it was even more impossible for him to go to the private villa for a meeting.

"Mr. Chen, you are younger than I thought!" Kong Xiangxi's surprise flashed across his face, and then he smiled.

He didn't expect that such a young man could stir up the Shanghai business world, and even he wanted to take the initiative to make friends with him.

Chen Guangliang said modestly, "I am relatively young. Minister Kong invited me this time, and I was worried about being impolite, so I changed the meeting address to the hotel. Do you mind?"

When you need to insist, you should insist; but when you need to be humble, you should be low-key.

"Haha," Kong Xiangxi said with the smile of a wealthy Shanxi man, "It's the same everywhere. The important thing is that I want to meet you, a business genius."

Kong Xiangxi was wearing a pair of glasses, had a "Zhongshan beard", a round face, and was a typical "Shanxi rich man". No wonder his ability was not as good as Song Ziwen.

Of course, he had one advantage over T.V. Soong: he was obedient, so the Commander-in-Chief preferred him as the Chief Financial Officer. Even if Kong Xiangxi was severely corrupt, as long as he was not excessively (reactionary), the Commander-in-Chief would naturally prefer him.

On the contrary, Song Ziwen had the arrogance of a scholar. He would take action directly if he didn't like something, even if it was his relatives, so he was a man of real ability.

"I don't believe that Minister Kong summoned me this time. I'm afraid it's about the bidding money?"

Although Kong Xiangxi intended to intervene in the "bid gold market" in a low-key manner, Chen Guangliang not only had a wide range of information, but had also guessed that a powerful "ally" would join this month.

Kong Xiangxi immediately said, "Mr. Chen is a straightforward man. I see that Cheng Linsheng has an arrogant tone, but his judgment is poor. So I'm considering forming an alliance with Mr. Chen to invest in the bidding fund. What do you think?"

Chen Guangliang said readily, "Since Minister Kong has said so, and I also believe that next year (1930) will be a year of rising gold prices, we might as well go long together. However, the 'alliance' thing is likely to arouse people's vigilance, so we just need to keep it a tacit understanding."

According to his memory, the gold-silver ratio this year will average as high as 62, which means that the standard gold market should reach a price of 620.

And now, it is only 416, which is a full 50% increase.

The futures market is a 'leveraged investment', so the profits here are very large.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Chen Guangliang will definitely make 1000 million yuan by mobilizing a 500 million yuan quota. Because with such a huge amount of money, it is impossible to buy all the stocks at the "cheapest cost price". He may even suffer a loss in a certain delivery month.

Of course, overall, if the operation is correct, making millions a year is like a piece of cake.

As for Kong Xiangxi’s investment, it should not exceed 10 million, because that is what we have seen before.

"Little fox," Kong Xiangxi cursed inwardly, then laughed, "That's true. I met Mr. Chen this time mainly out of curiosity. Now that I've met him, I can say that my wish has been fulfilled."

"You flatter me!"

Afterwards, the two of them talked about other things while eating.

But it was obvious that Chen Guangliang was not someone who would easily "open up" to others, so they only talked about superficial things and the dinner ended quickly.

Kong Xiangxi was not disappointed, because his goal had been achieved - to find an "ally" for his speculation on gold.

Time quickly came to the 1930s.

New Year’s Day is the New Year.

This year's "Spring Festival" is the year with the strictest government control, and it may also be the "extreme" of "everything will turn around when it reaches its extreme". After this year, things will relax and gradually return to normal.

But this year's Spring Festival is definitely not easy, so many people celebrate the New Year on "New Year's Day".

Chen Guangliang's family invited his second uncle's family to reunite at the Dahua Hotel.

When he saw his second uncle's family again, he clearly felt that they already had the elements of the "middle class". His second uncle wore a suit with a coat, and his second aunt and Yang Xiuying wore fashionable winter cheongsams with coats.

The second aunt noticed Chen Guangliang's focus and said quickly, "These are all new clothes. Aren't you afraid of embarrassing you, Guangliang, and making you embarrassed to step into this restaurant?"

Chen Guangliang smiled amiably and said, "What's there to be afraid of? We all come from the lower classes of society. It's not that important. Everyone just sit down!"

Seven people sat down in the box, and then a manager came to serve and take orders.

At this time, the management and staff of the Dahua Hotel did not know their fate. They are now affiliated with Changjiang Real Estate, with Gao Zhichao as the general manager.

But in fact, at this time, the "Dahua Hotel" was no longer making much money and could only barely maintain itself.

The Dahua Hotel will undergo renovations in March, retaining only some of the best management staff while the rest will be dismissed.

Those who are retained will only receive 1% of their salary in the following year and will participate in regular training; those who are dismissed will receive an extra month's salary so that they will not be "out of food" while looking for a job.

With this kind of treatment, it’s hard to find a boss as good as Chen Guangliang in this era.

During the meal, Chen Guangliang said, "In a while, Changjiang Real Estate will have a property for sale here, priced between 1 and 1.2 yuan per floor. Second uncle, come buy one then, and I'll give you the money first!"

Then he handed Yang Qingshan a paper bag containing 12000 yuan in banknotes.

My second aunt's face lit up with joy. After all, the house they lived in was rented, and now they could buy a house.

Yang Qingshan did not take the money immediately, but said: "How can this be so embarrassing? Our family has benefited enough from you!"

His wife doesn't work now, and his monthly income is about 150 yuan (salary plus dividends). He doesn't need to pay for a year's housing, his children's tuition, and his sister occasionally sends them meat.

Life is already pretty good, equivalent to the middle class in Shanghai.

Chen Guangliang took the money to his aunt and said, "We're family, so let's keep our separate opinions. Besides, renting a house is no match for buying one yourself!"

He was grateful to Yang Qingshan from the bottom of his heart. If he hadn't been taken in by Yang Qingshan in Shanghai, how could he have come to Shanghai to make his living?

On the other hand, they are all relatives after all;
In this troubled time, relatives are always people you can trust.

"Okay. You two should study hard and work for your cousin in the future to repay him..." The aunt happily took the money and then educated the two children.

In fact, the couple did not understand why girls had to go to school, but since Chen Guangliang wanted to send his cousin to school, they did not dare to do anything wrong.

Of course, the couple were very happy that Yang Xiaohu could go to school.

Afterwards, Chen Guangliang naturally asked about the studies of his three younger brothers and sisters, acting like a complete parent.

His younger brother Chen Guangcong was naturally the best student. Yang Xiuying and Yang Xiaohu did not seem to be good at studying, but they still managed to graduate from middle school or vocational school.

After dinner, Chen Guangliang arranged a car to take his second uncle's family back to Xingfu Home first, and then his own family returned to Yangguang Home.

After New Year's Day, the Shanghai Gold Exchange officially opened its doors. Chen Guangliang's arrival at the exchange immediately attracted considerable attention, making him a clear target.

During this period, I met Cheng Linsheng again, but this time the two did not communicate.

Obviously, everyone would think that the two would have a fierce clash today.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the transaction officially began.

“416.25, 20 lots”

As soon as the selling price was announced, someone quickly stepped forward to take it over.

“416.05, 50 lots”

"Something's wrong. It seems like Changjiang Bank is also shorting. Could it be that they're bearish?"

"The Changjiang Bank is actually short selling along with the Hengji Bank. Could it be that the two have reached an agreement?"

Soon someone discovered that something was wrong. Under the pressure of the two big bosses, the price of the gold had fallen to 415 yuan in the morning, a difference of more than 1 yuan.

This is a price difference directly caused by human factors, and it is still considered a large fluctuation.

“The gold price is going to fall”

"Last month's rise was too sharp, so it's normal for it to fall back this month."

Yangtze River Bank.

After the transaction was completed in the morning, Chen Guangliang was meeting with Yan Zhiduo, Wu Xinhe, Hu Jinshun and others.

"Today we suddenly switched to short selling, which many people see as a barometer of the market, so the price of gold is falling. Apparently, this method worked!"

Yan Zhiduo smiled and said, "This morning, our Yuanfengrun Bank took a 50 yuan 'long order'. The cost was very cheap."

It turned out that all this was a little trick of Chen Guangliang. He first shorted the market like Cheng Linsheng did to suppress the price of the benchmark gold; at the same time, he arranged for Yan Zhiduo's bank to take up the cheap chips.

Chen Guangliang continued, "From now on, Changjiang Bank will not participate in the purchase. Uncle Yan's Yuanfengrun Bank will buy on our behalf. However, this is not a long-term solution. After five trading days, Changjiang Bank will make large purchases and continue to drive up the gold price."

After all, the world economic depression has just begun to spread, and overseas gold prices are only rising slowly. Therefore, the Shanghai gold market is greatly affected by human factors, but will ultimately be affected by the overall influence of external factors.

"it is good"

Everyone quickly finalized the battle plan: first create the illusion of short selling today, but actually buy at a lower price under a different name; absorb about 40% of the chips, and then buy them back in the name of Changjiang Money House.

Because according to Chen Guangliang's prediction, the final result will be an increase.

Now the Changjiang Bank can use the '1250 million' line. If it makes money, it will naturally increase the margin and credit limit.

Upon learning of the Changjiang Bank's actions, Cheng Linsheng suddenly realized something and said, "I knew Chen Guangliang was just trying to use public opinion to drive up the price of gold. This isn't the so-called Great Depression at all. Gold needs to be a valuable investment."

He originally felt that the "Great Depression" was not credible. At most, the US "stock market crash" was real and the economic impact was true, but it would not lead to a Great Depression, let alone a World Economic Depression.

His subordinate Wu Guizhen said worriedly, "But boss, now that Chen Guangliang owns the Oriental Daily, his influence on the bidding money can be spread through public opinion, which will be a big trouble for us in the future!"

trouble?

It turned out that Wu Guizhen had the same idea as her boss, and also believed that her boss Cheng Linsheng could control the Shanghai gold market.

"Haha!" Cheng Linsheng laughed at this moment, and then said: "His sudden short selling this time will definitely cause his credibility to plummet. If he tries to use newspapers to create public opinion again in the future, I'm afraid no one will believe him!"

Wu Guizhen's eyes lit up and she said, "Yes, many people saw Chen Guangliang personally go to the stock exchange today, and Changjiang Bank also shorted hundreds of thousands of yuan."

"Okay, let's just keep shorting. Gold won't really go up; it's going down. A few years ago, we made some money going long, but if we go long again, we'll lose all that money."

"clear"

At this time, Cheng Linsheng would not change his idea of ​​short selling just because the Changjiang Money House did so. He had his own analysis.

He had been involved in the gold market since 1926 and had actually made several million dollars, but he lost 200 million dollars last month, wiping out most of his profits.

However, Cheng Linsheng believed that it was Chen Guangliang who used public opinion to defeat him, not that gold prices were really going to rise.

At the Vitasoy factory, hundreds of workers are busy, wearing uniform work clothes, providing nutritious "soy milk" to Shanghai and surrounding cities.

After more than half a year of development, Vitasoy now produces more than 15000 bottles a day, with annual profits reaching more than yuan.

The promotion of "Vitasoy" was very successful. The "filling technology" extended its shelf life and improved its grade, and the "marketing methods" allowed it to quickly enter middle and high-income families.

Even 'soy milk' has replaced 'cow' milk in some families because the taste of 'soy milk' becomes better after adding vanilla extract, sugar and milk powder, and children are more willing to drink soy milk.

"Do you think this factory can cope with future production tasks?" Chen Guangliang asked a question.

This factory on Yuyuan Road covers an area of ​​5.2 acres, with a two-story building area of ​​4500 square meters (one acre is 666 square meters).

Deputy General Manager Chen Shiyuan said, "Next, we will promote it in cheaper cities like Nanjing and Hangzhou. Combined with the growth in Shanghai and surrounding cities, sales in this area alone may increase to 3 bottles. This factory can be moved out, but it's still a bit small, so we can set up a second branch in Shanghai. In addition, if we want to develop in cities like Beijing and Wuhan, we can open factories there."

Expansion requires money, so risks need to be considered.

The best way is to take it step by step.

Chen Guangliang immediately said, "Okay, let's rent land in southern Shanghai and build another factory. In addition to expanding production, I also plan to have the R&D department produce 'milk' in powder form and sell it as 'soy milk powder', which can be enjoyed simply by mixing it with boiling water. This way, we can expand even further. Maybe we can even get into business with the military."

The main troops should purchase some soy milk powder, maybe they will be more powerful in fighting the Japanese in the future.

Everyone's eyes lit up at this moment. This "soy milk powder" was obviously very promising.

Wu Guangsheng said: "The production process of soy milk powder is not difficult, but the packaging method is canned, and of course the cost is not high!"

The biscuits of this era were packaged in cans (Guan Sheng Yuan biscuits), but there was no plastic technology yet.

Chen Guangliang immediately said, "Okay, then our mission this year is to expand sales in surrounding cities, build a branch factory, and research and develop soy milk powder and sell it."

When opening factories in Peking and Wuhan, people were not only worried about the instability of local warlords, but more importantly, they were worried about imitation by local entrepreneurs.

So we should first develop soy milk powder and then enter the local market. This way we can develop the market at the lowest cost.

The money Vitasoy earned in the past two years could be used to expand production and sales, and by 1936 it would have been time to make preparations for multiple scenarios - establishing two branch factories in Chongqing and Hong Kong.

Subsequently, Chen Guangliang convened the management team and formulated a detailed development plan.

He simply promoted Chen Shiyuan to the position of "General Manager", gave him greater power, and supervised the company as the boss.

(End of this chapter)