A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 175: Kill first and tell later
Late January, a week before the Spring Festival.

When Chen Guangliang came to Oriental Daily, the staff there were all energetic. Oriental Daily implemented an "incentive system" and the income of editors and reporters was based on the quality and explosiveness of the "news".

Therefore, the atmosphere in the newspaper industry is very good!
In his office, he took out paper and pen and started writing some articles.

The first article is about "The Market Situation of Three-Wheeled Rickshaws", but this article is just a "brief introduction" because Chen Guangliang himself does not particularly understand the market.

The second article, "The US Economic Depression and Its Spread to Industrialized Europe," wasn't a brief summary, but a full-fledged news story. Oriental Daily News consistently covered news from Western countries, so Chen Guangliang naturally had ample access to information. Adding in some subjective predictions, the article naturally turned out well.

After some simple writing and drawing, the person Chen Guangliang had shaken also came to his office.

Famous reporter Wang Chunhua was the first to come in and said respectfully, "Boss..."

He became famous in the Shanghai journalist circle because he "recommended himself" to follow Ruan Lingyu and Zhang Mingda and report related news; of course, Wang Chunhua was a famous "Ruan fan", and the news he reported always belittled Zhang Mingda and even contained elements of frame-up.

Afterwards, Wang Chunhua reported on related entertainment news such as "Xu Zhimo and Lu Xiaoman" and "socialite Qiu Lilin eloped with Peking Opera master Zhou Xinfang". He not only covered news about "female stars" but also news about other celebrities.

Chen Guangliang handed the first article to Wang Chunhua and said, "Please arrange for an investigation into this content and then publish an article."

Wang Chunhua took over the "Market Situation of Three-Wheeled Rickshaws" with a look of surprise on his face. After all, this seemed to be business news, so why was it his turn to investigate and write it?

However, he soon realized something was amiss and said confidently, "No problem! Gu Zhuxuan appears to be caring for his fellow Subei people, but he's actually exploiting them. He owns the largest number of 1600 dazhaohui in Shanghai, yet he's reluctant to replace the three-wheeled rickshaws for his fellow countrymen. This is pure exploitation."

He finally realized that the boss was going to use Gu Zhuxuan as a target.

Chen Guangliang said with a smile: "This job is a bit dangerous. After all, Gu Zhuxuan is also a big boss of the Qing Gang."

Wang Chunhua said directly, "I remember you once gave us a lecture, saying that journalists are the guardians of fairness and justice. If you're afraid of offending people, then what's the point of being a journalist?"

Having said that, the editorial department of Oriental Daily also has an unwritten rule that negative remarks involving the Commander-in-Chief and the three major gangsters may not pass the review.

"Okay, please pay more attention to Gu Zhuxuan from now on!"

"clear"

Wang Chunhua finally understood that there was a conflict between the boss and Gu Zhuxuan.

After a while, Feng Ziming, the editor-in-chief of Capital magazine, also walked in.

"boss"

Everyone has changed their address now because Chen Guangliang has stepped down as general manager and has been replaced by Huang Chunsun.

It might seem like real power has been ceded to an outsider, but in reality, everyone still calls Chen Guangliang "boss." This title isn't just for show, as Oriental Daily News has several shareholders, and Chen Guangliang holds just 56% of the shares.

The reason he was called "boss" wasn't just because he held the largest stake, but more importantly, it was a sign of respect for Chen Guangliang. After all, all the editors and reporters at the newspaper had attended Chen Guangliang's lectures.

Although Feng Ziming had just arrived, he also knew Chen Guangliang's position - it was something that no one else could shake.

"Here's an article. Please help me polish it so it can be submitted to Capital."

Feng Ziming took the article and began to read it. After a moment, he said, "Okay, Boss, this article is very comprehensive. It should be used as the opening article for the first issue of Capital."

It was so wonderful! It was the first time he admired someone from the bottom of his heart!
In this article, the boss not only wrote about the spread of economic depression in the United States and Western industrial countries, but also pointed out that Japan will also be seriously affected economically, which will make its domestic militarism more rampant and may launch a war against China's east; finally, the article also suggested that the Chinese government and businessmen can take advantage of this wave of economic depression to import overseas equipment and materials cheaply.

Of course, the article also involves an analysis of the gold trend, which is naturally bullish - in order to cope with the economic depression, people around the world will inevitably buy gold to preserve their value, and the price will naturally continue to rise.

"How's the launch of Capital going?"

“It can be released on time on February 2st”

"Well, does your editorial department have confidence?"

"Of course. Capital is not just a business magazine, it's also a leisure magazine, covering all aspects of the local market, including food, drink, entertainment, and so on. It's very interesting to read."

“Just have confidence”

Eating, drinking and having fun are also business.

Yangtze River Taxi.

General Manager Liang Mengqi reported to Chen Guangliang: "The British-owned Tailai Company and the American-owned Yunfei Company have proposed the establishment of the 'Chinese and Foreign Taxi Association' and have invited us to join. They also hope that you will attend the first inaugural meeting."

Chen Guangliang thought about it and said, "These foreigners are up to no good and won't have such kindness."

Liang Mengqi nodded and said, "That's true. Although we have dozens of Chinese taxi companies, only three of us, Changjiang, Xiangsheng, and Yinhe, own more than 20 taxis. The rest of the Chinese companies only have one or two, mostly doing small businesses like 'dropping off'. Meanwhile, Tailai and Yunfei each have nearly 80 taxis, accounting for 100% of the taxi market in Shanghai. Now these two companies have suddenly jointly proposed the establishment of the 'Chinese and Foreign Taxi Association'. I think they must have some ulterior motive. Could it be that they know about our order for Chevrolets?"

Chen Guangliang said at this time: "Don't worry about them. If the enemy comes, we will fight back. If the water comes, we will block it with earth. We will just attend."

It may not be that the news leaked out, it may also be that the two foreign taxi companies saw the booming development of Chinese taxi companies and wanted to take the opportunity to seize the title of "righteousness".

After all, Changjiang Taxi did not import cars directly from agents, but from General Motors' offices, and specifically instructed that the matter must be kept confidential.

There is no need for the General Motors office to communicate with the two taxi companies for this matter.

"The date chosen is February 2th, and I have invited you to go with me."

"Well, I'll make time for it then."

This year, Chen Guangliang wants to vigorously develop his taxi business, so naturally he has to participate in more work.

Although Liang Mengqi is the general manager, he is the boss and naturally has to grasp the overall situation.

After chatting about the taxi company, Chen Guangliang took Liang Mengqi to the office of the American-owned 'Shanghai Telephone Company'.

After arriving at the Shanghai Telephone Company, Chen Guangliang and Liang Mengqi, led by business manager Suo Lei, came to the office of its general manager Porter.

"Mr. Chen, Manager Liang, let me introduce you. This is our general manager, Mr. Porter."

After both parties got to know each other, they sat down on the sofa.

Liang Mengqi naturally had a lot of dealings with the telephone company and knew the business manager Suo Lei.

However, this time, Chen Guangliang personally visited General Manager Porter, obviously to ask for something: "Manager Porter, we are visiting you this time in the hope of obtaining 40000 phone numbers for your telephone company's own use." Both Porter and Sorey looked rather surprised!

But the two soon realized that this might be an opportunity to make a fortune.

Porter deliberately said: "Mr. Chen, we usually use this integer phone number for our own use and do not sell it to others."

Chen Guangliang knew that this was a sale that was waiting for a price, but he couldn't take the initiative to propose a price, otherwise it would be obvious that the other party was asking for too much. Although he had already spent a lot of money, he should be willing to spend a little more.

But you can’t do business like this, some things also need to be calculated.

Of course, he was determined to get this phone number.

So Chen Guangliang said, "A telephone company doesn't need a catchy name. After all, if they need your business, they'll come to you. We chose this phone number because it's easy to remember and will be beneficial to our taxi company."

Porter immediately asked, "How many taxis do you have?"

Chen Guangliang said: "20 cars, of course we will add a few more later."

Half truths and half lies.

When Potter heard this, he naturally would not ask for an exorbitant price.

If he had known that Yangtze Taxi would soon have several hundred cars, he would have probably noticed the exorbitant price, but of course he didn't know the true meaning of the number 40000, he just knew it was a round number.

So, Porter said, "As long as the price is reasonable, it's not impossible to sell it. After all, we have to try our best to meet the needs of customers. However, the key lies in the price!"

If I had known this earlier, I would have asked Liang Meng to discuss this matter.

But at this point, Chen Guangliang decisively stretched out five fingers and said: "Five big yellow croakers!"

"Haha," Porter laughed. "Mr. Chen is too good at bargaining. Why don't you go back and think about the price carefully and make another quote later. Anyway, I'll leave you my phone number. The key is the price."

Chen Guangliang said decisively: "Okay, then let's go home and discuss it!"

This matter has to be postponed for the time being, otherwise even his highest offer of '10 large yellow croakers' may not be negotiated.

Indeed, Chen Guangliang's highest price in mind was '10 large yellow croakers', which was over 4000 yuan. Of course, for this number, he would have agreed to a higher price.

But he didn't want to be led by the nose now, so he went back for a while.

"Okay, don't worry, we will definitely leave the number with you!" Porter added, fearing that Chen Guangliang and others would give up.

Of course, he would definitely not be satisfied with five gold bars. After all, he knew Chen Guangliang, a wealthy man in Shanghai.

on the way back.

Chen Guangliang said to Liang Mengqi, "Put an ad in the newspaper right away and say that the Yangtze River Taxi will soon be using the 40000 phone number!"

Liang Meng was stunned at first, then understood and said, "Okay, since Porter has already agreed to leave it to us, the phone company can only sell it to us."

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "This is just the first step. After reporting it, have someone call this number and pretend to hand over the car. Then, bring the eight gold bars with you. Potter and the others will definitely agree."

Three days later, business manager Sorey came to Porter's office.

"Porter, Yangtze Taxi has published an advertisement in the newspaper announcing that they have purchased the number 40000 and will soon be using it."

Porter was stunned for a moment, then said, "What are they doing? This phone number hasn't been sold yet, why are they doing this?"

Suolei smiled bitterly and said, "Last time, you promised to leave it to them, and Changjiang Taxi seized on this and put an announcement in the newspaper in advance. Now, some calls to that number are coming in, and our original business will be affected. Without further ado, we must hurry and convert the business number to a new one, and at the same time sell number 40000 to Changjiang Taxi."

"Damn it," Porter said, "the cunning Chinese actually resorted to such tricks."

It is true that he promised many times that the number could be sold to Changjiang Taxi, but he hoped to get a higher price.

As a result, Changjiang Taxi acted without prior consent, leaving them in a difficult position.

Before Porter and Sorey could be angry for too long, Liang Mengqi, the general manager of Yangtze River Taxi, had already arrived at the Shanghai Telephone Company with gold bars.

As soon as the two sides met, Porter said, "Aren't you worried that we won't sell you the number?"

Liang Mengqi smiled and said, "It's okay, we just want a phone number that's easier to remember. Of course, since things have come to this, we still hope to buy this number!"

Seeing this, Potter could only say, "Okay, I'll sell it to you, but you have to have eight large yellow croakers."

"make a deal"

When Potter and Sorey heard this, they immediately understood the whole story.

Changjiang Taxi was also worried that the two of them would raise the price, so they simply "acted first and asked for permission later". If they refused to sell, they would suffer losses.

Next, both parties stopped playing tricks and prepared to sign a formal contract to trade the 40000 number.

Xiangsheng Taxi.

Zhou Xiangsheng was looking at the newspaper when his hands suddenly trembled. He muttered to himself, "40000 number, 40000 million Chinese people. Damn it! This easy-to-remember phone number has been taken by Changjiang Taxi."

Recently, the "Chinese and Foreign Taxi Association" is about to be established. Although it was initiated by the British Tailai Company and the American Yunfei Company, who among the Chinese businessmen can be elected as directors and who can call on the group of Chinese businessmen has also become a focus of competition.

Zhou Xiangsheng's advantage is that he entered the industry early and his business scale ranks first among Chinese businesses (29 vehicles).

But there are competitors, because Chen Guangliang has much greater influence. If he participates, he will definitely become the leader of Chinese businessmen.

What's more, after Zhou Xiangsheng learned that the number 40000 was taken over by Changjiang Taxi, it also meant that they were preparing to develop it on a large scale. In this way, with Chen Guangliang's wealth, no Chinese businessman could be his opponent.

"Hidden Away"

Finally, Zhou Xiangsheng couldn't help but sigh that Changjiang Taxi had been operating for a year and a half, and its development was quite normal, but suddenly it felt like it was going to develop significantly.

I just don’t know how many cars Changjiang Taxi will purchase and how many branches it will add next!

(End of this chapter)