A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 184 Pressure
The 'central dispatch room' of Changjiang Taxi has become increasingly busy a week after its fleet expanded to 120 vehicles.

There are two telephone numbers here - 40000 and 30098. '40000' is the absolute main number, and 30098 is just a backup number.

Customers call for a taxi by dialing 40000, and the 40000 dispatch room then calls the branch based on the customer's location, asking the branch to arrange for a vehicle to arrive as soon as possible.

"Hey, No. XX, Jing'an Temple Road, send a taxi, quickly!"

"Okay, may I ask your name, sir?"

"His surname is Guo, and he's wearing a suit."

"Okay, we'll send a car for you right away. It will arrive in ten minutes. Bye!"

As a taxi call came in, the dispatcher immediately dialed the phone number of the Yuyuan Road branch.

"This is headquarters room 40000. There's a Mr. Guo at No. XX, Jing'an Temple Road, requesting a ride. Please arrange for a vehicle to arrive immediately!"

"This is the Yuyuan Road branch, okay!"

After receiving the order, the Yuyuan Road branch immediately dispatched vehicles parked at the store or on the road outside the store to the scene.

It is so troublesome to "hail a taxi" in this day and age. The reason is that "oil prices are high" and cars cannot run all the time. Of course, it is a good thing if the taxi completes the task of picking up passengers and picks up passengers on the way back.

The key point is that customers in this era do not have the habit of "waving to stop the car", but have been trained to "call a car by phone".

Not a moment.

Chen Guangliang saw a "blue taxi" near "Yangtze River Real Estate" and knew without hesitation that it was a Changjiang Taxi.

The driver got out of the car immediately after stopping it.

When he saw Chen Guangliang coming over, he was a little stunned, and then he quickly said, "Boss..."

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "I called the taxi. Let's go to the Yangtze River Taxi Headquarters."

The driver realized that it was obvious that the boss was conducting a secret inspection, and fortunately he did not make any mistakes.

"Ok"

As Chen Guangliang got on the car, the driver filled out the form according to the formal procedures, wrote the 'date, time and place of boarding' on the document, and started the car after the passenger had no objection.

Because this document involves "charging issues", it is the best proof.

"Don't be nervous, just drive normally!"

"Yes, boss."

Along the way, Chen Guangliang chatted with the driver in a friendly manner.

It is true that Changjiang Taxi has strict management, but that is the company's management system. However, Chen Guangliang himself is still "easy to get along with."

After a while, Chen Guangliang arrived at the head office of Changjiang Taxi, and of course he paid the fare as usual.

Currently, the taxi fare in Shanghai is '1 yuan per hour', with the starting price also being 3.5 yuan, and an additional 3.5% tip is required for the driver. This is the industry standard.

A driver’s income is related to the number of orders he receives in a day.

They normally work a 12-hour shift and if they can complete 6 orders, they can earn to yuan a month. The more they work, the more they earn.

"boss"

Liang Mengqi was busy, and when he saw Chen Guangliang coming, he immediately put down his work and accompanied him.

As the general manager, he is definitely busy with management, and it is normal for the company to run its business when he puts down his work; but when the boss comes to the company, he must report on his work and listen to instructions.

Chen Guangliang nodded and asked, "Have you arranged a meeting time with the Police Department?"

Liang Mengqi not only manages Changjiang Taxi, he also serves as the secretary-general of the "Chinese Automobile Business Association" and handles some matters for Chen Guangliang.

"On the last day of this month, which is next Monday, you, Zhou Xiangsheng, and five other directors will attend the meeting. The Commissioner of Police will receive you to discuss the 'unfair handling of violations by Huayang Taxi'."

Chen Guangliang said, "Well, remind me of the time when the time comes. By the way, what is the attitude of the Municipal Council this time?"

We have negotiated with them once before, but it was of no use. According to the taxi driver's investigation, it is still the same as usual.

Liang Mengqi replied, "Recently, public opinion has affected the Municipal Council and the Municipal Council. Judging from their reception of us this time, they seem to be trying to improve the situation. However, I'm not very optimistic about the specifics. While the higher-ups may not want this, the patrol officers who carry out the work have become accustomed to this style of work, and they might even be receiving bribes from Tailai and Yunfei."

After hearing this, Chen Guangliang was not too surprised. Instead, he said, "Everything depends on human effort. This kind of thing can definitely be solved!"

"Yes"

To maintain a habit for a long time, you naturally need to keep applying pressure, and only then can you achieve the goal of improvement.

The Chinese Automobile Business Association is a large group and therefore has social influence. Moreover, Chen Guangliang also manipulates media outlets such as Oriental Daily News and Capital, and is himself a very influential figure.

So he believed that this situation in the concession must be improved.

Chen Guangliang himself will also contribute, because this is not a small matter, but a major issue concerning the country and the nation.

"How's business going?"

Liang Mengqi's face lit up with joy as he said, "We're seeing significant growth. Currently, our business is about 50% to 60% full, and the effectiveness of advertising continues to grow our business. I estimate that within a month, we can increase by more than 10%."

This achievement is truly something to be proud of!

why would you say so?

It's very simple, they grew from 20 taxis to 120 taxis, and these additional 100 taxis were all due to the addition of new businesses.

Even if it is only 60% or % of the capacity, it is equivalent to increasing the business volume of taxis. The key is that it only happened in the past week.

Chen Guangliang said with satisfaction: "We have done a good job in advertising and marketing. As long as we provide good service, we can retain customers."

Ultimately, the surge in business is due to the fact that their "Yangtze River Taxi Advertisements" have been everywhere recently.

But in the long run, retaining old customers is the key.

"I understand. We are continuing to make up for the shortcomings in our services and strive to achieve 100%."

Chen Guangliang stayed at the Yangtze River Taxi Head Office for a long time before leaving.

He now has many businesses and a lot of social contacts, so he can only treat every company equally, be a qualified "helmsman", and leave the leading roles to his subordinates.

There were many departments under the Municipal Council of the International Settlement, among which the more important ones were the "International Settlement", "Police Department", "Public Works Bureau", etc.

The International Merchants Corps was an amateur, autonomous militia organization, and a violent organization that committed heinous crimes by shooting innocent people in 1925. The Police Department, on the other hand, oversaw all the JCs in the International Settlement and was a very important department.

On the last day of the month, Chen Guangliang brought the Siming directors of the "Chinese Automobile Business Association" to the police department in the International Settlement and met with senior officials including the Commissioner of Police, Mak Go-wan.

The two sides held discussions in the conference room.

Chen Guangliang said straight to the point: "Commissioner Mak Gowan, given the long-standing unfair targeting of Chinese and foreign taxi drivers for violations, we hope the police can improve this situation."

At this time, McGowan said arrogantly, "Mr. Chen, can I assume that it is you Chinese-owned taxi drivers who don't want to obey traffic rules and are instead putting pressure on us police officers?"

If someone else were to be the 'chairman', he might be more humble, but Chen Guangliang would not buy it.

"Director McGowan, you know that's not what we meant!"

"Then what do you mean?"

An assistant police officer quickly added, "As long as your car obeys the rules, you won't be penalized. Instead of looking for your own faults, you're repeatedly putting pressure on us. I think you're just looking for trouble."

Chen Guangliang said seriously, "If the police from the Public Works Bureau adopt this attitude, we will let all Chinese people know about this. We believe we can do it. By then, not only will foreign taxis be boycotted, but even the police in the International Settlement will have a bad reputation."

The atmosphere cooled down for a while, and several directors of the Chinese Automobile Business Association were already trembling with fear.

McGowan's attitude finally softened, and he said, "What you've discovered is just an isolated case. Our penalties for violations by American and British taxis are the same as yours."

They knew that this young man could do it because he owned the Oriental Daily, one of the three major newspapers in China, and had a certain influence in the Shanghai business community.

Chen Guangliang also softened his tone and said sincerely, "Director McGowan, the West I've always known is a place where gentlemen are respected and the law is fair. This is especially true when it comes to doing business. Our 'Chinese Automobile Business Association' will urge all Chinese-owned taxis to abide by traffic regulations. We also hope that your police will treat violations by American and British taxis equally. Otherwise, it will damage the taxi business environment."

McGowan then said, "We will issue an order for 'fair treatment,' but I also hope that Mr. Chen's media outlets will stop publishing news that smears our police force."

Chen Guangliang bluntly stated, "I have no right to interfere with 'press freedom,' and I believe the same is true in the Western civilized world. If the police feel the media is slandering me, they can produce evidence and sue. I believe you will be on the right side."

Everyone was speechless. This young man kept talking about the "good things about the West", leaving them with no way to refute him. They couldn't say that the West was a rogue country, not gentlemanly at all, and had no regard for "freedom of the press".

In the end, McGowan could only say: "Okay, we are aware of your demands and will make changes."

Only then did Chen Guangliang stand up with his men and say goodbye!

After he left, McGowan exclaimed, "This is a formidable Chinese man. William, immediately issue an order to the lower levels to strictly check that cars follow traffic rules. All vehicles will be treated equally, and violations will be punished!"

Assistant Police Officer William nodded and said, "Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

Afterwards, William returned to his office first, and then called the general manager's office of Tailai and Yunfei respectively before arranging the director's order.

It is obvious that Tailai and Yunfei took away his network of connections.

in the afternoon.

Chen Guangliang came to the site of "Chuntianli" on Weihai Road to inspect the work. He couldn't just deal with the affairs of one company on this day.

In "Spring", not only are there 20 four-story houses under construction, but there is also a "luxury garden villa" covering an area of ​​three acres under construction.

Of course, this "luxury garden villa" is only for ordinary wealthy people, and is still inferior to the villas of some super-rich people.

After all, this villa covers an area of ​​three acres, and the construction cost budget does not exceed 100,000 yuan, so the total value is only about 200,000 yuan.

Looking at the villa under construction, Chen Guangliang's face was full of longing!

After all, this villa will be his residence for a long time in the future and the place where he will get married and have children.

At this time, Lu Yuantai's voice sounded beside him:

"Boss, we can actually develop the land on Xiafei Road into high-end villas or commercial and residential buildings, and then sell them in installments or layers.

Firstly, we have 28 employees to support at Changjiang Real Estate. Now that our other sites are on track, there is no problem with time.
Secondly, the land on Xiafei Road is in very short supply right now. It's said that every inch of land is hard to come by. The land you have is a rare and large piece of land. Selling it directly will definitely not earn you as much as developing it.
Third, many wealthy people and foreigners want to live on Xiafei Road, so the market is relatively large."

The management of Changjiang Real Estate naturally knew that Chen Guangliang still had 2 acres of land on Xiafei Road, which was bought two years ago. Now the price has increased by about three or four times, and is basically worth more than yuan per acre.

Xiafei Road is an upscale street in the French Concession. Because of the tram and other reasons, it is an ideal place to live.

After hearing Lu Yuantai's suggestion, Chen Guangliang began to think about it very humbly.

His original plan was to sell all the land in the second half of the year, which would net him over 60 yuan. He had only spent around 15 yuan initially, and even after deducting the interest on the loan, he would have made a profit of over 40 yuan.

Now, after listening to Lu Yuantai's advice, he is also planning something new!
Even this year, Shanghai's residential property market has become stagnant due to the premature emergence of the "land leasing and construction" and "phased and layered" models, which have led to "oversupply" and stagnation.

However, because the '918' and 'January ' incidents did not occur, the Shanghai real estate market will not plummet all of a sudden, so it may just be 'stagnant', that is, some properties are difficult to sell in a short period of time.

In addition to the special nature of Xiafei Road, it is possible that houses there will be in high demand next year (1931).

"Okay, let's discuss how to develop the land over there later!"

"Ok"

In the end, he couldn't resist the "high profits". After all, his ability to bear risks has been greatly enhanced.

On the other hand, he has so many people to support.

Many times, there are more things to consider.

In fact, Chen Guangliang also analyzed a situation:
After the January 28 Incident broke out, Zhabei was bombed to pieces and naturally had no value.

However, the real estate value in other areas of the Chinese territories and the concessions only fell by about 30% to 50%.

Taking the land in southern Shanghai as an example, the price has increased from 1500 yuan per mu to 8000 yuan per mu. Even if it drops by 50%, it will still be more than 4000 yuan per mu.

The situation in the concession will be better. After all, everyone feels that safety is guaranteed, and a drop of only 30% to 40% is possible.

By this calculation, the real estate in Shanghai has only returned to a reasonable price, and Changjiang Real Estate will continue to develop some small and medium-sized residential projects.

There is no need to think about exiting the real estate market after completing your work this year.

Chen Guangliang looked at the land of his villa and said, "There are quite a lot of workers here!"

Lu Yuantai also responded with a smile: "Yes, we will give them a construction period of no more than 15 months. After all, you still need to buy furniture and decorate it later!"

Although no one said much, everyone knew that this might be the boss’ wedding room in the future!
Chen Guangliang didn't think too much about it. Although he is now twenty years old, he doesn't seem to worry about getting married. Let it go!

Up to now, he has only met Yan Renmei twice, mainly because he has no time to think too much and has focused all his energy on his career.

However, after finishing this wave of work, marriage will definitely be on the agenda. Chen Guangliang hopes to get married between 1931 and 1932.

(End of this chapter)