A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 186 Knowing people, knowing faces, but not knowing hearts

On the south bank of Suzhou Creek, Magen Road (later Taixing Road in Jing'an District).

Chen Guangliang and Xie Hengchuang were inspecting the work on a 20-mu plot of land, which would be the factory of 'Jierui Coal Briquettes'.

The two men each invested 50 yuan in this factory, holding % of the shares each, specializing in the "coal briquettes" business.

The reason why it was built on the south bank of Suzhou River was to facilitate the transportation of coal briquettes to Shanghai and surrounding cities.

"Boss Chen, we have now commissioned other factories to produce the first batch of 1000 sets of 'coal briquette stoves', 'fire shears', and 'coal briquette tampers'. The materials for honeycomb coal balls have also arrived here." Xie Hengchuang said in a slightly excited tone.

Why are you excited?

In 1926, Liu Hongsheng invited several colleagues to establish the "Zhonghua Coal Briquette Factory," which used machines for production and drying, using inexpensive white coal dust as raw material. Once launched, the company quickly monopolized the Shanghai market for consumer briquettes.

Although white coal dust is inferior, it is still acceptable as fuel. However, it is time-consuming and labor-intensive for citizens to buy it themselves, and it is also very cumbersome, and the space is even more of a problem. Therefore, the market for ready-made coal briquettes is very good.

After accumulating considerable wealth, Liu Hongsheng feared the emergence of competitors, so he established the Second Briquette Company in 1929, specializing in the production of higher-quality black briquettes. Not only was the quality improved, but the appearance was also improved for easier use, securing a leading position in the market.

But now.

With the emergence of 'honeycomb coal balls', all the advantages of Liu Hongsheng's coal plant have disappeared.

Compared with traditional "coal balls (actually coal blocks)", honeycomb coal balls have too many advantages. They save coal, are clean and convenient, and produce less smoke. They are simply invincible.

Chen Guangliang said, "I've already thought of the advertising and marketing plan. We'll place ads in newspapers and send people to various newly built alleys to demonstrate and promote our products. We'll strive to capture the 'household coal' market in Shanghai in one fell swoop!"

Xie Hengchuang said hesitantly, "But if citizens want to use our briquettes, they'll have to buy our briquettes stoves. This will only cost us a small amount, and we may not be able to capture the market quickly. Secondly, we don't have any so-called 'patents' after all. If our competitors follow suit, it won't be a big problem. It will just take a little more time and effort."

In such a large factory, many people know their formulas, and the principles of the "coal briquette stove", "fire shears" and "coal briquette pounder" are easy to understand at a glance.

Chen Guangliang also thought about this problem seriously and then said, "We can give the coal stoves and fire cutters as 'test products' to the public for three months. After the trial period, we will sell them to them. By then, they will know the benefits of honeycomb coal and will be more willing to pay us!"

Ultimately, he is very confident in his products.

Xie Hengchuang immediately said, "Let's do this. I will immediately order the coal briquette stove manufacturers to speed up production."

The coal briquette stove, fire shears and coal briquette pounder are all outsourced to others.

Due to the large quantity, the price is naturally very low.

Moreover, the Jierui Coal Briquette Factory signed a contract with everyone, not allowing them to produce the same product privately.

"Okay, then we'll launch our product to the market this month. After all, good things like this should be popularized in China sooner rather than later."

"good"

After the two discussed it, they went to a conference room to meet with the management.

Chen Guangliang also took the opportunity to introduce He Xiangdong to everyone. He Xiangdong will serve as a "director" as Chen Guangliang's representative.

Then, Chen Guangliang asked, "We are purchasing coal from Kailuan Coal Mine. Should we sign a contract?"

Kailuan Coal Mine is located in Tangshan. It is a large coal mining company controlled by British businessmen. Its annual output is about 1 million tons. The coal blocks produced are anthracite and of very good quality.

The general manager was Xie Hengchuang. He was taken aback at first, then said, "Currently, the coal is provided by my company, and there is no contract signed with Kailuan Coal Mine."

He felt a little uneasy. Could it be that this young man wanted to check his accounts? In fact, he didn't make much profit from the difference!

Chen Guangliang immediately said, "That won't work! We should calculate the approximate coal consumption of Shanghai residents, and then negotiate with the Kailuan Coal Mine based on a certain number of tons of coal supplied annually. Of course, it's OK to go through the Yuchang Coal Mine, but the key is to reduce costs."

Xie Hengchuang breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't need to check his own accounts. Then he said, "But if the demand can't be met, wouldn't that be a breach of contract?"

He knew that Chen Guangliang was very ambitious and wanted to replace the "China Coal Briquette Factory" to monopolize the coal supply to Shanghai residents.

Coal is divided into commercial and civilian use. Generally, "commercial" is used in factories and mainly consists of coal blocks; while for "civilian" use, the requirements are not so high, and coal powder and coal slag are sufficient, and other ingredients may also be added.

Chen Guangliang said, "I like to be the leader in the industry and don't like to say I can't do it. What's more, if I can't achieve it, your Yuchang Coal Company should be able to provide a bottom line."

The implication is that since Yuchang Coal Company supplies the raw materials for "Jierui Coal Briquettes", it should also bear part of the risk.

Upon hearing this, Xie Hengchuang secretly exclaimed, "Amazing!" But he quickly said with confidence, "Okay, let's go to the Kailuan Coal Mine right away to negotiate the price directly. I'm confident that our Jierui briquettes can capture at least 70% to 80% of the civilian briquettes market in Shanghai."

Be conservative, after all, Liu Hongsheng is the real coal king.

In fact.

Kailuan Coal Mine (in Tangshan) produces tens of millions of tons of coal a year, a quarter of which is sold through "coal king" Liu Hongsheng.

Liu Hongsheng was the "comprador" of Kailuan Coal Mine. He sold 250 million tons of coal for Kailuan Coal Mine every year and then took commissions from it. This was how he made his fortune.

Liu Hongsheng mainly distributes "Kailuan Coal (smokeless)" in the south. At the same time, he bought the "Jiawang Coal Mine (bituminous coal)" in Xuzhou last year. As for the "Zhonghua Coal Briquette Factory", it is his other coal mining business.

Therefore, if Yuchang Coal Company signed a large contract with Kailuan Coal Mine, Liu Hongsheng would inevitably be unable to hide it.

Of course, Jierui coal briquettes will soon be ready for listing, and Liu Hongsheng doesn’t mind knowing this.

In mid-April, twenty days had passed since Changjiang Taxi expanded its fleet. Two months later, another 4 taxis were added, which can be said to be rapid development.

"Boss, recently I've always encountered cars heading to their destinations, but passengers were picked up early. I suspect it was Tailai and Yunfei Taxi who were behind this. They must have bribed the telephone company employees!" Liang Mengqi said with some distress.

"How do you plan to respond?" Chen Guangliang asked immediately.

This kind of thing had happened before, but Chen Guangliang didn't care about losing a few orders at that time. After all, there were only twenty cars and there was no major development at that time.

But now they have 120 vehicles, and their business is already "insufficient", and some of them have been snatched away by others.

Liang Mengqi immediately said: "We have a good relationship with the telephone company, especially providing 'bases' to customers who install telephones. It is a 'three joys' situation. I mean to negotiate with the telephone company and find out which operator acted privately!" This is part of the business war, but if Changjiang Taxi also bribes the operator, both sides will undoubtedly suffer.

Chen Guangliang said, "First, we need to figure out which company is behind this. This isn't difficult. Arrange for someone to call a taxi at a certain location, using the codename "Mr. So-and-so" (double surname). Then, we'll see which company is sending the taxi. Second, once we've identified the company, don't make it public. Instead, go to the phone company and warn them that if this gets published, it'll be a huge blow to their reputation. After all, who wants their phone tapped?"

Liang Mengqi applauded in his heart when he heard this. The boss's two tricks solved the problem quietly and without alarming the other party.

"Okay, I'll arrange it as soon as possible!"

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "Let's not do this kind of thing. After all, we will be the leader of the industry sooner or later. Doing such despicable things will have a bad impact. Of course, if this matter is not resolved, we may not be unable to do so."

"Okay, I understand!"

Then Chen Guangliang said, "By the way, I plan to open an auto repair shop. It will not only reduce our costs, but also allow us to take on external business."

Liang Mengqi immediately said, "That's right. After all, we will soon have more than 200 cars. Although they are all new, they still need maintenance throughout the year. In addition, we can slowly train our own maintenance personnel and increase our foundation."

Chen Guangliang agreed and said, "Especially when it comes to training maintenance personnel, we should treat it as a career."

If gasoline is a little more expensive than foreign capital, we can still negotiate. As long as the business is large, the oil dealer will still give a preferential price. If parts are a little more expensive than foreign capital, we can still negotiate.

Ultimately, foreign-funded taxi companies will no longer have an advantage and will have to compete fairly.

After all, this is the territory of the Chinese. Just like the rickshaws in the past, sooner or later the Chinese will dominate the market.

Xiangsheng Taxi.

"Mr. Ouyang, Lane XX, Weihai Road, please send a car immediately!"

Following the dispatcher's arrangements, Xiangsheng Automobile rushed to its destination as soon as possible.

Zhou Sanyuan was Zhou Xiangsheng's younger brother. He smiled and said to Zhou Xiangsheng, "Brother, when our taxi arrives, we'll have ten more than Changjiang Taxi. By then, Xiangsheng will be the largest Chinese-owned taxi company."

At that time, Zhou Xiangsheng saw that the "abandoning job" business was very profitable and he could earn a second-hand car in a few months, so he brought his younger brother Zhou Sanyuan over to buy a car together.

Over the years, Zhou Sanyuan has also held a certain stake.

Zhou Xiangsheng said with a serious expression: "Don't go too far. If Changjiang Taxi finds out, it won't be good!"

They have been using "operators" to snatch customers from their branches for a long time, but they have been doing it in a more covert way, mainly snatching customers who are near their branches. This is faster, and they don't necessarily snatch every order, as that would be too obvious.

Zhou Sanyuan laughed and said, "At most they know that their business has been robbed, but they definitely don't know who stole it. What's more, Tailai and Yunfei are now besieging Changjiang. I believe they won't suspect us."

Zhou Xiangsheng thought about it and realized it made sense, so he stopped worrying!
To be honest, he was very jealous of Changjiang Taxi. First, it was the first Chinese-owned company to own hundreds of taxis. Second, its boss had taken away his position as president of the 'Chinese Taxi Association'. Third, he also wanted the number '40000'.

But he trusted her very much, and now he could only be jealous!
Because Chen Guangliang did a lot of great things for the "Chinese Taxi Association": the first was to reduce fuel prices by 10%, the second was to persuade the concession to treat Chinese and foreign taxis equally in terms of penalties for violations, and the third was to develop a competition manual for foreign taxis.

It can be said that all taxi company bosses currently highly recognize Chen Guangliang as the chairman.

When Xiangsheng Taxi arrived at Lane XX, Weihai Road, Changjiang Taxi's business manager Xu Yeguang was obviously stunned. The boss and the general manager suspected two foreign-funded taxi companies, but they did not expect it to be a Chinese-owned taxi, and moreover, the company of the vice-president of the 'Chinese Taxi Industry Association'.

"Sir, do you want to take a car?"

"Yeah, but I've already called a Yangtze River taxi."

"Sir, it's the same as taking our Xiangsheng taxi. My taxi is new, so you don't need to wait here. I don't know when the Changjiang taxi will arrive!"

"No, I can't say what I mean. Oh, and how did you know I wanted to call a taxi? I'm confused."

"Anyway, it was arranged by the higher-ups that I came here."

No matter how much he tried to persuade her, Xu Yeguang refused to take Xiangsheng's car, and the driver finally had to leave in disappointment.

This was strange. Normally, people who called a taxi wouldn't care which one it was, after all, waiting in vain was annoying. But today's customer was clearly a little strange.

After returning to the company, Xu Yeguang told Liang Mengqi what had just happened.

"It's actually them! I never thought that someone who usually behaves like a decent person would actually do such a thing!"

"Yeah, I really didn't expect Zhou Xiangsheng to be such a person."

This is how business wars are, and it's not surprising.

The strange thing is that after having contact with a person, he does not appear to be that kind of person. Zhou Xiangsheng is very enthusiastic in the "Chinese Taxi Industry Association". If Chen Guangliang is the leader, then Zhou Xiangsheng is at the level of a steward and is very warm-hearted.

Xu Yeguang then asked, "General Manager, do you want to give it a try? Perhaps Xiangsheng is not the only one doing this?"

Liang Mengqi immediately said, "No need. It's a waste of time and energy. They won't grab every business. Judging from the current situation, the business we lost seems to be around the Xiangsheng branch, so they can get there as soon as possible. We didn't think of this before!"

"I think it's more likely that foreign capital is at fault."

Liang Mengqi nodded and said, "Now go to the telephone company and tell them we have clear evidence. If they don't take it seriously, we'll put it in the newspaper. When those dignitaries hear that their phones are being tapped, I believe the telephone company will be in big trouble."

Xu Yeguang said, "I understand. I believe the telephone company will conduct a thorough investigation and fire the operator."

There must be a pattern in the intervals between telephone numbers used by operators, and with a little investigation, you can tell who is behaving abnormally.

Afterwards, Xu Yeguang went to negotiate.

He is a business manager and has a lot of dealings with the telephone company, so he is very familiar with the situation there.

Changjiang Taxi is now the "king". It is prepared to enter the taxi industry and has the strength to do so. Therefore, for the time being, it will not consider bribing telephone company operators to fight back. After all, it can win the competition.

(End of this chapter)