A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 196 Opportunity
In the conference room of Changjiang Taxi, nine senior executives were giving work reports to Chen Guangliang, including General Manager Liang Mengqi, Business Manager Xu Yeguang, and Automobile Department Manager Zheng Wensheng.

A new automobile security department, which is also the maintenance department, has been added.

This department not only solves the maintenance problems of Changjiang taxis, but also undertakes the work of training auto mechanics and providing external services.

Moreover, Changjiang Taxi has invested heavily in training auto mechanics; it invited two experienced foreign mechanics to systematically train more than a dozen auto mechanics.

Because in Chen Guangliang's view, this is also to cultivate automobile repair talents for the country. If we persevere, many people will learn this technology in the future, which will be a contribution to the war of resistance and construction.

Xu Yeguang reported earnestly, "Currently, we're using various advertising campaigns, including newspapers, posters, car body ads, telephone racks, call centers, and calendars. The slogan, '400 million compatriots, dial 40,000 numbers,' has become deeply rooted in people's hearts. This advertising investment has brought us considerable growth, and our business has already reached 60-70%."

As a business manager, Xu Yeguang's ability is crucial, and his position in the company is second only to General Manager Liang Mengqi.

Chen Guangliang also carefully took paper and pen, recording the key points, and then he asked: "Where are the difficulties in the business?"

The so-called "difficulties" are not the difficulties that his subordinates tell him, but the "shortcomings" that there are still some.

Xu Yeguang naturally understood and immediately said, "It's about the price. We've concluded through various surveys that most of the current passengers are foreign businessmen, senior employees of foreign companies, and wealthy Chinese. The middle class rarely calls for taxis, or even almost never. We asked a university student, and he's never even called a taxi. A 3.5 yuan fare, plus a 0.35 yuan tip, is still too expensive for their profession, which earns them 200 yuan a month."

Chen Guangliang listened carefully and thought about this issue seriously.

At this time, Zheng Wensheng reminded: "Even if the price is lowered a little, people in this class are unlikely to call a taxi, right?"

It is naturally even more impossible to reduce the price too much!
Xu Yeguang said confidently, "Manager Zheng is right, but let's think about it. Even if this group of people usually don't bother to call a taxi, when they're having a party with friends or in unusual weather, wouldn't it be impossible for them to occasionally call a taxi for the sake of face and convenience? Especially for the sake of face, I believe the increased business from this part will be huge. For example, if the fare dropped from 4.5 yuan to 3.5 yuan this year, how much will the taxi business in Shanghai increase?"

Everyone suddenly realized!

This year, the number of taxis in Shanghai has increased by 60% (from more than 500 to more than 800), but I have not heard of any taxi company going out of business.

Chen Guangliang also agrees with this, believing that lowering prices is the best way to defeat competitors and increase one's own business.

He said: "Europe and the United States are in a recession, and oil prices are expected to fall further through negotiations. If we want to continue to grow our business, price cuts and promotions are inevitable."

Xu Yeguang said happily, "That's right. We also conducted some research and found that some people, for the sake of face, would specifically call a taxi instead of a rickshaw for gatherings. At the same time, I discussed with the general manager that lowering the price to 3 yuan per hour is our best option and within our affordable range."

Liang Mengqi then said, "By lowering the price to this level, citizens can enjoy the benefits of a private car for a fraction of the price, making it an extremely cost-effective option. Therefore, whether it's weddings and celebrations, or just everyday dine-outs and movie nights, taxis will become an indispensable mode of transportation. We anticipate needing another 50 vehicles in the future."

At this point in the discussion, Chen Guangliang made the final decision, "Alright, let's prepare a price reduction measure to allow more people to enjoy the convenience of taxis. As for adding 9 more cars, we'll have the third batch arriving in September, so half of them can be put into use. At the same time, we'll also increase the number of branches to at least 20."

He ordered a total of 400 vehicles, with 100 arriving in Shanghai every three months. The third batch will arrive next month.

The gold-silver exchange rate is rising, and similarly, the US dollar-silver exchange rate is rising.

Simply put, the gold-silver exchange rate only increased from 38 to 62, but the exchange rate of US dollars to silver would increase from 45.5 US dollars to 100 taels of silver to 24 US dollars to 100 taels of silver.

One only increased by 50%, while the other increased by nearly 100%.

Therefore, Chen Guangliang had already exchanged 80 US dollars at Citibank.

Compared with other taxi companies, they only need 5000 yuan to buy a car, but other taxi companies need more than 10000 yuan to buy a car.

Therefore, Shanghai will only have four taxi companies in the true sense in the future - the foreign-owned Yunfei and Tailai, with a total of 430 taxis; the Chinese-owned Xiangsheng has 130 taxis, and Changjiang Taxi will have a total of 270 taxis.

The remaining dozens of taxi companies have a total of just over a hundred taxis.

This is Shanghai. The situation in other cities is even worse. Hangzhou has only 58 taxis in total, distributed among taxi companies. Many cities even do not have a single taxi due to pressure from rickshaw companies.

According to history, Xiangsheng would have more than 200 cars, and Zhou Xiangsheng would even order more cars, but Chen Guangliang had already asked the Ningbo Ye family to stop lending, and other money houses saw that Xiangsheng was in an "unfavorable" situation, so naturally they would not lend.

Based on this, it is almost impossible for Xiangsheng Taxi to add more vehicles quickly.

Of course, given Shanghai's economic status and level of openness, having more than a thousand taxis is normal.

In mid-August, Chen Guangliang visited Nanjing.

He met many historical figures, including the commander-in-chief. After all, as the founder of the Oriental Daily, he was qualified.

Afterwards, he had separate meetings with Soong Tsai-wen and Kong Xiangxi, all in the capacity of an "industrialist".

Finally, he was appointed as a member of the National Finance Committee of the National Government, and his social status improved a lot.

It can be seen that the Nanjing government attaches great importance to "Huaxia Sugar Industry" and this time it mainly invited him to give this report.

Chen Guangliang also talked about his ideas again, without reservation.

During this period, Song Zaiwen invited Chen Guangliang to lead the Jiangsu and Zhejiang financial group to invest in the sugar industry in Guangdong Province, and explained that he had communicated with Guangdong senior official Chen Mingshu.

But it is obvious that Chen Guangliang politely declined on the grounds that "there are also open-minded businessmen in Guangdong Province."

Everyone knew what Chen Guangliang was worried about, so naturally the matter was put on hold for the time being.

After staying in Nanjing for two days, Chen Guangliang was eager to return to Shanghai. He found that he had a feeling of "a dragon returning to the sea" and the concession made him feel more comfortable.

Changjiang Real Estate.

"Boss, about 50% of the second batch of residents of the Yuyuan Road housing estates have chosen to pay the balance in full and receive the strata deeds on the spot. In terms of funds, do you want to continue to exchange the bid money?" Guo Deming came to the office and reported.

At the beginning of this month, the second batch of "stratified and phased" houses on Yuyuan Road were delivered and the stratified property deeds were processed.

The real estate market is booming right now, and there is not even the so-called "oversupply" or "saturation" situation. Therefore, these owners are already eager to get the strata deeds and pay the remaining balance in advance.

Starting from the "New Town Garden" project, Changjiang Real Estate has shortened the "number of installments" to twelve, generally, after the houses are built, all funds are in place.

Chen Guangliang said: "Not for now. I still have to repay a lot of loans this year, and gold will not appreciate in the short term."

"Ok"

There is actually no pressure to get a loan, after all, the Changjiang Money House still has plenty of cash flow.

Chen Guangliang is now worried about investment channels rather than lack of money. After all, the funds for real estate and finance have been withdrawn.

"Also, we're planning to start selling the houses on Xiafei Road next month. We'll be selling them in separate strata. Please work quickly on developing a sales plan, including pricing, marketing, events, and reception. We must strive for perfection."

Guo Deming nodded and said, "Okay, although it's sold in layers, it won't be a problem if someone needs one. The main thing is that the houses over there are very attractive to many foreigners!"

Foreigners are not necessarily from countries like the United States, Britain, and France, they may also be from Eastern European countries.

Like China, there are also many "old aristocrats" in Eastern European countries who have come to Shanghai to live. After all, the system there has already been implemented.

Chen Guangliang had originally planned to sell the land on Xiafei Road without developing it, but now it's selling for 70 yuan, or 3 yuan per mu, a 5% increase from his original purchase price. This has been the market for land over the past three years: with good vision, it's possible to quadruple or even quintuple the value; at the very least, it's still possible to double or triple.

Take the entire Shanghai real estate market as an example. It was only 20 billion yuan at the time, but now it is 50 billion yuan. But strangely, while the land price has increased significantly, the value of the property has not increased much.

For example, a house that originally cost 5000 yuan is now sold for 8000 yuan, which is already a good price. This has created a situation where "land is expensive and housing is cheap."

There are many reasons for this:

First, the price of construction materials and labor did not increase;

Secondly, the "renting land for construction" and "stratified and phased" policies result in a rapid increase in housing, but no increase in land with development value (road construction is the key);

Finally, society’s purchasing power is insufficient.

Guangdong Province.

Chen Jitang picked up an old issue of Oriental Daily and started reading it again. His heart was already filled with emotion. Standing in front of him was his economic advisor Chen Weiyi.

"It is said that Chen Mingshu invited Chen Guangliang from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang financial group to invest in the sugar industry in Guangdong, but was rejected!"

After hearing this, Chen Jitang said, "Guess why?"

Chen Weiyi replied, "Logically speaking, Chen Guangliang, who was able to write this article and is a newly minted tycoon from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang financial group, should be very interested in the sugar industry. Furthermore, it is said that Song Zaiwen of Nanjing introduced him, and he has the support of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang financial group. But he simply rejected Chen Mingshu's invitation. This can only mean one thing: he knows that you are the boss of Guangdong Province, and he is worried that if Chen Mingshu is driven out, his investment will be wasted."

Chen Jitang laughed and said, "I am that kind of person! But honestly, these Jiangsu and Zhejiang consortiums are really smart. At least they know who is the real boss of Guangdong Province."

Since last year, Chen Jitang has been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, commanding the navy, army and air force of Guangdong Province, and holding the political and military power of Guangdong Province. He is known as the "King of the South".

Chen Weiyi said: "So should we support this?"

Chen Jitang stood up and paced around the room, saying, "I support you. After all, once Guangdong's sugar industry develops, it will be a great help to the finances. But Guangdong Province now has Chen Mingshu's provincial government!"

Last month, the Southern Whales had ordered Chen Jitang to withdraw the divisions of Jiang Guangnai and Cai Tingkai and march north to fight against the forces of Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan. Chen Jitang was overjoyed upon receiving the order; sending two divisions to the Central Plains battlefield was exactly what he had been hoping for, as Jiang Guangnai and Cai Tingkai were close to Chen Mingshu, leaving Guangdong Province with a purely direct line of attack.

But Chen Mingshu had the support of the commander-in-chief after all, and he soon recruited soldiers on a large scale, adding four security groups directly under the provincial government, about 8000 people, to replace Chiang and Tsai. He also prepared to purchase a large number of new weapons from Germany and the Czech Republic. As a result, the contradiction between the two Chens continued to intensify.

Chen Weiyi said, "This is a simple matter. As long as we also send representatives to invite the Jiangsu and Zhejiang financial groups to invest in the sugar industry, Chen Guangliang will have fewer concerns. As for the future, the commander-in-chief will definitely have the opportunity to truly manage Guangdong Province. The real beneficiaries will not only be Guangdong Province, but also you, the commander-in-chief."

Chen Jitang was considered a Confucian general with a good sense of administration. He immediately said, "Indeed, I'd like you to find time to come and express our military's position. Don't scare people away from investing."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief."

To be honest, the sugar industry is really huge, it's an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars, so everyone takes it very seriously.

However, all aspects involved are extremely complicated, and it is simply impossible to launch the project in a short period of time.

Changjiang Taxi announced a price reduction to 3 yuan per hour, which caused a great sensation in the industry.

Since the 'Yangtze River Taxi' increased its fleet this year, the price of this taxi has been reduced by almost half (calculated based on the highest foreign-funded price of 6 yuan).

Although gasoline prices have fallen by about 15%, car prices are now rising sharply (if calculated in US dollars, they are falling).

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the fierce competition in the taxi industry this year has led to the current situation.

Of course, this is a great thing for citizens. Many people have begun to choose to take taxis occasionally to save face.

The price reduction measures of Changjiang Taxi have the greatest impact on the four taxi companies: Tailai, Yunfei, Xiangsheng and Yinhe.

Among them, Tailai and Yunfei are foreign-funded companies. They also know Chen Guangliang's strength and immediately negotiated whether to follow suit in lowering the price.

Xiangsheng Taxi.

Zhou Xiangsheng also convened a shareholders' meeting to discuss countermeasures. Seven shareholders attended the meeting, including the "second shareholder" Ji Bincheng, his younger brother Zhou Sanyuan, and others.

"What do you think?"

A small shareholder suddenly said at this time: "If Xiangsheng Taxi hadn't intercepted other people's orders, they wouldn't have ruined their own future!"

Zhou Xiangsheng blushed, it was obvious that this small shareholder was squeezing him.

Ji Bincheng quickly spoke up for his friend: "When it comes to business, it's always a matter of life and death. As the president of the Chinese Taxi Association, it's inevitable for Chen Guangliang to suppress his competitors. But for us, we have to rely on ourselves!"

Originally, Xiangsheng Taxi planned to order 230 vehicles to expand its fleet to vehicles.

As a result, Xin Shun Ji stopped lending money, and they could only try various ways to remedy the situation, including attracting new shareholders and looking for new money houses for loans.

But Chen Guangliang's influence was huge, causing Xiangsheng to miss the best opportunity to order cars. Currently, Xiangsheng's first batch of 100 cars have just been put into use, but the plan for the second batch of orders has been cut in half.

In this way, Xiangsheng will only have 130 taxis.

The minority shareholder said angrily: "What else can we do? We can only lower the price. Otherwise, if the business fails, it will be a loss if the car remains empty."

Zhou Xiangsheng took the opportunity to say, "Okay, then follow the price reduction."

After discussing the matter, Zhou Xiangsheng brought up an old matter again: "Xiangsheng's 130 vehicles can't deliver within ten minutes. I want to continue to order 100 vehicles. What do you think?"

Shareholder: "How do we solve the funding problem?"

Zhou Xiangsheng: "Looking for new shareholders to join, and then re-mortgaging the vehicles we operated this month."

Shareholder: "Now that the US dollar has risen so much, it costs more than 8000 US dollars to buy a car."

Ji Bincheng: "The US dollar still has room to rise. We can buy it for more than 8000 yuan, but the price of cars has already increased when they arrive in Shanghai."

In the end, everyone agreed with Zhou Xiangsheng's plan.

But Zhou Xiangsheng also buried a minefield for himself. His equity was increasingly diluted, and more importantly, he was "deeply in debt." In his previous life, Zhou Xiangsheng had at least made a good profit by ordering 400 cars and selling 200 of them, essentially getting hundreds of cars for free.

But after Zhou Xiangsheng really succeeded in the "expansion", a new "four giants of taxis" pattern was formed in the Shanghai market. There were about 1000 vehicles in these four car dealerships alone, and the competition became even more intense.

It was also because Shanghai's economy could support it that old aristocrats, warlords and wealthy businessmen from all over the country came to Shanghai, especially to live in the concessions.

As a result, Shanghai's industries account for 60% of the country's total, and its car ownership accounts for about 40% of the country's total (about 1.2 to 1.6 vehicles).

(End of this chapter)