A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 212: Being Slaughtered Again

Years ago, Chen Guangliang, Yan Zhiduo and Fang Jiaobo visited the Shangri-La Hotel.

I saw that the four-story hotel building had been completely renovated, and the hotel building on the other side had about six floors built (a total of eight floors).

Fang Jiaobo looked at the hotel building under construction and said happily, "The scaffolding work on this construction site is truly worthy of emulation in Shanghai. Outsiders only know that it's under construction, but the exterior appears perfectly organized, with no dust rising, giving no sign of the busyness inside! I heard that this model was your idea, Guangliang?"

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "It's just a little trick. I'd rather increase the cost than affect the surrounding environment."

To put it simply, it means having higher requirements for construction. First, set up a circle to prevent outsiders from easily breaking into the construction site. Secondly, use bamboo to build scaffolding, and build it as high as the building is built. Then, cover the outside of the scaffolding with cheap cloth.

Of course the cost is a bit higher, but it does not affect the surrounding environment, so it is completely worth it.

Even if the Shangri-La Hotel opens, the construction work on this hotel will not have any impact, so that guests can have a good experience.

Of course, perhaps the guests would not care. After all, during the construction of the Cathay Hotel, the adjacent Zhonghui Hotel was also doing good business; and between the two buildings of the Shangri-La Hotel, there is a rectangular square of more than four acres.

Fang Jiaobo said with a smile: "This is not a trick, it is all innovation, innovation!"

Everyone walked into the four-story Shangri-La Hotel with smiles on their faces. They saw that the equipment was almost all in place and the management was training the waiters.

There is still a little over a month before the official opening, but you can already see the initial signs of luxury here!
The main hall on the first floor is still quite large, covering approximately 1800 square meters and accommodating 60 to 90 tables. Normally, screens are used to separate the halls. For large banquets or dances, the screens are removed, allowing the hall to accommodate up to a thousand people. (In reality, it still functions as a ballroom.)

The second floor is for private rooms and a cafeteria;

The third floor is a western restaurant and bar, and an executive meeting room (external);

The fourth floor is the guest room department.

Currently, our office is located in a street-facing villa in the nearby Xincheng Garden.

The original layout of the Grand China Hotel was as follows: the top floor housed offices and staff dormitories, the second and third floors served as a hotel, and the spacious banquet hall on the ground floor was the largest of any luxury hotel in Shanghai at the time. It hosted countless large-scale banquets, balls, and gatherings, the most famous of which was the historic wedding of Chiang Kai-shek and Song Yu in 1929.

After the renovation, the commercial area and multi-function have been greatly increased, and the staff dormitories and administrative offices have been eliminated.

The Shangri-La Hotel also has staff dormitories, but they are definitely rented from outside, after all, there are many houses outside now.

As for the administrative office, it is only temporarily located outside and will be moved to the fourth floor of the hotel department once the hotel building is completed.

During this time, Yan Zhiduo also sighed: "The current layout is very good. There is also a buffet restaurant, bar, and executive meeting room. The only problem is that there are not many guest rooms on the fourth floor."

Chen Guangliang said, "It's a helpless move. Besides, it's just one floor less than before. Once our hotel building is completed, everything will be back to normal!"

Originally there was only one hall for dining, but now there are three floors of dining area.

The new private rooms on the second floor will surely be welcomed by those who entertain guests, as well as people in business and politics, as they value privacy. A buffet restaurant has also been added on the second floor, which is also an innovation.

The western restaurant on the third floor has invited western chefs and occupies half of the space; the remaining half is a bar (light music) and an executive meeting room.

There are 36 guest rooms on the fourth floor, which is indeed a small number, but it is also a response to the vacant guest rooms period this year.

Later, when the new building is completed, these guest rooms will be converted into administrative offices.

"Boss, Mr. Fang, Mr. Yan, would you like to try the food here at noon?" Gao Zhichao came to the three of them and asked.

Fang Jiaobo took the lead and said with a smile: "Now that we are here, we must eat our fill before leaving. I heard that there are many new dishes here, so we can try them first as a token of our respect."

Gao Zhichao smiled and said, "We have been doing some food testing recently. If you three experts come and try it, it will definitely be better."

This flattery is really reliable.

The three of them are not chefs, but they definitely have a lot of delicious food!

In fact, some of the dishes are creatively created by Chen Guangliang. After all, some of the new dishes he knows are definitely truly innovative. Of course, they also have some traditional famous dishes here.

The entire hotel has a complete range of cuisines, including Cantonese cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, local cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine, and Western cuisine, which are enough for customers to choose from.

Needless to say, the three of them returned home with full stomachs that day!

Many of the chefs at the Shangri-La Hotel are hired at high salaries, so their skills are naturally extraordinary.

The Nanjing government's control over this "Spring Festival" has been relatively relaxed, unlike last year's Spring Festival, which was the strictest in history - the prisons were overcrowded at that time.

Where there is oppression, there is resistance. This statement is indeed true.

After this year's resistance and public opinion influence, the Nanjing government has to consider continuing to arrest him, as it will arouse great public anger; of course, if it ignores it immediately, doesn't that mean that it has done something wrong?
Therefore, the Nanjing government can only relax its control in this area, and maybe by next year or the year after, it will simply not care at all!
History is always strikingly similar.

The Chen family invited my second uncle’s family to the New Year’s Eve dinner, after all, it was done this way every year.

After taking a look around the house, my second aunt said quickly, "Should this house be left for Guangcong to live in from now on?"

Chen Guangliang felt that his second aunt was baffling, but he also said kindly: "Of course he lives with me. This house will be empty for now."

How could I let my younger brother live alone since we are not married? Wouldn't that lead to gossip?

The eldest brother is like a father!
Although it has only been more than three years since Chen Guangliang, Yang Hui and Chen Guangcong came up with this idea, and it may not be enough time to have that feeling, they still have to do what they have to do.

My second aunt said, "I mean when he got married..."

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "Why would he get married? He still has five and a half years of high school to go. It's no good getting married too early! By then, he might have a better house."

This house only occupies half an acre of land, so it is a bit low-end.

At worst, it would be much better to let Chen Guangcong move to a villa on Xiafei Road.

My second aunt didn't dare to say anything more, for fear of letting the cat out of the bag.

Chen Guangcong also put some of his thoughts aside and buried his love for his cousin deep in his heart.

In fact, Chen Guangliang also hoped that his cousin Yang Xiuying would at least finish the third grade of middle school, which was junior high school graduation in her previous life; at that time, she would only be 21 years old, so it would not be too late to consider getting married.

After all, children of rich people can be like this.

On that day, the servants had a day off in the afternoon and came back the next afternoon to have a New Year's Eve dinner.

So the New Year's Eve dinner at home was prepared by the three women, but fortunately the servants were almost ready.

The New Year's Eve dinner was sumptuous, and Chen Guangliang even allowed Chen Guangcong to drink some baijiu, while the women and children enjoyed soy milk. "Come, let's raise a toast and wish everyone a peaceful and prosperous new year!"

"Come, be safe"

At this moment, Chen Guangliang had a deeper understanding of family affection. He planned to take them all away by boat when he went to Hong Kong.

Yang Qingshan also drank a few sips of wine and started talking: "Guangliang, the last time I went back to Fangua Lane, all my old acquaintances praised you, saying that you didn't forget them even though you became rich and that you made sure they had enough to eat."

In fact, it just means that if there are suitable jobs, people will go to work, that’s all.

Chen Guangliang said, "Second Uncle, how many people know that you live in New City Garden now?"

Yang Qingshan immediately said, "The people in Fangua Lane may not know, but I remember what you said. Keep a low profile to avoid being envied."

Chen Guangliang finally felt relieved and said, "Well, safety is important."

The second uncle's family did not receive the treatment of bodyguards, but if they were really kidnapped, Chen Guangliang would have to pay money to redeem them. After all, they were not just his uncle, but the benefactor who had given him a place to live when he first came to Shanghai.

Then they started chatting about some things.

Yang Qingshan asked tentatively again, "Guangliang, you're a big shot in Shanghai now. Do you want to rebuild your ancestral home in Yuyao and make it more glamorous?"

Chen Guangliang said, "We'll talk about it later. In this chaotic time, even if we build it, it might be destroyed by someone with ulterior motives one day. Let's wait another ten years. After all, I'm still young."

What to repair?

Even if he can hide from the Japanese, he may not be able to hide from the attacks on him as a capitalist in the future.

Besides, when he returns to the mainland to invest in the future, someone will help him repair it.

"That's true. You're still young. We'll see later."

Yang Qingshan had no doubts. After all, his nephew was indeed young and had just achieved great success.

It was the last day of February and the Chinese New Year had not yet passed.

Chen Guangliang came to the Shanghai Banking Association on Hong Kong Road in Shanghai, and then he found that there were many cars parked there, including cars of many people he knew. He was suddenly confused.

But the initiators of this meeting were Minister of Finance Kong Xiangxi, Minister of Railways Sun Ke, and Minister of Health Liu Ruiheng, so he could not refuse.

When we got to the conference room, wow, every famous person in Shanghai was there: Tang Shaoyi, Zhang Qun, Qian Xinzhi, Zhu Jiahua, Liu Hongsheng, Rong Zongjing, Lu Bohong, Shi Liangcai, Wang Boyuan, Huang Jinrong, Zhang Xiaolin, Du Yuesheng, Chu Minyi, Huang Hanliang, Lin Kanghou, Yang Zhaoyi, Lü Yuequan, Wang Xiaolai, Lao Jingxiu, Shou Yicheng, Yu Qiaqing, Guo Biao, Qin Runqing, Zhao Jinqing, Li Zhaohuan, Yang Dunfu, Yan Fuqing, etc. Almost all the political and business leaders of Shanghai's Chinese community, as well as the bigwigs from both the black and white worlds, were there.

"Mr. Shi," Chen Guangliang bowed and greeted Shi Liangcai.

"Mr. Chen," Shi Liangcai politely responded, "For today's news, the two of us are the reporters!"

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "I don't even know what it is, how can I be a reporter?"

Shi Liangcai replied: "Raising funds to set up our own hospital!"

Chen Guangliang suddenly realized that he had actually had some guesses just now. It seemed that he would be beaten by the rich again!

Donate, donate, donate money while you earn money, and take away as much as you can.

After a few friendly chats with Shi Liangcai, the two of them did not engage in the "competitive tricks" they had at the beginning. After all, the "Three Giants of the Newspaper Industry" had already been formed and everyone was living in peace.

Moreover, for Chen Guangliang, Shi Liangcai was his shield. With him around, the Nanjing government could not easily turn its spearhead against Chen Guangliang. Chen Guangliang even planned to find a way to remind Shi Liangcai in 1934.

After all, it would be good for Chen Guangliang if he didn't die, but he had to be careful to hide himself.

After a while, everyone took their seats.

First, Zhang Qun, then mayor of Shanghai, appeared. He said (translated from the vernacular): "Shanghai is huge, and its population is large. The combined population of Chinese and foreigners is over three million, making it the most densely populated city in the world. Shanghai is good in every way, except for its lack of hospitals. When ordinary people get sick, they have nowhere to go. We lack hospitals, we lack hospitals, but unfortunately the government has no money..."

Then, Zhu Jiahua, president of Central University, took the stage (the hospital was positioned as an affiliated hospital of the Central University School of Medicine). As soon as he entered the stage, he beat his chest and stamped his feet, saying, "Looking around the world, which university medical school doesn't have an affiliated hospital? But our great Central University School of Medicine doesn't have an affiliated hospital. Where can our medical students go for internships?"

It was Tang Shaoyi, the former Prime Minister of the Beiyang government, who spoke. He said, "To run a medical career, you need money. Prices are rising so fast now, and building a hospital requires a lot of money. How much did it cost to build Zhongshan Hospital? I think it would cost at least 150 million yuan..."

Upon hearing this, Yan Fuqing in the audience suddenly became restless. He was the most important founder of Zhongshan Hospital. He said, "What Mr. Tang said is very right. Running a hospital requires money. But he underestimated the cost. How much does it cost to run a hospital? Let me tell you, I graduated from Yale, and I've seen many American hospitals. According to the current standards for hospital construction, the average investment per bed is at least 4000 US dollars! Zhongshan Hospital is designed to have 300 beds. It is the largest public hospital in China. The cost must be at least 120 million US dollars. Converted into RMB, it would cost 600 million yuan..."

Finally, Minister of Health Liu Ruiheng spoke. He had an extremely sad and angry expression on his face: "A few days ago, I was chatting with some foreign friends. They said that Chinese people don't know how to run hospitals and are reluctant to donate money to build hospitals. I sternly refuted them at the time: You don't understand us Chinese at all! Chinese people have backbone! Chinese people are kind! Let's all work together to dispel these rumors spread by foreigners! Brother Yan Fuqing, please pass out the fundraising task booklet to everyone here."

600 million oceans, oh, Chen Guangliang almost vomited blood!

It's a good thing, but if we speed up and complete it in three to four years, the Chinese people can use it for a few more years, so the money is worth it.

But this historical hospital seems to have opened in the first half of 1937. Doesn't this create an opportunity for Japan to rescue the Japanese?

Go to the concession?

That's impossible. The British and the French won't do that.

Although Chen Guangliang felt sad, he knew that he could not change anything by himself, so he quickly calmed down.

"Mr. Chen, you are the captain of Team 26, and Mr. Xie Hengchuang is the vice-captain."

"Okay, I promise to complete the mission!"

"Although Mr. Chen is young, he loves his country and his people. This is admirable!"

"President Yan, thank you for your praise."

Chen Guangliang readily took the task book, and then looked through it with Xie Hengchuang, raising 13.8 yuan.

Wow, there seem to be more than fifty recruitment teams today. It seems that Chen Guangliang and Xie Hengchuang’s tasks are above average.

However, Chen Guangliang will definitely not take all the money on himself and will pay out as much as he can out of his own pocket.

It's very simple. He will encounter fundraising activities like this many times a year. He can't donate a lot every time, so he can only donate within his "capacity".

Therefore, you still have to raise what you need to raise, and you can get a guaranteed minimum of 20,000 yuan. Moreover, this fundraising task will be carried out in batches, so it is not a big problem.

(End of this chapter)