A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 228 Seeking peace?

A few days later, the announcement of global shipping spread to major ports and was unanimously praised and welcomed by the Chinese.

At an agricultural product trading company in Qingdao, boss Mou Defu told his staff, "From now on, all our peanuts, soybean oil, and other products traded to the south will be shipped using global shipping vessels."

The subordinate quickly said, "Okay, boss. Didn't they recently say they would donate the shipping fees to the disaster victims in the Jianghuai area? Do you think they should donate in your name or in the name of our company?"

Mou Defu immediately said, "Of course the donation will be made in my name, but we have to mention our business name. That's not difficult!"

"No problem, I've already inquired about it. They promised that after the donation, they would give us the receipt."

"Well, this Global Shipping boss is really good at his job!"

Although Mou Defu is "greedy for fame and fortune", it cannot be said that he is a businessman who is willing to do charity.

Everyone desires fame and fortune, including Chen Guangliang.

So Chen Guangliang seized this point and formulated this marketing plan.

at the same time.

Chen Guangliang has asked the Oriental Daily to publish a list of donations from Global Shipping's customers across the country to cooperate with this "fundraising campaign".

Afterwards, each customer will be given a souvenir along with the unit receipt for receiving the payment and the current issue of the newspaper.

In this way, Chen Guangliang can be considered as fundraising.

However, he could not include such a huge amount of funds in the Shanghai Disaster Relief Association, as that might steal Du Yuesheng's limelight.

Therefore, these donations "in the name of customers" are directly donated to government fundraising organizations.

For a moment, the Shanghai docks also heard the praises of Chen Guangliang's brilliant performance.

"I was wrong. I initially thought it would be difficult for Chen Guangliang to achieve anything under the pressure from Jardine Matheson and Swire. Now I understand that Chen Guangliang's courage and determination are among the best among Chinese people. How could he fail?"

"Yes! Chen Guangliang's move is brilliant. If I were a customer who needed transportation, I would definitely choose their shipping company. The price is the same, but I can keep the reputation of donating to charity. Why not?"

"But when will this matter end?"

"I'm not sure, but I think we should finish this war with the Chinese and foreign shipping companies, or wait until this disaster relief is over!"

"I'm afraid this will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, right?"

"To be conservative, it's at least half a million dollars."

"Oh My God"

In the office of Global Shipping, Chen Guangliang was also looking through the accounts. Currently, all six ships were officially in operation. Originally, the wealth should have rolled in, but he now still needed to consider how to get the money to keep going.

The purchase price of the six ships was only US$39, even if the cost was 160 million oceans.

Global Shipping was in operation for more than half a year, and a lot of money was invested. Of course, it also made 11 yuan (more than 7 yuan in freight and 4 yuan in profit from selling the ship), which was barely enough to break even.

In this way, there is less than 40 yuan left in the global shipping account (a total investment of 200 million yuan).

Next, they have to spend money on fuel, wages, vehicles, customs, ports and other expenses. In order to maintain the two shipping routes, the global shipping industry needs to pay a huge price!

But the upside is that it can satisfy Chen Guangliang's philanthropic heart (it doesn't matter if it's not in his name), and it can also defeat the conspiracy of Jardine Matheson and Swire.

The operation of the two ships in Guangzhou Bay is always profitable; and once October comes, the two ships can go to Southeast Asia to transport sugarcane, making a lot of money will not be a problem.

If we take the two ships in Guangzhou Bay into account, there should be no problem in keeping the funds going until January or February next year, and there will be no need for Chen Guangliang to provide further financial support.

Tuesday, May 9th.

Chen Guangliang called Hu Jinshun over and said, "Let's close our cotton yarn futures positions today. Starting tomorrow, we'll sell 150 million yuan worth of short orders every day, for a total of 500 million yuan in three and a half days. Also, notify Mr. Du once the official action is taken."

At this time, the price of cotton yarn has reached 245 yuan, and the price should have reached its peak.

Hu Jinshun immediately said, "Okay, I'll make the arrangements. Do you want to give me a day's notice?"

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "You're being petty. Since you're going to act together with them, you should naturally inform them at the same time."

"Okay, I understand. I will definitely inform Mr. Du in person."

Hu Jinshun still managed to create a time difference.

It would be troublesome for him to meet Du Yuesheng, even though Du Yuesheng already knew that he would be working with Chen Guangliang.

Chen Guangliang no longer cared about this. After all, he shorted cotton yarn this time just because of the September 918th incident and he made a profit.

It's only a few hundred thousand dollars, not much profit, and the money earned is from those speculators.

The funds he recently donated were made from cotton yarn futures.

The day.

The Changjiang Money House closed its cotton yarn futures position worth 100 million oceans and made a profit of more than 5 oceans. Before and after this, it made a profit of about 8 oceans by going long on cotton yarn futures.

A small profit of 8%.

It is mainly because textile tycoons started raising prices and going long in June, and they are the ones who made the most money.

After the market closed, Zhu Baozhong immediately informed his boss Rong Zongjing of Chen Guangliang's actions.

After thinking for a moment, Rong Zongjing said, "It's only about one million. There's no need to worry. They might just be here to cause a minor disturbance. But if he joins forces with Du Yuesheng, be sure to notify me immediately."

Zhu Baozhong nodded and said, "No problem, Boss Rong."

Rong Zongjing was worried that Chen Guangliang and Du Yuesheng would join forces to catch these textile bosses off guard. If it was just a small fight, then there would be no problem at all.

After all, the original intention of establishing this yarn exchange was to reduce costs for textile industry bosses, not for outsiders to speculate and make money.

at the same time.

This time, both Jardines boss Arthur Du Barry and Swire boss Joseph Stephens came to the conference room with their subordinates for the meeting.

Things are serious!
Du Baili said angrily: "Damn it! This Chinese man actually incited Chinese people to boycott us. Damn it!"

Obviously, this is a case of finding excuses to accuse someone.

Global Shipping has not incited any shipping company to boycott the powerful countries, and Chen Guangliang has never done so. He pursues fair competition.

As for using national unity as a bond and supporting domestic products for publicity, these also fall within the reasonable range.

But this time, Chen Guangliang used the name of "charity" to attract customers.

Above board.

Shi Yueke said calmly, "The most urgent issue is how to deal with it. If this continues, our business will be greatly affected. My opinion is - negotiate with Global Shipping."

Everyone was shocked. The wind direction had changed in less than a month.

Du Baili's face was dull, and he said in a humming voice, "No hurry, I want to see how long he can hold out, or is he just a facade?"

Although the words were still a bit tough, they had obviously softened.

After hearing this, Shi Yueke did not object. After all, everyone's price was the same now. Although Global Shipping had gained a foothold, it could not be said to be a victory.

Because not every businessman cares about "leaving his name on the donation", and many Chinese businessmen care more about various services and management, and choose to trust their foreign companies.

But today's meeting also set a tone - if Chen Guangliang can hold on for a while, then Jardine Matheson and Swire will definitely choose to negotiate and return to the original price.

The next day, textile tycoons such as Rong Zongjing, Nie Yuntai, and Mu Ouchu had to get together to discuss countermeasures.

Rong Zongjing said: "Everyone has seen what happened today. Chen Guangliang and Du Yuesheng are working together to short sell. The scale of their short selling makes people doubt their motives. Are they trying to manipulate the cotton yarn market?" They regard the Yarn Exchange as their own private territory and will not tolerate others getting involved.

Nie Yuntai frowned and said, "You mean, we should do the opposite?"

Rong Zongjing said: "But if we allow them to operate like this, the price of cotton yarn will inevitably be suppressed. We have sufficient cotton yarn bales on hand. Therefore, we should at least stabilize the market and make their plans short-circuited."

Mu Ouchu nodded and said, "Indeed, Du Yuesheng has always wanted to completely control the Yarn Exchange. If he wins this time, I wonder how arrogant he will be!"

Nie Yuntai said worriedly, "But Chen Guangliang rarely fails. He's said to be a perennial winner in the gold and bond markets. Did he get some information that led him to get involved in this cotton yarn short-selling?"

Rong Zongjing analyzed the situation and said, "We are bullish for two reasons: first, the peak season is approaching; second, the severe floods have reduced cotton yarn production. All in all, there's no problem maintaining the price of cotton yarn at around 240."

Everyone thought so, and decided to act in unison to maintain the current price.

If someone follows suit, the price will naturally go up.

Day three.

There is a strong smell of gunpowder in the Yarn Exchange. The textile tycoons have joined forces to buy, which makes many people smell something different.

Among them is the trade and investment tycoon Ye Hongying.

In his early years, Ye Hongying raised a huge amount of money to open Yuanlaihao and engage in import and export trade. He directly imported sea cucumbers, abalone, shark fins, scallops, dried shrimps, kelp and other commodities from Japan and wholesaled them to "experts" (small wholesalers). He also engaged in the export of timber, cotton, jellyfish, golden needles, fungus and other commodities.

After accumulating enough capital, he became an investor and invested in industrial and commercial enterprises in Shanghai, including: Shenda Flour Mill, Lida Flour Mill, Yongyu Textile Mill, Rongda Weaving Factory, Yongmao Cotton Ginning Factory, Huashang Electric Company, Huaxing Insurance Company, Hua'an Insurance Company, Huacheng Insurance Company, Yuanyu Flower Shop, Yuanfeng Flower Shop, Yuansheng Flower Shop, etc.; the financial enterprises he invested in include: Tonghe Bank, Zhengli Bank, Zhengda Bank, Zhenghua Bank, Zhengyi Bank, Guoan Trust Company, Yuanta Money House, Futai Money House, Xinkang Money House, Taikang Money House, Yuan'an Money House, Mingde Money House, Yifeng Money House, Jinde Money House, Ruiyuan Money House, etc.

Ye Hongying had previously co-founded the Huada Commercial and Savings Bank and the Zhengli Commercial and Savings Bank, and also held shares in several money houses. In 1927, a new bank, Zhengyi Commercial and Savings Bank, opened in the prosperous Nanshi area of ​​SH City's Chinese enclave. It was small, with a capital of only 25 yuan, with Ye Hongying as chairman and Zhu Jiarui as manager.

In the first few years after the opening of Justice Commercial and Savings Bank, its operations were not smooth and its business progress was slow.

Seeing his peers making money, the ever-unconservative Ye Hongying, envious of the numerous banks reaping substantial profits through securities investments and government bond trading, also desired to venture into the bond market. Although he had always maintained a cautious approach, having avoided participating even during the period of the Beijing government's massive bond issuance, he was determined to take a gamble this time to improve the bank's current operating situation. He ignored the objections of his manager, Zhu Jiarui, and other shareholders, borrowed over one million yuan from other banks at a relatively high interest rate, and invested the entire sum in speculation on the stock exchange. His initial success was a profit on his first trade, and the second and third trades followed suit, quickly turning the bank's fortunes around.

At this time, the Zhengyi Commercial Savings Bank, headed by Ye Hongyuan, bought a large amount of cotton yarn futures.

"We will continue buying immediately. It seems that the textile tycoons have joined forces to teach Du Yuesheng and Chen Guangliang a lesson!" Ye Hongying said to Zhu Jiarui.

Zhu Jiarui immediately warned: "Boss, we already hold a lot of long chips. If we continue to buy..."

Ye Hongying had long been a gambler, and his previous victories had made him lose his mind. He said, "What are you afraid of? Everyone is long now, and there are only a few people shorting. The price will still go up."

"All right"

After all, he was just a manager, not the boss or shareholder, so Zhu Jiarui could only shake his head helplessly.

The exchange at this time.

“It’s going up, it’s going up!”

"243.5 yuan (package)"

"It's going to go up again, to 250, 260, go for it, it's too late to hesitate!"

"Buy it quickly, or you won't be able to buy it any later!"

The situation on the exchange was quickly taken over by the bulls, after all, the external conditions were also on the bull side at this time.

Du Yuesheng looked at this situation and left without saying a word.

Since he believed in Chen Guangliang, he would not be afraid, so he instructed his subordinates to continue short selling.

The amount Du Yuesheng shorted at this time was roughly the same as Chen Guangliang's, but he planned to short sell for more than five trading days, and he was more of a gambler.

Fourth day.

Today is September 9 (Friday), and there is no news circulating in the market.

According to Chen Guangliang, the 918 incident occurred at night, so there would naturally be no news in the market.

As for the UK's departure from the gold standard, it should happen in the next few days.

Eastern section of Yuyuan Road, Oriental Press Building.

This is the area east of Jing'an Temple, and it overlaps with Nanjing West Road. However, it is not Nanjing West Road after all, so the price is only about 3 to 4 yuan per mu.

But even so, it is about five times higher than three or four years ago.

The value of the two acres of land that Oriental Newspaper bought for just over 10,000 yuan, plus the eight-story office building it invested in, has increased a lot.

Today, the Oriental Newspaper uses three floors of the building itself, and rents the remaining five floors to companies under Chen Guangliang. The rental income alone is 2 yuan a year.

On the eighth floor of the Newspaper Building, Chen Guangliang sat in his office.

Since many companies have moved to this office building, he does not need to travel to many places and only needs one office.

Of course, after the establishment of Ping An Bank, it will be located on Bank Street.

"Boss, the financial situation of your company is relatively good at the moment, but you have already mortgaged all your property and car assets." Guo Deming was making a financial report.

The Yangtze River Bank now has a very professional "accounting", "finance" and "auditing" team, led by Guo Deming, who has financial coverage of all companies under Chen Guangliang.

In other words, the finances of subsequent independent companies will be supervised and guided by the Changjiang Bank.

However, some of Chen Guangliang's financial activities were conducted in his personal name, such as two loans from HSBC and Standard Chartered, and a pledge of 210 million yuan; moreover, Ping An Bank was not under the management of the Changjiang Money House, and it also had 100 million yuan in funds there.

"That's fine. Although these two assets are collateral, I exchanged them for gold and keep them in a safe in SH City. There's no risk."

Guo Deming immediately said, "So, the financial situation of your companies is very healthy. The specific situation is..."

He reported them one by one, of course also pointed out some minor problems, and has instructed the financial departments of his subsidiaries to correct them.

Yangtze River Properties, Shangri-La Hotel, Yangtze River Taxi, Global Shipping, Vitasoy, Oriental Newspaper, and Times Pictures are "first-tier companies";
Changjiang Property, Changjiang Motor Dealership (parent-subsidiary exchange), Global Trade, Jierui Coal Briquettes, Tongchang Motor Dealership, Jiawang Coal Mine, Times Cinema, Sugar Industry, etc., these are "second-level subsidiaries" or "associate" enterprises.

Asset-heavy enterprises like the first-tier companies - Changjiang Real Estate, Shangri-La Hotel, Changjiang Taxi, and Global Shipping - have no debts themselves; moreover, the businesses of the first three companies are already on the right track and are generating stable profits.

Overall, there is no pressure at the moment!
"Oh, by the way, I recently asked various companies to donate money. Has this been recorded in the accounts and has it had any impact on the company's operations?"

"It's all been recorded in the financial accounts. It has no impact on the company's finances. On the contrary, it has brought many benefits to the company's operations. This is the first time a company has donated money, and I heard that many companies in SH City have followed suit."

Chen Guangliang also raised funds, but his fundraising method was different from Du Yuesheng's.

Du Yuesheng had many ways to raise funds, including performing in theaters, issuing champagne lottery tickets at the racetrack, organizing fundraising in casinos, and persuading people to donate their gifts. These various fundraising activities have frequently made headlines in Shanghai recently.

It turned out that Du Yuesheng really wanted to break into the circle of Shanghai's industrial and commercial circles. After all, he was a gangster. Although the industrial and commercial circles gave him face, they must have looked down on him in their hearts.

In addition, the British consul once said that the Green Gang had already controlled the French Concession, which triggered a reaction in France - they decided to replace the senior management of the French Concession and send new people to govern, with the first priority being to crack down on the "gray industry" of Du Yuesheng and others.

Therefore, Du Yuesheng's use of power for disaster relief this time also had another meaning - that is, relying on this reputation, he was selected as a member of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.

But Chen Guangliang had a different idea about fundraising. He felt compassion for the "Disaster Relief Committee" because he saw that they were short of money.

Moreover, he does not solicit donations publicly!

So after the first donation of 10 oceans, he asked his companies to take out a total of 15 oceans, which were sent to the "Shanghai Chamber of Commerce Disaster Relief Committee" in the name of each company at the end of August. This was 8 oceans.

Afterwards, he let the management consider donations on their own, without considering donations from employees, and collected more than 5600 yuan. He also asked his family to raise 5000 yuan.

So far, Chen Guangliang has raised 26.06 yuan for the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce Disaster Relief Committee.

Although the shipping company also wants to donate, the funds will definitely be slower, and secondly, it will not be donated in his name!
Although this capital was less than Du Yuesheng's, at least the money was basically donated by Chen Guangliang himself (the company was also his), so in this way, he gave Du Yuesheng face without feeling guilty.

(End of this chapter)