A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 231 Foreigners Seek Peace
Jardine Matheson and Swire finally couldn't hold back any longer and invited Global Shipping to negotiate together, because they finally understood one thing - Chen Guangliang had strong financial strength and was now using "disaster relief" to expand his business.

Not only that, such "anti-Japanese sentiment" was unprecedented, and other major powers were also affected.

If this continues, Global Shipping's advantages on the two routes from Shanghai to Qingdao and Tianjin, and from Shanghai to Xiamen, Shantou, Hong Kong and Guangzhou will be too obvious.

Based on this, Jardine Matheson and Swire had to put down their "noble heads" and take the initiative to negotiate.

During the tripartite negotiations, Jardines's Markus Du Barry, Swire's Jardine Matheson, and Universal's Anthony Chan led the negotiations in the executive conference room of the Shangri-La Hotel.

Du Baili was still a little embarrassed, so Shi Yueke took the lead in the negotiations.

Shi Yueke began by asking tentatively, "Mr. Chen, you're donating the shipping costs. Not only are you not making any money, you're actually losing money. Running a business like this is unacceptable!"

Chen Guangliang's expression was grave. He said, "Everyone, I'm not competing for this route. My country is suffering a devastating disaster, and even if it means losing everything, I can't sit idly by. Just like during the European War, when you foreigners chose to return home to support your country, each of us has a sense of national identity."

The group of foreigners were suddenly speechless.

Shi Yueke could only take the initiative and say, "Mr. Chen, our negotiation this time is about ending unfair and malicious competition. The first is about restoring shipping rates, and the second is about you stopping using the excuse of 'disaster relief' to provoke unfair competition from Huayang Shipping."

At this time, you are talking about fairness!

It's unfair that the Chinese have always been at a disadvantage. Now we have finally made a comeback, but it's only been a month and a half and you're already jumping out.

Chen Guangliang bluntly stated, "Everything was initiated by you, Jardine Matheson and Swire, and has nothing to do with us. Furthermore, although our country is still poor and weak, the thinking of our people has risen, and our country will rise sooner or later. Therefore, your idea of ​​suppressing our shipping industry will no longer be possible."

This shocked all the foreigners - have the people of this country really risen in thought?

Shi Yueke quickly lowered his composure and said calmly, "In any case, we are willing to discuss with Mr. Chen the reasonable competition between the two routes from Shanghai to Qingdao and Tianjin, and from Shanghai to Xiamen, Shantou, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou, and make concessions."

The word "concession" is well said, and all the Chinese senior executives involved in the negotiations showed proud expressions.

They sailed around the world and defeated the imperialist fleets.

pride!

On these two routes, first, Global Shipping resisted the price cuts of Jardine Matheson and Swire and followed suit immediately; secondly, it took advantage of the unprecedented public opinion of this "disaster relief" and donated all the freight in the name of customers.

Once these two measures were implemented, the situation was immediately reversed and advantages in global shipping were created.

Jardine Matheson and Swire are scared!

Next, Chen Guangliang asked, "How to give in?"

This word made Du Baili very unhappy, and he immediately said, "It's not about giving in, but about both sides returning to the situation at the beginning. Your freight rate must be the same as ours. In addition, stop using the publicity of disaster relief to gain business from merchants."

Chen Guangliang immediately said, "I disagree! First, our Chinese-owned shipping companies have always been 10-20% cheaper than your foreign-owned shipping companies. This is what is truly fair. Second, my country is suffering from a disaster. As Chinese people, it is only natural for us to make our own contributions to our country and our people."

“This is sophistry.”

Du Baili just said a few words and then stopped talking.

Instead, Shiyoke continued, “We will adjust our freight rates to the level before the price cuts, and we also hope that the prices for global shipping will return to the level before the price cuts.”

At the beginning, Global Shipping's prices were 10% lower than those of Jardine Matheson and Swire.

Because without this 10%, it would be difficult for merchants to choose global shipping. After all, foreign shipping companies have better conditions.

Only when the price is 10% lower can we qualify as "starting from the same starting line", which requires us to acknowledge the maturity of foreigners in business.

Chen Guangliang also said at the right time: "When does it start?"

Shi Yueke was delighted that the Chinese man had finally softened his stance, so he said, "How about officially starting in November?"

Chen Guangliang said: "I think it's reasonable to restore prices starting in December, which is exactly three months of activities."

If the time is too short, it will be disadvantageous to them because some customers may vent their anger on Global Shipping.

Shi Yueke and Du Baili exchanged a glance and agreed, "Okay, the original price will be restored in December. The specific price will be based on... If you have no objection, everyone will follow the above."

Then he took out a paper document.

But it is obvious that the above price needs to be renegotiated before both parties reach an agreement.

After reaching an agreement on this point, Shi Yueke immediately added, "At the same time, Mr. Chen should stop using the 'disaster relief' propaganda to incite merchants to boycott our Jardine Matheson and Swire fleets."

Chen Guangliang corrected himself, saying, "First, I didn't exploit public opinion; I was genuinely providing disaster relief. Second, we didn't instigate merchants to boycott Jardine Matheson and Swire. I'm a very open-minded businessman. I believe that fair competition, whether between foreign or Chinese capital, is conducive to social progress."

Who believes it!

When it comes to manipulating public opinion, everyone knows how powerful Chen Guangliang is.

Shi Yueke said directly: "Then you must cancel this matter immediately!"

Chen Guangliang refused, saying, "No, our people are starving. Every extra donation means a little more hope for production. The most I can agree to is to start in December, and then we'll end this activity."

In the past three months, a lot of donations have been received, and Global Shipping has completely established its foothold on the route in these two days.

Seeing that Chen Guangliang insisted, Shi Yueke and Du Baili also agreed - the more Chen Guangliang insisted, the more convinced they were of Chen Guangliang's strength, and the more they would compromise.

In the end, after some bargaining, they only formulated the "regulations" for these two routes, and normal competition was about to begin.

After the meeting, Shi Yueke privately approached Chen Guangliang and offered him an enticing proposition: "Mr. Chen, do you want to start a sugar business? Our Jardine Matheson & Co. will ship sugar from Hong Kong to the Shanghai docks, and you can sell it there?"

It's about smuggling.

Since the Nanjing government implemented the tariff plan, the price of white sugar in Hong Kong is 140 yuan, while the price of white sugar in the mainland is as high as 280 yuan. The huge profits here have led many people to take risks.

However, Chen Guangliang is not among them, and what if Shi Yueke set a trap for himself?
You know, tariffs are very important to the country now. If anyone dares to violate tariffs, it would be strange if Song Zaiwen doesn't deal with him.

After all, Chen Jitang was a warlord and was not afraid of large-scale smuggling; some other businessmen who smuggled were taking risks themselves.

“Sorry, I don’t have any sales channels.”

Shi Yueke stopped talking and said no more. He was just giving it a try.

"it is good"

In the conference room of Global Shipping, Wu Hao, who is in charge of Guangzhou Bay, also rushed back to attend the meeting.

Wu Hao reported, "Earlier this month, two ships from Guangdong Province set sail for Southeast Asia to transport sugarcane. They can transport an average of 15000 tons of sugarcane per month (one ship makes one and a half trips), at a freight rate of eight taels per ton. Conservatively, we can make a profit of around 8 to 6 yuan per month."

This is a profitable business. If it runs for 6 months, you can make a profit of about 40 yuan.

Compared to normal operations, we can earn more in a year. For fixed routes, it is not even certain that we can make money. It depends on the business and market conditions.

But such a good thing is not easy to come across.

Chen Guangliang asked, "Are there any other fleets in Guangdong Province that can take this?"

Wu Hao said, "Yes. But it is said that the First Sugar Refinery has already started producing white sugar, but the sugarcane hasn't been shipped yet. I'm afraid they are smuggling it from Hong Kong."

My goodness, the machinery may not have been debugged yet, the sugarcane has not been delivered yet, and the chimney has not yet smoked, but the First Sugar Refinery has already started producing white sugar. Damn it!
Of course, this has nothing to do with Chen Guangliang, and he was not involved in it.

If only 15000 tons of sugarcane are purchased from Southeast Asia in a month, it is actually only enough for 15 days of operation, and the remaining 15 days of operation will be stopped.

Therefore, Guangdong Province will definitely ask local shipping companies for transportation.

I should have known not to sell that 6000-ton ship, otherwise I could have earned more freight.

Of course, maybe people won’t give that much share.

It was estimated that by the end of 1932, the sugarcane in Guangdong Province could supply some sugar factories; by the end of 1933, it could basically supply % to % of the sugar factories.

After all, a piece of sugarcane can produce 2 to 3 buds, and a piece of sugarcane has many nodules. Guangdong Province can import thousands of tons of sugarcane for seedlings at one time.

"Well, this year we will undertake the sugarcane transportation for the First Sugar Refinery, which will help us accumulate sufficient financial strength. Next year, we will officially open the third and fourth routes."

"Ok"

The third and fourth routes were also in operation for more than a month. Actually, they felt pretty good at the time, as these two routes had a lot of business.

Of course, since it is possible to transport sugarcane, it is naturally given priority. After all, this is more profitable and there is no need to worry about business.

Last month, Chen Guangliang also bid for the shipment of wheat and flour from the United States, submitting a bid. If he wins, he will deploy six ships to carry the goods.

This is ocean shipping, and the accumulated experience, performance, and reputation are all difficult to estimate.

Of course, the American fleet won the bid in the end.

Because under similar price conditions, the American fleet will be given priority in transportation, which is one of the conditions negotiated between Nanjing and the United States.

However, global shipping and fleets from other countries all set their eyes on this piece of fat meat, and as a result, they reduced the freight cost of 1000 million oceans budgeted by Southern Whale to 600 million, saving 400 million.

It is equivalent to 45 tons of wheat and free of charge, and the freight is 600 million oceans. There is a feature here - wheat and flour are in bags, especially flour, which is easier to transport than other goods - convenient loading and unloading, short port stay time, and large maximum load capacity.

Therefore, the freight cost is only 14 oceans per ton, or 3.5 US dollars per ton, which is quite cheap.

You should know that the normal transoceanic freight is 8 to 10 US dollars per ton, which is relatively reasonable.

The United States is also trying to solve the unemployment problem and will take orders whenever it can; of course, there is competition among shipping companies from various countries.

"Route 1, Route 2, what's the problem?"

Zhao Tieyi immediately replied, "Business on these two routes is already on track. We're also doing our best to build strong relationships with our customers, establishing a network of contacts at each branch, and assigning dedicated personnel for liaison. I believe that even after freight rates recover and the donation ends in December, our business will be on par with Jardine Matheson and Swire."

The faces of the management were filled with pride.

In this battle, they not only defeated the arrogant Jardine Matheson and Swire, but also established their own foothold.

To be honest, none of them thought of using the "donation in the name of merchants" approach to win over customers.

The honor will not disappear, so these customers will continue to choose to cooperate.

Of course, global shipping’s own conditions are also good - punctuality, quality assurance, service, etc.

Chen Guangliang concluded by saying, "Okay, the overall development is good, but we must not forget that all this has not come easily, so everyone must do everything well."

"Yes, boss"

After the meeting, Chen Guangliang also thought about one thing - he planned to temporarily fly the flag of Warren & Co. on the remaining four ships of Global Shipping starting in 1932 to avoid becoming a target in the "January " Incident.

Well, we have to do this well to avoid unnecessary losses.

The pound sterling depreciated again, from 1 pound to 3.8 US dollars to 1 pound to 3.4 US dollars. In just ten days, the drop was 31%.

Since Chen Guangliang had two pound sterling loans totaling 35 pounds, he could immediately pay back 10.5 pounds, making a profit of 200 million yuan. (This assumes that Chen Guangliang had already converted the money into gold.)

At the same time, the gold price also climbed to 68 (gold-silver exchange rate), and Chen Guangliang's wealth continued to appreciate.

Chen Guangliang has reason to believe that the gold price will continue to rise rapidly next year (1932), and may reach a peak of 80 (gold-silver exchange ratio) in the first half of the year.

There is still room for the gold standard to rise, and in fact the US dollar has also risen. The exchange rate of the US dollar to silver may reach 20 US dollars to 100 taels of silver (originally 24.5 US dollars to 100 US dollars).

Chen Guangliang came to the head office of Changjiang Taxi.

Due to the particularity of the industry, the headquarters of Changjiang Taxi is still on Fuzhou Road and has not been moved to the Newspaper Building.

"Boss, the truck team's business is good. We have already recovered 30% of the fares in the past six months!" Liang Mengqi reported with admiration.

When the boss wanted to set up a transport team, he had not yet realized the profits involved, but only saw the complexity of the situation.

Today, this fleet of twenty trucks has become a good branch business of Changjiang Taxi; and those external factors have also been settled by the boss, and their truck fleet has not encountered any major trouble in Shanghai and its surrounding areas.

After hearing this, Chen Guangliang simply said, "Oh, by the way, I want to sell a few dozen of my taxi fleet. How much do you think is appropriate?"

At present, Changjiang Taxi has 270 vehicles, 22 branches, and 50 taxi-hailing outlets, and its business ranks first in the industry.

As for the profit, it is not high for Chen Guangliang, who often makes quick money.

Liang Mengqi said tentatively, "Ever since 918, wealthy people from all over the country have flocked to Shanghai, and business will continue to increase. Isn't it inappropriate to sell the car now?"

The analysis was reasonable, but Chen Guangliang was considering that business would be greatly reduced after the January 28 Incident.

Chen Guangliang simply said, "Analyze the current situation and see how many cars are suitable for sale?"

Liang Mengqi said: "At most fifty."

Chen Guangliang immediately asked, "How much can one be sold for?"

Liang Mengqi said: "They are all new cars, 9000 yuan is no problem."

Nowadays, new cars basically cost more than 11000 (because the US dollar continues to rise), and many of their cars are only used for a year.

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "Then come up with a specific plan. By the end of this year, we need to continuously optimize the fleet, especially maximizing management and scheduling. We should reduce the number of vehicles, but we shouldn't compromise service levels. Also, don't expect business growth next year; I can tell you that's unlikely. Therefore, appropriate adjustments to the plan will be more beneficial to the company's development."

"Okay, I understand!"

Today, the 40000 telephone number has become deeply rooted in people's hearts - and coupled with the fact that it is a time of national unity, their business has firmly established itself as the number one in the industry.

Reducing 50 vehicles at this time will recover funds and will be enough to cope with the economic depression in Shanghai next year (Zhabei and Hongkou will be bombed), and the taxi business will also be greatly affected.

Therefore, having 220 taxis to survive the 'cold winter' can not only ensure the normal operation of the market, but also reduce significant losses.

As for the 20 profitable trucks, Chen Guangliang will keep 5 of them and donate the remaining 15 trucks loaded with goods to the th Route Army. This is his patriotic act.

Since he knew the January 28 Incident was inevitable, he would have made numerous arrangements, not only to reduce losses for his own business, but also for the country and the nation. While the general trend cannot be altered, the minor trends can be modified.

(End of this chapter)