A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 256 Fame and fortune
In late August, Kailuan coal finally announced a price reduction, with the price ranging from 8 to 5.9 taels of silver per ton, and was dumped into the market together with Japanese coal.

Some media had already published news in advance, stating that Chen Guangliang, vice chairman of the Shanghai Coal Council, had taken the initiative to invite Kailuan coal to lower its price to compete with Japanese coal.

Afterwards, Chen Guangliang also made comments in the media, stating that this was just a helpless move. Japanese coal was dumped in the Shanghai market and was very popular in the Shanghai market. Domestic coal has no competitiveness for the time being. Instead of doing this, it would be better to persuade Kailuan coal to lower its price to help the rise of industry and commerce, and avoid the market being monopolized by Japan. At that time, the use of coal in the Shanghai market would be controlled. As for domestic coal, it still needs long-term planning and government support to have a real chance of rising.

This statement was quickly endorsed by people in the business community, and public opinion subsided.

In a Japanese-style restaurant.

Ichiro Tanaka, the director of the Japanese coal dumping in China, said angrily: "Baga, this Chen Guangliang has always been against our Great Japanese Empire. He's dead!"

Harada Shinji said: "This man is stubborn and will definitely be a serious threat to the Great Japanese Empire."

Because it was related to their own interests, the two were extremely angry.

Today is a banquet hosted by the Coal Council, where the Japanese Consul in Shanghai, Murai Kuramatsu, and others are invited to discuss the issue of coal dumping.

Compared to Tanaka Ichiro and Harada Shinji, Murai Kuramatsu said calmly, "This Chen Guangliang doesn't have that much ability to make Kailuan coal dump actively. He's just going with the flow. Let's not compete too much. Even if Chen Guangliang wasn't there, wouldn't Kailuan coal follow suit and dump? It's just a matter of time."

How to die?
He has bodyguards and power. If Japan does not want to start a new war for the time being, it will naturally not take the risk of assassination just for such a small matter.

There are many anti-Japanese businessmen in Shanghai, and Chen Guangliang is no exception.

Seeing that his plan had failed, Ichiro Tanaka said, "This Chen Guangliang is even more anti-Japanese than other Chinese businessmen. He has almost no cooperation with Japan. In addition, it is said that this time he notified the Chinese factory owners and the Commercial Press in advance, which greatly reduced our grand plan."

Murai Kuramatsu immediately said, "This is destiny! Okay, let's stop discussing this person. Chinese coal is now completely uncompetitive. We, the Great Japanese Empire, will definitely be able to successfully dump coal in southern China."

The people from the Coal Council could only stop discussing this matter in disappointment.

From Murai Kuramatsu's perspective, it was impossible for him to start a new wave of boycott of Japanese goods for such a small matter. Moreover, Chen Guangliang was also very influential in the concession and was surrounded by a tight security force.

For the Japan Coal Council, Kailuan Coal's immediate participation in dumping means that it is competing with them for the market. They may even be at a disadvantage due to the anti-Japanese influence.

Chen Guangliang was quite happy that he had successfully handled the coal issue; and Global Shipping got a good job, which was transporting coal, and it had another business.

As for the issue of domestic coal, he also hypocritically provided some suggestions in the newspaper, pointing out the disadvantages of domestic coal, etc., but they were all empty words.

In Chen Guangliang's true opinion, the only domestic coal that is competitive is Shanxi coal, but the prerequisite is that Shanxi must have a railway leading to the port; obviously, there is no such good transportation environment in this era.

Although the cost of mining coal in Shanxi is only 5 taels per ton, after being transported to the Shanghai market through various means, the cost soars to about 18 taels, making it impossible to compete.

On this day, my younger brother Chen Guangcong came back from Hong Kong and had to prepare for school.

The first thing he did upon returning was to report to Chen Guangliang: "Brother, the land and housing prices there are only about one-third of those in Shanghai. For example, the land in Mid-Levels you mentioned is around HK$15 per square foot, and the land in North Point is very cheap, only HK$ or HK$ per square foot."

The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the British pound, with 1 pound equal to 16 Hong Kong dollars.

And 1 pound is equal to 3.4 US dollars, which is about 20 oceans.

So the Hong Kong dollar is more valuable than the US dollar.

We can also do the math: 1 acre is 6000 square feet, so an acre of land in Mid-Levels, Hong Kong costs just over dollars.

Mid-Levels in Hong Kong is equivalent to the eastern section of Joffre Road, which costs at least two hundred thousand.

After listening to this, Chen Guangliang said, "Well, forget about these things for now. You should start studying right away. Only by studying more can you succeed."

"Ok"

Chen Guangcong always felt that his elder brother was preparing for a rainy day, but he was not in a hurry at all.

However, although he really wanted to help his elder brother, he was obviously not qualified because of his current education level of only 2nd and 3rd grade.

He had to wait until 1936 to finish high school.

In fact, in training Chen Guangcong, Chen Guangliang implemented the policy of studying and learning to do things at the same time; and not only did he require him to complete his studies at school normally, he also required him to learn English well (communication level) and recommended some extracurricular books to him.

Chen Guangliang naturally had channels to get feedback on his performance in Hong Kong this time, after all, Hong Kong's "Oriental Daily News" was also his man.

Overall it’s pretty good!
Chen Guangliang's evaluation is: down-to-earth and willing to learn.

That's enough, not everyone is a 'genius'.

On the last weekend of August, the Shangri-La Hotel finally welcomed the debut of the song "Rose Rose I Love You", sung by Gong Qiuxia, the foreign aid found by Li Jinhui.

The two parties have agreed that the song can be sold to Li Jinhui for secondary creation, but the singer can only perform the song at the Shangri-La Hotel in the first year. The song cannot be performed in other luxury hotels and dance halls. It can be performed in other occasions.

In fact, the original purpose was to "increase fans" and "enhance the reputation" of the Shangri-La Hotel, and some restrictions were only symbolic.

Today, the Shangri-La Hotel has many guests as usual, including foreigners and Chinese, but they are obviously all rich people.

Many people felt a little strange when they saw a Chinese woman wearing a cheongsam on stage.

Gong Qiuxia tried to calm herself down and said, "Hello everyone, I will sing a new song for you. I hope you like it!"

At this time, Li Jinhui in the audience was also a little nervous. He liked this song very much beforehand. Although it was not composed by himself, Manager Gao Zhichao of the Shangri-La Hotel said that he could sell it to him for secondary creation.

He agreed without hesitation, after all, he also needed a lot of fame.

the other side.

Chen Guangliang and Yan Renmei invited seven beauties from Chinese and Western girls' schools, as well as Yan Renyun, to attend the dance today. Suddenly, she was surrounded by nine beauties.

There's no way, he has few friends of his own age.

And he usually won't sit for too long. He will leave after entertaining the girl for a while, leaving her to play by herself.

Kong Lingyi asked curiously, "Brother-in-law, is this the change you mentioned?"

Chen Guangliang said with a smile: "Everyone wait and see"

The implication is that this has changed.

As Gong Qiuxia signaled to the band behind, a jazz band formed by Americans began to play. "The rose is the most beautiful, the rose is the most gorgeous, blooming on the branches in the long summer."

In this era, the emergence of such music is simply a king bomb!
This song was later adapted by Americans and became popular in the United States.

Soon all the guests were immersed in the music, and the dancers on the stage felt honored and happy.

Kong Lingyi glanced at Yan Renmei out of the corner of her eye, and saw that her good friend seemed to be able to sing and was whispering along. She suddenly became thoughtful - her cheap 'brother-in-law' had written poems before, so could this song also be written by him? Otherwise, why would Renmei sing it?

For a girl who loves art and literature, especially since her cheap brother-in-law is handsome and charming, he is simply her dream lover.

If he wasn't Renmei's husband, she would have thought of snatching him away.

"Thank you, did you all like it?"

"like"

"Miss Gong, can we do it again?"

"Again"

The audience's enthusiasm was ignited at this time and they all asked for another song.

Undoubtedly, it was a success!

Today customers can buy the record, of course it is a very expensive signed record.

The Shangri-La Hotel also benefited from this, as Gong Qiuxia would come to perform there for a long time, except in special circumstances.

Afterwards, Chen Guangliang said with a smile, "Ladies, please come visit us more often in the future. We will also be opening afternoon tea on the fourth floor."

The Shangri-La Hotel has a wide range of facilities, including a library and a gym. You won't get bored even if you spend a whole day there. Now, playing a song is just another advertisement.

Of course, this advertisement is definitely invincible!
"Afternoon tea?" the girls asked with great interest.

"A custom originating from the British aristocracy, afternoon tea involves enjoying coffee or tea, some Western-style desserts and bread, and spending the day with one or more close friends or lovers. Instead of being busy running around and studying, you can pause and reflect. This is the new afternoon tea!"

When the girls heard this, they all expressed their desire to come and experience it, but of course they could only come on weekends.

Afterwards, Chen Guangliang approached Li Jinhui and asked, "Mr. Li, are you interested in forming an all-Chinese jazz band? We can provide the stage here."

Although we collaborate with an American jazz band, it only happens two or three days a week.

If there is an all-Chinese jazz band, it can serve as a gimmick and fill some of the blank time.

Upon hearing this, Li Jinhui immediately said, "I'm very interested. Mr. Chen is so supportive. I must definitely form this all-Chinese jazz band."

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "Haha, Mr. Li is going to gain both fame and fortune this time!"

Looking at Chen Guangliang's back, Li Jinhui felt ashamed. Maybe the song was written by someone else, but he just didn't want to give the song a name.

However, he quickly got rid of this shame. After all, he had created the song again (the original lyrics and music might not be complete), and he had also paid for it. Although the money was nothing to the Shangri-La Hotel, this song would also bring good advertising effect to the Shangri-La Hotel.

Of course, Li Jinhui's income can come from record sales. As for Gong Qiuxia, she has already received a salary and can still perform on other occasions.

On the eve of school starting, Chen Guangliang asked his family of four to come to the lawn of the villa to take a family photo.

There were four benches, with Yang Hui and Yan Renmei sitting in the middle, and brothers Chen Guangliang and Chen Guangcong sitting on both sides.

Such photos are taken once a year because Chen Guangliang is a man who attaches great importance to "inheritance" and "life"; including his company, from the beginning of its opening, whenever there is a major event, he will take photos to commemorate it.

Of course, there is a plan on how to preserve it.

After taking the photo, Yang Hui smiled and said, "We have five children this year, and there's a little one in my belly!"

She had always been worried about her eldest son's offspring, after all, the family business was so huge, and now she could finally put her mind at ease.

Chen Guangliang took Yan Renmei's hand and said, "It's all calculated. I've always known it. Don't worry about it. Just move around more."

Yang Hui immediately said, "How can we not worry? You young people also need us to remind you. For example, Renmei is still studying. Will it affect the baby in her belly?"

Yan Renmei did not answer this question and left everything to her husband.

Chen Guangliang also said with his own opinion: "Don't worry, I understand science. Renmei can go to school until the end of October. I will hire a tutor then. Having a child should not affect her studies. We should have the best of both worlds easily."

He had already donated 5 yuan to the Zhongxi Girls' School to establish a good relationship, not to mention that the Zhongxi Girls' School itself also accepted married women as students.

In this way, all aspects will be easier to handle. Yan Renmei will only have to rest at home until the second half of next year, and will eventually complete her studies at Zhongxi Girls' Middle School.

Speaking of which, the legal age for marriage for men and women in the Republic of China was 18 and 16 respectively, and Chen Guangliang was a person who fully respected the law.

When Yang Hui heard this, she immediately realized that it was not her place to make the decision on this matter, although she really wanted to say - why bother reading, you are about to have a baby, so you have to read the book!
But she was not stupid. First, the eldest son had always been the head of the family, and his authority could not be challenged. Second, the eldest son attached great importance to education, and he would let his younger brothers, cousins, and younger cousins ​​go to school.

Yang Hui also understood that although her son only attended a private school for three years, he later learned everything by himself. His successful career was largely due to his education.

night.

Yan Renmei said seriously: "Brother Liang, studying is not that important to me now. After all, I feel that following you is learning."

Chen Guangliang knew she was worried about the relationship between her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, so he immediately said, "You can't think it's unimportant. I feel this is my promise, so I must fulfill it. What's more, decades from now, when people talk about famous alumni of Zhongxi Girls' High School, it can't just be the three Song sisters and Zhang Leyi. Yan Renmei must also be included. I want to be open and aboveboard."

Yan Renmei immediately fell into Chen Guangliang's arms and said with emotion: "Brother Liang, you are so kind!"

Of course she knew that Chen Guangliang had already established connections at the Zhongxi Girls' School, and she could graduate successfully as long as she went through the motions.

But she won't do that!
Up to now, she is still the top student in the class. In the future, she will continue to study hard and graduate with honor.

When the time comes, take your children with you to take photos.

(End of this chapter)