A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chen Guangliang soon arrived at HSBC's Hong Kong headquarters. Since HSBC's headquarters building is being rebuilt this year (the third generation), HSBC is operating in a spare property on Queen's Road Central in Hong Kong.

Although Chen Guangliang is Chinese, he is a Chinese of status after all, so he does not have to enter through the back door of HSBC. He always makes an appointment in advance and walks in through the main entrance.

When he came to the office of Stephen, the boss of HSBC, he was also respected by the people there.

As soon as they met, Stephen said, "Mr. Chen, did you know that the United States has just announced its withdrawal from the gold standard?"

Since the last loan cooperation between the two, Chen Guangliang happened to be the general manager of China Merchants Group. When HSBC was about to collect the debt from China Merchants Group, Chen Guangliang immediately approached Citibank for cooperation and borrowed a sum of US dollars, part of which was used to repay the debt to HSBC.

Although HSBC made some small adjustments to the exchange rate, Chen Guangliang did not care.

Due to HSBC's pivotal position in Chinese finance during this era and its reliance on imperialist power, a unique phenomenon, typical of semi-feudal, semi-colonial societies, long developed: the exchange rates (the exchange rate between the Chinese currency and other currencies) at treaty ports nationwide were based on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which in turn was based on HSBC's quotes. Consequently, HSBC's offices were always crowded with people anxiously copying down the newly posted exchange rates.

Since HSBC controlled China's international exchange transactions and foreign exchange rates, it could exploit fluctuations in exchange rates to profit from them. For example, whenever it loaned money to the Chinese government, it deliberately inflated the exchange rate to reduce the amount of silver it paid. When collecting principal and interest, it deliberately depressed the exchange rate to increase the amount of silver it collected. Between 1921 and 1925, in just five years, HSBC used this method to illegally obtain over 189 million taels of silver.

Even more remarkable is that during the capitalist global economic crisis of 1929-1933, HSBC's profits not only did not decrease, but actually increased compared to previous years. During these five years, HSBC's average annual net profit reached 1668 million yuan, with its highest profit in 1930 reaching 2072 million yuan, exceeding its total capital.

HSBC has been making a lot of money along the way!
Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "I just learned the news."

Stephen said this because Chen Guangliang had a history of borrowing pounds and repaying them after they depreciated; and he also heard that under Chen Guangliang's leadership, Citibank lent another huge sum of US$400 million to China Merchants Group.

So he guessed that Chen Guangliang's prediction of this international situation was still very accurate.

Of course, that’s all!

Stephen smiled and said, "If there is no further devaluation, then China Merchants Group will have found a way to survive."

The United States' departure from the gold standard does not mean devaluation.

On April 4, the US dollar was separated from the gold standard, which only prevented countries from moving gold from the US Treasury. This means that now you can’t exchange my gold for US dollars.

Whether the current US dollar can maintain its current exchange rate depends on its future trends!

But what is certain is that according to the previous currency exchange rate trends in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, and Japan, there is a certain possibility that the US dollar will depreciate.

Chen Guangliang replied, "Even if the China Merchants Group survives, China's export trade will suffer a greater blow. So this matter cannot be said to be good or bad, and of course it has little to do with a small person like me."

Stephen said casually, "You're no small figure. You're the general manager of China Merchants Group. This title is already very important. By the way, what's the matter with you coming to see me this time? You know, you're a banker now!"

The implication is that if Chen Guangliang borrows money, it will not be as convenient as before.

Of course you can borrow, but you either need to mortgage a high-quality property or borrow from Ping An Bank, but without exception - the interest rate will be relatively high.

Chen Guangliang said, "Ping An Bank has a silver deposit that we would like to rent from HSBC's vault in Hong Kong for storage, so I hope to personally oversee the completion of this matter."

The 508 million taels of silver he deposited in Ping An Bank were not counted as interest for the Bank, but were simply considered as a rented vault for storage.

Stephen asked curiously, "How many are there?"

Chen Guangliang said: "500 million taels"

Stephen was surprised. This was obviously a huge number for a small Chinese bank.

However, he soon realized that this money might be Chen Guangliang's personal wealth.

“When do you plan to ship it to Hong Kong?”

"No, I want to deposit it into HSBC Bank Shanghai and withdraw it from HSBC Bank Hong Kong, and pay the handling fee."

Nonsense, I have told you the news to HSBC. If HSBC leaks this information, the safety of the silver in the sea will be uncertain.

Of course, these 500 million taels of silver were intended to be sold in the United States from 1934 to 1935 and exchanged for US dollars or US dollar assets.

So at that time, in order to maximize profits, they may use global shipping ships to transport them to the United States in batches.

Stephen said readily, "Okay, since Mr. Chen trusts us at HSBC, then that's naturally not a problem."

500 million taels of silver was nearly one-third of their annual profit, which was also a considerable amount.

"After returning to Shanghai, our Ping An Bank will hand over to HSBC."

"Well, I'll personally arrange for someone to be in charge for you."

"Thank you"

The strength of HSBC is something that Chen Guangliang needs to look up to, with bank deposits reaching 9 million oceans.

Later, when the United States aggressively purchased silver, HSBC was able to siphon off 1500 million taels of silver from the Shanghai Stock Exchange in a single day. Martial law was imposed along a kilometer of the Bund, with British imperialist police officers commanding heavily armed patrols for protection. Later, to avoid detection, the British operated at night, and, fearing the safety of ships, they used warships.

So for the safety of his own funds, Chen Guangliang decided to transfer 500 million taels of silver to HSBC in Hong Kong first.

Of course, this is also part of his assets, and it is also part of the assets he plans to deposit in the United States.

Chen Guangliang finally reached an agreement with the owners of 181-183 Queen's Road Central, and Ping An Bank acquired the three properties and the land (originally there were three old tenement buildings) for 27.2 taels of silver.

As a result, Ping An Bank plans to invest more than 100 million Hong Kong dollars in the construction of its Hong Kong headquarters building within two years.

Chen Guangliang's initial idea was to build a high-quality 10-story building. At the time, Hong Kong regulations limited residential buildings to six stories, but commercial buildings could be taller. For example, the HSBC Building, currently under construction, is 6 stories high.

If you invest in a building like this, assuming it was completed in 1935, you can use and rent it out for six or seven years; even if Japan occupied Hong Kong for four years, you can still get your assets back after its defeat.

Therefore, Chen Guangliang decided to use his affiliated companies as a breakthrough point and began to acquire a number of properties and land in Hong Kong.

On the fourth day of his arrival in Hong Kong, Chen Guangliang attended a dinner organized by Times Pictures.

When Times Pictures came to Hong Kong to develop, it was natural for them to greet people in the film industry and Hong Kong celebrities, so this dinner was held at the "Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotel" on Hong Kong Island.

This is a six-story hotel in a classical Chinese style. It is said that its former owners were the "Hung Gang" and "Republic of China Governor Zhao Lianbi". Later, under the influence of media opinion, the Hong Kong government listed the "Hung Gang" as a triad organization, so the hotel was handed over to the "Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Group" for management, that is, the Kadoorie family.

This is also the hotel where Chen Guangliang stayed this time.

Many celebrities from Hong Kong came to the Times Film Party. Jiang Meiying, who had not been seen for a few days, had regained her health and beauty and became Chen Guangliang's female companion that night.

"Sir Ho, nice to meet you!" Chen Guangliang stretched out his hand and greeted Ho Tung.

Ho Tung, the richest Chinese in Hong Kong, is the chairman of United Chinese Films and has also participated in the investment. His visit tonight is obviously to give face to Chen Guangliang.

Ho Tung said with full vigor: "If I had known earlier, I should have invested in Time Pictures. I also like the movies you have made!" Although he is of mixed blood, he has always considered himself Chinese. His eldest son was an aide-de-camp to Zhang Xueliang and also participated in the Great Wall War of Resistance this year.

Ho Tung invested in Lianhua Film Group, and Zhang Xueliang's wife also invested in Lianhua Film Group, but Lianhua Film Group has not been doing well in the past two years.

Chen Guangliang now said: "It's not too late to invest now. Our stock price has been quite reasonable recently. If you want to invest, we can issue new shares to you!"

Ho Tung also had businesses and luxury villas in Shanghai, so there was naturally no problem for him to invest in Shanghai stocks.

Today, the stock price of Times Pictures has fallen below 200 US dollars, which is more in line with the value of Times Pictures.

He Dong smiled and said, "Okay, I'll think about it later!"

Some interest, but not much.

However, he was very happy that Chen Guangliang could say so.

Afterwards, Chen Guangliang also had conversations with "theater tycoon" Lu Gen, Lianhua Film Group's Luo Mingyou and others.

Today, the Chinese film industry has formed a "four giants" model. Times Pictures is backed by the "Jiangsu and Zhejiang Financial Group", so it is naturally not something that can be suppressed by the original Star Movies. On the contrary, it has begun to take over the world with an aggressive look.

It is not surprising that they are now developing in Hong Kong. After all, the other three giants have already developed in Hong Kong, so it is reasonable for Times Pictures to join in the fun.

On the fifth day after arriving in Hong Kong, Chen Guangliang finally made time and asked Jiang Meiying to climb Victoria Peak together.

The two first took the Peak Tram, then climbed a distance on foot and reached the top of Victoria Peak.

Looking from the top of the mountain, you can see Central, Wan Chai, Tsim Sha Tsui and other places at a glance, but Hong Kong was far less developed than Shanghai at that time, so Chen Guangliang and Jiang Meiying had a "countryside" feeling.

Jiang Meiying held the railing with both hands, and the gentle breeze blew her hair, which was very poetic and picturesque; she was still dressed in cheongsam, with a draped shoulder, and her dress was fashionable and beautiful; her figure was protruding in front and back, and was extremely pleasing to the eye.

She suddenly opened her arms and said, "I've made up my mind. When I go back this time, I plan to follow my father's wishes and get married. After a few years in the entertainment industry, I realized I don't yearn for that kind of famous life."

This sounds reasonable at first glance, and Jiang Meiying also found what she wanted.

But Chen Guangliang was behind her and heard her voice trembling a little. Obviously, this was not the result she wanted most.

Chen Guangliang took two steps forward, then put his arms around Jiang Meiying's waist, just like Jack and Rose in Titanic.

"Meiying, if you choose to get married, you must be prepared to endure hardships for the rest of your life, or even die tragically in your later years!"

In the end, Chen Guangliang couldn't bear to see the beauty suffer so much, so he said something incomprehensible.

Jiang Meiying turned around, looked up and said, "Do you still want to lie to me?"

Chen Guangliang shook his head gently!
Jiang Meiying said, "Then why did you say that?"

Chen Guangliang hesitated to speak. It was rare for him to be so conflicted. In the end, he just said, "This is fate."

The two of them walked back down the mountain in a depressed mood, and then had dinner together at the Shanghai Hotel (Central).

Jiang Meiying was a little worried. She always felt that Chen Guangliang was a very magical person, and the light in his eyes did not seem to be a deception.

After dinner, Chen Guangliang said, "Let's go sit upstairs?"

Jiang Meiying did not refuse. After all, the man had not done anything wrong even in the cabin, so he would certainly not do anything wrong today.

When they arrived at the hotel suite, Chen Guangliang turned on the record and invited Jiang Meiying to dance in his suite.

"Meiying, how about being my woman?"

Jiang Meiying said firmly: "I don't want to be a concubine"

For women in the new era, who come from privileged and cultured families, becoming a concubine does mean giving up their own thoughts.

Chen Guangliang said: "Then don't be my concubine, be my lover!"

Jiang Meiying said angrily: "Bah, I have no name and no status, how am I going to live in the future?"

Chen Guangliang also became angry, and directly hugged Jiang Meiying in his arms, then began to get close to her and kiss her.

This is his second woman, and he doesn't want to give up this marriage after all.

Jiang Meiying was a little resistant at first, but soon relaxed. It was obvious that she also fell in love with Chen Guangliang.

"Do not"

When Chen Guangliang climbed to a high position, Jiang Meiying regained consciousness.

Unfortunately, at this time Chen Guangliang had already drawn the arrow and had to shoot.

Jiang Meiying's body gave him a strong impulse, and soon she was stripped naked by Chen Guangliang.

At this moment, who cares about tomorrow?

The next day, when she woke up, Jiang Meiying was lying obediently in Chen Guangliang's arms.

As a virgin, her face has an even more attractive charm. She is a natural beauty. No wonder she is voted as the "most beautiful woman" by Shanghai men.

Of course, this selection is only made among the exposed girls and women, and it is not really that exaggerated.

"You will have a headache in the future. Let's see how you will explain to the one at home?" Jiang Meiying said deliberately.

"Meiying, give me some time to arrange it. Anyway, I won't let you suffer any grievances." Chen Guangliang also said confidently at this time.

Jiang Meiying thought, isn't this enough of a grievance? Being a concubine is already a grievance, and being a concubine is a problem now. After all, let alone her, even the one in Chen Guangliang's family is unlikely to agree.

The reason why she was soft-hearted yesterday was, first, that she fell in love with Chen Guangliang, and second, that Chen Guangliang knew her future. Of course, the main reason was the first point.

At this time, Chen Guangliang also hated himself for being "too sentimental", which seemed to have caused a big trouble.

Marrying Jiang Meiying seems to be a bit difficult. First, Yan Renmei might find it difficult to agree. Second, Jiang Meiying is also a little resistant. Third, Chen Guangliang is also a little concerned about his image.

The only thing he wanted was to maintain a secret relationship with Jiang Meiying and later send Jiang Meiying and their children to the United States to develop.

To achieve this, Chen Guangliang could only constantly instill the "danger theory" into Jiang Meiying. (End of this chapter)