A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Two days later, the news that Chen Guangliang had resigned as general manager of China Merchants Group had spread widely in the Shanghai stock market.

Many people would comment on the company's decision to "retire at the peak of its career". Today, China Merchants Steam Navigation Company has a very low debt and its business is developing well. It is the most important enterprise of the National Government besides the "three major banks".

A year and a half ago, China Merchants Group was in debt of more than 1700 million yuan. Coupled with poor management, the annual interest expenses alone were enough to put China Merchants Group on the verge of bankruptcy.

Today, China Merchants Group has a debt of less than 500 million taels and an annual profit of more than 300 million taels, making it an absolute super enterprise.

"I heard that Mr. Chen Guangliang didn't ask for a single cent of salary during his one and a half years at China Merchants, and he was even forced to stop his own business to manage China Merchants' business."

"That's right. I also heard that Chen Guangliang not only sold off his real estate business but also reduced his business scope in order to manage China Merchants Group."

"No wonder Mr. Chen wanted to retire at such a young age. If he had continued as the general manager of China Merchants Group, he wouldn't have made any money!"

"It's a good thing. When the Nanjing government took over the China Merchants Group, they only used less than a third of the funds, which seemed to be only 300 million yuan, to exchange all the shares for official capital (although the assets at the time were 3300 million, the liabilities were also over 1700 million, so the net assets were probably over 1500 million)."

"Now it's great! China Merchants Group's annual profit is enough to cover our costs!"

at the same time.

What surprised Chen Guangliang was that Kong Xiangxi did not appoint an official from the government system to serve as the general manager of China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, but instead lobbied Liu Hongsheng to succeed him as the general manager.

This move is quite clever. If officials from the government system were to replace him immediately, it would be unknown whether some of Chen Guangliang's measures could continue to be implemented.

After all, Liu Hongsheng is also an industrialist and is better able to implement the strategies formulated during Chen Guangliang's period. Moreover, he was invited by Chen Guangliang to serve as a director as early as a year and a half ago.

But it is conceivable that Liu Hongsheng was also forced to serve as the general manager of China Merchants Group. After all, everyone understands that this position is a loss-making position that gains publicity. He cannot take care of his own business and works for the country for free.

Time flies, and three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Mid-January 1934.

The United States Silver Purchase Act was passed, the main content of which was to authorize the U.S. Treasury to purchase silver in domestic and foreign markets until the price of silver reached US$1.29 per ounce or the value of silver reserves in the Treasury reached 1/3 of the gold reserves. During the purchase process, the Treasury had broad discretion.

In the past year, the rise in world silver prices was also influenced by the United States.

But the US silver group (seven states, holding one-seventh of the voting rights) is obviously not satisfied and wants to further push up the price of world silver.

Before this, silver in the United States was about $0.64 per ounce, silver in London was $0.55 per ounce, and silver in Shanghai was only $0.48 per ounce (about $0.52 per tael).

Originally, the price difference between silver in the New York and Shanghai markets was more than 20%; but after all, the United States only purchased domestically produced silver, so it did not cause silver from various countries to flow into the United States.

Now, the U.S. Treasury can directly purchase silver from abroad and raise the price, which will undoubtedly cause global silver to flow into the United States soon.

Ping An Bank Building.

Chen Guangliang's mood fluctuated as he read the news in Oriental Daily.

Although this is not a good thing for China, Chen Guangliang feels that it is an opportunity for his career since he cannot change anything.

After a while, he arrived at the conference room of Ping An Bank. All the management were present, including the manager and assistant manager of the Hong Kong branch.

Currently, Ping An Bank has branches in eight cities, four of which are key cities (Shanghai, Hong Kong, Wuhan, and Guangzhou), and will then gradually implement a "dual headquarters" strategy - Shanghai and Hong Kong.

"Have you seen this news? Do you have any thoughts?"

More than a dozen senior executives looked at the newspaper and fell into deep thought.

Xia Gaoxiang began by saying, "According to this scenario, the price of silver in the United States could reach over $0.7 per ounce, which is almost 40% higher than the price in Shanghai. Those foreign banks will definitely melt the silver dollars in Shanghai into silver and then ship it to New York to sell. In other words, the Shanghai market will be in a cash shortage."

In fact, many people had anticipated this decree when it came out, but either it has become a reality or they have not thought about it long enough.

Ye Ximing then said: "Currently, Ping An Bank's loans are 885 million yuan and its deposits are 2560 million yuan. The loan-to-deposit ratio is very low, and our bank will not fall into a cash shortage."

In the past six months, Ping An Bank has been reducing its loan ratio. Although this will result in extremely low profits, it is better than encountering a crisis.

Next, Chen Guangliang spoke, "Crisis often brings opportunities. Therefore, Ping An Bank is currently maintaining a 'defensive' position. Everyone should do a good job in all aspects. Once an opportunity arises, we can take the initiative and invest in cheap assets."

"Yes, boss"

Everyone was very excited. After all, everyone already understood some of the boss's ideas!

For example, Sun Chunsheng mortgaged 180 villas on Xiafei Road to Ping An Bank. Once he went bankrupt, Ping An Bank would use a loan of million to buy back his villas, which was % cheaper.

Of course, this deal might not be a good one, and it's not impossible for some properties in the concession to drop in value by half. If Chen Guangliang hadn't taken the opportunity to cash out, Ping An Bank wouldn't have taken the job.

In the evening, Chen Guangliang returned to his home on Weihai Road, and Yan Renmei took her one-year-old son to the door to greet him.

The couple's relationship has long returned to normal, and they have not had any conflicts in the past six months.

"Brother Liang"

"dad"

When Chen Guangliang heard such a voice, he naturally felt the warmth of home. He first kissed Yan Renmei on the cheek, and then picked up his eldest son.

"There hasn't been much work at the company lately, so I'm relatively relaxed. So I went home early. I'm a homebody!"

Yan Renmei, dressed in the uniform of Zhongxi Girls' School, smiled and said, "We took graduation photos today, and I got my graduation certificate from Zhongxi Girls' School. Thank you, Brother Liang!"

Without this man's understanding and support, Yan Renmei felt that she would not be able to graduate successfully.

Chen Guangliang said, "That's fast. By the way, after graduation, are Kong Lingyi, Zhang Hanfen and the others planning to study abroad?"

Yan Renmei has already decided not to continue her studies at university. After all, she has to have children and join the family business, and she is simply too busy to handle it all.

"No one is going abroad, not even Lingyi. She wants to go to Hujiang University!"

After saying this, an expression of envy appeared on her face.

Chen Guangliang immediately reassured him, "Society is also a university. Hujiang University also has business programs, but you may not learn as much as you would by joining a family business."

He still knew what his wife was thinking deep down.

Yan Renmei nodded and said, "I know how to choose."

Originally, if she had insisted on going to college, Chen Guangliang would have agreed, as he was an open-minded young man. Although having a second child and the family business were both necessary, Chen Guangliang would still choose to respect Yan Renmei.

The dinner table.

Chen Guangcong also said: "Brother, my school affairs are also finished, and I will go to Hong Kong to work for Global Shipping immediately."

Upon hearing this, Chen Guangliang immediately said, "Okay, I have important business activities to attend there this summer, so I'll go too. You can go ahead. As for the wedding, someone in Shanghai will arrange it. You can just come back and get married, and then take Xiuying with you to Hong Kong."

"Okay." This summer, Chen Guangliang is going to transport silver to the United States. This is a very important matter.

Chen Guangcong is already 20 years old this year. Although he cannot say how capable he is, he has been working part-time in the family business for many years and has some social experience.

More importantly, he can represent Chen Guangliang and play a certain role.

After dinner, Chen Guangliang interacted with his son for a while and then went upstairs.

After a while, Yan Renmei walked in wearing a school uniform skirt. It was obvious that she had a show tonight.

Chen Guangliang was sitting on the sofa, reading a book.

Yan Renmei quickly came to the sofa with two glasses of champagne.

"Okay, I know you love to study, but now I have something to ask you!"

She took Chen Guangliang's book away and handed him champagne.

Chen Guangliang took the champagne and said, "What do you want to interrogate me about?"

Yan Renmei said coquettishly, "How dare I interrogate you? You have a woman outside who is about to give birth!"

Jiang Meiying has been pregnant for more than seven months, which seems normal to her and she is not completely unsociable.

Chen Guangliang didn't dare to say anything. After all, he had always been weaker than Yan Renmei in this regard, and he was afraid that she would pursue the matter further.

Yan Renmei said seriously, "Let me ask you, what are you doing in Hong Kong this time? Do you have any important business activities?"

Chen Guangliang replied, "With the passage of the Silver Act in the United States, silver prices in New York are expected to rise to $0.7 per ounce, about 40% higher than in the Shanghai Stock Exchange. I already have 900 million taels of silver stored in a Hong Kong vault, so I plan to ship this silver to the United States to sell, and then use it to obtain US dollars, which I will deposit in US banks and purchase US dollar assets."

Yan Renmei was surprised. Her husband could really predict everything. However, she continued seriously, "You are not planning to give this money to Jiang Meiying, are you?"

There are some things that she doesn't want to fight for, but she has to fight for.

She is Chen Guangliang's legally married wife, and she is also the mother of Chen's eldest son. But what is Jiang Meiying?
Without her consent, Jiang Meiying couldn't even enter the door.

The reason she asked this was because Chen Guangliang once said that he would arrange for Jiang Meiying to go to the United States.

Chen Guangliang immediately said, "Of course not. This is our family's heritage and trump card. If Japan were to launch a full-scale invasion of China and ignite a world war, then Hong Kong wouldn't be completely safe, and neither would western China. Only the United States, far away from Asia and Europe, would be the safest place. That's why I arranged for funds to go to the United States."

Yan Renmei then said: "Oh"

In the end, she just said "Oh" and was no longer enthusiastic about Chen Guangliang.

Chen Guangliang had no choice but to push Yan Renmei onto the sofa. He leaned in close and said, "Don't let your imagination run wild. You will always be the woman I love most and the wife I married with formal marriage."

Yan Renmei said with a relaxed expression, "It's not that I'm imagining things, it's that you guys quietly had another child, which makes me feel a little uncomfortable. Brother Liang, if you weren't my husband, I would never accept that my husband had someone else outside. But because I met you, I can only give in step by step, but I hope you will respect me as your legitimate wife. From now on, you are not allowed to hide anything from me."

"Okay, I'll be honest with you!"

"Hateful, no fun"

“Not on the couch”

After a busy night, I finally managed to communicate smoothly with Yan Renmei and the problem was resolved.

A few days later, Chen Guangliang entertained Jiang Meiying's family in a private room at the Shangri-La Hotel.

Jiang Meiying obediently took Chen Guangliang's arm, which not only expressed her determination to follow Chen Guangliang, but also avoided a conflict between her father and Chen Guangliang.

Jiang Zhenhua walked into the box with his wife, eldest son, daughter-in-law and other family members with a bad look on his face. He felt a little ashamed of his daughter, who was following someone else without any status and was already seven months pregnant.

After all, he is a master of science from the United States and has received a Western education. He is very disappointed with his daughter's choice.

If he didn't feel sorry for his daughter, or if Chen Guangliang's identity had something to do with it, he would have severed the father-daughter relationship long ago.

"Uncle, Aunt, since it's already happened and you love your daughter so much, why don't you respect Meiying's choice? Of course, I won't let Meiying down!"

Jiang Zhenhua continued coldly, "Mr. Chen, how can you say you don't disappoint Meiying's choice? She has no status with you, and of course our family doesn't like the status of a concubine."

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "Life is short and time is long. There will be proof in the future. And right now, Meiying will feel very happy. Besides, you will need me soon!"

Jiang Zhenhua was stunned for a moment, then sat down, and the whole family took their seats.

Jiang Meiying's elder brother and sister-in-law were looking at Chen Guangliang curiously at this time. After all, this man was well-known in Shanghai and his influence was second only to Du Yuesheng.

Du Yuesheng of the Green Gang, Chen Guangliang of the business community, and Shi Liangcai of the newspaper industry are the three most powerful figures in Shanghai.

"Don't bother with me. My business may be small, but I don't need to hire a great god like you."

In fact, although Jiang Zhenhua had received Western higher education, he was essentially a Confucian scholar, and it was not that difficult for him to accept his daughter becoming a concubine; what he really could not accept was that his daughter could not even enter the Chen family.

Chen Guangliang poured Jiang Zhenhua a cup of tea and then said, "My uncle is in the cotton mill business. Do you know that a terrible financial crisis has swept the Shanghai market? Your cotton mill may not be able to survive this crisis!"

Jiang Zhenhua blurted out: "Please teach me"

Only then did he realize that he regarded Chen Guangliang as a big shot in the business world, and he quickly calmed himself down.

Chen Guangliang said, "The United States has passed the Silver Act. Silver in the Shanghai market will soon flow to the United States, and the Shanghai market will inevitably fall into a cash shortage. At the same time, the textile industry in Europe and the United States will dump Chinese products. In this wave of crisis, I'm afraid it would be a good thing if half of your textile industry can survive. So, if you need any help in the future, uncle, you can come to me. After all, you are the child's grandfather!"

After hearing these few simple words, Jiang Zhenhua felt like he was listening to an economic guru. Although he knew about the Silver Act, he did not think it was that serious.

"I won't compromise my daughter's affairs because of my own. But since Meiying has already insisted on her own way, we can't force her. I just hope she won't regret it later!"

It finally softened!
Jiang Meiying immediately said: "I will not regret it"

Afterwards, everyone was finally able to have a normal meal, but it still felt a little unfamiliar.

But no matter what, Chen Guangliang did meet Jiang Meiying's family.

When she sent Jiang Meiying back to the villa in the evening, she said in a sweet voice, "Brother Liang, I'm sorry for making you suffer today!"

In her opinion, Chen Guangliang was such a big shot that he had to humble himself and please his father today. The key point was that although her father's attitude softened, he did not agree to anything.

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "It's nothing serious. I have to act like a grandson in front of those high-ranking officials in the Nanjing government. I am a man who knows how to handle current affairs."

"Puff!" Jiang Meiying laughed out loud, then she said in a soft voice: "Brother Liang is not that kind of person. The Brother Liang in my mind must have earned the respect of those high-ranking officials by virtue of his ability."

This is really good at talking! (End of this chapter)