A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Hideichi Yamada, the president of Yufeng Spinning Mill, came to Boyi Textile Company with his men and met Xu Jingren, the founder and general manager of Boyi Textile.

Yamada Hideichi said in a seductive voice, "Mr. Xu, I heard that Boyi Textile Company is in serious trouble. It just so happens that our Yufeng Spinning Mill is planning to expand, and we're willing to cooperate in business!"

Cooperative operation is no different from merger and acquisition, it is just a euphemism.

Many Japanese businesses in China first change their names to Chinese names to reduce the resistance of the Chinese people.

For example, Yufeng Cotton Mill was a spinning mill run by Osaka Toyo Co., Ltd. in Shanghai, and Nissin Shipping was also independently operated by several Japanese shipping companies that had established operations in China.
Xu Jingren devoted his life to revitalizing national industry, so how could he sell Boyi to the Japanese? However, he was old and had lost some of his sharpness.

Therefore, he simply said: "We will consider Mr. Yamada's suggestion. However, there are no major problems with Boyi Textile's current operations."

"Haha," Yamada Hideichi said with a smile, "Mr. Xu, don't deceive yourself. Since we've come here to seek cooperation, we're naturally aware of Boyi Company's situation. Based on the current industrial and commercial conditions in China, as well as the situation of Huaxia Textile, Boyi Company won't last more than half a year. If Boyi Textile doesn't want to go bankrupt, it can only join our Yufeng Group. I believe you don't want thousands of workers to lose their jobs, do you?"

The implication is that China is now in a "cash shortage" and its industry and commerce are sluggish. Who has the ability to save Boyi Textile!
The Shanghai Puyi Textile Company was founded in 1917 by Xu Jingren and Zhou Fujiu, two natives of Dangtu, Anhui Province, and Zhang Jian, the founder of the Nantong Dasheng Cotton Mill, with a joint investment of one million silver dollars. Located at the west ferry crossing of Tanzi Bay on West Suzhou Road, the company initially operated as a single spinning mill, but it eventually boasted 100 spindles and employed 25.6 people. Its Earth and Double Earth brand cotton yarns were sold throughout China and even exported to international markets such as Southeast Asia and India.

In 1924, the company established the Puyi Second Factory on Robertson Road (now the bridgehead of Changshou Road) and raised 150 million taels of capital. However, with the influx of foreign capital after the end of World War I and Puyi's own poor management, the company fell into serious financial difficulties.

Starting from 1934, China's textile industry also fell into a trough. Even a giant like Shenxin was on the verge of bankruptcy. Its Shenxin No. Factory was even on the verge of being auctioned, let alone other textile factories!
Xu Jingren hummed, "Don't worry about that, Mr. Yamada. We've already figured out a way to solve the problem."

Hideichi Yamada knew that it was not a good idea to start with Xu Jingren to take over Boyi Textile.

Fortunately, he has contacted other shareholders of Boyi Textile and is ready to cooperate internally and externally.

"Okay, since Mr. Xu hasn't figured it out yet, we can wait."

After saying that, Yamada Shuichi took his men away.

Shortly after Yamada left, Zhou Xifan, the fifth son of Zhou Fujiu, another shareholder of Boyi Textile, found Xu Jingren.

Zhou Fujiu (1831-1920) was the largest salt merchant in Yangzhou, a modern Chinese financier, a Shanghai real estate tycoon, a Shanghai gold magnate, and a modern Chinese industrialist. His assets amounted to 5000 million taels of silver, making him rich enough to rival a country. He was the richest man in China in the early years of the Republic of China.

He himself had six sons, but three of them died young or infantilely, and the other three were incompetent; Zhou Fujiu also had 11 grandsons, but none of them was successful either.

Of course, as long as such a family does not have any "entrepreneurs" or "gamblers", they will basically have more money than they can spend.

It's said that Zhou Fujiu's descendants, some moving to Hong Kong and Taiwan, and others remaining in mainland China, held a land deed to 1950 mu (approximately 1966 acres) of cotton fields by . In early , when the final fixed interest payments were made on publicly managed housing, one of his granddaughters-in-law received a quarterly fixed interest of yuan for a single house. Some claim Zhou Fujiu's wealth rivaled that of a nation.

Zhou Xifan deliberately asked tentatively, "Brother Jingren, I heard that someone is willing to bid for Boyi Textile?"

He was the fifth son of Zhou Fujiu and had served as a seventh-rank minor official in the capital. However, in order to curry favor with Prince Su, he spent 100 million yuan of his family's wealth on prostitution and gambling.

Zhou Xifan also had a playboy son named Zhou Zitian, who was known as "Zhou San" because he was Zhou Fujiu's "third grandson".

There is a saying in Shanghai that "Sheng Si on Wednesday". 'Sheng Si' refers to Sheng Huaixuan's fourth son. They are a pair of lively treasures in Shanghai. They often race horses and gamble in Shanghai, spending tens of thousands of gold every day.

Xu Jingren's face darkened as he said, "It's the Japanese, but I've already refused. I can't sell it to anyone, but the Japanese. They'll be despised by everyone."

Zhou Xifan said quickly, "Brother Jingren, the Boyi Textile Factory has been operating poorly, especially in the past two years. If we don't sell it now, not only will we not get a single cent back, but so many textile workers will be unemployed, and it will cause a major chaos."

Zhou Fujiu was also a shareholder of Boyi Textiles, and thus left about 30% of the shares to his descendants. This portion of shares was passed on to his fifth son, Zhou Xifan.

Zhou Xifan naturally did not want to waste his efforts, so he became the Japanese's "internal accomplice".

Xu Jingren understood that Zhou Xifan had become a traitor. He angrily said, "Zhou Xifan, I told you that you can sell it to anyone but not to the Japanese. This is a traitorous act and will be despised by the Chinese people."

Zhou Xifan was startled, then calmed himself down and said, "Who said I'm a traitor? Selling a textile factory is treason. Then Shenxin Seventh Factory will soon fall into the hands of the Japanese! What's more, even if we don't sell it to the Japanese, you have to consider the shareholders. If it really goes bankrupt, we will be left with nothing."

Xu Jingren immediately said: "I will find a way"

He was under great pressure. The Zhou family held 30% of the shares, and the descendants of Zhang Zhao also held shares. He held less than half of the shares. If he was not careful, he might really let Boyi Textile be sold to the Japanese.

"Okay, I hope Brother Jingren will consider the shareholders. Otherwise, don't blame the rest of us shareholders for uniting."

"I'll find a way."

However, now that the national economy is in such a state and the textile industry is in such a slump, who would take over this mess?
In the office of Ping An Bank Building, Chen Guangliang was looking at the news in the newspaper and thinking about "business opportunities".

Boyi Textile also encountered problems, but its two factories were both within the concession, so it was obviously worth investing in.

Why do you say so?
First, it is certain that China's economy will return to normal by next year (1936), with the textile industry beginning to recover. In fact, the fiat currency, issued at the end of this year (1935), initially received support from Britain, the United States, and other countries (excluding Japan). Britain even required all British banks to hand over their silver reserves (depositors' silver, excluding the banks' own funds) to the Southern Whale government to support the fiat currency. Seeing this, other countries followed suit.

Secondly, after the Second Battle of Shanghai, although Shanghai was occupied by Japan, the concessions belonged to "Wan Guo", so the Japanese had no right to confiscate Chinese capital in the concessions; by then, the prices of individual commodities would rise, and textiles in the concessions could also be sold to the national area through the trade route of Hong Kong and Haiphong, and even military supplies would need to be provided by the concessions.

Finally, as long as the assets of the concessions were properly handled before the Pacific War, there would not be any major problems.

Based on the above three points, Chen Guangliang planned to let Ping An Bank and his personal capital intervene in the textile industry, both to make money and to increase the foundation for the War of Resistance.

Then he called Xia Gaoxiang and Ye Ximing to his office.

"Boyi Textile is in trouble and is facing a hostile takeover by a Japanese textile company. Please arrange for someone to go and inspect it. If it's suitable, Ping An Bank and my personal funds can purchase this textile factory."

Ping An Bank had ample funds. Even if all retail investors ran a run, the bank's cash reserves would only be around 1100 million. But Ping An Bank's current cash reserves were around 2000 million. The two were stunned that their boss was considering investing in the textile industry.

Ye Ximing immediately said, "Boss, it's not appropriate for banks to invest in the textile industry. Furthermore, the wave of textile industry bankruptcies hasn't started yet. If we intervene now, we're probably just throwing money down the drain."

Chen Guangliang said firmly, "Any industry is bound to have fluctuations and ups and downs. If you buy in during the downturn, it's unlikely to suffer losses. Moreover, I've done some research and found that Boyi's two factories are both in the concession, making them ideal investment industries. Even if war breaks out with Japan in the future, the concession textile factories will not only not suffer losses, but will actually make huge profits."

The two of them began to understand their boss's long-term strategy and felt relieved.

Xia Gaoxiang added: "It is naturally inappropriate for a bank to invest in textiles, but if the boss holds the majority share and Ping An Bank holds a smaller share, this is a normal investment, not direct participation in management."

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "Let's go investigate first."

After the two left, Chen Guangliang picked up the information of "Shenxin No. 7 Factory" and took a look. In fact, this factory was also in the concession, and it was originally acquired from the British Oriental Textile Factory and transformed.

But Chen Guangliang was cautious and did not make any plans, because not only were the Japanese eyeing the Shenxin No. 7 Factory, but Rong Zongjing was also determined to defend it to the death, making the situation even more complicated.

As for the gimmick of saving national industry, Chen Guangliang will not make such a big fuss. Business is business. The first thing is to make a profit, and then consider other things.

The financial situation of Boyi Textile is: total assets of about 70 million, but liabilities are also more than million. The main creditors are Central South Bank and Jincheng Bank, of which Central South Bank accounts for %.

When they heard that the Japanese businessmen in Shanghai were trying to take over Puyi, not only Ping An Bank but also its two major creditors, Zhongnan Bank and Jincheng Bank, extended an olive branch to Puyi.

On that day, representatives from the four parties held talks at Boyi Textile Factory No. 2 (Robertson Road).

Boyi Textile's Xu Jingren hadn't anticipated the potential impact on Chen Guangliang, a man with significant capital. Though a younger businessman, Chen Guangliang's reputation rivaled that of established tycoons like Sheng Huaixuan and Yan Xinhou. After all, he orchestrated "Huaxia's sugar self-sufficiency," saving the nation tens of millions in annual outflows, and single-handedly rescued the near-bankrupt China Merchants Group, a massive enterprise that the government had surrendered for 4000 million yuan (the Nanjing government acquired it for a mere three or four million yuan). He also made significant financial contributions (rumors circulated that the three major national banks' ample silver reserves stemmed from Chen Guangliang's advice).

Xu Jingren said, "The descendants of Zhou, the second largest shareholder of Boyi Textile, have colluded with Japanese businessmen and intend to sell the company to Yufeng Cotton Mill. I will never allow this to happen. We are all here today to save Boyi Textile, so if you have any plans, please tell us!"

The words sounded nice, but Chen Guangliang knew that this 'old guy' was trying to gain benefits for himself.

Originally, if Chen Guangliang had not joined, Zhongnan Bank and Jincheng Bank of the "Four Northern Banks" could have directly acquired Boyi Textile as creditors without having to pay any money.

Now Xu Jingren invited the three companies together, saying that it was to solve the problem, but in fact it was to "compare prices" and make a last-ditch effort.

Chen Guangliang then said, "I came here to see what's going on. I thought I could help out, but I didn't expect that Zhongnan and Jincheng Bank were interested in running the textile business. I'm so worried!"

After hearing this, Xu Jingren's heart sank. He still underestimated Chen Guangliang.

To put it bluntly, what Chen Guangliang valued most were the two factories of Boyi Textile, both located in the concession.

If something cannot be done, he will not force it.

Zhou Zuomin, the general manager of Jincheng Bank, and Hu Bijiang of Zhongnan Bank exchanged glances. Zhou Zuomin then proposed the Boyi Textile plan: "Our original intention was for Zhongnan Bank and Jincheng Bank to take over Boyi Textile and continue operating it to avoid bankruptcy and falling into the hands of the Japanese. Now it seems that Brother Guoan has a better idea, and we are willing to listen!"

The implication is that the two banks originally intended to directly acquire Boyi Textile, writing off all debts but forfeiting shareholders' equity. Now that Ping An Bank and Chen Guangliang are interested, Boyi Textile has another option.

Xu Jingren is also an industrialist. Although he is unwilling to see his business fall into the hands of others, he really has no choice at the moment.

He said stubbornly, "How about Mr. Chen and Ping An Bank inject 150 million yuan into the company, and then extend the loan period from Zhongnan and Jincheng Bank?"

Chen Guangliang smiled and shook his head, saying, "Although joint ventures are good, Boyi Textile is obviously not suitable."

Zhou Zuomin of Jincheng Bank also said: "Boyi Textile has been operating poorly for many years and needs to re-establish its board of directors."

Upon hearing this, Xu Jingren knew that he had to withdraw from Boyi Textile, otherwise both companies would not continue, and Boyi would have no choice but to go bankrupt or be acquired by the Japanese.

At this point, the only thing left is to consider the interests of ourselves and our shareholders and choose a company as the next owner.

"Okay, in that case, please allow me to discuss with the shareholders and then discuss the prospects of Boyi Textile."

"certainly"

Afterwards, Xu Jingren also took everyone to inspect the factory.

In recent years, cotton production has been low, resulting in higher prices, while textiles have been unable to sell at high prices due to the dumping of foreign products, causing a downturn in China's textile industry.

On the way back.

Hu Bijiang said to Zhou Zuomin, "Why do you think Chen Guangliang values ​​Boyi Textile so much? Does he think it's a bargain? The textile industry will definitely recover after this downturn?"

Chen Guangliang is an industrialist and a speculator. Everyone has heard of this. For example, he sold a property to Sun Chunsheng and then bought it back at a low price.

Zhou Zuomin said, "In short, this business can still be done, but judging from Xu Jingren's expression, he must be waiting for a good price. So, we don't have to buy Boyi Textile!"

Things became complicated, and Zhou Zuomin was also concerned about Chen Guangliang. Although the "Four Northern Banks" had relatively strong capital, they would naturally not fight with Chen Guangliang of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang consortium.

Hu Bijiang nodded and said, "What I mean is that we can't get Boyi, but we can still choose other textile factories!"

Zhou Zuomin replied, "Yes, there are many business difficulties in this wave, but there are also opportunities." (End of this chapter)