A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

By early August, the Japanese textile industry in Shanghai finally noticed something unusual. Through various channels, they learned that this year's cotton harvest would be abundant. At the same time, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang consortium had not made any "pre-purchase" at all; it had only been all talk and no action.

"We've been fooled! The cotton isn't worth 50 yuan a dan!" Yamada Hide said, his face ashen.

The compradors standing to the side were actually overjoyed, since the Japanese were the ones who paid for it this time, and they were the ones who profited handsomely.

"Mr. Yamada, shall we continue to purchase cotton?"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner that the cotton harvest would be bountiful?"

The comprador said aggrievedly, "I've already told you that this year's cotton production will not be lower than last year's. As for the extent of the harvest, it's not clear yet, as July is not the time to tell."

Yamada Shuichi said angrily, "You idiots! That person is extremely evil!"

Although the compradors were scolded, they dared not speak out, only muttering, "You were clearly the ones who were tricked."

"what are you saying!"

"He didn't say anything. Well, how about I leave first, and you can think it over again?"

Yamada Shuichi waved his hand impatiently, strongly suspecting that these compradors knew about it but were not reporting it.

Soon, Shanghai newspapers published reports of yet another defeat for the Japanese textile industry, describing it in an exaggerated manner.

Oriental Daily News: Japanese textile companies offered to buy cotton from the Yangtze River basin at a price higher than 50 yuan per dan (a unit of weight), but the results showed that this year's cotton harvest was a bumper crop and was not worth 50 yuan per dan at all. It is said that someone deliberately set a trap to get the Japanese textile industry to buy cotton at a high price.

Shenbao: Business warfare is also a battlefield. National industrialist Chen Guangliang caused textile merchants in Shanghai to suffer defeats for two consecutive years.

For a time, Japan's textile industry in Shanghai became a laughing stock.

"Haha, these Japanese are getting what they deserve. They can't tell the market from the market and have suffered losses for two years in a row."

"I think it was Chen Guangliang's clever tactics that made the Japanese run around in circles."

"However, on the other hand, the high prices paid by the Japanese benefited Chinese cotton growers. Now, it seems that the Jiangsu and Zhejiang conglomerates are trying to drive down cotton prices, which is not a good thing!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? The price of cotton is determined by the output of that year. Moreover, so many textile companies went bankrupt last year. If there is a bumper cotton harvest this year, the price will only be 40 to 45 yuan per dan, or even just over 40 yuan per dan."

As public opinion grew, Japan's textile industry became a laughing stock among the great powers, and even directly alarmed the Japanese government.

Naturally, Yamada Hideichi and others were heavily criticized, and Yamada Hideichi was even replaced by the Japanese headquarters, becoming a laughing stock in the industry.

Of course, the three characters 'Chen Guangliang' were also hated by the Japanese to the point of grinding their teeth, just as much as they hated Song Ziwen.

Over the years, Chen Guangliang's contributions to the sugar, shipping, and finance sectors have greatly benefited the South China Sea government and the country, which has seriously affected the cost of Japan's subsequent invasion of China (and in fact, it was also a problem for the Soviet area).

Moreover, the factories and culture in Shanghai that Chen Guangliang saved have always inspired the Chinese people.

History may not change in its general direction, but Japan's casualties will certainly be much higher. For example, Chen Jitang's strength in this life is greater than in his previous life, especially in the air force. If it weren't for the fact that the Southern Whale side hadn't bribed their subordinates, things would likely have been much more complicated than in Guangxi. (In fact, the conflicts in Guangdong and Guangxi were resolved peacefully, but they still frightened the entire nation.)
On this day, Chen Guangliang attended a meeting at Yangtze Taxi Company. He then summoned several core executives, including General Manager Liang Mengqi, Business Manager Xu Yeguang, and Automotive Department Manager Zheng Wensheng.

He dropped a bombshell: "I plan to sell Yangtze Taxi, but I have two ideas for your future arrangements: First, you can work for my other companies with the same salary and benefits, but you will need to adapt to the new positions gradually; second, your new employer may need you too, but I will give you three months' salary as compensation."

The seven were very surprised. Liang Mengqi then said, "Boss, Yangtze Taxi currently has the highest market share in Shanghai, exceeding the other three by a significant margin. In terms of profit, it generates over 400,000 yuan annually, a very good return. I wonder why you want to sell such a high-quality property?"

Since 1931, Yangtze River Taxi has brought Chen Guangliang a profit of over 220 million yuan, which has essentially recouped all his investment.

However, Yangtze Taxi still owns 225 taxis and 12 trucks, and the value of these assets is over 150 million.

A new car now costs 12000 yuan, and even a used car costs 5000 to 6000 yuan.

In addition to intangible assets such as branches and call-out points, Yangtze Taxi is definitely a hot commodity.

Chen Guangliang said, "You don't need to ask me about the change in investment strategy. In short, I want to sell within a year."

Seeing that Chen Guangliang was determined, everyone looked at each other, as if to discuss how to jointly advance the project.

That's fine, after all, it concerns our future, so communication and exchange are normal.

Although Chen Guangliang agreed to continue employing them and keep their salaries the same, once they went to other companies, their positions would definitely not be high-level anymore, and they would have to climb the ladder step by step again.

At this point, Xu Yeguang raised a question: "Boss, would it be feasible for our management team to attract investment and buy Changjiang Taxi? For example, our management team plus taxi drivers, similar to the Changjiang Car Rental model, but we would pool our money to buy it with real cash."

This is a good question.

Chen Guangliang had not considered this beforehand; he preferred to sell to a competitor or bring in new investors.

His concerns were about the difficulties taxi operations would face after 1937, the potential shortage of gasoline, and the Japanese occupation of the Chinese-controlled areas.

However, there is still a possibility that taxis in the concession could still operate, and that the Japanese might not have targeted them if they weren't run by Chen Guangliang.

However, Chen Guangliang still said, "You've been with me for a long time and know that I won't sell this valuable asset without a reason. There are risks involved, such as the possibility of war breaking out between China and Japan. Now I'm telling you my concerns. As for what to choose, you can discuss it privately. I've already compiled the asset situation of Yangtze Taxi. The selling price cannot be lower than 150 million yuan. You can consider it yourselves and give me an answer within a week."

"Ok"

This is just a friendly reminder.

After the meeting.

The senior management was also divided into two groups. The senior executives, led by Liang Mengqi, were inclined to sell the asset for the boss and then invest in the boss's other businesses. The business manager, Xu Yeguang, was more inclined to raise funds to buy it because the asset was too good.

Xu Yeguang said, "It's only 150 million. Think about it, you can break even in just over three years. And even if you sell them separately, each used car is worth 6000 yuan, so the value of just 225 cars is already 135 million yuan; plus those 12 trucks, that's 150 million yuan in total. And that doesn't even include the auto repair shop, call center, branch network, etc., which are basically given away for free."

Zheng Wensheng, the manager of the automotive department, said, "If we were to raise funds, even if each of the 600 employees raised 1000 yuan, it would only amount to 60 yuan, which is still a huge sum. The best way is to bring in another 100 million yuan from outside investors and have the employees raise 50 yuan."

Liang Mengqi said urgently, "With the boss's years of experience, his concerns are not unfounded. How can we bear to let hundreds of colleagues lose money?"

He came from Cheung Kong Real Estate and often communicates with his former colleagues, so he naturally knows how insightful the boss's foresight was.

Xu Yeguang was overjoyed. If Liang Mengqi disagreed, then he would leave and could become the general manager, or at least the first deputy general manager.

He began by saying, “Manager Liang, we can certainly discuss the voluntary nature of investment. Moreover, the boss doesn’t want Yangtze Taxi to disband and the fleet to be broken up. If it can continue operating, I believe the boss would be happy to see it. Whether colleagues invest or not is voluntary. We’ll first count those who are willing to invest, and then find new shareholders to join us.”

Liang Mengqi could only say, "Since you've made this decision, I have nothing to say. However, I've chosen to join the boss's other company and don't plan to invest. Of course, I'll stand firm until the very end." "Okay."

Chen Guangliang decided to sell Yangtze Taxi ahead of schedule, naturally because he was worried that if he sold it in the first half of next year, there would be some time pressure.

By selling the Yangtze River taxis, Chen Guangliang could also obtain a sum of money, which he planned to exchange for gold and take to Hong Kong.

Currently, among Chen Guangliang's eight first-tier enterprises:

Cheung Kong Properties, which actually owns only a small number of properties in Shanghai, has effectively relocated to Hong Kong and Chongqing.
Yangtze Taxi is preparing to sell itself soon, so naturally it will no longer hold a single share;
The Shangri-La Hotel, however, has no intention of selling. It plans to consider selling its shares in 1945-1946 after the end of the War of Resistance against Japan in 1945. This decision carries significant sentimental value.

Worldwide shipping is a portable asset; it can be left at any time and is not subject to sale.

Ping An Bank has already transferred a significant amount of its assets to Hong Kong, but it will continue to operate in Shanghai during the period when it was an isolated island.

Xinfeng Textile had two factories located in the concession area, intending to use the concession to provide strategic materials for the war effort.

Next year, Times Pictures will sell its base in southern Shanghai and basically relocate to Hong Kong.

Vitasoy's Hong Kong factory is already built, and next year they plan to move their Shanghai factory to Chongqing to avoid it falling into Japanese hands.

As for the other joint ventures, Chen Guangliang plans to sell his shares in the first half of next year.

Overall, the Japanese were basically unable to confiscate Chen Guangliang's assets. After all, although there were many Japanese spies in the concession, Japan did not have the right to directly confiscate the factories and assets in the concession. At least it would have to wait until 1941.

In my previous life, the concessions saw a rapid influx of millions of people and a multiplication of factories, demonstrating that the Japanese in the concessions could not arbitrarily confiscate the assets of the Chinese.

By the end of August, the cotton harvest season in the Yangtze River basin had arrived, and prices had leveled off, roughly in line with Chen Guangliang's expectations, generally ranging from 40 to 43 yuan per dan (a unit of weight).

In July, the Japanese were basically buying up the goods at 50 yuan per dan (a unit of weight), resulting in heavy losses.

This year's cotton harvest is abundant, but that doesn't mean that farmers' cotton will be bought up immediately. In fact, many farmers still need to store their cotton properly, since buyers can't afford to hold too much stock, not to mention textile mills.

Textile mills typically purchase cotton monthly, rarely holding onto stockpiled inventory. Only large textile mills buy large quantities of cotton and then use the quantity of 'spindles' to represent the size of the company.

With the loan support from Ping An Bank, Xinfeng Textile will naturally become the largest cotton buyer in the market, and will try to keep prices as low as possible.

Xinfeng Textile expects to purchase 25 dan of cotton, which is a significant proportion of cotton production in the Yangtze River basin. At the same time, it will need a large warehouse to support it. Xinfeng Textile adopts a leasing method, and does not require the leased areas to be in the concession area, but are basically in the Chinese-controlled area.

When Xinfeng Textile announced its cotton procurement target, Tong Runfu and others realized one thing—the boss was stockpiling supplies, and it seemed that a war was about to begin.

"Manager Tong, Manager Li, after the cotton is purchased, we need to spin it into yarn as soon as possible and store it in various warehouses in the form of cotton bales; as for the spindles we use ourselves, including those from the Hong Kong factory, we need to reserve twice the amount needed for this year."

From the end of August last year to the end of August this year, Xinfeng Textile Industry actually used more than 60,000 dan of cotton, and there are still many spindles in the warehouse that have not been used up.

However, during this period, he made a profit of nearly 200 million from textiles and the speculation of cotton yarn bags.

Tong Runfu nodded and said, "Recently, both factories have started operating on three shifts, and domestic and overseas demand has also increased significantly. It seems that the spring of the textile industry has truly arrived."

Unfortunately, this boom in the textile industry only lasted for a year, and many factories made a lot of money during such a good market.

Chen Guangliang estimated that the two factories in the concession alone would generate profits of 200 to 300 million in the coming year, a very high rate of return.

"That's right, I can provide 15 yuan for the first year's funding for Xinfeng Senior Textile School. I hope you will run it well and cultivate batches of senior textile talents for the country and enterprises."

Li Shengbo was overjoyed and quickly replied, "I will certainly live up to your trust."

Xinfeng Senior Textile School plans to enroll high school graduates and graduates of relevant vocational schools. After a rigorous entrance examination, students will be taught by full-time and part-time teachers, most of whom are renowned professors and experts. 70% of the faculty are returnees from overseas studies. Company leaders such as Tong Runfu and Li Shengbo will personally teach at the school. The school provides students with room and board, no tuition or fees, books, uniforms, and a monthly allowance.

This investment is a proactive measure to prepare for unforeseen circumstances and a timely strategy to cultivate talent, aiming to benefit the country and its people. Despite the enormous annual cost, it is not worth considering.

In the past year or so, Tong Runfu and Li Shengbo have also recruited and trained many talents for the Xinfeng Textile system. Currently, Xinfeng Textile has more than 50 full-time employees, including 16 who studied in Japan, 4 who studied in the UK, 6 who studied in the US, and 2 who studied in Germany. Half of them are returnees from overseas studies, and the rest are also university graduates with extensive experience and expertise. It is a knowledge-intensive talent structure.

"We aim to start operations at the Hong Kong factory early next year!"

Tong Runfu replied, "The machines have now arrived at the port, and we will immediately install and debug them. Starting work by the end of the year is not a problem."

Chen Guangliang said with satisfaction, "Good. If you have any good suggestions, please feel free to implement them and let me know."

Thank you for your trust, boss.

Chen Guangliang was only in charge of the major plans, while Tong Runfu, Li Shengbo, and others enjoyed a high degree of autonomy. For example, Tong Runfu wanted to use the financial resources of Xinfeng Textile to open an ironworks and a chemical plant. Chen Guangliang only suggested investing in the concession area and supported it, since it was also to improve the industrial chain and the investment was not very large.

After chatting for a while, Chen Guangliang left the factory in a good mood.

Xinfeng Textile was his money-making machine. Not to mention that Chen Guangliang could recoup his investment by "speculating on cotton yarn" through this factory; once the war of resistance against Japan started, Xinfeng Textile would definitely be able to get "military orders", and at that time he would definitely continue to make a lot of money.

Textiles, sugar, alcohol, and shipping—all were opportunities to profit from the war, essentially snatching chestnuts from a fire. But without Chen Guangliang's strategic planning, the cost of the war would have inevitably increased.

Gold and silver were far less useful than supplies for the War of Resistance, so Chen Guangliang was naturally at ease making some money.

A week later, the ownership of Yangtze River Taxi changed hands, becoming major news in Shanghai.

As the leading company in Shanghai's taxi industry, it was highly profitable (partly due to the fact that it had no debt), but Chen Guangliang sold it to a new consortium for a "low price" of 150 million yuan.

In this new consortium, the Yangtze River Taxi Employees Association holds 33.33% of the shares, with the remainder held by individual investors.

The biggest investors among them were none other than the "three gangsters" Huang Jinrong, Du Yuesheng, and Zhang Xiaolin, with Du Yuesheng even being elected chairman of Yangtze River Taxi.

This surprised Chen Guangliang; they were the ones who ended up taking over.

Of course, he only cared about receiving his 150 million yuan. Du Yuesheng and the others wouldn't owe Chen Guangliang any money, and paid him in full immediately. The newly appointed general manager of Yangtze River Taxi was the former business manager, Xu Yeguang.

As the business manager of Yangtze River Taxi, Xu Yeguang had a wide network of connections and was also a disciple of Du Yuesheng, which makes sense.

As for Liang Mengqi and others, the original general manager of Yangtze Taxi, Chen Guangliang arranged for them to go to the sugar industry to run business across the country, which would also be beneficial to their growth.

In fact, Chen Guangliang's need for talent has not decreased, but rather increased, since the banking, textile, sugar, and alcohol industries are all major employers. (End of Chapter)