A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 348 Freewheel

On May 1, 1946, former Governor Sir Mark Young, who had been imprisoned in the Shenyang concentration camp, was reinstated, ending the military rule of Hong Kong.

At the same time, the colonial government realized that they could no longer use pre-war governance methods and removed some pre-war colonial taboos, including no longer prohibiting Chinese from using certain beaches or owning property on Victoria Peak.

On the same day, at a Legislative Council meeting, Yang Muqi boldly proposed a political reform plan, hoping that "Hong Kong citizens will have more responsibility to manage their own affairs."

Such remarks were quite shocking, implying that Young Mo-chi supports more Chinese people joining the Legislative Council and becoming senior executives.

Young made such remarks because he had carried out similar reforms and achieved great success as the Governor of Barbados, which led to his promotion by the British Colonial Office to serve as the Governor of Hong Kong.

Although Yang Muqi's formal plan has not yet been released, the status of Hong Kong Chinese has at least improved considerably.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's population has basically recovered to its pre-war level, and commerce has flourished.

Des Voeux Road, Ping An Bank Building.

"Boss, there's a telegram for you!"

"Hmm, let me see."

After receiving the telegram from his assistant, Chen Guangliang read it carefully.

It turned out that Jack, who was in the United States, sent a telegram informing them that there were more than 100 Liberty ships for sale in American ports, and that he had already made contact with officials in charge of American supplies and reached a plan to purchase four ships.

Jack also said in the telegram that if Chen Guangliang needed a modified paint job, he suggested a solution where the modification would be done in the United States and then the American side would deliver the finished product to Hong Kong.

The service was very attentive, and the terms were also very good—each Liberty cruise ship cost only US$55, and you could pay 10% upfront, 20% upon delivery, and the remaining 70% over ten years.

The payment terms were exactly what Chen Guangliang wanted. He was not exactly flush with cash, so paying off the remaining 70% over ten years was the perfect solution.

Four Liberty ships, totaling US$220 million, only require an upfront payment of US$66.

Upon seeing Jack's telegram, Chen Guangliang immediately called his younger brother Chen Guangcong in Shanghai, asking him to return to Hong Kong and prepare to go to the United States for an inspection. At the moment, Chen Guangliang did not want to travel around the world, after all, his 'base camp' was not yet stable.

As for the Liberty Wheel, there was no rush. He sent his younger brother, Chen Guangcong, to the United States to investigate and prepare the paint scheme.

Chen Guangliang's idea for these four Liberty ships was to have two operate fixed routes from Hong Kong to Southeast Asia, and the other two operate non-fixed routes from Hong Kong to Europe and from Hong Kong to North America.

In other words, he won't take the mainland shipping routes, since he also has three ships in the mainland.

At this time, Chen Guangcong was inspecting a zipper factory in Shanghai. This zipper factory was established in 1932. Although it was not the first zipper factory in Shanghai, it was one of the first batch of zipper factories.

The boss, Wu Xiangxin, said ingratiatingly, "Mr. Chen, our zipper factory has been established for over ten years. Our craftsmen are all highly skilled. Whatever your needs, we will definitely make it perfect for you."

Chen Guangcong said noncommittally, "Well, let me check the situation first."

Wu Xiangxin showed Chen Guangcong around, allowing him to examine each part in detail, because he felt that as the younger brother of the famous Mr. Chen Guangliang, there was no reason for him to be interested in this handicraft business.

Chen Guangcong also earnestly learned the craftsmanship from the masters, showing no carelessness despite the small business.

In reality, he didn't know what his elder brother was thinking. He only knew that his elder brother asked him to investigate the zipper industry in Shanghai and then report back when he returned to Hong Kong.

The production of this zipper involves workers using tools such as tweezers, bench vises, hammers, and rice milling machines to manually hammer out the zipper teeth; the zipper teeth on the fabric are also manually arranged and then hammered into position.

The entire process is done by hand, and the so-called chain teeth are rectangular chain teeth, fixed to the fabric in rows.

The process is simple, but it mainly tests the craftsmanship of the artisans. Since the zippers are arranged manually, there is bound to be some error, so the yield rate of the zippers will not be very good.

However, clothes and boots with zippers are always very expensive, so zippers can be considered high-end products.

"Mr. Wu, how many zipper factories and how many zipper workers are there in the entire Shanghai market?"

Do you want too much?
Wu Xiangxin instinctively said, "There are more than 1000 workers, Mr. Chen. Don't worry, I can handle as many orders as you want."

Chen Guangcong chuckled and said, "Then I'll go back and do the statistics first."

"Alright, alright, Mr. Chen, I heard you're recuperating in Hong Kong. I wonder if you're feeling any better?"

Chen Guangliang was a big figure in Shanghai. During the War of Resistance against Japan, he remained a top businessman and an industrial tycoon in the rear area. During the isolated period in Shanghai, he was also a prominent figure in the city, making huge profits from his textile factories and banks.

So even after the war, when Chen Guangliang was recuperating in Hong Kong, businessmen throughout Shanghai still remembered him.

Chen Guangcong has been back in Shanghai for half a year now, and countless people have been asking him about his situation. Officials of the Nationalist government, businessmen in Shanghai, and even ordinary citizens are all curious – Mr. Chen, why have you been recuperating in Hong Kong all this time? Is it some serious illness? But it is said that Mr. Chen also has quite a few businesses in Hong Kong.

In short, there are many suspenseful aspects, as it is quite strange that Chen Guangliang did not return to Shanghai.

"He's perfectly healthy. He likes to travel and explore, he'll be back!"

"It's good that there are no problems. He is a role model for all of us."

Chen Guangcong then left Wu Xiangxin's zipper factory. When he returned to the Ping An Bank Building, someone brought him a telegram.

"I have news about the Liberty Cruises in the US, so I'm heading back to Hong Kong first."

Upon receiving the simple news, Chen Guangcong was overjoyed.

At the Wharf pier, Chen Guangliang, accompanied by Zhao Tieyi and Wu Hao, inspected the unloading of ships at Universal.

The laborers were working hard to unload cargo from the ship. The sacks of goods were quite heavy, making the laborers of this era bend over with exhaustion.

Of course, Chen Guangliang didn't feel any pity, after all, he was giving them food.

Zhao Tieyi, standing nearby, said, "Boss, this ship has rice imported from Thailand and Vietnam, as well as talc mines mined in Guangxi. This voyage is a complete success. The rice was purchased by Global Trading, and the talc mines are part of our Global Shipping business."

Chen Guangliang was naturally familiar with these businesses, but as the 'commander-in-chief,' he had never been to the site in person. Talc ore was mainly sold to rubber factories, paint factories, and other similar businesses, with a wide range of applications. Global Shipping had been doing this business for a while and was now quite adept at it.

"Hmm, it seems this ship was a worthwhile purchase; we've done a lot of business with it."

This is a 40-year-old ship acquired from Jardine Matheson, practically at the point of scrapping. However, in this era, there were no environmental regulations, so World Shipping picked it up for transport.

According to Zhao Tieyi and others, it should be fine to use it for five or six years.

Zhao Tieyi nodded and said, "Of course it's worth it. Breaking even in a year is no problem. After all, Global Group and Global Trade have been in this industry for over a decade and have numerous channels. By the way, boss, we also need a second-hand ship of one or two thousand tons. We have too much business along the coast."

Chen Guangliang waved his hand and said, "Then let's buy them. However, I think it would be more suitable if they didn't exceed two thousand tons. In addition, our Global Shipping will have four Liberty ships around the second half of the year, at which time we will open up routes from Hong Kong to Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America."

This news shocked everyone.

That's the Liberty, an American-made, massive ship weighing tens of thousands of tons.

The boss is probably going to be the first private businessman in China to own a 10,000-ton ship.

Zhao Tieyi immediately said, "Boss, should we form a fleet of high-class seafarers composed entirely of Chinese?"

After World War II, maritime discrimination ceased!

Britain no longer refused Chinese captains passage through the Suez Canal, and no longer insisted that only British captains could enter Hong Kong's ports. In short, China's international standing was greatly enhanced, after all, it was a victorious nation.

Zhao Tieyi also knew that during his tenure as general manager of China Merchants Group, the boss had vigorously cultivated senior Chinese seafarers, many of whom had become captains.

Chen Guangliang said, "That's exactly what I was thinking. I plan to have you act as my advocate to persuade some senior seamen to join us in the mainland. I'll tell you how to persuade them later."

"Ok"

Then, Chen Guangliang asked Wu Hao, "Have Global Trade's international trading branches in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam, as well as its trading branches in mainland China, stabilized yet?"

Global Trade's first goal was to establish a comprehensive trade network in mainland China and Southeast Asia. Therefore, after the initial public offering, thirty or forty trade elites went to these places to establish trading branches.

Wu Hao nodded and said, "No problem. After all, these are long-established businesses. Even in Thailand and Myanmar, which are relatively new, they're already on track. Inland China's tung oil and pig bristles, Southeast Asia's rice and dried seafood, and other goods traded between the North and South are now top-selling items in global trade."

While Global Trade's "battle for fame" was the "ballpoint pen," and it earned nearly a million Hong Kong dollars with this blockbuster product, Global Trade's real business was still the international trade of products from various places. For example, tung oil and pig bristles were exported to the United States and Europe, while rice from Southeast Asia was sold in Hong Kong and even shipped to Shanghai.

Chen Guangliang immediately said, "Okay, this time we plan to establish a trading branch in New York, USA. You'll be in charge of it. Go to the US with Guangcong later. American steel and rice are products that the Far East needs."

The reason why the United States offered "delivery included" when selling Liberty ships was not because of their excellent service, but because they transported various American goods to all parts of the world.

At this time, the United States was exceptionally powerful. It supplied food to Europe and Japan, livestock to Europe, and industrial products were purchased all over the world.

At that time, the United States was incredibly rich in resources.

Wu Hao then replied, "Yes, I'll take two people with me to establish the New York trading branch as soon as possible."

Global trade has recently entered a period of rapid development, and the original forty-odd trade professionals are no longer sufficient, so we have been recruiting from outside.

For newly hired trade professionals, the company not only offers high salaries but also promises priority access to future new share issuances.

In this way, all employees of Global Trade will gradually hold shares.

After returning to Hong Kong, Chen Guangcong was assigned the mission to the United States by Chen Guangliang.

"Besides investigating Liberty Cruises and shipping-related businesses, your trip to the United States this time is also to examine the handling of war-damaged materials in the US, which will facilitate some trade cooperation with Jack. Also, please check out the automatic zipper rice sorting machines in the US for me. I want to introduce automated zipper production to Hong Kong."

Jack made a special trip to Hong Kong to discuss trade cooperation, which currently involves a batch of steel, cotton, and ballpoint pens.

But the United States has only just begun auctioning and disposing of its war surplus materials, and there are bound to be some good items among them.

Chen Guangcong said, "An automatic zipper rice-making machine? It's amazing that such an advanced thing already exists. I've observed that zipper factories in Shanghai are all done by hand. A skilled master craftsman can only make ten or eight zippers a day. If it were mechanized, the efficiency would probably be a hundred times greater."

The most troublesome part of zipper production is "laying the teeth," which involves evenly fixing each tooth onto the fabric to form the zipper's "track." Only experienced craftsmen can do this "laying the teeth" properly; otherwise, discrepancies in distance and position will result in a defective product.

If there are machines, not only will efficiency increase significantly, but the quality will naturally increase as well.

"I only know the general details, but a hundredfold increase in efficiency is not a problem, after all, it's modern machinery. After you go to the United States, you will send me a telegram about your assessment, and then we can decide how much to buy."

"Ok"

Chen Guangcong's trip was mainly about the Liberty ships. With these four ships, the Global Group's strength would increase significantly. Trade in the Far East would undoubtedly be booming in the next three or four years, and the shipping business would be very promising.

However, after 1949, shipping in the Far East would definitely experience a low season. But after the start of the Korean War, Japan's shipping demand would inevitably increase, and shipping would usher in a small boom.

The real 'shipping boom' didn't arrive until the 'Suez Canal Crisis' of 1956, when freight rates inevitably increased several times over. But in the meantime, there was still a full decade to go.

During this period, global shipping will definitely continue to develop, after all, Chen Guangliang does not want to stagnate.

He concluded that the JF war and the Korean War could both be seen as shipping opportunities.

night.

The family held a gathering at their villa on Conduit Road.

When Yang Xiuying, Chen Guangcong's sister-in-law, heard that he was going to be sent to the United States on official business again, she did not complain. Since returning to Hong Kong, her husband Chen Guangcong has been traveling between Hong Kong and Shanghai, and he would return to Hong Kong for about a week every month.

And since this trip to the United States was still about the Liberty ships, Yang Xiuying had even less objection. After all, her family owned 45% of the four Liberty ships, making it her husband's first real business venture.

Moreover, Chen Guangcong also traveled to the United States by plane this time, so he didn't waste too much time and could arrive in about three or four days.

(End of this chapter)