A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Shoushenshan Villa.

Early in the morning, Chen Mengyi got up, and her husband Zhang Zhiqin quickly followed suit, taking care of his wife.

His wife is a very busy person. Even during her pregnancy and childbirth, she barely had any rest, as she is the chairman of the board of directors of two large companies, Times Film and Asia Television.

On the contrary, Zhang Zhiqin is Zhang Shounian's youngest son. After graduating with a PhD in science and engineering from the United States, he was asked by Zhang Shounian to come to Hong Kong for a blind date. After dating Chen Mengyi, he joined the Hong Kong Polytechnic University as a teacher.

The couple has been married for two years and has a son, who naturally takes Zhang Zhiqin's surname. Although the Chen family's daughter is strong-willed and career-oriented, she still respects her husband.

Currently, both of Chen Guangliang's sons-in-law were introduced by him. The sons-in-law from the south are required to have good education and good character, but no other requirements. Of course, when dating his daughters, he also needs to make some things clear: his daughters will not be content to be housewives. If they cannot tolerate this, there is no need to date them.

It's easy to understand. Even if the two sons-in-law knew their married life would be 'suppressed,' Chen Guangliang's daughter was so outstanding that they were like moths drawn to a flame. Tang Wensheng was like that, and so was Zhang Zhiqin.

Chen Guangliang was well aware of his daughter's strong personality, but regarding her future marriage, he always said the same thing to her: "If it works out, great; if not, don't force yourself or your partner to compromise."

This is the difference between sons and daughters. Chen Guangliang's attitude towards his son's marriage is to oppose divorce and maintain a respectable appearance no matter what; as for his daughter's marriage, he believes that she should not compromise herself, nor should she force her partner, and that marriage should be free for her to separate and reunite.

“Asia Television’s ratings have been good lately, and everyone’s been talking about it,” Zhang Zhiqin said as his wife read the newspaper.

Chen Mengyi is like her father in this respect, getting up early and reading the newspaper. She is very diligent. Of course, Chen Guangliang is now a carefree person.

"Using money to buy in! This isn't a long-term solution!"

Zhang Zhiqin said with a smile, "With real money invested, Asia Television's foundation is increasing at a visible rate. This is the long-term strategy!"

Chen Mengyi replied, "No. At most, we'll only have a 40/60 split in viewership with TVB, but our Chen family doesn't have a habit of coming in second."

Zhang Zhiqin didn't care about his wife's tone. His father had also warned him that if he wanted to marry Chen Guangliang's daughter, he had to be prepared for anything, as being a son-in-law of the Chen family was not an easy task.

But he still went all out, for a simple reason: a wonderful girl deserves his sacrifice.

"Then don't put too much pressure on yourself. I believe that Asia Television will surpass TVB sooner or later!"

Chen Mengyi put down her newspaper, smiled, and then said, "Okay. Let's go see our son!"

Zhang Zhiqin felt ashamed; he only had a wife and seemed to have forgotten his son, who had just turned eight months old.

Asia Television's administrative headquarters has moved from Broadcast Drive to Era City in Tseung Kwan O, as the space here is large and the property is spacious.

A newly built administrative building, 12 stories high, is entirely used by Asia Television.

Meanwhile, the studios and other facilities at Times Cinema are shared by Asia Television and Times Films.

This area has become a veritable 'entertainment capital', driving up land and property prices throughout Clearwater Bay.

In the conference room, Asia Television (ATV) was holding a morning meeting, with all the top executives present. ATV is most famous for having a female chairman of the board and a female CEO. The former is naturally Chan Meng-yi from the Chan family, the major shareholder, while the latter is Chow Leung Suk-yee, who has served as assistant to the CEO of TVB and CEO of CTV.

Chow Leung Suk-yee joined Asia Television in 1981 and has been there for three years. Every year, the Chan family spends HK$100 to 200 million on her. After three years of hard work, she has managed to raise the ratings to a 30/70 split with TVB, and occasionally even a 40/60 split.

At the start of the meeting, Zhou Liangshuyi said, "Although this is our first time holding the 'Miss Asia' pageant, we have invested a lot in preparation and publicity beforehand, so its momentum is no less than that of the 'Miss Hong Kong' pageant. The finals are just around the corner, and I hope that the team in charge of this project will be fully focused."

"Yes"

Under Zhou Liang Shuyi's arrangement, each item proceeded in an orderly manner.

Chen Mengyi didn't interfere too much. She remembered her father saying that Zhou Liang Shuyi could be "reused" during the transition period, but once the "new plan" was implemented, she would need to intervene personally.

What is a 'transition period'?

Simply put, before the Hong Kong pop culture officially kicked off, Chan Kwong-leung hoped that Asia Television would increase its ratings to "4/6" by "spending a lot of money," which is equivalent to the ratings of Asia Television 4 and TVB 6.

Starting in 1981, Asia Television invested heavily in drama series, producing around 20 drama series annually.
In an attempt to challenge TVB's "Enjoy Yourself Tonight," Chow Leung Suk-yee simultaneously launched a "Third Theater," dedicated to airing intense, stimulating, and gory films. Furthermore, she extensively recruited from the "Enjoy Yourself Tonight" cast, effectively dismantling the show.
Then last year, Asia Television spent HK$500 million to create an "ATV Anniversary Celebration" - "Celebrating the Founding of ATV", which was a grand event.

In the music field, Zhou Liang Shuyi specifically sought out singers who were not successful at TVB or had conflicts with TVB, and she achieved some success.

Overall, the money was spent, and there were some results.

Finally, Zhou Liang Shuyi said to Chen Mengyi, "Chairwoman Chen, is there anything else you need to tell everyone?"

Everyone stared at the unbelievably handsome 'boss' before quickly looking away.

Chen Mengyi said with a smile, "As shareholders, we will continue to support Asia Television and strive to achieve a 40/60 or 50/50 balance with TVB as soon as possible, so everyone must be fully enthusiastic."

"Yes, Chairman Chen."

When the God of Wealth spoke, everyone quickly agreed.

People don't think that Chen Mengyi only knows how to spend money but doesn't understand business; on the contrary, they think that the Chen family's move is very reasonable. Inviting professionals to run the business and providing strong support is the best way out for Asia Television.

soon.

Chen Guangliang summoned his daughter Chen Mengyi to his villa in Repulse Bay.

Chen Mengyi, who is 32 years old this year, has been married for two years and has given birth to a son.

Of course, this didn't affect her continuing to serve as the chairperson of the board of directors of Times Pictures and Asia Television, since both companies were managed by professional managers. "I'd like to meet with you privately to discuss my plans to officially launch the 'Hong Kong Culture' project!"

Chen Mengyi quickly sat up straight and said, "I will definitely carry out my father's plan strictly and keep it a secret for him."

Chen Guangliang nodded. Keeping it a secret was essential; otherwise, he would become too mythical.

The traces left behind show that Chen Guangliang's business career ended at the end of 1979, after which his children's business legends began.
He himself has only appeared in mainland China, usually for charity rather than for business.

Chan Kwong-leung said, "What do you think I mean by 'Hong Kong pop culture'?"

This wasn't the first time Chen Mengyi had heard of "Hong Kong pop culture." After a moment's thought, she said, "I think it should be a very large cultural industry system, including the comic book industry and video game industry that you pioneered, which are both part of it. In addition, Hong Kong films should also count. As for the others, I don't quite understand, but what I can say for sure is that television stations are very important!"

Chen Guangliang said with satisfaction, "You know a little bit. Before talking about Hong Kong pop culture, do you know how profitable Hong Kong's comic book and electronics industries are, and how much money they make from foreigners?"

"I know," Chen Mengyi immediately perked up and said, "Manke Publishing House earns more than 3500 million in profits overseas every year, and it's increasing year by year. Midea Electronic Games Entertainment is a world-class game developer, with annual profits in the hundreds of millions. That's the charm of the cultural industry. Of course, our Hong Kong film industry is also very good."

Chen Guangliang said:
"Although Hong Kong's film industry is good, it has not formed a culture. Kung Fu movies can be considered a culture, but the field is too small. So next, I will talk about Hong Kong culture."

"First, we need to understand that Hong Kong pop culture is essentially a 'fan economy.' What are 'fans'? Once you can brainwash these fans, they are willing to give anything. They are obsessed with their idols, like zombies. If you can have a huge fan base in Asia and the world, they will go to concerts overseas and buy celebrity merchandise. They will also come to Hong Kong to follow their idols, thereby boosting Hong Kong's tourism, hotels, retail, and all other industries. In fact, because of their idol-following, they will have a very positive impact on the entire city of Hong Kong, raising its profile."

Chen Mengyi was stunned. She realized that "Hong Kong pop culture" was such a "harvesting culture," and once it gained a huge influence, it certainly had many benefits.

"But that's very difficult!"

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "It's not difficult! The key is that we need to develop 'Hong Kong culture' systematically. There are many irrational and foolish people in this world, so as long as there is a kind of 'spiritual opium,' they will definitely be fascinated by it."

Chen Mengyi nodded. Her father's words were very straightforward, but that was precisely the essence.

Of course, she couldn't talk about it like that in public.

"This is the information I've compiled about Hong Kong pop culture. You can look at it slowly later. I'll explain it properly now."

"Firstly, we need to systematically mass-produce 'idols,' that is, stars. Therefore, we need to establish a talent agency and then recruit trainees. Trainees can start training from the age of 12, hiring dance teachers, vocal teachers, acting teachers, etc., to systematically train them. It takes at least three years of training, and then they can officially debut after passing the debut exam and joining a group."

"Secondly: Invent a new music genre, which I call HK-POP, or Hong Kong pop music. It's a combination of Cantonese, electronic music, pop dance music, and hip-hop. Let me give you some examples. For instance, the first boy band could use a theme like 'Descendants of Warriors' to oppose all violence, but in reality, their style was flamboyant and rebellious."

Chen Mengyi was deeply shocked that her father could compose music and even express some dance moves. Of course, she didn't have time to be shocked; she needed to fully understand her father's meaning, as this matter was very important.

"The third point: Star-making. Star-making requires resources, so idols who can debut need to sign a seven-year contract with the company. These seven years are basically to repay the company for its training, and of course, a small amount of compensation can also be paid. Star-making requires the cooperation of television stations, which is very important. For example, three or two years later, we can plan a 'talent show,' the format of which is to ultimately select the best to form a group, for example, called 'Shinhwa' or 'HOT.' At the same time, after these idols debut, they also need a stage, that is, a music program, to allow them to 'promote' their songs. This program can be called 'Inkigayo' or 'Music Bank.'"

"Article 4: Fan Economy. Companies can participate in the establishment of 'support groups' or 'fan clubs,' and engage in various promotional activities."

Chen Mengyi listened attentively, and then she asked, "Father has given me a systematic entertainment plan, but it seems to be limited to music?"

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "Yes, that's just HK-POP, but it's the key to creating idols. Next, there's Hong Kong drama. Hong Kong dramas use a shoot-as-you-go model, adjusting the plot based on audience feedback. This flexibility allows them to quickly respond to market preferences. The core of Hong Kong dramas is love, often incorporating elements of family ethics and coming-of-age narratives. They construct stories through high-density emotional conflicts and exquisite visuals. Of course, they also need to be full of melodrama. Hong Kong dramas also need to drive local cultural export, boosting tourism, local cuisine, and related industries such as ethnic costumes. In short, it's a systematic project. There's a script template for 'Autumn in My Heart' in the materials."

Chen Mengyi flipped to that night's episode and said, "Hong Kong style dramas can be explored slowly!"

Chan Kwong-leung said, "Before preparing for Hong Kong pop dramas, we can film serious dramas and mythological dramas like 'Justice Bao' and 'The New Legend of the White Snake.' There are relevant reference materials available. We should strive to turn things around first before launching our Hong Kong pop culture. If we can debut a boy band and a girl band in 1988, and if we can also broadcast the first Hong Kong pop drama film that year, then we shouldn't interfere."

"it is good"

Chen Mengyi excitedly walked out of the study. She could finally do things for her father, just like her brothers.

Moreover, it seems that her father values ​​Hong Kong pop culture and will continue to guide her in the future.

After all, Hong Kong's cultural trends are related to Hong Kong's economic development, as my father said.

With more free time, Chen Guangliang gradually handed over even his charity work in mainland China to his children.

Therefore, he gradually disappeared from mainland newspapers during the profound reforms of the 90s, but his legend only became more and more legendary with each book.

Chen Guangliang is not completely idle. He still advises his children, after all, there are still forty years of opportunities ahead, and the Chen family still needs to expand its business so that it can continue for a longer period of time.

Chen Guangliang knew which industries were worth acquiring and which were potential pitfalls.

In addition, one should also earn money that is easy to make.

Another issue is the concealment of wealth; future wealth rankings will only include listed companies or some very obvious assets.

Just like the Li family's wealth in the previous life, which later failed to rank in the top ten, because they hid a lot of wealth, the simplest example being the annual cash dividends, which amounted to an unknown amount.

Take the Chen Guangliang family as an example. The Global Group, led by Chen Wenming, will only have one listed company in the future: Hong Kong Airlines. Moreover, its market value will not be very high. A large amount of assets such as the fleet, real estate, and cash will be hidden away.

The Yangtze River Industrial Group, led by Chen Wenkai, may eventually list a real technology company, but the money it has made over the years will naturally remain hidden.

The same is true for Ping An Group, led by Chen Wensheng; only Ping An Bank is listed, and many of its investments are not.

Of course, everyone knows that the Chen Guangliang family is very wealthy; that's for sure.

However, the third generation of the Chen Guangliang family has also grown up and remains full of talent, which is crucial. With successors in place, Chen Guangliang can finally confidently move behind the scenes to make the family even greater. (End of Chapter)