A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 76 Architectural Designer

In the evening, Chen Guangliang went to the Licha Hotel, where Jincheng Bank held its dinner, in his own rickshaw.

Rickshaws have roofs, which can be lowered to block the wind in cold winter, but Chen Guangliang pays more attention to his vision, so he will definitely not lower the roof.

As he toured the evening scenery of Shanghai, Chen Guangliang felt a sense of belonging – he had arrived in this era at the right time.

why would you say so?

Because, one of the predecessors of the Peace Hotel, the Cathay Hotel, was still under construction (i.e. the north building), and was expected to open in the late 1920s; the Jinjiang Hotel was also under construction, and was expected to open in the late 1920s; the Paramount, Ciro's, Metropolitan, and New Xianlin, the "four major ballrooms", had not yet appeared on the stage; neon lights were rapidly expanding in Shanghai, and domestic industries were also catching up with the pace of the West.
Therefore, he was able to truly witness the best and fastest development of Shanghai in the 1927s and 1937s, the first half of this century (~).

Moreover, he just happened to have started his career in this era, so he could enjoy these ten years without having to be just a bystander.

The rickshaw soon arrived at Nanjing East Road, where there were already many neon lights. The most spectacular and bustling buildings were the Sincere Department Store, Wing On Department Store, and Sun Hung Department Store, the three major department store giants in Guangdong Province.

As for Dah Sing Department Store, one of the "Four Major Department Stores" of later generations, it had not yet appeared and was estimated to have appeared in the mid-1930s.

Department stores of this era were generally six-story buildings that could satisfy customers' one-stop consumption needs for food, drink, entertainment, and recreation; the merchandise was extremely diverse, with products such as Parker pens from the United States, LV and Chanel from France, and everything you could want.

On Nanjing Road, there are also many "red-headed Indians" who are tall and fierce-looking. They direct traffic and beat disobedient rickshaw drivers with sticks.

This tradition seems to be very common in India in the 21st century, but now it is the Chinese who are bullied, and it has left an indelible nightmare for rickshaw drivers.

On both sides of the easternmost section of Nanjing East Road are the Chinachem Hotel which is under construction and the Huizhong Hotel which is currently in operation.

The rickshaw left the busy Nanjing East Road and then turned to Huangputan Road (Zhongshan East 1st Road of the Bund). The international buildings here were shocking even when I came to Shanghai in my previous life. Even now, they are still very shocking and enviable. After all, the land costs more than 400,000 yuan per acre, and it is impossible to buy it. Moreover, the buildings here are very tall, Western-style, and luxurious, making people linger.

Drive north towards Huangputan Road and cross the Waibaidu Bridge, which is where the Suzhou Creek and the Huangpu River meet, and where Yiping jumped off the bridge.

After crossing the Waibaidu Bridge, you will see the Ritz-Carlton Hotel (later known as the Pujiang Hotel), now one of the top hotels in Shanghai.

It covers an area of ​​4500 or 16000 acres ( square meters) and has a construction area of ​​more than square meters. It is extremely luxurious and huge.

Jincheng Bank (Shanghai Branch) booked a banquet hall here tonight to hold its annual customer appreciation dinner, and Chen Guangliang happened to attend today.

Entering the banquet hall, where celebrities gathered, Cheng Zikang did not ignore Chen Guangliang. He personally invited him to take a seat and introduced him to others.

"This is Mr. Chen Guangliang, who owns a rickshaw business and a lot of land on Yuyuan Road. This is Mr. Zhuang from Zhuang Jun Architects, the designer of our Jincheng Bank building. This is Mr. Gao, the real estate tycoon. You guys are busy. I'll be back soon!"

Jincheng Bank included Chen Guangliang in the real estate and construction client list, so everyone at their table was involved in similar business.

After Cheng Zikang left, everyone looked at Chen Guangliang because he was so young, at most in his early twenties (and dressed maturely).

Chen Guangliang was very sociable and immediately asked Zhuang Jun, "Mr. Zhuang, do you have any knowledge of new-style lanes?"

Zhuang Jun immediately laughed and said, "A little research has shown that the modern lilong (lilong) is an improvement and development of the old Shikumen (Shikumen) housing, better suited to the needs of the upper and middle classes at the time. A representative example is the Yarpeifang (now Lane 9, Shaanxi South Road), built by the Huaxia Construction Company in 1920. It boasts 582 three-story reinforced concrete buildings and four four-story structures."

He was quite patient, but then the real estate developer, Gao Dengke, deliberately asked, "Mr. Chen, you're asking about new-style lanes. Are you planning to develop a large-scale project like this?"

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "I have this idea. I am planning to develop a project on Yuyuan Road, so I would like to ask Mr. Zhuang for advice!"

As soon as these words were spoken, two builders immediately handed over their business cards, and Chen Guangliang also gave everyone a business card in return - the general manager of Changjiang Real Estate and Changjiang Car Dealership.

Of course, if Changjiang Real Estate develops "new-style lanes", it will definitely adopt the form of bidding to select builders.

As for the designer, it was unclear whether Zhuang Jun would be interested. He seemed to be a remarkable Chinese architect of this era and would have considerable influence in later generations. For a time, real estate developer Gao Dengke no longer dared to look down on him, wondering if Chen Guangliang was some wealthy second-generation inheritor of his family's business.

After pretending to be B, Chen Guangliang stopped trying to show off, but he always managed to get a few words in about whatever topic everyone was talking about.

In fact, whether a person is a social expert depends on his or her knowledge and experience, not anything else.

The so-called "expressive ability" is actually a person's knowledge and experience.

That evening, Jincheng Bank's hosting was also very thoughtful and enthusiastic, at least Chen Guangliang felt that.

Of course, more importantly, Chen Guangliang met an architectural designer and two builders, who are all good connections.

After the dinner, Chen Guangliang took his own rickshaw, which was waiting for him, and drove towards his home on Yuyuan Road.

One rickshaw carried Chen Guangliang, and another rickshaw carried the bodyguard Lin Feng. The distance was about seven or eight kilometers. It took the two rickshaw drivers nearly an hour to jog all the way.

"Boss, that's too much!"

After arriving, Chen Guangliang paid 2 yuan for the fare.

Under normal circumstances, the charge for an hour's ride should be 0.5 yuan. Today, Chen Guangliang charged 1 yuan for a round trip. Of course, the ride was less than an hour, so other customers might not agree with the -cent charge.

It is reasonable to wait. After all, the driver would be laughing to death when receiving such a long-distance trip, let alone waiting for two hours for a round trip.

"It's almost New Year's Day, and that's the year 1928. Everyone, go home and get some rest."

Chen Guangliang took two more paper bags from Lin Feng and handed them to the two drivers.

"Take it and share it with your family. I also wish you a happy new year in advance!"

"Thank you, Boss. I wish you a happy new year, good health for your family, and great success in your career."

Chen Guangliang has always been very generous and is deeply respected by these drivers. The two drivers received double the fare and a portion of food. They happily prepared to go to the driver's base to hand over the car in advance and then go home to rest.

"Lin Feng, you should go back too and reunite with your family!"

Lin Feng immediately shook his head and said, "No, I have to be on duty. Brother Liang, you go in!"

On this piece of land, Zhou Xinggao built another "security post" and sent people to be on duty every night, and sometimes he also did the duty himself.

Chen Guangliang put his arm around Lin Feng's shoulders and said, "Let's go in and have some hot water and something to eat first!"

"Afeng, come in and have a drink!"

"Thank you, auntie and uncle."

As soon as we entered the house, Yang Qingshan and his family followed us in. Everyone had a lively time together, setting out food and having some drinks.

Although the environment is very simple, it is quite warm and much better than before.

As the time on the watch reaches twelve o'clock, it also means the arrival of 1928.

(End of this chapter)