A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 96: New Real Estate Elite
The next day, Wang Zuoyi, the "earth beetle", came to Changjiang Real Estate and told Chen Guangliang a "bad news" - after discussing with his family, Mr. Cen decided to only sell the land and not rent it out.

Wang Zuoyi continued, "I'm a country bumpkin, so I don't have much experience. But Boss Chen, your business is so big now. Is it okay to spend 25000 yuan to buy this 11-acre piece of land?"

Why buy when you can rent?
For Chen Guangliang, the current 2.5 yuan may become 10 yuan in two years.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Guangliang said, "Okay, let's buy it, but please wait a few days while I gather the funds."

Wang Zuoyi immediately smiled and said, "That's no problem! But don't forget, if you want to apply for a Dao Deed, I'm afraid you'll need more money, estimated to be 2.7 yuan."

By this calculation, the price per acre has doubled, and this has only been less than half a year.

But it's normal!
"I know, I don't mind that little bit of money!"

"It's natural"

Afterwards, Wang Zuoyi left happily, after all, he did not lose the business.

In the evening, Chen Guangliang made an appointment with grain merchant Zhu Guangsheng to have dinner at the "Zhongyoutian" Fujian restaurant on Chuanshu Road.

Fujian cuisine was considered to be on the more expensive side among the major cuisines popular in Shanghai at the time, and it had always enjoyed a high reputation in Shanghai restaurants. However, it lacked variety, but it was still sufficient, and mainly featured seafood.

In this era, most of the fresh seafood is served in Fujian, Cantonese and Ningbo restaurants; the prices of dishes are the highest in Sichuan and Fujian restaurants; the cheapest in Beijing and Anhui restaurants.

Therefore, in Shanghai, people who like to entertain guests in a grand manner, in addition to going to Western restaurants, will go to expensive Fujian restaurants that specialize in fresh seafood. Fujian restaurants are on par with Peking cuisine and Zhenjiang cuisine and are very popular.

A table of Fujian cuisine costs 8 to 10 yuan, which is not bad, of course, this is for 8 to 10 people.

There were only two of them, Chen Guangliang and Zhu Guangsheng, so they ordered only four dishes, including: braised turtle skirt, mixed lobster, braised lamb tripe shreds, and lotus tofu.

"Brother, you offered to treat me today. I'm afraid something is wrong?" Zhu Guangsheng was also a straightforward person and spoke first.

Chen Guangliang nodded and then said, "My brother asked me last time if your land in southern Shanghai could also be developed into a 'Happy Home' model."

Zhu Guangsheng's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "Yes, do you want to develop it? I will definitely give priority to you for cooperation. After all, you are the best in the real estate industry!"

He gave a thumbs up!

Anyone who can innovate and succeed in an industry must be very powerful.

Chen Guangliang was deeply moved. He didn't expect that the friend he met by chance had now become a good friend.

Of course, he still said firmly, "I don't think your location has much advantage in development right now. To be honest, there's an 11-acre plot of farmland for sale on Yuyuan Road. I originally planned to rent it and develop a real estate project, but now the owner is only willing to sell. So, if you're willing to invest, that's the best deal!"

When talking about business, Zhu Guangsheng also became serious: "Brother, you have such a big car dealership, and you are also engaged in real estate business. Can't you take out this money?"

Chen Guangliang smiled bitterly and said, "When it comes to accumulation, I can't even compare to you business elders in terms of flattery. Otherwise, I wouldn't have considered renting land to build a house in the first place. After all, if I could solve the problem of land financing, I wouldn't have to give the house to others in twenty years."

This time, Zhu Guangsheng also understood!

He was immediately very tempted and said, "It looks like I'll have to pay about 2.7 yuan, and I can collect 2500 yuan in rent every year, which means I can get my investment back in ten years. This means I can double my money in just the land rent in twenty years; of course, the biggest profit is the ownership of the house in twenty years."

When anyone hears about this kind of "cooperation", as long as they cannot afford the construction costs or do not understand real estate, they have no reason to refuse such cooperation.

This cooperative model was very popular in the Shanghai Concession after the start of the Anti-Japanese War. Because a large number of people fled to the concession at the time, housing was very scarce, so this model became popular in the Shanghai real estate industry within a year.

And now, because of the "Northern Expedition", wealthy people from all over the country have fled to Shanghai, and they also need a large number of houses.

"That's right. In short, this is a win-win cooperation!"

Zhu Guangsheng said with satisfaction: "It's more than a win-win situation. Those owners who buy your houses are also winners. Okay, give me two days to raise funds, and then introduce the land to me."

Earlier this year, he bought a piece of land in southern Shanghai to make up for the land in Zhabei that he sold last year.

After the "Happy Home" was launched, he also became interested and took the initiative to seek cooperation with Chen Guangliang.

Unexpectedly, after seeing the land, Chen Guangliang did not like it.

The reason was simple. The land was not within the scope of "building a road beyond the boundary" and the surrounding residential areas were not as good as Yuyuan Road. Chen Guangliang was worried that it would be a waste of money.

This made Zhu Guangsheng a little upset, and he reflected on his poor vision!

"Okay, then it's a deal!"

"no problem"

Next, the two of them had a drink and chatted.

During this time, Zhu Guangsheng asked, "Does this land in southern Shanghai have any investment prospects?"

Chen Guangliang said frankly: "Give it another two years and see, unless you are really short of money."

Zhu Guangsheng smiled and said, "That's not the case. I just doubt my own judgment. But I have a good eye for making friends, haha!" The two of them had a very enjoyable chat. During the chat, Zhu Guangsheng also talked about Chen Guangliang's marriage and joked about whether he wanted to be a matchmaker.

Chen Guangliang smiled and shook his head. He was not very anxious about this matter and believed in fate.

What's more, if he wants to marry, he should marry someone with a good family background to fill his social status.

Of course, in this case, Chen Guangliang himself will have to be promoted faster.

If he was just a car dealership owner, he would definitely not be able to make a name for himself in the next three to five years. Even if he became a car dealership owner like Gu Zhuxuan, those wealthy nobles might not look down on him.

But if he becomes a "new real estate tycoon", it will undoubtedly gild his identity and his social status will be self-evident.

At this time in the Shanghai Stock Exchange, it was very difficult to become a "real estate tycoon" because the market had been divided up by five major groups of people.

The first category: foreign firms or individuals. The "poor" Sassoon, Hardoon, and Lester were the three most prominent foreign real estate developers in modern Shanghai. Sassoon & Co. owned nearly one-third of Shanghai's high-rise buildings, while Hardoon held 40% of the land and properties along Nanjing East Road. Lester was second only to Sassoon and Hardoon in real estate magnate status. However, after his death in 1926, he established a charitable foundation primarily to support and promote cultural, educational, medical, and charitable causes in Shanghai. Renji Hospital, Lester Institute of Technology (now 505 East Changzhi Road), and Lester Medical College (now 1320 Beiping West Road) are the most prominent. The foundation also assisted vulnerable groups such as rickshaw drivers.

The second category: compradors (Chinese). Examples include Cheng Jinxuan (father of Cheng Linsheng), Zhou Liantang (father of Zhou Xiangyun and Zhou Chunqing), Yu Qiaqing, Bei Runsheng, Zheng Bozhao, Chen Bingqian, and Ying Ziyun. They were a formidable force in the modern Shanghai real estate industry, each amassed fortunes in the tens of millions of silver.

The third category: high-ranking bureaucrats. They primarily relied on their power to acquire real estate when opportunities arose, such as Li Hongzhang and Sheng Xuanhuai during the late Qing Dynasty, and Kong Xiangxi during the Nanjing Nationalist Government. The descendants of Li and Sheng each controlled numerous chaebols in the Shanghai stock market. Upon Sheng Xuanhuai's death, one son alone inherited 200 million yuan in assets.

The fourth category: wealthy merchant families. These families had already accumulated substantial assets before arriving in Shanghai. Upon arrival, their descendants, upon witnessing the booming real estate industry, began acquiring properties to reap the benefits. For example, the lands of Nanxun's Four Elephants, such as the Great World and Jing'an Villas, were once owned by the Zhang family. Many alleys along Fuzhou Road and Guangxi Road, including the former Huileli, were once owned by the Liu family.

The fifth category: banks. During this era, banks often invested in real estate to preserve their assets. Even after the Nationalist government prohibited banks from investing directly in real estate, these banks still used trusts as a different method of investment.

Therefore, the so-called "real estate tycoons" in the Shanghai Stock Exchange are all these five types of people. Obviously, Chen Guangliang is not in this category!

But Chen Guangliang is now cleverly using the sixteen-character mantra of "renting land to build houses, selling them in sections, repaying the principal when due, and the house returning to the landlord." He can gradually become a celebrity in the Shanghai real estate industry, and it is very likely that he will become a "newcomer" in the Shanghai real estate industry in the future.

It has been less than a year since he traveled through time, but Chen Guangliang already owns four plots of land and two real estate projects. This development speed is considered very fast.

Beginning of November.

It happened to be the weekend, and Professor Zhang Qihua invited Chen Guangliang to have tea together. The two have always been in contact and are considered good friends across industries.

It has been more than half a year since "Camel Xiangzi" was serialized. Now Professor Zhang Qihua has been promoted to a "second-rate literary giant" and has achieved some success in the literary world.

There is no shortage of literati in this era, but naturally few can be called "literary masters." I'm afraid that deep down, Zhang Qihua is very grateful to Chen Guangliang for giving him such good material.

Zhang Qihua glanced around, seeing people carrying bird cages and smoking water pipes. He immediately said with a hint of disgust, "If I had known the environment would be like this, I would have been better off drinking tea at your Changjiang Car Dealership. It would have been more comfortable."

Chen Guangliang followed Professor Zhang's gaze and then said with a smile, "It's noisy over there too, but it may not be as noisy as here."

Zhang Qihua said: "These are two completely different kinds of noise!"

His words were self-evident. He was writing "Camel Xiangzi", a novel with rickshaw drivers as the protagonists, so naturally he would not dislike this group. What's more, he also understood that the management of the Yangtze River Rickshaw Company was better, and the drivers only worked for entertainment, not gambling.

Chen Guangliang thought about something and then said, "So, teahouses are a traditional industry. Then Western coffee shops are a good place for quiet and cultural exchange."

Zhang Qihua laughed and said, "You know too much, even about the coffee shop business."

Coffee was originally brought to Shanghai by foreigners, but it wasn't officially named "coffee," its Chinese name, until around 1920. During this period, coffee shops were most concentrated north of Chuanshu Road, gradually moving southward to include renowned establishments like the Royal Cafe, Sullivan's Cafe, and the Tekachenko Brothers Cafe.

However, the real participation of Chinese people in it seems that it has not officially started yet, but it should be an event in the past one or two years, because more and more "GM writers", "literary men" and "talented women" have come to Shanghai.

Chen Guangliang said, "I know a little bit. I prefer reading newspapers and books, and I like to accept new things. I worry that one day I will not be able to keep up with the times."

Zhang Qihua nodded in satisfaction. He had always been optimistic about this young man because of his learning ability. The best example was that he went from having poor English at the beginning to being able to communicate fluently in English.

Subsequently.

Chen Guangliang asked curiously, "Professor Zhang, how popular do you think martial arts novels are in the South?"

Zhang Qihua paused for a moment before continuing, "As for martial arts novels, they're certainly most popular in the north, but the south also has a strong audience, so there's really no distinction between north and south. For example, 'The Legend of Jianghu Heroes' was serialized in 'Red Magazine' in 1923 and later published as a standalone volume. With its rich imagination and widespread influence, this novel is widely considered to be the forerunner of the martial arts novel. There's even a recently released film, 'The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple,' which is based on this novel."

Chen Guangliang knew what was going on, so he said, "So that's how it is."

Zhang Qihua asked, "You don't want to write martial arts novels, do you?" Then he added, "That's not right. Writing can make money, but compared to what you have now, it's nothing."

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "That's not the case. I was just asking casually. I really don't have time to write a novel."

Zhang Qihua said in agreement, "That's right. Such a big car dealership, and now it's doing real estate business. If it weren't Sunday today, I wouldn't even invite you out for tea."

Chen Guangliang quickly said, "Professor Zhang, you're joking. If you invite me, how could I not have time? Besides, I also want to interact with scholars like you, to cultivate myself and reduce the smell of money!"

The two laughed.

Although the two were from different classes, they sat together and chatted about everything, and they admired and had a good impression of each other.

(End of this chapter)