A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 199 Engagement
Early July.

Building 19, Huangputan Road, Huizhong Hotel.

Tonight, Chen Guangliang and Yan Renmei will hold an engagement ceremony in the lobby of Huizhong Hotel.

The engagement dinner was held in the main hall of the Huizhong Hotel, which has teak walls and a flat ceiling decorated with plaster carvings. Normally, the hall is separated by screens, which can be removed to create a large auditorium suitable for large gatherings.

In 1911, when the founding father came to Shanghai, the Chinese Revolutionary League held a welcoming meeting in the hall and invited him to give a speech. It is full of historical background.

Buildings in Shanghai all have a history. Even the Shangri-La Hotel, which is currently under renovation, will still highlight in future introductions to its history that celebrities such as the Commander-in-Chief once held their weddings here (formerly the Majestic Hotel), and its ballroom is ranked among Shanghai's top-tier hotels.

Tonight's engagement dinner was for the relatives and friends of both parties, with only ten tables in total. Yan's relatives and friends were the most numerous. Of course, if they got married in the future, Chen Guangliang would definitely have the most friends, after all, he was currently at the peak of his career.

Chen Guangliang was assassinated recently, so tonight's engagement dinner is also meant to bring good luck.

The engagement dinner was hosted by Fang Jiaobo, who was also Chen Guangliang's "matchmaker".

At the scene, Fang Jiaobo proudly said to Yan Zijun, "Brother Yibin, this is a match made in heaven for the newlyweds, what do you think?"

Yan Zijun was in good spirits tonight, showing none of his usual sickly appearance. He leaned on his cane and smiled, "Yes, it's a match made in heaven. I'm absolutely delighted with Guangliang as my grandson-in-law, thanks to you, Jifan, for bringing us together."

Fang Jiaobo replied, "I was only invited to act as a matchmaker, but Guangliang and your granddaughter are destined to be together. We met by chance and fell in love at first sight. Of course, I think this is also related to your enlightened education, Brother Yibin."

This remark struck a chord with Yan Zijun, who was very open-minded about the education of his children and grandchildren. Because of this, all three of his daughters attended university and married promising and educated young men.

He has always been supportive of his granddaughter, but sometimes he is only a grandfather after all and cannot always interfere in matters. As the eldest son, he is not open-minded enough.

On the other side, Chen Guangliang and Yan Renmei stood together, and everyone admired in their hearts - they are the best representatives of talented men and beautiful women.

Yan Renmei is wearing a red patterned cheongsam dress today. The design is a fusion of Chinese and Western styles, making her look particularly beautiful and gorgeous.

Chen Guangliang wore a suit and shirt, had a slicked-back hair, a straight back, and looked mature, confident and charming.

Stepmother Xu Qingwan then introduced Chen Guangliang: "Guangliang, this is Renmei's godmother, Miss Sheng Aiyi. They have a very good relationship!"

Chen Guangliang smiled, nodded slightly, and said, "Hello, Miss Qi!"

Everyone was a little surprised. After all, Yan Renmei called you "godmother", and you were her "godson-in-law", so you should at least call her "godmother".

But everyone soon realized that there was nothing wrong with calling Chen Guangliang that!
When Sheng Aiyi heard this title, she said happily, "It's no wonder he's the most talented and wealthy person in Shanghai. His conversation is really good."

She was not married, and Chen Guangliang was only ten years younger than her. It would be awkward to call him "godmother".

In addition, Sheng Aiyi is keen on socializing, so naturally she wants to interact with Chen Guangliang, so calling her "godmother" would not be very nice.

Chen Guangliang smiled and didn't take it seriously. Instead, he took Yan Renmei to continue getting to know the relatives of both sides.

He observed his family from time to time. His younger brother Chen Guangcong was busy with the reception work. Although he was a bit inexperienced, he was serious and patient. His mother and second uncle's family were a little restrained, but the people from the Yan family would take the initiative to speak to them and would not look down on them at all. This showed that Chen Guangliang now had a high status.

After meeting all the relatives, Chen Guangliang arranged for Yan Renmei to sit down and said carefully, "Sit down and eat something first. Your health is important!"

Everyone looked at the 'newlyweds' with a smile, and in their hearts they all sighed that Chen Guangliang was good at pampering people. The key was that Chen Guangliang had the ability to do so.

Many of the people here today are elders, but Chen Guangliang responded to them without any weakness and with courtesy and decorum.

Everyone understands that Chen Guangliang is not only a self-made billionaire, but also a truly powerful figure in the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It can even be said that he is a big boss who has come through bullets and guns.

It had only been ten days since the assassination, and everyone had been worried that Chen Guangliang might be frightened and behave a little strangely today. But on the contrary, Chen Guangliang remained calm and composed, showing no sign of being frightened at all.

Yan Renmei's face flushed slightly, and she said softly, "Well, you sit down and eat too!"

She believes that it was after she met Chen Guangliang that she felt the most valued since she was a child.

The thing that really didn't averse to her getting married was when she was locked in the room by her father and Chen Guangliang came to rescue her; she would always remember that Chen Guangliang even went so far as to fight with her father in order to protect her.

At that moment, she had found her soulmate!

During the meal, seeing her fiancé talking freely with everyone and taking care of her mood from time to time, Yan Renmei fell even more deeply in love.

During the meal, stepmother Xu Qingwan asked, "When will the renovated Dahua Hotel reopen? It will definitely be in time for your wedding, right?"

Yan Zhiduo immediately corrected him, "It's now called the 'Shangri-La Hotel,' not the Dahua Hotel. It will open next spring!"

When talking about this project, Yan Zhiduo has a lot of "say", after all, he also has 40% of the shares!

Xu Qingwan immediately asked curiously, "Shangri-La Hotel, what does this name mean?"

Everyone looked at Chen Guangliang, waiting for the secret to be revealed.

A luxurious hotel in Shanghai is a symbol of identity and status.

The total investment in the Shangri-La Hotel was at least 150 million yuan (original property + land + reconstruction and renovation), which was the first time for Chinese businessmen in Shanghai.

However, the 150 million has already been earned back from New Town Garden, and it is more than enough.

Chen Guangliang put down his chopsticks and explained slowly, "First, 'Shangri-La' is a transliteration of the Tibetan word for 'paradise.' It symbolizes people's search for an ideal society, perhaps a hidden and harmonious utopia, a place filled with tranquility and beautiful natural scenery. Specifically, it might be the ancient Dali Kingdom in Yunnan."

Everyone cheered when they heard it, and Yan Renmei looked at her fiancé with admiration.

He is rich, powerful, talented and handsome, a true perfectionist man.

In response to the sharp drop in the prices of government bonds and treasury bills at the Shanghai Securities and Commodities Exchange and the Huashang Securities Exchange, the Domestic Government Bond Maintenance Committee proposed four relief measures: first, sales must be paid in cash to limit short selling speculation; second, the customs will make monthly payments to the fund to indicate that the government has no funds to withdraw; third, banks may not refuse to use government bonds as collateral; and fourth, they may not refuse to discount the principal and interest of bonds for three months.

However, the market conditions did not recover significantly.

The timely withdrawal of the Changjiang Money House from the government bond market, after all, restricted short selling speculation. As the Changjiang Money House had no spot goods on hand, this path was blocked.

In the meeting room of Changjiang Money House, with a lawyer as witness, Chen Guangliang redeemed the 10% stake held by Yan Zhiduo and became the sole owner of Changjiang Money House.

Since the financial investment activities have ended, if Chen Guangliang plans to set up a "bank" next, he will definitely have to raise funds again.

Yan Zhiduo originally invested 300,000 yuan, and now he has received 900,000 yuan (part of which was paid as bid money). After investing for one year, he made a net profit of 600,000 yuan.

"Uncle, can you take a look at the share withdrawal contract to see if there is any problem?" Chen Guangliang said with a smile as he handed over a contract.

Even brothers settle accounts clearly, let alone father-in-law and son-in-law! Yan Zhiduo nodded, took a quick look at the amount, and said, "No problem, I'll sign here."

After signing the contract, Yan Zhiduo sighed, "In less than a year, the investment in the bid has tripled. This investment is really profitable. On the other hand, the falling price of silver has invisibly reduced everyone's wealth."

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "Silver's devaluation isn't simply a bad thing. Starting this year, a large amount of silver from overseas has flowed into China. This is because the same silver is more valuable and profitable in China. It can be said that the global economic depression will not have a significant impact on China for the time being."

Yan Zhiduo said in surprise, "So there's such a big story behind this. Now that you mention it, I also discovered that this is the reason why silver flowed into China in large quantities."

This is the fact. Many foreign companies invested overseas silver into China, resulting in the influx of hundreds of millions of silver every year.

Originally, Chen Guangliang thought that Shanghai real estate would be in "oversupply" by the end of this year, but now it seems that ordinary residential properties will reach a "saturation state" at the latest by the end of the year, but overall real estate investment will not stagnate.

On the contrary, it was the "Silver Plan" three years later, in which the United States sharply raised the price of silver, causing a large outflow of silver and causing difficulties for Shanghai's industry and commerce.

After chatting for a while, Chen Guangliang escorted Yan Zhiduo out of the office building.

After paying him 900,000 taels of silver, the Changjiang Money House became his sole proprietor, with more than 8 million taels of silver left (including the bid price, government bonds, and silver).

Of course, some debts will be repaid next, and the real estate and financial debts will be repaid this year.

But overall, Chen Guangliang's wealth has reached about 1400 million.

A few days later, the third batch of 100 Chevrolet cars from Changjiang Taxi arrived in Shanghai.

Except for fifty vehicles that were put into Changjiang Taxi after being repainted, the rest of the vehicles are ready for sale.

Chen Guangliang had no intention of selling it in a hurry, so he rented land in southern Shanghai, built a parking lot, surrounded it with a wall, and arranged for bodyguards to guard it.

Because currently a Chevrolet car sells for just over 8,000 yuan in the Shanghai market, but by the end of the year or early next year, a Chevrolet car will conservatively sell for 10,000 yuan, and there will be a shortage of supply.

Here, the US dollar foreign exchange is appreciating and silver is continuing to depreciate.

"Boss, everything has been neatly arranged, the gasoline in the car has been pumped out, and there are people guarding it 24 hours a day!" In the parking lot, Liang Meng got up and walked to Chen Guangliang to report.

Fifty cars, now worth four hundred thousand taels of silver, how can they not be taken care of by the Yan family?

"Golden Eagle Security" has gained a good reputation recently, and it is expected that no one will come to trouble it again.

Chen Guangliang said: "When the fourth batch of cars arrives in Shanghai, they should be worth 10,000 yuan. Then we will sell them to Shanghai and surrounding cities."

Liang Mengqi wasn't surprised. His boss had been betting on a rising US dollar, and they'd borrowed silver from Xinshunji Hardware Store. Not only did they make a lot of money, but they also kept their own vehicle costs low.

"The business of Changjiang Taxi has continued to grow recently. I believe it will soon surpass Yunfei and Tailai to become the taxi company with the largest business in Shanghai. We have already invested in 270 taxis, and the number of branches has been increased to 20, and there are 40 taxi service outlets." Liang Mengqi took the opportunity to report some good news.

Changjiang Taxi not only provides taxi business, but also provides wedding car rental, chartered car and other services, which has become an increasingly mature system.

Chen Guangliang issued a warning: "Changjiang Taxi is growing rapidly, and the quality of its employees may not keep pace. Therefore, regular training must not be relaxed. Each employee must receive at least four hours of training per month, and the employee handbook must be memorized carefully."

Changjiang Taxi operates in the "service industry" and has many rules. Employees who seriously violate the rules will be fired immediately and will not be tolerated.

Right now, we are fighting against the "masters". If we can defeat Tailai and Yunfei, it will be a victory for the nation.

"Well, we all take this issue very seriously. All 836 employees in the company will receive training."

There are more than 800 employees, and it’s a pressure to support them!

If the business is not well managed, many families will fall into trouble.

Whenever Chen Guangliang thinks about this kind of problem, he will seriously consider the development of the company.

"Have the sales department plan a 'discount voucher' campaign. Find hotels, dance halls, and other venues to partner with us. We'll sell them 20% off vouchers, and they can use them to attract customers. It's like killing three birds with one stone."

Liang Mengqi's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "Okay, this is a good idea!"

After chatting for a while, Chen Guangliang left with satisfaction.

Today, 'Yangtze River Taxi' is not only a company with 270 vehicles and 836 employees, but also a company where Chen Guangliang cultivates talents.

The company has recruited a number of educated managers, trained them, and then transferred them to new companies.

This year is the most competitive year for Shanghai's taxi industry.

A year ago, Tailai and Yunfei monopolized nearly 80% of the market in Shanghai, with fares as high as 6 yuan per hour.

In just less than a year, the market share of Tailai and Yunfei has dropped to less than 50% (of course the total market size has expanded a lot), and the fare has been reduced to 3 yuan per hour (service fee 0.3).

Because the fare has been reduced by nearly half, more people are choosing to take taxis, seeing it as a way to keep up with the fashion and show off.

When Yunfei Taxi's general manager, Galt, heard that Changjiang Taxi had added another fifty taxis, he sighed, "Another era has passed."

What he meant was that it was like the rickshaws were monopolized by foreigners in the past, but during the First World War, these rickshaw owners returned to their home country, and the Chinese took the opportunity to take over these industries and began to monopolize the rickshaw market.

The same is true for the taxi industry today. One day, the Americans and the British may give up this market and the Chinese will monopolize it.

The subordinate said, "General Manager, this Chen Guangliang is a master negotiator. He's driven down prices at Texaco, Mobil, and several other oil suppliers by 15% compared to last year. I heard he even set up his own repair shop, not only training maintenance personnel but also providing external repair services. Our advantages have all vanished in just one year."

Even in the concessions, their taxis were no longer considered superior and would be fined if they violated the rules.

Privilege no longer exists.

Galt said, "Then let's have a fair fight!"

The subordinate sighed and said, "How can this be a fair contest? The Chinese are poor, but they are very united. They are using the banner of compatriots to network with many Chinese customers. Our business has been greatly reduced."

Although foreigners are more likely to take taxis, the population base is there.

Many of the Chinese in the concessions were wealthy people from all over the country, so they naturally had stronger spending power.

Galt was dejected and didn't know what to say for a moment.

After fighting for a year, it seems that the winner is about to be decided!

(End of this chapter)