A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

This day.

Yan Renmei sat on the sofa in the garden villa on Gande Road and called Chen Guangcong over.

"Guangcong, are you in contact with Jiang Meiying?"

Chen Guangcong, standing to the side, sensed something was amiss upon hearing this, but not daring to offend his sister-in-law, he replied, "I know her."

Yan Renmei said, "I'm afraid it's more than just knowing each other. You're now your elder brother's right-hand man. When Jiang Meiying and her son come to Hong Kong, do you think you won't treat them with proper respect?"

Chen Guangcong felt a chill run down his spine, but he forced himself to say, "Sister-in-law, you are my brother's lawfully wedded wife, and naturally you are my only sister-in-law."

When it's time to show loyalty, there must be no ambiguity.

Chen Guangcong naturally understood Yan Renmei's position in his elder brother's heart; without her permission, Jiang Meiying wouldn't even be able to enter the door.

This alone made him realize that he absolutely could not be ambiguous on this point, lest he allow his sister-in-law to have a negative opinion of him.

Yan Renmei finally smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, I'm not going to cause her any trouble. Since we've all come to Hong Kong to seek refuge, it's always good to have more friends. So, can you go and tell her that I'd like to have dinner with her at the Hong Kong Grand Hotel?"

Chen Guangcong was still a little unsure. He glanced at his sister-in-law and was worried that if his brother was not around, his two sisters-in-law would start fighting, and he would be the one to blame.

"What are you looking at? It's really just a meal. Do you think I would do something like that!"

Chen Guangcong quickly replied, "Okay, sister-in-law, you come from a prominent family, and we have always respected you."

The last sentence was also a veiled reminder—since your elder brother isn't here, sister-in-law, please don't go and 'discipline' Sister-in-law Mei Ying and Chen Wenjin and her son.

"Don't worry, hurry up and make the arrangements. Your older brother will be coming to Hong Kong next month!"

"Ok"

After Chen Guangcong left the villa, Yang Hui, who had been hiding to the side, came in with her two grandsons, trying to ingratiate herself.

Yang Hui could tell that Yan Renmei's tone had softened somewhat, and she wondered if her grandson, who had been living away from home, might have a chance to come back into the family.

Yan Renmei made no promises to Yang Hui. Her idea was simply to meet Jiang Meiying, not to let her into the house. She just wanted to see if Jiang Meiying was easy to get along with and worth getting to know.

Having been in Hong Kong for some time, Yan Renmei still hasn't adapted. She has almost no friends here, and the summer temperatures are too high, so she's not used to many things.

Of course, fortunately, with her two sons by her side, Yan Renmei didn't feel she absolutely had to return to Shanghai to live.

The next day, Yan Renmei met Jiang Meiying at the Hong Kong Grand Hotel. The two women were naturally amazed by each other's beauty and temperament, thinking to themselves that it was no wonder that man was like that.

Yan Renmei spoke first, saying, "I've always felt your presence, but I've never actually met you, which is a strange feeling."

Jiang Meiying feigned composure and said, "Could it be that Miss Yan has a lot of resentment towards me, and therefore constantly feels that I am affecting your life? If so, then I am truly sorry!"

She was ultimately a step too late, hence her humble demeanor today.

Yan Renmei said, "At first I thought you were annoying, interfering in our lives. Later I realized that even if Jiang Meiying wasn't the only one, there must be other women. He has a very ambitious idea."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Meiying felt somewhat uncomfortable. Yan Renmei's words seemed to imply that she could be 'replaced' by Chen Guangliang, and that Chen Guangliang's feelings for her were not purely affectionate, but rather a necessity born of ambition!
“Miss Yan, I don’t know what you mean, but he and I do have a very deep relationship and will never be separated in this lifetime.”

Yan Renmei glanced at Jiang Meiying. She was certain that Chen Guangliang liked Jiang Meiying more for her beauty, and while personality played a part, he must have felt that Jiang Meiying was easier to control.

Such a woman poses little threat to her and does not threaten her position as the legitimate wife.

At the same time, since Jiang Meiying already exists, in order to prevent Chen Guangliang from doing anything out of line again, Yan Renmei decided to make concessions.

“Let’s be friends! After all, you gave birth to his child, and I don’t want the children to become strangers; they are brothers, after all.”

Jiang Meiying became excited and said, "You're willing to let Wenjin in?"

Yan Renmei said, "Why not? I know you will be going to America in the future, while we will be in Hong Kong. If we can spend more time together when we are young, it will strengthen the bond between brothers."

In short, they only allowed the children to enter the house, but could not yet acknowledge Jiang Meiying's status as a 'concubine'.

Yan Renmei wouldn't back down too much at once, but this trip to Hong Kong to seek refuge has taught her to compromise again.

When Chen Guangliang arrived in Hong Kong, it was already July 5th.

He was greeted by Yan Renmei and Jiang Meiying, which surprised him greatly. He wondered when the two women had met.

He glanced at Chen Guangcong and saw that the boy had his head down, pretending not to know, so he already knew what was going on.

Fortunately, Yan Renmei spoke first: "What's so strange about it? Hong Kong is so small, we can just bump into each other and get to know each other!"

Chen Guangliang chuckled and said, "I forgot, you all live on Gande Road."

In fact, Conduit Road is a very long Mid-Levels road in Hong Kong, and there are still quite a few villas along it.

Yan Renmei then took Chen Guangliang's arm and said, "Yes, so we're neighbors, and Wenjin is playing with her brother and younger brother in the house right now."

Chen Guangliang could only say, "Thank you."

Then he said to Jiang Meiying, "Thank you both for your hard work. Let's go home."

Despite this, Chen Guangliang dared not be complacent. He knew Yan Renmei's personality and that she would not so easily acknowledge Jiang Meiying as her concubine.

However, Chen Guangliang was still full of hope today, as Yan Renmei had begun to soften her stance.

Back at the villa, the family reunited, and Chen Guangliang was in high spirits. His younger brother and his family of three also joined them, bringing the family to ten, making them feel like a real clan. During dinner that evening, Chen Guangliang said, “I know you all feel that Hong Kong cannot be compared to Shanghai, or even many cities on the mainland. But we must consider Hong Kong our base. This basically means we will live in Hong Kong from now on, even if we need to temporarily retreat there. Once the war ends, we will still come back to live in Hong Kong. The reason is simple: Hong Kong is Britain's core interest in the Far East. Regardless of who rules China in the future, it is unlikely that Hong Kong will be taken back, because it is a window for communication with the West. Furthermore, there are many advantages to doing business in Hong Kong. It has its own trading port, allowing for free flow of funds. We can look north to the mainland and use Hong Kong as a springboard to invest overseas at any time.”

Yan Renmei asked, "But can Hong Kong really develop like this? I don't see that commerce here is very developed, and the population is only about 100 million."

Chen Guangliang said, "Once the war starts, Hong Kong's population will increase dramatically in a very short time, and commerce will naturally flourish."

Yan Renmei nodded and said no more. She already had the 'secret plan' given to her by Chen Guangliang and knew that she would definitely come to Hong Kong to develop her career in the future.

Then Chen Guangliang talked about an important matter. He said to his younger brother Chen Guangcong, "We currently have four 5000-ton ships in Hong Kong. You need to do your job well. Once the war starts, Hong Kong will inevitably become a material transport station for the anti-Japanese war zone in the mainland. So you need to calm down and get along well with the local sailors. At that time, we will rely entirely on first-hand information to transport materials."

Feeling valued by his elder brother, Chen Guangcong quickly said, "Don't worry, elder brother. I've been working in Hong Kong trade, and I'm already familiar with the shipping business here."

"Well, I gave you eight words: be flexible and adaptable, and protect yourself."

"yes, Sir"

The four ships in Hong Kong will all be registered under the name of a foreign firm, but they will definitely be transporting supplies needed by their own anti-Japanese war zone.

Although Chen Guangliang did not want to bring this kind of work home, he would indeed personally command and participate in the subsequent war of resistance.

Two days later, the July 7 Incident occurred, shocking the entire nation.

As this event unfolded, the Nationalist government realized that a full-scale war between China and Japan was inevitable and began to study various strategies.

For a time, the entire country was shrouded in the shadow of war.

On this day, accompanied by his subordinates, Chen Guangliang inspected the 'Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway (Guangzhou and Kowloon)'.

Wu Hao, the manager of Jinshan Shipping, said from the side, "Boss, this railway will be open next month. At that time, supplies from Hong Kong can be transported from Kowloon Station to Guangzhou, and then transferred from Guangzhou to Wuhan. This is a strategic line."

Chen Guangliang naturally understood the importance of this railway. Hong Kong was a crucial transshipment point for goods, with various supplies being transported from Hong Kong to the war-torn areas. Since Guangdong province was not expected to fall for another year, this railway line would be extremely important during that next year as well.

"We need to get our hands on this information as soon as possible; it will be very useful later."

Wu Hao nodded and said, "Understood."

In fact, Jinshan Shipping's base is in Guangzhou Bay (Zhanjiang), and it currently owns three ships with a displacement of 1,000 tons each. Its main business is operating shipping routes from Zhanjiang to Hong Kong and from Zhanjiang to the southwestern provinces. The business has been performing well, and Wu Hao, originally from the customs service, has now become a key senior executive under Chen Guangliang.

Subsequently, supplies from Hong Kong entered the war zone via four routes. The first route was to land at the Hong Kong port, then transfer to Guangzhou, and then transport them along the Yuehan Railway to Wuhan, the rear area of ​​the anti-Japanese war.

The second route: disembark at Haiphong Port in Vietnam, then transport the goods via the Guangxi-Vietnam Railway and the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway to Guangxi and Yunnan, and finally transfer them to Chongqing, the wartime capital.

The third route: from Almaty in the Soviet Union, through provinces such as Xinjiang and Qinghai, and finally to Lanzhou, the capital of Sichuan Province.

The fourth route was the Burma Road, which was hastily built by the people of Yunnan at the beginning of the War of Resistance against Japan. After landing at Yangon Port in Myanmar, the goods were transported to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province.

Currently, Chen Guangliang's Global Shipping (Jinshan Shipping) has figured out the first and second routes.

In fact, the main purpose was to transport textiles from the concessions to the rear areas.

Ten days later, the speech at Lushan was broadcast throughout China through newspapers: "If war breaks out, then there will be no distinction between north and south, no distinction between young and old, and everyone has the responsibility to defend the land and resist the enemy, and everyone should be determined to sacrifice everything."

Clearly, the government has realized that a full-scale war is now inevitable.

In the villa on Conduit Road, Chen Guangliang looked at that day's Oriental Daily News with a solemn expression on his face.

Am I a 'runaway'?
The reason Chen Guangliang fled in advance during this war was because he knew that Japan had dropped many bombs in the concessions during its attack on Shanghai. For example, a single bomb on Nanjing East Road alone took the lives of hundreds of people in a department store.

Therefore, in order to avoid his family and himself being unjustly killed by the bomb, Chen Guangliang took precautions beforehand.

Since Chen Guangliang was not in Shanghai during the Battle of Shanghai, he naturally could not make a significant contribution.

Yan Renmei came to his side and said, "Since you know things will inevitably happen this way, and you know we will inevitably win, yet you're already looking so worried, just do your best in everything and don't put all the pressure on yourself. Besides, aren't the sugar factory in Neijiang, the alcohol factory in Zizhong, the textile factory and the soymilk factory in Chongqing all contributing to the country?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Guangliang's face relaxed, and he said, "I'm just worried about the safety of my compatriots. But you're right, once war breaks out, who can guarantee 100% safety?"

If necessary, he would also take his family to Chongqing, where they would also face bombing by Japanese planes. Who said he would be a coward?
Yan Renmei changed the subject, saying, "I've already enrolled Wenjie in school; he'll be in first grade."

Chen Guangliang slapped his forehead and said, "I almost forgot about this. I really shouldn't have. Wenjie is over four years old, and given his precociousness and intelligence, he should have no problem starting first grade."

Before this, Chen Wenjie received his 'preschool education' at home.

Yan Renmei said, "I can do these things, so don't worry about them. You can worry about them when the child is in middle school."

Chen Guangliang nodded. He already had plans for his children's education: to send them abroad to study when they reached high school, thus combining Chinese and Western education.

Then Yan Renmei said, "I wonder if my godmother and the others are going to Chongqing or Hong Kong?"

Chen Guangliang said, "Naturally, we'll come to Hong Kong first, then go to Chongqing, just like us. After all, the film industry still needs to continue to develop, and Zhuang Zhujiu is the manager of Times Film Industry."

As far as he knew, after Shanghai fell to the Japanese, tickets for cinemas in the foreign concessions were incredibly hard to come by, because everyone was indulging in a life of debauchery. Imagine, wealthy people from all over the world came to Shanghai for refuge; what they had no shortage of was wealth, what they lacked most was 'enjoyment'. Even during the 'isolated island period,' Shanghai attracted massive amounts of capital from Southeast Asia, perhaps billions of dollars, both for safety and because of the high returns on investment.

Therefore, during the concession period from 1938 to 1941, hotels, cinemas, and theaters were basically always packed.

"Great! At least I have another companion!"

Chen Guangliang smiled. Zhuang Zhujiu and the Sheng couple were already tied to Chen Guangliang's cause and would naturally follow him. (End of Chapter)