A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

February 14th is Valentine's Day in the West.

On this day, Chen Guangliang and Jiang Meiying held a wedding at the Peninsula Hotel. Among the attendees were some entrepreneurs who had come to Hong Kong for refuge, as well as some well-known figures in Hong Kong.

However, the total number of guests was only ten tables, far less than the wedding of Chen Guangliang and Yan Renmei back then.

This was also Jiang Meiying's idea. In order to respect Yan Renmei, his first wife, their wedding should be kept low-key and not extravagant.

In addition to the ten tables of guests, Chen Guangliang also invited Jiang Meiying's parents to come from Shanghai to Hong Kong to attend this important ceremony.

The wedding went very smoothly. No one was surprised that Chen Guangliang was taking a concubine, given his social status.

After the banquet, Chen Guangliang took Jiang Meiying back to Hong Kong Island, but Jiang Meiying insisted on visiting Yan Renmei.

"Sister, why aren't you in your bridal chamber after your wedding? What are you doing here?" Yan Renmei said with a smile.

She naturally wouldn't attend today, after all, that's already giving Jiang Meiying enough face.

Jiang Meiying said affectionately, "Thank you for your kindness, sister. Besides, you are the first wife, so it is only right that I come to visit you."

Yan Renmei took Jiang Meiying's hand and said, "You're too kind. Our family doesn't follow these kinds of rules. The most important thing is for the two families to work together and raise our children."

"Yes, sister."

After serving tea, Chen Guangliang took Jiang Meiying to another villa on Conduit Road, which was where Jiang Meiying and her son lived.

As Yan Renmei watched the two leave, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside her.

"Mommy, why do I have another mommy?"

“I am your mother, that woman is just your aunt. As for why your father is with her, you can ask your father that!”

"Oh"

Chen Wenjie seemed to understand, but not quite. He was already five years old and knew that some families had aunts, so he had some experience with them.

Meanwhile, Chen Guangliang led Jiang Meiying back to her villa and said with concern, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Jiang Meiying quickly said, "There's no grievance on my part. I think it's Renmei who's wronged. But whether it's her or me, we're willing to give ourselves to you, no matter what happens. We just hope you won't let us down again!"

Good heavens, it seems this is a conspiracy to put pressure on Chen Guangliang, so that he will behave himself in the future and not take a third wife.

Given the chaos of war, Chen Guangliang had no desire to take a third wife. By the time the war ended and his children were older, he would have to consider more factors, so he would not take a third wife.

"Yes, I thank God for letting me have you both at the same time; this is already my greatest blessing!"

"You have such a sweet voice, no wonder Renmei gave in!"

Clearly, Jiang Meiying also knew the root cause of Yan Renmei's compromise—it was Chen Guangliang's charm and sweet talk.

Later, when they entered the bridal chamber, Jiang Meiying asked, "Now that I am officially your wife, what will be the arrangements for me and the children?"

Chen Guangliang put his arm around her and said seriously, "We still have to go to America, but it's expected to be three years later, around the beginning of 1940, when you and the two children will officially go to America. It's very simple, Renmei and I are going to Chongqing, so you have to separate from us. I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket."

Jiang Meiying said reluctantly, "Can't we be together?"

Chen Guangliang stroked her hair and said gently, "If love between two people is meant to last, why should they be together every day? Don't worry, the war will end soon, and it will be very convenient for me to come to America then. Moreover, with future technology, airplanes will become safer and safer, and the journey from Hong Kong to America will only take two or three days at most. Of course, if you want to come to Hong Kong after the war ends, that's fine too, but then the children will have to study in America."

"Yes, I think listening to you is the right thing to do."

Jiang Meiying knew that the reason she and her children couldn't go to Chongqing was because her husband didn't quite trust the Nationalist government. If both families went to Chongqing, it wouldn't align with her husband's motto—don't put all your eggs in one basket.

The following day, Chen Guangliang chatted with Jiang Zhenhua in his study.

"Father-in-law, how's the factory in Shanghai?"

By this time, Jiang Zhenhua's attitude had changed drastically. With the support of Ping An Bank, his textile factory had obtained a loan, which not only helped it overcome its difficulties but also allowed it to relocate to the concession and even expand its scale.

He had basically paid off his loan before the start of the War of Resistance against Japan.

Jiang Zhenhua said, "That's excellent. Right now, only the factories in the concessions in Shanghai can operate. Our products are in short supply, and the prices are extremely high. To be honest, if it weren't for you, I would have really gone bankrupt!"

Chen Guangliang replied, "Father-in-law, you're making so much money now, do you think you're only focused on the concessions and don't want to buy some property in Hong Kong to secure your future?"

Jiang Zhenhua, who also studied abroad and holds a Master of Science degree, asked with doubt, "If Japan could even occupy the concessions, how could Hong Kong possibly remain unscathed?"

Chen Guangliang said, "No matter what, it's good to have more options, in case the situation changes someday. Besides, the legal tender can't stabilize its exchange rate at all. I advise my father-in-law to exchange his earnings for foreign currency and gold, or to buy property."

Jiang Zhenhua understood; his son-in-law's repeated persuasion must be due to some kind of prediction.

He immediately said, "Okay, I understand what you mean."

Chen Guangliang did not try to persuade him further. As long as Jiang Zhenhua had foreign exchange, gold, or even property in Shanghai, he would persuade him to come to Hong Kong to develop his career after the war ended. At that time, Jiang Zhenhua would have enough capital, so there would be no major problem.

Chen Guangliang visited the Yau Tsim Mong district in Kowloon and saw many newly built tenement buildings, many of which were invested by Cheung Kong Property Holdings.

"Boss, after the Battle of Shanghai ended, many wealthy people from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai chose to move south to Hong Kong. All the buildings we built were rented out immediately, with 90% of them rented out."

Cheung Kong Properties has invested in more than 260 three- to five-story tenement buildings in Hong Kong, which means there are about a thousand floors in total.

It's quite an achievement to rent out 90% of the properties so quickly.

Chen Guangliang stated directly, "Next, Yangtze Real Estate will focus on managing these properties well, and I believe they will be fully leased out soon."

After all, Guangdong province will also fall this autumn.

Hong Kong will then see another surge in population, with its population increasing from 100 million last year to 180 million by the end of this year.

Yan Kuan then said, "Boss, some employees want to return to the concession. After all, the project here is basically finished, and they want to go back to be with their families."

Currently, Cheung Kong Property has about 30 full-time employees, not including those in the property management company.

Many of those who came to Hong Kong to develop real estate were transferred from Shanghai. There were also some locals, but they were still a minority. In those days, there were no strong Cantonese or Shanghai cliques in Hong Kong. Everyone was still very united, and in the hierarchy of contempt, Shanghainese were much superior, while Cantonese were slightly inferior.

Even when Du Yuesheng came to Hong Kong, the local gangs would pay him a visit to see the real 'H Gang,' a person who could rise to the rank of lieutenant general in the Southern Whale government.

Chen Guangliang immediately said, "That's no problem. You can arrange it as you see fit. If we're short-handed, we'll recruit locally. Tell everyone that if the concessions fall to the Japanese, they can go to Chongqing; if Hong Kong falls, they can go to Macau. In short, the company will take care of everyone in this war-torn era."

Yan Kuan was stunned. His boss was directly stating that the concessions and Hong Kong might also fall. He said in disbelief, "The Japanese actually dare to oppose Britain and the United States?"

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "It's just an example. By the way, once we have some savings from the rent in Hong Kong, we'll buy some property in Macau. Who knows, we might really need to go there to avoid trouble someday. We don't need much, just a place for everyone to stay."

Yan Kuan had already brought his family to Hong Kong, and immediately said, "Okay, I've got it."

Many of Cheung Kong Real Estate's employees are long-time employees who have worked for Chen Guangliang for a long time. Chen Guangliang has been saving 'retirement funds' for everyone in the company, which means that after working for him for 20 years, it is basically enough for retirement, and even supporting their families is not a problem.

However, in the future, some people may be unwilling to leave the mainland. If they cannot be persuaded to do so, the only option will be to provide their pension in a lump sum.

In short, Chen Guangliang is not harsh in this regard.

Yan Kuan immediately said, "Boss, given the current state of the war, I do not intend to pursue further studies."

After all, even though his company would take care of his wife and children if he went to the United States for further studies, he wouldn't feel at ease in the United States if the concessions and Hong Kong fell to the Japanese.

Chen Guangliang said, "Alright, then let's work hard. In chaotic times, being able to be with family and live peacefully is a very happy thing."

"Yes, I am willing to work for you, boss, until I retire."

Clearly, this boss has great foresight. Following him will not only ensure a life of wealth, but also allow one to avoid war in critical moments.

Chen Guangliang saw through Yan Kuan's thoughts, smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Smart man. We're a team. As long as I get to eat meat, I won't let you only drink soup."

"thank you boss"

The more loyal retainers the better, even if it's just a few hundred, representing hundreds of families. Chen Guangliang can afford to support them all. Their abilities and loyalty will also allow the Chen family to prosper even more.

In late June, Ping An Bank transferred US$500 million, which was converted from RMB 150 million, to Hong Kong through JPMorgan Chase Bank.

At this time, Ping An Bank (Hong Kong) already possessed 11.8 taels of gold (13.11 ounces, or US$458 million), and with this additional US$150 million, it was equivalent to having over 600 million US dollars in 'dollar assets'.

Of course, the 13.11 ounces of gold belong to the Chen Guangliang family and are stored in a vault at Ping An Bank (without interest).

When Zhang Shulin, who was in charge of the matter, arrived in Hong Kong, he asked, "Boss, should we transfer it to Chase Bank in New York immediately?"

Chan Kwong-leung said, "No rush, let's talk about it next year. Hong Kong is quite safe right now."

"Ok"

In fact, during the entire War of Resistance against Japan, the wealth of Chinese people in the United States reached as high as 4 million US dollars. This figure was based on the data from 1941 when the United States froze the wealth of Chinese people.

During this period, the Nationalist government wanted to use the $4 million, but the Americans naturally disagreed. After all, once that precedent was set, who would dare to deposit money in the United States in the future?

The frozen funds were mostly released around 1946-1947.

Therefore, Chen Guangliang envisions storing approximately $2000 million in the United States; of course, his initial $680 million has already appreciated significantly, and it would be no problem for it to grow to $1000 million in the future.

In this way, Chen Guangliang only needs to deposit another 1000 million US dollars or gold in the name of Ping An Bank.

He now has a little over 6 million, which means he still needs to earn 4 million more, and that must be done before June 1940.

The problem is not big.

In addition to his $20 million fortune, Chen Guangliang also owns a large number of properties in Hong Kong and Shanghai, which forms the foundation of his post-war rise.

Of course, he also needs to continue exchanging some gold, as well as preserving his businesses, etc., all of which represent his strength in his post-war resurgence.

What about the stock purchases?

Zhang Shounian took out a document and said, "It's all here. It's all completed, and the funds have been used up."

As Chen Guangliang flipped through the papers, he found that the stocks in real estate, shipping, textiles, and rubber were mostly owned by British and American companies. The few Chinese-owned companies were also there because of the concessions.

With these stocks in hand, you can reap a big profit in two years.

"Yes, they are all good stocks. Let's lock them in the vault and wait for the right opportunity."

Zhang Shounian admired Chen Guangliang's investments immensely; every investment he made over the past few years had yielded enormous profits. At this time, Ping An Bank's assets had already surpassed those of the "Four Northern Banks" and "Three Southern Banks," though it ranked in the middle in terms of deposits, largely due to its relatively short history.

"News has also come from Chongqing that the commercial land prices on Duyou Street have skyrocketed, with some people already asking for 30,000 to 40,000 yuan per mu. Many companies and individuals are also very interested in purchasing our six commercial buildings. However, we have only agreed to lease them."

This is the investment with the biggest increase in value. When they bought it, it was only seven or eight thousand yuan per mu. In just a few years, it has increased four or five times.

"This year, Wuhan is probably in a bit of a precarious situation. All departments of the Nationalist government will be relocated to Chongqing. At that time, the prices on Duyou Street will inevitably rise by nearly double. Leasing is the immediate issue, but we also need to consider selling later."

"it is good"

However, although prices are still expected to double, the factor of currency devaluation must also be taken into account.

In fact, without converting to foreign currency, many of the returns over the years have been incredibly high. For example, in my previous life, Shenxin No. 9 Factory (a factory that had expanded) earned 10 million in 1939; the Chinese yuan had probably depreciated by 60% by then. If it had been converted to foreign currency, the return would naturally have been lower. However, if it was only used to deal with domestic 'debt', then the return would have been very high.

Just like when Du Yuesheng left Shanghai, he asked his butler, Wan Molin, to calculate how much money he owed. Wan Molin gave an astonishing figure—a huge sum of four or five million.

Du Yuesheng simply smiled and said, "After we go to Hong Kong, these debts will seem insignificant when we return!"

Indeed, by 1941, these debts were practically negligible.

The devaluation of the legal tender in the previous life was roughly as follows: In 1937, 100 legal tender could buy two cows; in 1938, 100 legal tender could buy one cow; in 1941, it could only buy one pig; in 1943, it could only buy one chicken; in 1945, it could only buy two eggs, and so on.

After communicating with Zhang Shounian, the message was successfully delivered to Shanghai through him.

Although Chen Guangliang regularly communicated with everyone via telegram and telephone, these senior executives would actually take turns coming to Hong Kong once or twice a year to communicate with Chen Guangliang in person. This helped to maintain their loyalty. (End of Chapter)