A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Time flies, and it's February 10, 1945 in the blink of an eye.

The Chen family, including Chen Guangliang and Yan Renmei, and their four sons (Chen Wenjie, Chen Wenming, Chen Wenkai, and Chen Wensheng), are having dinner together.

Indeed, Yan Renmei ultimately did not get the daughter she wanted, but instead gave birth to her fourth son, Chen Wensheng, in October 1942, who is now almost three years old.

Although the meal wasn't a feast of delicacies, it was a balanced dinner with both meat and vegetables, catering to both nutritional needs and taste.

"Chongqing Central Broadcasting Station is now broadcasting to you: According to the U.S. Information Service’s Chongqing office, this evening, Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration and announced its unconditional surrender."

Upon hearing the news, Chen Guangliang and Yan Renmei put down their chopsticks and immediately embraced each other.

“We won”

The eldest son, Chen Wenjie, happily hugged his younger brothers and said, "The war is over, we're going back to Shanghai!"

The whole family was immersed in joy, and the servants rushed to tell them. The entire villa was filled with ecstasy; in fact, this ecstasy began to spread throughout the mountain town and even the whole of China.

Chen Guangliang speculated that the date was August 10th, as Japan had only agreed to unconditional surrender but had not yet formally signed the instrument of surrender with the Allies. Therefore, it should be August 15th.

"Let's go celebrate in the streets. Tonight, Chongqing will be a sleepless night."

"well"

The family quickly made preparations, and together with bodyguards and servants, drove towards Chongqing's commercial district.

They reacted immediately upon receiving the news, but by then people had already begun to arrive on the streets and were in a frenzy of celebration.

Their convoy arrived at the Ping An Bank Building on Tu Yu Street, where they saw the building's employees who were working overtime running out.

"Boss, the war is over!"

"It's over, it's over!"

Clearly, everyone was overjoyed, and before long, large crowds began to appear on the entire street, growing larger and larger.

By 8 p.m. that evening, the streets of Chongqing were filled with hundreds of thousands of people.

The streets were brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the sounds of gongs, drums, and firecrackers were deafening. Hundreds of thousands of citizens took to the streets overnight, and the roads were packed with spontaneously organized marches, singing and dancing, disrupting traffic.

No sleep tonight.

Chen Guangliang, along with his family, enjoyed the joy of victory in the war and took a large number of precious photos.

The following afternoon, Chen Guangliang summoned the core executives of his various companies to plan the next move.

The industries in the mainland should not be abandoned, but should continue to be operated. Otherwise, the Nationalist government and the Commander-in-Chief will notice something amiss, which will offend many people. Therefore, Chen Guangliang's idea is to gradually withdraw from the mainland market.

"The war is over, and now we need to start the work of resuming work and production. Today I will arrange everyone's salary and direction, and you will lead the others to various places and positions."

"Yes, boss"

The response from everyone was inspiring.

Chen Guangliang then said:

"Xia Gaoxiang, Zhang Shounian, after Japan officially signed the surrender to the Allied Powers, you led your men to Shanghai to prepare to take over the Ping An Bank Building and restart banking operations."

"Ye Ximing and Li Hongsheng, you two will take people to Hong Kong to prepare to take back the Ping An Bank Building and other related properties, and at the same time restart banking operations."

"It should be noted that, considering the Shanghai concessions no longer exist and the poor state of the domestic economy and the legal tender, I have decided to register Ping An Bank in Hong Kong, adopting a separate registration model in both places."

The duration of Ping An Bank's operations will be determined based on the situation.

Xia Gaoxiang asked, "What about Chongqing?"

Chen Guangliang said, "Once things stabilize a bit, everyone will inevitably leave Chongqing, and the economy here will plummet. So we no longer need to pay attention to Chongqing."

"Ok"

In recent years, the economy in the rear areas has been very bad. In November 1942, the Nationalist government implemented strict 'material control'. Taking textiles as an example, enterprises were not allowed to purchase cotton privately. Instead, the cotton was purchased by a special department of the government and then supplied to the enterprises. At the same time, the products produced also needed to be counted and then handed over to a special department of the government for purchase. The government would give you a 20% profit margin in order to implement wartime control.

Chen Guangliang continued, "I plan to sell Xinfeng Textile's Chongqing factory and use the proceeds to resume operations at Xinfeng's second factory in Shanghai. As for the first factory, I also plan to sell the land. In other words, only the second factory in Shanghai will resume operations on the mainland. On the Hong Kong side, we are preparing for a full resumption of operations."

Tong Runfu then asked, "The conditions for opening a factory in Shanghai are far better than those in Hong Kong. Now that the war is over, why doesn't Mr. Chen expand his business in Shanghai?"

Strictly speaking, he wasn't Chen Guangliang's retainer, but he was a textile talent that Chen Guangliang relied on.

Fortunately, in recent years, the 'Xinfeng Textile School' founded by Tong Runfu and Li Shengbo has cultivated a large number of textile talents. In the future, whether in Shanghai or Hong Kong, Xinfeng Textile will not lack textile technicians.

Chen Guangliang said, “In recent years, I have witnessed the corruption within the Nationalist government. So, although the War of Resistance against Japan has ended, the war between the two parties is not over. On the other hand, the domestic economy and the legal tender are deteriorating, and the money we earn may not even keep up with inflation. Considering all these factors, I have decided to only open the second factory of Xinfeng Textile in Shanghai. Of course, these are just my personal opinions. Mr. Tong and Mr. Li only need to resume operations at both factories and arrange for more technical personnel in Hong Kong. I will continue to support Xinfeng Textile School to cultivate more textile talents for the country.”

Tong Runfu quickly replied, "Mr. Chen, you flatter us. We will definitely resume work in these two places as soon as possible."

He and Li Shengbo were both deeply shocked. Chen Guangliang's words just now indicated that the war between the two parties was not over, which meant there would be a civil war as well? And the legal tender was going to deteriorate even further, which meant that the Nationalist government's economy was about to collapse.

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "Okay, thank you everyone."

The reason why Xinfeng Textile still needs to resume work in the mainland is that since it is going to sell the Chongqing factory and the land of the Shanghai No. 1 factory, it will naturally have funds to support the resumption of work at the Shanghai No. 2 factory.

If the Shanghai No. 2 Factory resumes operations, Chen Guangliang can exchange each batch of funds he earns for gold, silver dollars, foreign exchange, etc., and he should be able to break even in the next few years.

At the same time, he could have a few years of peace and quiet, so that the Nationalist government would not realize that he had fled.

Then, Chen Guangliang said, "I plan to sell the sugar factory and the alcohol factory as a package. However, I will make sure the management and technical personnel coming from Shanghai are settled, and I will provide the necessary funds. I will make sure everyone is satisfied. After all, everyone should understand that it is more suitable to run a sugar factory along the coast. However, I have no intention of running another sugar factory." Cao Mingxian generously said, "Thank you for providing a good environment for everyone in the rear over the years. I believe everyone will cooperate with the work."

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "Then release this news for me!"

"Ok"

Then, Chen Guangliang continued, "The Vitasoy factories resumed operations in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The equipment in Chongqing was dismantled and transported back to Shanghai by waterway."

Chen Shiyuan immediately replied, "Okay."

Since Chongqing's economy is declining, and everyone here comes from Shanghai, there's naturally no point in returning to the city.

Finally, Chen Guangliang said, "Everyone should pay attention to the transportation back to Shanghai and Hong Kong, and get back to these two places as soon as possible to prepare for the resumption of work and production."

"Okay, boss."

Everyone went down to make arrangements. Zhao Tieyi and Wu Hao, along with others from Global Shipping, hesitated to speak, but Chen Guangliang gestured for them to stay. Only then did everyone feel relieved.

"The reason why Global Shipping stayed behind is because our next conversation will determine the direction of my future career. You also returned to Hong Kong immediately, instead of Shanghai, and brought your families to Hong Kong as well. Going forward, Global Shipping will use Hong Kong as a base to purchase new ships and develop its shipping business."

Zhao Tieyi nodded and asked, "What about the ships over here?"

"Just offer the discount to Minsheng Company."

"Ok"

After making some arrangements, these people prepared to go back to their original place ahead of him to receive their assets.

When she got home that evening, Yan Renmei asked with concern, "When are you leaving Chongqing?"

At this moment, Hong Kong and Shanghai both surpassed Chongqing in her heart.

Chen Guangliang took her hand and said, "No rush. Just like Shanghai now, who knows if the Japanese will make a last-ditch effort and kill a lot of people? Secondly, after the Nationalist government takes over, there will be chaos, with various institutions embezzling the assets they've taken over, it'll all be a mess. So, I plan to leave Chongqing after September. There might still be celebrations here, I'll attend them before leaving."

Yan Renmei asked doubtfully, "Why don't we go back to Hong Kong first?"

She knew that Chen Guangliang planned to move his family and business center to Hong Kong as soon as possible.

Chen Guangliang said, "To avoid being seen, we should go to Shanghai first, and then go to Hong Kong. In addition, I also plan to sell my shares in the Shangri-La Hotel in Shanghai."

Yan Renmei immediately showed a reluctant expression and said, "Are you really going to sell it?"

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "It's just a sale of the property rights. The brand management rights of Shangri-La Hotel remain in my hands. In the future, we will open a more luxurious Shangri-La in Hong Kong, and even open Shangri-La in every major city in the world."

"That's great, after all, this is your hard work."

Next, Yan Renmei said, "I wonder when Mei Ying and Guang Cong will start their return to Hong Kong!"

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "They shouldn't be in a hurry. I believe they can make their own judgments."

"It seems that Guang Cong has grown up by now!"

Yan Renmei's words had a somewhat tentative meaning.

Now that Chen Guangliang has a large family and four sons, is it not difficult to settle this younger brother?
If he continues to work for his elder brother, he should be given shares to increase his say in the company. Otherwise, why would he willingly be an employee? Even Chen Guangliang, the elder brother, wouldn't do that. But this would undoubtedly conflict with his son.

If she were to become independent, what would her husband think? After all, this younger brother was no different from her own son; he had raised him from infancy.

Chen Guangliang frankly stated, "I've asked him to return to Hong Kong to develop the shipping industry. We'll see what he thinks later. If it's a partnership, then he'll be the core of the shipping business. Shipping is the core business for our Chen family's future. I have a premonition that after this world war, the world will enter an era of 'great economic circulation,' and maritime transport will reach its most glorious moment. At that time, a private fleet will no longer be tens of thousands of tons, but possibly hundreds of thousands or even millions of tons. Take oil, for example. With the world entering the era of modern technological development, a country might need tens of millions of tons of oil, along with other goods, bulk ores, etc. Therefore, I will be investing in the shipping business. As for Guangcong's intentions, if he wants to operate independently, I will support him; if he's willing to partner with me, I'll give him shares. Of course, I hope to pass the shipping business on to my son."

Yan Renmei was somewhat surprised. She knew that her husband's most glorious moment was when he owned a ship of 4.5 tons. If in the future a fleet of hundreds of thousands or millions of tons, what a scale that would be! Ships would truly be sailing all over the world.

"Yes, I support your decision."

Upon learning of Japan's surrender to the Allied powers, Chen Guangcong immediately took his family of five (Chen Wenbo, Chen Meiyi, and Chen Manyi) to the villa of Second Sister-in-law on Long Island.

"Second sister-in-law, Japan has surrendered!"

At this moment, Jiang Meiying also received the news through the radio immediately. There was even a faint smile on her face, which was tears of joy; after all, Japan's surrender meant that she would be reunited with her husband.

"Yes, I know now, I'm so happy."

Then, the family sat down in the living room.

"Second Sister-in-law, I'm planning to look into buying a second-hand ship in the United States, so it might be a while before I return to Hong Kong. Of course, although Japan has surrendered, they haven't actually laid down their arms yet, so I suggest you wait for news from Hong Kong. After all, Xiao Hu can return to Hong Kong immediately. Once we have definite news from there, we can arrange for his return."

Jiang Meiying nodded and said, "What you said makes sense. I'm not in a hurry. Besides, your brother may have other instructions, and we need to handle things here properly."

Chen Guangcong said, "Yes, especially stocks. I plan to cash out my stocks to buy ships."

Under his sister-in-law's guidance, he bought several military stocks, which tripled in value starting in April 1942. His elder brother had Jack pay him the rent, totaling $700,000; he also bought $300,000 worth of stocks in batches, earning a profit of over $300,000; therefore, he had approximately $1 million in hand.

He had already decided to use the funds to buy some ships and then hand them over to his elder brother. He would continue to work with his elder brother and remain part of the family.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Meiying said, "I may also gradually sell my stocks while waiting for news from Hong Kong."

She's even more impressive; she currently holds approximately $900 million worth of military-industrial stocks. With such a vast fortune, she needs to carefully plan before leaving the United States, especially while waiting for news from her husband.

After discussion, both families settled down, deciding not to rush to Hong Kong but to wait for news and handle matters in the United States. (End of Chapter)