A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Before leaving Chongqing, the Chen family seized the opportunity to sell their assets in the rear area, and the buyers were undoubtedly local wealthy people in the rear area.

Due to the severe devaluation of the legal tender, 100 legal tender could only buy two eggs, while the exchange rate between legal tender and US dollars on the black market was 2897:1. Therefore, the sale of these assets was mainly conducted in the form of gold, silver dollars, and foreign exchange.

Upon learning that Chen Guangliang intended to sell his Sichuan businesses, local tycoons flocked to him seeking to make contact.

The most popular factories were Xin'an Sugar Factory and Xin'an Alcohol Factory, because everyone understood that it was impossible for Guangdong Province and Shanghai to produce machine-made sugar in the short term, so Sichuan white sugar could still be sold throughout the country.

As the only fully mechanized sugar factory in China, its sugar is of unparalleled quality. This factory will be able to make a fortune within one or two years; and even in the future, it will sell well in the Southwest.

this day.

Pan Changyou, chairman of Sichuan Provincial Bank, visited the Ping An Bank Building.

In 1934, this person served as the chairman of the CQ City Bankers Association and the Chamber of Commerce. In 1940, he served as the chairman of the Sichuan Provincial Bank and concurrently held positions such as chairman and general manager of dozens of enterprises. During the War of Resistance against Japan, he was also appointed as a member of the second, third, and fourth National Political Council.

Pan Changyou's Chongde Company was a well-known pig bristle trading enterprise in the rear area. In recent years, due to the large demand in the United States, it has made a lot of money.

"Mr. Chen, it seems that our Sichuan region can no longer contain such a dragon as you, so quickly deciding to sell our assets in the rear." Pan Changyou's first words were full of flattery.

A person's reputation precedes them. Chen Guangliang's influence in business far surpasses that of these local tycoons; and his influence in the government is even greater than that of Pan Changyou, despite Chen Guangliang's repeated refusal of official positions.

Chen Guangliang didn't know Pan Changyou's future fate, but since a powerful person had come to negotiate, he naturally welcomed him.

"You're exaggerating. Now that the war is over, Shanghai's commerce is in dire need of rebuilding. We're short of capital, so we might as well reluctantly sell off the properties in the rear."

Upon hearing this, Pan Changyou thought to himself, "Who told you to play the good guy and donate all the money?"

Businessmen in the rear areas all know that Chen Guangliang donated most of the profits from his several factories and treated his employees exceptionally well; therefore, although Chen Guangliang owned several highly profitable factories, he certainly didn't make much money in the past few years.

However, he said on the surface, "Mr. Chen fully supported the war of resistance and is a role model for us businessmen."

“I don’t deserve it”

Then, Pan Changyou got down to business, saying, "Mr. Chen, I wonder what prices you offered for your sugar factory in Neijiang and your alcohol factory in Zizhong?"

Chen Guangliang stated directly, "The package price for the two factories is US$100 million, and the payment methods are limited to gold, silver dollars, US dollars, and British pounds."

The initial investment was about US$150 million, but now it has been depreciated to less than 7%. The equipment is mostly from 1936 and has been in use for more than eight years.

However, equipment and factory buildings are not the only valuable assets; technical personnel and skilled workers, as well as a well-established sales network, are the truly valuable assets.

To put it bluntly, whoever takes over this factory will control the entire supply of machine-made white sugar in Southwest China. Moreover, even though it's old equipment, its value is still considerable due to inflation in Europe and America.

After some mental calculation, Pan Changyou felt that recouping his investment within two years should not be a problem; moreover, by acquiring this factory, he would also gain access to the technology and experience.

"Can the price be lowered a bit?"

"You're joking. At that price, everyone would be scrambling to buy it. I'm only considering the payment method. Who has the advantage: gold or US dollars!"

Pan Changyou understood that Chen Guangliang was telling the truth, and immediately said, "Then I'll think about it for one night and give you an answer tomorrow."

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "This is my secretary, Guo Deming. You can talk to him if anything comes up later!"

"I know Secretary Guo. Okay, then please wait here."

After Pan Changyou left, Guo Deming said, "This $100 million is indeed not expensive. It just depends on who can produce that much gold and dollars the fastest."

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "That makes sense, but since he's in the pig bristle business, he should have plenty of US dollars and gold."

In recent years, Chen Guangliang has mostly donated the money he earned in the rear to support his workers and subordinates, but his wealth in the rear has increased to 150 million US dollars in gold and US dollars.

Of the $150 million, $100 million came from initial savings (from the sale of six commercial buildings, rental income, shipping dividends before arriving in Shanghai, and the return of transport fleets); while the remaining $50 came partly from the sale of some leased properties by Cheung Kong Properties in 1942, as well as rental income from Cheung Kong Properties.

Therefore, he truly did not take any profits from the factory, but donated them all to the foundation and to take care of the employees.

If he sells the sugar refinery and the alcohol plant, he will have $250 million in US dollars, gold, and silver dollars, which he plans to take to Hong Kong.

Other aspects:

The proceeds from the sale of land belonging to Chongqing Xinfeng Textile Factory and Shanghai No. 1 Factory will be used to rebuild Shanghai Xinfeng No. 2 Factory.
Vitasoy's Chongqing factory is preparing to relocate directly to Shanghai.
The proceeds from the sale of Chongqing shipping assets were used to relocate factories and cover the relocation costs for thousands of employees and their families.
The funds from Chongqing Ping An Bank and the Chongqing Ping An Bank Building are used for Ping An Bank operations in Chongqing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
Compared to the coveted Xin'an Sugar Factory and Alcohol Factory, the sale of Xinfeng Textile Factory was met with price suppression.

Since November 1942, the Nationalist government has implemented a policy of controlling printed yarn and cloth, which has severely restricted the five major yarn mills. Compared with 1942, although the number of spindles increased from 1943 to 1945, the output decreased, eventually leading to a sharp decline: 35433 pieces of yarn were produced in 1945, compared with 56468 pieces in 1943, a decrease of 38% from 1943.

The decline in production at the five major yarn mills reveals the drawbacks of the cotton yarn and fabric control system. After the implementation of comprehensive control, raw cotton was purchased uniformly by the Cotton Yarn and Fabric Control Bureau and then redistributed to various yarn mills for use.

The five cotton mills of Xinfeng, Yufeng, Yuhua, Shenxin and Shashi alone require 38000 dan of cotton per month. However, the cotton collection work of the bureau is chaotic, and coupled with the difficulty of transportation, only more than 11000 dan of cotton are transported per month, which is simply not enough to solve the cotton problem of the yarn mills.

1944年原定收棉85万担，但年底仅收15万担，不及原计划的1/5。

因原棉供应脱节，花纱布管制局强令各厂从1945年4月份起，按1944年12月全月产量数减产50%。

By the end of the year, the Shashi factory had only 500 dan (a unit of weight) of cotton, including old and worn-out cotton, and the remaining 4000 spindles were in operation, running for only eight hours a day and night.

After the Yufeng plant was restricted from production, the Yu plant produced 536 pieces of cotton yarn per month, and the Hechuan plant produced 986 pieces of cotton yarn per month. By September, with a further 50% reduction in production, single shifts were reduced, and the operating hours of the spindles were also halved. Its general manager, Shu Yunzhang, exclaimed: "The water plant is truly at a critical juncture, facing a crisis."

Now that the war is over, all controls will inevitably end as well. Except for the Xinfeng Textile Factory, which is prepared for sale, the other four factories are planned to remain in the rear.

However, local Sichuan conglomerates seem uninterested in the textile industry, perhaps due to concerns about the competitiveness of the four major textile factories.

Therefore, after the announcement of the sale of 'Chongqing Xinfeng Textile Factory', only Shu Yunzhang, the general manager of Yufeng Textile (a confidant of Song Ziwen), came to negotiate, and the price was only US$20, and it was settled in legal tender and paid in installments.

Chen Guangliang was not short of money, so he immediately decided to dismantle the machine and move all the equipment to Shanghai.

Now that the shipping routes are open, it's just a matter of paying a little more in freight costs.

在9月3日~5日，重庆举行了隆重的庆祝仪式，而9月3日也是世界反法西斯胜利日。

Meanwhile, in September, China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) was ordered by the Nationalist government to transport Nationalist government officials and surrender recipients to Nanjing, Beiping, and major cities along the southeast coast.

In order to reach Shanghai and Hong Kong as quickly as possible, the core executives of the Chen Group naturally chose to fly to Shanghai, and some executives then took a ferry from Shanghai to Hong Kong.

Therefore, as soon as the flights of China National Aviation Holding Company and China Central Airlines resumed in early September, people began to take the plane to Shanghai. Although the main purpose was to transport government officials, China National Aviation Holding Company was short of money and naturally would not refuse high-priced tickets.

Back home in Chongqing, Chen Guangliang and Yan Renmei discussed how to go to Shanghai.

"In this way, you and Wenjie will take one flight, Wenming will go on another flight with Zhang Shounian and the others, and finally I will take Wenkai and Wensheng with me. We will leave Chongqing in three batches. After September 10th, we will leave in batches again."

Yan Renmei said, "Why don't we let Wenming and his godmother leave together? It'll be fine if they leave a little later. Wenjie and I will also leave a little later. Once you've settled down in Shanghai, you can send us a telegram."

Airplanes weren't that dangerous; the accident rate was probably one in several thousand. Well, by today's standards, that accident rate is far too high.

Chen Guangliang thought for a moment and said, "Hmm, that's a good idea."

Next time I travel from Shanghai to Hong Kong, I'll definitely choose sea freight, since two or three days is acceptable.

Subsequently, Chen Guangliang and Yan Renmei discussed the future development plan for the Chen Group: In Shanghai, they would launch and take over four businesses: Ping An Bank, Xinfeng Textile, Vitasoy, and Shangri-La Hotel. However, these were essentially existing domestic resources, requiring Chen Guangliang to invest virtually nothing.

On the other hand, the $250 million worth of gold, silver, and foreign exchange in the rear were transferred to Shanghai via air transport in the name of Ping An Bank as the first step.

Most importantly, the Hong Kong business:

First, Ping An Bank will be registered in Hong Kong and will replace the Shanghai Stock Exchange's head office status as soon as possible;

Secondly, Hong Kong Xinfeng Textile is to be a key factory and an important part of Chen's industrial investment;
Third, Vitasoy also considers Hong Kong as its headquarters, which is also an investment of Chan's Food Industries.

Fourth, Cheung Kong Properties will reclaim its properties and prepare to continue developing real estate in Hong Kong.

Fifth, invest in shipping in Hong Kong.

After discussing the overall plan, Yan Renmei had a clear understanding of it.

In mid-September, Chen Guangliang, along with his two young sons and civil servants of the Nationalist government, flew from Chongqing to Shanghai.

He left his eldest son with Yan Renmei because Chen Wenjie was already 12 years old and in the second year of middle school, so he was considered to be mature enough; his other son, Chen Wenming, was already 10 years old, so he had Miss Sheng accompany him back to Shanghai.

The reason for this arrangement was to take into account that one in several thousand chance that if something happened to him, Yan Renmei could take her son to Hong Kong and at least make both of her children wealthy in Hong Kong.

The Nationalist government officials on the plane were all going to Shanghai for their new jobs. When they saw that Chen Guangliang could travel by plane with two children, they immediately understood what was going on—money can buy anything.

Airplane seats in this era consisted of long rows of chairs on both sides of the fuselage, much like those in paratrooper planes, offering absolutely no comfort.

"Mr. Chen, are you in such a hurry to make a fortune in Shanghai?" a high-ranking official of the Nationalist government jokingly asked Chen Guangliang.

"Director Wang is joking. Shanghai's economy is in dire need of rebuilding. I've just received orders to go to Shanghai to revitalize its industry, and I'm taking my two children home with me."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood that Chen Guangliang held at least one official position—an economic advisor.

"That's right. It seems we have the same job. We're preparing to go to Shanghai to receive supplies."

"Same as what? You guys are going to rob, while I'm going to take back what's mine."

According to a call from the management of the Chen family business in Shanghai, Chen Guangliang had a general understanding of the situation in Shanghai: officials of the Nationalist government were embezzling large sums of money when receiving supplies, and at the same time, a culture of hedonism prevailed throughout Shanghai.

This made Chen Guangliang wonder whether the factories of Xinfeng Textile and Vitasoy could resume operations smoothly.

I'm afraid that we won't be able to resume work until next year, and by then, business will likely be difficult.

In fact, after the war ended, the Nationalist government was already indulging in pleasure and completely ignored the suffering of the people. At this point, it was basically beyond saving and the country was destined to lose.

The Commander-in-Chief was aware of this evil trend, but he lacked the decisive measures to stop it. Although several thousand people were arrested, only a third were imprisoned, which shows how deeply corrupt the Nationalist government had become.

Along the way, Chen Guangliang comforted Chen Wenkai and Chen Wensheng, and the Nationalist government officials also fawned over him. Chen Guangliang also pretended to be friendly with everyone.

The plane finally landed at Jiangwan Airport, and Chen Guangliang breathed a sigh of relief.

After stepping off the plane, I saw my subordinates arrive in two cars to greet me, which was clearly something they had gone to great lengths to arrange.

Along the way, the festive atmosphere persisted, and the spirit of enjoyment was palpable. Stages were set up everywhere, teahouses and restaurants were packed with people, and long queues stretched outside movie theaters.

Chen Guangliang and his two sons checked into the Shangri-La Hotel, as the villa area is no longer suitable for living.

At the same time, Chen Guangliang also personally used the phone in Shangri-La to send a telegram to Chongqing to let them know he was safe.

night.

Chen Guangliang and Fang Jiaobo had dinner together at the Shangri-La Hotel, and he also brought his two children.

"Call him Grandpa Fang"

"Grandpa Fang"

Fang Jiaobo laughed heartily, "I haven't seen these children for eight years, I don't even recognize them anymore."

Chen Guangliang introduced him to his two youngest sons. Upon hearing that Chen Guangliang and Yan Renmei had four sons, Fang Jiaobo exclaimed, "They are blessed with both wealth and many children!"

Indeed, Chen Guangliang is not only wealthy, but also has many children, especially sons. He is clearly very prosperous.

Then, Chen Guangliang said, "Shangri-La took over immediately, thanks to Ji Fan Gong."

The Shangri-La Hotel never closed, although it was occupied by the Japanese during that period, but continued to operate. Fang Jiaobo stayed in Shanghai and the countryside of Ningbo, and surprisingly, he was not forced to become a traitor. It should be noted that his "benefactor," Fu Xiao'an, was the "puppet mayor of Shanghai" in 1937, who was killed three years later by a chef bribed by Nationalist government agents.

Fang Jiaobo laughed and said, "I was able to take back Shangri-La as soon as possible, all because of you. Besides, it's only temporarily under our management now. The specific procedures haven't been completed yet, so you'll need to make another trip. After all, there's no longer a concession area; it's all under the jurisdiction of the municipal government."

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "Okay."

He wasn't in a hurry to sell the Shangri-La Hotel; he was just going to complete the formalities, which wouldn't waste any time.

On the other hand, he still had to wait for Yan Renmei and her son to arrive in Shanghai, so he couldn't go to Hong Kong for the time being. However, the problem in Hong Kong was not so big. First of all, the military government only officially took over Hong Kong on August 30, and Hong Kong was quite chaotic at the moment.

On September 14, Wang Yunsheng, chief editor of Ta Kung Pao, published an editorial entitled "Recovering Lost Territory Should Not Cause Loss of Popular Support".

The article warns: "We must not only recover lost territory, but also soothe wounded hearts... Recovering lost territory, taking over the property seized by the enemy and puppet regime, welcoming our suffering compatriots, rescuing them from their dire straits, and bringing them to our seats is a solemn and sacred task of the War of Resistance. Dirty hands and blackened hearts, please stay far away and do not pollute this solemn and sacred task."

Therefore, he proposed: "We hope that the government personnel sent to the recovered areas will pay special attention to their conduct. Being honest and dedicated to public service is the primary principle for officials at present."

Unfortunately, these words of advice were ignored.

Subsequently, Wang Yunsheng wrote another editorial, saying: "The situation in Beijing and Shanghai is extremely exciting, but also extremely chaotic. In the midst of the fervor and clamor, these past twenty-odd days have almost completely alienated the people of the Beijing-Shanghai area. Some have been lying in wait there, while others have come from the rear. As long as everyone has connections, everyone is quick to grab things. Dozens of people are vying for a single car, and many government agencies are fighting over a single house; but the long railway and the large mines are hardly being paid any attention to."

In his characteristically sharp style, Wang Yunsheng wrote: "It's pitiful that our compatriots in the recovered areas waited until dawn and saw the flags of their motherland. They were overjoyed, but after a few nights of sleep, they found that most of them had been ruined." His editorial had a very shocking title: "Don't Lose the Hearts of the People."

Just as Wang Yunsheng described, all sorts of monsters and demons in Shanghai were taking over (grabbing) "enemy property." Even Chen Guangliang's ancestral home was occupied. If Chen Guangliang hadn't gone to a high-ranking official in the Nationalist government to plead his case, they wouldn't have paid any attention to him.

If those below are like this, then those above are even more so.

Back in August, upon hearing of Japan's surrender, private shipping entrepreneurs formed a team to seek compensation from the government (for the requisitioning, bombing, and sinking of ships during the war, with a promise to provide compensation after the war). However, there has been no progress to date, and the Ministry of Transport's statements have been vague.

Needless to say, the Nationalist government's financial officials, led by Song Ziwen, were planning to fully support state-owned enterprises and suppress private enterprises.

Seeing this, Chen Guangliang immediately made arrangements for matters in Shanghai:

I. Ping An Bank will continue to attract deposits and loans using the Ping An Bank Building in Shanghai as its capital.
II. The Shangri-La Hotel will continue to operate;
Third, Xinfeng Textile resumed production using existing machinery;
IV. Vitasoy will resume production using existing equipment.

After arranging jobs for four companies, he prepared to leave Shanghai and seek development opportunities in Hong Kong.

Of course, Chen Guangliang might return to Shanghai to handle some matters during this period. (End of Chapter)