A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

In early November, Chen Guangliang and Jiang Meiying boarded the "Golden Mountain" ship to San Francisco, USA, and then prepared to fly to New York.

At this time, the 'Golden Mountain (Liberty Ship)' had completed a round trip from Hong Kong to North America, causing a sensation among the Chinese (the first transoceanic voyage piloted by an all-Chinese crew).

The Liberty-type ship has a speed of 11-11.5 knots, a length of 135 meters, a width of 17.3 meters, and a draft of 8.5 meters. It can not only carry a lot of cargo, but also has a relatively fast speed.

More importantly, the Liberty-class ships have better lounges, libraries, and other spaces because American crew members are simply too 'precious'.

However, once these ships arrived at Global Shipping, they utilized these spaces, using some as crew rest areas and others as passenger cabins, since Chinese crew members were not considered particularly valuable.

On this voyage, Chen Guangliang and Jiang Meiying enjoyed a private cabin, ensuring excellent privacy.

"Mr. Chen, Ms. Jiang, welcome aboard the Jinshan Ship. The voyage to San Francisco will take 17 days." Captain Teng Shibiao respectfully welcomed the owners on the deck.

Chen Guangliang extended his right hand and said amicably, "Captain Teng, my wife and I are traveling on the Jinshan this time, hoping it will be a pleasant trip, and also that I can learn about the Liberty from everyone. Although I am quite familiar with ships, I am indeed relatively unfamiliar with the Liberty."

Teng Shibiao said with a smile, "With Mr. Chen's skill level, he will soon be familiar with the Liberty Wheel. Please feel free to give me any ideas you may have."

Having been a shipping expert for over a decade, the boss's skills are widely recognized as excellent in the industry. Unlike ordinary shipping experts, the boss is a true veteran in areas such as piloting and machine repair.

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "Okay, I look forward to this voyage."

He couldn't afford to waste those 17 days; he took the opportunity to further his knowledge of shipping. Even though he was the boss, he still needed to have professional knowledge.

For this trip, Chen Guangliang and his wife brought four bodyguards and two assistants. In fact, some of their subordinates also traveled to the United States by plane, including Guo Deming from Ping An Bank.

Guo Deming was one of Chen Guangliang's earliest management team members. He was one of Chen's deputies when Cheung Kong Real Estate was founded. Later, he went to the United States for further studies. In his forties, he was in his prime. He is currently the managing director of Ping An Bank and Chen Guangliang's personal advisor.

Guo Deming led the team to the United States mainly to handle the asset issues of Ping An Bank. The US$1050 million in assets will be brought back to Ping An Bank in Hong Kong, and the issue of dividends will be considered later.

In the cabin.

Chen Guangliang and Jiang Meiying had dinner together at a small table and chatted about various things.

"The main reason I'm having you come with me to the United States this time is about investing in second homes. In the past two years (1945-1946), inflation in the United States has been quite severe, so the stock market has also fallen a bit, but the United States is still a good market for investment. The political situation is stable, the economic growth rate is fast, the market is large, and you and the children have American citizenship, which is very suitable for you to make great strides. It's just that the children are still young, so I can't manage some businesses through them. Therefore, I'm looking at real estate and the stock market."

Jiang Meiying elegantly poured Chen Guangliang a glass of red wine before saying, "Don't worry, with the money we have in our second wife's family, we'll be set for life. I don't have any grand ambitions."

What she meant was—I'm not jealous of the assets owned by the first wife; having $1000 million in wealth is enough.

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "You can't be without ambition, otherwise the children will say that I'm an 'unfair' father!"

Jiang Meiying instinctively said, "They dare?"

Chen Guangliang replied, "Whether I dare to or not, who knows? In short, I will definitely create a good environment for my three children. Besides, 1000 million US dollars is a fortune now, but with continued inflation, 1000 million in the future will only be considered moderately wealthy or slightly wealthy, not worth mentioning. Moreover, without property, the children can't just sit around with their wealth; that would be too lazy and idle. The real estate and stock market investments we made this time will be the foundation for our future investments."

Jiang Meiying then said, "Well, investing in the stock market and real estate is risky, isn't it? Even if you're very capable, aren't American industries too far away? Should we let the child start their own business in the future?"

After all, no matter how capable a husband is, can he really start a business remotely?

Chen Guangliang said confidently, "I am naturally full of confidence. In short, my opinion is decisive when it comes to investment matters, and it will also apply to my child's future job."

Jiang Meiying immediately replied, "Yes, I had forgotten. You are the God of Wealth."

Looking at the voluptuous yet elegant beauty, Chen Guangliang beckoned with his finger, and Jiang Meiying smiled charmingly before standing up.

For a fleeting moment, a woman standing just over 1.6 meters tall with a graceful and alluring figure captivated everyone.

Immediately, the soft fragrance entered his arms, and Chen Guangliang gently slapped Jiang Meiying's buttocks, feeling an amazing elasticity from her body.

Comfortable!

“I’m not your money-making machine, but your husband and the father of three children. Of course, I have to think about you. This time when we go to the United States, we will continue to invest in mid-to-high-end apartments, as well as consumer stocks like Ford, GM, Standard, and Texaco.”

After the war, auto stocks like Ford were bound to continue to rise sharply, not only because of high domestic consumption in the United States, but also because of large exports overseas; American products of that era were equivalent to Japanese products in the 1960s, 70s and 80s; and the development of oil also truly took off after World War II, becoming the most important resource for global economic development.

Americans discovered during World War II that oil was an easy product to transport but extremely profitable, which is why oil truly became as important as the dollar.

Correspondingly, US defense stocks have become a liability, and naturally, they have declined significantly in recent years.

Hearing Chen Guangliang's confident plan, Jiang Meiying couldn't help but ask, "What do you plan to have the children do when they grow up?"

Chen Guangliang said directly, "Wenjin should learn how to market while she is in college, and after graduation, she should prepare to enter the culture and toy industry. As for the specifics, don't worry, I already have a plan, but the timing is not right yet."

Jiang Meiying didn't care about the specific plan. She was delighted to learn that Chen Guangliang had an idea, which showed that her father truly treated everyone equally. Although the second wife's business was temporarily lagging behind, her husband's abilities would eventually allow their children to also have a substantial fortune.

To be honest, she still believed that the second wife, with her American citizenship, might have a better future than Hong Kong.

In fact, Chen Guangliang did have many ideas. Chen Wenjin was born in 1935 and graduated around 1956.

"No, I don't feel safe here!"

Jiang Meiying began to writhe and sway her alluring body, which only fueled Chen Guangliang's anger.

"Don't worry, it's very safe here, no one will bother us. Besides, it's been almost 20 days, if we don't do something, wouldn't it be like making me a monk for 20 days?" Jiang Meiying said with a smile, "How could I make the master a monk? Don't rush, let me change to something you like."

A sense of romance is an unspoken understanding between the couple; they've already used many pairs of imported American stockings.

After arriving in the United States, Chen Guangliang first communicated with Chase Bank to transfer assets worth US$1050 million (mainly US dollars and secondarily gold) to Ping An Bank in Hong Kong.

This is not 'profit', so there is no need to pay departure tax to the US government; you only need to pay a small commission to Chase Bank.

随后，陈光良便处理他个人的财富，差不多是价值1600多万，包括11.8万两黄金（价值450万美金）、800万美金存款及利息（450+350）、400万美金地产（中高档公寓）。

Of this wealth, $800 million in deposits and interest must be used to repay $500 million to Jiang Meiying, since the Hong Kong businesses borrowed funds from her.

As a result, Chen Guangliang's wealth in the United States consisted of only 11.8 taels of gold (31.5 grams per tael, according to the mainland system), 300 million US dollars in savings, and 400 million US dollars in real estate (which had doubled in value).

Chen Guangliang doesn't plan to touch his remaining savings and real estate, but he intends to transport the 11.8 taels of gold to Hong Kong. He had initially stored the gold in safe deposit boxes at Chase and Citibank, and now that he's moving it back to Hong Kong, he naturally won't need to pay taxes to the US government.

After dealing with these matters, Chen Guangliang assisted Jiang Meiying in investing in stocks and properties.

Investing in stocks is relatively simple. Take out $500 million and, in Jiang Meiying's own name (as an American citizen), buy a large amount of stock in Ford and General Motors, and a smaller portion in Standard Oil and Texaco. Ford and General Motors each have market capitalizations in the billions of dollars, so Jiang Meiying's investment is naturally not a large sum.

Chen Guangliang recalled that in his previous life, General Motors' annual profit in 1950 seemed to have reached over 8 million US dollars, demonstrating the phenomenal global sales of American cars in those years. Ford Motor Company, however, was not to be outdone.

This day.

Chen Guangliang and his wife Jiang Meiying led Guo Deming and others to an office building.

"Boss, Miss Jiang."

A Chinese manager greeted the two men.

His name is Sun Zhongwang. He was one of the managers who were sponsored by Chen Guangliang to study in the United States (about a dozen people were sent to the United States by Chen Guangliang for further studies). He intended to immigrate to the United States with his family, so he could continue to work for the "Chen family" and manage the property investment company for Jiang Meiying.

"Hopefully, my friend Jack from the US will also be joining us for the meeting. He will be the company's investment advisor and will assist you with your work in the US."

Sun Zhongwang's expression remained unchanged, and he calmly said, "Okay."

This is a system of checks and balances. Chen Guangliang cannot fully trust Jack and allow him to continue to manage the properties invested in by Jiang Meiying; nor can he put all the power in the hands of Sun Zhongwang.

Jack continued to manage Chen Guangliang's personal properties, but he had also expanded into other businesses—trading, securities, etc.—and his wealth had grown considerably. However, Chen Guangliang didn't kick Jack out, and Jack didn't say he wanted to focus on developing his own business; the two continued their tacit cooperation.

A moment later, Jack walked in with a smile and said, "Ms. Chen and Ms. Jiang, you should have called me when you came to New York, so I could have come to greet you."

Chen Guangliang shook hands with Jack and then said, "I can't trouble you every time, Jack, you're a boss now!"

Jack immediately shook his head and said, "Mr. Chen, you are my boss."

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "No, we're here as partners. Let me introduce us."

After introductions, Chen Guangliang, Jiang Meiying, Guo Deming, Sun Zhongwang, and Jack sat together. Guo Deming, who was Chen Guangliang's personal advisor, was also present at the meeting.

Chen Guangliang then said, “I invited everyone here today because my wife, Ms. Jiang, has established a real estate investment company in the United States. She is an American citizen and plans to live in the United States permanently with her children in the future, but for the time being, she is temporarily living in Hong Kong. Mr. Sun Zhongwang is the general manager of this company. At the same time, I hope Jack can serve as an investment advisor, after all, Jack is an expert in this field, and he has been managing my properties for ten years.”

Jack added, "It's been almost 12 years. Mr. Chen is my great benefactor. I will do my best to help him."

Sun Zhongwang quickly replied, "Then I'll trouble you, Jack. Although I studied in the United States for three years, I don't have the advantages of being a local. This time, I moved to the United States with my family thanks to my boss's financial support. In addition, I have been working for my boss all these years, and I will do my best to fulfill this responsibility in the future."

After everyone expressed their support, Jiang Meiying stepped forward to express her gratitude.

Jiang Meiying then showed her "strong woman" side, saying, "I lived in the United States for five years and have done some research on real estate, so this time I plan to invest about 300 million US dollars to purchase a considerable amount of rental property."

They say it's an investment of 300 million, but it could be 500 million US dollars.

Jiang Meiying's $1000 million can be fully invested without needing cash flow, given that she has Chen Guangliang as her backer.

An investment of $500 million may not be enough to buy a property worth $250 million twelve years ago. This is due to both inflation in the United States and the rise in per capita income, which has led to an increase in property value.

In 1934-1935, American workers earned about $800 to $1000 a year, while today, their income has risen to around $2000.

Jack then said, "After the war, the US population will inevitably grow, and investing in real estate is a sound investment. Among them, Manhattan apartments are the most worthwhile investment, and I believe Mr. Chen understands this best."

Chen Guangliang said, "Yes, Manhattan apartments are the first choice, but apartments in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other areas of New York can also be considered as part of a comprehensive investment. If we can combine partial loans, we can invest in more apartments. Later on, the main tasks will be rent collection, maintenance, taxes, and related work."

Soon, everyone reached an agreement.

Jiang Meiying postponed her return trip with Chen Guangliang this time. She plans to finalize all the investment matters in the United States before flying back to Hong Kong.

She spent five years in the United States learning some business knowledge. In addition, she graduated from high school and was influenced by Chen Guangliang for many years, so her current business level is not low.

As for security, Chen Guangliang left her a female bodyguard and a female assistant, plus her friends and subordinates here, so there shouldn't be any problems.

Chen Guangliang didn't have high expectations for Jiang Meiying regarding 'business investment,' as he had no intention of having her start a business in the United States. He would only seriously cultivate her American business after her children grew up. (End of Chapter)