A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

9 month.

Xia Gaoxiang was merely summoned to the Commander-in-Chief's office for questioning. After handing over 120 million US dollars in foreign exchange and gold, he was considered to have passed the test.

This wasn't just about Ping An Bank's proactive cooperation; it also reflected the Commander-in-Chief's desire to prevent Chen Guangliang from siding with the other side in Hong Kong. Even neutrality was better than siding with the other side, given that Chen Guangliang was still a leading figure among Chinese businessmen.

Ping An Bank, Shanghai Stock Exchange, conference room.

Xia Gaoxiang chaired the meeting. He is currently the general manager of Ping An Bank in mainland China, responsible for all affairs in the mainland.

Meanwhile, almost all of Ping An Bank's management in mainland China have their families settled in Hong Kong, and they all have absolute trust in their boss, Chen Guangliang.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is our closed meeting today. Please keep this absolutely confidential."

"clear"

Xia Gaoxiang then said, "According to the boss's analysis, the national government has about a year left to operate, and Shanghai will probably be shut down around that time. During this period, anyone who wants to go to Hong Kong in advance can apply, and arrangements will be made there. The boss said there are houses, positions at Ping An Bank, and all kinds of guarantees. As for those who want to stay in Shanghai, their salaries will increase by 30%, based on US dollars; moreover, the boss has the ability to evacuate everyone at any time."

The dozen or so managers present were not particularly surprised; the boss was always very sensitive to these kinds of things and his predictions were 100% accurate.

Then, Deputy General Manager Qin Bohou said with a smile, "Everyone is very relaxed. The company's support is excellent, so I don't think many people are in a hurry to go to Hong Kong. Our boss has a ship and is fully capable of withdrawing at any time, so we still need to do our best in our last shift. The foreign exchange business will be very busy next."

"Yes, there's nothing to worry about. 1941 was so dangerous, and the boss took all of us, along with our families, to the rear."

Xia Gaoxiang, having reached a consensus, said, "Alright, in that case, let's arrange our work. First, it's certain that the gold yuan will depreciate faster than the legal tender, so we should try our best to exchange for foreign exchange, gold, and silver dollars on the black market—products that preserve value. Second, the operations of Xinfeng Textile and Shangri-La Hotel will continue as usual until they withdraw with us, including our cooperation with other companies like Global Trade. Finally, for foreign exchange transactions, we will only conduct risk-free operations and increase the commission rate."

It helps wealthy individuals who want to relocate to Hong Kong to quickly cash out and exchange foreign currency, and then transfer the funds to Hong Kong.

In this step, Ping An Bank will not hold gold yuan notes; it will try to exchange them in advance. After all, most people wouldn't expect the gold yuan notes to depreciate so quickly, and many black markets engage in this kind of speculation.

"it is good"

After the meeting, Ping An Bank resumed operations, and its business is expected to be considerable in the coming year. More importantly, many customers who went to Hong Kong will continue to trust Ping An Bank.

This presents an opportunity for the development of Ping An Bank in Hong Kong.

Upon learning about the situation at Ping An Bank in Shanghai, Chen Guangliang breathed a sigh of relief.

It is said that Li Ming of Zhejiang Provincial Industrial Bank was detained by the Nationalist government, which claimed that the bank possessed 500 million US dollars and gold but refused to hand them over. Chen Guangfu and others were also summoned to the Presidential Palace and reprimanded by the Commander-in-Chief, who urged them to hand over their foreign exchange.

Shanghai Mayor Wu Guozhen pleaded for Li Ming, claiming that Zhejiang Real Estate Bank's total assets were less than 200 million yuan, so where did the 500 million US dollars in foreign exchange come from?
As a result, the commander-in-chief only gave Li Ming a reprimand and then released him.

It is evident that commerce in mainland China is now completely under control. Of course, the businessmen are also cunning, as funds continue to flow into Hong Kong, and they still have various means to achieve their goals.

Although the Nationalist government's policies were tough, they allowed people to find loopholes. In the previous life, it is said that a total of US$500 million flowed into Hong Kong, which was one of the important factors that contributed to Hong Kong's development.

"elder brother"

Chen Guangcong and Yang Xiaohu arrived at Chen Guangliang's office and greeted him respectfully.

"Please sit on the sofa, I have something to tell you!"

"Um"

Afterwards, the three brothers sat on the sofa, and the assistant poured tea for them before leaving the office.

"Little Tiger, how long have you been with me?"

Yang Xiaohu also appeared more mature and composed, saying, "I didn't have a brother-in-law who was willing to work hard and study, so I started working at the age of 18 and have been with my brother for 12 years."

Chen Guangliang leaned back on the sofa and sighed, "You're thirty years old now!"

Yang Xiaohu looked at his brother and thought, "I feel like I'm older than you, how come you don't age?"

However, he naturally wouldn't ask it aloud.

Chen Guangliang then said, "I've seen your performance over the years, it's time for you to start your own business. Have you thought about what you're going to do?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaohu knew that his brother did not want him to continue working at Global Trade, so he said, "I want to get into shipping, buy a second-hand ship of 1,000 tons, and do trade between JF District, Japan, and Hong Kong."

Speaking of this business, all the employees of Worldwide Shipping initially bought a ship together, and now they have not only earned back the cost of two ships, but also received a dividend once, so the profit is indeed huge.

“Okay, don’t withdraw your shares in Global Trading. Continue to enjoy the dividends. I’ll give you another HK$80. Figure out how to buy a ship yourself. The rest is up to you. In shipping, you need to be patient. Of course, taking some risks is fine, but you need to know when to quit while you’re ahead.”

Yang Xiaohu nodded and said, "Okay, I'll remember what you said, brother. But, could I ask for a few people from Global Shipping? We don't need any veteran employees, just staff familiar with this route."

Chen Guangliang said, "Go and negotiate yourself."

"Ok"

This cousin met Chen Guangliang when he was five years old and began to be trained by Chen Guangliang when he was nine. He is considered a relatively close younger brother.

By going independent, Chen Guangliang hopes that his son can start his own business. Even if he doesn't become a tycoon in Hong Kong in the future, he can at least become a moderately wealthy man.

Yang Xiaohu was very clever. He found a very profitable trade route. Although it was a bit risky, he could make his money back after one or two trips.

If he were to get involved in shipping in the future, it would inevitably involve the risk of transporting goods related to the Korean War, since sometimes taking a risk or two is worthwhile.

With this kind of development, Yang Xiaohu might have become a 'middle-class shipowner' in Hong Kong in the future, with a net worth of over 100 million in the 1970s and 80s.

Just like Bao Yugang's younger brother in his previous life, who was also a shipowner.

Then, Chen Guangliang said to Chen Guangcong, "We will not separate for the time being, but you need to prepare to become a British citizen so that it will be easier for us to develop in shipping in the future."

Currently, Chen Guangcong manages Global Shipping for Chen Guangliang, saving Chen Guangliang a lot of trouble. He only needs to focus on the overall situation, making his job much easier.

Chen Guangcong replied without hesitation, "It's very simple for me to become a British citizen. I'll go check it out later."

"Well, we won't expand Global Shipping for now. After all, once the war on the mainland ends, coastal trade will decrease. We'll buy ships when the time is right."

"I see"

Currently, Worldwide Shipping owns four 10,000-ton "Liberty" ships: one 5000-ton, one 3000-ton, one 2700-ton, and two 1200-ton vessels.

By the first half of next year, they should have basically recouped their investment, equivalent to earning around $260 million since the war.

The reason for granting his younger brother British citizenship is naturally to facilitate future investments, just like Bao Yugang and Cao Guangbiao's eldest son were British citizens in his previous life. In fact, everyone was doing it for the convenience of doing business.

In mid-September, Chen Guangliang led his subordinates to Tokyo, Japan, for business research. Although three years had passed since the war, Tokyo was still a place of ruins and food shortages, with a large group of beggars following behind every Westerner.

Such a scenario would probably make all foreigners visiting Japan wonder – is there any hope left for Japan? Even the "retired emperor," General MacArthur, a five-star admiral, probably wasn't very confident.

Wang Feichao, the general manager of Hehe Zipper, said from the side: "The whole country of Japan is suffering from bomb shock syndrome. It is lifeless and like a dead body. Although many banks have come to Japan to do business, such as HSBC, no foreign bank dares to lend money to the Japanese. Everyone thinks that lending money is like buying a few painkillers for a terminally ill person. It is useless."

As the general manager of Hehe Zipper, Wang Feichao's status in the 'Chen's Industrial Empire' has risen steadily in the past two years, making him one of Chen Guangliang's most valued industrial management talents.

This is because Hop Ho Zipper has invested up to US$120 million, owns 34 automatic rice-making machines, and employs nearly a thousand people. Its products are sold throughout Asia, forming an absolute monopoly trend.

He had already visited Japan twice, so he was quite familiar with the environment there.

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "However, we cannot be short-sighted. With American troops stationed in this country, it is impossible for them to abandon Japan's development, after all, this is an important American base in the Far East. Moreover, we Easterners are not stupid; on the contrary, we are superior to Westerners in many ways. Therefore, Japan still has development potential. We are businessmen now, and we must look at the international situation from a businessman's perspective."

Everyone nodded. In fact, seeing how miserable the Japanese were, their hatred faded.

Chen Guangliang's first stop was the headquarters of Hitachi Machinery, where he met with Hitachi Machinery's president, Genji Kojima.

Hitachi is a large, diversified conglomerate in Japan, founded in 1910. However, at that time, Hitachi Machine Co., Ltd. was merely a lifeless postwar machinery company with no prospects.

But Chen Guangliang took the initiative to approach them because he knew that Japan still had technology and that many domestic machines were idle.

Upon meeting, Kojima Genji and his entourage bowed and greeted him, saying, "Mr. Chen, welcome to Japan for your inspection!"

At this point, it's impossible to tell that they were once invaders.

However, Chen Guangliang was not there to feel superior, so he said, "President Kojima, I hope we can have a good collaboration this time."

"certainly"

Afterwards, Kojima Genji led everyone to inspect Hitachi Machinery. Although the traces of war were still very strong, the machinery and equipment were indeed far more advanced than those in China.

Back in the meeting room, the two sides began discussions on cooperation.

After a brief year of research and development, Hehe Zipper has conducted some research on the 'automatic rice dispensing machine' and has also put forward some ideas for the 'automatic rice rinsing machine' and the 'automatic lock punching machine'.

However, since there is no corresponding mechanical equipment, it is difficult to develop it further.

Therefore, Hehe Zipper decided to cooperate with Hitachi Machinery of Japan to imitate and develop the American 'automatic rice dispensing machine', and the next step is to develop an automatic rice rinsing machine and an automatic lock-pinning machine.

What both parties need to seriously discuss is that Chen Guangliang proposed that the two parties jointly develop the equipment, so the three types of machinery should have a '5-year exclusive supply period', and Hehe Zipper is willing to pay a sum of money for research and development.

Upon hearing that the other party was willing to provide research and development funding and guarantee a certain amount of procurement, Kojima Haraji immediately said, "We are willing to cooperate with Hehe Zipper."

The terms are very favorable. The other party's R&D funding allows them to generate business; moreover, the other party has also shipped an automatic rice-dispensing machine from the United States to Japan for R&D purposes. Once the R&D is successful, the other party's purchase volume will be substantial.

Chen Guangliang said, "I believe that the wisdom of us Easterners is superior to that of Westerners, so it's a pleasure to cooperate!"

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Chen. We've prepared a banquet for you tonight."

"it is good"

The negotiations went relatively smoothly. Of course, the two sides had already met once before, and Chen Guangliang's arrival was the point of the deal.

Although a cooperation agreement was reached with Hitachi Machinery Factory, Chen Guangliang did not relax his vigilance against the Japanese zipper industry. Therefore, he had Ge Zhaoming, the Japanese head of Hehe Zipper, investigate a Japanese zipper businessman named Yoshida Tadao.

The results show that Tadao Yoshida, the founder of YKK zippers in his previous life, has not given up on his idea of ​​purchasing an automatic rice sorting machine, even though he has been suppressed by Hehe zippers in this life.

However, due to various reasons, it is impossible for Tadao Yoshida to obtain a loan in the short term, and his principal is simply too small.

So Chen Guangliang simply invited Tadao Yoshida to the Japanese office of Hehe Zipper.

"Mr. Yoshida, I heard that you have never given up on importing automatic rice dispensing machines. Do you think that by owning that machine, you can defeat us Hong Kong zipper manufacturers?"

Tadao Yoshida said respectfully but with a fighting spirit, "Mr. Chen, Hong Kong's zipper industry only imported automatic rice dispensing machines at the first opportunity; I don't see any other advantages. Therefore, I believe that our Japanese zipper industry will reclaim its market."

Chen Guangliang immediately said, "We have already established a cooperative relationship with a machinery factory to conduct comprehensive research and development and production of automatic rice dispensing machines, automatic rice washing machines, and automatic locking machines. Hehe Zipper is also making great investments and research and development in this industry. I believe that Japan cannot threaten our position."

Tadao Yoshida was taken aback. He hadn't expected this Chinese businessman to be so farsighted, considering that the zipper industry wasn't yet truly widespread in the mass market.

"If that's the case, why did Mr. Chen come to see me?"

"Haha," Chen Guangliang laughed, "I admire Mr. Yoshida's insight into the zipper industry and am willing to cooperate with you to invest in a zipper factory in Japan, mainly targeting the Japanese market."

If we can bind Tadao Yoshida to our side, we will certainly want a share of the pie, but at least we can rest easy.

Tadao Yoshida was very surprised again, and then said, "Unfortunately, I had very little capital!"

Chen Guangliang said, "We can provide four automatic rice-filling machines, taking a 50% stake; Mr. Yoshida will repay us gradually with future profits, also taking a 50% stake."

They made two plans: on the one hand, they established a five-year exclusive supply agreement with Hitachi Machinery, and on the other hand, they tied Yoshida Tadao to build a factory in Japan.

Tadao Yoshida wasn't a time traveler, so he naturally couldn't see anything wrong with this collaboration; his heart was already pounding with excitement.

However, he stated, "I want to have primary management control of this partner company."

Very ambitious.

However, Chen Guangliang readily agreed: "Okay."

After all, if the Korean War were to break out, Hong Kong would be unable to supply zippers to the United States due to the trade blockade. However, zippers manufactured in Japan would be able to.

Soon, the details were discussed, and in order to stabilize the Japanese market, Hehe Zipper offered Tadao Yoshida a very good cooperation deal.

Once Tadao Yoshida joins this partnership, it will be difficult for him to extricate himself. Even if YKK Zipper becomes the world's number one zipper company, it will still hold a 50% stake in the joint venture.

Of course, Chen Guangliang still hoped to establish a more trusting relationship with Yoshida Tadao, because sometimes it's hard to earn the biggest profits if you don't share the pie.

Chen Guangliang's last stop in Japan was purchasing two old commercial buildings in Ginza at a very attractive price.

The two old commercial buildings can be transformed into first-class shopping malls in the future, each of which will serve as a flagship store for major corporations in Ginza.

Of course, it's impossible to develop it in a short time, since Japan's economy didn't truly develop until at least the mid-to-late 1950s.

These two properties are naturally held in the name of Cheung Kong Property Holdings Limited. (End of Chapter)