A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

One weekend in June, Chen Wenjie traveled from Cambridge to neighboring Boston to meet Zhuang Yuanzhen. Both attended universities in Massachusetts, and in adjacent cities, making the date very convenient.

In a park in Boston, Chen Wenjie held Zhuang Yuanzhen's hand and strolled leisurely.

"Wenjie, when are you having your graduation ceremony? Will your uncles and aunts come?"

"Graduation is next week. Mommy has already arrived in New York, but Daddy isn't really able to come to the US right now. Oh, and you should come too!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah"

Zhuang Yuanzhen nodded happily, like a chick pecking at rice. She, the 'Chen family's daughter-in-law,' had already gained the approval of her future parents-in-law.

Then, Zhuang Yuanzhen asked with curiosity and worry, "Is Uncle not coming because of that matter?"

The shipping magnate's battle with the United States is a major news story, and as her future daughter-in-law, she is naturally paying close attention to it.

Chen Wenjie patted Zhuang Yuanzhen's hand and said, "Don't worry! This matter itself is not bad. Although Father ultimately failed in the 'Jeddah Agreement,' his influence is already global. In shipping, reputation and influence are the most important, so he has succeeded. As for the conflict with American companies, it is only temporary. He is just temporarily avoiding it and will soon step back into the United States. At that time, everything will definitely go smoothly."

Zhuang Yuanzhen said admiringly, "Brother Wenjie, you know so much! You will definitely become an outstanding businessman like your uncle in the future!"

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; this is a perfect example.

Chen Wenjie, however, was self-aware. He said, "I don't aspire to be as outstanding as my father. I only hope to do things that will satisfy him!"

Zhuang Yuanzhen didn't say anything. She had heard her father-in-law's legendary stories since she was a child, and her parents often mentioned them, so she naturally knew about that 'father-in-law's' legend. And the events of the last six months had only fueled her admiration; he was a Chinese businessman who had shaken the entire Western world.

Then she said, "Wenjie, you're graduating soon, so..."

Chan Man-kit joked, "Are you reluctant to see me go back to Hong Kong?"

He had never told Zhuang Yuanzhen about his plans after graduation because things were not really certain yet.

Zhuang Yuanzhen immediately replied, "No! I know you are the eldest son of the Chen family. Returning to Hong Kong to join the family business is your mission. Don't worry, I will focus on my studies for the remaining two years and return to Hong Kong to reunite with you after graduation."

"Haha," Chen Wenjie laughed, feeling much more relaxed at that moment.

Although his parents never put too much pressure on him, at least not verbally, as the eldest son of the Chen family, he knew from a young age that his 'mission' was to be a role model for his younger brothers, to be his parents' expectations, and to fulfill his own mission.

But when he was with Zhuang Yuanzhen, he could temporarily forget those things and feel much more relaxed.

"What are you laughing at? I'm determined to study hard and finish my studies. Although I love you very much, I won't marry you if I don't graduate from university!"

Not long after she arrived in Boston, Wenjie took her virginity. For the next two years, the two of them broke their vows every weekend, and she always gave in to Wenjie's every whim.

Chen Wenjie laughed and said, "I know, I know. If I dare to affect your studies, my mother will beat me to death. She didn't continue to go to university because of me, so she has always had this regret. What I want to tell you is that I will continue to be in the United States for the next two years, and I will be in Boston."

"what?"

Zhuang Yuanzhen was overjoyed, but then asked with concern, "Why?"

Chen Wenjie said, "My father arranged for me to set up two Holiday Inns in Massachusetts, which means to renovate or open two mid-priced highway hotels in Massachusetts by franchising Holiday Inns. This is a business, and he can help me develop my abilities!"

Zhuang Yuanzhen was surprised. Were all of Chen's children so outstanding?
Wenjie came to the United States to study alone at the age of 14, entered Harvard University at the age of 17, and is now starting his own business at the age of 21, with two hotels in his first venture.

"Brother Wenjie, are you confident?"

"Of course, my father gave me some funds, introduced me to some friends, and even devised a rough investment plan for me. So even though I was a novice, I was very confident!"

Joining a franchise already significantly reduces the difficulty.

In addition, Chen Wenjie has assembled a team, including a local classmate and friend who will serve as his assistant, Jack, a real estate developer introduced by his father as a minority shareholder, and several excellent local managers.

What he needed to do was to act as the leader of this team and take charge of the two hotels in 1956.

Actually, there is still plenty of time, because 'Holiday Inns' are all converted buildings into hotels, and there is no need to purchase land and build again, so they can directly enter the decoration environment.

Finished the appointment.

The two arrived at an apartment, which was their secret base.

After they started dating, Chen Wenjie learned from Chen Guangliang's advice: be careful and don't get her pregnant while she's in college.

In Chen Wenjie's view, this meant that since both sets of parents had given their approval and the relationship had been established, he, as a 19-year-old, had no need to hold back.

"Brother Wenjie, is it because you can't bear to leave this place that you're staying in America?" Zhuang Yuanzhen said playfully.

She liked Chen Wenjie, and initially only offered token resistance before giving herself to him.

Since both sets of parents had already made up their minds, she knew that Chen Wenjie couldn't possibly object to his uncle and aunt's opinion.

Chen Wenjie laughed and said, "So what if it is!"

"And you say that? As soon as I came to America, you started bullying people!"

"Haha, Yuanzhen, I've already confirmed our relationship, so of course I won't become a monk."

A few days later, Yan Renmei arrived in Cambridge to attend her son's graduation ceremony.

Chen Guangliang originally wanted to come, but he is currently in the eye of the storm, so it's better for him not to come to the United States.

Currently, Chen Guangliang has three children studying in the United States, which is a huge gamble. Of course, none of the three children have ever revealed who their father is.

Seeing Zhuang Yuanzhen's ample physique, Yan Renmei suspected that her son had inherited some of his father's genes. But she was certain that her husband's children's genes had been significantly weakened, far from reaching their father's 'superhuman genes'.

This is a good thing, otherwise they would really become a 'monster family'. Currently, the main characteristics of these children are: they are generally very intelligent and have good physical fitness, but all within a reasonable range; unlike their husband, who has a photographic memory, extremely high IQ, and physical fitness that surpasses that of humans.

"Wenjie, if you dare let Yuanzhen get pregnant while she's studying, I'll break your legs!"

Zhuang Yuanzhen, who was holding her future mother-in-law's arm, blushed instantly upon hearing this. Chen Wenjie also felt embarrassed and quickly said, "I understand."

She lowered her voice and warned, "If you really get pregnant, I'll break your legs, but you can't abort the child!"

Hitting children harms their health!
Yan Renmei then patted Zhuang Yuanzhen's hand and said, "Strange, let's finish our university studies properly and then return to Hong Kong in style."

Zhuang Yuanzhen nodded and said, "Yes, Aunt Renmei, I've been studying hard, and my grades are pretty good."

Yan Renmei was very satisfied with this daughter-in-law. She hadn't gone to university herself, so she required all her future daughters-in-law to have a university education.

The World Group Centre on Des Voeux Road.

Chen Guangcong reported to his elder brother: "We have resumed cooperation with Esso and Texaco, but the two oil companies have lowered their prices again and are only treating us as a temporary partner. However, our cooperation with Shell and Japan is gradually getting back on track, but the shipping situation is not good this year, and many of the Global Group's cargo ships are about to expire."

There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. It's impossible for Esso and Texaco to refuse to charter cheap ships; they're simply trying to pressure Universal Group into lowering prices.

In short, the days of making big money are gone forever.

Starting in 1951, the Universal Group amassed a fortune of $3500 million in just four years.

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "As long as the price is appropriately discounted, the contract with Japan for this batch of ships in November can be renewed for another two years. In addition, those that have reached the end of their service life will be sent directly to Rongchang Heavy Industry for dismantling."

Chen Guangcong said reluctantly, "There are basically no scrapped ships; they're all still usable. We're also building new ships, so using the old ones is fine. But this contract is only renewed until November 1956?"

Starting from November 1950, approximately 20 ships signed one-year contracts with Japan, followed by three-year contracts, and were now preparing to sign two-year contracts.

"Well, after all, we're in the process of getting a new ship, so there's no need to sign a long-term contract."

"Ok, I see!"

In fact, these ships could have made a fortune immediately after November 1956, just one month after the Suez Canal closed. Of course, he chose to continue signing long-term contracts with Japanese shipping companies, which allowed him to get preferential prices.

Overall, how to allocate resources is something that Global Group can control.

Currently, none of the oil tankers operated by the Global Group have long-term contracts; they are charged per trip, so their operations are considered normal, with little profit, but they are able to sustain themselves.

With two second-hand oil tankers and two new oil tankers, totaling 8.5 tons of deadweight, they can earn about two million US dollars a year.

Soon, the two brothers entered a large conference room containing more than 30 executives from Global Trade, many of whom were office managers who had traveled from overseas to attend the meeting.

Today is a major conference on global trade.

To date, Global Trade has established branches and affiliated banks in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Sing Tao, South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Many of the relief supplies needed by these regions to receive UN aid are delivered through Global Trade, demonstrating its highly sophisticated trade network.

This year, Global Trade was once again designated by the Hong Kong government as one of the rice importers and grain storage warehouses, carefully selecting rice from the United States, Thailand, mainland China, Vietnam and other regions to supply the Hong Kong market.

Global Trade also sources various delicacies from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, Japan and other places, including fresh and frozen abalone, various kinds of fish, fresh and frozen pork, beef, lamb and venison, as well as poultry such as chicken, duck, goose and pigeon, and various oils, canned goods, sugars and beverages, etc., to supply the local market, processing manufacturers, large and small restaurants and bars.

Global Trade has become one of Hong Kong’s largest diversified food suppliers, and its RT-Mart food market chain stores have gradually spread to every corner of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.

In addition, Global Trading also engages in real estate, investing in properties in various branches or affiliated areas, and even developing and selling residential properties in Sing Tao.

Global Trade has been issuing new shares to its employees to encourage them to use a portion of their salary to buy Global Trade stock over the long term.

At this time, Global Group held 65% of Global Trade's shares, with the remaining 35% held by employees. This included shares held by Yang Xiaohu, which were later bought by internal employees after he became independent.

Chen Guangliang's purpose in developing the industry in this way is to take into account that in the current era, the information network in the trade industry remains unchanged, so all employees need to see themselves as 'protagonists' and be proactive.

"I've invited everyone here today to discuss the development of global trade. Please feel free to speak your mind!"

The management of Global Trade reported on the situation and offered suggestions.

Someone said, "A major Japanese trading company wants to do business in 'UN relief supplies,' but they can't because they haven't signed the surrender treaty. So they want to entrust us with handling the formalities and participating in the business! I think this is feasible."

Business is never-ending, and this kind of cooperation will not affect the interests of global trade itself, so it is indeed feasible!

"Hmm, I think it's feasible!"

I second that.

The matter was quickly settled!

Senior executive Wu Hao also offered his advice today: "With the expansion of Hong Kong's trade, our bank's cargo volume has increased rapidly, so I hope to increase investment in 'ferry boats' for the purpose of transporting our bank's goods."

“It’s a necessary investment, so let’s start by investing in the construction of a 300-ton shuttle ship. The tonnage can be gradually increased according to the actual situation.”

"it is good"

Next, someone else said, "Global Trade has already secured the agency rights for Blaupunkt radios in Germany, so we should continue to develop agency and trade in the electronics sector."

Everyone nodded, and Chen Guangliang added, "This is crucial. The Electrical Department should be established immediately, and we should select distributors for home appliances and audio equipment from the United States, Germany, Japan, and other regions."

In no time, everyone quickly listed many 'business units' that needed to be developed.

Seeing that everyone had finished their discussion, Chen Guangliang began to say: "In the food sector, we have already developed to a certain extent. Next, I hope everyone will consider entering the car dealership and sales industry, and gradually become a major car sales company in Hong Kong through acquisitions and establishments."

The food supply chain laid the foundation for the future establishment of 'supermarkets'.

But global trade cannot stop; it needs to continue to develop. Having reached a bottleneck, Hong Kong is expanding overseas, aiming to become a world-class supply chain giant.

Finally, everyone worked together to develop a 'grand strategy', and Global Trade established import departments including: Rice Department, Grain and Oil Products Department, Food Department, Cosmetics Department, MSG and Soy Sauce Department, Building Materials Department, Mechanical Engineering Department, Automobile Department, Repair Department, and Electrical Department.

Meanwhile, Global Trading also established an export department to act as an agent for Hong Kong industrial products, including clothing. (End of Chapter)