A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

"Congratulations, Mr. Smith, these two Holiday Inn hotels are now yours!" Chen Wenjie reluctantly signed his name, then regained his composure, stood up, and extended his hand to an American.

Smith also stood up, extended his hand to shake Chen Wenjie's, and said, "A win-win cooperation! As far as I know, Mr. Chen only spent US$150 million to buy and renovate these two Holiday Inn buildings, but in two years you received US$300 million. I have to say, you are truly a business genius. If I were you, I wouldn't go back to Hong Kong, but stay in the United States to continue developing!"

It turns out that starting in May of this year, Chen Wenjie announced that he would sell two of his Holiday Inn hotels.

After all, he was going back to Hong Kong to join the family business.

In the past two years, he has acquired a hotel for renovation and purchased a plot of land to build a hotel (which is still under construction), with investments not exceeding $150 million. However, there are many wealthy Americans willing to buy these two Holiday Inn hotels (one of which is under construction).

This is thanks to the rapid development of Holiday Inn in the United States, as well as Chen Wenjie's excellent vision and experience in site selection and operation.

A return on investment that doubled in two years is undoubtedly a very good achievement.

Chen Wenjie smiled and said, "I will come to the United States to invest again in the future."

"Welcome. Here is a check for $300 million. Please take it!"

"OK"

After completing the transaction smoothly, Chen Wenjie showed no further reluctance, because he had more important things to do.

At their villa on Long Island, New York, the three Chen brothers, Wenjie, Wenjin, and Wenming, gathered together.

Chen Wenming is Yan Renmei's second son. He is 21 years old this year and will graduate from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business in a year.

"Brother, you've returned to Hong Kong with a lot of honors. You'll definitely be given a high position when you get back. You're a business genius who doubled your capital in just two years!" Chen Wenjin praised his elder brother.

Chen Wenjie laughed and scolded, "You little brat, you know perfectly well what I'm talking about. I'm just managing my father's business. He's the one who helps me with all the planning and strategizing. What kind of business genius am I? Besides, I don't want to be a genius. Doing things in a down-to-earth manner is my style."

Chen Wenjin laughed and said, "I don't believe it! Let alone surpassing my father, you should at least make people marvel at how the eldest son of the Chen family is like a tiger father, just like his son!"

Chen Wenjie said, "There's nothing wrong with dogs guarding the house!"

It is evident that the two brothers have somewhat different styles.

Although Chen Wenming, who was also about to graduate, was still a 'new recruit', he didn't even know what his father would do with him after graduation.

A moment later, Chen Wenjie patted Chen Wenjin on the shoulder and said, "Second brother, I know you always dream of doing great things. Right now at 'Audrey's Toys,' you feel like you're subordinate to Third Aunt and President Jones, not doing things independently. But you have to understand, you're still young, and you'll have many opportunities in the future!"

That really touched Chen Wenjin's heart.

Chen Wenjin sighed and said, "I know that I am young and Chinese, so there are definitely some restrictions on doing business in the United States!"

If he weren't Chinese, I believe the position of chairman of the Barbie company would belong to him or his mother.

Chen Wenjie's face turned serious at this moment, and Chen Wenming quickly kicked his second brother. Only then did Chen Wenjin realize that he seemed to have said something wrong.

“Brother, that’s not what I meant. Of course I’m proud to be Chinese, and I always feel that we are always restricted in America.”

Chen Wenjie immediately asked, "Then why was Father able to shine so brightly in the Western world?"

A shipping magnate, the uncrowned king of Monaco, a man who shocked even Americans!
Chen Wenjin said with shame, "Brother's advice is correct!"

"Where is it right?"

"I feel I still need to mature and gain experience. I will have the opportunity to do something big on my own in the future!"

"Well, it's good that you've come to your senses. You're only 22 years old, so don't always be too impulsive. Even a genius can't surpass their father's talent, so you should be humble where you need to be. I believe that as the world's leading power and the largest consumer market, the United States offers you ample room to showcase your talents."

"Thank you for your guidance, elder brother."

As the eldest brother, Chen Wenjie was like a father to the three brothers who were studying in the United States.

Moreover, everyone respected the eldest brother from a young age. When they made mistakes, the eldest brother would be punished along with them. The eldest brother was a role model for all his brothers and sisters.

Early July.

The day after Chen Wenjie returned to Hong Kong, he arrived at the Ping An Bank Building on Garden Road dressed in formal attire.

The building security guards didn't recognize him. Luckily, he dialed Lu Xiaoqing's office number, which allowed him to enter the building.

Upon arriving at the Cheung Kong Holdings office building, the receptionist didn't recognize him either. However, seeing Chen Wenjie's appearance, she politely asked, "Sir, do you have an appointment?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Lu Xiaoqing came out and said happily, "Wenjie, you're back in Hong Kong!"

They met back in Chongqing.

Chen Wenjie immediately said, "I returned to Hong Kong yesterday and came to report to Manager Lu today!"

Lu Xiaoqing lightly punched Chen Wenjie and said, "I don't have that kind of airs. Come on, let's go see Deputy General Manager Yan. He knows you're coming today!"

This scene astonished the onlookers: a new employee was first picked up by the project manager, and then went directly to the office of Deputy General Manager Yan.

"who is it?"

"I think I know!"

"who is it?"

"Haven't you noticed who this young man looks like?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was immediately surprised and realized what was happening.

"boss"

"My goodness, could it really be the boss's son? But which son is it?"

"The eldest son is more likely to be the son."

"Not necessarily. Perhaps the eldest son should go to Ping An Bank or Global Group?"

"Tch, as if our Cheung Kong Group is weaker than these two groups!"

"The Yangtze River Industrial Group is actually quite strong."

They arrived at Yan Kuan's office.

Uncle Yan

“Wenjie is back. Your father already told me yesterday. As for you, you'll be working with Xiaoqing in the project department. I know you did a great job with the two Holiday Inn hotels in the US. Like father, like son! So, in the project department, you'll be Xiaoqing's assistant. We've acquired three sites in the first half of this year, totaling five residential buildings. There's no planning or design yet, so you'll be in charge of that. Xiaoqing, you'll be mentoring Wenjie to complete it, since he's not familiar with projects in Hong Kong yet.”

Lu Xiaoqing immediately replied, "No problem!"

He now understood why the three plots of land the company had acquired in the first half of the year had not yet been officially approved for development—it was all waiting for the young master to return.

Chen Wenjie quickly said, "I will definitely learn from Brother Xiaoqing." Yan Kuan added, "It's good to learn, but these are three projects, and they all need to be sold in the first half of next year. So the timeframe is a bit tight!"

Okay, I understand.

After Lu Xiaoqing and Chen Wenjie left, Yan Kuan smiled – Cheung Kong Group had finally entered its second generation of management. In recent years, the boss had been promoting a group of young managers, including Lu Xiaoqing, which was actually paving the way for the eldest son.

Of course, these 'old guys' can still fight for another 5 to 10 years, except for the boss.

Thursday, June 1956, 7.

On this day, Chen Guangliang was vacationing on the superyacht "Mei Ying" in the waters off Hong Kong when Audrey Hepburn arrived from Europe.

There were no children on the yacht, only his three women.

In the pool, the three women had all changed into bikinis; it was simply paradise on earth, like a group of fairies.

Jiang Meiying, the eldest of the three women, is 43 years old this year, but she looks like she is only 27 or 28. Upon closer inspection, there is no sign that she is over 30. Her skin is so smooth and supple, and she is full of collagen.

The youngest Audrey Hepburn is 27 years old this year. Thanks to Chen Guangliang's efforts, her body has long since recovered to a healthy level, with curves in all the right places and a slim figure in all the right places.

"Mr. Chen, there's a telegram from the United States!"

A female assistant came to the poolside.

Chen Guangliang then took the paper. In those days there were no wireless telephones, so he set up a telegraph room on his ship, which formed a network with the top-floor telegraph headquarters of the Global Group Center.

Regardless of which of his companies they belong to, they can contact him through the telegram headquarters.

"It was Guangcong who made the call from the United States to Hong Kong. The United States decided to withdraw its aid to Egypt in building the Aswan Dam because Egypt had allowed the Soviets to interfere in Egyptian affairs."

Yan Renmei asked curiously, "What does this prove?"

Chen Guangliang got up and walked out of the pool, leaving behind the comment: "This means Egypt may close the Suez Canal!"

The three women looked at each other, still not understanding the key point.

Suddenly, Yan Renmei seemed to have figured something out. She said with delight, "I understand. As long as Egypt closes the Suez Canal, the oil supply to all of Europe and the United States will be forced to reroute through the Cape of Good Hope. This means traveling twice as far as via the Suez Canal, and therefore, the demand for ships will naturally increase."

The other two women also understood that this meant the opportunity for the Global Group had arrived.

Of course, the three women did not understand that the shipping cost was not increasing by one or two times, but by four or five times.

Here, Chen Guangliang gave Chen Guangcong an order: "Return immediately."

Soon after, the three women put on thin veils and entered the room. No men would appear in the area where they were active, even their bodyguards were all women.

They saw Chen Guangliang opening champagne and immediately became curious.

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "In short, the opportunity for the Global Group to make a fortune has arrived. This time, a true world shipping magnate will be born!"

All the women were overjoyed!

Chen Guangliang even danced with the three women in turns, and in his excitement, he closed the bedroom door, and none of them managed to escape.

Afterwards, Audrey Hepburn said, "So this is what it feels like. Why didn't my two older sisters take me with them before!"

Yan Renmei and Jiang Meiying spat out a remark!
Afterwards, the three women busied themselves preparing to nourish Chen Guangliang, afraid that this superman would overwork himself.

Three days later, in the top-floor conference room of the Global Group, Chen Guangliang convened a working meeting of the core senior management, including Yan Renmei and Chen Guangcong.

“Starting from the middle of next month (8), all available oil tankers will be dispatched to Jeddah port and will no longer be accepted for new transport missions. Standby!”

Chen Guangcong asked, "What about the business in Japan?"

The cooperation with Japan has always been pleasant, and since the oil tanker is not leased long-term but short-term, there will be no loss even if freight rates skyrocket!
"If you can think of a reason, you can refuse; if you can't, you can only charter one trip at a time. Once all the oil tankers arrive at Jeddah port, all crew members on board must immediately stand by and are not allowed to leave the ship without authorization."

"Ok"

Everyone had a vague feeling that something momentous was about to happen.

This event will completely change global shipping.

After the meeting, Chen Guangliang, Chen Guangcong, and Yan Renmei went to the office.

"Guangcong, the last 5.6-ton ship in Germany will be delivered next month. You'll preside over the launching ceremony for me."

"it is good"

This year, four 5.6-ton vessels were launched one after another. Although the business volume was indeed small, the profits from each trip were substantial.

After all, it's not like the shipping industry is in a period of stagnation.

Chen Guangcong then said, "Japan has two more 22,000-ton oil tankers, which will be delivered in October and November respectively. At that time, Global Shipping's total oil tanker tonnage will reach 400,000 tons. In addition, we also have 400,000-ton cargo ships, and the contracts are basically all completed this year."

He sensed that the Suez Canal was really going to close, and global shipping costs were about to skyrocket.

Chen Guangliang said, "Next, we just need to wait for the opportunity. I've made a huge bet on developing shipping this time. Okay, go ahead and get busy!"

"It's my brother"

Currently, Chen Guangcong holds about 15% of the 80-ton ships in the entire global shipping company. After all, when expanding later, although Chen Guangliang wanted to take care of his younger brother, he could not really treat him as a son.

However, this 15% stake is worth around US$2000 million, and the total value of the Universal Group's fleet has exceeded US$1.2 million.

When John Davidson Rockefeller III of Esso Oil Company heard that Worldwide Shipping had suspended the transport of their oil, he immediately asked his subordinates, "Why aren't they taking on the transport business? Do they think our prices are too low?"

Since the Jeddah Agreement in 1954, American oil companies have indeed been trying to suppress transboundary shipping. In short, they are willing to take on transportation tasks, but the price must be very low.

In fact, they also understood that the Jeddah Agreement did not cause Chen Guangliang any loss; on the contrary, the world's oil and shipping companies recognized the great reputation of Worldwide Shipping.

Although Worldwide Shipping encountered some difficulties in the short term, its business quickly recovered because 'reputation' is a very important thing in doing business.

"I'm not sure! But according to people in Jeddah, many Worldwide Shipping ships have started docking in Jeddah."

John Davidson Rockefeller III said suspiciously, "Could it be that they are not satisfied with the price and intend to protest to us like this?"

"Perhaps."

"Haha, they're thinking too simply. In that case, let's not give them the transportation business for now. In two months, they'll come to us on their own."

"Do we need them?" "Hmph, even if the oil arrives late, we'll still leave them waiting. Otherwise, they won't know who the main character is!"

"Okay." (End of Chapter)