A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Before the Lunar New Year, Chan Kwong-leung visited the Vitasoy Group building in Kwun Tong, a super industrial building with 12 floors and more than 2 square feet per floor.

After more than 30 years of development, Vitasoy Group has become quite large, with annual profits exceeding HK$8 million. More importantly, it has taken every step very steadily.

Currently, Vitasoy Group's products include: bottled soy milk, canned soy milk powder, juice series, soft drink series, milk candy series, biscuit series, instant noodles, Red Bull, etc.

Vitasoy products are sold in Asian regions such as Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and Thailand, achieving considerable success overseas.

Before entering the workshop, Chen Guangliang had already changed into his work clothes. The production workshop here has very strict requirements. After all, the entire Yangtze River Industrial Group has always followed the 4S production management system, not to mention that this is a food factory.

On the Vitasoy bottling production line, Chen Guangliang looked at the traditional packaging method that had been in use for thirty years and said thoughtfully, "Manager Chen, can the Swedish Tetra Pak (Tetra Pak packaging paper) preservation packaging equipment preserve food for several months in paper packaging?"

The shelf life of bottled soy milk cannot exceed one month, which is why Vitasoy bottled soy milk cannot be sold outside of Hong Kong and can only be sold overseas in the form of canned soy milk powder.

Chen Zhixing shook his head and said, "Tetra Pak paper packaging probably can't even last for a few months unless they can break through ultra-high temperature sterilization."

Several years ago, the boss had also paid attention to paper packaging, but after some investigation, Vitasoy did not introduce it.

Chen Guangliang immediately said, "We need to pay attention to technological advancements in this area. If Vitasoy wants to be sold overseas, it has to be in paper packaging with a shelf life of several months. But I think Tetra Pak must be doing research and development in this area."

"Okay, we'll go check it out later."

The boss is always one step ahead, and perhaps that's how they are born. Some technologies haven't even appeared yet, but the boss has already predicted how they will develop.

Upon arriving at the instant noodle factory, Chen Guangliang found that the 'pork bone instant noodles' were undergoing flavor testing, and he gladly sampled them.

It has to be said that instant noodles at this time were much milder in flavor than those of later generations, but Chen Guangliang, who was used to eating delicacies, actually quite liked this cheap stuff.

"Not bad! To be able to develop a new flavor in two years is obviously very impressive."

"It's all thanks to your inspiration, boss, and the support of the group!"

This is true.

Chen Guangliang sets the goal first, so the R&D team won't go astray. The group has plenty of money and can invest a lot of funds in R&D.

These are the fundamental conditions!
"By the way, how's the situation in Japan?"

Chen Zhixing immediately reported: "After we adopted the 'five packs, one bowl free' policy, almost all Japanese instant noodle companies lost their market share in urban areas and had to turn to rural areas for development, while our market expanded further. The results were naturally very good, but instead of making a profit, we actually suffered losses."

normal!

Not making a profit now is for the sake of making more money in the future.

Chen Guangliang immediately asked, "Has Momofuku Ando agreed to sell his Nissin brand?"

Chen Zhixing said, "It'll be soon. I expect he'll agree soon. After all, he's realized that we're not interested in Nissin, but in him personally."

Acquire the people along with them.

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "After Nissin's acquisition, we will have another local brand in Japan. We can entrust the tonkotsu instant noodles to this brand and give it key support. Of course, Master Kong cannot fall behind. The Nissin brand will focus on developing Japanese-style instant noodles, while Master Kong will develop universal flavors."

"Ok"

In the short term, Japanese instant noodle companies will not be able to put pressure on Master Kong.

However, as time goes on and the market grows larger, it's likely that Japanese conglomerates will also get involved. At that point, Master Kong will need a local brand—Nissin—to alleviate the pressure from the competition.

Of course, the variety of flavors, as well as cup and bowl packaging, are Master Kong's biggest selling points.

At last.

Chen Guangliang visited Red Bull's R&D lab. After more than three years of research and development, Red Bull was basically ready to be launched on the market. Of course, the formula would continue to be refined until it was perfected.

He took a sip and immediately said, "Ready to enter the market! The can should be gold with a logo of two red bulls butting each other."

Chen Zhixing said happily, "Great, we plan to open up sales channels for this drink among truck drivers and office workers, so we've already come up with the advertising slogan—Red Bull, giving you unlimited power."

Chen Guangliang nodded, but didn't provide any advertising copy, since there were only so many of these products.

In Europe and America, the advertising slogan in the past was—Red Bull, giving you wings.

In reality, Red Bull can't give you wings; it can only give you death compensation and sponsorship (for extreme sports).

January 27th, Lunar New Year's Eve.

The three branches of the Chan family gathered at Villa No. 79 in Deep Water Bay, with all members present, including their children who were working or studying overseas.

Grandma Yang Hui is still alive and well. She is 70 years old this year and is in good health.

The three wives and concubines all looked very young. Even the oldest, Jiang Meiying (47 years old), looked only about 30, making her the epitome of a young married woman.

Regarding the children, there are a total of 12 official second-generation members (5, 4, and 3).

As for his daughter-in-law, only Chen Wenjie is married so far, and his wife is Zhuang Yuanzhen.

As for the third generation, Chen Wenjie's son, Chen Zerui, is already over one year old.

"Dad, Kelly and I plan to get married this year. After the Spring Festival, Kelly's father hopes you can come to the United States!"

Hearing Chen Wenjin's words, Chen Guangliang smiled and nodded.

"Alright, they finally acknowledge you. Looks like you did a good job!"

Chen Wenjin's girlfriend is a white woman from a family that includes U.S. Senators, making them politically connected. Therefore, initially, when she learned that Chen Wenjin was only Chen Guangliang's second son, she was somewhat reluctant, given their different family values.

However, Chen Wenjin has a strong personal advantage: his 'Amazon Shopping Center' in San Francisco is about to open, which will be the largest shopping center in California.

With his personal abilities and the fact that Chen Wenjin was very popular with girls, he naturally succeeded.

To be honest, Chen Guangliang also looked down on a U.S. senator. He and Kennedy were good friends, but he simply didn't get involved in Chen Wenjin and his girlfriend's affairs, hoping Chen could handle such matters himself. Chen Wenjin smiled and said, "Actually, I agreed a long time ago. I was just thinking of waiting until the Amazon shopping mall project was on track before discussing marriage. On the other hand, Kelly has a very strong will, and it's actually difficult for her parents to influence her opinion."

The implication is that he had already completely subdued the woman.

Regardless, the woman's background is beneficial to Chen Wenjin's development in the American business world.

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "In short, as long as you like each other, that's fine. My requirements for your marriage are limited, and you just need to abide by them."

Princess Chen Leyi immediately ran over, sat on the sofa, took her father's arm, and said sweetly, "Dad, you haven't told me what you want from me yet."

Chen Guangliang laughed heartily and said, "With such a beautiful daughter, how could I bear to marry her off? I had almost forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it."

Chen Leyi said happily, "You're lying, aren't you? You don't value me, do you?"

Good heavens, she's the only one in the family who dares to speak like that. Of course, there are also two little princesses who are too young to be lawless either.

Jiang Meiying stepped in to defuse the situation, saying, "Your father set the rules long ago, but he didn't tell you directly. Haven't I, your second brother (Chen Wenjin), reminded you many times? No blacks or whites, no Japanese. Only Chinese."

Daughters are different!
Chen Guangliang allowed Chen Wenjin to marry a white girl because his second wife wanted to make a name for herself in the American business world. However, Chen Wenjin also had two younger brothers (18 and 8 years old), so naturally, the Chinese woman would be given priority.

Chen Leyi said with a smile, "Anyway, I'm not planning on dating yet!"

Chen Guangliang said, "You can date, just be careful to keep yourself pure. Having some dating experience will make your thinking clearer and calmer."

Chen Leyi didn't refute it. She also wanted to date, but her father had been too good to her since she was a child, and her father was also very outstanding, so she had high requirements for her boyfriend. On the other hand, she had been in the United States for many years, but she didn't want to date foreigners, she only wanted to date Chinese people, so the chances were further reduced.

On the afternoon of Lunar New Year's Eve, Chen Guangcong brought his family of five to No. 79 Deep Water Bay to have New Year's Eve dinner together.

Chen Guangliang also inquired about his nephew Chen Wenbo's personal affairs. Upon learning that his relationship with his girlfriend was stable, he decided to prepare for their wedding this year.

Chen Guangliang's younger brother, Chen Guangcong, only had this one son, so he treated him as his own and raised him well.

Strictly speaking, it's uncertain whether Chen Wenming or Chen Wenbo will ultimately become the general manager of Global Group; equity is equity, and management rights are management rights, and the management rights could even be taken over by a 'property manager'.

Of course, judging from the current situation, Chen Guangliang's biological sons will all inherit his high intelligence, but their personalities will be very different. However, with a little guidance, they will be suitable to take over the business.

For example, Chen Wenjie is calm, meticulous, and considers all aspects, which are all advantages; however, Chen Wenjie lacks a spirit of adventure. Subconsciously, he is content to protect the empire built by his father and follow the strategies set by his father.

For example, Chen Wenming has an open mind and has always liked to run business outside since joining the Global Group, traveling all over the world year after year; but Chen Guangliang is worried that he will invest too aggressively and then be taught a lesson by the times; of course, the Global Group will 'land' some assets as the 'cornerstone' of the group.

Meanwhile, his nephew Chen Wenbo, like his father Chen Guangcong, is cautious, diligent, and has strong execution skills. He is also very approachable and gets along well with the company's management and employees.

Therefore, if Chen Wenming becomes chairman and Chen Wenbo becomes general manager in the future, it might be a good combination.

After the Spring Festival, Chen Guangliang went to Japan and ordered four 100,000-ton oil tankers and two cargo ships.

Since last year (1959), the Global Group has been building 50 tons of new ships every year, which is a huge undertaking, and no other shipping company in the world has such a large scale.

In 1959, World Wanderers already possessed a deadweight tonnage of approximately 120 million tons, making it the undisputed world's leading private shipowner. Of this, a significant portion consisted of secondhand vessels, amounting to about 70 tons.

This year, new changes have occurred in Japan's shipbuilding industry. In order to continue to support the shipbuilding industry, the government has allowed qualified foreign shipowners to obtain 80% of their assets in Japanese bank loans at an annual interest rate of 5%.

Global Shipping naturally met the requirements, so it only needed to pay a 20% down payment to build the ship.

After finishing the shipbuilding business, Chen Guangliang brought his younger brother Chen Guangcong to Si Yezi's villa.

"Sister-in-law"

Chen Guangcong knew about Si Yezi's affair several years ago, and Yan Renmei and others also seemed to know that Chen Guangliang had a lover in Japan.

"Mr. Chen"

Si Yezi still kept her status very low, but Chen Guangliang didn't care.

Later, after playing with the children for a while, Chen Guangliang and Si Yezi sat down at a table, enjoying delicious food and fine wine, and started discussing things.

Chen Guangliang said to Chen Guangcong, "Years ago, Global Shipping invested in some stocks in Japan, which have now increased nearly tenfold, amounting to more than 20 million US dollars. This time, we'll gradually cash out and use the proceeds to subsidize the shipbuilding business. You'll be in charge of the cash-out, which will be done in three years, with a subsidy each year."

Chen Guangcong couldn't help but admire his elder brother. In the early years, when doing business with the Japanese, if the Japanese didn't have enough foreign exchange, he would accept the yen without question; and if he couldn't use the yen, he would invest it in Japanese stocks.

As a result, not only did the yen appreciate, but Japanese stocks also surged many times over.

Nowadays, shipbuilding in Japan costs tens of millions of US dollars in a single transaction, so more than 20 million US dollars can be considered a small deduction.

Then, Chen Guangliang said to Si Yezi, "This year, you will continue to buy $200 million worth of securities, including stocks of Toyota, Sony, Panasonic, etc. Half of it will be secured by collateral, and I will give you the other half. We will sell them here, and you will buy them, which will give us a better price."

Si Yezi immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, Mr. Chen."

She's now used to Chen Guangliang giving her money, knowing it's for the sake of their two children's future. As for her usual expenses, whether it's dividends or rent, it's enough for the three of them to live comfortably.

Chen Guangcong immediately replied, "We will keep in touch with my sister-in-law when we cash out."

He also admired his elder brother, who had four wives and concubines, yet no one made a fuss.

But he also understood his elder brother; he might not be doing this for lust, but more likely it was part of a scheme. Like this sister-in-law, who may seem to be just buying property and stocks now, but over the years, when her two sons grow up, her wealth could reach a considerable level.

If these two nephews prove themselves, they might very well become business tycoons in Japan.

Chen Guangcong thought to himself, "That's what I was thinking!"
Chen Guangcong's net worth is now close to US$4000 million, which means that the total assets of Global Shipping are over US$2.5 million, because he owns 15% of the total shares.

As for Global Trade, Chen Guangcong does not hold any shares.

Of course, Hong Kong Airlines is a subsidiary of Worldwide Airlines.

Chen Guangcong has only one son, and the shares of Huanqiu Shipping will only be inherited by his son in the future; if it was said that the children would divide the shares equally, then it can only be cash and real estate.

As for the assets, even Chen Guangliang wouldn't give any to his daughter, though she could hold a small share. (End of Chapter)