A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

It's summer vacation again.

On this day, a "major event" occurred on the "British American" superyacht - Chen Guangliang introduced the Japanese woman, Tsukasa Yoko, to his first wife, second wife, and third wife.

In the yacht's restaurant, Si Yezi was a little reserved. She was wearing a Japanese traditional dress called a kimono and bowed to everyone upon meeting.

"Si Yezi greets the three ladies."

Upon hearing this, Yan Renmei and the other two women were somewhat surprised.

Because Si Yezi placed herself in a very low position, she did not directly address the three sisters as "three ladies," but rather as "three madams," which meant that she regarded herself as a "maid."

No wonder this woman could make this man secretly keep her for ten years and break his promise again.

Yan Renmei said, "Since we agreed to meet you, we are naturally prepared to accept those two children, so please call us 'elder sister'!"

Because her husband was preparing for the 'family office', they finally learned of Si Yezi's existence and her two children. Moreover, once the family office was established, if Si Yezi's two children were excluded, they would truly become 'illegitimate children'.

Based on this, Chen Guangliang had no choice but to admit that although the three women had become aware of it over the past few years.

Si Yezi tentatively asked, "Can I really do it?"

Yan Renmei solemnly said, "If you didn't have two children, you wouldn't be able to see us today. Now that the two children are growing up, it's only natural that they should acknowledge their ancestors and return to their roots."

Logically, she didn't want another 'sister', but from the perspective of family values, they had no choice but to compromise.

The most important factor in the Chen family's success today is, of course, her husband, but also their unity. Therefore, considering this, she agreed to let Si Yezi and her two children return to their ancestral home.

"Thank you, eldest sister. Thank you, second sister. Thank you, third sister. Let me pour you some tea!"

A little later, Si Yezi personally poured three cups of tea and then served them to each of them.

Meanwhile, Chen Guangliang was outside the yacht, drinking red wine and enjoying the sea view.

Of course, he actually wanted to go inside and take a look, although he trusted his woman would put the bigger picture first.

After a while, he saw the four women walking out chatting and laughing, and he finally felt relieved.

His wife naturally had to learn Chinese, and so did his children.

"It's settled."

Yan Renmei said dignifiedly, "What, are you worried?"

Chen Guangliang immediately replied tactfully, "Not at all, Madam always prioritizes the greater good and is the cornerstone of family unity."

A torrent of flattery was offered!

Jiang Meiying was the second wife, and she had a cheerful personality and a strong ability to accept things. Audrey Hepburn considered herself a lover and wouldn't care. Last time she was with Princess Margaret, she even encouraged Chen Guangliang to have a one-night stand with her!
Yan Renmei is the only one who has a bottom line, but Chen Guangliang is slowly eroding that bottom line.

"You flatter me! They've been away for ten years and only just entered the door today. That's because you're giving us face, Mr. Chen, don't you think?"

Chen Guangliang chuckled and immediately went to Yan Renmei's side, putting his arm around her waist.

Yan Renmei leaned against him gently, and Chen Guangliang knew it was a stepping stone, so he went down it.

After a while, the five of them sat together, and the maid served them exquisite snacks and drinks.

The sunlight poured down, but I was shielded by the parasol, and the sea breeze made it quite cool.

The ship is served chilled with fine French First Growth wines, poured into cups filled with ice; the freshest tropical fruits, vibrant and juicy; and local Hong Kong snacks, all delivered to the ship immediately.

Chen Guangliang's gaze swept over his four wives and concubines, all of whom were unparalleled beauties, each with their own unique charm. He was truly a winner in life.

"Let's discuss the family office issue first!"

What is a family office?

The CEO of a family office is further divided into six departments: investment management, estate planning, tax planning, trust services, family governance, and administrative services.

The responsibilities of the investment management department include: investment projects, asset allocation, manager selection, and investment performance monitoring.
The responsibilities of the estate planning department include: trust management, developing trust plans, fund management, and management of tangible assets.
The responsibilities of the tax planning department include: developing tax plans, coordinating tax documents, and legally minimizing taxes.
The responsibilities of the trust services department are: to act as an agent for corporate trustees and to provide support to individual trustees.
The responsibilities of the family governance department include: defining the vision and goals for the family fortune, planning educational programs for family members, organizing family meetings, and charitable fundraising.
The responsibilities of the administrative services department include: legal matters, travel planning, shopping planning, concierge services, document management, money transfers, cash flow and budget management, and risk management.

Yan Renmei later raised a question: "Wouldn't the establishment of a family office expose our family? Many people in the family office will know the specific situation of the four branches and their children. Isn't this a hidden danger?"

good question!
Chen Guangliang said seriously, "That's true. But we don't need to hide anything. Our family members are scattered all over the world, each branch has its own investment company, and each branch's children will have their own careers in the future. In addition, the management of the family office naturally has professional professional qualities, so I believe there won't be any major problems. Also, each branch will have its own trust fund company in the future, which will be a separate institution."

Yan Renmei nodded, and no longer had any doubts. She was the only one in the world who knew that Chen Guangliang had the ability to predict the future.

Then, Chen Guangliang said, "For the establishment of this family office, I will personally contribute HK$2 million as seed capital. Later, I will oversee the investment of these funds in Hong Kong real estate and securities, US real estate and securities, and securities and real estate in Europe and the United States."

In fact, the 200 million yuan came from the profits generated by Yangtze River Industrial Group, Global Group, Ping An Financial Group, and Yangtze River Real Estate (a private enterprise).

However, Yan Renmei's children received the largest share, so she naturally couldn't object. After all, Cheung Kong Holdings alone had assets worth nearly 10 billion, while Global Holdings had assets worth around 20 billion. Furthermore, Cheung Kong Industrial Group and Ping An Financial Group were all clearly to be taken over by her four sons.

As for the other three wives, they have even less objection!
The day.

The overall atmosphere was very friendly. Everyone spent four days on the ship before disembarking.

The administrative headquarters of Cheung Kong Industries is located on the upper floors of the Lane Crawford Building on Queen's Road Central.

If we're talking about the most complex, Cheung Kong Industrial Group is the Chen family's most intricate "group enterprise," with numerous subsidiaries such as Hsin Feng Textile Group, Hua Tai Group, Rong Chang Heavy Industry Group, Hop Ho Zipper, and Midea Electric Appliances. These subsidiaries, in turn, have many sub-subsidiaries, forming a massive industrial group.

“Father, Huatai Toys has sent a message from Japan. A Japanese company announced that it has acquired the Asian agency rights for Yili candy machines and will mass-produce claw machines at its Osaka factory. They deliberately bypassed our patent and intend to directly compete with our claw machines. It is said that their price is 10% lower than ours.” Chen Guangliang was not surprised. He thought about it for a moment—every time their patented product is launched, it will be imitated, and then their legal department will have to step in.

Generally, licensing is only available for a price, because to enter the local market, compromises are inevitable, with instant noodles being the best example.

A patent is more of a 'business card' than a patent.

To compete with local businesses, companies must outperform their rivals in product quality, innovation, and, crucially, pricing, in order to establish a foothold in the local market.

"What do you think?"

After Chen Wenkai, the third son of the eldest son's family, launched the "Poseidon Series" yachts overseas, he was summoned by Chen Guangliang to work at the headquarters of the Cheung Kong Industrial Group to familiarize himself with the entire Cheung Kong Industrial Group's industry.

"We certainly have an advantage in terms of price, but that's not the key. I learned that in 1957, we were competing with Taiwanese companies for textile orders. They used cheap labor to drive down prices, and in the end, who won? So, price is not the key factor; the product is."

"We have been launching our claw machines for nine months, and have shipped over a thousand units to overseas countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Monaco. We have taken the lead in the market."

"Therefore, I think we should focus on innovation and quality in claw machines. Of course, I also think we should maintain our patents for the claw and coin-operated parts, so that we can't let others easily infringe on our patents."

Upon hearing this, Chen Guangliang asked, "What about the price?"

Chen Wenkai immediately said, "Of course, the price will also be adjusted to be similar to that in Japan, to show that we don't want to engage in a price war. But if Japan continues, we will certainly play along."

After all, this is all money.

Last year, instant noodles engaged in a year-long price war in Japan, but didn't make much money, and their market share also slightly declined, falling below 40% to between 35% and 40%.

It's worth noting that Master Kong and Nissin not only launched a third flavor, but also launched cup noodles in Japan at the same time.

But this price war is something we have no choice but to fight.

Chen Guangliang fell into thought and took out paper and pen to carefully consider the 'claw machine' from his previous life.

Soon, he said:

"Regarding innovation, I have four ideas: First, have the R&D department replace the core components of the claw machine with precision gears produced by Rongchang Heavy Industry, and announce it as a 'second-generation anti-cheating machine'."

"Second, increase the number of customized models. For example, the Monaco model can be trimmed with gold."

"Third, see if we can add lighting inside to enhance the product's visual appeal."

"Fourth, find American electronics and semiconductor companies to try to customize an integrated circuit to gradually develop claw machines from mechanical to electronic, such as adding a small LCD screen with a timer or counter. Of course, this is a long-term plan, so don't rush it."

We cannot stand still; we must increase our research and development capabilities.

Chen Wenkai wrote it down on paper and then said, "Okay."

Later, Chen Guangliang continued, "Midea Electric Appliances also needs to engage in real research and development. This year, Philips of the Netherlands invented the cassette tape. Many people haven't realized the potential of this technology yet, but I believe it's a revolutionary invention. If music is put into cassette tapes, then in the future people can listen to music anytime, anywhere. So from now on, Midea's radio division needs to invest real research and development efforts in the development of cassette tapes, with the ultimate goal of creating a small tape recorder."

Chen Wenkai nodded and said, "I'll go and investigate and convey the message immediately."

Chen Guangliang didn't mention the Walkman, but rather a small cassette recorder, typically used by news reporters. But if this step was successful, the invention of the Walkman was only a matter of time.

He wanted to compete with the Japanese for this market. Although the Dutch had already obtained the patent for cassette tapes, there should be many more subsequent patents. Of course, even if Midea's R&D capabilities were weak, its ability to "copy" was very strong. After accumulating enough experience, it could at least invent the Walkman first.

half a month later.

Members of the Chan family gathered at 79 Deep Water Bay, this time with children from all four branches of the family present.

When the 'head of the household' led in another family member, who was Japanese and whose two children were 10 and 7 years old, everyone was initially surprised.

Of course, Chen Wenjie's children quickly accepted it. They had been taught by their mother since childhood that their father was different from others and could not be viewed with ordinary worldly eyes. Therefore, they should not let their father's philandering affect them and should remain devoted to their own relationships.

As they grew up, Chen Wenjie and his friends realized that their father was truly different—he possessed a charm that they lacked. The most obvious evidence was that their mothers genuinely accepted each other, and there was no backstabbing or scheming.

Of course, the four daughters-in-law also attended this family gathering, and they were once again shocked—this father-in-law is truly amorous! However, these four daughters-in-law had received an explanation from their husbands beforehand, and had already accepted the situation by the time of the gathering.

Upon hearing that their father was going to set up a 'family office' with HK$2 million, the children were very enthusiastic.

"Wenjie and Wenjin, as the eldest sons of both families, and having worked for many years, you will serve as my right-hand men in establishing this 'family office.' While handling your own work and careers, you will also concurrently serve as permanent directors of the family office. Once Wenou and Wenying join the team, they will also serve as permanent directors. The family office will naturally be managed by a hired management team, but our family will also establish a board of directors to supervise and formulate strategies."

"Yes, father"

In the living room on the first floor, Chen Wenjie offered his suggestion: "Father, HK$2 million is not a particularly large sum. If the family office is too large at the beginning, the operating costs will be too high. Therefore, I suggest that the family office should initially be for investment purposes. For the time being, we should not provide family members with benefits, including monthly living expenses, nor should we activate administrative functions. We should develop it gradually."

Chen Guangliang said happily, "Your suggestion is excellent."

Chen Wenjin then offered a suggestion: "Father, since the HK$2 million investment is spread across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, I suggest that my eldest brother take on the role of executive supervisor for the Asian investment and I take on the role of executive supervisor for the American investment from the beginning. This way, we can share some of the execution pressure with you, and we can also supervise the actions of the external personnel."

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "It's feasible! I already have a concrete plan for this 200 million Hong Kong dollars investment. In terms of investment, our family will never need anyone else to take the initiative, at least not before I die."

This is a kind of confidence!
Chen Wenjie said, "My father is still young."

Chen Wenjin nodded as well.

These kids are most afraid of people mentioning 'inheritance'; they feel that it's a very good thing that their father is working.

The eldest sons of both families are now able to speak on behalf of their respective households. Over the next few days, everyone will gather to strengthen relationships. (End of Chapter)