A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Discovery Bay.

In the detached villa area east of the golf course, Chen Guangliang is vacationing with his four wives.

There are six villas here, but because the Chen family has a large population, Chen Guangliang simply rented them all (paying rent to Cheung Kong Holdings) for his children and descendants to use for vacations.

On the other hand, Chen Guangliang also thought that it wouldn't be worthwhile to sell now, and he would consider it again in the future.

By the pool, Chen Guangliang's four wives and concubines all changed into bikinis, each one a stunning beauty.

The eldest sister, Yan Renmei, is dignified and elegant; the second sister, Jiang Meiying, is voluptuous and sexy; the third sister, Audrey Hepburn, is graceful and noble; and the fourth sister, Si Yezi, has a classical temperament. Each of them has her own unique beauty.

Of course, the oldest woman, Jiang Meiying, was the one who most aroused Chen Guangliang's impulse, because she was the modern-day 'Yang Guifei'.

Secondly, there's Si Yezi, because Chen Guangliang exudes a sense of conquest over her, perhaps a psychological victory stemming from the trauma of being chased by the Japanese during the War of Resistance against Japan. However, Chen Guangliang doesn't see it as a psychological victory; he's a businessman who has made significant contributions to Hong Kong's efforts to seize economic opportunities from Japan in his professional field over the years.

"This pool is really big, unlike the pools at Deep Water Bay and Shallow Water Bay. We can swim properly now!" Jiang Meiying deliberately showed off her voluptuous figure. Her large buttocks still showed no signs of sagging, displaying an astonishing elasticity that was visible to the naked eye. Her bust was also very impressive, almost a 36D. Crucially, Jiang Meiying's waist was very slim, which further accentuated her figure. Complementing her figure was Jiang Meiying's beautiful face, the epitome of traditional Chinese beauty.

Yan Renmei knew in her heart that although her husband respected and loved her the most, in terms of sex, she was more like someone who was being pampered, and it was this second wife who could most arouse her husband's wildness.

She scolded playfully, "Stop having any funny ideas! Don't get yourself into trouble in broad daylight!"

Jiang Meiying immediately took Yan Renmei's arm and said with a smile, "The eldest is right! But we're an old married couple, how could he not be settled down!"

Yan Renmei felt a little awkward with Jiang Meiying's skin pressed against hers, so she pulled her arm away and said, "You're such a vixen, but don't try to mess with me!"

After saying that, she took the lead and jumped into the pool like a mermaid.

Following closely behind was the elegant Audrey Hepburn, who remarked, "Second sister, how come you're even more open-minded than us Westerners!"

Jiang Meiying deliberately said, "I am American."

The three of them jumped into the pool and played, while Si Yezi knelt down next to Chen Guangliang's lounge chair, put a towel under her knees, and fed Chen Guangliang grapes (real fruit).

"Si Yezi, hurry up, or they'll punish you for stealing food!"

Si Yezi said charmingly, "I didn't! Besides, my sisters would never say that about me!"

She placed herself in the lowest position among the four, which indeed prevented the other three women from finding fault with her.

"Si Yezi, come down quickly."

"You're here, Second Sister."

Looking at the four women in the pool, even Jiang Meiying, who is 58 years old this year, can be considered a mature woman (25-35 years old), and her skin is very well maintained; while Yan Renmei, who is 56 years old this year, still has a trace of girlishness on her face and can be called a young woman.

In their past lives, 70-year-old Zhao Yazhi could play a young girl, and 38-year-old Liu Yifei could play a college student. These are just their on-screen performances. In reality, without beauty filters and makeup, their ages are exposed, although they are still younger than ordinary women.

However, Yan Renmei and Jiang Meiying's physical condition is a very natural "anti-aging" effect; even after rubbing water on their faces, they still show the same results.

As for Audrey Hepburn, born in 1929, she is only 43 years old this year. After being nurtured by Chen Guangliang, she is in the same state as in her previous life in "Roman Holiday", and even has an added allure.

Si Yezi was even younger, born in 1934. She married Chen Guangliang when she was just 18 years old, and was only 19 when she gave birth to Chen Wenying.

Looking at the mermaid in the pool, and then raising his hand to look at his own skin, Chen Guangliang felt a surge of emotion—this life had not been in vain, he had enjoyed the happiest things in the world, and he could stay alive for so long.

Two maids carried trays of ice, red wine, and snacks to the poolside. They were all very professional, usually trained from the age of 18, and could only enter the Chen family to serve at the age of 21. Maids who wanted to serve Chen Guangliang could be over 23, and during that time they had to be unmarried and have no boyfriends—the reason was simple: the simpler the interpersonal relationships, the better.

Of course, even if Chen Guangliang wouldn't get involved with the young maids, the mistresses wouldn't feel at ease with them; therefore, these maids were only of average appearance and came from very poor families.

Like the female bodyguards, they all had ordinary looks. When they turned thirty, they could choose whether or not to get married. If they married, the Chen family would give them a generous dowry. If they didn't marry, they would continue to serve. There were indeed some who never got married, but all of them became important managers in the Chen family.

"Chen Sheng" maid poured a glass of chilled red wine.

"Thank you," Chen Guangliang said, picking up his glass and slowly sipping his wine.

"Is this Latour?"

"Yes, Mr. Chen, it was Madam who told us to open it."

"Um"

After the maids finished their work, they left the scene immediately. Since they served Chen Guangliang and his wives, they naturally knew the proper etiquette; moreover, their loyalty and professionalism were definitely the result of careful selection.

There were also two female bodyguards around the pool, mainly to keep an eye on the surroundings.

Before long, Chen Guangliang stretched his body, immediately attracting the admiring glances of the four women. Every inch of his skin was full of explosive power; more importantly, it was this body that gave them the 'anti-aging' gene.

"puff"

Chen Guangliang dived into the water, moving like a white streak in the waves, his agile figure blending seamlessly into the water. As the 'World Shipping King,' Chen Guangliang moves with ease in the sea, whether crossing straits or diving, his skills are at the level of human champions.

The pool is 50 meters long, and Chen Guangliang can barely stretch his body in it. Most of the time, when he is on the British American Superyacht, he just jumps into the sea to swim.

After swimming ten laps, Chen Guangliang came to Yan Renmei's side and hugged her tightly.

Yan Renmei playfully retorted, "Don't go too far! We don't care about saving face, but you do!" Chen Guangliang laughed, "You really know me too well."

The women all laughed. If they didn't keep an eye on this man, there might be some kind of 'close contact' in the pool.

At 8 p.m. on August 15, 1971, U.S. President Nixon dropped a financial bombshell on national television: the dollar was officially decoupled from gold!
At that moment, the Bretton Woods system, which had been in operation for 27 years, collapsed, and the world was plunged into an unprecedented monetary storm.

The "golden rule" of $35 per ounce of gold has become obsolete, the dollar has been reduced to a purely credit symbol, and central banks around the world are facing a crisis of confidence.

Secret agreement reached: Saudi Arabia will only accept US dollars for crude oil → trillions of US dollars from oil-exporting countries flow into Wall Street.

The Vietnam War was financed by directly printing money, demonstrating the deep entanglement of military and financial hegemony.

The decoupling of the US dollar from gold is essentially a proactive restructuring of the global monetary system by the United States under multiple factors, including a relative decline in economic strength, imbalances in international payments, and an escalating need to maintain its hegemony. This not only resolved the short-term crisis of gold reserve depletion and economic control failure, but also laid the foundation for maintaining the dollar's hegemony in the long term through "fiat currency + oil linkage." This event also completely changed the global financial order established after World War II.

Despite the changing international situation, international gold prices did not immediately rise, as restrictions imposed by various countries remained in place.

Of course, this also provided an opportunity for the Chen Guangliang family to continue investing in gold. This time, each branch of the family invested in physical gold on their own, especially the second, third, and fourth branches.

Des Voeux Road Central, Universal Group Building.

Chen Guangliang convened a small meeting with Chen Guangcong, Chen Wenming, and Chen Wenbo at the conference table in his office.

"When is it expected that the loan for Global Shipping will be fully repaid?" Chen Guangliang asked directly.

With a deadweight tonnage of 2000 million tons and a total value of approximately US$22 to 25 billion (a very small portion of which are second-hand ships, and ship prices fluctuate), its net assets in the early 1970s were only US$12 to 15 billion, while its liabilities were over US$10 billion, not including interest.

Acting General Manager Chen Wenming proactively reported: "Because we signed many long-term contracts last year, and the market is gradually stabilizing, we are calculating that all loans and interest will be repaid by the end of 1973. These are all controllable, and no matter how the shipping situation changes during this period, our overall profit can maintain a stable figure."

The shipping market is crucial. In its previous life, the American container shipping giant Sea-Land Transport Corporation had a profit of only $1600 million in 1973, but it rose to $1.42 million the following year. Of course, one small reason for this was the acquisition of the company founded by the inventor of the container, but this was only a minor factor. The main reason was the sharp drop in oil tanker freight rates in 1974, while container shipping boomed.

Chen Guangliang was very proud when he heard that the loan and interest could be repaid by the end of 1973. In recent years, global shipping had monopolized a significant portion of the world's oil transportation and made a lot of money. Greek shipowners were the most affected; followed by Japanese shipowners, and finally, European and American fleets.

But clearly, people are greedy, and Chen Guangliang tried every means to pay off the loan as soon as possible.

He immediately devised a plan: "Convert all of the funds from Global Shipping into Japanese yen. At the same time, invest a portion of the funds in the Japanese stock market. The decoupling strategy recently introduced by the United States will inevitably lead to the appreciation of the yen; and after Nixon's new economic policies, global inflation will decline, Japan will also begin to lower interest rates, and the stock market will accelerate its rise. By concentrating Global Shipping's funds in Japanese banks and the stock market, we will not only benefit the appreciation of the value of the funds, but also send a signal that we are investing in Japan."

The yen is bound to appreciate this year, by more than 15%; and the Japanese stock market will also experience a small boom from now until October 1973.

The fact that Worldwide Shipping has concentrated its funds in Japan is perfectly suited to its current situation—it owes several Japanese banks for shipbuilding payments and interest.

By September 1973, all the funds in the Japanese stock market could be cashed out, which would not only pay off the loans and interest, but also leave a considerable amount of capital to wait for the 'oil crisis' to buy up Japanese stocks and real estate at rock-bottom prices.

After all, Japan is a country without resources, so the impact of the oil crisis must be enormous.

Chen Wenming immediately replied, "Okay, I'll make arrangements right away. After all, we've already established a network and channels in Japan, so everything will be executed quickly according to your orders."

He started acting as general manager this year, and expects to follow his older brother's example by serving as general manager for two years before officially taking over. Therefore, he has already begun overseeing the overall operations. Of course, he has two elders watching over him, and his cousin is also assisting him.

Next, Chen Guangliang asked Chen Guangcong, "Guangcong, how many years have you been with Global?"

Chen Guangcong said with deep feeling, "I joined Global Shipping when I was 19 years old, and it's been 39 years. I've basically been in shipping all my life, and I never thought I'd be 58 years old already."

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "Indeed, you've spent your whole life in shipping, and World Shipping has rarely distributed dividends since World War II. To outsiders, you're my younger brother and a great helper; everyone assumes you must be very wealthy and have extensive investments."

Chen Guangcong quickly said, "Big Brother"

Chen Guangliang gestured for him to stop talking and continued, "No matter what, as a wealthy person, investing solely in shipping seems too simplistic, not to mention someone with your wealth."

Chen Guangcong couldn't help but say, "Brother, Global Shipping has invested in many industries, and I haven't thought much about investing in others. My generation, Wenbo's generation, and even Zejie's generation, being able to hold 15% of Global Shipping's shares is already better than all other investments."

Compared to his elder brother, his ambition was far less, as can be seen from the fact that he only married one wife and had only three children, including one son.

Chen Wenbo hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Chen Guangliang gestured to him, and Chen Wenbo mustered his courage and said, "Yes, Uncle, our branch of the family has absolutely no need for diversified investments. After all, we don't have your talent and vision. Having 15% of the shares in Global Shipping is already the best testament to Father's life's hard work. If Father retires, I will definitely work diligently at Global Shipping, just like him, and assist Wenming in running this company."

This is the truth! Those who own 15% of Global Shipping are definitely billionaires, and that's in US dollars. Even within Hong Kong alone, they're undoubtedly super-rich.

People like Cheng Yu-tung and Kwok Tak-seng had real estate companies with assets of only two or three hundred million Hong Kong dollars at that time.

Chen Guangliang said, “I understand what you and your son are thinking. However, by the end of 1973, Global Shipping will inevitably have reached its peak and will be unable to expand its fleet further. In addition, it will generate considerable profits, so there will be no shortage of dividends every year thereafter. This means that Global Shipping may have to ‘reduce ships and go ashore’ in the future. Global Shipping’s future investment direction may be ports, aviation, and real estate, including overseas investments. But in any case, it is necessary for such a large company to diversify its operations. However, dividends will still be paid starting in 1974. You can invest in European assets at that time, and I will guide you.”

Chen Guangcong then said, "In any case, I'll listen to my elder brother."

"I'll listen to my uncle too."

Chen Guangliang said with a smile, "We're all family after all. Wenbo now has five children (three sons), and it's inevitable that the family will branch out in the future. Of course, when the Chen family reaches the third generation, we don't need to force our children to go into business; they can pursue their own ideas."

Chen Guangcong nodded and said, "Yes, that's what we think too. Wenbo's descendants have all become British citizens, and their future development is uncertain, so we won't force it."

He had always liked British citizenship and didn't object to his elder brother's arrangements. Therefore, Chen Wenbo and his children's acquisition of British citizenship was not at his elder brother's request, but rather a voluntary decision by him and Wenbo. (End of Chapter)