A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

79 Deep Water Bay.

Although Chen Mengyi has been working for more than two years now, she still lives in Villa No. 79 in Deep Water Bay. In fact, her parents do not allow her to move out at this time.

Of course, living with her parents, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew wasn't inconvenient at all; on the contrary, her brother and sister-in-law doted on her immensely.

That evening, after dinner...

Chen Mengyi was summoned to the study by Chen Guangliang. Upon entering, she saw her mother massaging her father's shoulders and back. She immediately tried to take the massage away from him, but was sternly warned by her mother, Yan Renmei.

"Mom, I'm Dad's daughter, not some second aunt, third aunt, or fourth aunt. What are you so nervous about!"

Yan Renmei scolded, "You have no manners! When have you ever seen them dare to act like this with me!"

She would project an air of authority, so that her daughter could see how formidable her mother was.

Chen Mengyi stuck out her tongue and said, "You guys are clearly very friendly."

Seeing that her mother was displeased with her gossiping about this, she quickly said, "Dad, why did you call me to the study?"

Chen Guangliang took out two pieces of paper from the drawer and said, "You have worked in the administration department for a year and in the management position of the purchasing department for more than a year, so I want to transfer you to the production department next."

Chen Mengyi immediately replied with enthusiasm, "No problem, sir! I guarantee I'll complete the mission and won't let you down!"

Chen Guangliang smiled and shook his head, gesturing for his daughter to come to his side.

Chen Mengyi approached Chen Guangliang, giving her mother a sly look, implying it was her father's order. Yan Renmei gave her a harsh glare in return. There was no way around it; in the Chen family, daughters were the most favored.

As for their careers, they weren't treated unfairly. Take their eldest daughter, for example; she received $8000 million in assets when she got married. Later, Amgen Pharmaceuticals was actually a gift from Chen Guangliang to the couple. Otherwise, Chen Guangliang could have arranged for his other sons to enter the biopharmaceutical industry.

"Last year, I recommended a Bruce Lee stunt double to Chung Yuen-kwong. I only recently found out that a year has passed and both of the actor's films have flopped. I'm wondering if something went wrong!"

Chen Mengyi immediately said, "I know that the actor that Director Zhong has been promoting recently is named Jack Cheng. Indeed, both of his movies have flopped. Because of this, Director Zhong has suffered some unpleasantness in the production department and has been ridiculed by Director He's faction."

Although she worked in the purchasing department, she was also very concerned about the development of the entire Times Film Industry. The production department was the new department where her boss, Zhong Yuanguang, had just joined.

Chen Guangliang said, "Here are the outlines and some storyboards for two movies, which are scripts specifically tailored for Jack Cheng. In the end, Zhong Yuanguang shouldn't have made Jack Cheng a substitute for Bruce Lee, so he actually went down the wrong path. In these two movies, the focus is on kung fu + comedy. Jack Cheng no longer imitates Bruce Lee, but has his own style. Take a look first, and I'll explain it to you in detail."

Chen Mengyi curiously picked up the two scripts and took a look. The scripts were very detailed, with many notes—such as hard-hitting kung fu, humorous scenes and actions, and even notes on the directors (Wu Siyuan, Yuen Woo-ping) and the cast (Jack Sing, Yuen Siu-tien, Hwang Jang-lee (Korean)).

"Father, this script?"

Chen Guangliang waved his hand and said, "When you go to the production department, that's your achievement. How you explain it is your business, just don't say it was given to you by me. These two films are, firstly, to help Zhong Yuanguang establish himself in the production department, and secondly, to help you establish yourself in the production department. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me now!"

Chen Mengyi immediately asked some more professional questions, and Chen Guangliang answered them one by one, even getting up to demonstrate some of his signature moves.

He was really going all out so that his daughter could quickly establish herself at Times Pictures.

Supporting Jack Cheng's launch would increase their influence and also stabilize the management team, including Raymond Chow.

After all, actors like Li Hanxiang and Michael Hui work for Era Films, not Raymond Chow's management team. Similarly, as long as Chung Yuen-kwong and Chan Meng-yi support Jack Cheng in the production department, Raymond Chow will continue to work diligently.

"However, you absolutely cannot date someone in the entertainment industry!"

Chen Mengyi raised her voice in protest: "Dad, how stupid do you think I am! I want to learn from my older sister and become a successful career woman. If Father introduces me to a boyfriend in the future, I will give him priority, because I know Father would never harm me."

"Haha, that's my good daughter! Don't worry, you can choose your own marriage partner. Just let me and your mother check him out first. If the other person has no problems with education and character, family background is not important."

Valuing academic qualifications shows that the person at least knows how to work hard; as for character, Chen Guangliang has a knack for judging people and rarely makes a mistake.

Of course, a daughter is different from a son. If her marriage is not good, he supports divorce and would never wrong his daughter.

After all, we're standing at different angles, so even if some of them are 'unprincipled,' that's not a problem.

Watching Chen Mengyi leave happily, Yan Renmei said with a smile, "Don't worry! Our family's daughters have been used to seeing outstanding men since they were young, and they really won't easily fall for men outside. Otherwise, Le Yi wouldn't have waited so long back then."

It's practically an open statement: with such an outstanding father and his doting love since childhood, it's really hard for ordinary men to sway them, and they have very strong independent opinions.

"There's nothing to worry about! A person is always an independent individual. Even if a marriage doesn't work out, as long as you have your own ideals, you can still part amicably. That's how my daughters are; I will never let them suffer!"

Despite how much he valued Tang Wensheng, treating him not only like a nephew but also marrying his daughter to him, he was still a great man.

In reality, if Tang Wensheng and Chen Leyi truly had a conflict, he would unhesitatingly side with his daughter; if they divorced, Anjin Biopharmaceuticals wouldn't end up in Tang Wensheng's hands. It's simple: Jiang Meiying holds half the shares in the company, while the other half is actually registered under Chen Leyi's name; even if they divorce and divide the assets, Tang Wensheng would at most receive a quarter of the shares, or perhaps even just a cash subsidy.

Of course, from the current perspective, Tang Wensheng is a man who is dedicated to research and loves his wife very much.

This reminded Chen Guangliang of Bao Yugang, who married one of his daughters to a Japanese man. Of his four daughters in his previous life, only one married a Japanese man. This divorce shows he had no foresight.

Chen Guangliang's daughter could not marry a Japanese man, and even his fourth wife, Chen Yingyi, would be arranged to have a Chinese husband in the future.

12月中旬，平安指数已经回升至420点，较去年12月中旬的192点涨幅110%左右。

It should be noted, of course, that although the increase was 110%, the transaction volume actually declined, with the total transaction amount for the year being only around HK$131 billion.

Poly Tower, Cheung Kong Holdings.

Chen Wenjie reported some work to his father: "This year, we collaborated with other real estate developers on a major project, including Sun Hung Kai Properties, Henderson Land Development, and New World Development, to jointly bid for the reclamation project of Shatin First City."

Chen Guangliang said, "Cooperation is fine. Anyway, it's not our core project, so it won't take up much capital. It also shows that we don't have a monopoly in the real estate development sector." Chen Wenjie nodded and said, "Yes. We are happy to cooperate. After this cycle, there aren't many truly competitive real estate companies left. After the fierce competition, only the best real estate companies will survive."

At this point, Li Ka-shing's Victoria Harbour project was still just a small real estate enterprise. After all, no matter how capable he was, he couldn't make a meal without ingredients, and he probably wouldn't be able to get a share of the profits this time.

Hang Lung Properties has spent HK$5000 million more than in its previous life to purchase two different property buildings; however, it has suffered a major blow this time and is now completely unable to enter the market to buy at the bottom.

Hopewell Holdings was naturally also submerged in the stock market crash.

In summary...

Among Chinese-owned real estate companies, Cheung Kong is in a league of its own. The second tier includes New World Development and Sun Hung Kai Properties. The third tier includes Henderson Land Development, Tai Cheong Development, Chinachem Group, and Sino Land. The rest belong to the fourth and fifth tiers.

Of course, British-owned land companies were also weakened.

Then, Chen Wenjie said, "Next year, we expect to sell 2500 residential units, a sharp increase of 100%."

“That’s good,” Chen Guangliang commented. “We should also recoup some funds to prepare for the new plan.”

The company primarily invests in shopping malls in Singapore, Japan, and the Shangri-La Hotel in Japan—all substantial investments. If Cheung Kong Holdings didn't have Ping An Bank behind it, this would actually be a mistake, as overseas returns are lower than in Hong Kong, and commercial real estate takes longer to recoup its investment.

"What new plan is Father referring to?"

Chen Guangliang said with a smile: "With our current land reserves, it is enough to last until the early 1980s, which is the current cycle, and we may even have some land reserves left. So our next plan is nothing more than commercial real estate. Next year there will be land auctions in Tsim Sha Tsui, and there will also be land king-level sites in the future; and even some acquisitions of British-funded enterprises, such as Ying Ni in Qingzhou, Hong Kong Electric, and Hutchison Whampoa held by HSBC."

Chen Wenjie immediately showed ambitious interest, but he said, "Qingzhou Yingni and Hong Kong Electric are simple, there are no decent holding families. But Hutchison Whampoa in HSBC's hands will probably be difficult to acquire, after all, HSBC has always regarded us as competitors and will not watch us expand."

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Guangliang said, “I’ve already come up with a solution, so you don’t need to worry about it for now. In the end, it’s just a matter of exchanging benefits. For us, Hutchison Whampoa’s most crucial assets are its land reserves, Watsons, and the British management talent that will benefit our overseas expansion.”

Of course, Hutchison Whampoa has shrunk somewhat in this life, for example, due to setbacks in container terminals and a smaller share of retail. But it cannot be denied that Hutchison Whampoa is a high-quality asset.

"Ok"

Chen Wenjie left later in a relaxed mood. With his father there, he felt that he couldn't escape this situation.

Chen Guangliang did have his own methods. He planned to take advantage of HSBC's eagerness to expand overseas, especially to enter the United States. Therefore, he only needed to offer one bargaining chip in exchange for Hutchison Whampoa to not care about Hutchison Whampoa.

And this bargaining chip is the American bank, HSBC (the sixth largest bank and the largest retail lending bank in New York State).

At the end of the year, Chen Guangliang visited Midea Group again to inspect its work, and he went to the factory where Walkmans are produced.

"You have a lot of orders. How many units will you sell this year?" Chen Guangliang asked with concern, looking at the busy scene.

A Walkman is not a radio; its value is several times that of a radio.

A Midea portable music player costs US$139 in the United States, while in Hong Kong it costs HK$600, equivalent to half a month's salary for an average person. (Currently, the average worker in Hong Kong's manufacturing industry earns HK$1200 per month, or HK$40 per day.)
Huang Zhiming, General Manager of Midea Electronics, immediately stepped forward and said, "Mr. Chen, we were listed in Hong Kong on February 25 this year and launched globally in early May. Our total sales have exceeded 500,000 units. Moreover, there are currently no competing products on the market. We expect to exceed 600,000 units of the Midea S1 before other products appear."

Upon hearing this data, everyone couldn't help but gasp; this product was incredibly profitable.

"Good, it seems our decision to invest heavily in R&D was absolutely right. By the way, when will the S2 be released?"

Midea Electronics, of course, wouldn't stand still. While the S1 Walkman was being released, they were already developing a similar model to compete. Moreover, Midea's Walkman brand had the advantage of being able to wage price wars.

Huang Zhiming immediately said, "Our plan is to release it globally simultaneously in March next year!"

"Um"

Just then, Sony and Philips were also about to enter the market. Of course, the patent licensing agreement had already been reached, and the patent fees would allow Midea to make a considerable profit.

Today, Midea Group, one of the four major groups under the Cheung Kong Industrial Group, is showing signs of emerging. This is also a reflection of Hong Kong's electronics industry.

Of course, compared to other electronics companies in Hong Kong, Midea Group has a higher level of technological sophistication.

Midea Appliances: Electric fans, televisions (assembly), etc.

Midea Electronics: Walkmans, VCRs, Radios, Electronic Watches, Telephones, Pagers, etc.

Midea's games: arcade games, console games (under development), software

Upon returning to Cheung Kong Industrial Group, Chen Wenkai said, "Father, there are HK$28 billion in Cheung Kong Industrial Group's accounts. What should we do with them?"

With annual profits of 600-700 million yuan, Yangtze River Industrial Group is a veritable cash cow.

Previously, Chen Guangliang would use the money in this account to fund the family office or for other purposes; in recent years, with the arrangements completed, this is no longer necessary.

"The Hong Kong government's MTR project has already started, and Cheung Kong Holdings intends to buy the development rights for the ground-level buildings in Central and Admiralty. At that time, I will arrange for Cheung Kong Industrial Group to purchase a building. In addition, when gold prices fall a bit, Cheung Kong Industrial Group can also store gold. In short, we will rationally invest these assets into fixed assets."

"Ok, I see!"

Chen Guangliang said with a smile, "Of course, these are just small tricks, the purpose of which is to stabilize wealth. Yangtze River Industrial Group still needs to focus on technology and IP. Technology goes without saying, but IP is very valuable and long-term. For example, our comic IP and game software are both IP."

"Yes. We have been investing in technology research and development, and our profits will increase every year going forward."

Currently, even in the mid-1980s, no other real estate company besides Cheung Kong Holdings could match its profitability. (End of Chapter)