A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

In the morning, Chen Wenying enjoyed breakfast with his wife and children.

His wife, Junko Tokugawa, has given birth to four children for him, almost all of whom are only two years apart. The fourth child is only five months old.

It is evident that Chen Wenying has a very strong sense of 'family mission'.

"Junko, my father is coming to Japan for vacation soon, and I'd like to invite him to soak in a hot spring at the foot of Mount Fuji!"

Upon hearing this, Tokugawa Junko immediately perked up. She knew that her father-in-law held a position in her husband's heart that far surpassed her own. Although she felt somewhat disappointed, she also felt it was only natural—filial piety is the most important virtue.

"Do you need my help?"

Chen Wenying was very pleased with his wife's intelligence and wit. He wouldn't bring up this question without a reason; he must have something in mind.

"After my father retired, he started to enjoy life. As his children, we naturally gave him our full support. Do you know any young, beautiful actresses who could accompany my father to a hot spring? You know, I've never been very enthusiastic about that kind of thing!"

As a newly minted tycoon in Japan, Chen Wenying is indeed not very enthusiastic about women, focusing instead on his career and the development of his family.

Junko Tokugawa was taken aback, then said, "Aren't you afraid of offending Mother?"

Chen Wenying laughed and said, "How could that be! Besides, I just wanted to do my filial duty and give my father a good hot spring experience."

He is grateful to his father for supporting him in becoming a tycoon in the Japanese business world. Today, the market value of his company, Electronic Arts, has exceeded US$50 billion, and he has become a rising 'tech tycoon' and 'super-rich (75% stake)' in Japan.

All of this was thanks to his father, so he wanted to repay his father.

Upon hearing this, Junko Tokugawa said, "I met an actress while listening to a play. Her name is Hitomi Kuroki. She is 25 years old and quite pretty."

"That's her. I'll let you know later."

"Hi, my husband."

Even between husband and wife, Chen Wenying was completely respected. This was both the norm in Japanese society and a testament to Chen Wenying's considerable power.

Moreover, throughout the entire ordeal, Tokugawa Junko dared not mention whether her husband had such thoughts, and even knowing that young women would be with him, she dared not raise her voice.

Chen Wenying didn't need to care about Tokugawa Junko's feelings; he had a clear conscience.

Ginza, Geiden Building.

Today, EA has become a world-class company, and Chen Wenying, at only 32 years old, is undoubtedly a prodigy, a powerful figure wherever he goes.

Last year, EA's net profit exceeded $2 million, with $3.2 million coming from the United States, shocking the entire Japanese business community. Naturally, EA's market capitalization also rose from just over $10 billion to $40 billion at the end of the year, and now to $50 billion.

"President, we've reached a cooperation agreement with Hong Kong Midea Games Entertainment for 'Contra,' and we expect it to be ported to external FC consoles in three months."

Vice President Hideo Kojima respectfully walked in to report on his work.

Chen Wenying immediately smiled and said, "The game 'Contra' has the same huge potential as our 'Super Mario,' so it's a key project for our software. Hong Kong Midea Games Entertainment is the pioneer of the world's games industry and has always been a very powerful developer. We must maintain a close cooperative relationship."

"Understood, our two companies have always had a strategic partnership."

Chen Wenying nodded. He was most grateful to his father for passing on the software ideas for "Super Mario" and "The Legend of Zelda" to him, which made EA not only have an "unrivaled" hardware, but also become a world-class player in software.

How are the sales of "The Legend of Zelda"?

Hideo Kojima excitedly said, "It's fantastic! This action RPG has already achieved popularity in Japan that rivals that of Super Mario."

Chen Wenying felt relieved. He knew that Electronic Arts' dominant position would remain unchallenged for at least the next ten years.

He immediately said, "We want to capture more than 90% of the Japanese and American markets, so we still need to keep working hard!"

"Yes, President."

Last year, the US gaming industry generated $4.3 million in sales, while Electronic Arts (EA) of Japan only earned $3.2 million, less than 80%. Clearly, both the Japanese and US markets still have significant potential.

As for the European market, EA also maintains a 'monopoly' position; otherwise, how could it have earned $2 million in profit last year?
After Hideo Kojima left, Chen Wenying fell into deep thought.

His father told him to diversify his investments as much as possible, which made him somewhat 'doubtful,' but of course he strictly followed his father's advice.

EA invests a portion of its profits, in addition to its gaming business, in securities and real estate. Currently, its real estate and securities holdings are valued at over US$3 million. Of course, many of these investments have been ongoing since EA's founding, during the time when EA's mother was in charge, but the largest investments were made last year and this year.

While ensuring that EA has sufficient funds to develop advanced versions of the FC, game software, CD game consoles, and advanced versions of handheld consoles, Chen Wenying aims to diversify the industry as much as possible.

At the same time, Chen Wenying also mortgaged a large portion of his shares to obtain a loan of US$8 million, which he used to make investments in real estate, land, and securities.

In other words, Chen Wenying and EA (Electronic Arts) together hold real estate, property, and securities projects worth over US$11 billion, which is a very large amount.

As the eldest son of the fourth wife, he was far wealthier than his younger brother, Chen Wensheng.

Of course, the two brothers were very united. The younger brother needed a lot of banking resources to do real estate, so Chen Wenying introduced many bigwigs in the banking industry to his brother and even personally acted as a guarantor.

Osaka, Umeda.

Chen Wensheng is inspecting a construction site for a project called 'Umeda Blue Sky Building'.

This project adopts a novel architectural form known as a "connected supertall building" that connects the top floors of two supertall buildings, and links the sky and the ground through a huge atrium space that is about 150 meters high.

In addition to the "Sky Garden" located on the 39th to 40th floors, the Umeda Sky Tower also has a "Sky Bridge" on the 22nd floor that connects the east and west towers. From the Sky Garden entrance, you can take the observation elevator directly to the 35th floor, and then transfer to the sky escalator to enter the other tower.

Once completed, this project will become Osaka's most expensive, luxurious, and busiest area. This is because the area is home to major rail hubs such as Osaka Station and Umeda Station, with a daily passenger flow exceeding 250 million, making it one of Japan's busiest transportation nodes.

Chen Wensheng decided to develop this project at the end of 1983. He was only 28 years old at the time, but he had already been involved in the real estate industry for six or seven years.

“Yutian, since the groundbreaking ceremony, this construction site has maintained a workforce of over a thousand workers. I believe it will be successfully put into operation in the first half of 1989!” the project manager reported to Chen Wensheng.

He dared not underestimate this young boss, whose elder brother was not only the president of NES, but he himself was also a rising star in the Japanese real estate industry.

'Yutian' is the Japanese surname of Chen Wenying, Chen Wensheng, and Chen Yingyi, taken from the pseudonym of a descendant of the Qin state who was sent to Japan.

Chen Wensheng nodded and said, "Everyone must put in their utmost effort. Once this project is operational, it will be a great boon to the Osaka business community and one of our company's flagship projects." "Yes."

Chen Wensheng is no novice in real estate; on the contrary, his father is a real estate tycoon, and he has been exposed to the industry since childhood. Of course, this real estate project also has the strong support of his father and family.

Today, Chen Wensheng's "Blue Sky Company" has properties in Japan with a total market value of over US$4 billion (most of which are under construction). Of course, his net worth is only about US$500 to 600 million, with the rest being financed by loans.

This means that Chen Wensheng's debt ratio was extremely high. The reason why banks were willing to lend money was firstly because Chen Wensheng had a high level of 'real estate talent and ability' and his projects were highly regarded by bankers; secondly, his connections played a role, with his mother, elder brother, and father-in-law's family all providing strong support; and finally, Chen Wensheng also had some successful cases, although none were as large-scale as the 'Osaka Blue Sky Building'.

A high-end hot spring resort at the foot of Mount Fuji.

At this moment, Chen Wenying's wife, Tokugawa Junko, was talking to Japanese actress Kuroki Hitomi:
"Ah Tong, remember the guest you're accompanying today. He's incredibly distinguished. If you perform well, I guarantee I'll help you transition from a stage actress to a film and television actor."

At this moment, although Hitomi Kuroki was somewhat resistant, she had to consider the identity of the lady in front of her. She was not only a member of the Tokugawa family, but also the wife of Chen Wenying, a newly emerging tycoon in Japan.

Of course, there was also a temptation involved. She was the principal actress of the Moon Troupe of the Takarazuka Revue, but she had reached the end of her career in that field, and now the only option was to enter the real entertainment industry.

"Mrs. Yutian, who exactly is the other party?"

Hitomi Kuroki was filled with anxiety. What if he was an annoying guy?
Junko Tokugawa smiled and said, "He is a charming and refined-looking tycoon. I can't tell you his specific identity, but you may find out later."

Hearing this, Hitomi Kuroki felt a little relieved.

But Tokugawa Junko warned him with concern, "In any case, you must serve our guests well!"

Kuroki Hitomi was startled and quickly replied, "Yes, Madam."

After arriving in Japan, Chen Guangliang received an invitation from his son, Chen Wenying, to come and soak in hot springs at Mount Fuji. He didn't refuse; father and son occasionally need some alone time to exchange their thoughts.

This is a high-end hot spring, and at this moment only Chen Guangliang and Chen Wenying are soaking in it.

In Japan, there's a custom of "mixed bathing" in hot springs, where men and women can bathe together, even fathers-in-law and daughters-in-law can bathe together, and some men are even required to be completely naked while women can only cover themselves with a piece of cloth. In short, this aspect of Japanese ethics is problematic.

At this time, only Chen Guangliang and his son Chen Wenying were in the hot spring, so they didn't have much to worry about. Chen Guangliang also followed the local customs.

Looking at his father's body, Chen Wenying thought that although his sons had not completely inherited his father's advantages, they had inherited about 60 or 70%, which was enough to make them men with the best genes in the world.

"Father, regarding the matter of Chiba Bank, after I expressed my intention to acquire it, its board of directors hesitated a lot, so there has been no progress."

Chen Guangliang nodded and said calmly, "The acquisition is naturally a matter of mutual consent. I just hope you can diversify your business. Of course, we can take it slowly."

As the eldest son of the fourth wife, Chen Guangliang hoped that Chen Wenying would build a business model similar to that of a Japanese conglomerate.

EA can only be his "cash cow," not his core business.

Chen Wenying continued, "But I believe that Chiba Bank's shares are dispersed, and if I were to acquire it publicly on the market, the chances of success would be very high."

Hostile takeover?

Chen Guangliang frowned slightly. In the 1980s, the United States experienced a wave of takeovers, with hostile acquirers using junk bonds to engage in frenzied leveraged buyouts, but none of them ended well.

Although he also made a hostile takeover attempt against Wharf Holdings, considering the situation in Hong Kong at the time, he was "bringing glory to the Chinese people," and it was in line with the specific historical context of the time.

"Actually, it doesn't have to be like that! I do have a plan, but I don't know if the other party will fall for it. If they do, then it's a natural process to acquire them. Of course, if they don't fall for it, you can still make a fortune and then directly acquire Chiba Bank."

Chen Wenying became excited and quickly said, "It's always troubling Father."

Chen Guangliang waved his hand and said, "You are my sons, I won't help you with anything. The specific operation is actually very simple. I predict that the yen will appreciate significantly, especially since the United States will force the yen to appreciate. Recently, the exchange rate of the US dollar to the yen was 262, and I estimate that it will fall to 120-130 in the future."

Chen Wenying was still surprised, even though he was familiar with his father's style. Then his eyes lit up and he said, "Father's idea is for me to speculate on the US dollar to Japanese yen exchange rate, and then through Chiba Bank, set a trap to lure them into joining the betting."

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "In short, I am confident that the yen will appreciate. I believe you are more skilled than I am at the specifics of the operation."

"I dare not! Without our father's guidance, we children would be like those without a guiding light. No matter how capable we are, we would not have achieved even a tenth of what we have today."

Chen Guangliang waved his hand, saying that his son did indeed have Japanese traditions, and his mother was also a traditional Japanese woman.

A short while later, Chen Guangliang saw Chen Wenying gesture to a female assistant, and then he began to get angry.

"I have met both gentlemen."

"Father, this is Miss Kuroki, a very talented opera singer!"

Next, Hitomi Kuroki took off her clothes, put on a special garment for hot springs, and walked towards Chen Guangliang.

Chen Guangliang immediately said angrily, "Wen Ying, did you invite her?"

Chen Wenying finally noticed his father's displeasure, and now, caught in a difficult situation, he said, "It was Chunzi who invited them. She said Father might be too tired from soaking in the hot springs, so she asked them to come."

Chen Guangliang angrily said, "Shut up!"

At this moment, Hitomi Kuroki was so frightened that she stood still. She could feel Chen Guangliang's thunderous rage, which made the newly rich Japanese man tremble with fear.

Then, Chen Guangliang said to Kuroki Hitomi, "Miss Kuroki, if you leak what happened today, the consequences will be severe!"

When Kuroki Hitomi saw Chen Guangliang's gaze, she trembled with fear. It was the sharpness and pressure of someone in a superior position. She quickly said, "I will absolutely keep it a secret, sir!"

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "Then please go home! Of course, whoever promised you benefits still has the same rights. But you know what you should do, right?"

"Thank you, sir. I will keep your words in mind."

After dismissing Kuroki Hitomi, Chen Guangliang said to Chen Wenying, "Go back and apologize to your mother, and kneel properly."

Thirty-two-year-old Chen Wenying dared not deny it at all and quickly said, "Yes, Father, I will definitely reflect on this."

Chen Wenying left in a daze, feeling as if the sky had fallen. His father had always praised him highly, never before had he done so. He also regarded his father as an idol and a god, always above everyone else, including himself and his mother.

But today, he saw anger and disappointment in his father's eyes, and every time they met, he felt as if he were being cut by a knife. (End of Chapter)