A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 260 Three things to do when a new official takes office

In a hospital in the concession, Jiang Meiying came out after treating her wound and found Chen Guangliang still waiting for her, so she walked over.

"Mr. Chen, thank you for today. The doctor said my wound won't leave a scar. It was treated very well right away."

Chen Guangliang took a quick look at Jiang Meiying. She was indeed very beautiful. She was as pretty as Yan Renmei in appearance, but with a more voluptuous figure. No wonder all the men in Shanghai were attracted to her.

Seeing Chen Guangliang looking at her, Jiang Meiying lowered her head shyly. After all, she had a very good impression of Chen Guangliang.

"Miss Jiang, you don't have to thank me. You're my employee after all, so if you're injured, you should be taken to the hospital immediately. But the reason I decided to take you to the hospital myself was because I noticed you were showing signs of backing out, which is not a good thing!"

Jiang Meiying immediately raised her head and said in a gentle voice, "I'm not backing out. I just felt that filming a movie was different from what I imagined. I didn't expect it to be so hard. But don't worry, I'm a person who sees things through to the end. I definitely won't back out. I'll be able to join the filming tomorrow."

In fact, if it weren't for Chen Guangliang, Ren Pengnian would have just dealt with it briefly and continued to participate in the filming today, not caring whether the actress would have a scar on her face. His wife is also one of the action directors.

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "Then I'm relieved. But you can rest assured too. 'Once Upon a Time in China' will definitely make you famous all over the country, and the sense of accomplishment it will bring you is far beyond what a cigarette commercial can compare to. So, if you put in the effort, you will definitely get something in return."

Jiang Meiying was immediately moved and encouraged, but as a girl, she was reserved, so she said, "It doesn't really matter whether I'm famous or not. I made the movie just to try it out, not to really make a name for myself!"

Chen Guangliang made an invitation, and then the two of them walked out of the hospital.

He said, "If a girl can achieve outstanding results in a certain field, it proves that she is a modern-day woman who is no less capable than men. So even if making a movie doesn't make you a national star or a moneymaker, if you can prove yourself, isn't that a very fulfilling feeling?"

Jiang Meiying was shocked. She felt that her worries had been seen through. She immediately said, "Mr. Chen, you are really good at guiding people. By the way, you helped me today. How about I treat you to a meal one day?"

Chen Guangliang opened the car door and invited Jiang Meiying to get in. He then sat next to her, glanced at her, and said:

"how is today?"

Jiang Meiying glanced at her costume. Although it was beautifully designed, it was a bit dirty after all. She said, "Could you please take me home first? I'll meet up with you later."

"it is good"

evening.

Chen Guangliang was dancing on the stage of the Shangri-La Hotel with his arms around Jiang Meiying, and he was in a really good mood.

Yan Renmei's belly has grown bigger recently, and her life in that aspect is not very convenient, so it is inevitable that she is a little distracted.

Jiang Meiying is as beautiful as Yan Renmei. She has changed into a cheongsam today. Her graceful and plump figure makes it easy for men to fall into reverie. In addition, she has the obvious accent of a Shanghai woman, which makes her particularly attractive.

"Mr. Chen, you dance very well. You must have dance appointments with many people, right?" Jiang Meiying raised her head, her eyes graceful, and spoke softly.

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "How did you know that I would ask someone to dance, instead of the girl asking me out?"

Jiang Meiying was stunned, but then she thought about it and realized that it made sense. Didn’t she invite the other person to dinner to express her gratitude for his help today?

"Of course, a man like Mr. Chen must be very popular with girls. It's normal for girls to ask you out on a date."

"Actually, no girl has asked me out. Today is of course a special case. Usually, my wife has some classmates from the Chinese and Western Girls' High School. When we all get together, she'll ask me to dance with her."

Jiang Meiying also hurriedly explained: "I also want to thank Mr. Chen for helping me today."

This was to remind Chen Guangliang that she had no ulterior motives but was simply grateful for his help today.

Chen Guangliang changed the subject and said, "Don't touch your wound with your hands. Wait until it's almost healed and it will heal naturally. It won't affect you much during filming and you won't be able to see it."

Jiang Meiying nodded. She felt that Chen Guangliang was very caring, but it was a pity that he was already married.

After a few dances, the two went to eat and talked about many things.

"Mr. Chen, I actually have my worries too. After I became famous, many people always expressed their affection to me. Now I am very worried. If I become more famous from filming movies, will it bring me more trouble?" Jiang Meiying couldn't help but confide in her heart while eating.

She wanted to try her hand in the film industry, but was afraid of getting involved in all kinds of gossip, which was different from the ladylike thinking she had been taught since childhood.

Chen Guangliang looked at Jiang Meiying and found that she was like a little girl (19 years old) telling him her troubles.

"Why do you think fame is troublesome? Don't you think that ordinary people also have endless troubles throughout their lives? The key is that many of their troubles are still unresolved. So, don't be afraid of trouble. Of course, being liked by others is not a problem either; it just shows that you are excellent."

Jiang Meiying suddenly said, "Thank you, Mr. Chen, for clearing up my doubts. You are such a good person."

Wow, you’re giving yourself a good guy card!

Chen Guangliang picked up the red wine glass and said with a smile: "Miss Jiang, I wish you a bright future and more and more charm!"

Jiang Meiying picked up the wine glass and said, "Thank you, Mr. Chen, for taking care of me. I toast to you!"

That night, the two became friends, and Chen Guangliang maintained his gentlemanly demeanor without any extra thoughts.

But after returning home, I was still a little angry.

Looking at Yan Renmei's condition again, I felt a little bit sorry.

Seeing her husband's expression, Yan Renmei knew what he was thinking, so she went forward to help Chen Guangliang change his clothes.

"Brother Liang, I can do it!"

Chen Guangliang hesitated in front of the beauty and the child. Suddenly, he thought of an idea and whispered something in Yan Renmei's ear.

When Yan Renmei heard this, she said shyly: "Would that be a little..."

Obviously, the pleasures of the boudoir in this era were not as rich and open as those in later generations.

So she still couldn't accept this Koukoule for a while.

Chen Guangliang encouraged her, saying, "You're pregnant now, and I understand how difficult it is for you, but you should also understand how difficult it is for me. Before I had you, I never imagined I could have such joy. Now that I have you, I naturally understand the joy of being a man."

Yan Renmei thought it was right. Her husband was already exceptionally strong, so she still wanted to fulfill his wish.
"Then teach me"

"Well, you should change into a school skirt first."

The next morning, when Yan Renmei was eating breakfast, she felt something strange in her mouth. Then she saw Chen Guangliang's smug expression and immediately kicked the table lightly with her foot.

Then she chuckled. It wasn't that she disliked him, but she just felt that this man always did strange things.

Of course she is happy!

In the morning, Chen Guangliang visited the Yangtze River Taxi Dispatch Center on Fuzhou Road. General Manager Liang Mengqi, Business Manager Xu Yeguang, Automobile Department Manager Zheng Wensheng and other senior executives accompanied him on the inspection.

The administrative center of Changjiang Taxi was naturally moved to the Ping An Bank Building, which only houses the dispatching center and the head office.

While inspecting the area, Xu Yeguang took the opportunity to report, "Since the January 20 Incident, Shanghai's taxi business has plummeted by over 50%, and it's not expected to recover until next year. So, selling cars last year was a very wise decision, boss."

Chen Guangliang said calmly: "Have we persisted in our business and services?" Everyone was on high alert.

Everyone knew that the boss would suddenly call for a taxi one day, without even mentioning his name, and then conduct an unannounced inspection. If he found any problems, he would call them into a meeting and criticize them.

Zheng Wensheng said: "We have always been diligent in employee training. Even experienced technicians receive regular training. Judging from the complaint rate, we have always been committed to providing the best service and it has not increased."

Chen Guangliang said: "The complaint rate should be reduced."

"Yes"

Xu Yeguang continued his report, "As for our business, we're currently firmly in first place, with Yunfei and Tailai in second and third place. Yunfei still has quite a gap between us. As for Xiangsheng Auto, its development doesn't seem to be going smoothly, and Boss Zhou can only grit his teeth and persevere."

After all, Yunfei and Tailai are foreign-funded companies, and the Shanghai stock market is mostly populated by Chinese. Since the September 918th Incident, Japan has directly boycotted them, but the great powers will also suffer to varying degrees, so the business of these two taxi companies has been shrinking a lot.

As for Xiangsheng Auto, since it lost its opportunities to Changjiang Taxi - including the first Chinese taxi giant, 40000 telephones, services and publicity, etc., it is likely that it can only operate with difficulty, and may get slightly better later.

In summary, Changjiang Taxi has done a good job thanks to its external situation and internal quality.

Chen Guangliang reviewed the account books and estimated that by the first half of 1931, when the company officially began earning profits, the Yangtze River Taxi had earned enough to recoup 1937 million yuan, and still provide 400 to 5 yuan annually for Chen Guangliang's charitable work. The profit alone was 10 million yuan (on a 150 million yuan investment).

In addition, the car has only been used for 8 years and will be worth a lot of money. I will definitely find a way to get rid of it by then.

In fact, among Chen Guangliang's companies, because they take very few loans, they save a huge amount of interest expenses every year, which is also one of the reasons for their high profits.

If someone else were to run the business, it would naturally be impossible to be debt-free. After all, Chen Guangliang is involved in both finance and industry.

"Um"

Overall, Chen Guangliang is still satisfied with the work of his subordinates, and the company is doing well.

Later, he learned about the work of the 'Transportation Team'.

After taking out fifteen trucks to transport the donated materials, Chen Guangliang originally had no intention of taking them back. However, after completing several transportation tasks, he finally donated only ten trucks to the 19th Route Army. The other five trucks were kept in his hands because they still needed transportation.

So the truck fleet still has ten vehicles and is still engaged in transportation work, but no additional vehicles have been added.

Business Manager Xu Yeguang said, "These ten trucks are very busy, and because of our donations, we rarely encounter any trouble on the road, so we have smooth sailing wherever we go."

This was understandable. After all, this was the "Heroic Transport Team". Fifteen trucks had risked war to transport a lot of supplies for the 19th Route Army and the Fifth Army, and even shuttled directly across the battlefield.

Afterwards, these drivers all received rewards from the company. Although everyone did this out of patriotic enthusiasm, the company still gave them a generous reward.

After finishing his inspection of the Yangtze River Taxi Dispatching Center and the head office, Chen Guangliang returned to his office in the Ping An Bank Building.

"Changjiang Real Estate, Shangri-La Hotel, Changjiang Leasing, Global Shipping"

Chen Guangliang muttered softly about these four companies, all of which had been mortgaged by him to obtain a US dollar loan.

At the same time, the profits of these four companies were very stable. By 1937, they not only "recovered 1000 million yuan in investment", but also had "profits" and "asset appreciation".

Yangtze River Real Estate and Shangri-La Hotel belong to the categories of 'recovery of investment' and 'asset appreciation';
Yangtze River leasing and global shipping are about "recovering the investment" and "making a profit". Cars will have wear and tear, but although ships will have wear and tear, they will increase in value in the future.

"Boss, I have some letters for you, but I think you should be careful!"

When Chen Guangliang arrived at the China Merchants Group headquarters, Guo Deming from the secretariat came with some letters.

"Is it signed?" "No"

"Send all those who are hiding their heads and showing their tails to my office."

"Ok"

After a while, Chen Guangliang opened the envelopes in his office, and all of them contained threatening words.

It seems that the selection of candidates for the heads of various branches, warehouses, and ships has affected many people's interests.

But Chen Guangliang didn't take it to heart. If he couldn't bear this little pressure, he wouldn't be Chen Guangliang.

And this is just the first step. After almost a month in office, Chen Guangliang has already made up his mind and formulated three major personnel plans:

The first step is to re-select the heads of each branch, warehouse, and ship, and choose the best people to take the position;
The second step was to reorganize the board of directors and add a supervisory board. Instead of having only government officials, one or two prominent civilians would be added to provide oversight. Chen Guangliang planned to recommend Shi Liangcai to join.

Part Three: Abolition of the comprador system on ships.

Once these three fires are set in motion, the organizational structure of China Merchants Group will become more efficient and honest.

Of course, he will also be under great threats from all sides, after all, this involves touching the cake of bureaucrats, gangs and others.

"Mr. Chen"

After a while, three people came in. They were Zhang Shunian from the Secretariat, Wu Daming from the China Merchants Shipping Department, and Captain Willy, the ship's technical consultant.

Chen Guangliang addressed the three men in English, "China Merchants Group recently secured a loan in US dollars. After repaying all debts, we expect to have a surplus of US$50. I would like to send the three of you to England to purchase four 4-ton ocean-going cargo ships and prepare routes from Shanghai to Qingdao, Tianjin, and from Shanghai to Xiamen, Shantou, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou."

Wu Daming said, "Mr. Chen, China Merchants Group hasn't finished its internal restructuring yet, so why rush to buy ships? Besides, these two routes are operated by Global Shipping, and it's Global Shipping that's breaking the monopoly of British shipping."

What you mean is, aren't you cutting your own flesh?

Chen Guangliang waved his hand and said, "There's no problem with carrying out the restructuring and purchasing ships simultaneously. Secondly, the addition of new competitors to the North-South and South-South routes is normal. Everyone relies on their own abilities. It just so happens that there are two British and two Chinese companies, so we can all compete fairly."

Since he has accepted this job, Chen Guangliang must do his best.

Although this may result in a decline in global shipping business and may not make much money, he still decided to do it.

"Ok"

Next, Chen Guangliang specifically instructed, "You must remember that since the Great Depression, idle ships in Europe and the United States have filled up the ports. Prices must be kept reasonable. Every penny saved by the China Merchants is a penny earned. However, these four ships must be relatively new."

"clear"

The budget is between 25 and 30 US dollars, and China Merchants Group will leave some funds.

To be honest, if it weren't for Song Zaiwen's support, Chen Guangliang would not have dared to operate this 400 million US dollar loan at all; in fact, his cautious nature made him let the Ministry of Communications and Du Yuesheng participate in the whole process, and the funds did not pass through his hands, but went directly into the account of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company.

I’m afraid there will be trouble in the future.

Of course, it will take more than a year for everyone to understand how clever Chen Guangliang is.

(End of this chapter)