Chapter 52 Secured

The Yangtze Rickshaw Company was about to issue shares once again!

This time, a full 400 shares were put up for subscription at 10 silver dollars per share, benefiting as many as two hundred people in theory, though each person was strictly limited to purchasing a maximum of two shares.

For a moment, rickshaw pullers came in an endless stream clutching their money to invest, their faces beaming with excitement.

The dividends paid out this month made the pullers who had previously invested the envy of all the others. Generally, a puller who invested 20 silver dollars would receive a monthly dividend of about 1.8 silver dollars, recovering their principal within a year.

Of course, Chen Guangliang was also beginning to extract some profits for himself. For instance, the recent purchase of 50 new rickshaws cost 14,000 silver dollars in total, but he priced them at a total valuation of 15,000 silver dollars, dividing the investment into 1,500 shares.

The Rickshaw Pullers Union contributed 4,000 silver dollars, holding a 26.66% stake.
Zhou Xinggao contributed 5,000 silver dollars (officially stated as a loan from Chen Guangliang), holding a 33.33% stake.
As for Chen Guangliang himself, he only needed to contribute 5,000 silver dollars to hold a 40% stake.

"Out of this 40% share of mine, I will set aside another 5% as management fees and bonuses!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chao knew that refusing would be futile, yet he felt a bit embarrassed about constantly receiving gratis shares.

Therefore, he insisted, "I must pay for my share; otherwise, I will absolutely not accept free shares. I will hand over 625 silver dollars to you, which is already taking advantage of you!"

The implication was that Li Chao was now enjoying the preferential conditions that were originally meant exclusively for Chen Guangliang.

This time, Chen Guangliang did not refuse. He said, "Alright, if you cannot produce the capital for the investment right away, you can simply deduct it from your future monthly dividends. I am not in urgent need of the money anyway."

Li Chao's dividend for this month alone was over 200 silver dollars, meaning it would take him only three months to pay it off.

"Money is not a problem. My family still has some middle-class relatives, after all!"

That was true. Li Chao hailed from a middle-class background, so his friends and relatives naturally had some wealth; borrowing a bit from them would not be difficult.

"Boss, all the money has been collected, and the accounts have been settled!"

He Xiangdong and Zhou Xinggao walked in happily.

Chen Guangliang had entrusted the share issuance work entirely to the two of them, only showing his face briefly during the process.

Zhou Xinggao was the happiest of all. Holding a 33.33% stake this time was equivalent to owning 16 rickshaws, allowing him to receive a monthly dividend of about 450 silver dollars.

He Xiangdong was also in high spirits. With 100 silver dollars lent to him by Chen Guangliang, combined with his own savings, he had secured six quotas, purchasing 12 shares in total.

"Good. Later, I will go deposit the money."

Large transactions naturally had to go through the bank.

Subsequently, Chen Guangliang continued, "I plan to station the 50 newly added rickshaws at the Yuyuan Road base. Including the previous twenty vehicles, a total of seventy rickshaws will belong to the Yuyuan Road base. He Xiangdong, you will go there as the manager, and Zhou Xinggao, you will be the deputy manager. The two of you must manage the work well and not let me down!"

This separation was inevitable, as future expansions would all need to be relocated to the Yuyuan Road base. The primary reason for retaining the Fanaguan base was its favorable location, not because the Yuyuan Road base could not accommodate 175 rickshaws.

"Understood, Boss."

Then, Chen Guangliang turned to Li Chao and instructed, "You will run between both locations, exercising the duties of supervision and inspection while familiarizing yourself with the operations. Later on, when I go on long trips, you will be able to look after the company properly."

Li Chao nodded and replied, "Alright, no problem!"

At the Fanaguan base, Chen Guangliang had already found a literate and arithmetic-savvy talent among the rickshaw pullers, whom he would personally mentor for the time being. As for managing the pullers and vehicles, Lin Feng was now fully capable of standing on his own, and coupled with Chen Guangliang's absolute authority, there would be no problems whatsoever.

As for the retail and wholesale department, it was left to the father-and-daughter duo Yang Qingshan and Yang Xiuying, with Yang Qingshan scheduled to work at the Yuyuan Road location in due course.

Now that the fleet of vehicles had expanded once again, Chen Guangliang intended to scout for two more full-time administrative staff members dedicated to auxiliary management.

...

The next day, Chen Guangliang, accompanied by Li Chao and He Xiangdong, went to the lawyer's office to sign the sales contract with Li Yan, the head of the Wang Family Rickshaw Company.

Looking at Chen Guangliang—who had previously been nothing more than a humble rickshaw puller fawning over her late husband—Li Yan found herself utterly unable to feel at ease.

It felt akin to a servant from the old society suddenly rising to power and riding roughshod over their former master.

Yet, it was precisely this "servant" who had brought ruin and destruction to her family, and to whom she was now forced to compromise.

"Mrs. Wang, I heard that you have recently emerged from the trough and reorganized the Wang Family Rickshaw Company. Congratulations, congratulations!"

* A cat weeping for a mouse, shedding crocodile tears,* Li Yan thought to herself.

Presently, however, she dared not provoke any conflict with Chen Guangliang on the surface, so she smiled amiably and said, "Boss Chen is our role model. In just a few short months, you have expanded to such a massive scale."

Chen Guangliang smiled and replied, "It is all thanks to the patronage of my friends. We are simply pulling together to accomplish something; it is hardly worth mentioning!"

And indeed, he spoke the truth. After all, out of the entire Yangtze Rickshaw Company's 175 rickshaws (including licenses), Chen Guangliang's personal stake seemed to amount to just over 38%, which was equivalent to 66.5 rickshaws.

Meanwhile, Chen Guangliang's liabilities had already reached as high as 18,350 silver dollars (excluding interest).

Of course, Chen Guangliang also possessed two plots of land (valued at 9,300 silver dollars) as well as 1,100 silver dollars in cash (having spent the early October dividends in advance).

Regardless, considering that Chen Guangliang had transmigrated less than five and a half months ago, earning this much wealth was already an extraordinary feat. Much of this success was thanks to his financial acumen, which allowed his assets to appreciate quietly—such as overvaluing assets during share issuance.

Hearing this, Li Yan assumed that Chen Guangliang was boasting about his extensive network of "accomplices," causing her to feel even more wary. Consequently, she dared not show any hint of hostility on the surface.

"Boss Chen's methods are truly admirable!"

Seeing this woman back down, Chen Guangliang recognized that she possessed a fair degree of capability after all; heads of prominent households generally possessed some brains.

Subsequently, both parties prepared to sign the contract at the law firm.

Meanwhile, back at the Wang Family Rickshaw Company, Lin Feng was leading a team to inspect the condition of the rickshaws. Barring severe damage, minor wear and tear were overlooked. After all, everyone knew that this batch of vehicles from the Wang Family Rickshaw Company was generally only sixty to eighty percent new.

What Chen Guangliang truly cared about were the licenses, the market value of which was somewhat flexible.

After signing the contract and paying the cash on the spot, everything proceeded quite normally.

Chen Guangliang no longer harbored any hostility toward the Wang Family Rickshaw Company. Pushing an orphaned family to utter ruin was unnecessary; after all, he was not a thoroughly heinous villain.

...

Upon returning to the Yuyuan Road base, the 50 rickshaws were neatly arranged across the grounds, presenting a magnificent spectacle.

Zhou Xinggao grumbled irritably, "Boss, this old witch is harboring resentment! Not a single one of the vehicles she handed over to us is more than eighty percent new. She definitely did this on purpose."

Chen Guangliang smiled and asked, "If you were in her shoes, what would you do?"

Zhou Xinggao was instantly rendered speechless, then chuckled honestly, "That is true. It is already a blessing that she was willing to sell them to us at all!"

Chen Guangliang instructed, "Manage these vehicles properly, and promptly repair and maintain any issues that arise. Also, make sure to equip every single one of them with brand-new cushions so that the passengers can ride in comfort."

"Understood."

The Yangtze Rickshaw Company had strict standards regarding cleanliness and hygiene. Any puller who neglected this would receive a warning, and severe violations could result in suspension from work.

In truth, this particular measure brought no direct financial benefit to the Yangtze Rickshaw Company itself.

However, Chen Guangliang hoped to cultivate sound management practices and train capable administrative personnel. After all, he did not intend to limit himself solely to the rickshaw business; entering the taxicab business in the future was also a viable option.

"Next Wednesday will mark the opening ceremony of the Yuyuan Road base. The two of you should start preparing for it. As for the recruitment of rickshaw pullers, implement it as quickly as possible."

"Understood... The recruitment of pullers is proceeding very rapidly through personal recommendations among the men. Everything should be basically in place by next Wednesday, allowing us to launch the project operations simultaneously with the base."

Ever since the transaction was confirmed, the recruitment of pullers had already begun.

Recruiting pullers for the Yangtze Rickshaw Company was the easiest task of all, as positions were filled almost entirely through referrals from existing pullers, quickly reaching full capacity. Within this circle, the Yangtze Rickshaw Company was the most coveted establishment to work for.

Chen Guangliang said with satisfaction, "Good, you and He Xiangdong must make proper arrangements."