Chapter 60 Bodyguard

At the base on Yuyuan Road, Chen Guangliang met with Zhou Xinggao and several of the rickshaw pullers who had previously participated in avenging their fellow worker.

This group of rickshaw pullers operated as a small team led by a man named Liu Shangwu. Judging by their daring act of kidnapping Tang Zhiqing's son, Chen Guangliang believed these men possessed a certain degree of grit and courage.

Their only flaw was that they had not handled the matter perfectly at the time. Had Chen Guangliang directed the operation personally, he would have made certain that Tang Zhiqing had no room to go back on his word in the end.

Regardless, Chen Guangliang was currently in need of capable men, so he intended to bring this group under his command.

"Greetings, Boss Chen."

Chen Guangliang stood up, walked toward the four men led by Liu Shangwu, and said, "The four of you planned and executed the kidnapping of Tang Zhiqing's son, and then forced Tang Zhiqing to reveal the truth?"

Liu Shangwu glanced at Zhou Xinggao, a thought flashed through his mind, and he replied, "That's right, the four of us did it. Our two fallen brothers cannot die in vain, so we had to make Tang Zhiqing tell the truth and ensure Wang Chengyun received the punishment he deserved."

Seeing that Liu Shangwu did not betray Zhou Xinggao, Chen Guangliang held him in even higher regard.

"Are you interested in working for me?"

Hearing this, Liu Shangwu replied with pleasant surprise, "Boss Chen is a good boss, and we are all willing to follow you through fire and water, whatever it takes!"

"We are willing too."

He vaguely knew that the success of their previous endeavor was largely thanks to Chen Guangliang. Otherwise, why would Zhou Xinggao have secretly joined them only to return safely to work under Boss Chen in the end?

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "Very well. For now, you will work under Zhou Xinggao, with a monthly salary of fifteen silver dollars. Additionally, should anyone be injured in the future, the rickshaw firm will cover all medical expenses and provide a handsome bonus; if anyone loses their life for the company, their family will receive a severance package of fifteen hundred silver dollars."

That year, the monthly salary of an ordinary patrolman in the Chinese-administered districts of Shanghai was only ten to thirteen silver dollars.

Meanwhile, the monthly earnings of a rickshaw puller ranged between ten and twelve silver dollars.

By offering these men a monthly salary of fifteen silver dollars, he was clearly intending to cultivate his own faction.

Upon hearing the phrase "loses their life," Liu Shangwu and the others felt no fear; instead, they said excitedly, "As long as Boss Chen gives the order, we guarantee we will charge into the fray without a second thought."

A severance package of fifteen hundred silver dollars was simply an irresistible temptation.

Frankly speaking, had Chen Guangliang been short of funds, even he would have been tempted to risk his life for such a sum.

"Alright, you are dismissed for now. Zhou Xinggao will brief you on your duties later."

"Understood, Boss Chen."

After these men had withdrawn, Chen Guangliang said to Zhou Xinggao, "Brother Zhou, you are now a shareholder of the rickshaw firm, with monthly dividends amounting to several hundred silver dollars. However, I am currently in urgent need of trusted personnel, especially a reliable and highly skilled bodyguard by my side."

Zhou Xinggao immediately declared, "Boss, I will be your bodyguard. If it weren't for you, I would have starved to death on the streets long ago. Even though my monthly dividends now amount to several hundred silver dollars, they were all given to me by you."

Chen Guangliang said with satisfaction, "Good. Select two more men as soon as possible to accompany me. Also, make sure to arrange the workflow here at the firm."

Lately, Chen Guangliang had a lingering sense that if he did not find a few bodyguards to accompany him soon, he would sooner or later be targeted for kidnapping.

Especially since the Nationalist faction was in desperate need of military funds; in his past life, he had heard that due to a shortage of military expenditure, numerous wealthy merchants had been kidnapped for ransom.

Furthermore, aside from political factions, kidnappings occurred frequently in Shanghai, even within the Foreign Concessions.

Therefore, Chen Guangliang needed bodyguards by his side.

Of course, Chen Guangliang's ultimate trump card was still himself. Six months after transmigrating, he was certain that his physical condition had reached the absolute peak of human potential.

To put it into perspective, his reaction speed might make disarming someone pointing a firearm at point-blank range a possibility—much like the legendary martial arts masters in the movies of his past life, leaving his enemies no chance to even pull the trigger.

Nevertheless, Chen Guangliang preferred not to leave things to chance, so having bodyguards around gave him greater peace of mind. After all, he was hardly short on money.

Zhou Xinggao reminded him, "Boss, should we acquire a firearm?"

Chen Guangliang pondered for a moment before replying, "We can acquire one, but it requires careful planning. There is no need to act rashly."

Zhou Xinggao nodded and said, "Understood, Boss."

Currently, the monthly rental income of the Yangtze Rickshaw Firm was fifty-two hundred and fifty silver dollars. Calculated at a management fee rate of six percent, this amounted to a disposable operating fund of just over three hundred silver dollars.

Including Chen Guangliang, the staff now numbered ten people, comprising two accountants, four administrative staff (responsible for rent collection), three bodyguards, and the owner. In addition, two wholesale department personnel had their salaries paid privately by Chen Guangliang.

The salary expenses for these ten individuals constituted the major expenditure, though this would become negligible as the fleet of rickshaws continued to expand.

Although the bodyguards' salaries were ostensibly paid by the firm, the firm actually used his private land (Yuyuan Road) rent-free.

There was no need to account for every single cent too strictly. In any case, the distributed dividends could never truly be calculated by deducting precisely six percent for management fees and distributing the rest; sometimes, dividends accounted for roughly ninety percent of the monthly rental income.

Chen Guangliang would retain a portion of the funds and keep them in the Yangtze Rickshaw Firm's account.

...

Chen Guangliang arrived at the second plot of land he had purchased. This plot spanned three mu, equivalent to the size of five basketball courts.

"Brother Zhou, arrange for men to fence this property all around. Have people patrol regularly to prevent refugees from occupying it!"

Land in Shanghai invariably had an owner.

However, much of this land remained undeveloped. Once refugees set their sights on it, they were likely to swarm in and construct makeshift dwellings.

In situations like the one at Fanjiabang, the original owners ultimately had no choice but to collect rent from the refugees just to recover a fraction of their losses.

Naturally, Chen Guangliang did not want his land occupied by refugees. After all, what did mere rental income matter when he was engaging in land speculation?

Zhou Xinggao replied, "Understood... They even mentioned wanting to grow some vegetables here. When I heard that, I figured that even if we grow vegetables, they are still the boss's vegetables."

Indeed, that was the correct mindset.

Business was business. Chen Guangliang could allow the rickshaw pullers to purchase shares in the rickshaws or grant them a fifty percent profit margin on merchandise sales, but he would never allow these men to take advantage of him for even a single copper coin.

"Right, let them grow vegetables, but the harvest belongs to me. Once harvested, it's fine to give a little portion of it back to everyone."

"Very well, I'll make the arrangements as soon as possible."

Chen Guangliang specifically instructed, "Remember, refugees are strictly forbidden from building houses on my land. Once a crowd gathers there, driving them away becomes a troublesome affair."

"Understood, I've made a note of it!"

This arrangement worked out well. Having Zhou Xinggao lead two trustworthy brothers to serve as his dedicated bodyguards ensured both his personal safety and the security of his assets.

In this bustling Shanghai underworld, no one operated entirely alone. Prominent figures like the "Big Three" — Huang Jinrong, Du Yuesheng, and Zhang Xiaolin — sounded remarkably imposing, yet they lived in constant fear of assassination, which was why they were always flanked by at least seven or eight bodyguards.

Their private residences were guarded round the clock by armed men.

This was precisely why Chen Guangliang repeatedly declined Gu Zhuxuan's subtle hints to initiate him into the Green Gang.

He was a businessman, not a gangster.

When faced with danger, he would simply hire more bodyguards, and relying on his own physical prowess, he believed he could handle whatever came his way.

The business world was fraught with intrigue: if you could win, you fought; if you couldn't, you withdrew. It was as simple as that.

If political authorities attempted extortion in the future, protection money would simply have to be paid. As long as he generated enough wealth, skimming off a few layers would still leave him abundantly wealthy.

This was a turbulent era, and Chen Guangliang was determined to walk forward with courage at every step rather than live in fear!