Chapter 67: Family

Yangtze Rickshaw Company put another 20 rickshaws into operation, increasing its fleet to 195 vehicles.

However, these 20 vehicles were not launched with a grand ceremony. Instead, they were introduced into operation in small batches of two or three per day, being seamlessly and quietly integrated into the market.

Among these twenty vehicles were some expired licenses prepared by Li Chao, offering a very high chance of passing off the fake as genuine. Furthermore, Chen Guangliang arranged for these rickshaws to operate only in designated areas, prohibiting them from taking long-distance fares to minimize risks as much as possible.

Regarding the equity distribution of this batch of vehicles, the specifics were: Chen Guangliang held 70%, Li Chao 10%, Zhou Xinggao 10%, He Xiangdong 5%, and Lin Feng and the others shared 5%.

As for management, it was primarily entrusted to He Xiangdong and the others, leaving Chen Guangliang only needing to oversee operations from behind the scenes.

The procurement cost for these twenty "wildcat rickshaws" was only 1,600 silver dollars, and in the end, Chen Guangliang only had to shell out 1,200 silver dollars, choosing not to take out any loans. After all, he still had 6,000 silver dollars on hand, and even after this expense, he would still have about 4,800 silver dollars left.

"Cousin, time to eat!"

Yang Xiuying walked in carrying a tray.

After Chen Guangliang relocated his operations to Yuyuan Road, Yang Xiuying followed him there, swapping positions as a store clerk with her father so she could continue taking care of Chen Guangliang's daily life.

A large bowl of white rice, a plate of braised pork, and a plate of green vegetables made up Chen Guangliang's lunch.

Nearly two months after transmigrating—specifically after the second batch of rickshaws went into operation—Chen Guangliang had finally reached a point where he could have meat with every meal. In fact, right from the beginning of his transmigration, Chen Guangliang had been willing to spend generously on living expenses, considering he was still growing.

"Try the braised pork. How does it taste?" Yang Xiuying stood nearby, asking with a hopeful expression.

Winning Chen Guangliang's praise seemed to be a matter of great importance to her.

After taking a bite, Chen Guangliang said, "It's pretty good."

Before his cousin could dwell further on the subject, he brought up a new topic: "Xiuying, do you want to go to school? I'm planning to send you and your younger brother to school next year."

Now that he was considered wealthy, he naturally prepared to look after his close family members.

Chen Guangliang's father had died from overwork when he was twelve years old, so his family could not afford to raise him, leading his mother to send him to seek shelter with his second uncle. However, in reality, Chen Guangliang still had a mother and a younger brother back in his hometown of Ningbo.

Starting in August, Chen Guangliang had been sending money home.

Recently, he was making preparations to send his second uncle, Yang Qingshan, to bring the two of them over to live in Shanghai.

Yang Xiuying flatly refused, saying, "I don't want to go to school at all. Just send my younger brother instead. Aren't you already teaching me how to read right now?"

In fact, statistics from a survey conducted by the Yangtze Rickshaw Company showed that only about 20% of people in this era had received three years of schooling.

Chen Guangliang casually remarked, "If you don't go to school, you'll just end up as a feudal woman in the future... If you get some education, you'll be able to make something truly worthwhile of yourself."

Yang Xiuying twirled the hem of her shirt and asked, "Then do you look down on feudal women?"

Chen Guangliang instantly felt a headache coming on. However, so that his cousin would agree to go to education, he steeled his heart and said, "At the very least, half a sentence is too much to say to a girl like that; there's simply nothing to talk about or discuss with them!"

"Then I'll go to school."

"Understood, I'll make arrangements later!"

Yang Xiuying was just over thirteen years old, but in this era, girls could be married off in another year or two.

Therefore, Chen Guangliang hoped that Yang Xiuying would strive to finish primary school, and naturally, it would be even better if she could attend middle school.

........

Chen Guangliang and the "ground-beetle" Wang Zuoyi were inspecting the area surrounding Yuyuan Road once again.

He still wanted to purchase a plot of land around Yuyuan Road. Although he only had a little over 4,800 silver dollars left in his hands, dividends of over 2,000 silver dollars would be distributed at the beginning of December, which he could borrow against in advance.

Coupled with a loan, buying a fairly large plot of land would be completely unproblematic.

As for repaying the loan, that was a matter to consider next year.

"Boss Chen, it really is getting harder and harder to find land in this area as good as the plots in your hands. But don't you worry, I will definitely manage to persuade one or two owners to sell to you!"

Wang Zuoyi deeply valued this business transaction, or rather, this repeat customer.

The entire vicinity of Yuyuan Road—meaning the scope Chen Guangliang was considering—comprised roughly thousands of mu of land. At present, he only held 20 mu of it.

Since he was in no particular hurry, Chen Guangliang preferred to wait for Wang Zuoyi to bring him good news.

"Good, I'll wait for your good news... By the way, whose land is that?"

Chen Guangliang pointed to a parcel of land and asked out of curiosity.

This plot of land was vacant, quite large in area, and situated close to Jing'an Temple and Difeng Road (later known as North Urumqi Road).

Wang Zuoyi proved worthy of his reputation as a local bailiff, fixer, and broker in this area, answering familiarly: "You can forget about this plot of land (Lane 608, Yuyuan Road). It already has an owner, and the proprietor is no small figure. His name is Wang Boyuan, the founder and general manager of Yufayong Gold Firm. Because he made a fortune through speculation on gold prices and exchange rate fluctuations during World War I, people also call him the 'Gold King'. Although Wang Boyuan widely acquired real estate after making his fortune, his main energy remains focused on the financial industry. It is impossible for him to sell this land; he regards it as an heirloom!"

His words were entirely accurate. In this era, land in Shanghai backed by "title deeds" was treated as an "heirloom," and many major property owners refused to sell.

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "That makes sense."

Even so, Chen Guangliang suddenly felt that a certain thought had sparked in his mind!

Regarding the phenomenon of "owners" holding onto land for the long term without putting it to use, a burst of inspiration suddenly hit him.

Perhaps this would become his opportunity to truly make a name for himself in Shanghai's real estate circle.

Finally, Chen Guangliang said, "Mr. Wang, please continue to lobby on my behalf in this area. I still want to acquire another ten mu of land or so, and I can afford to wait."

Wang Zuoyi asked tentatively, "Boss Chen, do you have some kind of insider information?"

Investing in real estate—especially on a massive scale and exclusively targeting this particular area—was undoubtedly bound to raise suspicions.

Chen Guangliang smiled and replied, "I don't have any insider information, but I am very optimistic about the development prospects of this area, so I am preparing for a long-term investment."

Wang Zuoyi nodded and praised, "Boss Chen certainly has great foresight!"

........

Afterwards, Chen Guangliang took Zhou Xinggao alone to the vicinity of Wang Boyuan's plot of land, which spanned about 15 mu.

This plot of land would later be known as Lane 608, Yuyuan Road, whereas the three plots Chen Guangliang had previously acquired were located much further to the west.

Chen Guangliang's lands were basically situated on the western side of Yuyuan Road, making them less valuable than the properties on the eastern side (where the Bund and East Nanjing Road lay). Furthermore, the entire length of Yuyuan Road spanned 2.7 kilometers.

Land prices along a single road varied drastically; for instance, Chen Guangliang's plots were generally priced below 1,400 silver dollars per mu, whereas Wang Boyuan's land was likely worth over 2,500 silver dollars per mu even at present.

Moreover, Wang Boyuan's plot wasn't even at the easternmost end of Yuyuan Road.

Essentially, land located east of Jing'an Temple could easily be worth at least 3,000 to 4,000 silver dollars per mu.

However, because the foreign concessions had pushed their asphalt road-building projects "beyond boundaries" to cover eight or nine tenths of Yuyuan Road, the value of the land in Chen Guangliang's hands would multiply exponentially in the future.

"Arrange some men to go onto that plot of land and build refugee shacks. Put up five or six shacks all at once. The moment the owner sends people to drive them away, pack up and leave immediately without starting any conflicts. But make sure no clues are leaked about our involvement, especially regarding myself and the rickshaw company. Once they are driven off, wait a few days and find an opportunity to set up another batch... Can you pull this off?"

Resorting to an old trick, Chen Guangliang assigned Zhou Xinggao a secret mission.

The difference was that when he first employed this strategy, it was to help Gu Zhuxuan acquire land in Zhabei; but using this strategy a second time wasn't intended to buy Wang Boyuan's land, but rather to pave the way for a potential cooperation opportunity next year.

Zhou Xinggao replied without hesitation, "No problem, I guarantee it will be done!"

The Yangtze Rickshaw Company boasted nearly 600 men, and hearing that Chen Guangliang was forming a "security team," countless individuals were eager to join. Of course, among those 600 pullers, a large portion could be considered local ruffians and scoundrels.

In any case, quite a few rickshaw pullers were not exactly upstanding citizens—such as those who haggled over fares with customers or overcharged them, making their moral character quite uneven.

This was simply a fact, not Chen Guangliang disparaging the impoverished.

"Good, I trust you to get things done!"