Chapter 605
One Year
Chen Guangliang came to the mainland to pursue his 'philanthropic endeavors'.
Since the 1980s, he has almost always been perceived as 'retired' and 'engaged in philanthropy,' but he frequently meets with political figures and appears in mainland media.
During his trip to the mainland, Chen Guangliang first visited the western region accompanied by the Education Department; subsequently, he allocated a huge education fund of US$1 million to improve the infrastructure of basic schools in the west, with a focus on primary and secondary schools in rural towns.
Once these schools complete the improvements, the teaching buildings, teachers' dormitories, and students' dormitories will all be transformed into brick-concrete structures, also known as "Chen Guangliang Buildings." Before that, most students in rural primary and secondary schools lived in adobe houses.
The massive donation of US$1 million has once again earned Chen Guangliang widespread praise in mainland media. Some media outlets have even calculated that Mr. Chen Guangliang's donations to mainland China have now exceeded one billion US dollars.
In the 1980s, one billion US dollars was an astronomical figure, while the country's foreign exchange reserves in 1987 were just over three billion US dollars.
Moreover, most of Chen Guangliang's donations flowed into the country in US dollars, but the funds used by the country in mainland China were in RMB, which is also a way of increasing the country's foreign exchange reserves.
Of course, Chen Guangliang didn't care about these issues; he was only very concerned about the implementation of the 'donations' and whether anyone would dare to embezzle them. Fortunately, this era was relatively enlightened, and the 'Chen Guangliang Foundation' had always kept a close eye on the implementation of the funds, giving no one any opportunity.
Moreover, the actions of the 'Chen Guangliang Foundation' are being watched and protected by top political figures, and no one dares to offend them.
After concluding his 'charity trip,' Chen Guangliang returned to Beijing.
He first checked into the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse for official meetings.
After concluding all his official business, he declined further official accompaniment and embarked on a private trip.
Chen Guangliang led his men into a courtyard house next to the Forbidden City. He didn't need to worry about being followed, since the mainland would only protect him and his reputation.
Stepping into the courtyard, the scenery is a pleasant surprise. The courtyard is filled with lush greenery, bonsai trees, and a small bridge over a stream.
Of course, there was also the beauty Zhang Min waiting for him, who threw herself into his arms.
"Mr. Chen, you've arrived!"
"Yes, show me around this place."
"Okay, please come with me."
It turns out that starting last year, Chen Guangliang had Zhang Min return to the mainland to invest. First, they acquired several courtyard houses near the Forbidden City, each priced at several million RMB. At the same time, they also made some investments in collectibles.
The main purpose of doing all this was to familiarize Zhang Min with the environment in mainland China, in preparation for future real estate investments there.
"This courtyard is particularly large, and there is also a pavilion here. By the way, there are two other courtyard houses, which have already begun to undergo renovation and new decoration. In another year or two, all four courtyard houses will be ready for occupancy."
Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "You basically live in Hong Kong, and even when you go to the mainland, you mostly stay in Shanghai. The air in Beijing isn't very good, so you should stay there less often!"
Zhang Min, with her arm around Chen Guangliang's shoulder, said with a smile, "I'll listen to you. But I'll keep those treasures in those four courtyard houses for you!"
It turns out that Chen Guangliang also asked Zhang Min to collect all kinds of antiques, calligraphy and paintings, coins, furniture, stamps, etc. In short, he just wanted to bring good things home, since he had plenty of money.
Chen Guangliang naturally looked down on these things, but that didn't stop him from having Zhang Min make large-scale acquisitions in mainland China with just a word, which could also be considered an investment.
As for Zhang Min being deceived, that's certainly possible. However, Chen Guangliang advised Zhang Min to establish a 'long-term partner' in Beijing. The other party could certainly 'forge' the items, but Zhang Min's collection would ultimately be authenticated by someone else. If a fake was found, the other party would naturally suffer a loss, losing a major client.
This is the same principle as 'selling at a high price' at an auction!
Therefore, Zhang Min's collecting activities in mainland China were not about "finding bargains," but purely about "buying genuine products at high prices."
"This is the collection room. Look, there are so many Yuan Shikai silver dollars, and boxes of other silver coins, all rare varieties. This is the stamp section; look, this is a complete sheet of monkey stamps. This is the antique section, with porcelain and calligraphy."
It has an area of about 70 or 80 square meters and is filled with things that Zhang Min has collected in mainland China over the past year.
Chen Guangliang casually picked up these things and threw them into the box, saying, "Don't collect too many silver dollars and copper coins. I have plenty of these in Hong Kong. Also, you can put these things away in a collection book later. They'll have some value in the future."
When he went to Hong Kong, he brought back many collectibles, which are now worth a considerable sum.
Take the "Yuan Shikai silver dollar" for example. It has "Eight-Year Trial Minting Samples", "Yuan Shikai Signed Version", "Flying Dragon Coin", and everything else.
After all, there's a saying in the collecting world: valuable things were valuable in ancient times/before.
Porcelain from a folk kiln, even if it dates back to the Tang or Song dynasties, wouldn't be particularly expensive.
A piece of porcelain from an official kiln, even from the Qing Dynasty, is generally more expensive than a piece from a folk kiln from the Tang or Song Dynasties.
Similarly, the common "Yuan Shikai silver dollar" is only worth a few hundred RMB in later generations because there are so many of them; while the rare "Yuan Shikai silver dollar" was also plentiful during the Republic of China period.
At this moment, Zhang Min, transformed into a collector, was giving a long and detailed presentation.
But she soon discovered that the man's gaze was no longer on the collectibles, but on her.
As she was pushed onto an antique sandalwood table, she quickly raised her legs high and began to moan softly.
Afterwards, Chen Guangliang and Zhang Min lay on the antique sandalwood bed in the bedroom, savoring the afterglow of their encounter.
Chen Guangliang had been holding back for too long, and today he unleashed a big surprise. Zhang Min didn't even want to lift his eyelids, showing that the 78-year-old Chen Guangliang is still full of energy.
"Keep collecting them, after all, these things can be worth a hundred times more in the future."
Upon hearing about the investment, Zhang Min's eyes lit up, and he said, "Yes. I've already established long-term cooperative relationships with several antique dealers in Beijing, who supply me directly. If any of them sell counterfeit goods, I'll cancel their cooperation."
These people really didn't dare to forge items for Zhang Min, after all, he was a big boss from Hong Kong. If he only wanted to do business once or twice, he could naturally consider forging items; but if he wanted to obtain stable income in the long term, he had to open his eyes wide and carefully examine the items before selling them to Zhang Min.
Moreover, Zhang Min is not without backing in mainland China; Chen Guangliang can make a phone call into Zhongnanhai.
The mainland upper class is not unaware that Chen Guangliang is a philandering tycoon, but how could such a thing appear in the mainland media? The mainland media treats him like a saint and never mentions his love life.
"Yes, I will regularly send appraisers from Hong Kong to appraise some of your fine collections."
Zhang Min wrapped her lotus-root-like arms around Chen Guangliang and said with a charming tone, "Then how can I move some of these collections to Hong Kong? After all, I can't keep them all in properties in Beijing and Shanghai! Some of the more valuable ones should be taken to Hong Kong."
This is a bit troublesome, but that's for people who have no money or power.
Chen Guangliang said with a smile, "If it's not a lot, it's actually very simple. I'll introduce you to someone later."
Lane Crawford Antiques has always been acquiring antiques, so it's impossible for them not to have channels.
Hong Kong is also part of China, so there is nothing for Chen Guangliang to feel guilty about. Moreover, compared to these trivial matters, what mainland museums did in later generations deserves to be beheaded.
Time flies, and almost a year has passed in the blink of an eye.
Mid-January 1989.
Chan Kwong-leung's car drove into villa number 20, Carmel Road. Last year, the neighboring villa at number 18, Carmel Road, was sold, and he had Li Jiaxin buy it to prevent it from being purchased by a celebrity. This place has become a target for reporters to stake out. Even so, every time Chan Kwong-leung comes here, he always uses a car that has not been reported in the media.
"Mr. Chen, I'm pregnant! What should I do?" Li Jiaxin said, deliberately raising her voice as soon as they met.
Chen Guangliang looked at Li Jiaxin, who was only 19 years old. Under his guidance, she was now approaching the 'perfect woman' and felt somewhat proud.
As for having children, these women are all rushing to have them now, lining up to do so.
"What else can we do? Of course, we can give birth to it. But if you dare to announce it to the public, I won't acknowledge it."
Li Jiaxin had already been "trained" (i.e., disciplined), so after hearing this, she stubbornly said, "Then you must provide better protection for me and the child!"
"Haha, you'll definitely get your share. But am I offering too little?"
Over the past two years, he has paid out 1 million yuan in cash, so he is clearly not a stingy person.
Needless to say, their investments have multiplied their wealth several times over.
Wu Guofang, standing to the side, said ingratiatingly, "Mr. Chen, we have made a profit of more than HKD 6000 million from this short selling of the Ping An Index."
That makes sense. They started buying Ping An Index futures in 1988 and made 50 million by May of this year. Then, in April and May, they started shorting Ping An Index futures. Just because of the situation in mainland China, the Hong Kong Ping An Index plummeted from 4000 points to 2700 points.
Furthermore, margin requirements for trading Hong Kong Ping An Index futures are now strictly enforced, so their profits of over 60 million can be settled immediately. Unlike the short-selling of index futures during the 1987 stock market crash, which only yielded profits a year later.
"Mommy! My belly is carrying the child of the Chen family!" Li Jiaxin said coquettishly.
It means that you can't get rid of this mere tens of millions.
Wu Guofang chuckled and said, "Take your time, Mr. Chen won't treat you unfairly!"
She's speaking up for Chen Guangliang now, after all, she occasionally sneaks a bite too.
Chen Guangliang sat on the sofa, holding Li Jiaxin in his arms, leisurely watching her performance, but he didn't express any opinion.
Li Jiaxin now has a net worth of HK$3 million, making her a wealthy woman.
He then changed the subject: "Is the renovation of No. 18 Jiaming Road finished?"
Wu Guofang nodded and said, "The renovation is finished, but there's still a bit of a smell."
"Um"
Chen Guangliang then pinched Li Jiaxin's oval face lightly and laughed, "She needs some discipline."
Li Jiaxin said with dissatisfaction, "I'm not greedy for money, I'm fighting for the rights of my child."
Chen Guangliang said, "Then should we divide my family's five major groups: Cheung Kong Holdings, Global Holdings, Cheung Kong Holdings, Ping An Insurance, and Media Group?"
Li Jiaxin said, sounding aggrieved, "I wouldn't dare! I'm afraid your children will throw my child and me into the sea to feed the fish. But you still have money, right? Please take care of my child and me, okay?"
This girl's personality has improved, but her nature is hard to change.
Of course, she also understood that Chen Guangliang had already handed over his business to his children, so it was unrealistic for him to want to inherit those assets.
Chen Guangliang said unhurriedly, "Wanting greater security isn't impossible! I have three mistresses like you in Hong Kong. If you agree to meet them and become sisters with them, I can consider bringing you and the child in your belly into my little family office. In that case, you and my child will naturally have more security in the future."
It's so easy for him to decide who makes money!
"No way!" Li Jiaxin immediately snapped like an enraged rabbit, ready to bite. She said with dissatisfaction, "I know you too well. If we really meet, you'll definitely be thinking about enjoying the bliss of having two women at once. It's disgusting. I've already compromised by being with my sister."
Chen Guangliang immediately changed his expression and said, "It has to be done, whether it's not possible or not. I'll introduce you to my Tranquility superyacht later."
Li Jiaxin immediately felt extremely wronged.
Chen Guangliang whispered in her ear, "When the child grows up, you and the child will be worth at least tens of billions!"
"Really?"
"You don't believe me"
Li Jiaxin nodded, clearly very tempted by the prospect of a net worth of billions.
However, she added defiantly, "I'm just worried you won't be able to keep up."
"Little brat, are you cursing me? I'll deal with you tonight!"
After some playful banter, Chen Guangliang and the three women sat down at the dining table and began to enjoy their luxurious lifestyle.
Although Chen Guangliang is now 79 years old, he is still in good health and is expected to remain so until he is 90. It's as if God has given him a "health cheat code," or from a scientific perspective, it's due to a genetic mutation.
Therefore, Chen Guangliang is expected to live to at least 110 years old, and may even reach the human limit of 115 years old.
During the meal, Chen Guangliang noticed that Wu Guofang was wearing black stockings with a fitted jumpsuit. This woman was becoming more and more uninhibited, turning into a slave to money.
Of course, at this time, Wu Guofang played the role of 'housekeeper', managing the investments for Li Jiaxin.
Li Jiaming, on the other hand, was quite self-aware; he simply followed behind Li Jiaxin and reaped the benefits. Everyone centered their attention around Li Jiaxin and no one tried to steal the spotlight.
"With this sharp drop, the real estate market has also fallen by 30% to 40%, and there's been another wave of people moving overseas. So, you should use the money you cash out from securities to buy up a lot of real estate, with a 20% down payment."
Wu Guofang's eyes lit up with joy, and he asked, "Will the banks tighten credit?"
Chen Guangliang said, "I would do that to other people, but not to you."
Li Jiaxin immediately said proudly, "Thank you, Mr. Chen."
She has firsthand experience in buying up properties at rock-bottom prices.
Moreover, just before this market crash, she received a reminder from this man and sold some of her properties.
The feeling of catching something high and then selling it low is so exciting.
That night.
While Chen Guangliang was taking a shower, he had Wu Guofang perform a cleaning service before entering the bedroom for sexual intercourse. (End of Chapter)