In December 1912, Fuxin Flour Company was founded in Shanghai by brothers Rong Zongjing and Rong Desheng. Together with Maoxin Flour Company, it formed the largest private flour enterprise group in China at that time. The two companies have a total of 12 factories located in Shanghai, Wuxi, Jinan, Hankou and other places. More than 96000 bales of flour are produced every day and night, accounting for about 32% of the country's machine-made flour production capacity, and the capital it owns accounts for 30.5% of the total capital of private flour mills in the country.

Rong Zongjing

Rong Desheng

Rong Zongjing and Rong Desheng are famous national entrepreneurs in modern times in our country. They mainly operate flour mills and textile mills, and are called "flour kings" and "textile giants."

The former residence of the Rong brothers is on West Street, Rongxiang Town, a suburb of Wuxi City

Rong Zongjing was born in 1873 (12th year of Tongzhi). His original name was Rong Zongjin and his later name was Jinyuan. Rong Desheng was born in 1875 (the first year of Guangxu), his original name was Rong Zongquan, and later his name was Le Nong. They are from Rongxiang, Xixiang, Wuxi, Jiangsu. Their ancestors were mostly engaged in business.

His grandfather, Rong Xichou, was a trafficker traveling between Shanghai and Wuxi. His father, Rong Xitai, first worked as a accountant in a metallurgical factory in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province, and later was recommended to Guangdong to become a Lika tax official for the Qing government. His mother Shi. The Rong brothers went to school when they were young and helped their mother do housework and farm work. Rong Zongjing entered Shanghai Nanshi Iron Anchor Factory at the age of 14 to study accounting business. The following year, I went to Yuanyu Bank on Yong 'an Street, Shanghai to learn skills. After three years of hard study, he went to the Sentai Ronghui Branch (Qianzhuang) in Hongsheng Matouli Street, Nanshi, Shanghai, where he was responsible for contracting business and contacting customers. In 1895, after the bank closed down, he returned to Wuxi to live idle. Rong Desheng is two years younger than Rong Zongjing. At the age of 15, he went to Shanghai Tongshun Bank to study skills. When he was 18 years old, he followed his father to Likin Bureau in Sanshui Estuary, Guangdong to help with accounting. In 1895, when his three-year term in the Likin Bureau expired, he left the company with his father and returned to his hometown.

The Rong family has been rich for four generations

Rong Zhijian's great-grandfather, Rong Xitai, had two sons, the eldest son, Zong Jing, and the second son, Desheng (Rong Yiren's father). Affected by their father's year-round journey to make a living, the Rong brothers went to Shanghai when they were teenagers and worked as apprentices in banks. After the father and son returned to their hometown in Wuxi for various reasons, Rong Xitai finally decided to open a bank in Shanghai. On the eighth day of February in the 22nd year of Guangxu (1896), Guangsheng Bank opened at Hongsheng Wharf in Nanshi, Shanghai, with Rong's holding 50%.

Soon after, Rong Xitai died of illness. Guangsheng Bank, on the other hand, was a small business and made little profits. Three partners withdrew their shares and withdrew due to lack of confidence. Since 1898, it has been wholly owned by the Rong family. After a year, there was no profit. After that, the Rong brothers decided to develop into industry. On March 17, 1902, Baoxing Flour Factory officially started production in Wuxi. At the beginning, the Rong Brothers did not hold a controlling interest. It was not until 1904, when the original major shareholder withdrew, when the Rong Brothers increased their capital to become the largest shareholder, and the name of the factory was changed to "Maoxin." The Rong brothers joined forces with others to establish Zhenxin Yarn Factory, which was completed and put into operation in 1907.

Later, due to intensified competition, Maoxin Flour Factory suffered continuous losses; in 1908, the Rong brothers followed others to speculate in rubber stocks and failed, and even lost their old money; in 1909, another shipwreck occurred while trading in imported flour, and all the goods sank into the sea. The Rong brothers were in an unprecedented predicament.

The Rong brothers were forced to close Guangsheng Bank and keep Zhenxin Yarn Factory, while other shareholders of Maoxin Flour Factory sold their shares. Faced with difficulties, Rong Zongjing decided to borrow money to expand the market scale. Finally, he borrowed 120,000 taels of silver from the American merchant Hengfeng Foreign Bank to purchase a complete set of the latest flour mills. In 1910, Maoxin gained a new life, with a production capacity of 890,000 bales per year, a 10-fold increase from the beginning of the factory, ranking among the largest factories in the country. In 1912, Maoxin's operating profit reached 128,000 taels of silver, and it still had a surplus after paying off all debts.

At this time, the Rong brothers 'two right-hand assistants, Wang Yuqing and Pu Wenting, who managed sales and procurement respectively, wanted to set up their own factories and approached Rong Zongjing to borrow money. In the end, the Rong brothers joined forces with the Wang brothers and the Pu brothers to open Fuxin Flour Factory in Xinzha Bridge, Shanghai. The Rong brothers invested 20,000 yuan to account for 50% of the shares, and Rong Zongjing became the manager.

Fuxin made 40,000 yuan in the few months after it opened. Some shareholders proposed to pay dividends. Rong Desheng proposed not to pay dividends for three years to expand its scale, which was approved. In the summer of 1913, Fuxin rented Zhongxing Flour Factory; in the winter of the same year, Fuxin Second Factory was built; and in June 1914, Fuxin Third Factory was built. This time coincided with the outbreak of the First World War, and flour sales were in tight demand. At the same time as Fuxin's expansion, Maoxin bought Huiyuan Flour Factory and transformed it into Maoxin No. 2 Factory; it also rented Tailong and Baoxin factories, and invested in Jiufeng.

In 1915, Fuxin bought the originally rented Zhongxing Flour Factory and changed it to Fuxin No. 4 Factory; in 1918, Fuxin No. 5 Factory was built in Hankou, and then rented Huaxing Flour Factory, which later bought it and changed it to Fuxin No. 6 Factory. So far, the 10 flour mills mainly operated by the Rong brothers can produce an astonishing 42,000 bags per day, and 5 of the 10 factories are acquired through acquisitions.

When the flour industry was booming, Rong Desheng wanted to expand Zhenxin Yarn Factory and planned to build a second factory in Shanghai, a third factory in Nanjing, and a fourth factory in Zhengzhou. Therefore, he proposed not to pay dividends for the time being, but other shareholders disagreed. The Rong brothers finally withdrew from Zhenxin and organized the Shenxin Yarn Factory in Shanghai. Soon after, he bought Hengchangyuan Yarn Factory, and Rong Desheng took a 40% stake in it and later changed his name to Shenxin No. 2 Factory.

In February 1922, the number of flour mills and yarn mills operated by the Rong brothers reached 16. Soon, Rong Zongjing decided to set up Shenxin No. 4 Factory near Fuxin No. 5 Factory in Hankou, but Rong Desheng believed that operating in debt was risky. Later, because Rong Zongjing decided to launch the Shenxin Fourth Plant, the head office (Maofushen Head Office was established in Shanghai in 1921 as the unified management organization of the family business) had difficulties in working capital and was heavily in debt. At this time, Rong Zongjing took the risk again and borrowed 3.5 million yen (equivalent to 2.2 million taels of silver) from Japan's Dongya Industrial Co., Ltd. on extremely harsh conditions, and finally overcame the difficulties. From then on, the Rong brothers won the titles of "flour kings" and "spinning kings" and established their status as big capitalists.