Chapter 109: Incognito Inspection

Xiao Ran was suddenly startled. Along with Wei Dongling, he turned to look at Fang Xiaoqiang, “You know people in this field?”
“That’s right. Since I often need to gather information, I’ve met a few friends who study computers,” Fang Xiaoqiang said with a simple smile. “They usually hang out together; we’re in the same circle. But they often complain that their current jobs don’t allow them to utilize their skills at all.”
Xiao Ran was slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected Hong Kong to already have such talents, though he still wasn’t sure whether they were truly talented or not. Without saying more, he arranged to meet with Fang Xiaoqiang that evening.
That night, Fang Xiaoqiang, Wei Dongling, and Xiao Ran all headed to the location in a BMW. Following Fang Xiaoqiang’s directions, they quickly found their destination—a villa, clearly belonging to the wealthy.
After knocking on the door, a middle-aged woman opened it. She was quite attractive. Upon seeing Fang Xiaoqiang, she smiled and said, “Aqiang, you brought friends to see Awei? He’s still the same—always upstairs. Go up and find him yourselves. I won’t accompany you!”
Her straightforwardness impressed Xiao Ran. With Fang Xiaoqiang’s introduction and guidance, they went upstairs and learned more about Awei. Awei’s full name was Ran Wei. He had returned from the United States after studying computers the year before last and was considered a remarkable person.
Normally, Awei would handle some tasks at his father’s company. In his free time, aside from hanging out with other computer scientists, he hardly left the house, focusing entirely on computer games. Even Fang Xiaoqiang didn’t know what he was up to.
When it came to computers, Xiao Ran, coming from the 21st century, was far less proficient than Ran Wei. Simply put, aside from knowing how to use the internet, Xiao Ran knew nothing else about computers—this was exactly what troubled him.
Ran Wei indeed seemed quite impressive, not like someone who worked in computers at all (there was a mistake earlier; the correct term should have been “computing”). He was so absorbed that the three of them didn’t even realize he was there until Fang Xiaoqiang stamped his foot loudly and explained to Xiao Ran and the others, “If we just snap a photo of him, it’ll startle him!”
Finally, Ran Wei turned around. Seeing two strangers, he was momentarily stunned. Then, upon seeing Fang Xiaoqiang, he immediately smiled. “Aqiang, when did you arrive? I had no idea!”
“Shut up! You never know when I come!” Fang Xiaoqiang was very familiar with Ran Wei and spoke to him freely. Then he introduced Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling, saying, “These two are from Shadow Company. This is Boss Xiao, and that’s Manager Wei! They’re very interested in you, so they wanted to meet you!”
“Hello, both of you!” Ran Wei appeared shy, making it hard to believe he had returned from studying abroad. “What can I do for you?”

Xiao Ran smiled at Wei Dongling. He had bet with Wei Dongling earlier about whether Ran Wei was an extrovert or an introvert, and it seemed clear now that Xiao Ran had won. He had prepared a response in advance, which actually reflected his true thoughts: “Awei, have you ever watched Star Wars?”
“Star Wars? It’s a movie, right? I must have seen it. The computer special effects in that film are amazing; I doubt many companies in the world can achieve such levels…” Then, Ran Wei started talking nonstop about numerous technical terms, leaving Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling extremely frustrated.
“Wait a moment!” Xiao Ran wanted to slap him, but he forced himself to suppress his emotions and said with a smile, “If it were up to you, could you create something as good as Star Wars’ special effects? I mean, the computer effects!”
“I’m afraid not. They have professional systems and computers. If it were just me, I definitely couldn’t do it!” Ran Wei thought hard for a while, considering the possibilities, before quickly telling Xiao Ran, “It’s impossible. Their equipment is the best in every aspect; I can’t do it!”
“What if you had many peers who study computer science, along with top-notch equipment? Could you do it then?” Xiao Ran didn’t want to drag this out anymore. Facing such an idiot really frustrated him.
“Well then…” Ran Wei fell back into deep thought, while Fang Xiaoqiang couldn’t stop sneering. Wei Dongling even bumped into Xiao Ran triumphantly, saying it was worth losing money just to see Xiao Ran flustered. Finally, after a long while, Ran Wei said reluctantly, “I’m afraid we still can’t match that level, because we don’t have enough experience!”
Slap him or slap myself! Such an idea suddenly crossed Xiao Ran’s mind. At that moment, he wished he could be completely destroyed. Yet, he forced himself to control his emotions and spoke in the most direct tone possible: “Awei, our purpose is simple. Our company, Phantom, is in the film industry. I’m very optimistic about computer special effects, so I’d like to invite you and your peers to work at my company. I’ll provide you with ample equipment and funding!”
After another long pause, Xiao Ran felt desperate. He suddenly understood Sun Wukong’s behavior in A Chinese Odyssey. But at that moment, he realized it’s extremely difficult to communicate with someone who’s so focused on one thing.
“I agree, but I want sufficient equipment and funding!” Ran Wei finally spoke. Xiao Ran could swear that if Ran Wei had wanted his life earlier, he would have agreed too.
“Great. We’ll contact your peers now. We’ll notify you to come for an interview in a while. Remember to bring your own special effects works. If you pass, your salary will be quite substantial.” Xiao Ran was already impatient, despite his usual patience. But facing such an unyielding person, he really didn’t know what to do.

Everything went smoothly afterward. After all, people like Ran Wei were rare, and Xiao Ran was finally free from the tragic ordeal of being manipulated by the “Silent Lamb” to the point of nearly vomiting blood. Nevertheless, the trip was extremely fruitful—he recruited over a dozen outstanding individuals, including some who had chosen computer science because of Star Wars.

Xiao Ran still couldn’t understand why film companies, with so many talented people around, didn’t reach out to them. Some of these individuals had tried applying to film companies, only to be told in a formulaic manner that they didn’t need to learn computer science. After much thought, he came up with one reason: perhaps the Star Wars craze had indeed sparked a trend, but mainly in the West. Even if that trend for computer graphics had existed, years passed with little progress in the field, no wonder it was overlooked by other film companies.

Actually, it couldn’t be said to be completely ignored. From what Xiao Ran knew, film companies at that time did place considerable importance on special effects—special effects in films like “Fate” and “Old Cat” were used quite well. However, it seemed everyone overlooked the need to build skills from the basics and instead hired foreign special effects artists directly.

Even New Art City, the only company with a somewhat long-term vision, only hired foreign special effects artists and sent its own people to steal their skills. As for the rest, specialized fields like computer graphics couldn’t be learned by stealing skills—no wonder it wasn’t until the impact of “Terminator 2” and “Jurassic Park” in the 1990s that computer graphics truly emerged in Hong Kong.

But thinking of this, Xiao Ran’s mind wandered and he came up with an inspiration. The inspiration came from the film “Old Cat.” After thinking about it, he immediately thought of the film’s director, Lan Naicai.

“I actually forgot about him! Damn it!” Xiao Ran slapped his thigh hard while driving, causing the car to swerve slightly and nearly hit the safety island. This made Wei Dongling break into cold sweat and shout that he wanted Xiao Ran to drive for him or else he would quit!

Xiao Ran was extremelyannoyedaned. Having been here for so long, he had forgotten such a rare talent—he was really getting older. The person he thought of was Lan Naicai, a director whose value, in Xiao Ran’s eyes, lay not in his directing skills.

In fact, Lan Naicai’s directing skills weren’t very up-to-date, but he still had his own unique style, making him highly suitable for directing fantasy films. Lan Naicai was definitely one of Hong Kong’s many undiscovered film geniuses, a master of special effects in Hong Kong.

He was truly a deserving master of special effects. It was said that he had mastered these skills entirely through self-study, and the special effects in many fantasy films of the 1980s were inseparable from his work. The most typical example was “Old Cat”—he made the cat-and-dog fight in that film ten times better than Hollywood’s high-tech special effects version, with completely realistic effects and brutal fights. Even Xiao Ran was deeply impressed by it.

The most brutal, bloody, and violent film in Hong Kong’s history, “The King of Power,” was directed and written by him. Xiao Ran truly can’t imagine how such realistic special effects were created under the current environment of Hong Kong cinema. It’s a pity that this person has disappeared since 1992, and no one knows where he went.

Xiao Ran only knew of this person because of a friend who was incredibly knowledgeable, almost like an encyclopedia of Hong Kong cinema. It was absolutely unforgivable of him to overlook such a master of special effects.

After feeling frustrated, Xiao Ran immediately pulled over and said in a very serious tone, “A Dong, the first thing to do when we go to work tomorrow is to find a director named Lan Naicai. I want to meet him!”

Wei Dongling was already used to Xiao Ran’s strange behavior—just like last time when he forced him to find an action director named Yuan Heping and get him to sign a contract. Shrugging his shoulders, he replied, “No problem. As long as he’s in Hong Kong, I’ll definitely find him!”

A few days later, Shadow Company rented a floor near Wan Chai and quickly moved there. The new office space was huge, over a thousand square meters, more than enough as an office building. Everyone in the company happily praised Xiao Ran’s achievement, as the previous office was really too small.

After further adjustments, the company members held their first meeting at the new address, with mostly administrative staff attending. Thinking he didn’t have to squeeze into the general manager’s office for meetings, Xiao Ran was extremely pleased.

He glanced at the company’s senior executives in the meeting room before smiling and saying, “Now that the company has enough funds for development, it’s about to get on track. Everyone, please briefly talk about the achievements since the company was founded.”

There was no need to go into details, but Shadow Company had been in operation for almost a year, and its achievements were quite good. So far, only two films had been released, yet they had already earned over 60 million. With more films in production or about to be released, the figures would only get higher.

The only regret was that Xiao Ran’s initial plan to produce ten films hadn’t been met. After everyone present briefly reported their achievements, Xiao Ran smiled, glanced around, and then slowly said, “The company’s strategy for the next year is to transform from a simple production company into a group company that combines production and distribution. Ge Wenqiu, you take it from here.”

The distribution manager was a young man—the one who had impressed Xiao Ran with his excellent research last time. He stood up, glanced around, and said, “Hong Kong produces over a hundred films every year, with that number increasing by 10% annually. Among them are some truly excellent films, but very few can be released in Southeast Asia.”

“According to our research, the Hong Kong market can hardly support such a large film industry, so we need to spread our efforts to Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States. Taiwan currently relies heavily on Hong Kong films, while in Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore, Hong Kong films also hold a significant market share.”

“Preliminary investigations show that the film market in Southeast Asia is worth up to 20 billion Hong Kong dollars, capable of accommodating at least 100 films for their initial release each year. Currently, Hong Kong films account for only 8% of this market, so there’s still plenty of room for improvement!” It was great to see Ge Wenqiu speaking so confidently here. However, he never expected to be suddenly promoted to department head back then.

He felt he could make a significant impact here, especially since the company’s owner was ambitious, which meant even more opportunities for growth. “So, distribution will become one of the main ways for the company to make money. If we can secure the rights to distribute one-third of the films produced in Hong Kong in Southeast Asia, the company’s performance will see a huge boost.”

Xiao Ran nodded in approval. He really appreciated Ge Wenqiu’s meticulous and serious attitude toward everything. Slamming the table firmly, Xiao Ran said solemnly, “Distribution will be a priority for the company next year, but production cannot be ignored either. As for production, I have no special requirements—strictness and excellence are enough. I don’t want shoddy work.”

“Regarding production, I’d also like to mention that while commercial films are important, artistic films shouldn’t be overlooked either!” At this point, Xiao Ran showed a faint smile. “But the most important are experimental films. We need to give newcomers enough opportunities to showcase their talents. To promote them, I’ve decided to acquire a small art cinema chain dedicated to showing niche artistic and experimental films!”

“In short, I want to tell everyone that talent is the most important thing at all times!” Xiao Ran’s smiling expression suddenly vanished, replaced by severity as he slammed the table. “Anyone who allows talent to slip through their fingers is committing a serious mistake that must be punished!”

*****
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