Chapter 147: The Rising Godfather

The Jiaolong family was easy to catch, but the Xiang family posed more trouble. Xiang Qiang had been keeping a close eye on the thirteenth son of the Xiang family for a long time before finally taking action himself to “invite” these people over.

Xiang Qiang was obviously furious that Xiao Ran, with whom he had always had a good relationship, had done such a thing. Not only him—several of Xiang Yi’an’s temperamental sons also wanted to storm upstairs to settle accounts with Xiao Ran. But Xiang Yi’an stopped them with a wry smile, saying, “Don’t go. Xiao Ran isn’t someone we can handle. Besides, by the rules, it’s already good enough that he didn’t kill us this time!”

Xiang Yi’an greatly admired Xiao Ran—his strength was so great that he could capture these sons and relatives all at once in just one night. This required not only martial prowess but also excellent intelligence and a well-planned strategy.

“There’s no way we can let him go. Otherwise, no one in the underworld will fear us anymore!” The thirteenth son, Xiang Bo, rushed upstairs in a fit of anger, his face turning pale. Within moments, he came back with his forehead covered in sweatdrops the size of broad beans.

Following Xiang Bo out were Xiao Ran and those two mysterious bodyguards. Xiang Bo’s condition looked terrible—his face turned blue and then red. Upon closer inspection, his arm was clearly broken, leaving him unable to move it.

Xiao Ran strode over to Xiang Yi’an and Jiaolong, clapped his hands gently, and said with a smile, “Uncle Xiang, Brother Long, I’ve taken very good care of your families. I’m leaving now. Have a good journey—no need to see me off!”

Under the fierce gazes of everyone present, Xiao Ran didn’t leave right away. Instead, he walked over to a car. The sunlight earlier had told him that he had captured the assassin sent by the Zhulian gang, and he now wanted to see what that guy looked like.

A smiling man stepped out of the car—it was the same man who had gone to “invite” Ghost King Dong. With a pull, he dragged out a young man with a determined look on his face. Xiao Ran studied him carefully. The guy was quite handsome, but unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong path.

Shaking his head slightly, Xiao Ran said to the smiling man, “A Dong, time for your show now!”

A Dong smiled as he pulled the assassin in front of Xiang Yi’an and Jiaolong and said nonchalantly, “I’m handing him over to you. Do whatever you want with him. Drive the troublemakers from the Zhulian gang out of Hong Kong tomorrow, wipe out those gangs that caused trouble a few days ago, and still, it’s up to you to deal with him.”

After saying that, A Dong left with a carefree and cheerful smile. It was unclear where he got so much joy from. Xiang Yi’an and Jiaolong exchanged glances, both seeing shock in each other’s eyes. Here, they witnessed Xiao Ran’s strength once again.

They both sighed and left, taking their relatives with them. They knew they had lost—completely lost to Xiao Ran. By inviting them here today, Xiao Ran had already shown off his skills and strength. They had still harbored a faint hope of revenge in the future, but upon seeing their relatives, they realized there was no chance left.

From the very beginning, they lost this war. They were even certain that if they hadn’t shown signs of surrendering, Xiao Ran would have mercilessly dealt with their relatives. Of course, they didn’t know that Xiao Ran initially planned to kill them all before putting his own people in power.
“There’s no point in fighting anymore. Starting today, Xin Yi’an must never provoke Mei Ying or Xiao Ran. Spread this message right away.” Xiang Yi’an explained the whole situation to his family and specifically mentioned Xiao Ran’s powerful background. His sons fell silent. “Stop running the film company. Find other ways to make money through money laundering!”
On his way home, Xiao Ran said nothing. He was thinking about more serious matters. This time, he had managed to get through by relying on force and intimidation, but ultimately it was because those retired soldiers were far more capable than he had imagined.
On the surface, it seemed like a good thing, and Xiao Ran really enjoyed the feeling of controlling everything. But he knew better—that control wasn’t in his hands but in those of the Chinese government. He absolutely couldn’t rely on force to do everything, as that would mean relying on the government, which could lead to endless problems in the future.
After becoming wary of this situation, he began to ponder it further. From interrogations of other assassins, it turned out that Wang Yang must have been provoked or influenced in the United States, going so far as to scream that he wanted to kill Xiao Ran. After giving a large sum of money to the Chuh Liang Bang, this demand was naturally met.
This raised questions: What had Wang Yang seen or done in the U.S. to be so provoked, causing him to return to Taiwan to kill Xiao Ran, when he should have been hiding and enjoying himself? What puzzled Xiao Ran even more was why Fang Ruohai was so confident about obtaining the distribution rights.
All of this was a mystery with no answers for now, but answers would surely be found in the future. As for why Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers joined forces with Hailuo Group, Xiao Ran had a rough idea. It was likely that Hollywood film companies were being used as a lure to attract Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers, while in reality, Haisen Group had no intention of acquiring any film companies. Over the past six months, Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers’ patience had gradually worn thin, leading them to show signs of disloyalty in their partnership with Hailuo Group.
Perhaps this was why Fang Ruohai had to secure the distribution rights as soon as possible to control distribution himself and avoid Golden Harvest’s indirect control. Distribution was extremely crucial—a poor movie could still make huge profits through distribution. Without distribution, even the most classic films would struggle to make any money. Thus, having strong distribution power meant controlling the film industry.
When he returned home, Lin Qingxia was waiting for him anxiously. From afar on the balcony, she saw Xiao Ran’s car arrive and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Ran got out of the car and smiled at Yang Guang and Monkey, saying, “Everyone’s been busy all day. Let’s go rest. And thank you! Please pass this message on to A Dong and the others for me.”

Upon seeing Lin Qingxia, Xiao Ran finally couldn’t hold back his passion. He immediately picked her up and rushed upstairs to their bedroom. His eager demeanor made Lin Qingxia both annoyed and amused…

After their passion subsided, Xiao Ran kissed her flushed, beautiful face. After a while, he leaned against the headboard and smiled at his beloved, saying, “Qingxia, something like this will never happen again. No matter how big the problem, it’s all resolved tonight.”

“Congrats, tycoon Xiao Ran!” Lin Qingxia, noticing that Xiao Ran’s eyes were fixed on her bare shoulders, deliberately pulled herself completely under the covers and said, “This time you’ve really won completely!”

“Why ‘tycoon’? I’m an entrepreneur!” Xiao Ran didn’t understand why Lin Qingxia used that term and asked in confusion, though he couldn’t help swallowing hard at her charming face.

Lin Qingxia also got up and leaned on Xiao Ran’s shoulder, saying in a sweet tone, “Don’t you know? An entrepreneur just has money, but a tycoon has both money and power. I think you’re like a heartless tycoon now…”

“Great, calling me heartless!” Xiao Ran laughed oddly as he scratched under Lin Qingxia’s armpit, making her burst into laughter. Stopping, he closed his eyes, then opened them again and said, “We’re not strong enough to deal with the Haisen Group for now. But if it’s Fang Ruohai, I think I have a way.”

Lin Qingxia was stunned and asked curiously, “What’s the way?”

“Want to know?” Xiao Ran grinned and glanced under the covers at her beautiful body. “It’s what I just thought of. Maybe if we try again, you’ll know!”

The next day, Xiang Yian and Jiaolong heard that Ghost King Dong had been killed on the street and immediately remembered Xiao Ran’s meaningful words before they left the previous night. Now they understood—they were the monkeys, and Ghost King Dong was the unfortunate chicken.

Meanwhile, since Ghost King Dong had no son or wife, there was no one to inherit his position, leading to chaos among the two major factions. But not long after the internal strife within Lianying broke out, all of them died violently on the streets within less than a week.

The bosses of Lianying’s various territories tried to seize this position, but after the scarred men secretly offered large sums of money, they agreed to support Mountain Cat, who then took over as the new leader of Lianying.

On the day Ghost King Dong’s body was found on the street, New Yian and the Thirteen K joined forces to drive out the members of the Bamboo Union. All of their businesses in Hong Kong were destroyed. By the third day, newspapers headlined the shocking news of Ghost King Dong’s mysterious murder.

It was also on this day that New Yian, the Thirteen K, and even the divided Lianying sent people to wipe out the gangs that had once harassed Shadow. By the fifth day, everyone in the underworld knew that Shadow and Xiao Ran were absolutely untouchable. For a time, Xiao Ran’s reputation in the underworld reached its peak, unmatched by anyone.

Xiao Ran wasn’t involved in any of these gang activities at all; he merely sent a few people to keep an eye on things to ensure everything was being carried out properly. By the fifth day, the gang had returned to calm after the chaos of the previous days, and by the seventh day, Mountain Cat officially took over as the leader. The week-long gang turmoil soon subsided. Thus, Xiao Ran completely eliminated all threats from the gang world.

Mountain Cat wasn’t one of Xiao Ran’s men, but the person he trusted the most now was Scar. Mountain Cat was well aware of Xiao Ran’s power, and with warnings from the other two major gangs, and knowing that the previous leader had been eliminated by Xiao Ran, he dared not provoke him any further.

Thirteen K was another new gang star supported by Xiao Ran’s money, but what concerned Xiao Ran the most was Ah Biao. He didn’t want Ah Biao to get involved in the gang world again. With his current influence, just one word from him would ensure that New Yee Ann would never bother Ah Biao again.

However, Xiao Ran also hoped that Ah Biao could help him control New Yee Ann. In the end, he still didn’t let Ah Biao go back—there were some things that didn’t necessarily require Ah Biao’s involvement. At least Ah Biao now owned 10% of the shares in Tianxia Fund, which was tens of millions—it was time for him to enjoy that wealth.

As for future gang-related matters, Xiao Ran left them to Guan Xin and Liang Kun, thereby showing those above that he had no intention of becoming a gang boss. He never intended to be involved with the gang world; he just wanted to drive them out of the film industry. Now that his goal had been achieved and someone else was in control of them, Xiao Ran was relieved.

Xiao Ran regretted only that he had returned in such a hurry and hadn’t had time to discuss several details with the film bureau. If those weren’t thoroughly understood, problems might arise in the future. Fortunately, 1989 wasn’t far away, and he would need to keep his distance starting next year, so there was no need to rush for now. The impacts of 1989 would likely only start to improve after the leaders’ southern tour in 1992.

So, for now, Xiao Ran’s main tasks were to seize the huge market in Southeast Asia and develop Europe. The filming of “Spy Change” in the mainland had been completed a few days earlier, and while the gang world was in chaos, Xiao Ran was working on the post-production for this film.

It was already almost July, leaving little time left to compete. Xiao Ran had great ambitions for this film—he not only aimed to win an award at the Golden Horse Awards but also wanted to use this action movie, which could rival Hollywood’s A-grade productions, to break into the French and even European markets.

He knew well that for a film to be commercially successful, it couldn’t be too niche. Artistic films could make money, but such cases were usually described as upsets or miracles. To sustain the film industry in the long term, commercial films aimed at the general public were essential.

Yet Xiao Ran didn’t want to produce formulaic, mass-produced films like Hollywood did. Therefore, he strictly ordered that producers must not interfere with the director’s duties, with producers only playing a guiding and coordinating role.

Hollywood operates on a producer system, where producers take over the director’s most important responsibilities. In the film empire Xiao Ran envisioned, however, he would center everything around the director and implement a director-centered system. On set, the director is everything. He didn’t want actors criticizing certain scenes or the director, even though this was common in Hollywood and future Hong Kong films.

This difference in the central system didn’t mean he completely rejected Hollywood. Xiao Ran highly agreed with Hollywood’s approach to meticulous production; serious creativity was necessary. A film directed by a director might have issues with creative techniques or vision, but basic mistakes from other positions were absolutely unacceptable.

While working on the post-production in the studio, the problem he had been worried about finally arose. Ge Wenqiu called and told Xiao Ran something that enraged him: “The distribution rights in Taiwan have been taken by the Hailuo Group…”