Chapter 263: Good News from Dongling

The British government in Hong Kong underwent a complete purge, and the first thing the new governor did was invite Xiao Ran for a secret meeting. Legislation on anti-monopoly laws and tax increases was quickly revoked, as Xiao Ran and the three major conglomerates made it clear to the governor that Hong Kong’s film industry was not yet stable enough, and anti-monopoly measures might not be effective. Of course, it’s unknown whether the governor revoked these laws for that reason or because of Xiao Ran.
At least Xiao Ran could relax for a while now—having dealt with his rivals and difficulties, it was only right to take a break. Before that, Shadow Group held a very comprehensive executive meeting, the largest in its history. At this meeting, Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling set the group’s future strategic goals.
Before deciding to hold this meeting crucial to Shadow Group’s future strategy, Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling had a fierce argument in the office. The argument was so intense that the secretary thought two Spanish bulls were fighting inside.
The core issue of their argument was Shadow Group’s future direction. The reason for the argument was quite simple: Wei Dongling believed Shadow Group’s current system was no longer suitable for the future economic landscape, while Xiao Ran thought the group should focus strategically on the future.
So, they started arguing without even listening carefully to each other. After a long fight, with their voices hoarse, Wei Dongling finally caught his breath, poured some water for Xiao Ran, and planned to continue!
Xiao Ran was also breathing heavily. His physical condition wasn’t much different from Wei Dongling’s, so after the argument, both were almost out of breath. Shaking his head at Wei Dongling, Xiao Ran raised the white flag: “I’m not arguing with you anymore. Let’s rest for a while before continuing!”
After resting for a while, Wei Dongling finally said to Xiao Ran with a smile, “You’re good at speaking and can inspire people with your speeches, but you’re terrible at arguing. But fine, let’s talk seriously—no more nonsense!”
If the secretary had heard the words of these two leaders of Shadow Group, his glasses might have fallen to the floor. Who would have thought these two would find arguing fun? But it was understandable. Especially Wei Dongling, who was always working and rarely had time to relax. Xiao Ran could only accompany him in arguing a few times to help him vent his frustration.
“What I mean by the system is the management and financial systems. Let’s not talk about the financial system for now; I think you understand.” Wei Dongling caught his breath and took a sip of the wine obtained through coercion from a vineyard bought by Xiao Ran in France. “The company’s management system is indeed not perfect. Or rather, if we let the current system continue, in a few years, we’ll find it hard to keep up with the progress of the times!”
Xiao Ran didn’t say anything, only gently swaying the water in his glass, just like he would with red wine. After pondering for a while, Wei Dongling slowly said, “I’ve thought about it for a long time. I believe the current management style is too decentralized. If we don’t have enough energy, it will be difficult to make the right decisions.”
“What do you mean?” Xiao Ran wasn’t surprised. Wei Dongling’s efforts were proof enough.

“It’s simple—change. We need to change!” Wei Dongling suddenly found himself using Xiao Ran’s catchphrase and quickly glared at him before continuing, “I think it’s time to merge other industries together, using each as a flagship company, with Shadow serving as the overarching flagship to manage everything. This way, with power decentralized, things will be much easier for us.”
“For example, Shuxiang and Asia TV—why not merge them into a separate media group with its own management team?” Wei Dongling took a breath and glanced at Xiao Ran, who was listening attentively. “In the electronics industry, besides Nokia, we also control several other companies that can be merged as well.”
“But if we split them off originally and now merge them back, isn’t that going back to the way things were?” Xiao Ran frowned. He had originally planned to list the companies separately but later realized that listing was usually just for raising funds or financing. Since Shadow wasn’t short of money, there was no need to list it.
“Don’t forget that after the split, each subsidiary developed many outstanding talents. For instance, Bai Pengfei—did you know he could manage Shuxiang so well before it was split?” Wei Dongling smiled reassuringly; in his view, none of this was a problem. “You have to consider that the company currently controls too many subsidiaries, which can easily lead to chaos in systems, management, and even finances.”
Xiao Ran thought of the famous Enron bankruptcy in the future, which occurred precisely because of the reasons Wei Dongling had mentioned. Now that Wei Dongling had predicted this in advance, Xiao Ran certainly had no reason to object!
Seeing Xiao Ran nod, Wei Dongling leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes comfortably. “I’ve thought about it. Since the company focuses on entertainment media, electronics and telecommunications, real estate-related businesses, and financial investments, we can use these as the five flagship companies.”
Xiao Ran nodded again. “What I want to say is simple: we need to be fully prepared for the information age. The Internet and computers are becoming more mature by the day, and in just a few years, they will become an indispensable force in the world!”
Wei Dongling hadn’t heard Xiao Ran say this for the first time and replied effortlessly, “I’ve considered it. All the famous computer companies in the world are American, so it’s impossible for us to become the largest shareholder. Therefore, we can only maintain our current shareholdings. Of course, we can establish computer hardware and software companies under the electronics company. As for Internet operations you mentioned, that naturally falls under telecommunications.”
“If you’ve already said everything, what’s left for me to say?” Xiao Ran glared at Wei Dongling before sighing dejectedly, “In my vision, entertainment media will be the core of Shadow’s core. Electronic technology, telecommunications, and Internet application technologies will all serve this goal. So, future development must focus on electronic informatization!”

“The media business is simple: Hong Kong is the most important base for expansion across Asia. In Europe, with the UK as the base, we strive to defeat Murdoch. I think there’s still a need for more games like Millionaire. In North America, it’s not easy to develop, but we can leverage Universal’s strength to expand in media. Once we split it off to Shuxiang, we’ll basically have a global media network!”
“That’s great—able to attack or defend, ensuring Phantom doesn’t run out of options!” Wei Dongling meant that by spreading Phantom’s core industries, risks could be diversified.
Xiao Ran shrugged nonchalantly, “That’s roughly it. You’ll handle the actual operations. After arranging the group restructuring, you’ll have time to marry Li Jiaxin and go on your honeymoon!”
Over the next three months, under Wei Dongling’s personal leadership, Phantom’s restructuring was successful, making it more efficient. Strict systems allowed enough room for creativity—this was what Xiao Ran advocated: a balance of strictness and flexibility.
Shuxiang Media officially stepped onto the stage, becoming the most influential media company on the Eurasian continent. Hopewell became the flagship company in telecommunications, and Tianxia Fund was officially integrated into Power’s investment companies, retaining the name Tianxia Investment Fund. In the electronics industry, Wei Dongling didn’t make Nokia the flagship company but instead placed it under Power. There was also Kinetic, managed by Bill—though he mainly served as a figurehead, as he didn’t understand business matters.
In real estate, infrastructure, sales, and hotels, Mingxuan became the flagship company in these areas. The only tricky part was the film industry, which was difficult to integrate, so the old management system was continued. In fact, other companies related to film had shifted focus to other industries—for example, Sihai now concentrated on sales and even ventured into chain supermarkets.
When Shuxiang Media merged with ATV Group, Xiao Ran instructed Bai Pengfei to sell some of his newspapers, keeping only the most influential and successful ones. Xiao Ran knew well that in the future, traditional print media’s role would gradually decline, with television and the internet becoming key. Interestingly, due to excellent management, selling just seven newspapers and magazines generated profits of over 8 billion.
Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling controlled seven flagship companies, but in reality, Phantom held the shares of other companies as well. This meant that, including the shares of other companies, the total market value of the seven flagship companies reached 1 trillion Hong Kong dollars. However, with acquisitions, their debts also amounted to nearly 30 billion US dollars. Of course, since companies like Hopewell weren’t fully owned, Xiao Ran’s assets weren’t that large.
According to Asia Weekly, Phantom’s restructuring this time would give birth to a massive fleet—a fleet capable of dominating the world. In fact, news about Phantom’s restructuring did persist for a long time, becoming one of the hottest financial stories in Asia at the time. Especially surprising was the merger of the already well-known Tianxia Fund.

In March 1994, Wei Dongling was finally about to marry Li Jiaxin. Xiao Ran, watching the nervous Wei Dongling from the groom’s side in the church, couldn’t help but burst into laughter. He glared at him viciously and said, “Interesting, right? Remember how someone played tricks on me during my last wedding?”
“Stop, let’s talk about it later. At most, I’ll give you some face—extorting you once a year!” Wei Dongling felt his heart struggling to bear the pressure and quickly begged Xiao Ran for mercy. Yet, his way of pleading was rather strange.
Xiao Ran smiled and put his hand on Fa Ge’s shoulder, saying, “Fa Ge, this kid is way luckier than me. When I got married, only a few people showed up. Who would have thought that for his wedding, Li Ka-shing and the Governor of Hong Kong would both be there!”
Fa Ge couldn’t help but laugh even harder. The friendship between Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling was truly strangely interesting. “Isn’t it because he’s getting some of your luck? I thought it was you.”
“Forget it, Fa Ge. I’m after all the CEO of the prestigious Shadow Group, with an annual salary of tens of millions and a net worth of over a hundred billion. Don’t I deserve any respect? Do I still need to rely on him?” Wei Dongling was grateful to Xiao Ran, knowing he was trying to lighten his mood by being playful. Of course, on the surface, he had to act dismissive.
“Dong Ge, that’s not fair. You only have over a hundred billion—how can that compare to Ran Ge, who has over a trillion and ranks 14th on Forbes?” Fang Xiaoqiang glanced at the two with a smile and included them in his teasing.
Over the years, Fang Xiaoqiang had been working for a investment company under Power, traveling around to seek opportunities and rarely staying in Hong Kong. This time, he had come back specially from the Netherlands to discuss an investment deal with Philip.
At this mention, Xiao Ran grew furious and glared at the groom. This time, due to the company’s rapid expansion and the sharp rise in Microsoft’s stock price, his ranking had gone up, giving Wei Dongling an opportunity to extort him. And Wei Dongling actually demanded a plane from him—thankfully not a Boeing, or else Xiao Ran would have died from rage.
The Crown Prince, who loved flying and owned a private plane, had expressed admiration for Wei Dongling’s plane. When he mentioned this to Xiao Ran later, Xiao Ran’s expression turned grim. It was frustrating—someone with a net worth of over a hundred billion still trying to extort him; truly heartless.
“Xiaoqiang, you…” Xiao Ran’s target of anger grew by one more. Fa Ge immediately started clicking his tongue. “Now I know where Dong gets all those Rolls-Royces from. By the way, Ran, you know I really like cars of this brand, right?”
Xiao Ran almost fainted—at least he pretended to. He never expected even Fa Ge to try to extort him. Xiao Ran sighed heavily, “It’s truly a decline in morals and human integrity! There’s no hope left.”
“How’s it going, Ran? Is it okay?” After relaxing, Wei Dongling’s mood gradually eased, and he asked Xiao Ran in front of the mirror. He felt this was the most nervous moment of his life—hundreds of times more stressful than when acquiring Wah Tung, which involved billions of dollars. This was what true heart palpitations felt like.

“Great, you look even handsomer than usual today!” Xiao Ran gave a completely unreliable answer with a serious expression. He suddenly remembered the day he married Lin Qingxia—hadn’t he been just as nervous as Wei Dongling back then? Now that he had both a son and a daughter, the thought filled him with sweetness.

It was time. Wei Dongling stepped forward to the priest, while Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxia turned to look outside. Li Jiaxin was coming in with her father. Xiao Ran had to admit that Li Jiaxin was absolutely stunning; it was hard to find a better adjective. But in terms of appearance alone, he thought there were hardly any Hong Kong celebrities who could compare to her.

After the ceremony officially declared them husband and wife, everyone went outside together. Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxia held each other’s hands tightly, both recalling their own wedding day, and smiles gradually appeared in their eyes as they looked at one another.

The subsequent photo sessions were much simpler but also more lively—this was what made Western-style weddings so exciting. Wei Dongling led the happy bride over to Xiao Ran, nudged him, and said, “Hey, time for photos! Everyone’s waiting for you!”

After taking a few group photos, Xiao Ran suddenly became enthusiastic and asked the photographer to take some individual photos of the two couples. Only then did Wei Dongling pat Xiao Ran’s shoulder and say with deep emotion, “Ah Ran, think back—we both started from scratch. I never expected that ‘Shadow’ could grow to where it is today in less than ten years. It’s really not easy!”

Xiao Ran took a deep breath. This feeling moved him deeply; his nose stung. He managed to signal to the photographer before saying to Wei Dongling, “Let’s take some photos alone… Without you over the years, there would be no ‘Shadow’ as it is now. I really don’t know what to say. You really are something—you even refused the shares! Just think, 10% equity is worth 20 billion! I’m really impressed by you!”

“Money is just money—as long as there’s enough to spend!” Wei Dongling changed his posture, laughed heartily, and leaned close to Xiao Ran like brothers. “I just love working and using my abilities. Besides, without your foresight, I wouldn’t be able to do anything!”

Xiao Ran nodded and patted Wei Dongling’s shoulder at the same time, both bursting into laughter. At that moment, tycoons like Li Ka-shing and Prince Rong approached Wei Dongling. Jewelry magnate Zheng Yutong smiled and extended her hand to him, saying, “Mr. Wei, congratulations! To have such a stunning bride—how enviable!”

“Please, please, Director Zheng. I even bought my wedding ring from your store!” Wei Dongling laughed and raised his hand to show it. “As expected, you truly are the king of Hong Kong jewelry!”

“Mr. Wei, there’s no need to rush back from your honeymoon. Enjoy it!” Li Ka-shing seemed very happy. “Don’t think about business yet. We’ll discuss that investment when you return. Don’t neglect your bride!”

“I’ve left everything here to Xiao Ran. I’ll go and relax for a month before coming back—I’ll make this kid work hard so he can understand my hardships!” Wei Dongling glared fiercely at Xiao Ran.

Wei Dongling and Li Jiaxin left by private plane. Xiao Ran stared at the sky for a long time before finally lowering his head, smiling at Lin Qingxia and bringing his face closer: “Wife, I want to…”