Chapter 101: It’s Imperative

“What? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!” Wei Dongling glared at Xiao Ran, shouting loudly enough for the employees outside to think there was a conflict between the general manager and the boss. In fact, there indeed was a conflict: “We absolutely cannot use the company as collateral for loans!”
Xiao Ran helplessly rubbed his nose. He hadn’t expected Wei Dongling to react so strongly. However, Wei Dongling’s firm tone was within his expectations; otherwise, Wei Dongling wouldn’t have been forced to resign over that famous merger.
“A Dong, I have my reasons. Please believe me!” Xiao Ran showed his utmost sincerity to the enraged Wei Dongling and decided to explain everything to him. “Why don’t you calm down first and listen to my reasons?”
Only then did Wei Dongling sit down, still slamming his hand on the table in frustration. Xiao Ran didn’t know what to say. Wei Dongling’s tone and actions made him feel like he was working for him—no wonder such a capable person found it hard to stay in one job for long.
“Do you know who Guan Xin is?” Xiao Ran didn’t jump straight to the point. He planned to explain everything, as even such a shrewd subordinate would surely be able to offer good advice. “He’s from the mainland. As you know, I think you might not realize he has quite a network and can obtain information we can’t.”
Wei Dongling was stunned. Even Master Guan had influence? He had never thought of that. Xiao Ran smiled helplessly. In fact, he knew very well that Xinhua News Agency in Hong Kong was the intelligence center of the National Security Bureau there, and two years later, its head had even defected.
With that, Guan Xin’s identity became clear. Xiao Ran had hesitated before confirming it because he thought such things only happened in movies, not in reality—after all, it seemed a bit absurd.
In fact, he could vaguely guess Guan Xin’s reason for staying by his side, but it was exactly what he wanted, so he hadn’t paid much attention. Seeing Wei Dongling’s surprise, Xiao Ran surprised him again: “A few months ago, I took some money from the company to invest in an investment fund for two friends. I hope this fund can become a backup force for Phantom.”
“But recently, I’ve noticed unusual trends in the stock market!” Xiao Ran was worried his plan might be exposed, as he knew nothing about stocks. “So, I decided to take this opportunity to make a profit here and use this money to strengthen the company!”
By then, Wei Dongling had recovered from his initial shock and said calmly, “If you decide to make money in stocks, I advise you not to. The risks are too high. It’s far less profitable than making movies! And you don’t even need to invest all your money.”

“Actually, if nothing unexpected happened, I would never have made such a choice!” Xiao Ran sighed. He certainly didn’t want to go against the Fang family, but from the moment he started pursuing Fang Ruoxin, enmity between them was inevitable. “But maybe you don’t know one thing—this is what my master told me: Fang Ruohai has returned to Hong Kong!”
“He’s back!” Wei Dongling’s expression changed drastically. He hadn’t had much to do with Fang Ruohai, but from those few encounters, he knew this wasn’t someone easy to deal with. “When did that happen? Why didn’t I know?”
“I just found out not long ago. That’s why I’m telling you now,” Xiao Ran took a deep breath and said, “We both know why Fang Ruohai has returned. And this time, he’s also involved Wang Yu and Wang Minggui.”
“Wait… I’m confused!” Wei Dongling could easily guess why Fang Ruohai had returned—the vicious words Fang Ruoxin had said under a fierce expression were published in the newspapers. After sorting out his thoughts, he suddenly understood: “You want to defeat Fang Ruohai in the stock market at once, but they have substantial financial resources. Just Wang Yu alone might be too much for us to handle, let alone three of them working together!”
“You don’t need to worry about that. In the stock market, I’m fully prepared and confident!” After saying this, Xiao Ran realized he had revealed too much and quickly tried to cover up: “As soon as I sensed something unusual in the stock market, I started preparing to get in!”
After hearing Xiao Ran’s plan, Wei Dongling stared at him with a strange look, making Xiao Ran feel uneasy. He asked, “You’re not gay, are you? Anyway, I’m not!”
Wei Dongling laughed heartily and punched Xiao Ran’s chest hard. “Go to hell! But don’t you think this plan is too risky? Besides, I find you to be very ruthless—how can you make such a determination? What if that market manipulator isn’t strong enough?”
Nonsense! Would anyone dare get involved in such chaos if they weren’t strong enough? Xiao Ran remembered that during the stock market crash in 1982, the British-owned company Jardine Matheson was desperate about Hong Kong’s return and decided to register the company in Bermuda. On the very day they announced this, Li Ka-shing, as if sensing that this news would cause the stock market to plummet, announced that Cheung Kong would give out a dividend of four dollars per share before the market even opened.
This dividend was the most generous in Hong Kong’s history, but even so, Li Ka-shing lost a whopping two billion dollars. Yet, even with that amount, it still couldn’t stop the stock market from falling. Trying to be a market manipulator without enough strength was nothing but seeking death.
Most importantly, Xiao Ran wasn’t a market manipulator—he didn’t need to confront Fang Ruoxin head-on. Moreover, he didn’t plan to gamble heavily on stocks; what he wanted was the index. If lucky, he could earn at least twice as much profit from this crisis.
To make this scenario more realistic, Wei Dongling even visited many banks to borrow more money. But Xiao Ran remembered that many banks had been affected by the stock market crash, so he ultimately chose Standard Chartered Bank.

A total of only 40 million was borrowed, and that was only because Phantom Company had three films in production. Otherwise, they probably wouldn’t have even gotten 20 million. However, this decision wasn’t made quickly; it wasn’t finalized until nearly October.

Wei Dongling managed to conceal well the fact that there was less than one million left in the finances, and at the right time, he indirectly let the traitor know about it. Meanwhile, Xiao Ran had already entered the market, starting to buy stocks in small amounts before the market makers drove up prices, aiming to accumulate capital.

The team that went to Venice had returned, and as Xiao Ran had predicted, they achieved nothing. The only gain was signing a contract with a French distribution company to sell the rights for the first screening in France. But the price was so low that it frustrated Xiao Ran—only 200,000 dollars.

Xiao Ran felt envious. If only he had encountered the stock market crash of 1973, when Hong Kong stocks dropped by 90%, the largest decline in the world. If he had been in that era with hundreds of millions at his disposal, he could have made billions in no time.

Despite his envy, Xiao Ran remained highly rational and continued to make all necessary preparations. Trading futures often decided outcomes within a single day, and he didn’t want to fail due to inadequate preparation.

Did Fang Ruohai plan to enter the market? That was a crucial question. After returning, Guan Xin gave Xiao Ran a casual answer: “They’re mobilizing funds and will be ready within three days!”

Fang Ruohai indeed planned to enter the market. To achieve a surprise effect, he even returned secretly. Aside from his family and a few assistants, no one knew he had returned.

These days, he had been thinking. In his eyes, Xiao Ran was a very steady person. Yet he also had an adventurous side, as evidenced by that gang incident. After the incident, Fang Ruohai analyzed everything and eventually came up with Xiao Ran as the culprit through a sudden realization.

Obviously, it must have been Xiao Ran who did it. From that perspective, Fang Ruohai greatly admired Xiao Ran’s boldness—his ability to act decisively and even challenge gang leaders. Most importantly, he had always assumed Xiao Ran was behind the whole thing, even though in reality, Xiao Ran was equally surprised by it.

In a sense, Fang Ruohai felt that Xiao Ran and he were the same kind of person—only he was better at business, while Xiao Ran was better at scheming. With that thought, he saw no reason for Xiao Ran to do such a foolish thing.

If making movies could yield ten times the profit, there was no reason for Xiao Ran to mortgage his film company and risk it all in the stock market. The more he got to know Xiao Ran, the more he found him inscrutable. He had always thought of Xiao Ran as a film talent, not realizing he was also a skilled decision-maker.

Now that Xiao Ran had entered the stock market, it left him utterly confused. He couldn’t help but ask the two people across from him, “What exactly is Xiao Ran trying to achieve? Is the stock market that attractive to him? Or is there something else that’s drawing him in?”

Wang Minggui didn’t know how to respond. He found Xiao Ran to be truly mysterious—capable of escaping even under such circumstances last time. Wang Yu clearly hadn’t realized how formidable Xiao Ran was and shouted indignantly, “Ah Hai, why be afraid of him? He’s just a kid. If it weren’t for your refusal, I would have dealt with him anytime!”
Gangsters are just gangsters! Fang Ruohai sighed inwardly. In his view, gangsters were absolutely beneath respect. If it weren’t for sharing the same enemy with these two, he would never have cooperated with Wang Yu.
To kill Xiao Ran, one should first consult the mysterious bodyguard by his side. Not even knowing that basic principle and still daring to get involved? Seeing Wang Minggui’s helpless expression and Fang Ruohai’s subtle mockery, Wang Yu thought of the mysterious bodyguard by Xiao Ran’s side and nearly blushed with embarrassment.
Thinking of the humiliation his sister had suffered, Fang Ruohai’s anger surged uncontrollably. After struggling to suppress his emotions, he looked up at the famous American trader drinking wine nearby and asked, “Tony, what do you think will happen to Hong Kong stocks soon?”
“It’s obvious—the market makers have entered the game. That Xiao Ran of yours definitely doesn’t have such strength,” Tony replied, also thin. He seemed proud and said, “But if it’s only the market makers at work, I believe it will take just half a month to achieve their goal! I think the other side is probably a bit weaker than me!”
Fang Ruohai, having the Chinese habit of modesty, didn’t like this self-praising American very much. Yet he trusted this American because, in the U.S., this trader was definitely top-tier, often nicknamed “the Golden Finger.”
Fang Ruohai quickly reached a conclusion: if Xiao Ran merely wanted to take advantage of the situation for profit, aside from this opportunity, it would be difficult to completely defeat him in the short term. So, he said seriously, “This battle is inevitable!”
“How much capital do Fang Ruohai and the others have for operations?”
This was Xiao Ran’s latest question. Wei Dongling had prepared in advance and answered immediately, “Wang Yu has a fortune of around 40 million. Given his usual hostility toward the underworld, it’s unlikely he has any underworld funds involved! Wang Minggui is in manufacturing and has a fortune of around 350 million. As for Fang Ruohai, we know nothing about him!”
Tomorrow is October 1st. Starting from tomorrow, Xiao Ran would personally oversee this war, which might last half a month. Any preparatory work before that would be effective. After pondering for a moment, he quickly came up with an answer: “Wang Yu isn’t the kind of person who dares to take risks. I believe Fang Ruohai mainly relies on his influence; his financial resources can be ignored.”
“As for Wang Minggui, he has a deep-seated grudge against me. Given his business nature, he might not invest everything this time. But I believe he will mobilize as much liquid capital as possible! According to you, his company has about 50–60 million in liquid capital, which means he’s likely to invest 30 million!”
Rong Xiaoyi frowned and summarized for Xiao Ran, “It seems Fang Ruohai is the main player this time. But how much money does he actually have? If we can’t figure that out, we’re likely to suffer a crushing defeat.”

After skimming through the Fang family’s report that Guan Xin had brought, Xiao Ran touched his nose. The Fang family owned a fortune of ten billion dollars—a truly enormous amount. Moreover, their assets in industrial sectors were not particularly large, accounting for just over 70% of their total wealth. This meant they had considerable liquid capital. The question was, how much did Fang Ruohai have?

“I personally think it’s not a big problem. You might not know how much money the broker has invested!” Fang Xiaoqiang shrugged nonchalantly. “The broker is currently involved in seven stocks, but I believe they will definitely choose the three most suitable ones as their final targets. So, based on this, the broker must have at least ten billion dollars. It’s unlikely that Fang Ruohai, on his own, can come up with that much money!”

Yet Xiao Ran still sensed something was off, though he couldn’t pinpoint what. He turned to look at Fang Xiaoqiang, suppressing a smile as he said seriously, “Xiaoqiang, explain the situation to us!”

“I really don’t understand. I’m not even a famous trader. Why would you ask me to handle such a large sum of money?” Fang Xiaoqiang’s eyes sparkled with amusement as he looked at Xiao Ran, as if Xiao Ran were his mentor. “The broker has chosen a clever timing. The stock market has already been unstable, and prices kept rising even before they entered the market.”

“If the broker manipulates things a bit more, I think things will start moving within the next day or two!” Fang Xiaoqiang’s expression was almost as if he regarded stocks as his wife—quite eerie. “I think, just to be safe, we can try selling some of our stocks tomorrow. If they take them all, it means they’re worried about the overall situation and don’t care about us riding along. That way, we can be confident in the upcoming battles.”

After dropping Wei Dongling and Guan Xin downstairs at Xiaoyao Wo, Wei Dongling finally couldn’t help asking, “A Ran, are you really planning to confront Fang Ruohai head-on? Is it worth it? Actually, we can develop the company slowly. With our current performance and your vision, I think it won’t take long before we have enough funds for development!”

“There’s no time!” Xiao Ran could only reply indifferently.

Hollywood’s seven major film companies truly began to take shape in the 1980s. At the beginning of this year, Samsung merged with Columbia, which was later acquired by Coca-Cola. In 1989, Warner Bros., the leader in Hollywood, merged with Time Inc. to form Time Warner. In the same year, Sony spent 3.4 billion dollars to buy Columbia from Coca-Cola, enabling Coca-Cola to earn more than triple its profits within two years.

One of the seven major companies, MGM, tried to produce the ultra-luxurious film “Heaven’s Gate” in the early 1980s. This effort led to the bankruptcy of its subsidiary United Artists and left MGM struggling ever since, until it was acquired by Sony in 2004.

The other major film companies also underwent restructuring and mergers in the 1990s to reorganize themselves. Without these mergers and acquisitions to inject new vitality into those seven major companies, it’s unlikely they would have been able to dominate global cinema.

If Phantom wants to grow into a global film company, it must do everything before Warner and Time merge and Sony makes its acquisition. Once it reaches a certain scale, other divisions should be divested to make Phantom the main parent company responsible for distribution and financing—that’s the key. Think about the price Sony paid to acquire Columbia two years ago: 3.4 billion dollars. That’s an enormous figure, certainly one that Xiao Ran can’t match for several years. To make the first leap, there must be enough capital to transform Phantom into a distribution company, and this stock market crash is an excellent opportunity. Xiao Ran definitely won’t miss this chance, unless he intends to fall behind Hollywood over the next few years. Guan Xinwei glanced at Xiao Ran with a smile, somewhat admiring his courage, and said slowly, “We only have 110 million in funds right now; I’m afraid that’s not enough. Why don’t you find others to collaborate with?” “No, you know we’re just riding on others’ success!” Xiao Ran certainly wished he had more capital to control everything, but he shook his head and said, “But if we have too much capital, it will surely alarm the big players, and then they might become our rivals!” “Never mind, the company is yours—your decision stands!” Although Wei Dongling’s tone seemed resigned, he was still very excited. After all, such a major battle wasn’t something ordinary people could encounter, and he also had a strange confidence in Xiao Ran. “There’s no rush. We’re still young. If we lose, we still have a chance to make a comeback!” Xiao Ran didn’t realize his words sounded somewhat ominous, but that’s just how he was. Before doing anything, he not only considered what would happen if he won but also what would happen if he lost—that’s prudence. Watching the two head back to Xiaoyaowo, Xiao Ran’s heart pounded. How could he not be nervous? Before, he was just an ordinary person, but now he could manipulate hundreds of millions in the stock market. Such a huge contrast made even the experienced Xiao Ran feel emotionally stirred. What if he succeeded? It would bring him closer to Hollywood and give him some leverage to compete with them. What if he failed? He still had enough capital to make a comeback, though competing with Hollywood would become unattainable. At most, he could help Hong Kong cinema avoid extinction in twenty years. He drove straight to Lin Qingxia’s house. He found himself liking to come here more and more, as if he felt uncomfortable if he didn’t come every day. From afar, he saw Lin Qingxia coming forward joyfully. Xiao Ran smiled peacefully, gently took her hand, and whispered in her ear, “I miss you so much!” “I miss you too!” Lin Qingxia replied tenderly, her eyes filled with love for Xiao Ran, making him instinctively embrace her. “I’m not going back today. Can I rest here with you?” Xiao Ran was very tired. Over the past period, he had prepared a lot for this battle and was exhausted. Only here could he truly rest: “I’m so tired.”

Lin Qingxia looked at Xiao Ran gently, trying to place her hand on his head to stroke his hair. Though this gesture suited her well, she couldn’t bring herself to do it—always like this. She naturally didn’t know that Xiao Ran was actually a little older than her, and his usual mature demeanor made it impossible for him to act in a way that resembled caring for a younger brother.

She stood up, poured a glass of water for Xiao Ran, and said concerningly, “Take a break. Don’t work yourself so hard. Look, you haven’t even shaved properly! No one has taken care of you these days, and you’ve become so disheveled.”

Xiao Ran took a sip of water, and the cool liquid finally calmed his mind. Smiling, he stared at Lin Qingxia and said, “That’s right. That’s why I want someone to take care of me. I was wondering, Sister Lin, would you be willing to?”

Lin Qingxia felt a bit embarrassed by his teasing words. After thinking for a while, she said worriedly, “Do you mean to go to the stock market yourself? No matter where you go, you’ll definitely have no one to take care of you for a while. How about I go with you?”

“No!” Xiao Ran shook his head and refused by touching his nose. “I think such a scene isn’t suitable for you. If you see too much, it might accelerate your aging!”

At that, Xiao Ran couldn’t help but touch his beard. In fact, he didn’t have a full beard yet—just two strands above his lips. He had always wanted to grow a moustache, like Liu Hua’s in *New Shanghai*. He thought that kind of beard suited him well.

Of course, the most important reason was that he believed having such a moustache would make him look more mature at just 24 years old. This way, he would seem more suitable for Lin Qingxia, and there would be less negative public opinion if things went wrong in the future.

Lin Qingxia never expected Xiao Ran to be so thoughtful about creating a logical foundation for their future. If she had known, she would have been thrilled. None of the others had ever thought of her this way before; probably only Xiao Ran could care for her so wholeheartedly.

The next day, after preparing everything, Xiao Ran was about to leave when he noticed Lin Qingxia handing him a bag. When he opened it, he found it filled with daily necessities. Deeply moved, he gently hugged her and said, “Qingxia, it’s all for you. I must win this battle!”

The command center was not far from the stock market, and many telephones had been set up there days earlier. Wei Dongling had thought of everything, fearing that someone might damage the phone lines like in the movie *Ghostbusters*, so he even bought two cell phones.

Xiao Ran glanced at the brick-like cell phones on the table. He had never bought one because he couldn’t get used to the idea of returning to a primitive lifestyle. But now, he had no choice but to make use of them.

Only Xiao Ran, Fang Xiaoqiang, and Guan Xin were in the command center. Rong Xiaoyi and A Qiang went to the exchange themselves, along with a few skilled operators—someone needed to be on-site to carry out the tasks directly.

Xiao Ran’s advantage lies in his clear knowledge of the exact rise and fall figures for those three days, which seemingly puts him in an invincible position. But what advantages does Fang Ruohai have? Besides his determination to thwart Xiao Ran, what drives him to enter the competition and settle things with him?

A war without gunpowder is about to begin—a war where only those who laugh last win; no single victory or defeat along the way can determine the ultimate outcome…

*****
What is the first release? It refers to the first round of public screening after a film is completed. Often, a film isn’t done just after one round of release. Due to various reasons, some films are shown again after a few years, and that’s not considered a first release. For example, “ET” was shown again a few years ago. The box office figures and film statistics published annually by the Hong Kong Film Association are calculated based on films in their first release. Therefore, the rights for a first release are very different from all other release rights.

Note: Meet at Sanjiang Pavilion at 8 p.m. tomorrow. Hehe!

Additionally, I recommend the new work “Rebellion” by renowned author A San Shou Ma: http://www.feiku.com/showbook.asp?bl_id=35221