Chapter 157: Dividing the Profits

Fang Ruohai certainly didn’t have Xiao Ran’s leisurely attitude. He had originally planned to return after winning the summer battle to help Fang Poli seize more control of Bowen Group. It was clear now that he couldn’t go back. Still, he had great confidence in his father and brother. Yet, thinking of his younger sister, who had become a sacrifice, he felt bitter.
The younger sister was the third sacrifice of the Fang family. If their mother was counted, she might even be the fourth. In previous years, the two brothers of the Fang family had continuously expanded their wealth through marriages. It was Fang Poli’s skillful tactics of “small fish eating big fish” that allowed the Fang family’s wealth to grow rapidly in recent years. If they could seize Wen Bowen’s assets this time, they would truly reach a new level.
But after receiving his father’s call, which was almost like good news of success, Fang Ruohai became extremely depressed. Because he believed his greatest rival was now living happily and seemed out of his reach.
When it came to the underworld, though Fang Ruohai wouldn’t hesitate to use any means, he still disliked such methods. Most importantly, he knew very well that the underworld now belonged to Xiao Ran. Perhaps he should be grateful that Xiao Ran hadn’t sent someone to kill him.
In terms of film performance, Hailue was far from competing with Shadow. All this was the source of his frustration. What made things worse was that due to a lack of professionals with advanced concepts, “Passion Unleashed” hadn’t been released anywhere in Southeast Asia yet.
But soon he realized it was useless, especially when his secretary rushed in, pale-faced, with a document. The document clearly stated that Lin Guiyun unilaterally terminated the distribution contract, and Fang Ruohai had made several concessions to win it. This meant he could no longer pursue compensation from Lin Guiyun.
As his face turned deathly white, he quickly learned of several other pieces of news. The theater chains in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, and the Philippines had turned to Tianluo Company. That damned Yang Qi, who deserved to go to hell, not only defected to Xiao Ran but also pulled such a stunt at this moment.
But it wasn’t over yet. News finally reached him that Xiao Ran had successfully secured the distribution rights in Japan, South Korea, and the mainland, becoming Hong Kong’s largest distribution company. Fang Ruohai almost collapsed, his face extremely pale, his breathing seemingly paused.
He had lost! These two words echoed in Fang Ruohai’s mind. The news hit his heart like heavy hammers, nearly driving him to collapse. Just when he thought nothing could be undone, an accident occurred.
This accident was a person—a general manager of a supermarket chain. This manager clearly told him that it was possible to surpass Shadow in box office earnings. Confused, Fang Ruohai’s heart pounded. If he could make local box office revenue exceed that of “Spy Change,” he might at least regain some face.

When the general manager told Fang Ruohai that to achieve high box office earnings, one could simply “fabricate numbers,” Fang Ruohai didn’t quite understand this Hong Kong-style term. The general manager smiled mysteriously and told him frankly, “It means faking! As long as you’re willing to cooperate with supermarket chains, I guarantee your movie will definitely see its box office numbers rise in no time!”
What is “fabricating numbers”? It refers to the tactics used by film companies to fake box office figures. Everyone knows that a movie with high box office earnings is more attractive, simply because people are curious about why it performed so well. Thus, fabricating numbers becomes a means to boost box office figures.
After the mid-1990s, Hong Kong film companies lost control and planning, leading to countless instances of such manipulation. For example, in the case of “Kung Fu,” its box office earnings had already started to decline, but through various activities like giving away movie tickets, its earnings suddenly rose, eventually breaking box office records. Of course, whether this counts as fabricating numbers is a matter of opinion.
Fabricating numbers means that film companies spend their own money to buy their own movie tickets. Don’t think it’s not worthwhile—firstly, it can boost box office earnings; secondly, as in the case of “Kung Fu,” it can even help break records, making it seem worthwhile.
Fang Ruohai was tempted. Faking is not uncommon in business; as long as it’s done properly, it’s definitely effective. Still, he hesitated for a moment, thought carefully, and only after realizing he had no way back did he say, “What effect could this possibly have?”
What effect? Xiao Ran knew exactly the effect. The most famous case of fabricating numbers in Hong Kong occurred in 1992, when the three major film companies were completely out of control, in a state of chaos. As a result, some companies went to extreme lengths to promote certain movies.
“That movie was ‘Divine Fortune.’ The film company managed to inflate its box office earnings to 36 million, with at least half of that being fake. All sorts of tactics were used, leaving the two innocent lead actors, Li Ming and Xu Guanwen, to suffer the consequences of the company’s foolish actions.”
The general manager smiled happily and said, “As long as you have the courage, I guarantee we can fabricate at least 10 million in box office earnings, as long as you’re willing to invest that amount!”
Fang Ruohai understood that this was actually very beneficial for supermarkets, as it directly promoted their products. So, driven by his desire to win, he stopped considering other factors and gritted his teeth, saying, “Okay, I’ll invest 15 million. We must surpass ‘Shadow!’”
After hanging up the call from Rong Xiaoyi, Xiao Ran’s lips gradually curved into a sinister smile, which spread across his face, turning into a look of pleasure. He knew there were no more problems—Fang Ruohai was now trapped in his web, and all that was left was to decide when to pull the net shut.
“Aran, have you read the morning newspaper?” Lin Qingxia asked Xiao Ran in a strange tone. Xiao Ran turned to look, and Lin Qingxia handed him a glass of water, looking displeased—yet still incredibly beautiful.

Xiao Ran’s heart skipped a beat as he suddenly remembered the gossip news from earlier—several newspapers had implied that he was supporting Li Jiaxin, even including pictures as proof. It must have been taken when he went to see her. Although Xiao Ran felt innocent, the affectionate images made it hard for him to defend himself.

“That’s purely the media’s speculation. Li Jiaxin is just a contracted artist with the company now!” Xiao Ran hurried over to Lin Qingxia, eager to hug her to show his feelings. “Besides, she’s in a bit of trouble, and I’m going to help her solve it.”

“I don’t believe it!” Lin Qingxia’s expression turned cold. Seeing Xiao Ran’s nervous attempt to explain, she realized just how much he valued her. Then she suddenly laughed. “Silly, I was just teasing you.”

Xiao Ran was stunned for a moment before angrily rushing forward and catching Lin Qingxia, who was screaming and trying to escape, in his arms. Gently laying her down on the bed, he grinned and said, “I’m going to punish you for not trusting me…”

Within a few days, newspapers across Hong Kong noticed something strange with the box office earnings of “Passion Unleashed.” Initially, it only earned 400,000 per day for three consecutive days, but the next day it soared to 1 million. Although this upward trend didn’t last long, it didn’t drop much either.

Such a clear pattern meant everyone in the world understood what was going on. As the world waited for Meiying and Jiahé to take action, neither company said a word, as if they had completely accepted this situation. People began to wonder if the two major companies had colluded.

Xiao Ran had indeed reached an agreement with Jiahé. Rather than saying it was an agreement with Jiahé, it was more accurate to say that the four major companies in Hong Kong, aside from Hailè, secretly met. This happened the day before. Xiao Ran contacted Jiahé, the only company he hadn’t yet worked with, to discuss things.

Zou Wenhui agreed readily. He was already very dissatisfied with Hailè—such blatant deception was a disgrace. The three major companies generally understood what Xiao Ran wanted to discuss, and their presence indicated that their opinions were similar.

In the meeting room at Meiying Company, the leaders of the three major companies gathered, with coffee still steaming in front of them. When Zou Wenhui saw Xiao Ran enter, he quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, President Xiao. Last time it was because…”

Xiao Ran waved his hand lightly, stopping Zou Wenhui, and said thoughtfully while tapping the table, “Let’s not talk about the past. I called everyone here today to hear your opinions on Hailè Group!”

Pan Disheng remained silent, simply shrugging his shoulders, as if agreeing to deal with Fang Ruohai, just like Xiao Ran often did. Yang Qi naturally wouldn’t object either. However, Xiao Ran had already investigated Yang Qi’s background. This kid wasn’t ordinary—his parents were wealthy, with a fortune of tens of millions of dollars. It was unclear why he stayed in Hong Kong to work for that tiny company…

Zou Wenhui hesitated for a moment; he still had some desire for Hollywood. But he quickly made up his mind, knowing full well that Phantom Company was now the only firm in all of Hong Kong capable of matching Carrefour in strength. Even without considering Carrefour, Xiao Ran could still succeed no matter what he did.

Seeing that they had all expressed their opinions, Xiao Ran finally showed a relieved smile. It seemed these people weren’t completely foolish after all. “In any industry, there are rules to follow. Those who don’t abide by them have no choice but to be eliminated. Hailue Group must be eliminated. Moreover, if Fang Ruohai becomes a troublemaker in Hong Kong, my principle is to eradicate him—anyone who disrupts order or breaks the rules!”

The three had no objections to this. That’s how business worked—unless you wanted to keep enemies who might hold grudges against you. Xiao Ran smiled happily. “Now that Hailue Group has lost its distribution rights in Southeast Asia, its films can only be shown in local theaters. What we need to do is simple: announce to the entire industry that no one is allowed to take on Hailue’s projects, or they’ll be immediately banned!”

“That might not necessarily be enough to eliminate Hailue,” Zou Wenhui said. Since he had decided to deal with Fang Ruohai, his determination to succeed in business meant he was fully committed to destroying Hailue. “We need some other strategies…”

“I have my own plans. You just need to do as I say!” Xiao Ran waved his hand dismissively, cutting off Zou Wenhui’s words in a domineering manner. “I said I’d eliminate him within three months—not even heaven can save him!”

“As for the distribution of profits after Hailue Group collapses…” Xiao Ran already had ideas on this but deliberately didn’t reveal them right away, wanting to see the others’ reactions.

What did Hailue Group have? It owned New Art City and New Art Treasure, as well as contracts with Mai Dangxiong and Xu Ke’s film studios, plus ATV and a newspaper and magazine. These were all sources of profit and opportunities for expansion.

Yet the three were also well aware that, given Xu Ke and Huang Baiming’s relationships with Xiao Ran, New Art City and Xu Ke’s film studio were hopeless. The only things they could compete for were ATV, the newspaper and magazine, the record company, and Mai Dangxiong’s studio contracts.

Among these, ATV was the most valuable, and it was something Xiao Ran was determined to obtain. Having this television station meant his envisioned media empire would gain a crucial piece.

Zou Wenhui and the others were in a dilemma. Their company didn’t have a record company or print media, while Phantom Company had outlined a different path for the three firms—one focused not just on films but on diversified industries.

They all wanted each of these assets, but they knew better than to ignore that Xiao Ran was the real decision-maker. For him, these were all things he wanted. But the company didn’t have enough cash, so he would inevitably have to give up some interests.

Zou Wenhui valued talent. Back then, he had “rebelled” because Chairman Shao wanted to split his efforts and enter the television industry. Moreover, Carrefour itself was focused on developing films, aiming to build a local film empire. So, he wasn’t very interested in television stations.

This struggle over profit distribution was not easy. In the end, it was decided that Xiao Ran would take over ATV and its film library, while Jihe would secure the contract with Mai Dangxiong’s studio. Debao got New Art Treasure Records, but several singers from that company had to go to Tianlai. Tianluo took control of print media.

The only one who had objections was Golden Princess; every company wanted her, but no one wanted to take on the task. In the end, they all had to give up collectively, and then compete based on their own abilities.

As this meeting to divide up interests, which hadn’t even started fighting yet, was coming to an end, Xiao Ran glanced coldly at the three of them before fixing his gaze once again on Zou Wenhui. In a calm but firm tone, he said, “Starting today, Hong Kong’s film industry belongs to our four companies. We are rivals, but also friends. If anyone doesn’t treat me as a friend, they are my enemies!”