Chapter 205: Secretly Setting the Stage

How will Xiao Ran deal with the attacks from Mo Huaien and Tie Long? He seems extremely relaxed now—occasionally checking on the intense post-production work or going out to sea with Lin Qingxia for some relaxation, looking quite happy.
Yet, the happy days eventually came to an end. Of course, it can’t be said that Xiao Ran was completely idle; he had been working on a screenplay during this time—a movie script. The previous martial arts story with urban fantasy elements was put on hold, as Xiao Ran now wanted to direct a racing movie.
His draft for the racing script wasn’t satisfactory. At first, it resembled racing films like “Initial D.” If it were just a regular racing movie, it wouldn’t be difficult. But Xiao Ran wanted a series. Currently, Phantom had numerous brands—there were three series in the gambling genre, such as “God of Gambling,” “Sage of Gambling,” and “Rogue of Gambling,” as well as action series like “Treason” and “Die Hard.”
Are brands unimportant? That’s nonsense. Look—over a decade later, MGM was barely surviving, but it managed to revive itself thanks to its only ace card, “007.” Since Phantom is a large company, without any brand series, it can’t truly be called a large company.
So, Xiao Ran wasn’t worried about adding another brand. He just regretted that it wasn’t easy to make football-themed movies; otherwise, he would have brought “Do You Care About Football?” and “We Are Champions” to the screen long ago. Fortunately, Shuxiang had already published the comics for this series, and despite the lack of a mainland market, the sales were decent.
The animation team—no, the animation department—had already started working on the animated series. Look, “Beauty and the Beast” was already finished; all that was left was a release date. Xiao Ran decided to release it in June to compete with Tie Long’s film.
Writing a racing-themed series wasn’t easy, as Xiao Ran knew it required a series of stories with a growth arc. Choosing the setting was also tricky, but he ultimately decided to set the first episode in Hong Kong.
The first episode was a story about struggle, while the second was about falling and getting back up. Xiao Ran always tried to infuse the stories with themes or depth, not wanting racing movies to become mere visual spectacles.
Early April was a gradually hotter season. One day, some uninvited guests arrived at Xiao Ran’s house. Besides Wei Dongling and Tang Yan, there was also Guan Xin. Xiao Ran was swimming in the pool, and Lin Qingxia was there too—she had already completed the voice work for “The Three Heroes of the East” and was currently on a break.
It’s worth mentioning that due to the increasing number of outstanding talents and stars in the film industry, Hong Kong’s average film production cycle is now much longer than in history. Phantom is particularly affected, with the latest data showing an average production cycle of half a year. This figure satisfied Xiao Ran, as historically, the average cycle was only one or two months—no wonder the quality was poor.

Xiao Ran was well aware that the length of the production cycle was directly related to the salary. Hollywood stars could earn tens of millions of dollars just for filming one movie, which meant it was sufficient to take a year or two to complete a film.

The current market in the film industry had at least quadrupled compared to five years ago, meaning the salaries of crew members had also risen by at least four times. With no worries, there was no need to rush for quantity, so quality naturally improved.

When Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxia reached the poolside, Lin Qingxia went to change her clothes while Xiao Ran sat under an umbrella. Around the table were Tang Yan, the general manager of Power, Wei Dongling, the CEO of Shadow, and Guan Xin.

There was a saying in the financial world: “If Xiao Ran and Tang Yan are together, there must be some hot investment opportunity!” If they saw what was happening right now, they would likely be very envious.

Unfortunately, what Xiao Ran and they were discussing wasn’t about investment, though it was somewhat related—its purpose wasn’t really to make money. Wei Dongling glared at Xiao Ran fiercely. “You really live comfortably, while we work ourselves to death every day!”

“If you’re not convinced, let’s change seats and see if you’ll feel comfortable then!” Xiao Ran said triumphantly, teaching Wei Dongling a lesson, which made the others laugh. “Don’t think I have it easy—mental work is the most painful. Just look at how many gray hairs I’ve gained trying to solve problems for Hongguo…”

Xiao Ran reached out to touch his hair, about to say he had more gray hairs, when he remembered he didn’t have a single gray hair on his head. He quickly changed the subject and called out to Yangguang and Houzi, who had been on leave for a few days. “Guys, could you keep an eye out? We’re planning to rob a bank!”

Yangguang and Houzi suppressed their laughter and went around to ensure no one was eavesdropping. When they gave Xiao Ran a signal indicating it was safe, he stopped joking and asked quietly, “How’s things going?”

“Everything is going according to plan…” Wei Dongling casually opened his briefcase, which contained quite a lot of documents. He seemed relaxed and tossed the documents to Xiao Ran. “Take a look yourself!”

These were documents about Hongguo, which was invested in by two companies: Hongwei Real Estate and Guoli Group. Hongwei currently had assets of 4.2 billion and total debts of 1.8 billion. Guoli’s total assets were 10.4 billion, with debts of 5.7 billion due to its good credit. Guoli made many investments, and Xijie was entirely controlled by Guoli.

Wei Dongling took a sip of cold water to cool down before continuing. “The first thing we need to deal with is Liyou Bank; otherwise, our plan won’t work. You know what Liyou means in this context—we’ll have to ask the master for answers!”

“I’ve investigated Liyou Bank…” Guan Xin said calmly, despite everyone staring at him. “This bank has problems not only with illegal operations but also with its accounts. With Guoli’s assets, it would be difficult to get such a large loan from Liyou—only through illegal means could they get it.”

“That’s right!” Xiao Ran gave his thigh a light slap. He knew Li You must be connected to this damned alliance. After admiring his own intuition, he smiled and said, “As long as Li You exposes the right scandal at the right time and reveals Guoli’s secrets, Guoli will surely get tangled up and unable to extricate itself.”
Despite the heat, Tang Yan couldn’t help but feel a chill. This Mr. Xiao could really endure it—remaining calm even after being contracted by Hongguo. He was a terrifying figure. Of course, Tang Yan understood; he had used similar despicable methods himself. To be honest, it wasn’t even that despicable.
Recalling briefly, he immediately remembered the figures and spoke in increasingly fluent Chinese, “Currently, Guoli has a total of 3.3 billion in available operating funds, while Hongwei only has 700 million. We’ve prepared everything for Guoli’s various investments; we just need to choose the right moment to start!”
“What about Metropolis? What about Shaw Brothers?” Wei Dongling couldn’t help but remind Xiao Ran. Since they were going after Hongguo, they might as well eliminate Shaw Brothers at the same time—why leave such a thorn behind?
Metropolis was a company invested in by Shaw Brothers! Xiao Ran pondered for a moment. Actually, he didn’t want internal strife. If Mo Huaien hadn’t stepped on Xiao Shaohao before, and if there hadn’t been South Korean funds or Xi Jie as the final link, he might not have wanted to get rid of Hongguo. As for Shaw Brothers, they were definitely more threatening than Mo Huaien.
However, Xiao Ran had no intention of doing anything to Old Master Shaw, nor to Metropolis. He was convinced that after this battle, no company in Asia would ever try to challenge Shadow in the film industry again. What Xiao Ran wanted was to settle everything in one battle!
Once Hongguo was dealt with, Metropolis would essentially no longer be able to pose any threat to Shadow. Even if they competed in television, Xiao Ran didn’t think it was necessary to completely knock down Radio Television Hong Kong. Of course, it would be even better if Zhu Guangli could do it.
You see, sometimes it’s not necessary to drive people to the brink. After all, Old Master Shaw was the local boss of Hong Kong, with deeply rooted connections. If things really escalated, the mainland might not agree, and Xiao Ran wouldn’t be able to gain favor in the high-level social networks of real tycoons. Old Master Shaw thought the same way, which is why so far, no one had resorted to despicable tactics—everything had remained a fair competition.
“As for when to take action, let’s wait until the summer holiday season to test their strength first!” Xiao Ran glanced at everyone with a smile. “During this process, we need to carefully encircle Guoli and Hongwei, especially Hongwei!”
“What are you talking about? Why do you all look so serious?” Lin Qingxia, dressed up now, looked at them curiously.
Xiao Ran’s gaze shifted to Wei Dongling, and he said seriously, “We’re wondering if Ah Dong would look cooler swimming naked!” Everyone burst into laughter, while Wei Dongling grew annoyed.
With a splash, Xiao Ran was kicked off his chair by Wei Dongling and fell into the pool! Of course, it was the enraged Wei Dongling who did this. Unfortunately, he found that Xiao Ran seemed to enjoy it and continued swimming.

At seven in the evening, Xiao Ran, Lin Qingxia, and Wei Dongling joined the popular Miao Liyun at some kind of charity fundraiser. There were countless such events, and it would be foolish for Xiao Ran to attend them all. However, since the event was organized by the Finance Minister, it would be impolite for Xiao Ran not to show up. As soon as they entered the venue, they saw Zheng Jiacun and a group of wealthy people chatting. Just as they were about to go over and talk, Lin Qingxia gently touched him, lifting her beautiful chin slightly. Looking in that direction, a familiar person was walking toward them. This person approached Lin Qingxia and greeted her, “Qingxia, it’s been a long time!” “I’m sorry, please stop calling me that. Just call me President Xiao,” Lin Qingxia replied politely with a nod, though her tone was stiff enough for anyone to notice. This person was Mo Huaien. He nodded indifferently, seemingly hearing her but also not really. Then, as if he had just noticed Xiao Ran, he stared at him for a long time, filled with jealousy and resentment, before barely suppressing his emotions and saying, “President Xiao, long time no see. I remember last time we met, you were still Qingxia’s godbrother!” A hint of anger flashed in Lin Qingxia’s eyes. Xiao Ran thought to himself that this guy really had a good memory, deliberately bringing up such old matters. With a slight smile, he extended his hand to Mo Huaien, “President Mo, I’m only concerned about the present and the future. The past isn’t something I need to remember.” Mo Huaien stared at the hand, feeling his anger surge. By saying that, Xiao Ran was clearly insulting him for being short-sighted, stuck in the past. He really didn’t want to shake Xiao Ran’s hand, feeling disgusted, but he also felt that, out of chivalry, he should do so. Xiao Ran’s hand remained outstretched in the air for a long time, which would have been extremely awkward for anyone else. But Xiao Ran stayed there, as if he knew Mo Huaien would definitely reach out. Sure enough, Mo Huaien hesitantly reached out and shook it briefly, then quickly pulled back as if his hand had touched something dirty. After calling a waiter for a glass of water, Xiao Ran smiled and stared at Mo Huaien. Mo Huaien was half a head shorter than Xiao Ran, and being stared at like this made him feel extremely uncomfortable, as if he were under Xiao Ran’s control. Struggling to force a smile on his face, he finally said, “President Xiao, I heard your company is planning to release an animated series during the summer vacation? That’s not good. Be careful about the box office!” “The box office? I’ve never worried about that. You know, ‘Phantom’ is distributed overseas!” Xiao Ran smiled lightly, seemingly unconcerned, as he took the water from the waiter. “So, my vision is never limited to just Hong Kong!” Mo Huaien gritted his teeth, filled with resentment. Those words from Xiao Ran were essentially saying that Hongguo’s vision was still limited to Hong Kong, but that was exactly the case. The mere thought of it made Mo Huaien furious. Hongguo had struggled hard in Southeast Asia to gain theater distribution rights, and the only ones willing to talk to them were distributors. Come on, for distributors everywhere, having just one company like ‘Phantom’ that could directly control theaters was enough—there was no way they would allow Hongguo to get involved too.

Let’s not talk about him. Even DeBao only has the rights to distribute films in a few regions. In other places, it’s either through local distributors or via Shadow. If it weren’t for Xiao Ran’s all-out efforts back then, plus the overwhelming success of “Spy Conspiracy,” it would have been difficult even for Shadow to achieve direct distribution.

Pretending to be indifferent, Mo Huaien took a deep breath and said, “President Xiao is truly remarkable. But I think we still need to build a solid foundation. That’s why Hongguo will release a blockbuster film with an investment of 60 million during the summer holiday!”

Chapter 206: Words in Conflict

Lin Qingxia listened quietly beside them. She noticed that Xiao Ran’s expression was completely natural, with not a hint of hostility. Meanwhile, Mo Huaien’s tightly clenched fists showed how nervous he was, and his complexion wasn’t good either. It was clear who had the upper hand—Xiao Ran was clearly ahead.

“That’s really unfortunate. Shadow also plans to release a blockbuster film with an investment of 80 million during the summer holiday!” Xiao Ran made his smile even brighter, knowing this would make Mo Huaien even more restless. “Make sure not to disrupt Hongguo’s plans then, or I’ll be embarrassed! Ah, someone’s calling me. I have to go!”

Seeing Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxia leave, Mo Huaien gritted his teeth. He wasn’t afraid of that blockbuster film; he was annoyed that he had lost face in front of Lin Qingxia, with his eloquence falling short of Xiao Ran’s. He watched the two figures from afar, thinking to himself, “Laugh now, but you won’t be able to laugh during the summer holiday. Qingxia will eventually be mine!”

As soon as he approached Wei Dongling, the guy eagerly asked, “So, how did it go? Did they fight? Who won?”

“He’ll never be Fang Ruohai!” Xiao Ran simply said, feeling truly sorry. If it had been Fang Ruohai, he would have been an excellent opponent. But Fang Ruohai ultimately lost at the strategic level. Xiao Ran personally eliminated his first opponent, who might have been the best opponent he’d ever faced in his life.

At that moment, the reporters started making a fuss. The three of them looked up and saw that it was Li Chao Ren. Xiao Ran was slightly surprised—he didn’t expect Li Chao Ren to have time to attend such a charity event. But according to Tang Yan, the Lands Department, under the Finance Bureau, was planning to use a piece of land to create a public park or something similar. This might be a test for the Finance Bureau.

Besides, Xiao Ran had also come for this reason. Although he was extremely upset about the British Hong Kong government’s move against him, it wasn’t yet time to vent his anger. Sometimes, you just have to go along with things—such is the relationship between business and politics.

There were many people trying to strike up conversations with Li Chao Ren. Xiao Ran didn’t bother joining in and found a place to sit with Lin Qingxia to rest. Wei Dongling went to talk to people he knew, and it wasn’t hard for him to close a deal after just a few words.

Less than three minutes after resting, Zheng Jiacun and Rong Zhijian approached from afar, pointing at Xiao Ran and shouting, “President Xiao, so you were hiding here enjoying peace with Madam Xiao? That’s really unfair!”

Xiao Ran couldn’t help but smile bitterly—these business engagements were truly exhausting. He stood up to greet them, then they all sat down together. Half-jokingly and half-seriously, he said, “Since you two are together, surely you have some way to make money. Could you give me a share of the profits?”
“Forget it! You’re a billionaire with hundreds of billions in assets—why compete with us over such a small amount of money?” Rong Zhijian laughed heartily before adding softly, “But we do have a matter that requires your help.”
Xiao Ran slightly raised his chin, signaling Rong Zhijian to get straight to the point. Zheng Jiacun chuckled and gestured before saying, “Prince Rong has a plan. He approached me, but together our financial resources aren’t enough. We originally thought of turning to Superman, but seeing how busy he is now, it’s even better that we’ve found you!”
“I want to acquire Hengchang Enterprise!” Rong Zhijian didn’t beat around the bush. He stared straight at Xiao Ran and said word for word, “I want a complete acquisition!”
Xiao Ran was slightly taken aback. Hengchang Enterprise wasn’t an easy opponent. But he didn’t overthink it and simply smiled. “How much money does the plan require? And how many people are involved?”
Rong Zhijian laughed. “Don’t worry. For now, it’s just the three of us. Otherwise, splitting the profits would be a hassle. Still, I think it’s better to find one or two more financially strong partners to reduce risks! This acquisition will cost about eighty billion.”
Only eighty billion? That was Xiao Ran’s first thought, followed by self-mockery. What did “only eighty billion” mean? After all, not many conglomerates in Hong Kong could spare eighty billion without borrowing. Li Chaoren’s Longhe Group was one of them, and Shadow surely could as well.
Just as he was about to speak, a strong and powerful voice rang out behind them, “Xiao Ran, what are you discussing with Prince Rong?”
Lin Qingxia and Xiao Ran turned to look. It was Li Chaoren—just as if he’d been summoned. He chuckled as he sat down and glanced around. Zheng Jiacun and Rong Zhijian quickly raised their hands to greet him. Xiao Ran nodded at Lin Qingxia and said, “Go find Ah Dong for me!”
“No need. President Xiao isn’t an outsider!” Rong Zhijian couldn’t help but laugh. He had no idea that Xiao Ran wasn’t very interested in such business matters. If he were to be a director, he’d be full of energy.
Lin Qingxia politely nodded at them before leaving. Zheng Jiacun couldn’t help but exclaim, “President Xiao, you’re really lucky. No wonder you dismissed other women back then—turns out you brought this beautiful woman home!”
“Chairman Li, Prince Rong wants to do business with you guys,” Xiao Ran said with a smile, glancing at the rather thin Li Chaoren and ignoring Zheng Jiacun’s envious tone. “As you all know, I’m not good at this kind of thing.”
After hearing Rong Zhijian’s acquisition plan, Li Chaoren thought silently. The idea was tempting. But at first glance, he saw through it—Rong Zhijian was probably interested in Hengchang Enterprise’s huge cash flow. Hengchang was in sales, with a monthly cash flow of around ten billion, exactly what Prince Rong needed.

“I agree to invest!” Li Chao Ren nodded, making a quick decision. Actually, Rong Zhi Jian had already suggested this to him before; he just hadn’t agreed yet. Xiao Ran agreed promptly—since Li Chao Ren was willing to invest, it didn’t matter to him. Besides, he couldn’t afford to offend this red capitalist, Prince Rong.

After Rong Zhi Jian left happily, Xiao Ran kept Zheng Jia Chun behind and glanced at the two of them. “Chairman Li, Chairman Zheng, I have an investment plan. Would you like to consider it?”

“Go ahead and tell me!” Li Chao Ren immediately became interested. Phantom usually had a cash reserve of at least 10 billion—something even banks might not be able to provide so quickly. He was curious how Xiao Ran, with such a conservative approach to business, could still succeed, let alone succeed in the film industry.

Of course, Li Chao Ren wasn’t aware of Xiao Ran’s difficulties. Phantom’s investments weren’t always well-planned. For example, the billions earned from the reunification of East and West Germany were all the result of Xiao Ran’s last-minute decision to act.

As a result, Xiao Ran had to ensure he had enough cash on hand for operations. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to make money from money, but he always needed to set aside some funds for losses—something that often annoyed Wei Dong Ling.

“Chang has a piece of land near Qing Shui Bay, and you, President Zheng, also have land,” Xiao Ran said with a light smile. After taking a sip of water, he continued, “Dongli also has land there. I’ve checked the map—these three pieces of land are quite close to each other and are all quite large.”

Li Chao Ren immediately understood what Xiao Ran meant and asked in surprise, “You plan to enter the real estate industry? There are two or three other pieces of land between those, making it difficult to proceed!”

Xiao Ran smiled faintly. “We can acquire those lands at a low price. By July, when things have cooled down, we can buy them. Then, by working together on this land, I think it could be promising!”

Zheng Jia Chun did some calculations. His land was far smaller than Xiao Ran’s, and he doubted he could make much money even if he sold it. Besides, if they really cooperated this time, with two wealthy men joining forces, he couldn’t believe they would still lose money!

Wei Dong Ling arrived and was slightly surprised to see Li Chao Ren there too. After greeting everyone, he sat down. Xiao Ran and Wei Dong Ling had seen Li Chao Ren before, so Xiao Ran simply handed the matter over to Wei Dong Ling, trusting that Li Chao Ren wouldn’t embarrass him.

Just as Xiao Ran was about to leave, Li Chao Ren called him back and asked puzzledly, “A Ran, your company has such a large cash reserve. Why not invest it? Making movies doesn’t require such a huge amount of money, right?” Xiao Ran could only smile bitterly—who could he explain his difficulties to?

Finally, it was time for the charity auction. Xiao Ran, Lin Qingxia, and Wei Dong Ling sat together, staring at the items on display. The first item up for auction was a jade pendant, which didn’t interest Xiao Ran. It wasn’t until the last item was auctioned that he realized he had to bid.

Whether he liked it or not, in such an occasion, if he didn’t make some move, it would simply be inconsistent with his status. Besides, charity auctions are meant for the likes of him—rich tycoons whose currency isn’t blood but money. The item up for auction was a small, exquisite jade Buddha of ancient origin, donated by a collector. The starting bid was five hundred thousand. Xiao Ran raised his card and bid one million. The guests present were all wealthy or noble, so they certainly didn’t mind such a low price. The true value of this small jade Buddha was around three million, leaving plenty of room for bidding. As bids rose and then fell, until Xiao Ran bid three point five million, no one else competed with him. Just as the auction was about to be finalized, a familiar voice shouted loudly, “Four million!” Xiao Ran turned his head slightly and frowned—it was Mo Huaien again. He raised his card and bid four point five million, while Mo Huaien, as if teasing Xiao Ran, bid five million. Xiao Ran couldn’t help but smile slightly, thinking, “Mo Huaien, you’ve finally become impatient. This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for!” He bid five point five million, and Mo Huaien immediately shouted, “Fifteen million!” This move caused an uproar among the crowd. Even a fool could see that Mo Huaien was deliberately provoking Xiao Ran. The journalists were extremely excited—this time, Shadow and Hongguo had finally clashed. Interestingly, Mo Huaien was also uneasy. He wasn’t crazy enough to spend so much money on such a trivial item. He was doing this to provoke Xiao Ran; according to his assumptions, Xiao Ran would almost certainly respond. “Enough!” Lin Qingxia whispered in his ear. Xiao Ran gave her a calm look. He was using psychological tactics. How could someone cautious and realistic break through his defenses? It was clearly not easy. After studying Mo Huaien’s personality, Xiao Ran had made this decision. Of course, today’s charity event was not part of his plan; it was merely a preliminary test of his strategy. Xiao Ran believed it was necessary to break through someone like Mo Huaien, who relied on defensiveness, by forcing them to take the initiative. So, whether it was the verbal exchanges earlier or the bidding battles now, they were all part of his psychological strategy to infuriate Mo Huaien and make him gradually take charge. Thus, at this moment, even if Mo Huaien had bid fifteen million or even one hundred million, Xiao Ran would have had the heart to match it. Of course, to make the act complete, he immediately put on a look of discomfort, glanced at Mo Huaien, and noticed that the other man was eyeing him out of the corner of his eye. Feeling slightly pleased, he gritted his teeth and shouted, “Twenty million!” “Twenty million—once… twice… three times! Sold!” The auctioneer struck the gavel, his forehead covered in sweat. Such rivalry really could make money. “Why would you spend twenty million on this thing? It’s not worth it. Besides, Mo Huaien is deliberately provoking you,” Lin Qingxia said, glancing at Xiao Ran reproachfully before sighing. Twenty million—most people might not earn that in a lifetime.

“It’s fine, it’s just 20 million! And it’s for charity—just consider it a donation!” Xiao Ran comforted his wife, thinking that as long as he could lure Mo Huaien into falling for the trap, 20 million, or even 200 million, would be well worth it.
“One of Hong Kong’s top ten richest men—truly generous!” Mo Huaien appeared out of nowhere, his expression much more lively than when he had been talking to Xiao Ran earlier. “Spending 20 million on a jade Buddha—who else in Hong Kong, besides President Xiao, could afford such a thing?”
Xiao Ran’s expression changed slightly, which Mo Huaien noticed and took great satisfaction from. At that moment, Xiao Ran stared at Mo Huaien with a smile, his tone carrying a hint of coldness: “Mr. Mo, if you walk on roads at night too often, you’ll eventually encounter ghosts. If you worship Buddha often enough, Buddha will protect you. You surely understand this principle.”