Chapter 238: Private Talks

Ten days later, a major news story broke in Hong Kong’s business community: Li Ka-shing acquired 20% of the shares controlled by Phantom using his 10% stake in Hopewell Group plus 13.5 billion Hong Kong dollars. Countless economists tried to analyze what this move meant…
It was obvious even to an outsider—that this was essentially Li Ka-shing and Xiao Ran swapping their shares. Both retained at least 15% of Hopewell Group or Wharf Group’s shares, thereby indirectly forming an alliance between the Long & Heavens Group and the Phantom Group.
What the outside world thought didn’t matter to Xiao Ran. He had no intention of working with Li Ka-shing; it was merely a mutually beneficial arrangement. With Hopewell Group, he could lay the foundation for the telecommunications sector, allowing his envisioned entertainment and media empire to take shape step by step.
Currently, Phantom had numerous subsidiaries and holding companies as its flagship. After the fierce competition with Ericsson and the restructuring of its business units, these companies had already acquired Nokia. In the UK and US markets, the restructured subsidiaries had successfully acquired several telecommunications and mobile companies.
In the field of networking, Phantom had also established a company and controlled 40% of Future Yahoo’s shares, waiting for Yahoo’s stock to reach its peak before selling off to make a huge profit. The only thing still missing might be the gaming sector. Xiao Ran summoned Wei Dongling for a discussion, only to find that he shared the same idea.
It was a certainty—gaming had always been part of entertainment. It would be foolish for Phantom not to use classic movie characters to create games or adapt games into movies. They immediately agreed with Xiao Ran to acquire gaming studios like Blizzard to further expand their entertainment and media empire.
What was still missing? Xiao Ran pondered quietly. His framework was almost complete. He had made thorough preparations for traditional media, television media, and online media. Although such rapid cross-industry expansion seemed risky on the surface, Xiao Ran was confident it was the right and wise decision.
What else was lacking? After some thought, perhaps it was audio-visual equipment. After discussing it with Wei Dongling, they decided to negotiate with Sony to secure those damn DVDs.
DVD players and related equipment were crucial. But Sony was unlikely to sell them so easily. Although Phantom had established two research laboratories and hired many scientists, they might not be as capable as Sony in developing such technology.
Wei Dongling initially didn’t understand, as DVDs seemed abstract, while VCDs were already in Phantom’s hands. Phantom had invested at least 500 million in promoting VCDs in Southeast Asia in just half a year. If they acquired DVDs, wouldn’t all that investment be wasted?

Xiao Ran made it clear to Wei Dongling that DVDs were not something that could become popular in the short term, nor could they be developed quickly. VCDs would still hold a significant market position for at least five to six years, at least in China. In the end, it was decided to acquire Sony’s laboratories along with its shares in karaoke and the contracts of its researchers. In fact, karaoke was profitable; although its profits had gradually declined over the years, it still generated at least $400 million in profits for Phantom each year. However, it required substantial investment in research for new products every year, which was why its market value was low. Xiao Ran was well aware that karaoke had little market presence in the West, and little promotion was done there. The Japanese, on the other hand, had previously tried hard to promote it in the West, only to be met with indifference. Xiao Ran also didn’t intend to give all of karaoke’s shares to Sony; his bottom line was 30% of the shares plus $300 million in cash. He believed Sony, eager to enter the Western market, would surely refuse such favorable terms. After a day of busy negotiations and more deals, Xiao Ran finally had time in the afternoon to meet Huang Qun. He picked Huang Qun up at the hotel and, on the street, instructed Yang Guang to stop the car. Yang Guang and Monkey were already married, so Xiao Ran now had six bodyguards working in shifts to protect him. Of course, Lin Qingxia also had female bodyguards. Xiao Ran didn’t want another kidnapping attempt, especially now that he was the richest man among the Chinese. Interestingly, the thought of kidnapping brought to mind Zhang Ziqiang, the famous thief king. He wondered if Zhang would try to kidnap him once he was released. “Hong Kong truly lives up to its reputation as one of the world’s major financial hubs—it’s extremely prosperous. But with all these high-rise buildings, it feels cold and devoid of warmth,” Huang Qun remarked. He had visited Hong Kong a few years ago, and it was very different from its current prosperity. Xiao Ran smiled gently. He felt that Hong Kong’s development in the early 1990s was similar to the infrastructure boom in the Chinese mainland at the end of the same decade. Otherwise, how could Chengji Infrastructure have grown so rapidly? Looking at Huang Qun, Xiao Ran said interestingly, “It’s not that there’s no warmth; it’s just hidden behind the high-rise buildings. Once you integrate into this world, you’ll find there’s still a lot of kindness.” “Perhaps so, but it’s impossible for us to integrate in the short term,” Huang Qun said, giving Xiao Ran a meaningful look before smiling interestingly. “Xiao Ran, you’re a strange person. I’ve seen most other wealthy people drive Rolls-Royces, but you always drive a BMW. It’s really interesting.” Xiao Ran couldn’t help but rub his nose—he suddenly felt it itchy. The aftereffects of being punched by Yang Qi still troubled him sometimes. Rolls-Royces seemed too luxurious and intimidating, while a BMW appropriately conveyed Xiao Ran’s sincerity and straightforwardness.

Huang Qun suddenly told Yang Guang to stop, who seemed somewhat embarrassed because parking was not allowed there. Xiao Ran waved at Yang Guang to signal it was okay. Huang Qun gazed at the Bank of China Tower in the distance—a magnificent and iconic building. “I always thought the Bank of China Tower wasn’t that special, but now I realize different perspectives lead to different discoveries!”
Xiao Ran smiled faintly. He didn’t want to know what Huang Qun had discovered, as he had a vague idea of what it was. Just then, two patrol officers came over with pens, seemingly noticing the illegal parked car and intending to issue a ticket.
One of the more experienced young officers recognized the license plate number and felt a sense of familiarity, though he couldn’t recall where he had seen it before. The other, clearly a new officer, approached, knocked on the car window, and gestured for it to be rolled down before saying, “Hand over your driver’s license…”
The young man was stunned because inside was the idol of all young people in Hong Kong—truly an idol. Someone who had become the richest Chinese person before turning thirty and also possessed great artistic talent—how could he not be an idol?
Of course, he couldn’t continue speaking. Seeing the man frozen, the experienced officer quickly leaned in to take a look and was immediately stunned: “President Xiao, is that you?” Only then did he remember that familiar license plate number—it was Xiao Ran’s car, which he had been instructed to keep an eye on.
“It’s fine. We violated the rules; just issue the fine. Hong Kong is a society governed by the law!” Xiao Ran smiled lightly, not even glancing at Huang Qun. He wasn’t speaking to the officers but to Huang Qun.
Huang Qun smiled slightly; he naturally understood Xiao Ran’s meaning. But what surprised him wasn’t that—it was that the experienced officer gave Xiao Ran a special salute after issuing the ticket.
“Why is that?” Huang Qun wondered. In the mainland, saluting was a sign of courtesy, but it didn’t seem to be a practice in Hong Kong.
“Maybe it’s because I’ve donated quite a bit of money to the police over the years!” Xiao Ran smiled faintly. He and Meiying had indeed donated a lot to the police, but that clearly wasn’t enough to earn such a respectful salute.
Xiao Ran thought of the declining underworld. It was said that the Xiang family had once held immense power, with no one daring to say a bad word about them. He suddenly felt a bit like that Xiang family—maybe even like a villain. Yet he was also aware that he held a significant position in both Hong Kong’s politics and business. If he wanted to, it probably wouldn’t be hard for him to dominate everything.
Everything became much simpler after that. Xiao Ran and Huang Qun talked about work as they walked outside the shopping mall before getting out of the car. The building’s design was quite unusual—perhaps not exactly strange, but rather uniquely distinctive and fascinating.
Huang Qun looked up and sighed in admiration. Xiao Ran smiled lightly. “It was built by Chengji Infrastructure under Power Group. It still looks pretty good, right?”

Power underwent separation and restructuring as early as the beginning of 1992, giving rise to flagship businesses in real estate, infrastructure, and hotels. In the electronics and telecommunications sector, another flagship company directly controlled by Phantom was reorganized for management. This created an efficient and modern system for group management.

In the mall, Huang Qun picked out a wonderful piece of jade, but was stunned when he heard its price. Monkey couldn’t stop sneering—how could a vice minister of culture even think of shopping here? He suggested going to Mong Kok, where street vendors offered more suitable items.

Under the servants’ watchful eyes, Huang Qun felt embarrassed, unable to believe that a minister from a major country couldn’t even afford a gift. After some thought, Xiao Ran guessed that Huang Qun wanted to buy a gift for Xiao Ling’er and immediately stopped him, saying, “Old Huang, there’s no need to be so polite. Xiao Ling’er’s neck will hardly fit all those gifts!”

“That won’t do. After all, I’m her godfather. It wouldn’t be right without a gift!” Huang Qun shook his head in frustration. Xiao Ran smiled lightly, ordered the jade to be wrapped, handed over his credit card, and then said, “How about next time? Bring her something special—nothing too expensive!”

Taking the wrapped jade, Xiao Ran pressed it into Huang Qun’s hands. “This is a gift for your niece. Don’t refuse. It’s not really expensive; many people can afford it. It’s just that prices here are different from those on the mainland.”

After some persuasion from Xiao Ran, who pretended to throw it away, Huang Qun hesitated for a moment before finally taking it. After leaving, Huang Qun said thoughtfully, “I never realized the gap was so big. Thankfully, the Brits kept Hong Kong!”

“Not necessarily. If it were me, I wouldn’t give up such a profitable business to others,” Xiao Ran said with a faint smile. The initial financial support for Debao and Tianluo seemed foolish. Yet, with billions invested, they still received substantial annual dividends and retained a 20% stake. Later, they also invested in Leikaitai, indirectly controlling three companies.

These three companies had made significant profits in other industries, with their assets growing to over 10 billion. By this calculation, Xiao Ran’s initial investment had indeed been a huge success. It shouldn’t be overlooked that over the years, Phantom eliminated threats from behind and achieved rapid development—a time value that no amount of money could buy. Otherwise, why would Xiao Ran be so foolish as to give money to those companies? And why would Pan Disheng and Yang Qi hesitate so long?

Huang Qun was slightly surprised and glanced at Xiao Ran. He hadn’t thought of it that way, mainly because he had little connection with Hong Kong before. Xiao Ran suddenly smiled coldly and pointed at the bustling streets outside the window. “If I were British, I’d send a politician who only knows how to cause trouble, raise civil servant salaries drastically, and use government power to drive land and housing prices to the highest levels. By the time the central government takes over, they’ll quickly discover these lingering problems—problems that definitely won’t be solved in three or five years!”

Xiao Ran became increasingly cold and indifferent. The more he learned about the business world, the more he understood the schemes of the Hong Kong-British government (please stop defending Britain; when the British left Hong Kong, they destroyed everything like computers, and Peng Dingkang even took away cutting boards—just imagine). He swore that the British appointed Peng Dingkang as the last governor in order to create chaos and leave behind a mess.

The more he listened, the more alarmed he became. After careful consideration, Huang Qun understood Xiao Ran’s point. His fear grew deeper. If all this really happened, what they would have left behind wouldn’t be an international financial hub but a city that needed massive amounts of money to sustain itself.

Xiao Ran continued to sneer. With multiple salary increases over the years, it was easy to see the damage such actions could cause to the economic market. By manipulating housing prices and other means to drive stock prices to their peak, collapse would inevitably follow. Otherwise, a financial crisis wouldn’t have occurred. Without the Chinese government injecting hundreds of billions of dollars, Hong Kong’s finance would have completely collapsed.