Chapter 254: Strategic Planning

Xiao Ran was instantly stunned. He slapped his head in self-reproach—how could he have overlooked such a detail? Damn it. Fortunately, he had already taken the factors related to the theater chains into account, so it didn’t cause him much concern.
Suddenly, he smiled, a relaxed and joyful smile. Glancing at the others, he teased, “Ailing, Monkey, what do you think I should do now?”
“If it were me…” Huang Ling smiled lightly, two cute dimples appearing on her cheeks. “I wouldn’t know what to do. Otherwise, I’d be President Huang today, not just a junior secretary!”
That was quite interesting! Xiao Ran couldn’t help but laugh heartily. “Good heavens, you’re already the secretary to the chairman. What more do you want? The only higher position would be making you the chairman. Alright, I know you don’t want to stay in the secretary role forever. Once the group reorganizes in a while, there will be a suitable position for you!”
Huang Ling’s eyes sparkled with joy. She was an independent and capable woman who wanted more room to prove herself. At that moment, Monkey hesitated for a moment before looking at Xiao Ran with a sly grin and saying, “Brother Ran, why ask me such a question? Usually, you must have anticipated all this! I even think it was you who deliberately brought about Warner and Disney’s partnership.”
Xiao Ran smiled faintly. Monkey was smart, but not very knowledgeable in finance and management. Otherwise, he could have been assigned to work in the group. Moreover, Monkey clearly understood Xiao Ran well—after all, these guys were experts in intelligence and character analysis. Having followed Xiao Ran for so many years, it was impossible for them not to understand him thoroughly.
“Brother Ran, I have an opinion!” Yang Guang, who was driving, chuckled. “I bet with Monkey—ten dollars—that this whole thing was planned by you. Monkey, you’ve miscalculated this time. Brother Ran always acts after careful planning. Care to take the bet?”
Monkey glanced at Xiao Ran, who remained silent with a smile. He thought of himself as smart, even though he had seen Xiao Ran’s tactics over the years. But the idea that Xiao Ran had anticipated everything from the start and orchestrated it all seemed unlikely to him. With that thought, he laughed, “I’ll take your bet—just ten dollars!”
Under the gazes of the three pairs of eyes, Xiao Ran said nothing. Instead, he took the phone from Huang Ling and first called Han Long, asking in a very casual tone, “How’s the acquisition of shares in those theater chains going?”
Han Long replied calmly, “We’ve acquired an average of 25% of the shares, with the highest at 30% and the lowest at 20%. We remain the second-largest shareholder, and no antitrust laws have been violated.”
“Good. Now, what you need to do is simple—invite the owners of those three major theaters for talks. If they refuse to show the films again…” Xiao Ran’s tone turned icy. “Then we’ll support those smaller theaters. If they don’t want to grow, that’s fine. We can easily promote obedient theater chains to take their place!”

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Ran immediately called his classmate Lao Si: “Stephen, it’s time to announce that news. I’m sure the outside world will be very interested. This time, I want the whole world to know about the persecution Jews suffered during World War II!”
Lao Si agreed readily. He had already guessed that a crisis like this would arise globally. Since he agreed, he must have considered everything that would happen today. He didn’t care about any of it; he was deeply moved that Xiao Ran was willing to invest so generously in such a film, regardless of whether his intentions were sincere or not.
“A breakthrough has appeared…” Xiao Ran smiled confidently. The feeling of having everything under control was exhilarating. He almost wanted to roar to express his joy. “A Ling, call President Wei tonight and tell him we can proceed with the plan!”
“What’s the breakthrough? What plan?” Huang Ling stared intently at President Xiao. She was quite proud of her appearance, yet this young president seemed to ignore it completely. It was almost a miracle, especially since female secretaries often became targets of sexual harassment.
She had only worked for Xiao Ran for a little over half a year. It seemed like he didn’t know much most of the time, but when it came to matters at hand, he seemed to know everything, which gave her a sense of vulnerability. Especially when his gaze swept over her, she didn’t know if he knew everything about her as well. But she could tell that being Xiao Ran’s enemy would be terrible.
She also found him mysterious and sharp—every situation seemed to be within his calculation, and he could always come up with the best solution immediately. For someone who had only worked for him for half a year, having such insights was already quite good. Of course, she still didn’t fully understand his habit of doing thorough research before taking action.
Xiao Ran smiled leisurely, closed his eyes for a moment to relax, then explained to the female secretary who might soon become a high-ranking executive at Shadow Company: “The so-called breakthrough is ‘Schindler’s List.’ With that, it will be difficult for Jews to reject us. For example, Dustin Hoffman is Jewish, so he won’t be able to harbor any ill intentions toward the company anymore!”
“How many directors among the five major film studios are Jews? It’s not easy to calculate. But I can tell you that their number isn’t large, yet they control enormous wealth!” Xiao Ran smiled at still confused Huang Ling. “So once this news is released, the five major studios are likely to accept us, driven by the Jews.”
“Don’t forget, this isn’t the small place of Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, we’re very united! In the United States…” Xiao Ran looked thoughtful. He had thought about all this for a long time. “The five major studios might unite against outsiders, but they can also reject a globally successful film like ‘Jurassic Park.’ With the Jews, who prioritize interests above all, it shows their alliance is forced. And as long as they see the benefits this film can bring, it will collapse at any moment!”

“But I still don’t quite understand…” Huang Ling racked her brains for a long time but couldn’t figure out why Xiao Ran would support a few smaller studios to replace the five major ones. “You just said you want to support those smaller studios to take their place—is that really true? Then why use that to force the three major studios to comply?”
Xiao Ran hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to reveal this, hoping to help Huang Ling understand more about business operations so that she could become one of the pillars of Shadow in the future. “Those smaller studios will surely make huge profits by releasing ‘Jurassic Park,’ and by using this movie to establish ties with Universal, they can lease out their facilities to Universal on a long-term basis. At that point, they can use Universal and Shadow’s names to raise funds for expansion!”
“And whether those smaller studios will replace the current studio companies after expanding will depend on my will!” When Xiao Ran said “my will,” there was an undeniable sense of dominance in his tone. “By then, those studios will surely threaten the existence and market share of the major studios, which means the major studios will also have to obey me. So, whether I support them to take over isn’t important—what matters is what effect I want to achieve!”
While Huang Ling was stunned by Xiao Ran’s cunning words and felt deeply impressed, Monkey began to regret it. He thought that since Xiao Ran could quickly resolve the studio issue and had such a deeply hidden plan, he definitely wasn’t acting on impulse. Unfortunately, Sunshine clearly wouldn’t allow the bet to be canceled!
“As for that plan…” Xiao Ran couldn’t help but laugh heartily, pointing at Huang Ling. “As long as you think carefully about our current situation, you’ll be able to figure out what that plan is!”
“Me? Can I do it?” Huang Ling wasn’t unf confident, but in front of Xiao Ran, she truly felt like nothing. After thinking carefully and considering Universal’s current situation, she realized that once filming was resolved, there were still actors and crew members to consider. With that in mind, she smiled. “I see! It must be related to actors and crew members!”
Xiao Ran nodded in approval. The plan indeed involved sending actors and crew members to North America to film. Once Warner and Disney’s alliance was broken, they could return to Hong Kong to continue their careers! What? Stay there? Xiao Ran didn’t want that, so he thought it was necessary to talk to those people once they returned!
At the Beverly Hills Hotel, Angelina • Julie was extremely confused. Why would this super-rich man from the East, the youngest super-rich person in history, want to meet her? She was right in thinking that in Hollywood, Xiao Ran still had no real power and certainly wasn’t recognized by the media as a entertainment tycoon.
Julie had many more questions. She had only acted in one movie, “Cyborg 2,” as a background character. There was no reason for Xiao Ran to know her—at least that’s what she thought.

She had also guessed for a long time about Xiao Ran wanting to meet her; the most likely reason was that this young tycoon had taken a liking to her. At this thought, Julie smiled—a youthful and charming smile. If she could climb up this towering tree, she would be willing to do anything, even betray everything if it meant going against the actors’ association’s wishes.

In fact, it wasn’t surprising she thought that way; such things were common in the industry. Ben Affleck, who became famous after starring in “Pearl Harbor,” once said that if necessary, he wouldn’t hesitate to help someone spread rumors about her.

As Xiao Ran entered the lobby, he spotted Julie at first glance. Julie hadn’t had a happy childhood—her parents were both actors. Her father was a well-known Hollywood actor, the main villain in “Mission: Impossible.” Yet he divorced her mother early on, and in anger, her mother removed her father’s last name from Julie’s name.

Julie was only eighteen now. She had already drifted from city to city and worked as a professional model. At present, she didn’t seem as sexy or alluring as she might become in the future; instead, she appeared more youthful and charming.

“Julie, right? I’m Xiao Ran. Can we talk for a moment?” Xiao Ran knew his identity might scare the “little girl,” so he spoke in a gentle tone. He gestured toward the café, and after a moment of hesitation, Julie followed him.

After walking a few steps, Xiao Ran suddenly felt something was off. Turning around, he saw Yangguang and Monkey following behind them. He smiled calmly and waved at them, “You two go rest first. I’ll go up by myself in a bit!”

The two didn’t move. Monkey’s face muscles trembled as he tried to hold back his laughter. “Brother Ran, I’m sorry, but your mother ordered us not to let you meet any women alone in the U.S.!”

At that point, both he and Yangguang couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably. Huang Ling was stunned and covered her mouth, giggling secretly. Xiao Ran was frustrated—his mother was always afraid he’d go bad once he became rich. Even Lin Qingxia trusted him so much, yet his own mother didn’t. But strictly speaking, Xiao Ran might not have any ulterior motives. At least to some extent, he really liked little Julie—of course, this was a liking that dated back a long time. What he liked was Julie’s extraordinary sensuality. To say he had no thoughts would be a lie.

But he already had a wife and children, so he certainly wouldn’t allow any infidelity. Especially since he lived with the woman he loved deeply, Lin Qingxia—that was already the greatest happiness of his life. The thought of his two children made any desire vanish instantly.

Yangguang and Monkey clearly understood Xiao Ran’s loyalty to Lin Qingxia. Otherwise, with his status in the entertainment industry, what woman couldn’t he have? Without exaggeration, given Xiao Ran’s influence in Asia, if he suddenly wanted a Japanese girl, it would probably take just a few hours for Toei Studios to send him the most famous actress.

Under such circumstances, Xiao Ran still remained loyal to his wife; there was no reason for him to come to the United States and engage in infidelity. So the old lady’s warnings seemed utterly ridiculous to them. Of course, though it was funny, they still had to follow through—just to see Xiao Ran’s rarely seen embarrassment was worth it.

It was in the afternoon when Huang Ling’s mobile phone suddenly rang. The voice on the other end was urgent and panicked, as if predicting something bad. After answering the call, her face turned pale instantly, and she barely restrained herself before handing the phone to Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran took the phone skeptically, a sense of foreboding creeping into his mind. Wei Dongling’s furious, almost roaring voice blared in his ears: “Xiao Ran? The Hong Kong British government took action against Shadow while you weren’t in Hong Kong…”