Chapter 876: 872. Feigning Compliance (Please Subscribe and Vote)

"Smack!"

After kissing the two little ones on their cheeks, Zhang Ran got out of bed.

Washing up, eating breakfast—everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Zhang Ran figured the time was about right, so he picked up his phone and called Wang Xianbin, the Chairman of Huaying Group.

"Hello, Chairman Wang, this is Zhang Ran," Zhang Ran said with a smile, introducing himself.

Wang Xianbin knew the purpose of Zhang Ran's call immediately, and he was secretly startled by how quickly Zhang Ran had found out.

However, on the surface, he remained composed and said, "Haha, so it is Mr. Zhang. It is truly a pleasant surprise to receive a call from you, Mr. Zhang."

"Chairman Wang is too kind," Zhang Ran said with a smile.

After a bit of small talk, Zhang Ran didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Chairman Wang, it's like this: you surely know that there were reasons for the things I did previously, so I would like to ask you to do me a favor."

Zhang Ran spoke very politely, not to mention his current status and his network of connections.

Being asked to do a favor, most people would be very happy.

Wang Xianbin was actually somewhat tempted, but he quickly suppressed the thought; after all, Zhang Ran didn't have much power in the entertainment industry.

Just like how they were able to operate behind the scenes while keeping it from SARFT, Wang Xianbin wasn't actually afraid of Zhang Ran.

Every industry has its own rules; it's not as if whoever has the most money can do whatever they want in this industry.

That is simply impossible, especially in an industry like entertainment; having money might allow you to do many things, but it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want.

However, Wang Xianbin didn't want to offend Zhang Ran, so he played dumb and said, "Mr. Zhang, what do you mean by this? You are too polite. If there is anything you need our help with, just say the word. If it's something we can accomplish, I certainly won't refuse."

Zhang Ran narrowed his eyes; this was a complete refusal to give him any face.

"Chairman Wang, we are all businessmen, so let's speak plainly. I did indeed cause everyone some losses with this matter, but I am actually offering compensation; it just hasn't been distributed to your side yet," Zhang Ran said calmly.

What he said was the truth; some things only get distributed to the lower levels after SARFT has fully taken over and clarified the situation.

And companies like Huaying that suffered losses during this Ban on Korean Culture would certainly receive some compensation.

"Mr. Zhang, you are joking. Since we are speaking plainly, we did what we did for the sake of the company," Wang Xianbin didn't believe Zhang Ran's words at all.

To put it bluntly, he still hadn't reached that level; after all, the strategic significance of some things is not something an ordinary person can know.

Zhang Ran smiled, "And what does Chairman Wang mean by that?"

"Mr. Zhang, I know you have great power, but in the entertainment industry, we aren't just going to do whatever you want us to do." Although Wang Xianbin's words were polite, his tone meant something else entirely.

He actually felt anger in his heart.

Because in his view, this matter was a completely unprovoked disaster for Huaying!

You, Zhang Ran, want to arm-wrestle with others, so why must you damage our interests?

Although the Ban on Korean Culture was issued by SARFT, Wang Xianbin had pinned this debt on Zhang Ran.

There was no helping it; he didn't dare to get angry at SARFT.

So when Zhang Ran called, he was polite with his words, but he actually felt a bit of satisfaction inside.

Do you really think you can do whatever you want?

At the very least, in the entertainment industry, you, Zhang Ran, are still not qualified.

Of course, if Zhang Ran really threw hundreds of billions in capital into it, then he would admit defeat, but would Zhang Ran dare?

Zhang Ran is rich, but it's not like he can just pull out that much money at will.

The rules of the entertainment industry aren't that easy for Zhang Ran to adapt to either.

"I understand what you mean, Chairman Wang. Then I won't say anything more. I wish you a prosperous business, Chairman Wang," Zhang Ran said with a smile.

At this moment, he knew full well that even if he offered more benefits, Wang Xianbin would still demand an exorbitant price.

Or rather, the reason Wang Xianbin was acting this way was precisely to squeeze more things out of Zhang Ran's pockets.

This might also be a form of tacit approval from above.

After all, with Wang Xianbin's connections, how could he not know that those above had already begun brewing this Ban on Korean Culture?

It's just that without Zhang Ran's involvement, it certainly wouldn't have happened so quickly.

Back then, there were many reasons why Zhang Ran didn't enter the entertainment industry, so he didn't have many resources in this sector.

What he did have were people like Leader Li, who had no intersection with the companies below.

Wang Xianbin certainly wanted to use this method to apply pressure and make Zhang Ran cough up some benefits.

This is what businessmen are like; they will emerge from every corner and take a bite out of your thigh.

However, what Zhang Ran wanted to tell them was that he would only give what he wanted to give; what he didn't want to give, they couldn't take away.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Xianbin wore a smiling face; in his mind, Zhang Ran would soon send people to compromise to a certain degree.

And he had his eyes on some of Zhang Ran's assets, which he only knew about after being tipped off by others.

If he had these things, then Huaying's development would be faster and better.

As for Zhang Ran flying into a rage, Wang Xianbin was still somewhat confident; no matter what, could Zhang Ran really rush into the entertainment industry to muddy the waters?

Huaying wasn't just a single company; it had its own interest groups.

Zhang Ran, on the other hand, didn't look very angry; he had actually guessed some things, so he called Leader Li immediately.

He told Leader Li about the matter, and Leader Li, being a smart man, quickly guessed some things as well.

"Zhang Ran, I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to be like this." Leader Li was also somewhat annoyed; some people simply didn't care about the collective interest.

Zhang Ran said with a smile, "It's fine, Leader. I just wanted to say that from here on out, these are purely commercial actions. I don't want you to favor them and let us suffer losses again; that would make us feel very aggrieved."

Zhang Ran spoke very tactfully, but his meaning was very firm.

Leader Li sighed inwardly; he knew what Zhang Ran meant and had no intention of persuading him. Once Zhang Ran made up his mind, it was useless for anyone to try to persuade him.

And right now, unless they stood very firmly on Huaying's side—but if they did that, Zhang Ran wouldn't let it rest, and if things blew up in the end, he might be affected as well.

Moreover, given his relationship with Zhang Ran, he wouldn't do that.

"Mm, I understand. SARFT will remain neutral," Leader Li said in a deep voice.