Chapter 237: Excavating Roots

In the Lu family mansion, Lu Yuanhai laughed, "Isn't it hilarious? Ling Miaoying caused such a huge stir, and then the film he made burned down in a fire! I laughed for a whole hour about it."

Lu Yuanshan didn't laugh. He was older than Lu Yuanhai and had a more long-term perspective on some matters.

"Uncle Qiu, do you think this is an opportunity?"

Qiu Zhiheng looked at Lu Yuanshan: "You want to make movies too?"

"Ling Miaoying's idea is indeed good. Filming ten movies at once... if we could pull this off..."

Madame Duan Shaoxia, the eldest wife, interjected: "Yuanshan, have you ever made a movie? We shouldn't dabble in things we're not confident about."

Lu Yuanshan replied: "Precisely because we're not confident, I'm discussing it with Uncle Qiu."

Qiu Zhiheng didn't rush to speak; he needed to ponder the matter carefully.

Lu Yuanhai said: "I think it's feasible. It all depends on the actors. As long as the actors are famous, the movie will definitely sell well."

Duan Shaoxia shot Lu Yuanhai a glance: "It's easy for you to say. Good actors aren't easy to find. The Ling family has the connections to invite even a singing queen, and I hear they even went through with the staged act for real. Do you have that kind of capability?"

Lu Yuanhai scoffed: "What kind of capability is that? Those singing queens and movie stars, as long as you pay them enough, they'll do anything. Forget about a fake act becoming real; you could even make them go all the way..."

Lu Yuanshan frowned: "Stop talking nonsense. Let's talk business. Ling Miaoying plans to remake this movie. If we can film it before them, that fat profit will be ours!"

"Fat profit?" Lu Yuanhai didn't think a single movie could earn much.

Lu Yuanshan sighed: "It's exhausting talking to you. I'm not just talking about this movie, but the entire industry! There's huge profit potential in this business! However, since this is our first venture, losing some money if the business fails is a minor issue. My fear is that we might damage the Lu family's reputation, making it difficult to get involved in this industry again in the future."

Qiu, known as "Monkey Qiu," understood the stakes, but he wasn't confident either: "Since we're not confident, let's find someone who is to do this."

Lu Yuanshan pondered for a moment and said: "The only confident person I can think of is Ma Wu."

Lu Yuanhai nodded: "He really is the right person for this! I heard he's made movies before, but ordinary cinemas wouldn't show them, claiming they were indecent!"

Duan Shaoxia interjected, advising: "Don't always think about tricking Junyang. I've heard that in the film industry, one misstep can lead to complete financial ruin. Junyang's foundation isn't as strong as our family's; how could he withstand such a setback?"

Lu Yuanshan impatiently said: "How is this tricking him? This is helping him. We can contribute some money, and both families will benefit."

Qiu Zhiheng nodded: "We'll contribute half the money, and Ma Wu can raise the other half himself. If we lose money, our loss won't be significant, and the Lu family's reputation won't be harmed. If we make money, we'll share the substantial profits from this industry and won't treat him unfairly."

Lu Yuanshan put on his coat and said: "I'll go find Ma Wu now."

Inside Xiaoyao Dock, Ma Wu and Li Banfeng were discussing the movie.

"Seventh Brother, do you think we should agree to this?"

"Yes, why not? Haven't you made movies before?"

"The movies I made weren't exactly proper."

"I've seen them; I think they're quite proper."

Ma Wu was still worried: "The Ling family has invested heavily in this movie. If we get ahead of them, I'm afraid Ling Miaoying will come at us with everything he's got."

"They've already been trying to destroy us," Li Banfeng said. He didn't recount the exact events but only described Ling Miaoying's usual tactics and methods. Now, he was more concerned about something else: "How exactly did we fall out with the Ling family?"

Ma Wu had also been pondering this question, but he couldn't think of any other clues besides Lu Xiaolan.

"For Lu Xiaolan? Is she worth it?"

Li Banfeng absolutely didn't believe that Ling Miaoying would target them just for Lu Xiaolan's looks. What kind of women hadn't Ling Miaoying seen?

"It's also possible that we've risen too quickly, and the Ling family wants to suppress us preemptively."

"Are we even worthy of that?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "You once said the Ling family is the fifth largest family in Puro Province. Do the fifth largest family have such petty minds? To try to destroy two small-time newcomers? They run newspapers, make records, produce movies—we haven't been involved in any of those. How could we have such influence to catch their attention? There's something more to this. Someone is backing them, and we need to find out who that person is!"

It wasn't just this one thing that had been overlooked; there was also a person Li Banfeng had neglected.

As evening lights began to glow, Li Banfeng went to Miaosheng Phonograph Store.

The storefront was still small, but being small had its advantages. Since Ling Miaoying's incident, Miaosheng Phonograph Store had been vandalized over a dozen times. Fortunately, only the entrance hall was damaged. The interior of the phonograph store was too complex for ordinary people to break into, and those with the ability wouldn't stoop to such actions.

Behind the dilapidated counter, Ling Miaosheng was dozing as usual. When he saw a customer, he raised his head and offered a faint smile. He recognized Li Banfeng. Although Li Banfeng's appearance had changed somewhat, as a high-level Peeker Cultivator, he still recognized his old customer.

"Are you here to buy a phonograph, or for revenge? If it's for revenge, feel free to act. Unfortunately, I don't have much here that can be smashed."

Li Banfeng looked at the curtain behind Ling Miaosheng: "If I'm not mistaken, all the good stuff is inside, isn't it?"

Ling Miaosheng shook his head slightly: "You can't just smash the things inside; those are my life."

"I'm here to buy a phonograph. You have to let me see the goods, right?"

Ling Miaosheng nodded and led Li Banfeng into the inner room. The store employees who used to clean the various rooms were gone; no one dared to work for Ling Miaosheng anymore.

Li Banfeng looked at several phonographs and chose a hand-cranked model, intending to buy it. The phonograph had good sound quality, though it couldn't compare to My Lady. However, the phonograph was produced in Amikan, and its parts were interchangeable with My Lady's.

Ling Miaosheng didn't take Li Banfeng's money: "This phonograph is a gift, to express my previous apologies. Don't worry, I've checked carefully; there are no 'hooks' on it."

Li Banfeng turned the crank, and the phonograph began playing a soothing violin piece.

"May I ask you something?"

Ling Miaosheng guessed what Li Banfeng wanted to ask and replied directly: "I don't know much about my eldest brother and third brother's affairs. I actually didn't know much about them embedding 'hooks' in my shop and on the phonographs either."

Li Banfeng didn't believe him: "You're also a Peeker Cultivator, and a high-level one at that. How could you not detect their 'hooks'?"

Ling Miaosheng gave a bitter smile: "You're right, I am a Peeker Cultivator. It's not bragging, but my cultivation level is above my eldest brother's and third brother's. However, finding 'hooks' isn't just about cultivation; it's about cunning. In a shop this large, with so many phonographs, a 'hook' is like a needle. I really couldn't guess where they inserted them. Even now, there are still many 'hooks' in the phonograph store, but I can't find them. I might never know where they buried them. The only thing I know is that they are working for a prominent figure. That person is currently in another province. I'm not clear what their ultimate goal is, nor do I know what their next move will be."

Li Banfeng remained silent. Ling Miaosheng personally packed the hand-cranked phonograph and handed it to Li Banfeng.

"You probably still don't believe me, and that's fine. If you want to fight, let's go outside; don't damage my phonographs."

Li Banfeng pulled down his fedora, picked up the phonograph, and left the store. Ling Miaosheng took off his hat, placed it on his chest, bowed, and watched Li Banfeng depart.

Back at Xiaoyao Dock, Li Banfeng hummed "Tuberose" to the phonograph. There was no sound of 'hooks' breaking. Ling Miaosheng was likely telling the truth. No more information could be found from him; the clues were still with Ling Miaoying.

The prominent figure in the other province.

Who could that prominent figure be?

"Jiaqing, your friend went to my second brother's phonograph store today and bought a phonograph."

"Just buying a phonograph? I doubt he had that much leisure," He Jiaqing chuckled. "He probably went to ask your second brother some questions."

"I also suspect he asked about certain things, but Second Brother has cleared most of the 'hooks.' What they discussed isn't clear yet, but I plan to ask Second Brother about it."

"You should know your second brother's temperament; asking him would be pointless. My brother is digging for roots here, and your second brother doesn't know much to begin with. I'm worried he'll come looking for you next."

Ling Miaoying nodded: "It would be best if he came to me. I suspect he's involved in the fire incident, and this would be a good chance to settle things with him."

"No!" He Jiaqing's tone was firm. "Focus on remaking the movie. There must be absolutely no more mishaps with that. Replace the male lead and find another actor."

"Zhou Changhong is the best actor; you know that."

"Precisely because he's the best actor, there are other matters for him to attend to."

The next day, newspapers reported that Ling Family Pictures was remaking "Blade Detective." Ma Wu frowned and said: "They work so fast! I haven't even finished casting, and they've already started filming."

Li Banfeng had visited the filming location several times and was quite familiar with the main actors. After reading the newspaper, he noticed a change in the cast list: "Why was the male lead replaced?"

Ma Wu looked closely: "They replaced Zhou Changhong. He's a good actor, and I could try to recruit him, but he's been with Ling Miaoying for seven or eight years, so I don't know if he'd be willing to join me."

Ma Wu immediately sent someone to contact Zhou Changhong but learned that he had left Greenwater Bay yesterday.

Where did he go?

That evening, Ma Wu got news from the Border Defense Commissioner: Zhou Changhong had gone to another province.

"He's not filming here, so what's he doing running off to another province?" Ma Wu didn't quite understand. "Does he want to act in movies in another province?"

He had been with Ling Miaoying for seven or eight years, and now, while Ling Miaoying was rushing to remake the movie, he had gone to another province.

Another province...

Li Banfeng told Ma Wu: "Keep a close eye on his movements and inform me as soon as there's any news."

Two days later, news arrived.

Ma Wu said: "Zhou Changhong is back, but he hasn't taken on any roles. I hear he's still applying for a travel permit and plans to leave again in the next couple of days."

Li Banfeng said: "Track his whereabouts and get me the same kind of travel permit. I want to see if he's a messenger or that prominent figure from the other province himself."