The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 146: Only the Happy Know It
Before William arrived, the card game he had seen was actually Mr. Fox passing the time by deliberately “losing.” To put it simply, he was using the act of losing money to gather a few ordinary old men around him.
Some people might think this was a sign of loneliness. They might also think Mr. Fox was a pitiful old man with no real friends.
But look at it from another position. At least he still had money ... William saw through it at a glance. A man who dealt with money all day, and who was not strictly speaking a good person, could not possibly lose until he had only a few chips left in front of him. There was nothing normal about that.
Nor did he think Mr. Fox was pitiful. Perhaps in Mr. Fox’s mind, the people who played with him and took advantage of him were the pitiful ones. At least he would not pay for a few insignificant dollars with the most expensive thing in life: time.
People often said money could not buy happiness. William thought Mr. Fox had been quite happy just now. That pleasure of sitting behind the curtain, letting that group of old men think they had found an “honest man,” only for them to become the ones on the hook, was something they would never experience.
The two joked for a while, then sat down in wicker chairs. The open-air terrace was exposed to wind and sun, and sometimes harsher weather. A leather sofa or fabric sofa would not last more than half a year here. Wicker chairs, on the other hand, could endure longer and had a bit of cultural flavor to them, making them more suitable for this place.
People were basically like this. Once their most basic needs in terms of wealth had been satisfied, they began pursuing spiritual satisfaction. And the pursuit of cultural satisfaction was a more accessible method for the public.
“I heard from elsewhere that you found a script.” William took the coffee brought by the servant and sipped it. In truth, many young men like him preferred juice, because juice was sweet and tart.
But the real William was not a young man. He had already passed the age of liking sweet and sour flavors. That kind of taste could no longer attract him. Instead, certain bitter flavors with a lingering sweetness fascinated him more.
Mr. Fox nodded. “You know, that bastard son of mine is a university student...” He called Mr. Fox Jr. a bastard, but the pride on his face betrayed what he really felt. “One of his schoolmates found him and provided him with this script. Mr. Fox Jr. thought it was very interesting, so why not let him try?”
William could understand that feeling as a father. In truth, every father hoped his child could walk a bright road. Even the leader of a criminal family would have such thoughts.
He nodded. “When I had dinner with the mayor tonight, I brought this matter up. He agreed to give us a financial subsidy. I can’t guarantee the exact amount. I asked him to give as much as possible.”
“Also, you can go to the Department of Social Services and apply for assistance. They will assign dedicated staff to cooperate with your filming.”
Mr. Fox froze for a moment, then immediately thanked William. “You’re a good man, William!”
“We’re friends. Friends are supposed to help one another, aren’t they?”
Mr. Fox showed no hesitation at all. “You’re right, William, my friend!”
Perhaps William’s arrival had distracted Mr. Fox Jr. Or perhaps he wanted to hear William’s opinion and find a sense of approval. Not long afterward, he came up to the second-floor terrace with the script and handed it to William. “Do you want to look at the script? If nothing goes wrong, this will be the first movie we shoot.”
The Foxes had established a company called Fox Pictures, and William had also invested some money in it, taking a thirty percent stake.
Originally, he had meant to take ten percent as a gesture, but the father and son were very enthusiastic and insisted on giving him thirty percent. Because of that, William had paid an additional three hundred thousand dollars.
With the attitude of being responsible for his own money, he began reading it seriously. Thanks to his past experience and knowledge, he also had some connection with this line of fast-money business.
As he read, William’s brows began to rise in a less than obedient fashion. This was a very common road-trip thriller romance. The phrasing might sound a little awkward, but at present this sort of film belonged to a relatively common mainstream genre.
Before faster means of transportation appeared, when people traveled between different cities, they often chose to go by car. For one thing, the cost of riding in a car was lower than taking the train, and it was also freer. As everyone knew, freedom was written into the Charter, and Federation people were filled to the bone with the smell of freedom.
People liked highways. They liked the beauty and poetry of driving across a sunset desert toward the crimson sun about to sink below the horizon. For that reason, road movies had always been popular. Their low shooting cost was another reason.
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