Chapter 261: Each of them has their own way of making money

A big shot indeed came to the port of Palermo, and this 'big shot' was none other than Biagio's father, Sergio Costa, the Minister of the Italian Maritime and Land Administration.

To be precise, the two had met once at the Huaxia Submersible Base, but at the time, they were just acquaintances. After all, he played a supporting role there. Now, Sergio Costa came to see him in person.

Speaking of which, Xiao Peng went to the Huaxia Deep Submersible Base just to act as a "human signboard".

You should know that according to Chinese law, everything, whether underground or underwater, belongs to the state, so private salvage companies are not allowed. Of course, the state not only does not oppose private salvage operations like "sonar is useless without copper," but also strongly supports it.

(PS: For those who don’t know this story, let me explain. A few years ago, there was a very famous photo on the Internet. The photo shows an American Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship. On the bow of the ship, there are eight big characters written in Chinese: "Sonar is useless without copper." This incident was actually a spoof by netizens. In reality, there were no such eight characters written on the ship, but what it reflects is true: the United States has been scared of Chinese fishermen. The Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship sounds like a scientific research ship, but in fact, there are a total of five ships, all of which are out-and-out spy ships belonging to the US Navy. They hang around in the South China Sea all year round, dropping all kinds of equipment for stealing intelligence, such as unmanned underwater vehicles, underwater detection devices, etc., which also gives Chinese fishermen a lot of trouble. A path to wealth. Seeing an American warship, they'd simply follow it, casting their nets behind it. Whatever they threw, they'd catch, and then they'd take it back to the government for cash. This was far more lucrative than fishing! The equipment they pulled up also significantly contributed to China's technological advancement. For example, back when China lacked advanced torpedoes, a fisherman happened to pull up an American MK46 torpedo, which became the prototype for the Yu-7 torpedo, which was later adopted in large numbers. Chinese torpedo technology advanced by decades. Now, China holds annual commendations for fishermen who have salvaged valuable equipment from the sea. These days, whenever an American ship arrives in China, it's followed by dozens of Chinese fishing boats. It's a truly impressive sight—all waiting to get rich!

However, three of the four Mediterranean nations were interested in collaborating with China, but their lack of private deep-sea salvage companies made them hesitant to continue cooperating, skeptical of China's capabilities. Xiao Peng's presence solved this dilemma: "Who says China doesn't have private salvage companies? Go ask around in Marseille; everyone knows that the Chinese are the most prolific fishermen in the Mediterranean right now."

So Xiao Peng went to act as a "human signboard" to stand up for the country, which led to the establishment of the marine engineering company.

By this calculation, Xiao Peng has made a contribution to the country!

What is Sergio Costa doing here? For his son, of course!

The last time they went out to sea, that young master of Biagio had offended Xiao Peng, so he had to be driven away. In China, it's said that 'people shouldn't fight officials', but in the West, that's the good thing: as long as you have money, it doesn't matter if you're an official or not. Come on, fight head-on. Whoever backs down is a grandson!

What are all politicians in Western countries best at? Developing the country? Benefiting the people?

wrong!

What they are best at is dealing with billionaires.

There is a very vivid joke in Western countries, which is about how a billionaire introduces his wealth to others?

'I have a plane, two yachts, three lovers, four villas and five politicians.'

Western political civilization has a fundamental logic: "The rich and powerful should get involved in politics," either by donating to politicians or engaging in politics themselves. Western politicians generally fall into three categories: those with money but nowhere to spend it, those without money who seek connections with the wealthy to make money, and those who truly want to serve the country and its people. The second category is the most numerous, while the third is the least numerous.

Why do wealthy Westerners get involved in politics? In fact, it is all for their own interests.

Take the United States for example, for example. Their income tax for the rich has been decreasing year by year, from 27% in 1992 to 17% now. That is to say, the super-rich enjoy a lower tax rate than their drivers. Some people have other reasons. For example, the "King of Gambling" in Las Vegas strongly opposes the legalization of online gambling and hopes that everyone will go to Las Vegas.

Politicians who are successful in the West are often not short of money. Even if they were short of money before, they will no longer be short of money once they climb to a higher position.

For example, the new president of the United States and his wife owed nearly $2 million in 2012, yet their net worth now exceeds eight figures! As for Ao Guanhai? He was a debtor before becoming president, but now he's worth hundreds of millions.

All those Western politicians are good at making money! Without exception.

Through the conversation with Sergio Costa, Xiao Peng also solved a confusion in his heart: why was only Biagio coming last time.

In fact, Biagio came here on behalf of his father to discuss cooperation with Xiao Peng. Unexpectedly, he had not been on the same boat with Xiao Peng for such a long time. When he finally met Xiao Peng, he offended Xiao Peng because of his inappropriate words and was driven away directly.

This incident made Sergio Costa very angry!

Why did he ask his son to find Xiao Peng? So that he could observe Xiao Peng's work up close and calculate his return on investment! He wanted to make money!

Of course! He wouldn't be so foolish as to take money to Xiao Peng and invest in Xiao Peng's company.

Firstly, he didn't have that much money: his entire fortune was only a few million, which wasn't even enough to cover Xiao Peng's boat rental fees. Furthermore, if he invested this much, giving his opponent a chance to attack would be a sure thing.

So Sergio Costa thought of another way.

He wanted his son to set up another company.

Italy is surrounded by the sea on three sides, and they have experienced World War I and World War II. Since ancient times, they have been an important transportation route for commercial trade in the Mediterranean. There are countless shipwrecks quietly lying on the seabed in their territorial waters.

but. . . . . .

The salvage cost is too high!

Italy is surrounded by the sea on three sides. Aside from the shallow Adriatic Sea in the northeast, the Tyrrhenian Sea in the southwest and the Ionian Sea in the southeast are two large basins, with average depths exceeding 3,000 meters. Salvage operations here are prohibitively expensive! Furthermore, a significant portion of the area is occupied by warships, making deep-sea salvage companies reluctant to undertake the operation.

But that doesn't mean warships can't be salvaged! The prerequisite is to reach an agreement with the country to which the warship belongs, such as salvaging for the purpose of "archaeological and historical research." As for the distribution of profits, it depends on the agreement between the ocean exploration company and the country to which the warship belongs.

Sergio Costa wanted to set up such a consulting company to cooperate with Xiao Peng.

On the one hand, he gave the shipwreck information of the Italian Maritime and Land Bureau to Xiao Peng so that he could salvage shipwrecks worth salvaging. On the other hand, he was responsible for coordinating the interest distribution agreement between Xiao Peng and Italy.

This was basically a good thing of getting something for nothing, but it was ruined by his stupid son, so he came to Xiao Peng in person to make amends.

What is benefiting the people? Who can resist money?