Chapter 278 A good cook cannot cook without rice

"Brother Xiao, you're acting a bit like Zhuge Liang." Chen Zetao started singing when he saw Xiao Peng: "I was watching the mountain scenery from the city wall, and I heard a commotion outside the city, with flags waving and shadows fluttering. It turned out to be the soldiers sent by Sima..."

The reason he said this was because such a big thing had happened. Xiao Peng was actually sitting on the rooftop grilling chicken wings as if nothing had happened.

After hearing this, Xiao Peng laughed and said, "Brother Chen, I didn't realize you were such an amateur! You sing so well! Brother Zhang, you're here too?"

Zhang Cuijian spread his hands and said, "How could I not come? The insurance for both of your ships is underwritten by our company. Don't worry, the insurance will be paid out soon. But Brother Xiao, you're acting so fearsome right now! We're here to inspect you thoroughly! You're really proud of yourself."

"That's right!" Chen Zetao said, "I've been in France for so many years, and I've never seen this level of police protection. I see not only police but also gendarmes outside."

Xiao Peng shrugged and said, "They are not trying to protect me, but to protect the gold."

"Gold?" Chen Zetao asked puzzledly, "What gold?"

Xiao Peng said, "It's just the gold from a shipwreck. Here, I'll give one to each of you to take back for your children to play with!"

As he spoke, he took out two gold coins and handed them to Chen Zetao and Zhang Cuijian.

"The quality is quite good! Where did this commemorative coin come from?" This was Chen Zetao's first reaction.

Zhang Cuijian's face was filled with rage. "Brother Chen, you can't sell these coins as gold, right? Only the ones in poor condition are sold as gold. This good one is worth at least 18,000 Euros."

"So expensive?" Chen Zetao was stunned.

Zhang Cuijian coughed dryly and said, "Brother Chen, this is obviously an ancient coin!"

"Then I can't accept this gift!" Chen Zetao shook his head.

Xiao Peng laughed and said, "What can't I take? Keep it for fun, I have a lot! Treasures don't count when there are too many! In my eyes, these gold coins are not as good as these chicken wings. At least chicken wings are edible!"

Chen Zetao gave a thumbs up: "Brother Xiao, you are so good at pretending!"

"Hahahaha!" Xiao Peng laughed.

"Does anyone else know about this gold?" Chen Zetao asked.

Xiao Peng flipped the chicken wings on the grill and said, "Both the French and Italian sides know about it now. But I'm not in a hurry to salvage it. I'm the only one who knows the location of the shipwreck, and it's still on the high seas. You know, things on the high seas belong to whoever finds and salvages them."

Zhang Cuijian said anxiously, "How could you let France and Italy know about this?"

Chen Zetao nodded vigorously. "That's right, how are you going to tell anyone about this? Gold is a strategic reserve for every country."

Xiao Peng curled his lips after hearing this and said, "I can understand what Brother Zhang said about me. Brother Chen, how can you say this to me? Has anything happened recently that surprised you? For example, in Italy!"

Chen Zetao was stunned after hearing this, then asked with surprise, "So you were the one who did that?"

Xiao Peng spread his hands. "Why else would Italy suddenly contact you to establish an offshore engineering company? If Greece was the only country with a Chinese offshore engineering company, wouldn't you feel lonely? I'll make a few more attempts to attract more people to join this industry. By then, Chinese offshore engineering ships will be all over the Mediterranean. Will you still need me to help you explore the seabed?"

Chen Zetao grinned so hard his mouth almost reached his ears. "I was wondering why Italy contacted us and asked for Chinese capital to set up an offshore engineering company. But the Italian government asked for an injection of capital."

"That's your business, and it has nothing to do with me." Xiao Peng handed the grilled chicken wings to Chen Zetao and Zhang Cuijian, then took out two glasses and poured them two glasses of champagne. "Sit down, everyone! Let's eat, drink, and talk. Oh, by the way, Brother Chen, you have to remember one thing: Italy will propose several ports for you to choose from: Bari, Brindisi, Genoa, Naples, and Taranto. The offshore engineering company must be established in Taranto. Sergio and I have already discussed this matter. Sergio has already taken care of the relevant matters of leasing the port of Taranto. He will help you with this matter. You must let him taste the sweetness! If you don't choose this in the end, I will compensate him with 100 million euros. How about that? I have devoted myself to my country, right?"

Chen Zetao laughed heartily after hearing this: "That's very kind! Xiao Zhang, we should toast Brother Xiao! This is a brilliant job!"

Xiao Peng shook his head. "In fact, I can't help you any more from now on. Brother Chen, you still have to do me a favor."

"What help?" Chen Zetao asked puzzledly.

Xiao Peng pulled a check from his pocket and handed it to Chen Zetao. Chen Zetao was shocked when he saw the number on it. "Five million euros? Brother Xiao, what are you doing?"

Xiao Peng pointed at the beach and said, "The 'Super Box Jellyfish' burned. It can't be insured, so I have to pay for it myself. I asked around, and an ROV of the same level generally costs around 3 million to 3.5 million euros. I'll give 5 million euros as an explanation to the government."

Chen Zetao laughed out loud after hearing this: "Brother Xiao, I came to you for this matter."

"Huh? Five million is not enough?" Xiao Peng was stunned.

Chen Zetao shook his head and said, "No, no, no, no! Enough, more than enough, but the country doesn't intend to ask for compensation from you right now."

"Huh?" Xiao Peng was stunned after hearing this. "Brother Chen, I'm not Hutagalong from Indonesia. If a pie falls from the sky once, I'll catch it, but if it falls twice, I really can't handle it!"

The Hutagalong he mentioned was definitely one of the luckiest people in the world. He was an ordinary Indonesian farmer. While he was eating at home, a meteorite from the sky hit the eaves of his house and made a hole in it. The meteorite was then sold for more than one million US dollars.

This incident tells everyone: there is still a chance of getting something for nothing.

Xiao Peng didn't have an ROV at the time, so Chen Zetao sent him one for free. It was like pie in the sky. But now the ROV burned down and he doesn't have to pay for it? It's like getting pie in the sky twice!

Xiao Peng didn't believe that he had such good luck.

Chen Zetao shrugged and said, "Brother Xiao, what you said just now was very good, 'If you make more money, more people will be jealous'. You can't just sit there and do nothing!"

Xiao Peng pointed in the direction of the dock and said, "Brother Chen, both of my boats were burned down, and you want me to swim to get them out? I'm really impressed by the efficiency of the French police. It's been two weeks and they still haven't solved such a big case! Now I don't even dare to let my children go home to live! How dare I mess with the boats? Someone came to blow them up? I've made enough money anyway. If this case isn't solved, I'll go home and retire! Such a small country can't solve such a case with its national power? I even doubt that the French police didn't even investigate my case!"