Allen, who was in the period of being single, was very happy to hear that his two "good friends" were coming. It would be a great occasion for everyone to have a drink and discuss plans for next year.
After finishing the cream on the cake, he ate some of the cake core. Allen didn't like the slightly hard parts of the outer crust. After wiping his mouth, Allen asked, "Have the workers in those overseas industries received the reward red envelopes I sent?"
Giving red envelopes to the servants at home was a recognition of their hard work throughout the year, but Allen also did not forget the workers in the overseas factories.
As a noble lord, what you want is generosity!
When I didn’t have money in the past, I just saved it. Now that I have enough money, I have to give what I should give.
In China, it actually doesn't cost much money. The red envelope Alan gave was one thousand Chinese yuan.
That seems like a lot, right?
But converted to pounds, the current exchange rate is around 6.00, which is equivalent to more than 100 pounds. Compared with the 3,000 pounds red envelope for the servants at home...
This is really small money.
…
"I have arranged everything. They are all distributed reasonably according to the exchange rates in various places."
Huth took a pen and recorded the time in his notebook, while answering Alan's questions without delay.
"That's fine."
Although Allen is a capitalist now, he still has some conscience. When the workers help him make money, he is willing to give back to them. This not only helps him accumulate fame, but also improves the outside world's impression of him.
This is a noble lord who pays attention to his image, is close to the people, has a sense of morality, and is kind!
…
The next afternoon, the Duke of Angus drove his extremely flashy white stretched Lincoln into the manor. The moment he entered, his eyes were attracted by the huge Christmas tree.
When passing by the Christmas tree, Angus, who was very curious, asked the driver to stop the car, got out of the car and walked around the Christmas tree twice, looking at the few little red socks that had not been taken down on the tree.
I took one off and felt inside the sock. It felt a bit heavy, like a small ring-shaped object.
Looking at Alan walking towards him from a distance, Angus didn't care. He opened the Christmas stocking and the things inside made his heart tremble.
Holding up a pure gold bracelet, Angus said to Alan, who walked up to him with a smile on his face, "Are all the presents hanging on your Christmas tree like this?"
Who plays like this?
Isn't this a prodigal son?
It’s great to be rich!
The gold bracelet is just hanging here so openly?
Not afraid...
Forget it, they are really not afraid of being robbed. Think about it, within a radius of nearly a hundred miles, no one dares to come here to steal things.
Angus glared at Alan with some annoyance.
…
"Haha, once you take it off, this gift is yours, go play with it."
What's wrong with a gold bracelet? It's so small and not expensive. If you're giving a gift, just be generous. It only comes once a year, and these gifts are basically jewelry that you can wear.
Angus stuffed the gold bracelet into his pocket, then changed hands, searched in the other pocket for a long time, and then grabbed Allen's left hand.
"Hey? What are you doing?"
"Don't say I'm not nice enough, uncle. This is your coming-of-age gift!"
As Angus spoke, he put a ring-like piece of jewelry on Alan's thumb.
Raising his hand and looking at the thing in his hand, Alan had some difficulty recognizing what material it was made of.
It's a bit like jade, but a little lighter and the color is warmer.
The white material was inlaid with more than a dozen gemstones of various colors, forming a familiar family crest.
"This is an heirloom in our family. It was the finger guard that the Duke of Manchester wore when he hunted. Since you like hunting, I'm giving it to you! It's made of ivory, so you'd better be careful with it after a long time."
Angus couldn't help but look at the ring on Alan's hand again and waved his hand in a pretentious manner.
…
"Hahaha! Old man, I knew you had something good in your hands."
When Alan heard the word ivory and the color, he could guess that this thing was an old item. A prodigal like Angus could actually come up with such a thing.
It seems... there are still three pounds of nails in the rotten boat.
The ancients did not deceive me.
"Come on, let's go! Let's have an outdoor barbecue and drink some wine later!"
After receiving the gifts, Alan and Angus walked arm in arm towards a prepared bonfire in the distance.
That guy Spencer hasn't arrived yet, we have to wait for him.
…
The setting sun in the evening shines on the snow, turning it into orange-red.
A circle of grass was cleared around the bonfire, and on a large rack, whole roasted cattle and whole roasted lamb were ready.
The tempting aroma hit him in the face. Spencer, wearing a cotton glove in his left hand, grabbed the beef leg. He used the knife in his right hand to cut the meat from the beef leg. He gently cut off a small piece, stabbed it with the tip of the knife, and put it directly into his mouth.
"Do you have any beer? I don't want whiskey, your Coke will do!"
Spencer told the servant beside him to change his drink.
At this time, the three of them, Alan, Angus, and Spencer, were sitting around a fire which was still warm but without an open flame, eating barbecue, with wine, various dips, and a few side dishes at their feet.
Seeing that Alan ignored him and was carefully sprinkling the beef in front of him, Spencer moved closer to Duke Angus and said, "Angus, what you guys did a few days ago... I saw reports in the Gambian newspapers."
Spencer was talking about a few days ago, before Christmas, when the Congress was about to end, the upright Duke of Angus, following his last proposal to increase funding for the royal family, proposed an alternative proposal to revitalize the economy - increasing tariffs on certain Korean goods.
Compared to the Duke of Angus's last much-criticized proposal, this proposal is much more serious.
At the meeting, the Duke of Angus cited several examples of South Korea's inferior products squeezing out the domestic market.
With this statement, and the current economic environment continuing to decline, should they raise tariffs on certain foreign goods?
Then this will not only protect domestic products, but also stabilize a number of companies on the verge of bankruptcy. If the companies are saved, won't jobs be increased in disguise?
The well-reasoned proposal made the Duke of Angus slightly proud, but because it was proposed too hastily, this year's Parliament was about to close and the discussion could only be continued until next year. The British MPs would have to take a holiday for Christmas.
…
Such a proposal seems good and has advantages everywhere, but if you look at it from another perspective.
For example, if we change to South Korea, this will be not good!
They rely on inferior quality to save costs, and their profit is small profits but quick turnover.
If tariffs are raised now, some of their products will completely lose any competitive advantage.
In this way.
The fiscal revenue that is entirely supported by overseas trade will not be seriously affected by the actions of the British, but...
Great Britain is not just themselves, they also have the Commonwealth!
What if this method is really effective and some people have tasted the sweetness, and other Commonwealth countries follow suit, causing a chain reaction?
This is not just one or two small places, but a large alliance market involving more than one billion people and dozens of countries!
By then...
Koreans are going to vomit blood.
so……
As soon as the proposal was revealed, the Koreans became anxious!
The most anxious ones are the Korean chaebols who control overseas trade channels.
They have the biggest loss!
The stock market fell in response to this proposal, just when they wanted PR.
Excuse me……
The gentlemen in Great Britain are on holiday!
The timing is so fucked up and disgusting!
There is still nearly half a year until the opening of next year's Congress, which is too torturous.
But there is no point in suffering. If you need to find connections, you need to find connections. If you need to do public relations, you need to do public relations. What else can you do?
This is Britain, not South Korea. They can only have a slight influence but cannot make the decision.
…
Angus raised his chin with a hint of arrogance, motioned to Alan and said to Spencer, "He is responsible for the dirty work, and I am responsible for the proposal. Boy... are you envious?"
Spencer is indeed envious...
These two people are having a great time in Congress, but I am staying in Gambia, playing with black pearls all day long. Is there any comparison between the two?
He's tired of playing!
…
"Spencer, wait until your father passes the throne to you, then you can play with us too!"
Alan looked up and gave Spencer a sincere suggestion.
“…”
Spencer was speechless. His father was middle-aged, only in his fifties, and still had a lot of life to live. In the short term, he could forget about inheriting the title. And without the title, he, the legitimate son of an earl, could only enjoy the treatment of a knight, and no other privileges. Let alone going to Congress, he could forget about it.
…
"By the way... Allen, a Korean came to me a few days ago and wanted to test my opinion. What should I do?"
Angus grabbed the glass and took a big gulp. It was such a cold day. Sitting outside, eating hot barbecue, and suddenly taking a sip of ice-cold whiskey, that feeling...
"Just accept whatever they want to give you, but don't say too much and don't agree to any conditions. Don't you have no house in London? Just go pick a house you like and ask them for it openly!"
Alan cut another piece of meat with crispy bones and chewed it with a crunching sound in his mouth.
…
"Ah? Aren't you going to cover it up?"
Angus was a little frightened by Alan's words. He had never played this kind of thing before. Shouldn't it be a dirty deal in private like in the movies?
Why did Alan ask him to ask for it openly now?
"Where is this? This is Da Ying! Here... who are the Koreans? We are clearly bullying them and blackmailing them! What are you afraid of!"
Alan pointed at Angus and encouraged him to be bolder. This was just the beginning.
…
"Then... Alan, what if they really use their connections to suppress the proposal during these few months?"
Angus still has some conscience. He knows that Allen's proposal is just to disgust the Koreans, and he also wants to make this proposal come true.
…
"Haha... Angus, you don't really think we can pass any proposal we come up with? You think Congress is too simple!"
Alan wanted to snap his fingers, but his hands were too greasy and the snap didn't happen. He tried to cover up his embarrassment, coughed, and asked the servant next to him to bring several thick notebooks to Angus.
"What's this?"
Angus looked at some familiar trademarks on the notebooks and felt curious.
"This is the overseas product catalog of those Korean companies!"
"this……"
"No matter if they find someone or not, or who they find, when I go to Congress next year, we will pick out one of the products in the catalog every few days and make a proposal to raise their tariffs. This proposal will not pass, but if we pick out each product and talk about it separately... I want to see if they are afraid."
Alan sneered and finished talking about his plans for next year.
…
Angus looked at Spencer beside him speechlessly. How could this be possible?
Just use their product catalog to precisely attack them?
Only noble lords like them who have nothing to do and just like to find trouble with others can do such a thing!
Moreover, this practice is reasonable and legal. Apart from being a little troublesome, there is no violation of any regulations.
By then, Koreans will receive rumors every few days that tariffs on some of their products will be increased. I believe they will be trembling with fear every day, right?
Although this trick is a bit dirty, it is indeed disgusting and can continue to disgust people.
…
There were no outsiders around, so the three of them didn't pay much attention to their image and were a little drunk. Alan couldn't help but pull Angus and Spencer to the hall to show off his new armor to them.
This thing...
There are only about thirty sets in the entire British journal.
The Royal Guards are the Royal Guards, and the Imperial Guards in the Royal Guards are very special.
All of the high-ranking nobles were ministers whose ancestors had made great contributions to the cause.
They share the same honor and disgrace with the royal family, and only such a family can serve in such a special position as the royal guard. Their dress uniforms and armor are all specially made, different from those of ordinary Royal Guards Dragoons. That's the coolness!
…
Spencer looked at the armor protected in the glass cover with envy, because his family did not have such treatment.
But after taking two glances, Spencer couldn't help but move closer to Allen, hugging Allen's neck, and his tongue was a little big.
"As your uncle, I don't have anything to give you for your coming-of-age gift. Come with me for a few days. I have prepared a special short vacation for you. There will be a surprise for you then!"
"Um?"
Alan looked at Spencer with blushing face. This guy actually prepared a surprise for him?
Could it be black pearl?
…
"Where are you going? I don't like black pearls."
"Tsk! That's boring! You won't be able to imagine the surprise this time! Just wait, we'll leave the day after tomorrow!"
After saying that, Spencer leaned on Alan's shoulder and looked like he was about to fall asleep.
"Help them go back to their room to rest!"
Alan asked the servant to help the two back to the guest room.
…
In January in Iceland, the lowest temperature is only around minus five degrees Celsius. It seems that the temperature is not low, but it is cold!
When Alan arrived here, he felt a little regretful. It was all Spencer's fault for tricking him into taking a surprise trip.
Could it be that you wanted him to come and see the ice cave?
Iceland as a whole has a small population, high national quality and a very good security environment, so Alan came here with only a few bodyguards and servants.
Spencer did not join him, but arrived a day earlier, saying that he wanted to prepare a surprise for Alan.
Alan exhaled, stamped his feet, watched the bodyguards meet the vehicles that came to pick him up, and then checked the four old Land Rovers inside and out.