Chapter 1056 Kidnapping Risk
Xiao Peng was roasting a grey plover on the fire. Although the plover was fatty and greasy, Xiao Peng was thinking about chili powder, five-spice powder, cumin powder... If those seasonings really existed, the grey plover would definitely taste much better than roasted quail.
This island is a "bird island," a stop on the migratory route for gray plover. Thanks to them, Xiao Peng has been eating a lot of bird eggs lately. It's breeding season, and the gray plover happens to lay eggs on the ground, so the two girls have been stealing eggs. Xiao Peng also catches a lot of them and roasts them—honestly, gray plover isn't very tasty, but there's no meat on this island except for small reptiles and insects, so gray plover is the best.
After hearing Montraser's question, Xiao Peng explained, "He has insurance! Have you heard of 'kidnapping insurance'?"
"'Kidnapping insurance'?" Paula and Montraser were both confused. "There's this kind of insurance?"
Xiao Peng smiled and said, "Rich people's insurance is of course irrelevant to ordinary people. For example, more than 60% of employees in the Fortune 100 companies purchase kidnapping insurance."
The two women looked confused. This was the first time they had heard of such insurance.
Xiao Peng asked in return: "Let me ask you, what is the best way to deal with kidnappers?"
Without thinking, Paula answered directly: "Bodyguard!"
Montrase said, "No, it's a weapon!"
Xiao Peng shook his head: "What you said is not true. In fact, the best way to deal with kidnappers is to do business with them."
"Ah?" The two girls were too busy eating cassava to care about it and looked at Xiao Peng in confusion.
Xiao Peng explained, "Think about it, kidnapping isn't something you can just do. It costs money. If you want to kidnap someone, you'll definitely need weapons, right? A car, right? A specific plan, right? All these expenses have to be factored in. So let me ask you, if you kidnapped someone and the ransom you received was almost as much as the money you spent, would you still be a robber? Kidnapping insurance essentially does this 'funding allocation.' And one thing is certain: the longer the employer is in the hands of the kidnappers, the more compensation they receive. Think about it: wealthy people and corporate executives frequently travel in and out of the country for work and personal reasons, so they bear a higher risk. If something happens to them, it could be devastating to their families and businesses. Therefore, this type of insurance generally covers family and children. At my... my company, this is a welfare benefit for employees."
The two women suddenly realized what was going on. After a while, Paula asked, "Sir, if you're not satisfied with the price, can you negotiate with him? Why did you just kick him out? If he falls into the hands of those two brothers again, he'll probably end up in trouble."
Xiao Peng shrugged and said, "What does this have to do with me? You remember what I said the other day about them being 'gangsters eating gangsters,' right? Meyer isn't a good guy either. His father, Frans Meyer, is a notorious gangster! He's a well-known figure in the Netherlands! Where do you think Meyer got his money? It was all from his father kidnapping people! This is karma!"
"What?" Paula asked quickly after hearing this: "What's going on?"
Xiao Peng explained: "Have you heard of the 'Heineken Kidnapping Case'?"
The two girls shook their heads to indicate they didn't know. Paula said, "I only know 'Heineken beer.'"
Xiao Peng tore off a wing of a grey plover, took a bite, and mumbled, "You're right. The 'Heineken Kidnapping Case' is related to Heineken beer. The victim was Alfred, the Dutch super-rich and Heineken's president at the time."
Heineken, despite its global popularity, is actually a family business. It was founded by Alfred's grandfather, who hired Dr. Iningen, a student of Dr. Pasteur, who invented the rabies vaccine, to develop a new Heineken beer recipe. Since then, Heineken has been a global favorite. Even during World War II, when the Netherlands was occupied by Germany, Heineken continued to grow.
Of course, due to the war, at the end of World War II, most of the shares of Heineken were plundered. At that time, Heineken was probably only related to their family in name.
At this time, it was Alfred who stepped forward to turn the tide. Since he joined Heineken in 1941, he has been buying back shares step by step and joining the board of directors to regain control. He finally turned Heineken into one of the best-selling beers in the world, and from then on he became one of the super-rich.
Xiao Peng said, "In fact, the birth of 'kidnapping insurance' is related to Alfred. In 1983, he had the son of one of his employees organize a group of people to kidnap Alfred. At that time, the five kidnappers demanded a ransom of 35 million Dutch guilders from Alfred. According to the currency unit at the time, it was about 20 million US dollars. In today's currency, it would be about 300 million."
"So many?" the two women exclaimed.
Xiao Peng spread his hands. "It's not so bad. Anyway, when the police finally cracked the case, they only recovered 12 million Dutch guilders. The rest of the money is missing. There were five people involved in this case. One of them pretended to be crazy and was sent to a mental hospital. He then escaped from there and his whereabouts have been unknown since then. He was not caught by the police until more than ten years later. Can you guess who that person was?"
"It's Frans Meyer!" Paula said directly.
Xiao Peng snapped his fingers. "You're right! But even though Frans Mayer was arrested, the money that wasn't recovered is still missing. Frans Mayer married and had children in Uruguay, becoming a wealthy local. Although everyone knows his money is that money, Frans Mayer had laundered it over the past decade. Now the Dutch police can't do anything with his money, so they had to arrest him and send him back to serve his sentence. A few years after his release, he was arrested again by the Dutch police for investigation in the Helide case, and he's still in prison. The father is in prison, and the son is living a life of luxury. This is similar to my 'silly' Canadian singer."
The "Yun Xiaoshun" singer he mentioned is the one from "My Singing Voice". Her mother was arrested and imprisoned, but she lived a wealthy life in Canada. Every year, she would post a few words online saying she missed her mother, but she didn't dare to go back to China. She was called "Yun Xiaoshun".
"Who is Helid?" asked Montraser.
Xiao Peng said, "He's the mastermind behind Alfred's kidnapping. He and his brother-in-law were the main plotters. After being imprisoned for over a decade, they formed a gang specializing in extortion, kidnapping, and other criminal activities. His sister then sued him, accusing him of killing his brother-in-law, the man who kidnapped Alfred with him. He's still in prison. However, this incident also led to the birth of 'kidnapping insurance'... Damn! Am I a pig?"
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