Chapter 1492: It doesn’t seem that annoying
Vallarino and Shelfina were very confused by Xiao Peng's answer. They didn't expect Xiao Peng to reject Vallarino's proposal.
Vallarino said hurriedly: "Xiao, you may not understand. The castle I am talking about is not those ordinary small castles. The castle I am talking about is hung with the image of the Savoy family. It is a symbol of the Italian royal family!"
Xiao Peng said helplessly, "Valalino, don't fool me. Which castle in Europe is not linked to imperial power?"
Vallarino and Shelfina didn't understand why Xiao Peng refused. In fact, the key issue here was cultural differences.
Westerners generally have a "castle complex." Here, almost everyone believes that princes and princesses should live in castles. Who doesn't have a "prince dream"? A grand castle, a symbol of royal power, is the ultimate dream for girls. This is evident in the fact that Valarino and Shelfina lived in a castle after their wedding.
But Xiao Peng is from Daxia!
What are the characteristics of Daxia people? Pragmatism!
Orange Gardens is pretty impressive, isn't it? It's a Dutch historic building, but Xiao Peng went to great lengths to modernize it without damaging the exterior, just to make it more comfortable for him. This incident really pissed off Dutch historians.
In fact, Xiao Peng, when he was suddenly rich, had considered buying a castle in France. But when he got there? It was freezing in the winter and humid in the summer. Without a staff of 100 or 80, even regular cleaning was impossible. As for modernizing it? Haha, even cutting down a tree or planting a flower required reporting to the relevant authorities. Living in a castle? Only Xiao Peng had lost his mind!
Xiao Peng thought for a moment and said, "Valalino, I actually don't agree with what you said just now. You said that donating a castle would make people look down on you? It seems that for nobles like you, only those without money will be looked down upon, right? Look at Billy. He went to a 'Chaumet' press conference and had his shares stripped away. What happened now? How many people are rushing to him? Forget him, let's just talk about me. You Europeans have it in your genes to look down on Orientals - and that includes you. Don't deny it, but you still have to be polite when you see me. Why is that? I like staying in Europe for this reason. You Europeans are really too naive. The way you judge a person's strength is whether he has money. That's why you look down on me, but at the same time you have to be polite and servile to negotiate with me here."
After hearing this, Valarino smiled bitterly and said, "Xiao, if I donate the castle, doesn't that mean I'm broke?"
Xiao Peng said, "Your family is so big, you can find your own relatives."
After hearing this, Valarino took a sip of beer and said bitterly, "Xiao, even though we're all relatives, if you run into a poor relative, you'd avoid him as much as possible!"
Xiao Peng nodded: "If you are poor in a busy city, no one will care about you; if you are rich in the mountains, you will have distant relatives."
Vallarino hurriedly said, "Xiao, I must explain to you that the land I inherited is the most fertile. The best local citrus and grapes come from my land, but it's still far from fully developed! I plan to further develop local agriculture after inheriting the family business, which is why I won't use the land as a tax deduction. My land is in the 'Red Zone' of Mount Vesuvius, but that land contains the most fertile land in all of Italy... no, in all of Europe. Although proximity to the 'Red Zone' prevents the use of heavy machinery, increasing costs, on the other hand, this land can produce natural, green, and pollution-free agricultural products, while also solving local employment problems. With rising living standards and a focus on quality of life, both Italy and France prioritize food, so this approach has great potential! Of course, I don't deny that developing agriculture has its drawbacks, namely the long maintenance cycle and slow return on investment. However, this problem is not unsolvable, perhaps through a public listing—of course, I still prefer not to go that route. While that would certainly yield quick returns, there's the potential for greater losses. As the House of Savoy, we can't afford to lose anything! At least not in Italy."
"Develop agriculture?" Xiao Peng was a little confused after hearing this. "You nobles are engaged in agriculture? Did I hear correctly? You should be the group of people who look down on farmers the most in the world, right? Although many of you nobles have invested in agricultural projects, those are all investments in the capital market. There are no people like you who engage in agriculture yourself, right?"
Shelfina sighed and said, "Xiao, do you understand now why I can't invest? I'm actually optimistic about this project, but first of all, I'm in the luxury goods business. If people knew I was working on an agricultural project, it would damage our group's image. Furthermore, he's using the capital market as a last resort, which would slow down the effectiveness of his funds. Most importantly, he's my ex-husband. If I invest in him, it would affect my current husband's reputation. While there are some things we can do between husband and wife, there are some things we really can't do—like things that could damage our family's reputation."
After hearing this, Xiao Peng lowered his voice and said, "You and your ex-husband went on a trip and came to my room in the middle of the night. Wouldn't this affect the family's reputation?"
"If they don't have evidence, then it's all nonsense," Shelfina said. "Even if they did, so what? We're French. We pursue romance and true love! We're very tolerant!"
Xiao Peng's face darkened after hearing this.
Vallarino quickly seized the opportunity and said, "Xiao, you just said that the nobility don't value agriculture? That's not true. Our Savoy family is a very large one, with members working in the hotel industry, finance, and manufacturing... and our family originally started out in agriculture, so how could we look down on it? We provide the best grapes for the Campari Group! If there weren't such a promising future, Shelfina wouldn't have married me. We're only in this situation because we lost the internal strife among the wealthy families and our cash flow was cut off. I won't hide it from you. If I really used the castle to avoid inheritance tax, the remaining money would be enough for my next three generations to live comfortably, but I don't want that! I believe I will definitely make my family rise again! But the prerequisite is to resolve the current inheritance tax issue first."
After hearing this, Xiao Peng fell silent. He had originally been annoyed with Valarino from the bottom of his heart, but after hearing these words, he changed his opinion of this person.
After all, he is from Daxia: Daxia people have a genetic liking for agriculture, and they will definitely have a doubly good impression of someone who says he wants to devote himself to agriculture!
This guy doesn't seem that annoying!
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