Chapter 273 What's so arrogant about you?
When Xiao Peng returned to La Ciotat, he was greeted by a splendid reception at the La Ciotat docks. Several explosion-proof trucks had been waiting there for a long time, and the buyers of this batch of silver were already waiting impatiently.
In fact, every country in the world has relevant heavy metal policies, including France.
Last time, the French central bank, the Banque de France, wanted to compete for the rhodium but failed to get it. This incident had already made them very frustrated. This time, they must get the silver ingots at all costs.
To be honest, this amount is very small for them and it is not worth their investment. There may be a "face" issue involved.
This time, Xiao Peng salvaged 34 tons of silver ingots. Taking into account the purity, they sold for 18.4 million. Adding the 2 million he received from Piaggio, and deducting the offshore engineering company's rental fees, crew salaries, and commissions paid to the Italian company, Xiao Peng's hard work only netted him a little over 4 million.
However, he received a €50 million reward from China for the salvage of the Ansaldo, but that money was in a Chinese account, including the money for the offshore engineering company, which would also be transferred to his own account in China. However, since he doesn't live in China now, it's considered his "pension."
He could understand why someone from the Bank of France came over, but when he saw Sergio Costa he was completely confused.
"Sergio, why are you here?" Xiao Peng frowned and asked in confusion, "Is it because I locked Biagio up? I only locked him up for three days and then released him. I didn't let him starve."
Sergio waved his hands and said, "No, no, no, Xiao, you misunderstood. I'm not angry that you locked Biagio up. On the contrary, I'm grateful to you. Biagio has changed a lot since he returned from his time at sea. He seems much more mature."
"Then what are you doing here?" Xiao Peng asked, puzzled. "A meeting in France?"
Sergio nodded. "You're absolutely right. I'm going to a meeting of the Four-Nation Maritime Alliance in Toulon, and I came by to thank you for your cooperation with Biagio, which has made him a lot of money. Xiao, you may not know this, but this foolish son of mine has been giving me a lot of worry. It's really good news for me that he can make money on his own this time. I was afraid that I would have to support this foolish son for the rest of his life."
Xiao Peng smiled and said nothing. Sergio spoke as if he knew nothing. But if it weren't for his help, how could Biagio have obtained the barge? Without his help, how could Biagio sell those tin and copper ingots?
Xiao Peng calculated the profits for Biagio and concluded that he had made at least 1.3 million this time. This was no small sum, and it was a legal profit in such a short period of time. This made Sergio see the benefits and he wanted to cooperate with Xiao Peng even more! That's why he took the opportunity of a meeting in Toulon to come to Xiao Peng.
Xiao Peng asked Moro to take people to clean the two ships and hold a celebration party at his house in the evening. He then took Sergio to his home first.
But Sergio's first words almost made Xiao Peng spit blood in anger: "Mr. Xiao, I never thought that you are so rich but live in such a simple house. I really should let my stupid son come over and learn from you!"
After hearing this, Xiao Peng controlled his urge to curse.
What the hell? Such a shabby house? This is a sea view villa! How can you call it a 'shabby house'? Believe it or not, I represent all the 'homeless' people in the world and slap you in the face!
He really wanted to ask Sergio: Do you live in a manor or a castle? Why do you dislike my house so much?
He coughed dryly. "This is Pascal's house. I don't own any property in France. Sergio, would you like something to drink? Champagne, please?"
Sergio said, "Of course. You don't have any property in France?"
"Of course not." Xiao Peng poured Sergio a glass of champagne.
"Thank you!" Sergio took the champagne but didn't drink it. Instead, he handed it to his secretary. He took the briefcase from his secretary, pulled out a stack of documents, and placed them on Xiao Peng's desk. Then he took the champagne glass from his secretary and took a sip. "Mr. Xiao, take a look."
Xiao Peng poured a glass of champagne for Sergio's secretary and picked up the document on the table and asked curiously, "What is this?"
"Mr. Xiao, you'll know once you take a look." Sergio had an unfathomable expression.
Xiao Peng shook his head. "Why is it so mysterious?" He opened the file on the table and frowned after taking a look. "Sergio, can I see this file?"
The document contains information on three shipwrecks: two medieval merchant ships and one ancient Byzantine vessel. The document details the sinking of the three ancient vessels, including their cargoes and approximate locations as documented in historical documents.
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, encompassed present-day Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. The Roman Empire has a long history, beginning with the Ancient Roman Empire, which split into the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, and later the Holy Roman Empire. To distinguish these similarly named "Roman Empires," historians refer to the Eastern Roman Empire as the "Byzantine Empire."
"Of course you can!" Sergio said proudly, "Mr. Xiao, this is my sincere expression of cooperation. Italy, as the birthplace of the Roman Empire, has preserved a lot of historical materials to this day. We have a lot of information about shipwrecks here."
Xiao Peng felt disdainful when he saw Sergio's smug look.
It is true that the Roman Empire grew from a small city-state to the largest empire in Europe, and as Italians, we can be proud. But compared with the Roman Empire back then, Italy today is really shameful!
At its peak, the entire Mediterranean was the Roman Empire's private swimming pool. But what happened next? After the split between the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, the Western Roman Empire became a weakling, ultimately annihilated by the northern "barbarian" Germanic peoples! Italy subsequently fragmented into more than a dozen countries!
However, Italy remains a crucial traditional core for Europe. After all, the region was accustomed to the unified life of the Western Roman Empire. Therefore, the so-called "Dark Ages" of Europe began in Italy and spread throughout Europe, and the "Renaissance" also began in Italy.
But after the Italians launched the Renaissance, the whole of Europe was inspired. The Portuguese and Spanish started the Age of Exploration. The Poles used science to justify Copernicus and acknowledge that the earth revolves around the sun. France began to expand its territory. . . .
Every country was making progress, except Italy, which hadn't even unified itself. It wasn't until 150 years ago that Italy finally unified as a nation, but by then it was too late. Italy was incredibly poor, and after finally plundering its "big brothers" of Britain and France, Italy recklessly entered World War I and II, especially during World War II, where it was beaten first by France and then by Greece. Even now, mentioning Italy during World War II is still a joke!
What's so arrogant about your character?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
