Chapter 376 Come on, it's a hassle
The door of Hull Bar in La Ciotat was pushed open, and a man hurried in. Seeing the proprietress, he waved and said, "Madame Huppert, one order of 'chop suey' and two crepes!"
The proprietress who was sitting at the bar suddenly looked up with a smile on her face after hearing this: "Xiao, you're back? You were out for a long time this time."
Xiao Peng sat on the bar stool and said, "Yeah, let me tell you, what I missed most when I was away was Madame Huppert's delicious food."
"You're such a good talker! Apart from the fact that you haven't called me 'Anais' yet, which makes me a little angry, you're the best guy I've ever met," Madame Huppert said with a smile. "Here, let me give you a glass of anise wine to moisten your throat. Would you like more pepper?"
"Of course." Xiao Peng took the fennel wine and looked up at the TV above the bar with a stunned expression.
Huppert looked at Xiao Peng's expression and laughed: "Is this you?"
The TV was playing a documentary about Xiao Peng's discovery of the shipwreck graveyard. It was currently showing the scene where Xiao Peng, masked, sat aboard the Deep Sea Warrior and Hua Chong had just discovered the silver coin. A sea of silver coins filled the screen.
I have to thank the poor photography skills here. I can only see the silver coins, but I can't tell whether they are Ike silver coins or Lille silver coins. Moreover, this video has been edited and does not contain the conversation between Xiao Peng and others.
The visual effect is truly top-notch, and the shocking feeling of seeing a large pile of silver coins and several large boxes lying on the seabed is truly amazing.
"Mrs. Huppert, how did you recognize that it was me?" Xiao Peng asked.
Madame Huppert laughed. "How could they not recognize you? This isn't a TV show where you can't be recognized just by covering your face with a piece of cloth. Besides, your boat and your submersible are right there. Who else could it be but you? Everyone in La Ciotat knows it's you! Your documentary is so popular right now that even old Walter is rowing his rickety boat out to salvage the wreck."
"Old Wall?" Xiao Peng was stunned. "Isn't he in a wheelchair now?"
"He said you don't need legs to row a boat." Huppert laughed. "What people can never overcome is their greed, no matter how old they are. Why don't you salvage this shipwreck?"
Xiao Peng shook his head and gave his official answer: "It's too difficult. I don't understand the hydrology there."
"Why didn't you just salvage these shipwrecks when you found them?" Isabelle Huppert asked a question.
Xiao Peng gave an official answer: "In fact, when I went to the Black Sea, I received a search commission to find these sunken ships. If I salvaged them, I would have violated the contract."
After hearing this, Huppert sighed, "You are truly a man of integrity. Not everyone can control themselves in the face of such great wealth. You are a true businessman. And you can control your greed. Xiao, your future is limitless!"
Xiao Peng blushed after hearing this. He knew that those silver coins were worthless. If they were really valuable enough, he would have taken all of them without leaving a single one!
He rubbed his nose and said, "I just feel that I am still young and my company has just started. Reputation is the most important thing for my company at this time."
"Here, these are the crepes you ordered. Eat them first!" Huppert handed Xiao Peng two plates. "What are you going to do next?"
Xiao Peng mumbled while eating a crepe: "Me? Have a good rest and relax!"
After hearing this, Isabelle Huppert smiled and said, "That's the right choice. But Xiao, you're so lucky." She then pointed at the screen and said, "You can still find treasure even when you're stranded. God, you're so lucky!"
Xiao Peng was stunned: "The documentary hasn't aired that part yet, how do you know all this?"
Isabelle Huppert said with a smile, "This is playing a video! Look."
After she finished speaking, she pulled out a photo from the side. It was a photo of Xiao Peng and Isabelle Huppert taken here at that time. Now it was enlarged a lot. Isabelle Huppert placed the photo above the bar: "This is the favorite place of Xiao Peng, the 'Son of the Sea'. The first thing he does when he comes back from the sea is to eat the delicious food I cook here."
Xiao Peng smiled bitterly and said, "Madame Huppert, what are you doing?"
Huppert said, "Although your 'Calythorpe' is usually moored in the New Port of Marseille, your sailing fleet has always been stationed in La Ciotat. Now your sailing fleet has almost become a tourist attraction."
Xiao Peng looked at the photo and said, "Mrs. Huppert, I wore a mask for the photo because I didn't want people to know who I was. You put up such a large photo because you're afraid people won't recognize me, right?"
Huppert grinned and said, "Xiao, you're overthinking it. Not everyone can tell you're Chinese. Last time, a seductively dressed girl came to me and asked for your photo. After seeing your photo, she went straight to the dock to seduce the crew member next to you named 'Hua'."
"Pfft." Xiao Peng laughed.
Huppert said, "Alright, since you don't like it, I'll put the photos away. But believe me, I suspect it won't be long before everyone knows your identity. After all, those Turkish antiques you've got are truly astonishing. Didn't the government come looking for you?"
Xiao Peng shrugged and said, "No. Why would they look for me? If they want to find someone, they should go to Fabian."
He had a wicked smile on his face when he said this.
Fabian is definitely the most successful person on the Mediterranean coast right now.
The documentary caused a sensation.
Especially the last segment: after their ship ran aground, in order to actively save themselves, they began to pump up sea sand, and then "magically" discovered all kinds of priceless cultural relics and antiques from the sea sand.
The identities of these antiques are obvious: they are the royal property of the Ottoman Empire, relics of Bayezid I and items from the palace at that time.
When the Turkish side learned the news, they became anxious and demanded the treasures back.
They protested in various ways and contacted Fabian to claim compensation, but Fabian just gave them the middle finger.
They have no reason.
Bayezid I had no descendants, so the treasures could not be recovered. Even if he had descendants, the statute of limitations had expired, and there was no way to prove their connection to the treasures. The Turkish Straits, though administered by Turkey, were international waters. Xiao Peng had salvaged the items from the mud and sand, not from a warship. Most importantly, he had already shipped all the recovered treasures back to China for a grand exhibition. The gold was simply sold.
The most important thing is: France stood behind Fabian with great courage this time.
They were almost giving Fabian a certificate of merit: Turkey had been causing trouble for France for a while. Now it was finally the Turks' turn to cause trouble.
The two sides are arguing fiercely now, but who would have thought that the culprit Xiao Peng is now sitting in the bar drinking fennel wine?
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