Chapter 565 I'm too lazy to salvage a ship worth less than 100 million
Xiao Peng said helplessly, "Brother Chen, the most annoying thing is people leaving things unsaid. Can we just get straight to the point?"
Chen Zetao smiled bitterly and said, "I've been marginalized!"
"Huh?" Xiao Peng was stunned after hearing this.
Chen Zetao took a sip of his wine and continued, "The operating method of the ocean exploration company we discussed at the time has been completely overturned! A sum of money came in from the mainland, and now it's a wholly-owned company."
Xiao Peng whistled: "Are you so desperate for money that you don't want to leak a single cent?"
According to the original discussion between Xiao Peng and Chen Zetao, the ocean salvage company established by Chen Zetao is a joint-stock listed company. The advantage of doing so is that it can reduce the risk of being targeted.
The end of "eating alone" is often disastrous. But making money together is different! Even though they know Xiao Peng and his men are serving China, they will turn a blind eye for the sake of money.
This also has another benefit: it minimizes risk by relying on the money of shareholders and investors. After all, the uncertainty of underwater salvage is too great, so the vast majority of marine salvage companies follow this approach.
Initially, Chen Zetao consulted Xiao Peng and decided to do the same thing. But now, they've become a sole proprietorship? Even Xiao Peng's company has two partners, yet they're going it alone. Xiao Peng really wants to ask them: What's their reason?
"What's going on with that company now? Who is in charge?" Xiao Peng asked curiously.
After hearing this, Chen Zetao said, "I don't know where these people from China come from, but I'm sure they have strong connections. They're coming here to get some gilded gold."
Xiao Peng frowned and asked in confusion, "Brother Chen, why are you still so active in contacting us about this?"
Chen Zetao was silent for a while and then said, "Brother Xiao, I am not serving him, I am serving China."
After hearing this, Xiao Peng suddenly laughed.
Chen Zetao looked at Xiao Peng and smiled bitterly himself. "Are you laughing at me because you think my answer is stupid? No matter how you laugh at me, I'm telling the truth. I won't give you these coordinates no matter what."
Xiao Peng shook his head: "I really don't mean to make fun of you. This is perfect. You can send these coordinates back and let them do it themselves. You just stay here with me. Otherwise, go out and travel!"
"What do you mean?" Chen Zetao asked in confusion.
Xiao Peng sighed and said, "I'm still young. Just a few words from you have moved me so much that I can't believe it. So I've decided to tell you the truth. Brother Chen, listen to me. Don't get involved in this salvage operation."
"Is there something wrong with this shipwreck?" Chen Zetao said, "I guess so! How could you possibly give me such good shipwreck coordinates directly!"
Without a second thought, Xiao Peng gave Chen Zetao the middle finger. "Brother Chen, I don't want to give you the finger, but I really can't help it. What I just said to you is true. The coordinates of the ship are accurate. The things on the ship are also accurate."
"Then why don't you let me get involved in this salvage?" Chen Zetao asked puzzledly.
Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "Brother Chen, you all have a misunderstanding because you think I salvage shipwrecks so easily. But to be honest, I'm just lucky."
"Good luck?" Chen Zetao asked curiously, "What do you mean?"
Xiao Peng explained, "I've given you the coordinates of the shipwreck, right? I'll give you a conservative estimate. If someone else were to salvage this shipwreck, it would take at least three to fifteen days just to locate it, and thirty to ninety days, or even longer, to salvage it!"
"What took you so long?" Chen Zetao's voice suddenly rose an octave.
Xiao Peng waved his hand. "Brother Chen, don't get me wrong. I didn't do anything to that ship. In fact, deep-sea salvage is like that. Take locating the shipwreck, for example. That shipwreck is about 1,700 meters deep, which isn't the deepest compared to the ships I salvaged before. But even with the precise coordinates of the shipwreck, it's still very difficult to accurately locate it. There are waves on the sea, and a single degree of tilting of the ship can result in an error of dozens of meters. Don't underestimate these dozens of meters. Whether it's an ROV or a Hanyi V, the operator's line of sight is so short that they might not be able to spot a shipwreck three meters away. Let alone dozens of meters? So just locating the shipwreck takes many days. The three to fifteen days I just mentioned is a conservative estimate. It's possible they could spend a month or two there!"
"Is that so exaggerated?" Chen Zetao's eyes widened. "Then why did it take so long to salvage the sunken ship?"
Xiao Peng explained, "Like I said, this ship is loaded with artifacts. That means we can't just grab them with a handful like we would with gold or silver coins or metal ingots. We have to be extremely careful when salvaging anything. How can a silver antique be worth the same price as silver of the same weight? So this also means it will take a lot of time. Do you understand why I say this?"
Chen Zetao nodded, then suddenly shook his head: "That's not right. When you salvaged the cultural relics from the Old Summer Palace, they were also artifacts. Why didn't you waste time like you said?"
"Two reasons." Xiao Peng answered Chen Zetao's question seriously. "First, we didn't move the fragile items when we were salvaging them. I went back and slowly pulled up the porcelain and other items. Second, it was because I was directing the salvage operation. I'm not exaggerating; even the experienced commanders at Odyssey couldn't do that."
"How did you do it?" Chen Zetao asked after hearing this.
Xiao Peng grinned and said, "Luck."
Chen Zetao's face darkened after hearing this: "Well, I'm an idiot for asking, and you're an idiot for answering, so we're even!"
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "Well, a cat can't teach a tiger how to climb trees. That's all for this topic."
Chen Zetao hummed. Xiao Peng must have his own secrets. Otherwise, how could he have brought that shipload of porcelain home? Otherwise, how could he have so easily handed me the exact coordinates of a sunken ship? As he said, it would have taken days to find the wreck within a few dozen meters of the seabed. How did he find it?
Xiao Peng ignored his thoughts and continued, "I estimate the wealth on that ship to be worth tens of millions. It sounds like a lot, but considering the cost of your large ship, I suspect this salvage operation will most likely be a loss. So stay out of it! Of course, you can also return these words to the country intact and let them make their own choice. Brother Chen, don't just see me making money from deep-sea salvage. Believe me, deep-sea salvage is not as simple as you think! Just like the 'Calysop', it actually put a lot of pressure on me. Nowadays, I'm afraid of losing money on shipwrecks worth less than 100 million yuan, so I'm too lazy to salvage them."
This time it was Chen Zetao's turn to raise his middle finger in Xiao Peng's face.
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