Chapter 567 Give us a sunken ship to practice
A younger man next to him handed him a cup of tea and said, "Mr. Zheng, have some tea to calm down!"
The 'Old Zheng' who had slammed the table took the teacup and asked, "Why are you all looking at me like that? What did I say wrong?"
The young man explained, "Mr. Zheng, Xiao Peng's political affiliation is 'the masses.'"
Mr. Zheng was stunned for a moment, then continued, "But we can't let the country down for training him!"
"Well...he has been in France and made a fortune there."
"...Why doesn't he return home? Our oceans are so vast, the Maritime Silk Road has been around for so long, and there are so many antiques on the seabed? Can't he just come back and salvage the ship?"
"Mr. Zheng, according to our country's laws, anything fished out from the seabed belongs to the state. We can't set a precedent for him! That's why he won't come back."
"...How much effort did we put into promoting him? Did he profit from it?"
"Mr. Zheng, he didn't make a penny. He donated it all to the National Deep-sea Diving Center!"
"So he's always famous, right?"
"Ahem, being famous is a problem for him. Even though everyone knows who he is now, he still hides his face when he appears on camera! He just doesn't want more people to disturb his life. After all, he's very rich."
"Who are you speaking for?"
The young man fell silent.
Mr. Zheng angrily said, "Where did you find such a scoundrel? When I heard he had retrieved the artifacts from the Old Summer Palace, I was so happy and praised him everywhere. But I never thought he would be such a person! I don't understand why the relevant departments would promote such a person. Xiao Chen, you are responsible for this matter, so please tell me about it."
A person nearby said, "Mr. Zheng, we are now pursuing the 'maritime power' strategy, and he can attract the attention of young people. This is beneficial to the country's development, so we are promoting him vigorously."
"Does he have to be the only one?" Zheng Lao angrily said, "As far as I know, even the education department requires children to watch his videos! But he said he won't broadcast them, so why not? How do you think this matter should be resolved?"
At this moment, someone nearby said, "Mr. Zheng, don't worry. How can we eat hairy pigs without Zhang the Butcher? We've established our own deep-sea salvage company in Algeria. We just got some good news. There's a lead on a sunken ship. We'll be able to salvage it soon. We can divert public attention."
"Xiao Ma, don't think I don't know your little thoughts!" Zheng Lao snorted coldly after hearing this: "Your son went to Algeria, right?"
The man known as 'Little Ma' was no young man. After hearing what Mr. Zheng said, he said, "Mr. Zheng, I'm not appointing people based on personal connections. Although Ma Xiao is a bit of a loser, one thing is certain: he's definitely better than Xiao Peng, right? If he did anything like Xiao Peng, I could slap him to death! Besides, Ma Xiao graduated from Ocean University and previously worked at the Ocean Bureau. After the departmental merger, he now works at the Ministry of Natural Resources, so he's a good fit. Our country started late in deep-sea salvage and is still in the trial-and-error stage. Wouldn't it be better to let professionals take charge?"
After hearing this, Mr. Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "I don't care what your starting point is. The key is whether it is beneficial to the country! Your son is your son. You can do whatever you want. Don't mess things up!"
Xiao Ma said, "Don't worry, Mr. Zheng. Ma Xiao just called us back. Everything is ready now, and we can act at any moment. We have more people, better equipment, and bigger ships now. How can we be inferior to Xiao Peng? The reason our deep-sea salvage operations weren't going well was simply because we didn't take it seriously before. Now that we take it seriously, we'll definitely be able to do it!"
Just as Mr. Zheng was about to nod, someone beside him said, "Deep-sea salvage isn't just about big ships and sophisticated equipment. My people have reported back to me that they've raised many questions about our ship in Algeria. As Old Ma just said, 'big ships and sophisticated equipment' isn't an advantage, it's a disadvantage."
"What a joke!" Old Ma said angrily, "'Big ship, good equipment' is a disadvantage? So you mean we need a small, shabby boat for deep-sea salvage? Old Zhao, even if Mr. Zheng wants to embarrass me, there's no need to do this!"
After hearing this, Lao Zhao shook his head: "Lao Ma, you really misunderstood me!"
After that, he told everyone exactly what Xiao Peng had said about the ship: "Marine salvage requires cost accounting! After all, if our marine salvage company wants to gain a foothold in the Mediterranean, it can't openly establish connections with domestic companies. At the very least, it must be able to support itself!"
After hearing this, Old Ma was furious and said, "Old Zhao, your ability to 'put on eye drops' is getting better and better! Our boat hasn't even started fishing yet and you're already throwing cold water on us? Who told you all these lies?"
After hearing this, Old Zhao was silent for a moment before giving his answer: "It's Xiao Peng."
"That Xiao guy has bad intentions!" Old Ma snorted coldly, "He's just afraid that our ships will increase competition for him! I won't say anything about your men; who knows if they've forgotten their roots in a foreign country!"
"Competition, bullshit!" Old Zhao retorted, "Is he afraid you'll compete with him? He gave you the coordinates of the sunken ship! If you have the guts, don't try to salvage that ship!"
The room suddenly became quiet.
Elder Zheng asked, "Xiao Zhao, what did you say? He gave us the coordinates of a sunken ship and asked us to salvage it?"
The person next to him hurriedly asked, "Did they give it to us on purpose to make us look bad?"
Old Zhao scoffed, "Deliberately trying to embarrass you? They said the total value of the various artifacts on the ship is between 15 million and 30 million euros! The price fluctuates depending on market reaction and salvage losses. If the treasures on the sunken ship are not worth the money, he will pay for it out of his own pocket! They said we are welcome to come over and give us a sunken ship to practice on!"
"Arrogant! Who does he think he is?" Lao Ma slammed the table.
Old Zhao rolled his eyes at him and said, "Then why don't you use another boat?"
Lao Ma just stopped talking.
Elder Zheng, who was standing nearby, was silent for a moment before saying, "Well, we still have to salvage the sunken ship. We'll know the outcome only after we try. Xiao Ma, let your son fight for his reputation! As for Xiao Peng... let's keep this matter cool for a while!"
"Deal with it coldly? Don't deal with him?" Lao Ma asked puzzledly.
Mr. Zheng glanced at Lao Ma and said, "The fact that he could directly show us a sunken ship shows that he still cares about his country. It's inevitable for young people to make mistakes when they are impulsive. If we can tolerate such mistakes, then we are too narrow-minded!"
Everyone was stunned. Why were these words completely different from what they said just now?
He paused, took a sip of water, and said, "You need to be more far-sighted! The fact that he brought out a sunken ship for Xiao Ma's son to practice on means he must know the locations of other sunken ships. It's not appropriate to let things get awkward like this!"
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