Chapter 595: Reasons I Cannot Refuse
Xiao Peng's words were very honest. No matter what he said, he couldn't prove whether he was right or wrong. Even if Xiao Peng took Friedrich to the salvage site and tried to falsify it, Friedrich would just stare blankly.
Different fields are like different worlds!
"Wolfgang, just because you came here in person today, we can continue to communicate in the future. If you need any help in the future, you can come to me at any time. But our cooperation this time really has to end here!" Xiao Peng said.
After listening to Xiao Peng's words, Friedrich suddenly asked, "How can we continue to cooperate?"
Now it was Xiao Peng's turn to be surprised: "You still want to cooperate in this situation?"
Friedrich said, "Of course. What's the point of me guarding such a large number of antiques? It's better to have real gold and silver. If you can guarantee more than 60 tons of gold, I will be very satisfied."
Xiao Peng shook his head like a rattle. "No, no, no, Wolfgang, don't you understand what I mean? You've already overdrawn your credit limit. The situation now is that even if we work together, you can't trust me and I can't trust you. There's no need for us to suffer together like this. Let me teach you a Chinese proverb: 'A forced melon isn't sweet.'"
"You've already forced it, and why do you care whether it's sweet or not?" Friedrich said, "Xiao, just tell me straight up. What can I do to earn your trust?"
Xiao Peng held his chin in his hand and thought for a moment before saying, "Wolfgang, since you've investigated me, I think you should know that I have a cooperative project with the National Museum in China, right?"
Friedrich didn't deny it. He nodded and said, "Indeed."
Xiao Peng continued, "If you can show your sincerity by returning the artifacts in your possession to the museum in the name of 'Prince of Hedingen,' I think we can continue our cooperation!"
"Hiss." Friedrich took a breath of cold air. Are you going to roast me on the fire?
So many countries have plundered China in the past, and now the Louvre, the British Museum, the Palace of Fontainebleau, the Tokyo Museum... which one doesn't exhibit a large number of Chinese cultural relics? Not to mention private collectors like Friedrich.
But has anyone ever made large-scale repayments for stolen cultural relics? You've paid them back, but others haven't? Furthermore, most of these private collectors are European aristocrats, and many of these aristocrats are related. Aren't you just cheating your relatives?
"Xiao, I really can't do this," Friedrich said. "If I do this, I'll offend a lot of people. Many of them are relatives to me."
Xiao Peng spread his hands and said, "Then I won't say anything. I hope your relatives can give you money."
Friedrich stood there in a daze. Xiao Peng continued, "I used to be a diver. Back then, I'm afraid you wouldn't have even looked me in the eye. But now? I'm known as the 'Salvage King.' Even the governors of your German states would contact me to discuss cooperation. You're the 'Prince of Hedingen,' so you should understand the power of money better than I do. I've gotten to know you a bit. From what I've heard, your family once owned over forty castles, but now, only two are open for admission. You were called the 'Hohenzollerns,' but the 'Prince of Hohenzollern' was jailed for fraud. Besides the 'Princes of Prussia' and your 'Prince of Hedingen,' are there any relatives in your family who are doing well? If possible, wouldn't you have sold your castles long ago? Do you have any other territories besides castles? Oh, you do have quite a bit of land on Norderney Island, but is it worth much? I'd give you 20 million, and you'd be grateful enough to sell it to me. Don't think I'm being harsh, but why are you, a down-and-out noble, still clinging to it?"
Friedrich frowned and said, "What do you mean by 'fallen noble'? Our family is still doing well!"
Xiao Peng nodded. "It's indeed quite impressive, but if you don't count the castle, your total assets are probably around 50 million, yet you act like you're worth 500 billion. Why are you so stubborn? Isn't it because you're afraid people will look down on you and think your family is in decline? Being a clan leader isn't easy. Not to mention all the poor relatives who come asking for help... 'Hedingen' has quite a few poor relatives, right?"
Friedrich fell silent.
Xiao Peng continued, "Now that you've left the military and political system, it's impossible for you to continue developing. I wonder if the Hedingen family can flourish again in the hands of your children. But I think the possibility is really small. You're squandering your family's wealth so quickly. God knows how much will be left in his hands. To be honest, Wolfgang, I really don't like the way you aristocrats behave. It seems that in your eyes, the standard for measuring success is money. There are always some things more important than money, such as dreams, right?"
Even though Friedrich was well-mannered, he almost cursed at Xiao Peng's words. "There are always some things more important than money?" Those who say this are rich people who say it to those who are not as rich as themselves to show off. He doesn't know how many times he has said this to his poor relatives!
Xiao Peng continued, "You do have quite a few of our country's cultural relics, but exchanging them for cash is a real challenge. There's a saying in our country: 'Begging with a golden bowl in hand,' which perfectly describes your current situation. You don't dare sell them on a large scale. If you sell one every now and then, people will accuse you of selling off your family heritage. But if you don't sell, you're worried you won't be able to hold on. And what if you took this gold? Over three billion euros! Finally, with assets worthy of your status, what can't you do with it? And your donation of cultural relics is definitely just to build momentum for your family. People will think you 'disregard money as dirt'! If that's not ostentatious wealth, what is? Even more interesting is that Germany and China have the best economic and trade cooperation in all of Europe. You've won China's favor by doing this. Doesn't this mean you can gain the upper hand in this round of cooperation?"
After hearing what Xiao Peng said, Friedrich remained silent. Xiao Peng continued, "Money is everything these days. Are titles rare? If I wanted to buy a bunch now, they'd be sold very cheaply in England. Ultimately, money is the bottom line. You're indeed richer than the average person, but you're the Prince of Hedingen! The second-highest-ranked of all German royal families! Your family only has tens of millions? I don't know what others think, but I think it's a bit embarrassing. Do your noble relatives from other countries who don't want you to return this thing help you or laugh at you when you're down and out?"
"Stop talking!" Friedrich interrupted Xiao Peng loudly: "Let's cooperate!"
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