Chapter 1400 Ice-breaking Journey
William soon learned what decision he had made for Xiao Peng—he had done something truly eye-popping. He had decided to donate the Calypso to the Daxia Deep Sea Exploration Base!
As the main work vessel of "Salvage King" Xiao Peng, the "Calypso" has long been a legendary figure in the ocean exploration industry. Under Xiao Peng's leadership, this vessel has salvaged countless shipwrecks and discovered countless treasures worth staggering value. So, Xiao Peng decided to donate the vessel?
And this donation is a genuine one: including the ship's HOV, ROV, and other equipment, all donated to the deep-sea diving base! The "Calypso" is now on its way back to Daxia.
Xiao Peng's decision shocked everyone. The last time he dissolved the company, he hadn't mentioned donating the boat. What did he mean by donating the boat this time? Was he going to quit again?
William asked Xiao Peng, and the latter replied: This ship is not good and I plan to change it.
Your ship isn't good enough? What ship is good enough? You've even been to the polar regions with this ship! Your ships are among the most advanced in the world's ocean exploration industry, and you're telling me this one doesn't meet your standards?
Fortunately, Xiao Peng did not donate the 'Luna', otherwise William would really suspect that he was going to give up playing again.
In fact, even people in China like Chen Zetao were shocked when they learned about this. What on earth was Xiao Peng trying to do?
But Xiao Peng announced it directly to the reporters and sent the ship back without caring whether the deep-sea diving base wanted it or not. Isn't this too unconventional?
When the "Luna" returned to the port of Rotterdam, it received a grand welcome from the people, but people discovered that Xiao Peng was not on the ship. When people found Xiao Peng, he was still on TV: Xiao Peng went to the Royal Palace in The Hague and was received and commended by King William.
This award for Xiao Peng is more than just a medal: Xiao Peng is now officially awarded the title of 'Burggraaf'.
This title is called differently in different European countries. For example, in the UK it is called 'Viscount', in France it is called 'Vte', in Germany it is called 'Burggraf', etc. However, if translated in Chinese, it is uniformly called 'Viscount': Xiao Peng is now an out-and-out titled aristocrat.
The reason he got this title, of course, was because he found the 'Brave' and the 'Fury' for the Netherlands.
He was also honored with the title of Honorary Fellow. Anna Simonenko, the first and only Dutch woman to participate in the discovery of the Barents Fleet, also made significant contributions. She also filmed and documented the discovery of the two ships, providing valuable reference material for subsequent scientific research. For her significant contributions to Dutch historical excavations, she was awarded the title of Baron and is now also a Baroness.
Of course, this reward also caused great controversy, and many people raised objections, but William silenced everyone with one sentence: This is Anna's dowry. She even declined the wedding for the sake of the Netherlands, so isn't such a reward right?
People then realized: Anna will soon be a member of the Hooker family. The Hooker family is noble and wealthy. Johannes Hooker is the mayor of Delft. By cutting off your daughter-in-law's title, aren't you making an enemy of the Hooker family?
While most politicians have so-called "enemies," they often just show off! They may bicker in parliament, but privately they're all good friends! The more prominent a politician is, the less likely they are to make enemies easily!
Just call him "Baron". Nowadays, the title of nobility is just a symbolic one - but why are you so jealous?
Xiao Peng did not refuse the awarding of the title, but was genuinely happy about it.
The anthrax attack in the Arctic Ocean made Xiao Peng nervous: "It's useless to have money without a life to spend it all! Having this title is at least a talisman!"
However, Xiao Peng's acceptance of the title caused an uproar on the domestic Internet - he was once again scolded like a dog.
Statements like "Accepting a title from a foreigner is forgetting one's roots", "selling out one's country for personal gain", "Xiao Peng has already acquired foreign citizenship", "He doesn't even want the ship because he wants to draw a clear line with the country" are heard everywhere. What's even more infuriating is that there is a so-called "male celebrity" who sternly lectured Xiao Peng on his social media to "be patriotic and not forget his roots"!
When Xiao Peng heard the news, he was so angry that his mouth twisted. Are you trying to get attention by taking advantage of me?
He contacted Yangzhou immediately: You guys decide what to do about this!
Ambassador Yang was busy with a world-shaking event. It was a critical moment, so how could he have time to deal with this? He just made a phone call back to China.
Soon, rumors surfaced about the star evading taxes, visiting prostitutes, attracting separatists, and organizing Y-style parties. Not only was the star banned, but he was also sent to prison. Even his financial backers were fined and educated.
This combination of punches was so fast, accurate, and ruthless that the celebrities who had been planning to capitalize on Xiao Peng's popularity all shut up. They couldn't understand why the country's reaction was so strong this time.
Soon they found out the answer: Delft University of Technology officially announced that it had formed a "strategic partnership" with two universities in Daxia, and the two sides had established a series of talent and technology exchange programs.
This news shocked the world.
Such collaboration between universities isn't surprising, but the problem lies in the fact that two of Daxia's schools, Harbin Institute of Technology and Harbin Engineering University, are on the US Entity Sanctions List. Together with five other institutions, they are known as the "Seven Sons of National Defense"! Despite being on the US sanctions list, in Europe, these universities are considered "non-collaborative"! TU Delft, a renowned European science and engineering university, has become the first to take the plunge. What does this mean? Is this the beginning of a new era? Are the Dutch people surprisingly so friendly to Daxia?
When people were surprised to see Xiao Peng standing in a prominent position in the photos of the signing ceremony, they finally understood what the Dutch people were really like! It was clearly Xiao Peng who had facilitated this whole thing! Now they understood why the male celebrity who had taken advantage of someone's misfortune was banned.
The trend on the Internet also changed instantly, and Xiao Peng went from being hated by everyone to being a model of patriotism.
Xiao Peng was at a loss whether to laugh or cry about this - it's better to read less news like this.
But their guess was correct, this cooperation was of course facilitated by Xiao Peng!
The Dutch treasury has an additional five tons of gold reserves. This is the price they paid for this batch of gold!
Of course, the price was mutual: when Chen Zetao saw Xiao Peng again at Orange Garden, he was also shocked.
"Oh my god, Brother Xiao, are you okay? Do you want me to find a doctor for you?"
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