Chapter 282: Doing Business with a Sword

Chapter 282: Doing Business with a Sword

Chapter 282: Doing Business with a Sword
When Ning Zhe opened his eyes, everything in front of him was dark. Just as he was about to move his body, he felt weak and relaxed in all his limbs, probably because he had been lying in bed for too long.

Ning Zhe sat up with one hand on the pillow and took off the blindfold. It took him a few seconds to adjust to the light in the room. When he looked up, he saw Xia Yubing sitting on the edge of the bed with her back to him, changing clothes. It seemed that she was putting on stockings.

"What time is it now?" Ning Zhe asked, holding his forehead.

"Are you awake?" Xia Yubing turned around in surprise, and while hanging the garter buckle on her waist, she said, "You've been sleeping for almost two days, and I couldn't wake you up no matter how hard we called you. Now the airship has landed at Vivian Harbor. Someone came to see you yesterday, saying he was a friend of Van Dyke."

"Two days?" Ning Zhe sighed. It seemed that he had stayed in the influence area of ​​​​Taiyin much longer than expected.

After changing out of his pajamas and putting on casual clothes, Ning Zhe switched into Van Dyke's identity and got out of bed.

Vivian Port is located at the junction of the Apennine Peninsula and the European continent, not far from the mountainous area where Vanessa Castle is located. It only takes a few hours to get there by private plane and then transfer.

"Who is coming to see me? Did he leave his name and contact information?" Ning Zhe asked.

"What's his name? 'Fusolus Milicato'." Xia Yubing thought for a moment and said, "This guy seems to be Van Dyke's friend. Do you have any impression of him?"

"Yes." Ning Zhe stretched and walked to the sofa to pour himself a glass of water. "The Dyke family is a military noble family. Family members have been working in the army for many years and hold a large number of troops. The Milicato family is a descendant of colonists in the Age of Exploration. The family business is spread all over the world, so the two families often cooperate."

Xia Yubing was stunned for a moment: "How can soldiers and businessmen cooperate?"

"You think it's in China." Ning Zhe smiled and said, "To put it simply, it can be summed up in four words - holding a sword to do business."

"The Milicato family is not an old family like the Dyke family. Instead, they are newly rich people who became rich overnight thanks to the colonial wave during the Age of Exploration. None of their overseas businesses are free of blood. For example, the mining rights to a gold mine in a small country on the African continent are in the hands of the Milicato family."

“The Milicato family hired locals to dig gold for them at extremely low prices, and then transported the gold to the port and sent it to Europe for refining - this was to prevent the small country from obtaining the industrial technology for refining gold.

The workers in the gold mines dug up huge amounts of wealth for the Milicato family every day. The harsh working environment and heavy labor caused the miners' physical condition to deteriorate sharply, with an average life expectancy of less than 30 years, leaving them with only enough money to feed themselves.

Xia Yubing was very confused: "Why is this happening...Won't the locals resist?"

"Of course I resisted." Ning Zhe took a sip of the water in the cup and continued, "That's why we need to carry a sword to do business."

"The Dyke family, which holds military power, stationed troops around the gold mine in the name of protecting the overseas interests of their country's enterprises, providing protection for the Milicato family and collecting dividends. There have been four worker riots in history, three of which were suppressed by guns and cannons."

"The fourth riot was led by an Ascender who had controlled a ghost from somewhere unknown. The army was unable to suppress it, so Van Dyke personally arrived with the initiation tool and killed all the workers, including the Ascender. The ghost was then taken back to the family by Van Dyke."

The Milicato family is responsible for using all kinds of shady and dirty means to make money, while the Dyke family uses powerful force to provide them with protection. This is the long-standing cooperation model between the two families.

In a sense, the Milicato family was like a white glove that wiped the blood off the gold coins for the Dyke family. Because of the tough tactics he showed in this matter, Van Dyke was highly regarded by the family and was awarded the title of Marquis.

It was also because of this incident that Van Dyke met a young master of the Milicato family: Fusolus Milicato.

"Vivian Port... it happens to be the territory of Fusolus Milicato." Ning Zhe walked out of the lounge, went to the window and looked out at the clear blue water outside the glass. Suddenly he remembered why this guy came to him.

"It seems that there will be a swimsuit show sponsored by Fusolus at the Vivian Harbor hypermarket tomorrow." Ning Zhe looked back at Xia Yubing standing behind him and asked, "Is he here to ask me to watch the swimsuit show?"

"Yeah." Xia Yubing nodded gloomily.

"You're being pretentious." Ning Zhe glanced at the garter stockings she had just put on and couldn't help laughing: "It's 12 degrees outside and you're still exposing your thighs. How come you didn't freeze to death?"

"……My pleasure."

Ning Zhe finally went to find Mr. Fusolus to chat for a while, and expressed regretfully that he probably wouldn't have time to enjoy the swimsuit show tomorrow because he came to borrow a plane.

With the help of Van Dyke, Ning Zhe easily borrowed Fusolus's private jet and flew to Vanessa Castle as quickly as possible, leaving Xia Yubing to attend the last swimsuit show in Vivian Harbor in his place.

Vivian Port is a port city with a long history. As early as the Ming Dynasty, merchants riding camels had already traded silk for pearls with fishermen here. After the globalization of the economy, this ancient port has been injected with new vitality, with merchants gathering and passenger ships coming and going, creating a prosperous scene.

"It's a pity that this prosperity is the last rays of light in Vivian Port. Soon, this beautiful city will be abandoned."

Fusolus Milicato, wearing equestrian clothes, walked on the street and introduced to Xia Yubing:

"For decades, the population gathered in Vivian Port has far exceeded its carrying capacity. The groundwater has been over-exploited for a long time, causing the city's ground to sink at a rate of at least 10 centimeters per year. We have no choice but to abandon this ancient and beautiful city and move to a new deep-water port."

"The relocation plan will be implemented from next week, so tomorrow's hypermarket swimsuit show will be the last and largest swimsuit show held in Vivian Harbor. I am very sorry that the respected Mr. Dyke cannot come for some reason." Fusolus shook his head slowly and sighed.

"What's so good about a swimsuit show..." Xia Yubing muttered quietly in her heart, but she still had a decent smile on her face: "Then I must feast his eyes on it."

"That would be great." Fusolus chuckled, and a message popped up on the phone in his arms, saying that his private plane had taken off.

After turning off his phone and putting it in his pocket, Fusolus Milicato, with a smile on his face, enthusiastically introduced the historic hypermarket in the center of Vivian Harbor to Xia Yubing.

(End of this chapter)