noffsinger Chapter 301 The Hunt is Over
Chapter 301 The Hunt is Over
After the hunting, Dio and his group returned triumphantly to his manor which was as luxurious as a palace. After enjoying a sumptuous dinner, everyone said goodbye and left.
Mai Paopao was also about to get up and leave, but before he left, he turned to look at Lu Chen and suddenly asked, "Lu Chen, I remember you are still serving in the Philippine Legion, and you are a major, right?"
After hearing this, Lu Chen was slightly stunned, and nodded in a daze to show his agreement. He was puzzled and didn't understand why Mai Paopao suddenly brought up this matter.
Seeing this, Mai Paopao raised his lips slightly and continued, "Oh, it's like this, I suddenly remembered something. Green told me before that you promised to help him train a paratrooper unit. But up to now, it seems that you haven't gone there yet."
After hearing what Mai Paopao said, Lu Chen realized that he had promised Green an important thing. He looked embarrassed and said apologetically, "General Arthur, please convey my apologies to Green. I have been so busy recently that I completely forgot about this matter."
Mai Paopao smiled slightly, indicating that he didn't need his help to convey his apology, and revealed: "Green will probably be transferred back to the United States soon. When he comes back, you can explain it to him in person."
After that, Mai Paopao said goodbye to Lu Chen and left the manor. When Lu Chen learned that Green was about to return to the United States, he couldn't help but feel troubled. Because he broke his promise last time, Green would definitely be dissatisfied with him and would definitely cause trouble when he returned. In addition, he had to find a suitable excuse for not being able to go to the Philippines to train paratroopers.
At this moment, Lu Chen suddenly remembered that he seemed to have promised to prepare a special parachute for Green, but he seemed to have never mentioned this to Chen Jianghe. This made him feel anxious and uneasy, and he didn't know how to deal with the difficulties he might face next.
"Oh! It seems that I will have to bleed this time, otherwise Green will definitely not let me go so easily." Lu Chen sighed helplessly.
When Dio saw Lu Chen's expression, he asked with great interest, "Lu Chen, what's wrong with you? Why do you look like you've eaten a bitter melon? Did you encounter any difficulties?"
Lu Chen was reluctant to mention the matter between him and Green to Dio. After all, he didn't know whether they knew each other or what their relationship was. So Lu Chen made up a story and tried to get away with it.
"I ordered several warships from the shipyard before, but until now, I haven't found anyone who can drive the warships. When it's time to receive the ships, I don't know who to send to drive them away." Lu Chen said with a frown, as if he was really worried about this matter.
Dio showed a puzzled expression on his face. He stared at Lu Chen closely and said, "Didn't you order these warships for Xiao Rizi? Then why did you personally look for the person responsible for receiving the warships? Could it be that these warships were not ordered for Xiao Rizi, but were ordered by you personally?"
Lu Chen just said it casually before, without considering Xiao Rizi's factors. When he heard Dio questioning the authenticity of his order, he immediately became alert and realized that there might be omissions in his words just now. So, he hurriedly explained: "Dio, how can you say that? If I didn't order these warships for Xiao Rizi, why would their navy sign the authorization documents for me? Besides, I'm not participating in the war, what's the point of buying warships for myself?"
Dio continued to ask: "If that's the case, then why are you worrying about it? When the time comes, just let Xiaozi's people come and drive the warship away."
Lu Chen secretly complained in his heart, but his face showed a calm expression. He continued to make up lies: "Didn't the little country just launch a war of aggression against China some time ago? Now the public opinion of the international community is very unfavorable to them. So they secretly entrusted me to handle the ordering of warships this time. After all, if the outside world finds out that they are still buying military equipment in a large scale during this sensitive period, it will definitely cause an uproar! At that time, not only will their own situation become more difficult, but it may also arouse the vigilance and disgust of other countries. So, they also handed the matter of receiving the ship to me, and asked me to drive the warship to the Pacific Ocean first, and then they will receive the ship themselves after this period of storm. In this way, some unnecessary troubles and risks can be avoided to the greatest extent."
Dio looked at Lu Chen doubtfully. He felt that Lu Chen was not telling him the truth. How could a country's navy order a warship without conducting sea trials before it leaves the factory? How could they know if the warship meets their requirements if they don't come to inspect it on site? Moreover, such important matters are usually handled by a dedicated person. How could they entrust it to an outsider?
Although Dio had some doubts in his heart, he did not see the contract signed by Lu Chen and Xiao Rizi and could not understand the specific terms, so he did not dare to assert whether what Lu Chen said was true. If Xiao Rizi suddenly got excited and really signed a contract with Lu Chen, it was very likely.
After thinking for a while, Dio thought that Lu Chen was his best friend after all, and this problem was not difficult to solve. It just needed some people to steer the ship. And he happened to know many captains, including retired naval officers. Thinking of this, he said to Lu Chen: "Lu Chen, I can help you at this moment. I know several retired naval captains, and I can contact them for you and ask them to give you advice and help."
Lu Chen was overjoyed when he heard that Dio said he could introduce a retired U.S. Navy captain to him. As a warship captain, he must have known many navy personnel. If he could get their help, it would be easy to find some retired warship personnel to assist him.
So Lu Chen hurriedly said to Dio: "Thank you so much Dio. If you can really help me solve the problem of the personnel to receive the ship, then I can forgive you for misappropriating my dividends."
Hearing Lu Chen's words, Dio secretly breathed a sigh of relief and was also very happy. He had actually been a little worried that Lu Chen would ask him for dividends, after all, the oil they had jointly mined in the Middle East was quite considerable. Just from the oil mined in the past few months, Dio had already made a profit of tens of millions of pounds after sales. After deducting the costs and the portion paid to Aziz, the profit this time was still as high as four or five million pounds. According to the agreed dividend ratio, Lu Chen should have received 20% of it, which is more than two million pounds. If converted into US dollars, it would be as much as more than nine million. This is undoubtedly a huge amount of money.
However, at this moment, Lu Chen clearly stated that he would no longer investigate the matter, which instantly made Dio feel relieved. The reason was that not long ago, he boldly invested in buying a gold mine, and invested a huge amount of money for it, up to hundreds of millions of dollars. At present, these funds have not been recovered, so it is really difficult for him to pay Lu Chen such a huge sum of money at one time.
The corners of Dio's mouth slightly lifted up, revealing a faint smile. He said softly to Lu Chen, "Lu Chen, please don't worry! I will help you get in touch with my navy friend tomorrow. You just need to wait patiently for the good news I bring back."
Lu Chen nodded slightly in response, but deep in his heart he couldn't help but recall what Dio had mentioned before about buying a gold mine. After careful consideration, Lu Chen thought to himself, since Dio had already used all his funds to buy the gold mine, could he consider converting the dividends he was supposed to receive into shares of the gold mine? After all, compared to currency, gold obviously has a stronger ability to preserve value.
Having made up his mind, Lu Chen said to Dio, "Dio, you mentioned this morning that you used my share of the dividends to buy the gold mine."
As soon as he finished speaking, Dio's face instantly became a little nervous. He hurriedly interrupted Lu Chen's words and said in a hurried tone: "Lu Chen, regarding your dividend, I promise you that I will give you every cent. It's just that my funds are a bit tight at the moment. I hope you can give me a few more months. After these few months, I will definitely give you the dividend in full."
Lu Chen hurriedly explained: "Dio, you misunderstood, that's not what I meant. What I really want to say is, can you consider transferring part of the shares of the gold mine to me? In this way, the dividends I deserved before will be counted as the funds for me to purchase these shares of the gold mine."
Hearing Lu Chen's words, Dio couldn't help but fall into a dilemma. In fact, deep down, he was reluctant to split the shares of the gold mine. After all, the exact reserves of the gold mine have not yet been explored. If the final exploration results show that the gold mine has a very high value, then after giving the shares to Lu Chen, he will feel that he has suffered a great loss; but if the exploration results are not satisfactory and the value is low, he will feel sorry for Lu Chen.
After a long period of careful consideration, Dio thought it would be best not to give any shares to Lu Chen. In this way, he would not have to worry about his own interests being damaged, and he would not feel guilty towards Lu Chen. Having made up his mind, he said to Lu Chen:
"Lu Chen, this gold mine does have a lot of risks. I personally think it's more appropriate for me to bear the risk alone. There's no need to involve you."
After Dio said this, Lu Chen knew that his idea was probably hopeless. He smiled helplessly, with a bitter tone: "Okay, but I am really interested in the gold mine. If there is a similar opportunity next time, you can't enjoy it alone. At least notify me."
Dio listened to Lu Chen's words, but did not clearly express his agreement or disagreement. He knew that it would cost at least tens of millions of dollars to buy a gold mine, and the equipment and human resources used for mining were also a huge expense, which was not something that ordinary people could afford. So, he casually said, "Okay, I will definitely take you with me next time I have the chance."
Lu Chen saw through Dio's attitude at a glance and realized that he didn't really take this matter to heart. However, Lu Chen didn't care, because he knew very well that there was an expert in his family who was really good at running gold mines! As one of the most influential financial families in the world, the Rothschild family controls most of the gold resources in the world and even influences the price trend of gold. Since Dio is unwilling to take me in, wouldn't it be better to ask Evelyn for advice after returning home? After all, she is the one with practical experience and professional knowledge. Thinking of this, Lu Chen's sense of loss instantly dissipated, replaced by full of expectations and excitement.
Thinking of this, Lu Chen did not mention the gold mine to Dio again. After the two chatted for a while, Lu Chen said goodbye to Dio and turned to leave Dio's home.
Looking at Lu Chen's receding figure, Dio finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that Lu Chen would talk to him about the gold mine again. After all, he was indeed in the wrong in this matter, misappropriating Lu Chen's funds to buy the gold mine without authorization, and it was reasonable for Lu Chen to ask for a share of the shares.
However, Lu Chen never mentioned the gold mine again until he left, which made Dio feel guilty. He began to reflect on his behavior and felt sorry for Lu Chen, a friend who once trusted him. So Dio secretly made up his mind to find a way to compensate Lu Chen and help him out of the predicament.
Thinking of helping Lu Chen, his thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the matter of Lieqi Shipyard. He murmured softly: "It seems that we must speed up the establishment of contacts with those small shareholders and deal with them as soon as possible. Next, I can use my own name to let Lu Chen take charge of Lieqi Shipyard. In this way, the anger of the Washington family can be transferred from Lu Chen to me. Doing so will not only make Lu Chen owe me a favor, but also be regarded as a kind of return to him. After all, I have always taken advantage of Lu Chen. If I don't repay this favor, I will feel a little guilty."
After making the decision, Dio called his father without hesitation. He knew very well that if he wanted to resist the wrath of the Washington family, his ability alone would not be enough. Therefore, he had to communicate with his father first and let him stand up to protect him from possible revenge from the Washington family.
At this moment, Dio was concentrating on helping Lu Chen resist the revenge of the Washington family, but Lu Chen himself was thinking about how to plot against Gnandi. Since leaving Dio's manor, Lu Chen had no intention of returning to New York. Instead, he led Hans and his gang to find a hotel in downtown Washington to settle down. This time, Gnandi actually sent his men to try to intercept him, but he ended up catching one of the other's confidants - Pete. Lu Chen planned to make good use of Pete and tear off a large piece of flesh from Gnandi.