Chapter 11 Libya (3)

The British watched the development of the situation with doubt, while the French were full of expectations. The French government has convened several consortiums to discuss. Once the United Group finds that there is oil in Algeria, except for the contract blocks signed this time, the exploration and mining rights in other areas will no longer be given to the United Group, and all French companies will do it themselves! Now it depends on whether the United Group can succeed in this gamble.

"What? Almost done? Stop exploration? Why? Although the reserves have exceeded 500 million barrels, there may be others..."

"The president and the French have signed an exploration contract, which must be accelerated, and the areas designated by the president in advance have all been explored." The liaison officer himself was also confused, but since the country said so, they immediately implemented the president's last statement that there was oil here, and it turned out to be true. Now it is almost done, so it is almost done. Now they have almost worshipped Contini to the point of superstition. Since the president is sure that there is oil in Algeria, let's go.

"But I can guarantee that there will be oil in other areas." An American engineer stammered.

"Maybe there is, but your eyesight is not very reliable. I found this place..." Another contact person laughed, "Who was clamoring to go to Benghazi for rest not long ago? Let's go, this time we will go to Tripoli for rest, and then go to Algeria."

After being squeezed like this, the American was a little embarrassed and retorted, "Who said that Algeria must have oil?"

"The president said! When has the president lied to you? He won't joke with his own money. Everyone said that Libya has no oil. What is it now?" The contact person smugly teased, "The president said that Algeria has oil, so there must be oil. If you don't believe it, let's wait and see. If you are brave enough, let's bet on $2,000, which can buy a nice Cadillac."

As soon as the bet was mentioned, the American was scared and muttered for a long time. No one dared to answer. The reason was obvious: if the Italians lost the bet, they didn't have to pay for it themselves. The president would definitely pay, but what if they won the bet? Then you have to pay for it yourself. The company will never bear a penny for such a bet. Let's not talk about the chances of winning, just the momentum is inferior.

Several American engineers retorted unconvincedly: "Why? Is he God's illegitimate child?"

The contact shrugged: "He is God's favorite. Have you ever seen a young man who has made such a big career and scene in just a few years? He is the idol of all Italian young people. Such a proud child is worthy of the Italian youth leader! Do you have a leader in the United States? Do you have three flags?"

Well, everyone was convinced by this sentence. Don't talk politics with these contact people. They are all people with the golden words "Youth League Guards" engraved on their foreheads. They all hope to climb up by this road. Do you dare to communicate with them about democracy and freedom? They will definitely reply you with "The president said that Italy's first task at this stage is to be rich and powerful instead of free! Wealth and power are the first priority, and everything else can be sacrificed!"

The only one who complained bitterly was Walker. The general manager of Standard Oil of New York sent a telegram from the United States: the bonus was doubled, the exploration mission was extended for one year, and if you don't want to do it, get out, and don't even think about working in the company in the future!

He didn't dare to scold his boss, so he could only scold Contini: "This bastard!"

He didn't dare not accept the task: he had a lot of debt after buying a house, how could he pay it back if he lost his job? And this time, no matter who designated the location in the end, he would not lose a single American flight bonus. If he could continue to find oil in Algeria, wouldn't the bonus be great?

When Britain, France and Italy were in a state of chaos, Contini had quietly gone to Switzerland: Vivian gave birth to a girl for him a few days ago, named Betty, and Contini naturally had to accompany her. He stayed for more than a month until the beginning of July when old Ciano telegraphed him to come back.

Why did old Ciano want Contini to come back? The truth is quite bloody: after Vivian gave birth to the child and Contini went to Switzerland, Mussolini wanted to find him one day but couldn't find him. He asked for a long time but couldn't find anyone. Finally, he found old Ciano. Old Ciano made up his mind and thought that he couldn't hide it, and he shouldn't hide it. He simply told Mussolini the whole thing, and finally said very frankly: "This is the situation, you decide?"

Mussolini was also stunned at the time. He knew that Contini had a close relationship with the two anchors, and there were other rumors, but he really didn't know it would go so far. However, he understood one thing: the bastard president didn't plan to marry her. Old Ciano even told him about the share delivery, and vaguely revealed that Adriana was also pregnant and would do the same in the future. This news was actually imagined by old Ciano himself, and Contini didn't tell him at all.

Old Ciano's bad words came true again: Contini didn't know just because Adriana hadn't said anything, but that didn't mean the matter didn't exist. With Vivian going to Switzerland and getting pregnant again, Adriana, who was very anxious, felt the pressure and pestered Contini almost every time she had time. With such frequent visits, of course, it was inevitable that they would accidentally go off the rails a second time, and Contini couldn't refuse, otherwise he couldn't stand Adriana's sad eyes.

This time, even Mussolini laughed and joked, "If Calais had to deal with two more women, he would have to give up all his property, and he might have to work for his children and wife for the rest of his life."

"Isn't that right? I have trained him many times and told you that I have high expectations for him... But this kid didn't listen and replied urgently. I also know that the leader has expectations, but that is for the future. Your son Now in my 20s, at the peak of my energy, I... I have become very clean. "

Of course, these words were what old Ciano was arranging for his son in front of Mussolini. In fact, the President did not say these words at all. Only Mrs. Ciano and Contini’s mother expressed similar meanings. This sentence is not so much an excuse for Contini as it is a negotiation between old Ciano and Mussolini: Yes, you want to marry Ada. I agree, and my son can probably agree, but Ada is only a few years old. age? 15 years old! If you wait until you are 20 to get married, there will still be 5 years left. Let’s not talk about the huge changes in these 5 years. It will also be very hard for young people to endure...

Mussolini touched his head. Now he didn't know how to continue talking about this topic with this old subordinate and old friend. This sentence sounded like Contini's style: It is definitely wrong to accuse the other party of being a philanderer. Accusing him of being in trouble and finally giving up doesn't seem to matter to the parties involved who don't seem to have such a high moral level. Accusing him of cheating on his fiancée is not enough, let alone getting engaged. Ada is not even Contini's girlfriend now.

Old Ciano was quietly sizing up Mussolini from the side. These things must be made clear, otherwise they will all be time bombs in the future. If you agree in advance that you can accept it, then do whatever you want; if you can't accept it now, do it while it's still possible. It would be better for everyone if you stop thinking about it early when there is no entanglement.

He sighed silently and complained: "I'm glad you can tell me this. In fact, this is also what I want to communicate with you today: Ada is going to have summer vacation soon, and she is thinking about going to Calais with him. As for the Far East and India, this was a promise made by Calais himself last year. She couldn't find Calais and kept asking me, what can I do? I can only find him about Calais and Vivian, and I don’t mind what happened to Adriana, but he has to honor what he said, right? Apart from anything else, Ada only has one summer vacation every year, and he has to find a way to appease him, and he can do whatever he wants after the summer vacation. It’s okay, I can’t help it! But we have to solve the problem now, otherwise I won’t be able to live in peace if there is a commotion at home, right?”

Old Ciano didn't know about this yet, but the result of today's test was very satisfactory: Mussolini did not intend to pursue his son's bad affairs, but on the contrary expressed his understanding, as a man... of course he had to say it back. , what the leader said makes sense. You, the leader, don’t care about the other women, but you can’t ignore the fact that when the summer vacation comes, you can settle Ada and fulfill your promise, right?

"On the other hand, Ada is also older, and you know that Italian girls generally mature early. I can see her feelings for Calais... She even knows more or less about Vivian and Adriana. Some, of course, are not as profound as they are now." Mussolini now spoke like an extremely kind father, "Although we as fathers have political and career considerations, in the final analysis we still want our children to be happy, as long as we truly love each other. , some small things can be ignored. I still admire Calais very much. In terms of ability, means, and knowledge, there is no better young man in Italy."

"He has always been very grateful to the leader for cultivating him..." Old Ciano thought for a while and said something on Contini's behalf, "I think he still cares about Ada and has feelings for him. He really didn't hide away on purpose this time. There was no one there, but something happened suddenly and for other reasons, and as a public figure, he must use some methods to hide his whereabouts, so..."

"Understood, understood..." Mussolini said in a half-joking and half-serious tone, "If Calais marries Ada in the future, you must not be stingy with this share, otherwise I will not be able to hold my face... …”

Well, my daughter is already worried about the shares before she gets married. Old Ciano muttered in his heart, but he said without hesitation: "I must not treat Ada badly. I guarantee you, she will definitely have more money than the other two." That’s a lot in total!”

Antonio quietly revealed to him that Calais currently has at least 200 million US dollars in the group, and there is still a lot of money outside. The amount given to Vivian is only 15 million, and even if Adriana is added, it will be 30 million. In the future If you really marry Ada, even if you give 50 million, you can still keep the majority, so just give shares, but there is one thing that Antonio repeatedly draws the attention of old Ciano: the leader line must be kept!

The old Ciano also believed deeply, so he was particularly generous in front of Mussolini.