Volume 5 Chapter 128 Two strange men
“Very good, I think that our conversation can end here.”
Marquis Southgate handed the Magic Communicator back to Princess Caroline.
Princess Caroline wanted to convince Xu Yi with a few more words, but she found that the green light on the Magic Communicator had extinguished and could only give a bitter smile.
It seemed like Xu Yi wouldn’t take back his stance this time.
“Uncle Dayolen! Let’s go back! What god damn Xu Yi and Frestech Chamber of Commerce, they actually dare treat you with this stance! It’s a good thing that this is the Stantine Duchy, if this was our Marlow Empire, I would immediately give him something good to see!”
Marquis Southgate narrowed his eyes to look at Seymour, but he didn’t say a thing as he turned back to Princess Caroline.
“Your highness.”
“Ah? Ah…..Lord Marquis, you……” Princess Caroline opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.
She knew that Xu Yi had destroyed his chance to cooperate with the Marlow Empire this time.
When it came to benefits, Xu Yi’s actions this time were simply too stupid.
But if it was from a personal view, Princess Caroline felt that Xu Yi had simply been too charming just now.
That kind of contradictory feeling made her reveal a bitter smile, also not know how to express the feelings in her heart.
“Your highness, let’s set off. Chairman Xu should already be anxious waiting for us.”
“Oh…..Ah?” Princess Caroline first nodded before her eyes popped out in surprise, “Lord Marquis, you…..You’re still going to see chairman Xu?”
“Why not?” Marquis Southgate asked Princess Caroline with a surprised look, “Wasn’t this the plan?”
“But……But……” Princess Caroline pointed at Seymour who also had a surprised look, “The matter of Viscount Seymour……”
“Seymour?” Marquis Southgate turned to look at Seymour and the faint smile on his face turned dark, becoming very deep. He said in a tone that didn’t broker any concession, “Seymour, you will go with these two peace officers and coordinate with their investigations. Let me remind you, you must work well with them. If you dare cause any more trouble, I wouldn’t mind disciplining you for your father.”
Although Marquis Southgate’s tone didn’t sound that strict, Seymour couldn’t help trembling.
He knew that this time his uncle Dayolen was serious.
So he didn’t have a single thought of resisting as he walked over to the two peace officers.
Marquis Southgate looked at the two stunned peace officers with a smile, “Two officers, it’s been hard on you. Please be patient with my nephew. If you need anything, you can contact me or Princess Caroline through the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.”
After saying this, he sat back down in the Magic Sedan. He didn’t spare a single glance for Seymour, he just waved his hand to Princess Caroline.
“Your highness, let’s set off.”
Princess Caroline looked at Seymour with a strange look before turning back to Marquis Southgate. She didn’t say anything else, she just sat back down in the Magic Sedan.
After a while, the motorcade of seven Magic Sedans set off and quickly disappeared along the road.
###
An hour later, the motorcade arrived at Xu YI’s personal manor that was by the sea.
Seeing Xu Yi standing at the door in the distance, looking over, Princess Caroline felt a bit surprised.
She didn’t know how Xu Yi arrived before the motorcade, but since this was Xu Yi’s territory, it wouldn’t be strange if he could do this.
What she was surprised by was why Xu Yi had a smile on his face, not seeming to be affected by his conversation with Marquis Southgate just now.
It had to be known, those words by common logic would be Xu Yi and Marquis Southgate showing a breakdown in their relationship. Normally people would think that these two would be angry with each other, no longer caring about the other.
But not only did Marquis Southgate’s reaction surprise Princess Caroline, now Xu Yi’s reaction also confused her.
These two men, just what were they thinking?
Princess Caroline was confused as she came out of the Magic Sedan, but when she was standing with the smiling Xu Yi, she also revealed a bright smile.
“Hey, Caroline, it’s been a year and a half since we last met? After not seeing each other for this long, you’ve become this beautiful, I’m really happy to see this.” Xu Yi reached his hand out towards Caroline with a smile.
Princess Caroline looked at Xu Yi’s right hand that was reached out before suddenly revealing a naughty smile. She came forward and tightly hugged Xu Yi who was caught off guard, not hesitating to place a kiss on his face.
“Xu Yi, after not seeing each for this long, you’re this cold to me. I’m very hurt.”
Feeling the heat from Princess Caroline’s lips, Xu Yi’s expression became a bit awkward and a bit helpless. After thinking about it, he also gave Princess Caroline a hug, but he didn’t return the kiss.
“Hey, Caroline, there’s still guests here.”
Hearing what Xu Yi said, Princess Caroline let go with a smile.
Xu Yi was reminding her there were guests here, did that mean that he didn’t treat her as a guest and one of his own?
“Un, Xu Yi, let me introduce them. This is Marquis Dayolen Southgate. Lord Marquis, he is the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s chairman Xu.”
Xu Yi and Marquis Southgate’s gazes matched. The two of them revealed understanding smiles at the same time before reaching their hands out towards each other.
“Lord Marquis, welcome.”
“Chairman Xu, I’m very happy to finally see you.”
The two looked at each other and both gave a laugh before Xu Yi said, “Lord Marquis, let me tell you some good news. Because Viscount Seymour cooperated with the peace officers, acknowledging it was his mistake and agreeing to pay the compensation, the passengers of the public transport Magic Cars have already accepted this. So according to the laws, he could at most be locked up for seven days and wouldn’t be punished with anything else.”
“Oh? That is very good.” Marquis Southgate gave a nod, as if he didn’t care about what punishment Seymour received at all. After a bit of silence, he asked, “Chairman Xu, I have some understanding of the Magic Cars, but can I ask what is the difference between the public transport Magic Cars here and the public transport Magic Cars I’ve seen in Banta City?”
“There’s not much difference because I was the main designer of the Banta City public transport system. If you have to compare it, our public transport system here is more perfect. One, it’s because the system in Banta City has many limits, but there aren’t any here. Two, it’s because it’s closer to our company’s production base that they can receive better passenger Magic Cars.”
“Un, I understand. Then can I ask, without enough roads as a foundation, would it be hard to build this kind of transport system?”
“Although it’s easier for the Magic Cars to operate with these roads, there is no need for them. Our company’s current passenger Magic Cars can even travel on normal dirt and stone roads. As long as there are enough normal roads and enough passenger Magic Cars, one can attempt to build a public transport system.”
“It’s like this? If one wanted to form a public transport system that is more than ten times bigger than Banta City, how much does chairman Xu think it would cost?”
“That is hard to estimate because the conditions of each city are different, so we need to survey the city first. But for a rough estimate, if the city area is more than ten times bigger than Banta City, the scale of the public transport system will need to be more than several times bigger than Banta City.”
“Why isn’t it just more than ten times?”
“This isn’t a simple multiplication because the bigger the city is, the more complicated it is. To satisfy this, one needs to pay more resources.”
“Un, that is correct. Then I’ve heard that Banta City’s public transport system cost three hundred thousand gold coins and it needed an investment of fifty thousand gold coins each year. According to what you just said, for a city that is more than ten times bigger, the initial investment should be over ten million gold coins and it would cost up to a million gold coins a year to maintain?”
“That isn’t certain because it was only a first attempt when we tried it in Banta City, so there were many unnecessary expenditures. If we did it now, I would say the cost would be around one hundred to one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins. As for the costs each year, with the income that would come in, there would be no need for additional investments.”
“Oh? If it’s like this, that is quite cheap……”
……
Seeing Xu Yi and Marquis Southgate talking like they were old friends, while she was being thrown to the side to dry in the sun, Princess Caroline couldn’t help rolling her eyes before cutting through their conversation.
“Hey, Xu Yi, aren’t you planning on serving us some tea?”
Xu Yi was surprised before tapping his head with a smile, reaching his hand out to give an inviting gesture.
“Please, Lord Marquis, Caroline, everyone, come and sit. I’ve already prepared a sumptuous lunch, I was just waiting for us to enjoy it together.”
Marquis Southgate gave a laugh. He wasn’t polite as he walked into the manor.
But before he took two steps, he couldn’t help turning back to ask Xu Yi more questions.
Xu Yi was also strange. No matter what questions Marquis Southgate asked, he would answer them with many details. He didn’t act like he was answering them out of politeness, rather it was like he and Marquis Southgate were friends.
Seeing them talking like this, Princess Caroline helplessly shook her head. She looked over at Still who was standing at the entrance to the dining room, waiting for the guests.
When her eyes fell onto Still’s stomach that was bulging a bit, Princess Caroline was stunned before a weak sigh came through her lips.