Chapter 49 Lin Qi"s Old Friends
Both the host and the guests were extremely happy. Baron Mirro personally sent Blackbeard and company off at the front gate of his residence. In Dunerk, very few people were worthy of Baron Mirro moving his precious legs to send them all the way to the front gate. If not for the expensive gifts and the misunderstanding he had about Blackbeard"s schemes, Baron Mirro would at most only send them off to the hall entrance.
After bidding farewell to the very pleased Baron Mirro, Blackbeard brought Lin Qi to visit several leading figures in Dunerk.
For instance, they visited the chairman of Dunerk Bankers Salon, several members of the Dunerk Joint Chamber of Commerce, the president of the Dunerk Sea Cargo Chamber of Commerce, and many others. Blackbeard solemnly introduced Lin Qi and Ezno—this fantastic duo—to these shrewd big shots, making them take several considerations into hand.
Anyone with a brain would draw the same mistaken conclusion about Enzo"s ident.i.ty. Therefore, they all took Enzo as someone nurtured by the Black Tiger Family to be their military lobbyist. Based on the wealth and influence under Blackbeard"s control, adding in these two outstanding youngsters, Lin Qi and Enzo, the Black Tiger Family"s development seemed unstoppable.
Since it was inevitable, these shrewd businessmen would naturally follow and do their best to gain some benefits.
So whenever Blackbeard, by accident or design, raised the issue of becoming the mayor, each of these people had the same reaction as Baron Mirro and gave Blackbeard a very conclusive guarantee. As long as Blackbeard officially ran for mayor, they would all utilize their utmost capabilities to ensure he rose to power.
When the sky darkened, the perfectly contented Blackbeard brought Tu Dao and the rest to return to Black Beech Hill. There were still many things he needed to deal with. However, Lin Qi didn"t return with Blackbeard, instead stating that he wanted to let Enzo experience Dunerk"s bustling scenes while simultaneously earning some pocket money.
Treading on the crisp snow accompanied by crunching sounds, Lin Qi and Enzo traversed the most bustling street in Dunerk Port. To their left was the ocean, where several large fis.h.i.+ng boats were entering the port. Quite a few fish vendors clamored towards the fis.h.i.+ng boats, selecting whatever interested them. A fortunate fis.h.i.+ng boat had caught a huge tuna weighing at least one thousand kilograms. This rare catch immediately caused a commotion from the entire dock. Every fish vendor frantically called a price, fighting over the tuna.
"Such a big fis.h.!.+" Enzo, who was experiencing the ocean and this sort of spectacle for the first time, couldn"t help but involuntarily exclaim in admiration. Everything here was incredibly new to him.
"What can this be counted as? This tuna can barely be considered a huge dish. You haven"t seen a real enormous fish yet!" Lin Qi stood under a street lamp and watched the nearby fis.h.i.+ng boats with his lips pursed in disdain, both hands in the pockets of his pants. He said, "When I was eleven, someone caught a long, toothless whale; now that was a genuinely huge dis.h.!.+"
Smacking his lips, Lin Qi described the enormous size of the whale to Enzo, then flauntingly said, "My father made its bones into a specimen and gave it to the city hall. Even now, it"s still placed in the lobby of the city hall. As for the meat of the unfortunate fish, the flavor was better than the most tender veal. I even found a big oyster inside its stomach, from which I took out seven thumb-sized pearls!"
“Pearls?” Enzo raised his brows. "Thumb-sized pearls? They must have been very valuable!"
Spreading both of his hands, Lin Qi sighed. "When my personal maid Mary got married, I gave away those seven pearls as dowry for her!"
"Personal maid?" Enzo said in surprise. "You also had a personal maid? The h.e.l.l! Boss, you really are the young master of a rich family!"
Enzo was so jealous his eyes reddened. Lin Qi"s ancestral house was admittedly astonis.h.i.+ng, but Enzo didn"t have too drastic of a reaction. Even if Lin Qi"s family was wealthier and more powerful, they still belonged to him anyway. Yet Lin Qi unexpectedly had a personal maid, turning Enzo"s mind blank! According to tradition, personal maids were said to always have both emotional and physical interaction with their aristocratic young masters!
Lin Qi shrugged his shoulders. He whistled sharply, then sighed deeply and said, "Mary and I were clean! Incomparably clean! She started looking after me when I was five, and she"s a full seven years older than me! She was a maid adopted by my mother—that"s why I"m saying she and I were clean!"
Suddenly turning around, Lin Qi looked at Enzo, sneered and said, "Do you know why I dug out Arthur"s eyeball? Because he dared to touch Mary! He actually dared to have that kind of intention towards the personal maid my mother left for me, so I took action. Pity the old man came too quickly. I didn"t have time to get rid of him before he was rescued."
Laughing sinisterly, Lin Qi murmured in a low voice, "His purple eyeball looked really good. I remember putting it inside medicinal liquid to make it into a specimen. Only, afterwards, I forgot where I put it. Such a pity; it was a very beautiful purple eyeball!"
Enzo"s scalp turned numb. He looked at Lin Qi, unable to imagine a youth under twenty personally digging out a person"s eyeball because the personal maid left behind by his mother had been bullied! Enzo couldn"t help but sigh deeply, saying, "Boss, I"m very curious as to what you were like when you were young. At least at the same age, I couldn"t do what you did!"
Pursing his lips, Lin Qi laughed loudly. "I"m bringing you along precisely to increase your knowledge! Find some friends, then fish up some pocket money. You would then know what I was like!"
The boats loaded the fish into the vendors" baskets. The pungent scent of fish started to spread through the air. Lin Qi reveled in breathing in this distinctive port smell. With a hearty laugh, he grabbed Enzo before scurrying into an alley.
This alley was winding and secluded but also swept clean. The road was sprinkled with some salt and meticulously carved with anti-slip decorative patterns, making it comfortable to walk on. After every few steps, there was a translucent sh.e.l.l lamp burning on grindstones hanging on the wall. Their illumination wasn"t very bright, only just enough to illuminate the road ahead.
After a while of walking through the alley, they reached the end where there was unexpectedly a golden door. Its surface was inlaid with decorative rose designs glistening with a golden s.h.i.+mmer under the light. Enzo suddenly widened his eyes and subconsciously stroked the door. "Right, this door is actually made of pure gold."
Lin Qi rubbed his hands in excitement then casually kicked the door.
"Hey, hey, open the door! Young master Lin Qi is here for his pocket money! Oh, we haven"t met for three years—you guys must miss me terribly, right?"
Only after a full minute did the door slowly open. Two youths with incomparably dark expressions stretched their heads out from the door crack. When they caught sight of Lin Qi, the two people simultaneously cursed aloud.
"My G.o.d! It really is Lin Qi! s.h.i.+t!"