Chapter 51 Turtle with a wooden leg - 13

At the end of the winter of 1979-1980 the first alarm was sounded for Paul Soubis.He hasn't smoked for a while and is doing some exercise.Although he had not yet developed to wear the outlandish clothes and outlandish shoes specially designed for trotting in the Bois de Boulogne, he resumed the long-abandoned walking exercise of his days as a French boy scout; The French Boy Scouts adopted a whimsical alias of his own choice, "Madame Stick", which he had a heated argument with the scout coach, and finally convinced the other party that "Lady Stick" is actually Bai Jingtian in French, Also known as scorpion grass, it is a common herb that is often found near rural toilets.

Determined to develop an athletic physique, he was running up the escalator of his mansion on the rue Franche Desperet in the sixteenth arrondissement when the alarm sounded.The pain is sudden, sudden and violent.It starts below the breastbone, then spreads to the left shoulder, and radiates to the inside of the left arm, down to the last two fingers of the left hand.For a moment, the pain was so severe that he felt that he was going to die on the escalator immediately, and he died so stupidly. Who told him to leave the elevator that cost a lot of money to install?His personal physician—of course a member of the Academy of Medical Sciences—diagnosed angina pectoris at once.He said in a serious tone:

"It nearly killed you, Paul. Obviously, this was the first episode, and it ended as abruptly as it began, but when the danger is over, the comfort you experience won't come again next time." From now on, you will always carry nitroglycerin tablets with you, and you must absolutely rest." "Can I travel?" "You can sign up for the New York City Marathon and die two-thirds of the way back from the Verrazano Bridge. Depends where you go and how you travel." After lying on the bed for a few days, Su Bisi was so tired that he wanted to cry.He often lifted the covers, hoping to find that maybe someone had misplaced a woman there.He called members of his staff shortly after the onset of the attack. He also notified David Setiniaz, who also called Nick Petridis in New York and Nessim in London.

So when, in April 1980, his secret private phone by the bedside—only David, Nick, and Nessim knew its number—rang, he knew it must be one of the three of them. One of the calls. "Is it Paul?" He recognized immediately whose voice it was on the phone, a serene, soft voice he hadn't heard in three years. "Paul," said Reber, "I have just heard about you; please accept my heartfelt condolences. I have heard it was only a warning, thank God; Tell me you can travel but take proper precautions. So I don't want to ask you to travel the world. Since you are in France, we will meet in France. In ten days, I hope you don't leave then. You can come see me?"

"Anytime, anywhere, as long as you tell me." "At eight-thirty in the morning on the twenty-first of this month, a plane will be waiting for you at Tousul-Noble. Please come alone and don't make a fool of yourself." Soubise was French through and through.Although he is a little careless, he will not hesitate to offend an old friend with a wisecrack, but after all, he has a quick mind and a knack for quickly connecting clues for comprehensive analysis. He was sure he had learned that something shocking the world was about to happen. Tadoiz Tepfler received the call in Zurich.It is worth mentioning that he happened to be sitting in that office--twenty years ago, on about the same day, he first told Brockman, amidst his own hysterical laughter: "There is a pedal downstairs. Hand us a check for a billion dollars in flat shoes and no coat." Then he went to this office to see Alois Knapp.Regarding the incident twenty years ago, the center of his memory is mixed with some lingering sentiments.But, for him, the result couldn't have been better, there's absolutely no doubt about it.Although he has always worked hard, his personal rise in the bank began at that time.When it came time to appoint someone to take Knapp's class, the order seemed to fall from the sky, and he was selected.

When his top-secret private telephone line flickered on, there were three people in his office, including Otmar Brockman, his old rival and now his subordinate.Topperfler waited until the others had gone out before picking up the receiver, and said curtly, "I'm listening now. Someone was here just now." he listens. He decided to go by car, he was becoming more and more afraid of flying, and the train was not safe enough for secrecy. On April 11, David Setiniaz left the office for dinner, intending to return to work immediately after dinner, possibly until midnight.The monstrous gold operation was coming to an end, but the windfall profits had to be calculated with relative precision and distributed proportionally among the six hundred or so companies that needed cash.

The order was given almost seven months ago.It is similar in all respects to the previous order for the public sale of shares in Yava Foods Corporation and its subsidiaries.Reber spoke to Setiniaz over the radio: "David, I know you are facing serious financial problems once again. I am not unreasonably delaying. Please complete all formalities, and at any time in early January 1980 It is on standby. The same as last time, reorganize all gold mining companies into a holding company and make preparations for the public sale." On several occasions, Setiniaz hoped that Leib would cash out or sell his gold mine stocks in the Rocky Mountains, or simply authorize Nessim to sell the huge gold reserves held by the Lebanese on behalf of the king.For example, in September 1969, when the price of gold jumped from $35 to $41 an ounce, he asked Leiber for instructions, but Leiber said he would not sell it.In December 1974, when the price of gold on the London market rose to an astonishing figure of $197.50 an ounce, Leiber still said no. "No, David, we're going to wait." It made sense to wait, because, four years later, in October 1978, the price of gold was up to $254. "We don't sell it, David." "We need cash." "We don't sell it." It was four hundred and thirty-seven dollars; it was five hundred and eight dollars and seventy-five cents on December 27th!

At that point, it had been two months since all the preparations had been made for the combined holding company. "Reb, we're on call." "We're not selling, David." "Aren't you going to ignore the pile of problems I'm facing, Reb?" "I'm sorry, David. You have another short wait. But it won't be long..." January 18, 1980 . . . The order came from the wireless phone: "David! The time has come. Move!" Setiniaz needed to be sure he had heard correctly, for the order he had received had taken him by surprise.This will be the first time Wang has sold part of his fortune.

"Reb, do I have to sell all my stocks? Absolutely no mistake? You don't want to keep anything?" "Sell it all, David. You didn't misunderstand me. We're going All sold, no matter where. Notify Nessim, Laohan, Paul, Tadoiz, Jubal in San Francisco and Jaime in Buenos Aires. Make sure to notify within an hour arrive." Setiniaz later recalled: "In the 30 years I have worked for him, this is the first time that he has completely given up a company he created, without retaining any equity. This alone should have caused a lot of trouble. I paid attention, but then I was running into serious problems..."

The tangle of financial problems at Setiniaz was miraculously resolved on January 21, the day the price of an ounce of gold reached a staggering record: 850 Dollar. The operation netted $4.345 billion.In this way, Wang's wealth reached Xiang Xian at the end of January 1980.Taking into account the funds invested in Amazonia (by which time these investments had begun to turn a profit and the profits were reinvested elsewhere), Setiniaz estimated the total at $17.35 billion. After leaving the office, he stopped for a while in the hallway to chat with an assistant.Then, he just took three steps.

"Cetiniaz." Someone touched his arm.He recognized Diego Haas. "He wants to talk to you," Diego said. "Now." The two looked at each other.Diego smiled. "It's an order, Setiniaz." An illegally parked car was waiting outside.Diego shouted something in Spanish to a policeman next to him, and the policeman burst out laughing.Then Haas got behind the wheel and drove away, smiling but stern. "Where is he?" "I'll take you." Diego drove to the south side of the island of Manhattan, finally stopping at Washington Square in sight. "Get out of the car," he said to Setiniaz, with the usual sarcasm in his yellow eyes. "Where is he?" The Argentine just nodded, pointed a finger toward an arch, and drove away, disappearing quickly among the passing traffic and pedestrians. Setiniaz walked along a path and soon found Reb sitting on a bench eating a sandwich, sharing some with a few curious black squirrels.He was wearing tight trousers and a denim shirt with a jacket and a cloth bag by his side; his hair was longer than he had ever been in New York, but it hadn't fallen to his shoulders.Seeing his profile, Setiniaz suddenly had an unusual emotion. "He gave off a strong sense of loneliness," Setiniaz said later. "He was staring at the ground a few meters ahead, his eyes full of confusion...I can't tell what kind of feeling I had at that time..." Setiniaz moved closer, then stopped.It was several seconds before Reb realized where he was standing, and laughed: "I don't want to go to Fifty-eighth Street. Forgive me. There's a reason. It's a whim. Is there someone waiting for you somewhere?" "I'm going home for dinner now." "Go back to work after dinner?" "yes." Reber moved the sack and jacket, and Setiniaz sat down.The squirrels had fled in all directions when the guests first arrived, and now they all came back.Reber threw them all the bread he had left.He said very gently, "David, you tendered your resignation to me more than three years ago." “I did not withdraw my resignation,” Setiniaz said, but once he said it, he immediately regretted it, realizing that it was clearly inappropriate. Reber shook his head. "It's not about that than, at least I'm going to say it's not that kind of resignation. David. Things are going to change. Things are going to change...amazingly. Everything you've done in thirty years, you're going to be affected by it. Someone else talked about it, you were the first. I had to." Setiniaz's pulse speeded up suddenly. "Not even to Georges Taras?" After he asked this sentence, he felt that he had made a slip of the tongue and missed the point. "George knows what's going on and I need him to be involved. I can't do it any other way. David, there's a gap between you and me that I'd like to see cleared. I've had a very Difficult to decide, but a decision must be made; so I leave you with many, many things, too many. Forgive me." An indescribable emotional impulse hit Setiniaz.Looking at this thin face, he almost admitted to himself in his heart: despite all kinds of things that happened, it was unexpected that he still had a deep affection for this person. "Now you have made this difficult decision?" "Yes, everything is in order. That's what I want to talk to you about, David." He then told Setiniaz what was going to happen and how, especially why he felt compelled to do such a thing.His tone was as slow and composed as usual, never raising his voice to emphasize a word, and he spoke the kind of English he was accustomed to, with every word carefully and even almost literally. After a silence that seemed to last forever, Setiniaz said feebly, "This is suicide." "That's not the problem. The problem is you." "You're trying to destroy everything we've managed in the past 30 years." Setiniaz said dejectedly. "The problem is you. I have asked too much from you. I can no longer put you in an embarrassing situation. I can't put you in an extremely embarrassing situation because of my fault. You can temporarily resign, go on a trip, and take a rest for a while , when things calm down. I think you should. After the fifth of May, you're bound to be surrounded, bombarded with fatigue, targeted, and have to accept all the unpleasantness that comes with it. That's true. Not happy to be here, David. You have protected me for too long, and for that reason your people will not spare you." Setiniaz closed his eyes and said, "You want me to get off this sinking ship." "The same can be said." Leiber began to give instructions to Setiniaz face-to-face again, citing the methods that can be adopted to minimize the target and avoid firepower. Setiniaz didn't listen.He felt as if he had been knocked unconscious.Suddenly he made up his mind, without even realizing that he had made a decision, and then, for the first time in his life, he said with confidence: "I'm going to France, Reber." Leiber looked at him carefully for a while and said, "You are not one to make decisions lightly." "good." silence.Then Leiber shook his head unhurriedly and said: "Could madness be contagious?" His eyes are smiling.Setiniaz completely abandoned his reserve, and smiled, "According to Taras, only madness is reasonable and logical." They left for France on the 20th and landed directly at Marignan in Marseilles.The country house formerly owned by Suzanne Setignaz covers six hectares, twenty kilometers from Aix-en-Provence.There is also a small river there, and there are many fish in the river. "I didn't know you bought it when my grandmother died. I actually blamed myself for selling it." "Not in my name, but in the name of your little daughter Susan." Setiniaz was so stunned that he couldn't say a word.He suddenly remembered a letter written to him by his grandmother as early as 30 noon: "I have met the most puzzling, most incredible, and the most outstanding young man... If you can... for Reb Michel Klimrod do something..." "My grandmother has a good eye, many times better than I do. She likes you very much, even though she barely knows you. She often asks me about you..." They walked along a path, and the sycamore trees beside the road were towering ancient trees about two hundred years old.There is often such a thing: you walk in front of the most obvious phenomenon every day but turn a blind eye, and then suddenly realize it.It was in this way that Setiniaz suddenly realized that Reb Klimrod had always endured unimaginable loneliness.Take this garden as an example, it is associated with many memories of Setiniaz’s happy childhood and youth, which can be said to be a portrayal of his whole life so complete and peaceful. A strong emotion seized him and nearly tore him apart. "Reb, if I could do something for you..." "You've done so much." "I still want to do more. If you want, I will continue to manage your affairs for as long as I can. Even if it is difficult, it's nothing!" He wanted to say something more, something else, for example, to suggest that Reber share the comfort of his home (Klimrod never entered their family circle); or that Reber accept his friendship (now that he realized , I used to be like squeezing toothpaste when it comes to friendship issues, if not stingy). "In his mind, I was always just an accountant, and it was my fault." Setiniaz reflected on it afterwards. "Actually, it's just a matter of lifting a finger. You only need to say a word at a critical moment... What makes me regret the most is: I never dared to go beyond the threshold of etiquette. I have always been stupidly wary of him, and it is all because I am short-sighted and dead. In order to save face, he refused to admit the size of the world out of the instinct of a frog in a well, and there may also be a ridiculous fear of being overwhelmed by his personality. I envy George Taras, who loves him and never looks back. He has far fewer opportunities to see Reber than I do, but he knows him much more deeply than I do." On the evening of the twentieth they dined in the town of Aix-en-Provence, near a large square with a rather magnificent fountain.The night in April has a taste of early summer.That very night, Reb Klimrod recounted his sneaking back home to Vienna in 1945.By then, the house had been ransacked except for a wheelchair, forgotten in a small elevator whose panels had been taken from a church shrine in Tyrol or Bohemia. ...The next day, all the royal officials responded to Leiber's call and came here one by one from all over the world. They were surprised to find that there were so many people like themselves. What a majestic and powerful authority these people in this meeting symbolize. Present at the meeting were Han Mou, Nessim Shahaze, Paul Subis, Jorge Sokrates, Ethel Court, Nelson Coelho, Tadoiz Tepfler, Nick and Tony Petridis, Jubal Win, Francisco Santana, Philip Vandenberg, Ernie Gorzchinak, Jaime Rochas, Henry Chance, Roger Dunn, Kim Foysey; the least important of them all, the king was in charge of a fortune of at least a hundred million dollars.Reb Klimrod announced to them all what he was about to do.He made it clear that nothing would change in their own interests; unless someone decided to terminate his cooperation and withdraw immediately, they could continue to control their respective fields. Only one thing is different from the past: from now on, the outside world will know that they are working for him. The king told them that he would reveal his face and let the world know who he was and the number of his fabulous fortune.He did this, of course, not to boast of his achievements, but because he had to explain how he had established this kingdom in the heart of Amazonia; The Grand Union, yet the organization with such a misnamed name, admits its existence. Wang told them that he had no illusions about whether his voice would be heard and answered when he proclaimed the official birth of the new nation.And yet he will proclaim this fact with the most complete defiance of so-called law and custom.His action itself is precisely the condemnation and negation of law and practice.He knew full well that he would be ridiculed for doing such a foolish thing, because he dared to abandon the concept of legality, sovereignty, sacrosanct rights, etc.; Acts of individuality and individual liberty are clothed in a cloak of rationality and lawfulness. At the end, he smiled and looked at the participants one by one, and pointed out that if any of them didn't fully understand his reasoning, they might as well regard the actions he would take as a challenge to the whole world.