Don't talk about martial arts, I'm a war contractor

Chapter 469 Paul's Death and Deathbed Gift

"Paul he...Okay, I get it."

When he suddenly heard the bad news, even though Xia Yu was prepared, he couldn't help but be distracted for a few seconds.

The last time I said goodbye to you, I didn’t expect that we would be separated by the Yin and Yang today.

Paul, who used his astonishing wealth to prolong his life for more than 30 years, eventually died of complications from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at the age of 65.

"Our family is ready to leave now."

After expressing that he would go to the country of magnesium to see his friend off for the last time, Xia Yu hung up the phone and sighed. He then continued to call Lao Qian who was on standby in the country of fat, asking them to come to Germany.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, a good friend of mine passed away. How about we just go through the procedure?"

Back in the factory, Xia Yu apologized to Heilixi.

"That's so unfortunate. Please accept my condolences, Mr. Sherlock. We will start now."

Dr. Hesingen comforted Xia Yu and raised his hand to indicate that he was ready for inspection at any time.

Following the staff into the 206A and U-99 submarines, based on the other party's introduction and systematic feedback, Xia Yu's acceptance work progressed rapidly.

Soon it was evening, and the heavy crane at the Port of Kiel lifted the two submarines that had completed acceptance into the hold of the barge.

Next, they will be towed to Pointe Noire Port like the previous two 206A ships, and after months of testing and training, they will officially start operations next year.

"Du~~"

After watching the tugboat pulling the barge and sounding the horn to leave the port, Xia Yu also returned to Mecklenburg by helicopter.

Liv was already waiting on the Fischer holding little Grapefruit. As soon as he arrived, the family of three officially flew to Magnesium.

A 10-month-old child eats and sleeps, eats and sleeps, and is happy and has no idea what birth, aging, sickness and death are, while adults are more nostalgic for the deceased.

Xia Yu lay in bed until late at night, unable to bear the pain any longer, and finally fell asleep. When he opened his eyes again, they had already refueled in New York and continued to fly towards the west coast.

A few hours later, stepping on the land of Seattle again, he had a feeling that everything had changed.

If it weren't for the Stuka, Xia Yu wouldn't have met Paul, and wouldn't have visited the city where Microsoft's headquarters is located so many times.

Maybe this is fate. Even though they are in different industries, their similar interests and side jobs make them good friends. Paul, who has never been married or had children, has even become the godfather of his son.

The convoy sent by Jody picked up the family of three and drove to Mercer Island, where Paul lived most of the time during his lifetime.

The nine luxury villas are worth US$1.162 million, but no matter how high the value is, it is no different from other inheritances and is all disposed of to recover funds.

Relatives who should inherit should inherit, those who should pay inheritance tax should pay inheritance tax, and those who should do charity should do charity.

Other wealthy people may do charity to avoid taxes, but Paul has no wife or children, so his sister takes a part of it, and he really does it for charity when he says the rest is charity.

Many people came to the private memorial service. In addition to his close friends, most of them were from various organizations that Paul had sponsored.

If you have money, you should spend it. Paul not only invests his interests, he also invests in various cutting-edge medical and scientific technologies.

It's a pity that he, who started these projects, couldn't see them come to fruition, but Paul's spirit will continue to be passed on.

Walking through the crowd of mourners, we arrived at the main building of the villa complex. A white coffin was placed in the center of the hall on the first floor.

Paul lay with his eyes closed and his hands folded, as if he had just fallen asleep.

Yes, he slept forever.

"Mr Sherlock?"

After entertaining a friend, Jody, who was not very familiar with Xia Yu, walked over and said.

"And this is Mr. Shade?"

She looked at the little Youzi sleeping soundly in Xia Yu's arms and asked.

"It's us. I brought him here to see the Godfather for the last time."

Xia Yu nodded and said.

"Then please come to the study. Paul has left a message for you."

Jody raised his hand and asked.

From sudden complications to his death yesterday, the rich man, feeling that his end was near, spent the last two weeks of his life alone.

During this period, he also made some arrangements for his funeral.

For example, there are some things Paul still wants to say to his godson, whom he did not have the chance to watch grow up.

They soon arrived at the study room on the second floor. Xia Yu, who had been chatting with his friends here, saw that the TV was on, and Jody picked up the remote control and pressed play.

"Hey, Sherlock, and my dear godson, little Shad, I'm sorry I have to go first."

Paul appeared on the TV screen with an oxygen tube in his nose, and all he could hear was him speaking with all his might.

"Your father bought my Petrel and the Vulcan Oceanographic Research Group and promised me that he would increase investment in deep-sea exploration. Little Xia De, you have to help me supervise him."

Hearing this, Xiao Youzi opened his eyes drowsily. After waking up, he looked at the TV screen and the person on it looked a little familiar.

However, he could understand some words in German and French, but he knew nothing about English. The little guy couldn't understand anything at all.

He will understand when he grows up. Now this video is played for Xia Yu, an adult.

"...I've always wanted to leave something for you. Your father has plenty of money, and he may be richer than your godfather in the future. So I'll leave the Flight Heritage and Combat Armor Museum that I'm worried about to you. Jody doesn't like my collections, so naturally he won't care about them..."

Jodi curled her lips when she heard this. This was the first time she had watched this video. She didn't expect that her brother would not forget to complain about her even after his death.

But her brother was right, she really hated those iron lumps that only burned oil.

If she had inherited the FHC Museum, she would have sold all the collections inside, but since Paul had made the arrangements, she would have followed her brother's will.

Paul is actually going to pass on his museum to Xiao Youzi?

Xia Yu was shocked. He had taken over the other party's deep-sea exploration business at a price far below the market price, but he did not expect that the other party would leave the FHC Museum, which had a large number of World War II and Cold War fighter planes and armored vehicles and a total estimated value of hundreds of millions of dollars, to his son.

This, this seems to be the most appropriate approach?

With the unique operating experience of military equipment museums, Xia Yu will definitely be able to turn the FHC Museum, which requires continuous capital injection from Paul to maintain operations, into a profitable one.

This is what Paul wants to see most, rather than money itself.

"This was the decision I made when I returned to Magnesium after your aircraft carrier museum opened. In the following months, I obtained a business license for special weapons and equipment from the ATF, and my collections can finally be fired legally." Paul said excitedly in the video.

A tank that can fire is a real tank, otherwise it is no better than an excavator!
Unfortunately, Paul, who was suffering from a terminal illness, had no energy to promote changes in FHC, so this task had to be handed over to his godson.

In other words, although it is under the name of Xiao Youzi, the person actually in charge of the museum is Xia Yu.

The reason why I didn’t give it directly to Xia Yu was because they are friends, he wouldn’t accept it and couldn’t accept it.

There is nothing wrong with Chinese people opening a gun store and shooting range in Magnesium, but such a large military equipment museum is still too sensitive.

But if everyone was replaced by little Grapefruit whose mother was of German descent, those congressmen who tried to make things difficult for people would be at a loss. Not to mention that it was natural for a godfather to give gifts to his godson, and Sirius even gave Harry Potter a broom!

"Little Xia De, I hope that with the help of your father, FHC can be developed into the number one military equipment museum in the United States. This is the best reward for your godfather."

At the very end, Paul said solemnly, and the video ends here.

“That’s it. My brother packaged FHC into a foundation, and the beneficiary has now been revealed. It’s our Mr. Xia De.”

As the handler and beneficiary of Paul's estate, Jody confirmed the outcome of the FHC Museum's handling of the estate.

High-net-worth inheritances such as valuable paintings, luxury homes around the world, private jets and yachts must be disposed of and taxes paid.

However, all the museums invested by Paul, whether private or public, will be converted into tax-exempt charitable organizations because they need to continue operating.

Of course, tax exemption is only useful if you can make money or continue to invest money in it. However, FHC has never made a profit since its establishment. Only Xia Yu, the Midas Touch, can turn decay into magic.

"Thank you for your kindness Paul, but..."

"Don't refuse. This is what my brother left for Little Xiade. If I leave it to me, I will end up bankrupt just like he said."

Jodi is very self-aware and she doesn't want this hot potato!
"Then I'll accept it on behalf of little Shade, but everything will have to wait until after Paul's funeral."

Xia Yu now only wants to see his friend off for the last time, and everything else can be postponed.

"Yes, the funeral is the most important thing right now."

Jody also said in agreement.

Funerals in the country basically consist of two parts: condolences and burial.

The mourning ceremony usually lasts for several days, from the opening of the coffin to the closing of the coffin.

It was not until the day of the burial ceremony that Xia Yu, Paul's brother-in-law, Gates, who had resolved the grudges of the past and reconciled, former Microsoft CEO Ballmer, and Paul's two nephews acted as the coffin-bearing team and carried the coffin into the car.

After arriving at the cemetery, the six people moved the coffin again to the grave that Paul had chosen for himself.

The relatives and friends who came with him threw the flowers in their hands on the coffin, until the soil was spread out shovel by shovel, and everyone said goodbye to Paul.

He left this world with some regrets in a life that was neither short nor long, but his legendary experience will surely be mentioned repeatedly, and his last wish...

"Woo~~"

The only airworthy Stuka in the world swooped down and roared past the cemetery, while the Allen, which had come to see its former owner off for the last time, circled in the sky.

Paul's last wish will be fulfilled like the reborn Allen, which is also Xia Yu's promise to his deceased friend.

There was no rush to return to Afika. Xia Yu and his wife, holding their son, came to Paine Airport together.

Earlier in New York, he had joked with the director of the Fobole branch about asking for help when developing the North American market.

However, Xia Yu's work focus has always been on Afika and Europe, and he has no time to cross the Atlantic to enter Laomei.

His original plan was to use his wife's identity to open a branch of the Tank Museum in Magnesium when the time was right, but his deceased friend gave his son a big gift directly.

In this way, Xia Yu doesn't have to go around in circles and can directly strengthen it based on the Flight Heritage and Combat Armor Museum.

The ticket price for regular visits remains the same as before, $12 per ticket, but the value-added services must be on par with the Afika Tank Museum.

It is more difficult to replicate the second phase of the project in Magnesium. FHC has no shortage of antique aircraft, but they have to be weaponized like modern fighters. So it is better to maintain the original flight show days!

"Mr. Sherlock, is this our new Boss?"

Seeing Xia Yu and his group coming in, James, Paul's exclusive pilot of the MiG-29UB, looked at Xia De who was chewing his hands and asked.

"Yes, he is the boss and we are all guys."

Xia Yu agreed with what James said. It was a bit against the will of heaven for a father to work for his son, but who can blame him for having a good godfather?

"The work of the Ministry of Aviation remains as it is for now. Wait, what is that?"

Xia Yu was familiar with all the FHC employees, and they knew him a little bit. Just when he was about to get straight to the point, a large aircraft parked in the workshop caught his attention.

"That's the B-29 that Paul bought half a year ago. It's in great condition, except for the engine. We plan to restore it to the third airworthy B-3."

Steve, the former head of the aviation department, is now in hospital for a long time. Kevin, an aerospace engineer newly promoted by Paul, walked out of the crowd and answered.

The FHC has more than 40 B-17 Flying Fortresses (including static display aircraft) in the United States, but the B-29 Super Fortress is too rare.

This is the only bomber that has actually dropped nuclear bombs in combat and is also the main force of LeMay BBQ. Unfortunately, because it was not included in the list of World War II surplus materials to be disposed of, it did not flow into the civilian market in large quantities like the P-51 and B-25.

As a result, there are only two airworthy B-29s in the world, and no more than a handful are on static display in major museums.

The one Paul bought was in the best condition besides the airworthy ones, but the original Wright R-3350-57AM was of poor quality and hard to find.

After the original engine was scrapped, the FIFI of the Commemorative Air Force and Cavanaugh Flight Museum spent more than 300 million to replace it with electric fans from A-1 Skyraider and Fairchild C-119.

But what can I say? The museum's $12 ticket revenue can only cover the employees' wages, and Paul has to subsidize the fuel used for the armored vehicles and antique aircraft.

Paul getting this B-29 was just the first step. He would have to invest at least 1000 million more to make it fly.

In response to this, Xia Yu, a cheating player, said he didn’t want even 100 million.

In other words, the original parts of Wright R-3350-57AM were basically not circulated in the market, so he didn't have to spend a penny, just some scrap copper and iron.

Now Xia Yu has to get a few Douglas A-1 Skyraiders, remove their piston engines and install them on this B-29.

The people of Magnesia do not allow private aircraft to have strike capabilities, so let's fly to Afika and drop 9 tons of M69 barbecue sauce on it... No, it's cluster incendiary bombs and roasted potatoes.

The visual effect is much better than banging and banging a 9-ton iron bomb stick. Add on the gimmick of "the world's only combat-capable B-29", and it's hard not to make money.

"I'll take care of the engine. If the original one isn't available, a replacement with similar power will suffice."

After saying this, no one thought that Xia Yu was bragging. You can't imagine the resources of the director of the world's T-0 level weapons and equipment museum.

(End of this chapter)