Mediterranean hegemon

Contini wanted two kinds of support: first, Ciano would be responsible for coordinating a 30 million lira loan. It wasn't that Contini couldn't afford the money, but that he had just set up United Motorcycles, which cost a lot of money. Spending so much money to run an airline will arouse unnecessary suspicion, and a loan makes more sense; the second is to control the old Ciano's recruitment. Contini feels that Antonio is too valuable and hopes to follow him in the future.

The former one is a very normal cover-up routine. The wealth of more than 10 million falling from the sky is really a bit hot and must be revealed slowly; the latter request made old Ciano stunned for a moment. Antonio helped him a lot at work, but his son After bringing it up so solemnly, he thought about it and finally decided to reluctantly let it go - although his son and himself had to be separated in terms of property, they were a family after all, and of course they should support him if they could.

"You need to have a good talk with him..." Old Ciano explained, "I gave an order for him to follow you and he followed you voluntarily are two different concepts."

Contini nodded: If it hadn't been for the harsh vote this time, this poaching of his father might not have gone so smoothly.

So the two invited Antonio over again, and Contini said sincerely: "Uncle Antonio, starting from next year, business and investment will become my main business, and college life will be incidental. Due to my lack of experience and being too young, I am eager to I need a respected and experienced person to help me... I thought about it and found that there is no more suitable candidate than you, so I communicated this idea to my father, and he supported it, so I hurriedly invited you here. I want to hear your thoughts, are you willing to help me achieve my career?”

Antonio smiled enigmatically: "Master, what you said is too outrageous. I am the steward of the Ciano family. It is my duty to serve you. I am very happy to serve you."

"Let's put it this way, my father and I had an in-depth discussion and considered that the investment was relatively radical and risky. In order to leave room for flexibility and flexibility, my father and I made some distinctions in property. Externally, we are still a whole. The meaning is different. My father will not interfere with the control of the wealth in my name. Of course, I will listen to his suggestions with an open mind." Contini said with a smile on his face, "You know me, I am sometimes a person. Some impulses not only require guidance from a senior, but also require him to remind me all the time.”

Antonio was shocked: the so-called separation is actually synonymous with family separation. Generally speaking, aristocratic families cannot avoid this step, but as far as the Ciano family is concerned, there are many specialities - the young master has not yet married, and the master has no other children. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if the family is divided or not. Now that Contini has raised it seriously, it shows that it has indeed been fully weighed. Of course, the young master also has this ability. With the wealth he has now, let alone other noble children, he can even be ranked among the best in the country - more than 10 million US dollars is not more than 10 million lire, no Anyone can take it out.

"I personally have no objection. As long as the master agrees, I have no problem at all. For me, serving the Ciano family is consistent. If the master needs it, I will certainly do my best."

"Uncle Antonio, thank you!" Contini walked up to him and bowed. As long as Antonio spoke, the matter would be basically settled. All noble children know how important an excellent and loyal housekeeper is to a family, sometimes even more than other family members other than the head of the family. If you just treat the housekeeper as an ordinary servant, then Don't even think about harvesting his loyalty and ability - in this era, strict personal attachment has long passed. The reason why the butler is still combined with the nobles is mostly based on inertia, and a small part is based on trust and ideas.

Old Ciano nodded: "Antonio, help Calais well, just like you helped me before."

"Master, can I make a request? If you agree, can Anthony be transferred to serve you? You have just become a minister, so you must be in great need of people around you."

Reina is Antonio's second son, and currently serves as the president of the Livorna branch of Banco de Siena (the third largest and oldest bank in Italy). Now Antonio has given an order to transfer this promising second son. Became a housekeeper.

"Reina?" Old Ciano was overjoyed and kept saying, "Okay, okay, but will this wrong him?"

"It is his honor to serve the master. Besides, I have other children who need more care from the master in the future."

"No problem, no problem, we are a family!" Compared with the old Ciano, who only has one son, Antonio has a large and prosperous population, with a total of 4 sons, 1 daughter, and grandchildren. 5 or 6.

Contini drew out a cashier's check of US$500,000: "Uncle Antonio, this... I have spent a lot of money recently, so I can only give you these first, and wait for later..."

Antonio pushed back the cashier's check and said with surprise on his face: "Master, I don't get less salary. Although the Ciano family is not a top family in Italy, I know that my salary is top-notch among butlers. "

"This is not a salary, this is a retainer and part of the bonus from this trip to Germany."

"Really give it to me?"

"certainly!"

"Can I make the decision?"

Contini laughed loudly and pushed the cashier's check into Antonio's hand: "It's yours now. If you like to buy a villa, buy a villa, save money in the bank, give it to your children, you can spend it however you want! However, Don’t go find your little lover, otherwise Mrs. Sophia will beat me to death!”

Old Ciano coughed and feigned anger: "Calais, the more you talk, the more outrageous you are. You don't mean what you say. Why don't you quickly apologize to your Uncle Antonio?"

Antonio laughed loudly: "The young master is so funny. I won't find a lover. I still want to live for two more years with my old arms and legs, but I have a suggestion. I wonder if you can agree with it?"

"You said."

"Young master went to the United States to buy stocks. I have been investigating carefully in the past two days and I deeply agree. Can you let me buy with you?"

This answer surprised Ciano and his son: If Antonio really just wanted to buy stocks, there would be no need to ask for advice at all and he could just take the money and buy them. But now that he raised it so openly, the meaning was different. In fact, it is perfectly fine not to give Antonio money and just let him continue to serve as usual, but Contini knows very well how capable the old butler is and how convenient he is. The 500,000 yuan is not a purchase of services, but a purchase of loyalty. ——Although loyalty is priceless, whether it is expressed or not is another matter.

Now Antonio simply said "Follow the purchase" and expressed his support with practical actions and indirectly expressed his loyalty for future work.

"Of course, it just so happens that the stocks of General Motors and RCA have fallen in the past two days, so it's a good time to buy at the bottom..."

Since Antonio was so sensible, Contini simply made it clear: 5% of the US$10 million investment in the United States belongs to Antonio, 10% to the old Ciano, and 85% to himself.

Old Ciano was very satisfied with this. He patted Contini on the shoulder: "In a few years, the important responsibility of the Ciano family will fall on your shoulders. Work hard. I think you have a lot to do!"

Then he turned to Antonio and said, "I'll leave him to you. Discipline him for me. This kid has been a bit glib lately."

Antonio thought to himself: The master still lacks a deeper understanding of the young master. How can the young master be so glib? Now the young master's level of talking seriously with his eyes closed has surpassed the master. Even if he is better than the leader, he will not give in too much!