Cheap!
In post-war Europe, everything was so cheap and so expensive.
A few cigarettes could be exchanged for a night with a woman, and a piece of bread could allow a girl to lift her skirt.
Cheap and expensive form such a sharp contrast. People are cheap, and things are expensive.
"With the crew, the fleet can move. Although the Germans still have submarines in the Mediterranean, they usually don't attack Spanish merchant ships, especially empty merchant ships. But the problem is that after sailing out of Taranto, where do we go? If it was before the war, we could enter the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal, but now the British have closed the canal. Without their permission, we can't get in at all?"
In fact, George originally thought so, and this is even why he registered a Spanish company. After all, the attitude of Spain, a neutral country, has always been ambiguous. Both the Allies and Germany have tried every means to ensure that he does not join the other side.
As for the problem of the Suez Canal, George believes that the problem can be solved through Washington.
After all, Truman's energy can definitely help.
However, now that Berlin has promised, the problem is simple.
"Go directly through Gibraltar, enter the Atlantic Ocean, then go to the Caribbean Sea, go through the Panama Canal, and enter the Pacific Ocean. There are business opportunities everywhere there."
What is the situation in South America now?
Those countries originally did not have many merchant ships. Their material transportation was completely dependent on the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries. But after the outbreak of the war, merchant ships from the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries returned home one after another. The lack of merchant ships caused their goods to be unable to be shipped out. This is the case for Brazil, Argentina and other countries on the east coast, and Peru, Chile and other countries on the west coast.
Now as long as there is a ship there, orders will definitely be received. And it is the high-priced kind, and even one trip can earn back the cost of buying a ship.
"From Gibraltar? There are German submarines there!"
Alberto was surprised.
"Without escort, we are floating targets!"
"Mr. Alberto, sometimes God will favor the lucky ones, what do you think?"
George pretended to smile mysteriously.
"But, Mr. George, no crew member is willing to take such a risk."
"Tell the sailors that I can give each of them an extra 10kg of sugar, and after arriving in Panama, each person can get a bonus of 20 US dollars!"
Being rich is so arrogant, just rudely throwing money at it.
In fact, he prefers to pay salaries with sugar. But after leaving Italy and Europe, sugar is worthless.
As a human being, you always have to be kind. We are conscientious capitalists.
Alberto was stunned for a moment, then said.
"Sir, I don't think anyone will refuse, but..."
Alberto said in a low voice.
"There is one more thing I think you need to know."
"What is it?"
"Our ship is not empty. I mean, there are several ships that are not empty."
"What?"
Soon, standing on the deck of the "Tunisia", staring at the full load of supplies in the cabin, George said lightly.
"You mean, the supplies on these ships are all Germans?"
"Yes, Mr. George, last year to reinforce North Africa and avoid failure, the Germans brought a large amount of supplies, a total of 87,562 tons, which were already loaded on the ship at that time. Just when the fleet was about to set off, the news of North Africa's surrender came, and those supplies were stranded on the ship. Later, it was planned to be shipped to Yugoslavia, but you know what happened next. Italy withdrew from the war, and these supplies have been stranded here. You know that loading and unloading takes a long time..."
After some explanation, Alberto emphasized.
"Now, because of the chaotic situation, no one is interested in these arms. After all, there are a lot of supplies in the military warehouses in Italy, sir." Of course, he did not mention that many canned goods, food and other supplies in the ship had been taken away by the dignitaries and sold on the black market. Looking at the cannons wrapped in gun jackets in the cargo hold, George's expression seemed a little strange. We just bought a ship, who would have thought that it would also come with arms! And there are tens of thousands of tons! There are tanks, cannons, and a large number of weapons and ammunition. How to deal with these German arms? "Is there a list?" George asked after thinking about it. There must be a list. After taking the list, although George did not know much about weapons and equipment, he was still stunned by the wide variety of weapons and ammunition. "There is actually a 122mm howitzer?" Isn't it a German weapon? How can there be Soviet goods? "And what the hell is this 7.62cmfk288/1 (r)?"
Although he didn't know what these weapons were, he could tell at a glance that it was a perfunctory list of supplies. George tapped his fingers on the table and muttered to himself.
"Maybe, these weapons can..."
Thinking of this, George suddenly became a little excited and stood up.
"Yes, that's right, these weapons can be sent to China, yes, yes..., that's it..."
Perhaps for other countries, these various weapons are useless, but for China, which is in urgent need of various weapons, this is definitely a long-awaited rain.
Not only can it be used to fight the devils and strengthen the domestic military strength, but it can also help me achieve another goal.
"Maybe it can also help me knock on another door!"
At this moment, George even couldn't sit still. If it weren't for the steel plant, he would probably return to the United States now.
However, the acquisition of the steel plant was not very smooth. Because the steel company was also in Taranto, George went outside the factory to take a look. He looked down at the huge steel company from the mountain, looking at the towering iron-making blast furnace and the continuous factory buildings.
In a few years, the equipment in this factory will stand on the land of North Borneo!
"What did Fiat say?"
"They think we are taking advantage of the situation. They think this factory is worth at least 5 million US dollars."
Mickey said directly.
"I rejected them directly. They don't seem to have figured out the situation yet. They may still be waiting and watching."
"Yes, maybe it's too early now. We can wait a little longer. By the second half of the year, they will almost understand."
In the second half of the year, when the North is liberated and Fiat is confiscated, those guys will definitely sell the factory at a loss.
"In the second half of the year..."
Mickey thought about it and said with regret.
"Then let's wait a while, but..."
Before he could speak, George said with a smile.
"Don't worry, you will definitely get the consulting fee."
Finally, he looked at the steel company factory at the foot of the mountain. If he was only slightly interested in Fiat before, now he can be said to be very interested. After all, this is a big piece of fat meat!