Chapter 1294: 1211 Winterless City's New Tycoon
The Winterless Port of Dorne was originally the asset of the Great Tang Group, but later was taken over by Dorne, and has been managed until today.
To say there hasn't been any progress here would definitely be an exaggeration; we can only say that there has indeed been progress, but not much. Compared to the time when the Great Tang Group was here, the development speed of Winterless City has been quite slow.
The entire port is still very busy, because it's located in the Southern Hemisphere, it's still hot here, with people coming and going on the docks, looking very bustling.
Cranes are hoisting cargo from the ship, a massive vessel has just docked, and the side opened cabin door is very large. Just by this single feature, it can be judged that this is a new type of ship launched by the Great Tang Group in recent years.
The biggest feature is that this type of ship can directly transport cars, much more convenient than the past dispatching ways: cars can directly drive into the ship's hold, and drive off when they reach their destination, saving a lot of time.
It is precisely because of these cargo ships that the Nobility have the convenience of traveling with their own cars. Thanks to the technology of the Great Tang Empire, many people's lives have been changed.
Since this is a cruise ship, different cabins have different ticket prices; when disembarking, the gangways are different too. Third-class ticket holders have to wait until the VIPs have disembarked before they can come out from their cabins.
A woman with an unremarkable appearance but a noble temperament walked down the gangway, accompanied by a sailor holding an umbrella, followed by an attendant carrying a suitcase.
She was wearing a new fashion dress recently released by the Great Tang, the same style as the heroine in the film, which is very popular in Chang'an, though it hasn't caught on in Dorne yet.
However, it was this dress that made this woman the most fashionable noblewoman on the entire cruise ship. Many noble wives and young ladies were talking about her; all the way, she was the most dazzling star on this ship.
Following the woman was a middle-aged man, dressed in an ordinary suit, without anything noticeable. But from the gold watch on his wrist, his social status was evident: nowadays, wearing a watch produced by the Great Tang Group signals a very distinguished status.
"Daughter, look over there, that's the sea god statue of Winterless City." Pan Yiping was in a very good mood, his business had been growing bigger and even extending into Dorne for the past year.
Of course, he knew better than anyone that these businesses were actually thanks to the favor of the Great Tang Group, all borrowing the light of his son-in-law.
But business is business, and quite a bit of the money his company makes belongs to him. The intelligence department of the Great Tang Empire has expanded into Dorne, so he has been ordered to come to Dorne.
On the surface, he is a businessman persecuted to leave Dahua, but secretly he is another Dingzi placed in Dorne by the Great Tang Empire.
The statue towering in the distance is one of the image projects that the Dorne Empire built here after driving away the Great Tang Group. The massive statue is 68 meters high and can be easily seen from the sea.
This statue is a sea god holding a compass in both hands, symbolizing Dorne's developed maritime trade, and also praying for all the Dorne ships sailing on the ocean for their safety and smooth journeys.
"I see it." Pan Qi adjusted the brim of her hat with her hand; the big hat was really eye-catching: "It looks nice, are we going to pass by there later?"
"I don't know, daughter, this is my first time here." Pan Yiping answered with a smile: "But no worries, we can hire a guide tomorrow and have a good tour."
Their identities do not allow anyone to meet them, which is a flaw in the eyes of those who care. So the chess pieces deployed by the Great Tang in secret did not appear at the dock.
Compared to Dahua and other places where the Great Tang Empire has been operating for a long time, Dorne is clearly not as safe. There are dark pieces planted by Sofia here, as well as the intelligence agencies of the Dorne Empire, so the intelligence personnel of the Great Tang Empire cannot be as flamboyant as in the Imperial Capital of Dahua.
This time letting Pan Yiping come here was to plant a "wealthy tycoon" as an intelligence officer to interact with similarly wealthy and idle Dorne nobles. After all, sometimes a businessman stepping forward is much better suited than an official or military officer.
A nobleman on the dock saw the unconventional temperament of Pan Qi, a man boasting to be a master in the garden of beauties adjusted his collar, turned to his friend and said, "I seem to have found the woman I am willing to marry."
His friend followed his line of sight, and immediately was also captivated by Pan Qi's aura. Pan Qi, a married woman, exudes the charm of a mature woman, and with her every move, she was far superior to those libertine noblewomen of the Dorne Empire.
"Damn! She's really impressive! I'll give you 20 Gold Coins, let me have this one, how about it?" Unable to take his eyes off, the friend grabbed the man's arm and proposed a bargain.
"Of course not! I discovered her first!" The man who first saw Pan Qi and Pan Yiping was already ready to approach. He rehearsed two rounds of introduction in his head, but found them too mundane, not quite fitting.
Or maybe directly introduce himself, saying his dad is a Viscount, and he's wealthy? He calculated in his mind while thinking and walking forward.
His friends were not idle either, following suit: when the time comes, everyone relies on their own abilities. Who would care about those ordinary women when they could mingle with women of such a level?
Just as the two kept walking forward, ready to go over and introduce themselves to boast about their so-called "prominent" family background, Pan Yiping's private chauffeur drove up in Pan Yiping's car that had just come out of the cruise ship.
It was an extremely exaggerated top-tier model Rolls-Royce, exuding a "keep your distance" luxury from inside out.
Its wheels were two sizes bigger than other cars, and the paint, which could even be used as a mirror, was accented with silver. The roar of its engine overshadowed the surrounding vehicles, making many people stop to watch.
The butler following behind Pan Yiping opened the car door for him. The sailor, who had been holding an umbrella for Pan Qi, saluted, took the tip Pan Qi tossed, and left.
Before the two local young nobility could approach, Pan Qi and Pan Yiping had already slipped into their car and drove out of the dock.
They were here to flaunt their wealth; only in this way could they quickly integrate into the high-end circles. As long as they were wealthy enough, the rich people of Dorne would accept them.
Upon seeing the Rolls-Royce, the two young men who planned to strike up a conversation immediately became timid. In Dorne, people who drove Rolls-Royces were not the kind of wealthy aristocrats they could afford to provoke.
However, they still wanted to get acquainted, because if they could really catch a woman's eye, they might not need to struggle for the rest of their lives.
The pity was that at this moment, they could only watch helplessly as the Rolls-Royce, a symbol of wealth and status in Dorne, sped past them like a giant beast, stirring up a gust of wind as it went.
"This car is really big," a boy said to his mother, who was holding his hand.
"Yes, I don't know what brand it is either." The boy's mother couldn't identify the car's brand, but just by seeing the huge silver front grille, she knew it wasn't cheap.
Listening to the conversation between the mother and son, the two young noblemen beside them really wanted to explain what a luxury car was, to tell why the top luxury car Rolls-Royce from the Great Tang Empire represents nobility and taste.
In fact, they only had a superficial understanding of it, because in the Great Tang Empire, in the most noble and wealthy circle, people were already discussing a brand new, even higher-end car brand, "Dragon Banner".
Dragon Banner cars are the top series of Rolls-Royce, or rather a brand new super luxury brand. These cars are all custom-made, with stringent standards on length and interior.
The Dragon Banner cars used by the Emperor of the Great Tang Empire follow one standard, while the other Dragon Banner cars follow another standard, and only the top aristocrats awarded qualification by the Emperor of the Great Tang Empire have the right to purchase Dragon Banner cars.
These cars are strictly designed and manufactured according to protocol. They are "official cars" in the true sense, paying attention to every detail, without any transgression allowed.
Now, only those who sit in Dragon Banner cars can be called the ruling class. If a family has someone sitting in a Dragon Banner car, it can be called a wealthy family!
Pity that very few of the lower-ranking nobility in faraway Dorne knew of the so-called Dragon Banner brand. The Dragon Banner bulletproof cars ordered by emperors of various countries were still queued up, not yet produced.
And the Rolls-Royce, which was revered by these peripheral nobles, could now only be considered a luxury car, something anyone rich could drive just for fun.
Of course, having money…you need to have lots of it! So when a luxurious Rolls-Royce swaggered through Winterless Port in Dorne, it quickly caught many people's attention.
A wealthy businessman from the Dahua Kingdom filled out a check from the Great Tang Bank on the same day to purchase a top-level property in the center of Winterless City.
The original owner of the house was said to be an old aristocrat with a great face locally, initially intending not to sell his property. But unfortunately… Pan Yiping offered too much.
It was said that when the owner of the house looked down and saw the amount on the check, he didn't speak for quite a while. In the end, this old nobleman didn't even dare to take his furniture, fearing that Pan Yiping might change his mind…
You see, a win-win situation can sometimes be so simple. Pan Yiping thought the mansion in Winterless City was too cheap, not even worth a toilet in the suburbs of Chang'an; the other party felt Pan Yiping gave too much, so much that it made people shed tears…
Soon this wealthy man from Dahua became a guest of honor at the City Lord of Winterless City, and then this tycoon bought land in Winterless City to build factories and hire workers, seemingly a very determined entrepreneur.