Chapter 2626: Chapter 1899: Alger Arrives (Part 2)
Bai Xiaosheng remembered what Lady Daliya had told him: among the major financial conglomerate heads negotiating with Oshan, Hogson was one of them.
Hogson, Brady, Anlos—the three giants of West African commerce—seemed to have some kind of pact: advancing and retreating together, dangling Oshan along and putting Oshan in a very passive position.
Bai Xiaosheng suddenly found it amusing; all three of these people, in one way or another, were connected to him.
Hogson was Alger’s father, and Alger had previously tried to screw him over.
Anlos was Milo’s father, who had once wanted to lend him a helping hand.
Brady reported directly to Bai Xuanyu, the acting chairwoman of Zhenbei Group, and his attitude toward Bai Xiaosheng was anything but friendly.
Enemy, ally, neither enemy nor ally—these three tycoons practically covered each category one by one.
Bai Xiaosheng was thinking of establishing a deep, mutually trusting business relationship with Oshan, and using that as a foundation to expand into the entire Chieftain Union of West Africa, and even the whole continent. For now, he had to first win benefits for Oshan, which was also a way to demonstrate his capability and strength to Oshan.
With that in mind, Bai Xiaosheng was willing to go with Chen Feiqiu to meet Alger.
Seeing Bai Xiaosheng agree, Chen Feiqiu immediately beamed, and at once led the three of them to their feet, heading toward the fourth hall of the palace.
At this moment, in the fourth hall, Alger and an unremarkable, plain-looking middle-aged man were sitting there, waiting for their host to arrive.
Alger’s mood was somewhat depressed and low, and the middle-aged man beside him was also silent, his expression rather grave.
Amusingly enough, this middle-aged man was Alger’s other uncle—his blood uncle—named Vanas.
This Mr. Vanas held office in the Hogson Family, and was one of Alger’s father’s most trusted people, holding high rank and great authority—a figure who could be said to stand just below one man and above ten thousand. This time, he had accompanied Alger to handle this matter.
The reason Hogson himself had not shown up was officially announced as him catching the flu and being afraid of infecting others.
What the real situation was, only they themselves knew.
Perhaps he wanted to avoid personally stepping onto the stage right away and thereby losing all of his cards at once.
When Lady Daliya learned of the situation, she essentially gave the two envoys sent by Hogson a "matching pair." She said that Chief Ogade’s health was unwell, and she needed to stay by his side to care for him; she would instead send the Chief’s son, Awak Wak Lakla, and there would likewise be high-ranking personnel accompanying him.
Alger and Vanas were waiting here for them.
Seeing that the hall was empty all around, Alger could not help edging closer to Vanas and lowering his voice: "Uncle Vanas, that Mr. Awak Wak Lakla or whatever—his name doesn’t ring any bells for me at all. Can he really call the shots and settle our previous troubles with them?"
Alger actually dared to be suspicious.
Vanas glanced around, then lowered his voice and said, "Aren’t you also here in your father’s stead? Awak Wak Lakla is the designated successor of the Supreme Chieftain, and he was already designated that more than twenty years ago! Do you really think his weight here is less than yours in the Hogson Family?"
"That’s not what I meant. I came mainly to apologize to the Chief; the one truly representing our family is you, Uncle." Alger flattered him.
This Uncle Vanas of his could be called the number two figure in the family.
Vanas was entirely unmoved by the flattery. He gave Alger a sidelong look with a blank face.
Alger immediately felt somewhat uncomfortable.
"Alger, there are some things I probably shouldn’t be the one to say, but I’m still going to remind you!" Vanas said in a deep voice. "Because of your stupidity, you sent Wagg to prison. He’s my brother—my own blood! Your mother is furious as well! And that’s not to mention how much trouble you’ve brought down on the Hogson Family! This time, your father asked me to bring you here for a reconciliation, but in fact, this is a chance Oshan deliberately left for us, and one that will require us to bleed and make sacrifices. It’s not because they don’t want to move against you! So you remember this for me today: do not stir up anyone or anything here. Put away your arrogance and your reckless willfulness!"
"Otherwise, you’ll regret being your father’s son!"
"The only reason your legs are still attached and intact is because they still have to walk you here to apologize!"
Vanas called it a reminder, but the more he spoke, the angrier he got, and his tone was anything but polite.
After all, his brother Wagg had gone to prison because of Alger. He was truly furious, especially seeing Alger’s couldn’t-care-less attitude.
Alger hunched his neck under the scolding, feeling somewhat guilty as well.
Yet Vanas’ words about keeping his head down here and not causing trouble struck Alger as rather funny.
This was the residence of Oshan’s Supreme Chieftain, and the person coming in a moment would be the heir to the future Chief. Faced with such a figure, he neither dared nor intended to pull any wild stunts.
Seeing Alger finally behave, Vanas could not be bothered to waste more words on him and shifted his gaze elsewhere.
In fact, Vanas was mulling over a problem.
Although Awak Wak Lakla was the Chief’s successor, it was usually Asgar who handled affairs. Awak’s understanding of many matters was likely not particularly detailed, so in this meeting, the person they could genuinely negotiate with would probably be the high-ranking official accompanying him.
Vanas was also somewhat familiar with the capable lieutenants around Chief Ogade and was calculating which one of them might show up later...
Different people called for different strategies.
The pressing task was to resolve this matter; otherwise, Oshan might strike at any time. If they threw Alger into prison, the Hogson Family’s reputation would take a hit, their stock might crash, and even Mr. Hogson himself would not be able to bear it...
Just as Vanas was thinking this, he heard footsteps and hurriedly looked up.
Alger also heard the sound and looked over as well.
They simultaneously saw Chen Feiqiu and Bai Xiaosheng approaching, chatting and laughing as they came.
The expressions on uncle and nephew’s faces became wonderfully animated in an instant.
Vanas had not expected the person at Awak Wak Lakla’s side to have an Asian face, with the two following behind also being Asian. Since when had Chief Ogade brought in new high-level personnel without outsiders knowing?
Immediately, though, Vanas recognized Bai Xiaosheng; after all, Bai Xiaosheng was someone who had made the news.
It’s him! Vanas’ heart instantly boiled over.
If this Huaxia man was the one Lady Daliya had mentioned—the one accompanying the Chief’s son to handle this matter—then the situation was entirely different!
Vanas immediately grew wary.
Alger, on the other hand, felt shocked and incredulous.
Why was Bai Xiaosheng here!
And why was he chatting and laughing with the Chief’s son, Awak Wak Lakla?
Bai Xiaosheng was the one who would be negotiating with them to settle this problem?!
A creepy, prickling feeling shot through Alger’s heart.
Bai Xiaosheng had also seen Alger and Vanas, and his gaze turned meaningful.
On the way over, Bai Xiaosheng had asked Chen Feiqiu to have someone find out who had come along with Alger.
As long as he had the name, Bai Xiaosheng could dig up Vanas’ entire background.
After all, this man was the number two figure in the Hogson Family’s business empire; his interviews and biographies were practically collated into volumes. Red Lotus had not only pulled all of them up, but had even carried out a personality analysis.
One could say that Bai Xiaosheng’s understanding of Vanas practically matched that of the insiders closest to Vanas himself.
Seeing Chen Feiqiu and Bai Xiaosheng approach, Alger and Vanas quickly stood up.
Vanas, smiling, took the initiative to step forward and greet Chen Feiqiu: "Hello, Mr. Awak Wak Lakla! I’m Vanas from the Hogson Group!"
On the way here, Chen Feiqiu had already asked around and naturally knew this Mr. Vanas’ reputation. He smiled and shook hands with him.
"Mr. Vanas, a pleasure to meet you!"
As the two exchanged pleasantries, Alger’s face also broke into a smile as he prepared to greet Chen Feiqiu.
But Chen Feiqiu beat him to it, "introducing" Bai Xiaosheng to Vanas: "This is Mr. Bai Xiaosheng, my best friend and an honored guest of our family! We’ve also specially appointed him as Oshan’s Special Business Consultant!"
Bai Xiaosheng smiled and gave Vanas a slight nod, and he also bestowed a smile on Alger.
That smile made Alger’s eyelids twitch and sent a chill straight to the bottom of his heart...
What act were they going to put on today!
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