Chapter 314 - 314. A Small Favour
It had been 2 days since the birth of Magnus\' siblings.
Grace was extremely busy now since she had to not only feed one but three children. But Magnus and Ragnar helped as much as they could in keeping them from crying by being the jokers.
Martha was the biggest helping hand, helping in changing the diapers. Grace needed a lot of health supplements to retain her body\'s energy and not end up falling unconscious at the end of every day.
Adam had to go to work, as his work involved national security. Making missiles, tanks and whatnot was a high priority. But Adam also made sure to keep the patents of the things he himself came up with. His company was also the patent holder, and they were now manufacturing items as well.
In the old car plant, Adam now had an automated factory. Though for now it was being used to produce Magnus\' ordered specialised train locomotive that could run fast in extreme heat..
"Rag, what are you up to until New Year?" Magnus asked.
"Nothing, just planning what I\'m gonna make next. What about you?" Ragnar inquired.
"I\'m going to Saudi Arabia and then Zimbabwe. None of them are official trips though," Magnus revealed.
"I can understand Zimbabwe as it will soon become Greater Britain, but why Saudi Arabia?" Ragnar wondered.
"Hehe... I\'m gonna sell my locomotive there. Dad has finished its trial run already. All we need to do is try it in the desert. If everything is fine, we will get our branded trains running on tracks that our company made." Magnus revealed his grand plan.
"Bloody capitalist," Ragnar cursed.
"That same money also makes you rich, and besides, I am a good capitalist who does things for the good of the world. Isn\'t this the best form of capitalism?" Magnus argued.
"Huh... did you even look at the newspapers and the television news lately? Nobody is taking your wealth, power and deeds nicely." Ragnar said.
Magnus raised his brows and walked to the living room to see the news. The moment he turned it on, he saw his name in the headlines and some folks talking about it. There were two sides, one defending him and the other objecting to him.
[NEWS]
Guest 1: It is wrong to reject something before you have even seen its effect. The hospital is not just made for the people of the United Kingdom, but also for the people of the entire world. It is meant to be the best hospital there is."
Guest 2(Call her Bitch): All that money could have been used in much better ways. There was no need to make it so grand and luxurious. We are living in a time when unemployment is on the rise and the economy is down."
Guest 1: Then what do you suggest? That he gives all the money to people? That is the government\'s job. And besides, according to official words, the hospital has created more than 3,000 high paying permanent jobs. It also created countless jobs in the building of this hospital. Also, do not forget the amazing college and the research facilities that will keep on giving us doctors and new medical advancements."
Guest 2: But what I fear is that he\'s too young and inexperienced. He needs to go slow or he will lose everything. This hospital... I can not imagine it getting a high amount of customers anytime soon.
Guest 1: I think we are very inexperienced in giving him any advice. He has created his huge empire of innovative industries at such a young age. If anything... we should thank him for getting the oil here through talking to the Saudi King in time."
Guest 2: Those are just rumours.
Guest 1: (Fixing his glasses smartly) Then perhaps you lack information. The company that is building major infrastructure in Saudi Arabia is owned by His Highness. Is there any surprise as to why we got oil in time?"
[News Ends]
"Do we pay this guy? If we don\'t then we should." Magnus exclaimed.
"Is this what you are worried about? Brother, they are walking over your name." Ragnar pointed.
Magnus shrugged, "Huh, I expected this much. Do you have any idea how powerful lobbying in the medical and pharmaceutical industries is? Especially the American side. The companies dictate what policies the government should adopt.
"And Mother Grace Hospital gives them a huge scare. Because of its major potential. They are majorly scared of our research and technology. Just imagine, my company was to make a cure for cancer someday, would I keep its price high to maximise profit? Or keep it affordable so everyone can afford it and I can alone reap the benefits?"
"And what if they send spies to your company or someone leaves your company and goes to your competitor?" Ragnar inquired.
"First of all, they have signed a contract of non-disclosure. Second, if they want to leave for money, I have given them the offer to just come to me and I will give more money than them. But, in reality, such people get obliviated of all the crucial information and are given the chance to let go. They end up joining our competitors with no or wrong information." Magnus revealed.
Ragnar was taken aback, "You... that\'s so scummy... but I like it."
Magnus chuckled, "Haha, bye-bye then. Don\'t worry about the little details. I know how to control public opinion. See ya later at dinner."
With that, Magnus took out a portkey box from his pocket and vanished from the spot. The next moment, he arrived inside the castle of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.
The man, although old, was excited and energetic to see him. "Haha... Magnus, I wanted to meet you for a long time since I heard about your heroic fight with a thousand werewolves. Come, a feast awaits us. And congratulations on getting siblings. I would have shown condolences if I didn\'t know you are the least likely person to have any succession problems to the throne. "
Magnus and Faisal were chill bros by now. Both had gained a lot with each other\'s help after all. They spend an hour eating and talking. After that, it came to business.
"Let\'s go to the track trial site." King Faisal lead him to the chopper waiting for them.
From there, they flew to a desert site, it was one of the hottest areas of the country. So it made sense to test the train here. But, when Faisal arrived at the starting location, he saw there were two locomotives instead of the one that they already owned.
"What... is going on here?" He asked.
"Well, I just wanted to test my dad\'s built locomotive. I don\'t know how it will perform in this heat." Magnis said innocently.
Faisal just stared at his face, knowing all too well this was not about any test. It was about another offer and showing him how much better his stuff is.
*CHOOO CHOOO*
The train one, the one from Saudi Arabia made the sound. It started moving with about a hundred cars. It was a really long train. Soon, the train caught speed.
The whole test lasted about an hour. Then, the engines were changed and Magnus\' one was installed in the front. The previous train gave an average speed of 80 kilometres per hour. By the time Magnus\' test ended, everyone was left in amazement, at least those that knew a bit about trains.
The speed was 200 kilometres per hour for Magnus\' train. More than twice the speed of their original train. Even if the train was empty right now, putting multiple engines should be able to get it at the right speed.
Faisal, knowing all too well he had fallen into the trap, asked, "How much for ten locomotives in the start? I will order 30 more later."
Magnus chuckled, "Hehe... only 190,000 pounds(About 2 million today). But since you are a friend, I can give you a friend price for the first 20 locomotives. Which is 160,000. It\'s just the cost price and some punitive expenses to not make it a loss. All for a small favour."
"I BLOODY KNEW IT... What is it?" Faisal asked.
"Well, I want you to broker a deal between the British Government and Algeria, Libya, Niger and Chad. I want to buy some... I mean a lot of land in the Sahara Desert." Magnus revealed.
"Umm... how big of a land?" Faisal asked. He didn\'t outright deny it though, since there was a Sunni majority in all these nations, just like his own. His country was rich and strong, while these were poverty-ridden and poor nations, with a lot of infighting.
Magnus shamelessly replied, "Umm... about 573,218 km/sq."
(●__●)
[A/N: Just for comparison, the UK is half of this.]
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