Capítulo 1603: Chapter 90: Guests from Afar (End)_3
Winters held Anna’s hand, exchanged a glance with her, and quickly turned his gaze back to Matteo Konar, “You are Anna’s guest, which ans you are my guest. Here, you can ask any question, and I will answer truthfully as long as conditions allow.”
Winters spoke emphatically: “So, what exactly do you want to know? Please ask directly and stop beating around the bush.”
The others at the dining table heard this and instinctively looked at the thin, old man.
“My question is actually quite simple,” Matteo Konar replied with a smile, “I need to know what kind of person you are. For example, I need to know whether you are unable to make correct decisions due to moral constraints.”
“What counts as a correct decision? Whether it’s correct or not can only be verified afterward, not judged in advance,” Winters countered, “Moreover, what makes you think that by visiting my house, having dinner with , and asking a few questions, you can know what kind of person I am? Or whether I ‘might fail to make correct decisions due to moral constraints’?”
“And what makes you sure my answers are from my heart and not just flattery or evasiveness?”
“Indeed they can’t be,” Matteo Konar said calmly, “Hence, the need to keep asking questions.”
“Do you have the answer now?” Winters asked, “Do you know what kind of person I am?”
“Do you? Do you have the answer?” Matteo Konar countered, “Do you know what kind of person you are?”
Winters laughed with anger, “If I say ‘I don’t know,’ will you reply with ‘I don’t know either’? If I say ‘I know,’ will you answer with ‘I know too’?”
“No,” Matteo Konar answered calmly, “I already have an answer—I originally thought I knew, but the more I know, the more I realize I don’t know. So I hope to know more in the future.”
Winters couldn’t help but frown and took a long pause before speaking again.
“You…” Winters asked suspiciously, “Do you know Brother Reed?”
“Who?” Matteo Konar asked, puzzled.
“Apparently not,” Winters unwittingly sighed, “Then why do you want to know what kind of person I am?”
“Because what kind of person you are is of great importance,” Matteo Konar looked at Fernando Leo and said lightly, “Mr. Leo, you can tell His Excellency Montaigne about the ‘partnership’ matter.”
“Yes, Mr. Leo,” Winters chuckled, “It’s also ti to tell why you’ve co to visit this ti.”
Leo stood up, and this ti, it was his turn to beco the focus of everyone’s attention.
For the first ti, Winters saw a perplexed and indecisive expression on Mr. Leo’s eternally affable smile.
At that mont, Fernando Leo was also extrely anxious.
Though Niccolo Polo’s improvised performance didn’t surprise him, Matteo Konar’s sudden strike genuinely caught him off guard.
Because he wasn’t sure which matter Matteo Konar wanted him to discuss, since he had two missions in this visit: one public and one secret.
Among them, the secret mission was overwhelmingly significant, and the decision wasn’t in the hands of the Navarre family, much less in Leo’s.
So until the matter was conclusively settled, he couldn’t reveal a bit to Winters Montagne, even if he had already identified the latter as the future of the Navarre family.
To be safe, Leo ultimately decided to speak about the mission that could be disclosed.
“Your Excellency,” Leo spoke sincerely, “I, together with Mr. Conar and Mr. Polo, have co at the request of the Sea Blue Wool Textile Industry Association, asking for your help to save the textile industry people of Sea Blue from disaster…”
Opposite the long table, Mason heard Leo’s words and exhaled heavily with relief.
“No,” Matteo Konar interrupted him directly before Leo finished, “Not this partnership.”
Fernando Leo froze.
“Let explain instead,” Matteo Konar stood up decisively and patted Leo on the shoulder, “After all, not everyone present is a Sea Blue person.”
Leo stiffly sat back down, which was completely different from what he had agreed upon with Matteo Konar beforehand, and certainly not the appropriate occasion for it.
“In Sea Blue, partnership has three anings,” the thin, old man surveyed the room, speaking assuredly, “First, the partnership you’re all familiar with—several individuals each contributing so capital to invest in a business, sharing both debts and profits.”
“Such partnerships can be established within families, with no fixed term—just like our Konar family. It can also be for a stipulated ti, dissolving upon expiry.”
“The second type of partnership is like Mr. Leo’s partnership with the Navarre family,” Matteo Konar put a hand on Fernando Leo’s shoulder, “Though Mr. Leo doesn’t bear the Navarre surna, he is undeniably an important mber of the Navarre family; although he doesn’t own the Navarre family business, he also shares profits and participates in managent as a partner.”
“Besides these two types of partnerships, there’s another kind—a much older partnership,” Matteo Konar recited an unfamiliar term, “[Partnership].”
He looked nostalgic, “This type of partnership is now seldom seen, but when I was young, it was quite popular.
“This partnership style involves several families jointly funding the purchase of goods or even ships for a trustworthy, promising young man, enabling him to venture out to sea;
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