บท 1073: Chapter 1073: The castle that belongs to Xia Yu
Facing this problem, Xia Yu subconsciously looked at Elena, but saw her smiling and shaking her head. However, Xia Yu keenly noticed that while she was shy, there was also a hint of expectation.
Xia Yu gave a faint smile and said firmly, 'Of course the princess needs a castle!'
'I need to go find out where there are top-notch castles for sale...'
Elena's face broke into a happy smile, and a sweet feeling rose in her heart.
Although Xia Yu planned to buy a castle, and it was not certain that she could buy a castle comparable to Howard Castle, she didn't care. Xia Yu's attitude was what made her happiest.
Heidi Campbell, who had eaten a mouthful of dog food, felt a pang of bitterness in her heart, and she became increasingly envious of Elena, who had found love.
But because they had been good friends since childhood, she was not jealous, but sincerely wished her well.
She suddenly said to Xia Yu, 'Mr. Xia, if you plan to buy a castle, I suggest you buy one in Scotland. Scotland has the largest number of castles in the whole of the United Kingdom, and they are generally better preserved.'
'Scotland has the reputation of being the "country of ancient castles". In Scotland, there are more than a thousand castles recorded in history alone.'
'And I remember that after the decline of several families, the castles were sold to our family. When I was a child, I visited several castles, and they were all very nice.'
'If you're interested, I can ask my father about it. I often hear him say that a large sum of money is needed every year to maintain these uninhabited castles and manors.'
Xia Yu was a little surprised, and he looked at Elena and asked softly, 'Elena, what do you think?'
'Elena, if you had a castle in Scotland, it would be very convenient for us to meet!' Heidi Campbell said with anticipation, her beautiful eyes fixed on Elena.
Elena smiled and said to Heidi Campbell, "I look forward to meeting you all more often too!'
Afterwards, she looked at Xia Yu and said softly, "Xia Yu, I can buy my own castle.'
Xia Yu scratched the tip of her nose, gave her a gentle smile, and before she could say anything, looked at Heidi Campbell and said, 'Miss Heidi, would you mind asking your father which castles in your family are willing to be sold?'
Heidi Campbell readily agreed, 'Of course, I'll ask my father!'
After saying that, the lively Heidi Campbell got up, lightly lifting her skirt, and walked gracefully towards her father.
'Heidi has always been lively and cute since she was a child, and she still is,'
Elena explained to Xia Yu with a sweet smile as she watched Heidi Campbell's back.
Xia Yu smiled and didn't comment.
'Elena, have some refreshments, or you'll get hungry easily.'
'Mm!'
...
In the time that followed, Xia Yu and Elena both had a rare moment of peace and leisure. The two of them sat together, and no one came to invite either of them to dance.
And Heidi Campbell seemed to be restricted by her father, somewhat unwillingly following her father to meet the noble ladies and young girls of other families.
When the ball gradually dispersed and the arriving guests began to leave, Heidi Campbell finally found Xia Yu and Elena with a light step.
She smiled and said to Xia Yu, 'Mr. Xia, my father invites you over!'
'Okay, Miss Heidi, I'll leave Elena in your care.'
'Don't worry, I'll take good care of her.'
Xia Yu nodded with a smile to express his gratitude, stood up, straightened his attire, and walked with a confident stride, not too fast and not too slow, towards where Duke Ian Campbell was.
Duke Ian Campbell had also been keeping an eye on Xia Yu. When he saw him coming, he explained to a close friend and then smiled as he watched Xia Yu approach.
'Sir Xia, have you had a good time today?'
'Of course, thank you for your hospitality, today is an unforgettable day!' Xia Yu smiled and praised.
Duke Ian Campbell smiled happily and invited Xia Yu to go over to the sofa: 'Sir Xia, let's go over there and sit down and talk!'
'Okay, please!'
The two men sat down one after the other.
Duke Ian Campbell got straight to the point and said, 'Sir Xia, I heard from my daughter Heidi that you plan to buy a castle in Scotland, is that right?'
Xia Yu smiled and nodded: "Yes, I also have quite a few properties in Scotland, and I will inevitably have to come to Scotland often in the future, so I plan to settle down in Scotland.'
He added with a laugh, "And Her Majesty the Queen knighted me, although I am far from being as important as you, a duke, but I also want to own a castle and enjoy the life of a noble.'
Duke Ian Campbell laughed silently, knowing that Xia Yu was joking, of course, as he was well aware of Xia Yu's strength.
There were many aristocrats in the UK, but how many of them could match Xia Yu's strength?
In this era when capital stood at the top of the world, Xia Yu could afford to maintain not just one castle, but hundreds. Apart from narrow-minded people who might secretly sourly say a few words of jealousy, who would dare to act like a noble in front of him?
As far as he knows, there are quite a few counts and viscounts who are leading a miserable life, unable to even maintain their family castle, and so they are left with the 'noble' title as the only thing to hide behind. Some have even directly succumbed to reality and come to us for help, otherwise the Campbell family would not have taken over other castles.
Duke Ian Campbell chuckled and said, 'Sir Xia, you have a real sense of humour!'
'That's good, because I have a few castles in my hands that I took over after some local Scottish nobles fell on hard times in the past century. Basically, no one lives there, and it costs a lot of money every year to repair and maintain them. Over the years, I have transferred two castles, and I have always planned to sell the rest. If you are interested, I can arrange for someone to show you around.'
Xia Yu nodded happily, 'Of course I'm interested!'
'When can we go see it?'
Duke Ian Campbell smiled and said, 'Anytime. If you want to start today, there's a castle in the next county, so it's still possible.'
'The one further away might need to be seen tomorrow.'
Xia Yu nodded, 'Okay, Sir Campbell, then please arrange for someone to take me to see it later. I plan to decide within the next two days.'
'You're welcome...'
...
After the ball, Duke Ian Campbell did arrange for a middle-aged man named Ace and a convoy of cars to take Xia Yu to Stirling County next door to see the castle.
Over the next two days, Xia Yu toured central Scotland, visiting Edinburgh, Stirling, Glasgow, Perth-Kinross and other places, before finally choosing a splendid castle in Glasgow, Lochbrock Castle.
Built in 1465 by the Earls of Lochbrock, it is one of the Earls' private castle estates. This lakefront castle has a beautiful view and is well maintained, even though half of it is in the water.
When Xia Yu and Elena visited, according to Ace, the castle was taken over by the Campbell family in 1954. The castle covers an area of 1.35 acres, and in addition to this it comes with 620 acres of surrounding forest and meadows. These were originally the assets of the Bullock family, but unfortunately the last Earl Bullock was a gambling addict who squandered the family assets and reputation.
But if it weren't for the previous Earl of Bullock's profligate ways, this top-notch castle would not have fallen into Xia Yu's hands.
Back to the topic.
In addition to the fact that this castle estate is really not bad, Xia Yu also considered other factors in choosing Bullock Castle, the most important being that it is located in Glasgow!
The political and geographical advantages are too obvious!
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland. Although it is small, it is hundreds of times larger than the administrative regions, but the population is only tens of thousands of people in the county, and the population of Glasgow has reached 600,000!
It is also the fourth largest city in the UK and the third largest manufacturing city in the UK, second only to Birmingham and Leeds. Manufacturing was once the central industry of the city, and shipbuilding on the banks of the Clyde was of particular importance.
Although Glasgow's economy has been in decline due to the effects of the Great Depression of the 1930s and the two World Wars, the 1970s and onwards have been a dark period for Glasgow. The decline of heavy industry led to soaring unemployment and a low standard of living.
However, Xia Yu knew that in a few years' time, from the mid-1980s onwards, many financial companies would begin to move into Glasgow, and it would gradually become one of the top 20 financial centres in Europe.
In addition, it would successively be awarded the titles of 'European Capital of Culture', 'City of Architecture and Design', 'European Sports Capital', 'World's Most Student-Friendly City', etc.
Glasgow was destined to become Xia Yu's main base in Scotland in the future, and many of his companies would gather here.
Having a castle in this city would undoubtedly be very convenient.
In the end, Xia Yu spent 4.5 million pounds to buy Brock Castle and the 620 acres of land surrounding it, and he also took over the maintenance of the castle servants.
The price was certainly more cost-effective than the manor house Xia Yu bought in Hampshire, London, which he had spent £1 million on a few years earlier. But then, it was near London, and Glasgow was in such a bad way right now!
Before leaving Scotland, Xia Yu completed the handover ceremony with the Campbell family in the presence of the butler Terence South and 21 other servants. Xia Yu appointed Terence South on the spot to continue managing the castle.
After that, Xia Yu and Elena took the butler Terence Soshi on a tour of the entire castle. He combined Elena's preferences and made a lot of suggestions for various places in Brock Castle, and then asked the butler to carry out targeted renovations. He also approved a cheque for one million pounds to be given to Terence Soshi for the strengthening of the castle and the purchase and replacement of interior decorations and household items.
After all the arrangements were made, Xia Yu took Elena to the Glasgow Airport and boarded the plane to England.
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