Chapter 6 Going to America (3)

  After some small talk, the three old men wanted to take a look at the painting. The brought paintings were handed over to the three old men. Mike led Liu Chao and Ju An to the sofa.

  "Don't mind them, they're just concerned with painting and nothing else." Mack shrugged helplessly.

  "Artists are always temperamental, it's understandable," Liu Chao said with a smile.

  "What can I get you two to drink? We've got coffee, tea or something a little stronger," Mack asked.

  "Let's have two cups of coffee," Liu Chao replied.

  Then Liu Chao and Mike had a great conversation, chatting and found out that they both studied at the same university, but one was an undergraduate and the other was a graduate student, with a difference of over ten years. Then the two started talking about their university days, from the small coffee shop on campus to the professor's dog. The two chatted happily.

  Mike's social skills are high. When chatting with Liu Chao, he didn't forget Ju'an and also talked to Ju'an about the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. He always smiled during conversations, making people feel like a spring breeze. He took care of both Liu Chao and made sure Ju'an didn't feel left out.

  After talking for almost an hour, one of the old men named Javier came over: "Our results are basically out, and we still need to do a few small tests next. Probably no problem."

  Then Mike took Ju An and Liu Chao got up and walked to the table where the paintings were placed.

  That old man named Frank, wearing glasses and holding a small black cylinder, approached the humanoid creature and examined it closely.

  "This painting is a work by Russian painter Repin, the little girl in the painting should be the artist's daughter, Repin also has several works of his daughter Lyubov, this work should be earlier than that 'Dragonfly' in time, but Repin's painting skills have already been fully matured, with not many colors used, yet giving a colorful feeling, the whole figure is naturally dynamic, with an extraordinary touch. Can be considered one of Repin's representative works."

  Ju An was stunned immediately, overjoyed in her heart, and there was only one voice, it was really true.

  Then, Frank pointed to the painting of the ballet dancer "This little ballerina is from the French master Degas, as everyone knows, Degas is famous for his paintings of ballerinas, and two of his most important subjects are ***, another one is ballerinas, ***most of which were created in his later years. In this painting, the artist seems to want to observe from an unexpected angle, while color has become the overall tone, with clear lines and traces. Compared to several later paintings of dancers, the artistic achievement is slightly inferior. Let Frank introduce the last one.

  Old Frank put down the small black tube: "Bouguereau painted many mythological stories, this should be one of them, Pan is chasing after three maidens, from the brushstrokes it has a clear Bouguereau style, this painting should be a work from Bouguereau's later years".

  Living a comfortable life is already a joy, and all that floats before his eyes are gentle beauties.

  Old man Frank looked at Ju An and said: "Sorry, sir. If it's convenient for you, could you tell me how these paintings ended up in your hands?"

  "Oh, never mind." Ju An repeated what he had told his senior brother again.

  Havier listened and said, "It should be between the First World War and the Second World War that it flowed into China and fell into the hands of this gentleman, the teacher of my old friend. Although this old gentleman did not understand art, he kept several paintings quite well. If the old gentleman had not passed away, I really wanted to thank him in person."

  It's better for me to think that he is dead. If he were still alive, I would have to find someone else to pretend to be him so you can thank him.

  Then he said to Mike, "I'd like to entrust these two paintings to your company for auction." He pointed to the little girl and the dancing girl.

  "We'd be delighted to provide you with our service, and as an alternative, if you don't want to part with it, we can also offer storage. We have a professional security company that stores dozens of world-class paintings, including works by masters like Picasso, Manet, and Cézanne. The level of security is absolutely reassuring." Mack enthusiastically promoted the security company.

  "If sir wishes to sell, this painting by Bougreau should fetch the highest price." Javier interjected.

  "I like this painting myself, I just want to ask, what is the approximate value of the other two paintings?" Ju An asked.

  Three old men looked at each other, "This ballet dancer refers to Degas' one in the previous year's auction reference. The price I gave is $35 million. The price I gave is relatively conservative, and the actual price should be higher," Javier said.

  Haviland paused: "As for this Repin, it's really hard to estimate, because over the past two years, Russia's economy has been getting better and better, and Russian art pieces have also been rising in value on the international market, probably around $18 million."

  Ju An and Liu Chao were both stunned, looking at each other in disbelief. Five thousand million, and it was US dollars, which is equivalent to over three billion soft sisters.

  Mike smiled and looked at the two men: "No need to be surprised, gentlemen. Art is one of the best ways to invest. Mr. Ju entrusting these two paintings to our auction house is a great honor for us. Without a doubt, Mr. Ju is now a multimillionaire."

  "Excuse me, Mr. Ju, Mr. Liu, if you don't mind, I'd like to step out for a moment, Mr. Brundy will keep you company," said Mack.

  Jū ān and Liú chāo both expressed no objection.

  Next, Ju An Bian and Liu Chao stood beside the painting, the three old men, once again focused their attention on the painting, completely ignoring the two of them.

  Two people looked and didn't understand, seeing three old men staring at the painting so intently, they didn't want to disturb them. So they continued chatting on the sofa.

  Liu Chao sat down and said: "Wow, you little guy has made it big, a multimillionaire".

  He rubbed his head, embarrassed, saying: "Damn it, I didn't think there would be so much money. Don't worry, once I get the money, I'll give you a check for 50 million."

  "Five million is not necessary, two million will do, entrepreneurship is hard but good" Liu Chao smiled and patted Ju An.

  After chatting for about ten minutes, Mike came back with a fifty-year-old short old man: "Mr. Ju, Mr. Liu, this is the president of our company, Mr. Philips".

  "Nice to meet you, nice to meet you," Ju An and Liu Chao stood up and shook hands with the short old man.

  "Gentlemen, Mr. Liu, we are very grateful for the trust you have placed in our auction house. I hope you can give us a little more time to prepare for this auction. You may not be familiar with our procedures, so we will invite some bidders and hold a small preview before the auction. We plan to hold a special mini-auction for these two paintings, and it takes time to notify those buyers, especially the Russian tycoons, can't it?" Philip said, looking at the two men.

  "Alright, I have no problem with the timing." Liu Chao nodded in agreement.

  "Mr. Ju, have you decided which bank to put this money in? We need you to provide an account so that we can transfer the funds after the auction," said Philips with a smile.

  "I don't have an account in the US yet and I don't have a green card, can I open one?" Ju An asked.

  "We'll need your passport, sir. If you don't mind, I can recommend a bank to you, Wells Fargo, headquartered in San Francisco, one of the top five assets in the US, and also one of our auction house's shareholders. If you're interested in obtaining American citizenship, we can assist with that as well." Philip looked at Ju An and said "I suggest you obtain American citizenship, sir, because there is a difference in tax rates for foreigners and locals, several tens of millions of dollars is almost two million dollars."

  "Xing" lived in peace and thought for a moment before answering.

  "Well, that's all for now. I have some other things to attend to, sorry I won't be able to keep you company any longer." Philip stood up and shook hands with Ju An and Liu Chao again: "The remaining matters will be handled by Mike, hoping to have the opportunity to cooperate with you gentlemen again in the future."

  After the old dwarf left, Mike continued chatting with the two people.

  "I thought it was said that obtaining American nationality is very difficult, how did you manage to get it so quickly?" Ju An asked.

  "Our boss is not only the boss of this auction house, but also one of the shareholders of Fuguo, and the boss's family also has shares in several other major companies." Mack said with a smile.

  "Oh, I see. Thank you, Mr. Philips." Ju An thought to herself, "So Americans also value relationships? I thought it was just us Chinese people who did that."

  Next, Mike asked casually what he wanted to invest in the United States after settling down. Ju An said he wanted to invest in buying a ranch. Mike mentioned a real estate brokerage firm, also owned by Fuguo Holdings, and then other things like cars, insurance, and so on. It was all so overwhelming that it made Ju An's eyes widen in amazement. You don't even need to leave the door, whatever you want, this Fuguo Bank can provide it for you.

  Can't help but admire the Americans' business acumen. Look at how they do business, you go sell a painting, and they'll provide banking services, investment and financial management, thinking of everything for you.

  Went again the next day, chatted with the immigration bureau, and got a green card. With tens of millions of funds arriving, just verify with the immigration bureau, and you can become a citizen.

  Next, Ju An went to take a driver's test and smoothly obtained a learner's permit, waiting for the next time in the US when she can take the road test.