When they arrived, the two little ones' butts still hadn't been hurt. Nan Yi didn't have the habit of beating children, and he thought it wasn't a bad thing for boys to be a little naughty.
After the bees dispersed, Nan Yi returned the honey that the two children had taken back to the beehive. Winter was approaching, and the bees needed to rely on honey to survive the winter. This season was not a good time to harvest honey.
After spending the whole morning with the two kids, after lunch, Nan Yi dressed them up in suits and bow ties, making them look like little adults, and took them to Chelsea.
Chelsea is a district in Manhattan, New York City, located on the west side of Manhattan Island, south of 36th Street, between Fifth Avenue and the Hudson River.
Because she didn't know the exact address, the school beauty drove around half of Chelsea before she saw the sign of the Pioneer Gallery.
There were no opening flower baskets, no red carpets, no welcome, no security. After entering the gallery, you could see waiters carrying trays moving among the crowd.
There were quite a few customers, but what surprised Nan Yi was that the proportion of Asians was a little too high. Eighty percent of the people in the gallery were Asians.
There were several guests standing next to Henri Monet, who were discussing something. When he turned his head inadvertently, Henri Monet saw Nan Yi and walked over.
"Mr. Adam."
"Henry, Scarlett's schedule has changed. I'm here on her behalf."
Henry Monet smiled and said, "Madam, you are too polite. The Avant-garde Gallery is just an attempt of mine. It is not very important to Dabifan right now."
"Tell me what kind of attempt it was."
"Mr. Adam, in addition to being a city with a strong commercial atmosphere, New York is also a city with a strong artistic atmosphere. The Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s laid the foundation for the literary classics of African Americans;
In the 1940s, it was the center of jazz; in the 1950s, it was the center of abstract expressionist art; in the 1970s, it was the birthplace of hip-hop culture, and punk and hardcore culture also developed during the same period.
New York is a gathering place where multiple cultures collide and create sparks. There are more than 500 art galleries and museums of different sizes in the city, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the four largest museums in the world.
Now in the 1980s, this place will become the center of painting art again, Mr. Adam, there are many unknown painters from all over the world gathering in New York, I believe that there will definitely be masters among them, people who can look up to Monet. "
"So, all the people who came here today are actually painters?" Nan Yi looked around and asked.
"Yes, they are all painters from various countries. Among them, your compatriots, Mr. Adam, are the most numerous," said Henri Monet.
“Is New York a good place for painters to live?”
"Not really. Most painters live in extreme poverty. Many of them even have trouble getting enough food and clothing."
Nan Yi smelled it again: "Selling paintings for a living?"
“Yes, New York itself already has a very large community of artists. On the streets of Manhattan, one out of every ten people is an artist. The competition is very fierce. Even for Chinese artists with local advantages, it is very difficult to stand out, and it is even more difficult for outsiders.
In addition, the local art market in New York has established a relatively complete and closed system. Most outside artists have no connection with the mainstream art world and cannot integrate into this system at all.
The inability to integrate is particularly prominent among painters from China.
I have communicated with many Chinese painters. Most of them have a high talent for painting, but their English is very poor. Most of them cannot even speak a complete sentence in English. If I don’t understand Chinese, I can’t communicate with them at all.
Without knowing English, you can’t communicate with the mainstream art world, let alone enter ‘our’ world.
However, I admire the courage of Chinese painters. I often encounter Chinese painters who rush into the Dabifan Art Exhibition Hall to recommend their works. "
“Will self-recommendation be useful?”
Henry Monet shook his head. "It's useless. I've already said that New York already has a well-established and rigorous system. For a painter to stand out, the quality of his work is only one factor, a not very important factor."
“So, how do they make a living selling paintings?”
“In Times Square, Central Garden, and in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, there are painters setting up stalls every day to paint portraits for tourists. In the past, there were very few painters from China, but in the past two years, this industry has been monopolized by Chinese painters.
Besides, Mr. Adam, what I am going to say next may be..."
"It's okay. Even if it's unpleasant, you can just say it directly." Nan Yi waved his hand and said.
"In order to attract customers, casinos near New York give two chips worth $5 to each passenger on the casino bus. Many Chinese painters make a living from this. The round trip on the casino bus takes nearly four hours, and you can take up to four trips a day, earning more than a thousand dollars a month."
"The casino won't care, will it?"
"I don't care. Casinos need people to create the illusion of bustling business. Besides, there are many people who make a living from this. In the end, they walk into the casino with chips, and then..." Henry Monet spread his hands.
“I see. Avant-garde galleries just want to scrape a little gold from these painters.”
"Yes, Dabifan will select those with a high probability of success from among them, and then invite them to paint. Dabifan will first save a few fine works and wait for them to succeed, or help them succeed."
Nan Yi nodded and said in agreement: "It's a good idea. For Chinese painters, you should pay attention to the five words 'export to domestic sales'. Pay more attention to painters who are preparing to leave New York and return to China for development. Their chances of success are higher than others."
"I understand. Over the years, I have spent several months in China every year. I have a deep understanding of the Chinese people, especially those in the art circle."
"Well, I believe you. You continue to entertain the guests and I will do as I please."
"Okay, I'll leave first then."
Henri Monet apologized and returned to the guests, chatting and laughing.
Nan Yi took the two children to the wall and looked at an oil painting hanging on the wall. This painting should be an abstract one, because Nan Yi had no idea what was in the painting. In his eyes, he could only see blocks of color making up an object.
He really couldn't recognize what this object was called.
There is no doubt that Nan Yi has no artistic cells at all.
"Do you understand?" Nan Yi lowered his head and asked the two children.
"Dad, I can't understand it. There are too many colors and it's dazzling." Nan Youqiong shook his head.
Nan Yi turned around and asked Nan Wuwei, "What about you?"
"Inari seasoning."
Nan Yi turned around and took another look at the painting on the wall. It turned out that the painting really looked like Indian seasoning was sprinkled on the canvas. In the middle was masala, asafoetida, red chili powder, and cumin seeds, and the thin, messy red strips on the edge were saffron.
"It really looks like it. No matter what others call this painting, we will call it "Indian Condiment Platter". It's a good painting, a good painting. As long as it doesn't exceed $100, Dad will buy it and give it to Wuwei."
"Sir, you may not understand oil painting, but you cannot blaspheme. The threshold here is too low. Anyone can come in."
Nan Yi was showing off in front of his son when a noisy voice came from the side.
Turning around, Nan Yi saw that the noisy person was shaking his head and leaving.
"Master, you just show off and leave without any hesitation. You are so fast, but you dare to insult me ​​in front of my son. If you are any later, I will make you pay." Nan Yi complained in his heart and continued to take the two children to look at other oil paintings.
The gallery is not big, and there are not many paintings on the wall, about thirty or so. Nan Yi, who had just been criticized by someone, stopped pretending to be cool and took a quick look at the paintings.
After reading it, Nan Yi came to a conclusion: "Without Scarlett, Dabifan can only make a little money at most. If he manages it himself, he has neither the channels nor the vision. He can't recognize the treasures in front of him, so it's unlikely that he can make a lot of money."
Nan Yi was thinking about giving the four little ones a make-up lesson in art appreciation so that they wouldn’t be as ignorant as he was.
When leaving the Pioneer Gallery, Nan Yi asked the school beauty if she remembered the man just now. After getting a positive reply from the school beauty, Nan Yi thought to himself, "Next time if I run into this grandson again, I must pretend to be powerful again."
…
The next day, Ueto Masami flew to New York again with someone.
The person she brought with her was called Han Zhenhe, a Korean-American, and was the secretary candidate that Nan Yi finally selected from three candidates.
"Secretary Han, I have a few things to tell you. First, the president doesn't like to hear flattery, he only likes to hear the truth, especially when talking about work. If the president makes any mistakes, you can point them out directly without worrying about the president's face.
Second, the president is approachable and casual. You can joke with him, but you must always be aware that you are the secretary and he is the president, so you must take your work seriously.
Third, keep it absolutely confidential. Unless the president gives clear instructions, nothing you see, hear, or think about can be leaked to anyone, including me and your family.
Fourth, you'd better not find a girlfriend within five years. After five years, it depends on the arrangement of the president. If you want to solve the physiological problem, use other methods. As for what methods, I don't need to say more. This is your strong point as a man.
Fifth, keep learning. You don’t need me to tell you how to learn and what to learn. You will know it naturally after you stay with the president for a few days. I hope you can keep up with the president’s pace.
6. Although you are the president's secretary, your salary is paid by Nan's. Your work scope only revolves around Nan's affairs. For the part exceeding this, the president will calculate your salary separately.
Although the Nan Clan was founded by the president, the president can say that the Nan Clan belongs to all the Nan Clan members, not the Nan Clan of the Nan family, and certainly not the president’s personal Nan Clan. ”
Finally, Ueto Masami said meaningfully: "Please savor this sentence carefully and don't get the wrong understanding."
"Thank you Secretary-General Ueto for your advice. I will definitely keep it in mind." Han Zhenhe said with a bow.
"By the way, you don't need to bow in front of the president in the future, unless it is a very formal occasion."
Han Zhenhe bowed again and said, "Yes, I understand."
Ueto Masami smiled, negotiated with the access control, and entered Scarlett Manor.
Fifteen minutes later, the two arrived at the shooting range of the manor.
"Jin Hyuk, you served in the military, right?"
"Yes, President."
"Then play with me, Galil, it should be easy for you to use."
Nan Yi picked up a Galil assault rifle from the table, pulled the bolt, ejected the bullet, then removed the magazine, and only handed the gun to Han Zhenhe after separating them.
Han Zhenhe took the gun, loaded the bullet accurately but unskillfully, aimed at the target and pulled the trigger.
"Eighth Ring, not bad. What you have in your hand is the first generation of Galil. The Israeli Defense Forces have never been very interested in it. The special forces would rather use the M16 series of military aid from the United States or the captured AK series. After being equipped for a period of time, the conventional troops also switched to the M16 series and replaced the Galil rifle.
How do you feel about it, compared to K2? "
Han Zhenhe put away the rifle, turned off the safety, and said, "President, I feel that K2 is more comfortable to use."
"Normal." Nan Yi picked up another gun on the table and said, "Although the K2 is a hybrid of the M16 and the Galil, it also borrows some advantages of the FNC and FAL; it uses the AK's gas system, the FNC's gas valve and the piston-driven M16 bolt, and uses the STANAG magazine for ammunition. The sights are a bit like the M249 SAW, and the butt feel when shooting is very similar to the FAL."
As Nan Yi spoke, he raised his rifle and pulled the trigger continuously without aiming.
Bang bang bang!
Three consecutive shots, two at the center of the human-shaped bullseye in the distance and one at the forehead, standard Mozambique shooting method.
After unloading the gun and turning off the safety, Nan Yi put the gun back on the table, waved to Han Zhenhe and invited him to sit down at a solid wood table next to the shooting range.
"Zhenhe, in which year did you come to the Kingdom of Qin?"
"President, born in 1983."
"You used to live in Seoul?"
"No, I lived in Busan when I was a child, and my father worked at the docks at that time." Han Zhenhe replied.
“Oh, who did you learn Chinese from?”
"I learned it from my grandfather. He was a Taoist priest and served in the Chinese army for several years in the 1930s."
Nan Yi knew that the Taoist priests Han Zhenhe was talking about were not the kind that lived in the mountains, but the Taoist priests who handled funerals. Chinese is one of the skills that must be mastered in this profession, but it is limited to writing and understanding the meaning of words, while the pronunciation is their own set.
"Since you've lived in Busan, have you ever heard of Park In-geun?"
Han Zhenhe thought for a moment and said, "No."
"Where is Brothers' Home?"
“Neither do I.”
Nan Yi then asked Han Zhenhe a few more questions, all of which were related to his life experience. Nan Yi's purpose was to verify whether what Han Zhenhe said was consistent with the background check information.
It is impossible for people to analyze themselves thoroughly for others to see. There will always be something hidden that they don't want to tell others. What Han Zhenhe said was reserved and concealed. Afterwards, Nan Yi would mark the part that Han Zhenhe concealed, and then send Han Zhenhe's information to the mind control team for a second psychological evaluation.
Although loyalty will change with time and environment, and the employment of people still depends mainly on the system, this statement does not include close people around you.
A close associate must be loyal and tight-lipped, with ability being the third consideration.
Nan Yi had a good first impression of Han Zhenhe, and his South Korean identity was also a plus, making it easier to execute some plans in the future. So Han Zhenhe stayed with Nan Yi, and the two entered a period of adjustment.
A day later, several photos were sent over from Bounty Town. The focus of one of the photos was a bunch of red and yellow fruits, which looked a bit like undried wolfberries, but there was a circle drawn on the photo and the English word "Cocaine" on the edge.
"That's what I said. How could the descendants of bandits plant crops honestly?"
After looking at the photos, Nan Yi called the school beauty to his side.
"The team will retreat to Houston to rest and wait for orders. Ghost will take over the investigation and find out the relatives of the Logan family. I want to know who will inherit the estate after all the people on Logan Farm die. By the way, I want to find out whether the heir is interested in the farm and whether the first choice is to sell it."
"How about checking the upstream and downstream of the drug line? I'm worried that the Logan family is involved with other drug dealers, which may cause unnecessary trouble." said the school beauty.
"No rush, let's see what the DEA does first."
Nan Yi planned to have Scarlett reveal the news of cocaine cultivation at Logan Farm to her connections in the Ministry of Justice to give them credit, and at the same time ask them to be more careful and use more force when cracking down on drug dealers, so as to save time for the busy judge and not think about going to court and just shoot them directly.
After all, the righteous Nan Yi has always been incompatible with gambling and drugs.
As soon as the school beauty left, Han Zhenhe came to Nan Yi with a stack of information.
"President, the information has been found."
"Where did you find it?"
"My neighbor in Flushing turned out to be a professor at Agricultural and Fisheries University. I borrowed the information from him."
"Okay, I'll take a look first. You can make a copy later and return it to me." Nan Yi took the information, flipped through it and said, "Zhen He, what do you know about the Seven Star Sect?"
"I don't know much about it. I just know it's the largest organized crime group in Busan."
"Oh." Nan Yi nodded and asked, "Do you have many relatives and friends in Busan?"
"When I was in school, I had a few good friends at school."
"I heard that the college entrance examination in South Korea is very competitive, and the percentage of people who can get into college is not very high."
"Yes, I only slept four hours a day in the year before the exam in Seoul. The rest of the time was spent on reviewing. Others were the same, working very hard. There were many cases of sudden death due to overwork."
Han Zhenhe seemed to recall that difficult time. He paused for a moment before sighing, "But even if you work so hard, not many people can get into college."
Nan Yi asked, "Isn't it possible that many of your relatives and friends were admitted to university?"
"Very few. Most of them did not take the college entrance examination, but went straight to work."
"What kind of jobs do they do?"
“Factories, construction sites, docks, and restaurants are not very good jobs.”
"Are there any members of organized violent groups?"
"have."
"Oh." Nan Yi took out the lower half of the document and handed it to Han Zhenhe, "Take these and make copies first."
"Yes, President."
Han Zhenhe took the information paper and walked towards Nan Yi's study in confusion.
After reading some information in the garden for a while, Nan Yi felt his eyes a little tired, so he stood up and walked towards the woods.
I walked into the woods and stood under a solitary tree with no other trees nearby. I looked up, then went to get a ladder, climbed up and picked a few apples from the tree, and also picked a "big Trichosanthes kirilowii" that looked exactly like a watermelon.
After wiping the apple on his sleeve, Nan Yi put it in his mouth and chewed it, then said to himself, "The taste is not good enough."
He named the tree next to Nan Yi the Hundred Fruit Tree. As the name suggests, it is a tree that can bear many kinds of fruits. It has now grown 42 different kinds of fruits.
This spring, Nan Yi grafted branches of seven new fruit trees. If the branches can thrive, in two or three years, it should be able to grow 49 kinds of fruit, which will be one step closer to 100 kinds.
"Dad, you didn't let us pick the fruit, and you ate it secretly."
Nan Yi had just eaten half of an apple when two generals, Heng and Ha, appeared in front of him, looking like police officers holding down a thief.
"It's not that I don't allow you to eat it, I'm just afraid that you will damage the fruit tree. Take it and eat it." Nan Yi wiped the apple in his hand on his sleeve and handed it to the two children.
"Dad, this tree is amazing. It can grow so many fruits." Nan Wuwei said after taking the fruit.
"This is the power of science and the power of money. Dad paid a lot of money to learn how to graft this tree."
"Dad, how much is a lot?"
"More than ten times more than your railway company."
“A lot.”
"So, you must protect this tree and don't harm it."
"Uh-huh."
The two children nodded at the same time.
"Dad, can we build a tree house?"
"Okay, you guys decide what you want to build first, and then we'll work together to budget and plan. Hurry, it's going to snow soon."
"Well, brother, let's go draw."
Nan Youqiong shouted at Nan Wuwei, and the two brothers left Nan Yi and ran towards the house.
After the two children left, Nan Yi walked around in the woods, picked a tree suitable for building a tree house, stood there pondering for a while, and then returned to the garden to continue reading information.
In the next few days, Nan Yi and the two children were busy building a tree house in the morning, and in the afternoon he went to the Qidian Orphanage to hang out with his adopted children, especially one named Nan Jiajun. At the beginning of next year, Nan Yi planned to arrange for him to return to South Korea to study.
Nan Jiajun, he himself has forgotten his real name, he only remembers his code name "13" in the Brothers Welfare Home.
In the 1960s and 1970s, there were many homeless children and beggars on the streets of South Korea. The authorities believed that they were a disgrace to South Korea. In 1974, the Blue House issued Order No. 410, requiring all localities to "monitor and protect homeless people," but in fact it wanted to "clean them up."
Against this background, welfare homes to house vagrants were established one after another. The more vagrants they took in, the higher the subsidies given by the state, and the police would also receive corresponding rewards for each person they arrested.
Among the many welfare homes, the "Brothers' Home" welfare home receives the largest number of homeless people, with a total of more than 3,500.
The boss, Park In-geun, once proudly declared to the public, "We provide homeless people with accommodation, food, clothing and education, and let them go home after one year", but in reality he was doing shameful things.
While looking for families in the country willing to adopt orphans, Brothers House will charge the "families" a high "anti-abuse and secondary abandonment deposit" for the children's safety.
While implementing the so-called education for the vagrants, they are first made to forget their names and only remember the numerical numbers given by the Brothers' Home, and then they are taught various skills such as making clothes and fishing nets.
Once the homeless people had mastered the skills, Park In-geun listed all of them as "spiritual shareholders", opened factories there, and earned tens of millions of dollars in profits for the homeless people every year.
Nan Yi did not ask anyone to investigate the Brothers' House. All he knew came from Nan Jiajun's story. Nan Jiajun was the lucky man who was chosen by the Qing family and was able to escape from the Brothers' House.
However, he is also unlucky.
Although Nan Jiajun was already an orphan and a wanderer before entering the Brothers' Home, living on the streets and starving, he still had his freedom and did not need to receive an education with a very high mortality rate.
He was born and raised by nature, but fell into the devil's den. He was finally noticed by a family from the Qing Dynasty, but not long after that, his adoptive parents died in a car accident. Naturally, he was unlucky.
However, he is also a lucky man. He met Nan Yi, a mentor and has been carefully trained for several years. In the future, he will most likely become one of the chaebols in South Korea.
As December passed day by day, Nan's various new plans were implemented one by one.
The next few years will be the years when the Nan family expands its base, and also the years when they will begin to prepare to cut off industries that are not related to the base. Industries that are not related to agriculture, high technology, and energy, and do not have a good auxiliary role, will all be cut off in the next few years to decades.
The real estate industry sounded the charge, and the real estate-related personnel in the Information and Strategy Committee were transferred out from the financial group to directly form a real estate group, under which three departments were established: proprietary operation, investment, and exit.
Self-operation means managing the real estate enterprises that you have established yourself, such as Chuangyi Real Estate, Tota Construction, Chunshen Construction, and Zhengguo Gaoma; investment means that a sum of money will be allocated to the real estate group, and this money will be used to invest in other real estate enterprises through financial means such as share investment, financing, and borrowing.
Exit is easy to understand. For Nan Yi, real estate is a giant speculative project involving trillions of dollars. He has never thought of getting deeply involved in this industry. "Exit" means being responsible for withdrawing Nan's funds at the right time.
This time point must be controlled well. Just like real estate investment in Japan, you must exit two or three years before reaching the peak. You must exit beautifully, and avoid being called a "fool" by others when you exit.
Also in December, Nan implemented a reserve fund plan. The first phase of the plan reserved 1,500 tons of gold and US$50 billion in cash. The reserve funds would not be used for operating investments, but only for hedging arbitrage. This fund was kept to withstand crises that Nan might encounter in the future, whether it was a survival crisis or an economic crisis.
In addition, Nan's company also needs to build its own "3:7 ratio", increase investment in the basic plate, reduce the funds on hand, so that the cash ratio of Nan's assets reaches 7 to 3, and maintain this ratio for a long time.
The last two years of the 1980s would be two years in which the Nan family spent a lot of money on land acquisition, high technology, and energy, and would also be two years in which they would move to a higher level.
Time flies, and days pass by like turning pages. In a blink of an eye, it is already December 24th, Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve and Christmas are Christian holidays and also holidays for businessmen, but they are not Jewish holidays or Chinese holidays.
The Jews and Chinese who came to New York in the 19th century, as minorities, experienced a lot of unfair treatment together. They also had a period of mutual sympathy. Manhattan's Chinatown was even adjacent to the Jewish community in the Lower East Side, and the two races once huddled together for warmth.
However, after several decades or even hundreds of years of development, the Jews have extended their tentacles into all areas of the country, while the Chinese are still stuck in restaurants and laundries. The once poor guys are now in different classes and can no longer pee in the same pot.
However, there is a long-standing bond between the two communities. That is, every Christmas when Christians eat turkey at home, New York Jews will choose to go to Chinese restaurants to eat Chinese food.
On 8th Avenue in Brooklyn, Nan Yi's family of four was sitting in one of the many Chinese restaurants. The main source of income for the Chinese restaurants on this street came from the Jews. Naturally, the restaurant owners here would give certain discounts and conveniences to these big customers.
For example, today all the restaurants here serve Jews exclusively. Each restaurant has a tacit understanding to only do business with Jews and make room for them. After they have filled their stomachs, they can turn this place into a buffet cocktail party.
We start eating at around 6 or 7 o'clock, and everyone eats their own food. At 8:30, the sound of a wine glass being knocked "ding ding ding" means the meal time is over, and everyone can chat across the table and move around.
Hearing the sound, Nan Yi picked up the fried spring rolls on the table and took his two sons to the empty table in the corner that he had already picked out.
For Nan Yi, coming here to eat today is almost like going to his mother-in-law's house for the New Year. As a son-in-law, he always stays in the corner , unable to blend in with the liveliness of other people.
As soon as Nan Yi and the other two left the table, three people walked towards Scarlett, one old and two young.
Nan Yi knew these three people. They were the father and son of Madoff Company - father Bernard Madoff, eldest son Mark Madoff, and second son Andrew Madoff.
In 1960, after graduating from Hofstra University School of Law in New York, Bernard Madoff used the $5,000 he earned from working as a lifeguard and installing garden sprinklers during the summer vacation, and borrowed an office from his wife Ruth's father to establish Bernard Madoff Investment Securities Company, engaging in securities brokerage business.
After years of hard work, Madoff gradually became a star in Wall Street brokerage business with his intelligence and talent. Today, Bernard Madoff is a well-known figure in the securities industry, almost as famous as Buffett.
Madoff Company was a competitor of Scarlett Fund. Both parties were trying hard to absorb funds from American Jews. They had secretly met several times, but they remained restrained and limited themselves to normal business means.
"It's strange that Madoff doesn't entertain clients first, but goes to his competitors first." Nan Yi muttered and turned his attention back to his son.
In his previous life, Nan Yi knew a person named Bernard Madoff, a top master of Ponzi schemes. He was able to maintain a scam for twenty years before it finally collapsed. One could not help but worship him.
Knowing this person and seeing that he happened to be a competitor, Nan Yi would naturally remind Scarlett to find out his background. So, Nan Yi and Scarlett knew what the Madoff Company was.
Of course, the information so far is still relatively positive. After all, Bernard Madoff has not yet started his "laminated investment" and has not yet started to cheat his Jewish fellow countrymen.
"Hello, Mr. Adam."
Just as Nan Yi and his two sons were sharing fried spring rolls, a middle-aged man came to their table with a child of about six or seven years old, holding wine glasses.
"Hello, Mr. Kushner, I didn't expect you to be in New York today."