Chapter 59 Take the initiative

Chapter 59 Take the initiative

Chapter 59 Take the initiative
The general direction has been determined, but there is no specific breakthrough yet.

But for Gao Yi, the solution is very simple. He must take action first to find a breakthrough. As the saying goes, this means trying three times before you get a chance.

To use an idiom to describe Gao Yi, it is better to retreat and weave a net than to envy the fish by the river.

In tactical terms, Gao Yi is looking for the enemy's weaknesses during action.

To sum it up in one sentence, heroes create the times.

A large part of Gao Yi's behavior pattern stems from the fact that he is a novice who is not afraid of tigers. Although a novice can often be described as "ignorant is fearless", it is obvious that fearlessness is the theme.

Sean is the complete opposite.

Sean is experienced, so he is used to planning before taking action.

The garden is about to be destroyed. Sean, who has suffered many failures and gradually got used to failure, will inevitably become cautious and do everything with caution, for fear that a single carelessness will lead to a catastrophic disaster.

So Sean’s character and behavior can be summed up in one sentence: heroes are made by the times.

One is active and the other is passive. The one who is taking the initiative now is Gao Yi, and Gao Yi is a person who is so direct that he is almost reckless. Therefore, the plan promoted by him will inevitably develop in the direction of simplification.

According to Sean, this matter was too urgent and too complicated, with so many things to deal with that he had no idea where to start. If he was given a month, perhaps he could find a suitable, safe and reliable way to sneak into the party.

For Gao Yi, since he knew Henry wanted to sell paintings, he might as well go to the gallery and take a look. Why bother with other things? Just find a place and walk there first. Otherwise, what else are the two of them doing? Just scratching their heads near the train station.

So now that Gao Yi was in charge of this matter, it was natural for him to find Henry's gallery.

I didn't rush in, but just took a look from a distance and noticed a van parked in front of the gallery.

This is interesting, very interesting.

Gao Yi did not point to the gallery. He just raised his chin slightly and said, "There is a small truck at the door. I think it is here to load paintings."

Sean whispered, "Very likely, any ideas?"

"Well, there's a dinner party tomorrow and I'm preparing to paint today. Is that considered fast?"

Sean thought for a moment and said, "According to the characteristics of the French, yes, this is already very fast."

What are the characteristics of the French?
Wave, slow.

Precisely because of the characteristics of the French, Gao Yi found that their chances seemed to be getting bigger.

Gao Yi barely thought about it, and he subconsciously said, "I'll go in and see what's going on."

Sean was surprised and said, "No! It's too easy to be exposed. If it's exposed, there will be no chance at all."

The fearless Gao Yi immediately said: "Even if we are not exposed, do we have a chance?"

Sean was immediately speechless.

As an assistant, Sean's prudence is a virtue, but when it comes to leading an operation, his tendency to plan before acting will only lead to missed opportunities.

Gao Yi looked around and said, "This is the place with the most tourists. It's reasonable for me to wander around and it's also reasonable for me to appear in the gallery. Okay, I'll go take a look first. You stay away and wait for me."

The gallery is located in the famous Left Bank of the Seine in Paris, covering an area including Saint-Germain Street, Montparnasse Street and Saint-Michel Street. It is home to many bookstores, galleries, art galleries and museums, and is considered a cultural mecca in Paris.

The right bank is famous for the Champs-Elysees, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre and other Paris landmarks.

Since it is such a global tourist destination, Gao Yi felt that there was no problem at all for him to appear in the gallery.

So after Gao Yi finished speaking, he started walking along the sidewalk alone. He passed a cafe and two bookstores, and then when his way was slightly blocked by a small truck parked at the door, he inadvertently looked up and then naturally turned into the gallery.

Gao Yi walked in a very relaxed posture, and his facial expression was also very relaxed. Although there was no disguise, he showed the relaxation of a tourist.

After entering the gallery, there was a man in a suit and gloves, talking to a man who looked like a lackey, and there were two people standing next to him waiting.

They were speaking French, which Gao Yi couldn't understand at all.

A gallery certainly cannot be arranged like a grocery store. The environment must be very good, and the paintings will not be arranged particularly closely. However, the artists of those paintings that can be hung on the wall in a staggered manner must be somewhat famous.

The paintings Henry wanted to donate for charity had to be works by painters of some reputation, and the finale had to be a painting by a famous artist.

But can't we take advantage of something so obvious?

I still don’t know until now, so Gao Yi just walked around and took a look.

Several people looked at Gao Yi, but no one took him seriously. The man who looked like the gallery manager was still respectfully introducing something to the person in charge.

No one greeted Gao Yi.

If there are no opportunities, you have to create them. Even if it is not for the purpose of creating opportunities, it would be meaningless to come in, take a look and leave.

With a simple thought, Gao Yi raised his left arm and said loudly: "Hey... where's the boss? Hello, hello, hello."

He doesn't look very cultured, but he is very confident, so he speaks loudly and with full momentum. Gao Yi looks like this now.

In any case, shouting in a gallery is very rude, but it is the store's fault that no one greeted the customer. The man who was introducing the paintings to the manager whispered something and then walked in front of Gao Yi.

He mumbled a few words in French, but Gao Yi didn't understand a word.

Gao Yi said confidently: "Can you speak English?"

The manager switched to English, and although his English was not good, he still spoke fluently: "Hello, sir, how can I help you?"

Gao Yi said nonchalantly: "I just bought an ancient castle and need some paintings to decorate it. I think the paintings you have here are good and they are the style I like."

Many castles in France are actually not expensive, some are even sold for one euro, but the subsequent maintenance costs are sky-high. Therefore, it is very common for foreigners to buy castles in France, and it is not uncommon for wealthy Chinese to be deceived into buying castles.

So Gao Yi’s statement is still correct.

But the manager was obviously busy with something, so he would not waste too much time with Gao Yi. He just maintained basic courtesy and said with a smile: "You can take a look first. If you like any painting, please tell me and I can introduce it to you in detail."

The manager was about to leave after he finished speaking, but Gao Yi pointed to the painting on the wall and said, "This." The manager was stunned for a moment, then he raised his voice slightly and said a few words with a slightly helpless look, and then a middle-aged woman came over and stood in front of the two of them.

The manager said a few more words, and Gao Yi said with a hint of dissatisfaction: "Introduce it."

The woman went to receive the manager, and the manager stayed to receive Gao Yi personally.

The reason is simple, the woman doesn't speak English, but the manager does.

The manager called someone to handle the matter, and then smiled at Gao Yi and said, "This painting is by a very promising young painter..."

Gao Yi immediately waved his hand and said, "Young painters? Forget about young painters. Are there any painters who are not very famous but are very old and dying? Are there any? I want such painters."

The manager's smile could no longer be maintained. He said helplessly, "Sir, if you want to invest in art, the investment value has little to do with the age of the painter. What's more important is the artistic value..."

"How much does this painting cost?"

"Two thousand four hundred euros."

Two thousand four hundred euros. In fact, Gao Yi had no idea whether this painting was expensive or cheap. He knew almost nothing about art.

But this doesn't stop Gao Yi from showing off.

"Is it so cheap? I'll take it."

Gao Yi's words made the manager stunned for a moment.

But soon, the manager bowed slightly and said, "Okay, please wait a moment, I..."

"Don't worry."

Gao Yi began to move, then he pointed at a painting and said, "This one."

"Ok."

"this."

"Ok!"

Gao Yi was very relaxed, and the manager's tone was beginning to show his uncontrollable joy. Gao Yi casually glanced at the painting in front of several people and said nothing.

As for oil paintings, Gao Yi only knows about abstract and impressionist styles, and all others are classified as realists. Most of the paintings in this gallery are realistic.

Only the two paintings Gao Yi pointed out looked rather bizarre.

Gao Yi walked past a few people, took a few steps, and pointed at a painting and said, "This one."

The manager couldn't help but smile and said, "Okay."

“I don’t want any of these.”

The manager's smile froze on his face.

Gao Yi turned around and pointed at the entrance and said, "From over there to this side, I don't want the few I mentioned, but I want all the rest. There are 23 paintings in total, right? Give me the price, the total price, oh, and more."

Gao Yi pointed at the painting that several people were looking at, and said naturally with just a little arrogance: "Did they buy that one? If not, I want it."

Others buy paintings by size, but Gao Yi buys paintings by distance.

The manager was a little dazed, Gao Yi was a little impatient, and asked, "Can you sell it?"

This gallery is not big, and Henry opened this gallery not just to show off his taste, but more importantly for money laundering, because art investment is an industry that is strongly related to money laundering.

Therefore, Gao Yi’s approach was very simple. He tried to buy out the gallery and see how Henry’s men would react.

If you don't sell Gao Yi, raise the price.

If you sell it, just pretend Gao Yi didn’t say anything.

"You want them all?"

"All of them! My castle is huge and I need a lot of paintings, so give me a wholesale price and don't fool me with artistic value. If you are sincere, I will empty your store. If you are not sincere, forget it."

The manager was a little overwhelmed. He looked at Henry's manager, who whispered something. Then the manager apologized, walked over, and quickly explained in a low voice.

Gao Yi said unhappily: "What do you mean? You can't sell it, right? Let's go!"

The manager came over with the steward, and then the steward smiled and said, "Sir, you are very interested in art, right?"

Gao Yi looked at Henry's steward and nodded, "What are you doing?"

The steward also spoke in English. He smiled and asked, "Excuse me, sir, are you interested in participating in the art auction?"

"Not interested. The auction will be too expensive."

“Charity auction.”

Gao Yi turned his head and said, "I'm even less interested in charity auctions."

The steward smiled and said, "The charity auction may be able to buy many artworks, including this painting, at prices below the market price."

Pointing to the painting he had just seen, the butler continued, "This painting is from the 19th century, and the painter is..."

The butler looked at the manager, who said, "Ferdinand Georg Waltermuller is a representative Austrian painter and a representative of realism. He is renowned for his superb skills in using light. This is his work from 1843. The selling price is euros."

The steward nodded, then smiled at Gao Yi and said, "But at the auction, the starting price will be 50,000 euros. If you want to invest in art, this is a rare opportunity."

Gao Yi hesitated, and his expression of resistance softened a lot. Then he said hesitantly, "A famous painter? Very famous? Uh, let me think about it. Where should I auction it?"

(End of this chapter)