America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 451 Top Quality Goods
In the afternoon, Martin came out of Louise's house and returned to his home on the North Side of Sunset Boulevard. After waiting for a while, Nicholson and Leonardo arrived one after another.

After visiting Martin's new home, the three of them went to the European-style pavilion in the back garden to drink tea.

Leonardo exclaimed: "You made a lot of money by buying this place for $1200 million! Martin, where else can I find a house like this? You must introduce it to me."

Before Martin could reply, Nicholson said, "You have to find a rich man like Pete first, and then make him run into problems and his cash flow chain is broken, then you have a chance."

Leonardo picked up a cup of tea, took a sip and changed the subject: "Does Lily have any large sculptures? While her works are still cheap, I want to buy them at a low price and wait for them to appreciate in value."

"Not yet, but she knows you want it, so she will definitely do it." Martin poured Leonardo another cup of tea: "She is still a newcomer, and her works want to appreciate in value. As a famous collector in Hollywood, you should speak well of her."

Although he likes to criticize Lily, Martin is still very reliable when it comes to serious matters.

Leonardo responded: "No problem."

Martin asked Nicholson, "What's going on at the Adler School of Acting?"

"Very interesting." Nicholson was once one of Adler's students, and had enough channels to find out about Adler Acting School: "Ben Affleck was introduced by Judi Dench to teach at the school. He directly chose the class your girlfriend was in to teach."

Leonardo continued, "I can figure out Ben's evil intentions with my butt." He looked at Martin and asked impatiently, "Don't you have any ideas?"

"Yes!" Martin is a man who is so sexy that he wants to mess with him secretly. Not to mention that the other party wants to do it secretly, but also targets Elizabeth.

He said directly: "I have an idea! Leo, I remember Jennifer Garner has golden brown hair, is tall and has long legs. She fits your usual aesthetic. Be brave and go for it!"

Leonardo did not refute, but said another side: "Jennifer Garner is over 30 years old and is not in my range."

Nicholson and Leonardo looked at Martin at the same time, and the meaning in their eyes was self-evident.

When others wanted to talk nonsense, Martin got down to business: "Ben Affleck's side is not easy to deal with for the time being, but his brother Casey, I have some ideas."

Leonardo opened his mouth in shock and deliberately moved his chair away from Martin: "You actually..."

"Shut up, Leo! I'm talking about business." Martin briefly told him about Cassie's purchase of Lily's sculpture.

Nicholson said, "It's not a loss for him, is it? After this recent wave of popularity, there will definitely be a market for Lily's work."

Martin said: "I was worried that something might happen to Lily, so I secretly sent bodyguards to follow Casey Affleck for a few days. He smashed all the things he bought and threw them into the trash can outside his house."

He sighed: "I guess it was a big shock."

Nicholson understood: "You mean to stimulate him again?"

Martin shrugged. "We can't help it. Big Ben is not easy to deal with. He is a core member of the Foot Gang and has a certain status in the circle. We can't make him embarrassed with just a few words."

Leonardo DiCaprio agreed: "Ben has been famous for more than a decade, and with Harvey and Matt Damon behind him, he is not an ordinary Hollywood star."

He reminded: "If it were an ordinary Hollywood star, after screwing up several works in a row, how could he get a chance to continue to receive film contracts and find the opportunity to direct a multi-million dollar project?"

Martin said directly: "Deal with the small ones first, and then create opportunities to deal with the big ones."

Hearing that it was not about waiting but about creating, Nicholson asked, "Have you figured out a solution?"

"I have some clues. I need your connections at the Adler School of Acting to help." Martin expressed his thoughts.

Nicholson became interested: "Let's give it a try. If it doesn't work, we won't lose anything."

Martin checked the time, stood up and said, "Let's go out for a walk. I'll take you to see a good show. My people have been keeping an eye on Cassie recently."

"Okay!" Leonardo said, "Where is your wine cellar? I'll go get a bottle of good wine, and we'll drink while we watch."

Nicholson laughed: "Good theatre is best served with a glass of wine."

Leonardo went to the underground wine cellar to get a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, drove an ordinary Chevrolet, and left the estate together.

On the way, Martin called Bruce and asked Leonardo to drive to the Old Santa Monica Pier.

When they arrived near the dock, the Ford car stopped at the edge of the highest parking lot according to Bruce's instructions. There was also a public telephone booth nearby.

Martin and the other two were sitting in the car and looking over. Less than twenty meters away was the old pier at the dock.

This place used to be a tourist destination and the western terminus of the famous Route 66, but it declined along with Route 66.

There are not many tourists near the pier, just a few.

Soon, Bruce came over.

He lowered his head and got into the car, saying, "If nothing unexpected happens, the people will be here soon."

"Is everything arranged?" Martin asked.

Bruce said roughly: "The salesman and the cameraman were all hired by Ivan, no problem."

Hearing the cameraman, Nicholson said, "Why don't we ask Lorraine to come over and film it? We can earn some pocket money by selling it to TMZ."

Leonardo couldn't help but say, "Jack, you are such a good father."

Martin said, "Okay, but ask her to take the photo from a little further away." Nicholson laughed, "Don't worry, Lorraine has studied photography carefully recently to earn more pocket money."

Leonardo asked, "Have you ever considered asking her to change her career?"

Martin said: "Lorraine is a paparazzi, specializing in secretly photographing Nicholson's privacy in exchange for money. It's a perfect closed loop of the industrial chain."

"It's nothing compared to the money I get from taking secret photos of you." Nicholson refused to be outdone.

Leonardo asked him: "Aren't you afraid that Lorraine, this little sheep, will be sent to the mouth of Martin, this big bad wolf, for nothing?"

Martin immediately took the moral high ground: "Jack, I treat you as a brother, but you scheme against me like this?"

Nicholson was speechless for a moment because of the shameless face of this bastard.

Not long after, a car drove over from a distance and stopped near the pier.

Casey Affleck got out of the car, carried a bottle of wine to the beach, leaned on the pier railing, bit open the bottle cap, and poured the wine into his mouth.

The sun fell into the sea, and a few rays of afterglow were left, which fell on his face. A gust of sea breeze blew, and his hair became a bird's nest. He looked decadent like a harmless tramp.

Just like Martin looks like a sunny and handsome guy, Hollywood stars always say one thing in front of others and another behind their backs.

Cassie wiped the wine stains from the corners of her mouth. Suddenly, she saw a few tourists with their faces painted like clowns passing by. She thought of someone and couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Lily Carter!"

He decided to sober up for a few days and then go to California Institute of the Arts to find Lily Carter.

Things should always be done from beginning to end.

After the clown tourists left, another tourist came.

He sat on a nearby bench with his bag on one side, facing Cassie.

A young man in a big coat came from the other side. When he saw Cassie, he walked over quickly and said, "Hey, man, do you want any goods?"

Cassie saw the man's attire and thought he was a dealer, so she asked, "Any good stuff?"

The young man came over and said mysteriously: "Top-quality goods."

Cassie was familiar with this and said directly: "Take it out and have a look first. If it's suitable, I'll buy it."

The young man pulled out a paper bag from under his coat, untied it and showed it to Cassie: "This is the hottest and most in-demand item on the market right now. It's definitely a good thing."

What Cassie saw was a hand-carved version of the Coke Cult version of the Joker, the Joker from The Dark Knight.

The young man specifically asked Cassie to look at the statue’s feet: “Lily Carter’s name is definitely authentic!”

The moment she heard the name, Cassie became even more depressed.

The young man enthusiastically promoted the work: "Lily Carter is a new generation of carving master. Even many Hollywood artists are collecting her works. The limited edition Joker she carved by hand will have great room for appreciation in the future and is definitely comparable to the original version of Darth Vader!"

Cassie took a sip of wine and waved her hand again: "I don't need it."

The young man did not give up and continued, "Dude, this is a rare opportunity. You can make money if you buy it! Only an idiot would miss out on a work of art with huge potential for appreciation!"

Cassie was motionless, staring at the young man like a statue.

The latter continued to talk: "A friend of mine was very lucky and bought several works of Lily Carter, but he was mentally ill and was deceived by extreme environmentalists. He insisted on using environmentally friendly materials and smashed all the statues into pieces. I would not sell to a fool like him even if he begged me to sell!"

Cassie stared at the young man blankly, as if he was looking at the statues he had bought.

The young man continued, "How stupid is he? He got cheated first, and then he destroyed a valuable work of art. Even a pig is smarter than him!"

Cassie was sure that this guy was a statue!
Without any hesitation, and even no sign of anger on his face, he swung the bottle at the young man, just like he did when he smashed the statue that day!
The young man dodged the head but not the shoulder, and fell to the ground with a scream.

Cassie's bottle of wine flew out of his hand, but he didn't stop. He kicked the young man who fell to the ground.

The young man held his head, shrank his body, and yelled, "Are you fucking sick?"

He opened his throat and said, "Help! Help!"

The sparse tourists not far away were all looking over here.

High up in the parking lot, the three of them were drinking wine and watching the show with great interest.

Martin finished his drink and asked, "Who wants to be a good citizen of Los Angeles?"

Leonardo was about to stand up, but was stopped by Nicholson: "I have lived in Los Angeles for so many years. The entire Sunset Boulevard praises me and is proud to have a good neighbor like me. I must be the good citizen!"

As he spoke, he got out of the car, ran to the public telephone booth and dialed 911.

This place is close to the Santa Monica beach villa area, and the police car arrived very quickly.

Nicholson followed Martin's example and did good deeds without leaving a name. When he heard the sirens in the distance, he got in the car and said, "Let's go to another place!"

(End of this chapter)