50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 333 The Small Detached House Next to Central Park

With the New York apartment secured, he now has a place to stay in New York.

"Then I'll use the remaining 20 to choose a few antiques. There are actually a few pieces in your collection that I like."

"I was going to let you choose some expensive items, but unfortunately, you don't have any credit left."

"Haha, I prefer ancient Eastern antiques. The ancient Eastern countries have passed down their heritage without interruption, there must be a mysterious power in them, and I want to find it."

“Young man, if you want to uncover the secrets of the ancient Eastern kingdom, the few antiques I have here are not enough. I'm afraid you'll have to go to the East.”

“I think it’s not impossible. Didn’t we start negotiations a few years ago? I can go and see for myself someday.”

“You’re not wrong. I have a friend who’s an aide to that guy in the White House, and it seems like the White House does have this plan.”

"Never mind those for now, you should start picking out the antiques," old Lancaster said to Sun Zhiwei, pulling out a wooden box from the side.

Subsequently, Sun Zhiwei selected more than 20 antiques from China from the 5000 items, including the sheep-head animal head and seven supplementary volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia.

Old Lancaster, seeing that he only selected damaged antiques, assumed he was doing so on purpose.

The old man, driven by his pride, was unhappy and insisted on giving Sun Zhiwei a Yao Bian Tianmu tea bowl marked at $5.

'Yohen' originates from 'kiln transformation', and its production involves a great deal of unpredictability, so it was produced in very small quantities during the Song Dynasty.

Today, only three and a half remain in the world. Three of the complete pieces are in the hands of Xiao Rizi, and the other half, which is damaged, is in China.

Sun Zhiwei estimates that this is the fourth complete vessel in the Old Lancaster collection.

Although Sun Zhiwei is the type to take advantage of any bargain he can get, Old Lancaster has been very respectful to him these past few days, making him feel a little embarrassed to take such an obvious advantage.

"Som, this won't do. This one is too valuable. Although it's not worth much now, it has great potential for appreciation in the future."

"Then consider it my gift to you. Let's go, you've already made your choice, let's go upstairs."

After saying that, old Lancaster led the way out of the basement. Sun Zhiwei couldn't stay alone in someone else's collection storage, so he picked up the wooden box and followed.

He spent the next two days signing a series of contracts and agreements.

Old Lancaster simply put the $10 and $100 million worth of stock into a briefcase. At that time, stock certificates, like banknotes, were paper.

The transfer of other fixed assets requires him to sign various contracts and agreements.

The lawyer drafted a property gift agreement for them. This gift is not taxable, but it needs to be reported to the IRS.

From now on, any tax issues related to the assets that have already been gifted will no longer be the concern of the elder Lancaster; the IRS will contact Sun Zhiwei directly if any issues arise.

When signing the transfer agreement for the New York property, Sun Zhiwei noticed that the address of the house was actually on Manhattan Island.

How could a detached house in this location only cost $10? He looked at old Lancaster next to him in surprise.

Old Lancaster simply smiled and nodded: "Sign it. This house is useless to me."

"It occupies too little land and is surrounded by skyscrapers, so there is almost no privacy outdoors. It may be fine for you to live there, but it is not suitable for me."

Old Lancaster was right; he had countless adversaries. Don't overestimate the bottom line of capitalists.

They would never be willing to spend an extra penny if they could solve the problem with a single bullet; there are many people who want to kill him.

Therefore, a location with no obstructions on all sides and countless sniping positions is indeed not suitable for old Lancaster to live in for a long time.

But these shortcomings didn't bother Sun Zhiwei. He had no enemies, nor did he intend to run naked in the yard; let them see. After thinking it through, Sun Zhiwei signed his name on the transfer agreement: James Robert (in cursive).

He learned this signature from Belinda, and it looks quite nice, so he's been using it ever since.

Two mines, two islands, one house, one farm—six agreements were signed, and the lawyer was responsible for implementing them.

Sun Zhiwei will be able to obtain the relevant supporting documents in just a few more days.

Old Lancaster Farm is now the base of the Rifle Association, and Sun Zhiwei has been living there as a relative for some time now.

But with secrets everywhere, he couldn't move around freely.

The identification work is now complete, and the agreement has been signed. He just needs to wait for the certificate, and he can't stay still any longer.

He decided to say goodbye to old Lancaster immediately and move to a detached house in Manhattan. The downtown area was right outside his door, with so many places to explore.

Before leaving, he asked old Lancaster to send the documents to the Manhattan house after the lawyer had finished processing them.

He drove straight to Manhattan that day, and when he found the detached house by following the address, he was stunned.

This is a three-story all-white building with a lawn in front and a garden in the back.

The house doesn't occupy a large area; there are only four rooms on the first floor, totaling 150 square meters.

However, the lawn and garden are quite large, and a huge red oak tree grows on the south side of the front lawn.

The oak tree has grown to over 10 meters tall, blocking the view from the skyscrapers over there.

Moreover, this location is right next to Central Park, and you can see the Metropolitan Museum of Art's dome from afar across Central Park.

Even though old Lancaster gave him a valid reason, it couldn't hide the fact that the house was actually worth far more than $10.

This favor is no small matter. He estimated that he wouldn't be able to repay it in his lifetime, and could only repay it to Milan later.

He parked the car on the side of the road, opened the door and went inside, first looking around the house.

He noticed that the furniture was a bit old, and since no one had lived there for a long time, he didn't know if the electrical circuits and gas pipes were still safe. He decided it would be best to do a thorough inspection.

So, he took the house gift agreement and went to the water, electricity, and community offices to change the contact information and the owner.

Then everyone paid what they were supposed to pay, and it took most of the day to finish the paperwork.

In the afternoon, homeowners association (HOA) plumbers and maintenance workers came to conduct a full assessment of the house's condition.

After confirming that there were no major problems, only some valve parts that were worn out, he immediately had the workers replace them.

The maintenance staff also trimmed the lawn and branches, and repaired the fence and chimney. Before nightfall, the whole house was ready to be lived in again.

That night, he rested briefly in the house. The next day, he went shopping and ordered new furniture and appliances, as well as household goods.

On the third day, the furniture and appliances he ordered arrived. The workers arranged the new furniture and appliances according to his instructions, and then took away the old furniture and appliances.

Generally speaking, ordinary families will dispose of their old goods themselves, and these items can be sold for money.

Sun Zhiwei was too lazy to waste the time; he could get the old furniture and appliances for free as long as the deliveryman didn't ask for a tip.

(End of this chapter)