50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 593 Too expensive? Go take a boat!

It's not that Sun Zhiwei can't afford a skyscraper; with his current net worth, he could easily afford a building on Manhattan Island.

But buying it with money isn't his style; his dream is to have the judge award him a building.

After giving instructions to Attorney Smith, Sun Zhiwei left the airport.

As for auditing the accounts, that can't be done in a day. His team can handle it. He doesn't need to watch over it every day. He just needs to wait for his team to report the results when the time comes.

The next day, the painter Paul Taylor arrived. He was a young artist who was somewhat famous in New York and was said to have studied under the famous painter Andrew Wyeth.

Sun Zhiwei was an art ignoramus in both his lives and didn't know any great painters, but he respected talented people.

He whispered with Paul Taylor for hours in a small conference room before finally explaining his demands to him.

Then came the waiting: a panoramic bird's-eye view, three exterior views of the terminal, and three interior views—a total of seven paintings, all of which the artist had to complete one by one.

It's estimated that by the time Paul Taylor finishes all the drawings, not counting the time spent on revisions, it will be about a week later.

Such a large order, especially in this era of economic depression, meant that Paul Taylor, despite his reputation in New York, rarely encountered such a generous customer.

Although he wasn't entirely satisfied with Sun Zhiwei's demand for a hyper-realistic painting style, he wasn't against it for the sake of the money.

Sun Zhiwei offered $1 per piece, a price that an emerging artist could not refuse.

In China, painters typically price their work based on its size and reputation, but in the United States, the pricing standards are completely different.

They generally have three pricing models, one of which is based on the artist's reputation:
The works of junior artists are mainly used for decoration and are priced between $200 and $2000.

Works by emerging artists who have held commercial gallery exhibitions have certain collection and investment value, with prices ranging from $2000 to $1.
Mid-career artists who have gained recognition through institutional exhibitions or collections typically have works priced between $1 and $5.
Works by well-known artists typically fetch over $5, with no upper limit.

Some prices are calculated based on the size of the artwork, using the formula: (height + width) × coefficient.

For example, the coefficient for junior artists is 12-16.

那么他的一副20×15英寸的作品价格为：（20+15）*12到（20+15）*16之间，也就是420美元-560美元。

The coefficient for intermediate artists is 16-20, the coefficient for mature artists is 20-30, and so on.

The most peculiar method is the hourly wage cost method, which charges based on the time spent painting. The calculation method is: creation time (hours) × hourly wage + cost of painting materials.

For example, a painter earning $20 per hour might spend 30 hours creating an artwork, with $50 in material costs, for a total price of approximately $650.

Paul Taylor was just an emerging artist, and Sun Zhiwei offered him a top price for his level of artistry, which he couldn't refuse.

He was both excited and happy, knowing that once his paintings became famous, his career would take a leap to a new stage.

Sun Zhiwei left Paul Taylor to paint at the airport, while he himself returned to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey the next day.

The restructuring and downsizing work is not yet complete, so it is still using its old name.

However, everyone knows that the current Port Authority is completely different from before; everything here is now under the control of Mr. James Roberts. The second auction of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was held on July 25th.

Sun Zhiwei also successfully acquired his second priority asset, the Francis R. Bruno Memorial Bridge, which he had his eye on.

The majority of items in this auction were bridges, tunnels, and automobile transport lines.

The largest of these projects are the four river tunnels in downtown New York City.

The Midtown Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel, and Brooklyn Tunnel in Queens—each of them fetched at least $50 million at auction.

The Francis R. Bruno Memorial Bridge, however, was not particularly eye-catching because there was no competition, and Sun Zhiwei won it for only $100 million.

It's no wonder that others don't compete with him, because this bridge isn't a major thoroughfare; it only connects to Rikers Island.

The most famous place on the island is Rikers Prison. The vehicles that come and go from Rikers Island are mostly police and court vehicles, as well as lawyers and their families visiting prisoners.

Therefore, the pedestrian traffic on this bridge is very limited, and the expected revenue from toll fees is naturally not much.

Sun Zhiwei didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Apart from his future plans for Rikers Island, the toll revenue from the Francis R. Bruno Memorial Bridge was actually a unique business, and the monthly fees collected were not as small as outsiders might think.

Because this bridge is the only access road to Rikers Prison, police cars, lawyers' cars, and family cars all have to cross it.

In the United States, highway bridge tolls are generally only a few dollars. For example, the San Francisco Bay Bridge is 8 kilometers long and costs $8 per vehicle one way.

That's roughly $1 per kilometer. The Francis R. Bruno Memorial Bridge is 1.3 kilometers long, and the previous toll was $1 per vehicle per trip.

This is such a huge loss, no wonder it has been losing money year after year. Sun Zhiwei plans to increase it by 5 times starting next month, changing it to $10 per round trip per vehicle.

He believes that even if the toll price is increased in the future, people who want to use the road will still use it, and his customer base will generally not have any objections.

Because for police cars, the toll is settled monthly, and it is not paid by the police car driver, but by public funds from the police station and the court.

Nobody cares about public funds, as long as their finance department approves the application.

The review process was naturally straightforward; it was simply a matter of paying a commission. Ultimately, the cost would come from the customer; if the other party wanted a higher commission, Sun Zhiwei would simply increase the toll fees.

The other group using the bridge, the families of prisoners, all assumed the money came from the prison and dared not complain about the toll price.

Sun Zhiwei plans to collaborate with the prison to set up a checkpoint on the bridge, adding an extra layer of security for the prison.

When the time comes, the bridge toll collectors will simply put on prison guard uniforms and instantly become unofficial prison staff. Then, no matter what price Sun Zhiwei asks for, they'll have to obediently pay.

The most difficult ones are the lawyers, but if they really want to take things seriously, Sun Zhiwei isn't afraid.

He paid real money for this bridge, so it's perfectly reasonable for him to charge a fee, and the court will support him.

If they're really unhappy about the increased toll, they can always take a boat. There's no road closure on the water anyway, so everyone is free to choose.

(End of this chapter)