50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 821 Goodwill
Sun Zhiwei stayed backstage at the auction, accompanied by John Carlson, Christie's current major shareholder and chairman.

Carlson has a deep understanding of Mr. James Robert, a newly emerging world-class billionaire whose story is a legend of self-made success.

James Roberts has now become a powerful figure, no longer a minor character to be manipulated at will. His behavior suggests that he is more than just a wealthy man.

Whether it's acquiring infrastructure like airports, supporting policies of municipal and state governments, organizing large-scale charitable events, or recently taking over CBS to build a media bulwark.

These diversified operations were carried out with great determination at every step.

It signifies that Mr. James Roberts is a seasoned entrepreneur, not one of those short-lived nouveau riche in history.

What particularly caught his attention was that this Mr. James, through his Pinkerton company, had successfully intervened in a regional conflict and fostered the birth of a small nation.

This move truly amazed the major shareholder behind Christie's.

John Carlson's decision to befriend Mr. James Robert might just be a boon to his future business.

Having learned about Sun Zhiwei's past, he also knew some of Sun Zhiwei's weaknesses.

For example, he has not yet integrated into the high-level rules of this capitalist world, and he is unaware of many common sense principles of veteran capitalists.

Carlson wouldn't mind giving Sun Zhiwei some help in these areas.

Today, he took the opportunity of this auction to stand with Sun Zhiwei. Looking at the crowd below the auction stage, he took the initiative to mention the identities and backgrounds of those people.

"Mr. James, since you're free right now, let me give you a brief introduction to the guests in the audience."

Without waiting for Sun Zhiwei's reply, Carlson began his introduction.

"It's not time yet, and the most important clients who were seated in the first row haven't entered. I'll introduce the guests in the second row first."

“The middle-aged man in the black tuxedo in the middle is Federico Brambilla, the current head of 'FB1913'.”

"FB1913 is a top European luxury brand company. Founded in 1913 and headquartered in Milan, Italy, it focuses on providing customized leather and cashmere products for European royalty and nobility."

"See that gold badge on his chest? It's a unique badge made up of the letters 'F' and 'B'. Their logo is a simple line drawing of a winged lion."

"That winged lion is called the Flying Lion of St. Mark, and it is the patron saint of Venice."

“Mr. James is a Christian and should have read the Gospel of Mark. This book was written down by Mark based on Peter’s dictation during the time when the apostle Mark was serving Peter, the chief disciple of the Lord.”

"And Saint Mark, also known as John Mark, was a Venetian."

"In 828 AD, two wealthy Venetian merchants, under the instruction of the then Doge, successfully smuggled St. Mark's mummified body from Alexandria back to Venice and placed it under the Great Altar of St. Mark's Basilica."

"From then on, Saint Mark became the patron saint of Venice, and his symbol was a winged lion. As a result, lions were found everywhere in Venice."

"FB1913 can use the patron saint of Venice as its logo without any objection, which shows that its quality is recognized by people." "Today, Mr. Federico Brambilla is also one of our main guests. He came here today because he took a fancy to many of the ornaments in the auction and plans to use them in his new custom-made luxury goods."

Sun Zhiwei, sitting next to him, listened with great interest to John Carlson's explanation. He never expected that just an ordinary customer in the audience would have such an interesting background and story.

John Carlson spoke in a low voice, yet he was able to tell the whole story in a captivating way, which greatly increased my interest in the auction.

This was rare knowledge for him; people who weren't at the top of the social class for a long time generally wouldn't know the story behind it.

Those who possess this knowledge may not be willing to share it with Sun Zhiwei.

Knowledge can be worthless at times, and priceless at others, depending on whether you need it or not. Right now, Sun Zhiwei really needs this kind of knowledge.

After a moment's thought, he roughly understood John Carlson's idea. There was likely an underlying intention to be optimistic, to invest, and to deepen their relationship.

Sun Zhiwei is not opposed to this, as Christie's has no history of major misconduct and is a company with which normal business dealings are possible.

He remembered that Christie's, in his previous life, was the only international auction house authorized to conduct auctions in mainland China. If their record were so poor, they certainly wouldn't have received such permission.

Since others had already shown goodwill, Sun Zhiwei naturally had to respond. He praised John Carlson's erudition and frankly admitted that he did not know much about this subject, thanking him for his explanation.

Hearing Sun Zhiwei's response, Carlson felt that his efforts had not been in vain, and naturally became even more enthusiastic in his presentation.

He then introduced many people sitting in the second row, including many suppliers to European royal families.

"The bearded man slightly to the left of center is the agent of the Juan Ghi family. The Juan Ghi family established their winery in Jumilla, Spain in 1916, and their products have long been supplied to European nobles and royalty."

"Also, there's Stefano Ricci, a top luxury brand that started out in Italy making ties and is known as the 'King of Ties'."

"If we're talking about a brand that takes the word 'nouveau riche' to the extreme, then it has to be Stefano Ricci. Their logo is an extravagantly designed eagle head."

"His master also had a famous saying: 'If you see something golden here, it must be made of gold; if you see something shining, it must be made of diamonds.'"

At this point, Carlson paused for a moment, then turned to Sun Zhiwei and asked, "Mr. James, have you ever heard of Savile Row?"

Upon hearing this name, Sun Zhiwei immediately thought of the legendary European royal tailor.

Are you referring to those top-tier bespoke workshops?

"Haha, it seems you understand what I'm trying to say, but I'll still explain it to you in detail."

"There are some of the most elite tailor families in Europe who have been providing bespoke clothing to European royalty or the top 1% of people in various countries for generations."

"The skills and reputation of these tailors, passed down through generations, are never open to outsiders. Even if someone is very wealthy, if they do not have the corresponding status, they will not receive them even if they come to the door."

(End of this chapter)