Of course, Li Du understood what Hans meant.
This unlucky kid was able to get into the Million Dollar Club because of Li Du. If he were to do it himself, he would only be at the level of the Ten Thousand Club.
Li Du had been away from the United States for a month and a half. In addition to dealing with the things he had gotten from Macy's, Hans also went to several auctions.
Hans knew how he got his position, but he was not convinced.
He was the one who had brought Li Du into the industry. For a period of time, he had been Li Du's mentor and the leader of their team. Now, his position was gone.
Although no one in the outside world said it, Hans knew very well that everyone thought he had followed Li Du and gotten into the Million Dollar Club from the Ten Thousand Club.
Of course, this was the truth.
Hans always had a cheeky smile on his face, but he was actually a person with a lot of self-respect. He had his own insistence.
Li Du's departure from the United States had given him time to prove himself.
If Li Du had been in the United States, he would not have invited Li Du to the auctions. Now that Li Du was not here, he could show off his skills.
In particular, Eagle Beak Blade only complained about Li Du. He did not take Hans seriously and did not regard him as the leader of the Macy's auction. Hence, he did not report him to the Association of Warehouse Hunters.
This gave Hans the opportunity to continue participating in auctions, but it also made him depressed. Even a hooligan did not take him seriously, which was a great humiliation.
Then, in the past month and a half, Hans went to five auctions and successfully took down 12 storage units, losing 80,000 dollars!
Reality slapped him in the face and made him realize his own ability.
He called on Lu Guan, who had gradually become the leader of some of the company's local storage auctions in Phoenix. He had excellent hearing and had been to big events with Li Du. He had accumulated a lot of experience and could already take charge of things on his own.
Together with Lu Guan, they participated in two more auctions and finally made a profit. They had earned a total of 55,000 dollars.
This money could not make up for the amount he had lost, but at least it made him look better.
In short, he was finally convinced that he had to rely on Li Du to survive in this industry. It was better for him to focus on being Li Du's assistant and help Li Du deal with the items that he won.
Li Du had long sensed Hans's unease. In fact, he had been very careful to protect Hans's pride. For example, he had given Hans a way out, which was to collect information and deal with the goods.
A lot of rumors had been spreading in the outside world, saying that Hans was his follower and so on. There were even some nasty ones that said that Hans was his mistress.
Li Du knew that there was a knot in Hans's heart, but he could not unravel it. He could only let Hans deal with it himself.
This was part of the reason why he left the United States early for the New Year.
Lu Guan had already reported Hans's performance at the auction in full detail to him. As expected, without Li Du's guidance, Hans could not handle the high-value auctions and had repeatedly failed.
From a positive point of view, Hans already knew the difference between the two of them, and he also knew his own position.
However, Li Du was not sure how firm his beliefs were, so he decided to help him strengthen his beliefs. As soon as he came back, he decided to take the initiative to lead the team to the auction.
Before that, he gave Hans a task. He could not blindly attack him, but he had to keep him confident.
Hans had done nothing wrong. There was nothing to say about their relationship. Li Du cherished their friendship and hoped that it would last for a lifetime.
He took out the ten paintings that he had brought from China and said, "Help me deal with these."
During this time, except for the diamonds from Remonin, he did not have much income. Instead, he had a lot of money flowing out. The construction of Seagull Island was in full swing, and the diamond mine in Amengda was also in operation, which required a lot of money to be invested.
Fortunately, he had an opal mine in Lightning Ridge. There were gemstone veins in the mine, and he could earn some money every few days.
Hans opened the oil painting, looked at the signature, and wondered, "Spoilum? Which master is this? Why haven't I heard of his name? "
Li Du said, "Anyway, this is an antique. It has been around for at least two centuries. Can you get rid of it?"
Hans hesitated and said, "If you just want me to get rid of it, of course, that's not a problem. But if you want to sell it for a high price, I can't guarantee that."
He further explained, "Antique collecting needs a market, not a simple age. I believe in your judgment. These paintings may be two centuries old, but if no one knows this painter, or if people don't approve of his paintings …"
At this point, he shook his head repeatedly.
Li Du said confidently, "He may not be that famous, but he definitely has some fame."
Hans nodded and said, "I'll sort them out first and find an oil painting expert to help me appraise them. Then we can talk about the specific value."
Li Du's positioning of him was very accurate. Hans was outgoing, eloquent, and very capable. He was suitable for external communication.
In just two days, the paintings were sorted out, and he invited an expert from the Arizona Oil Painting Gallery to appraise the paintings.
Sorting out these paintings was not an easy task. Most of the paintings were sealed with oil wax. If they were opened hastily, the pigments inside would oxidize and lose their color.
For example, when Liu Shan Yang opened two paintings, the colors had already become dull and did not look as good.
Fortunately, he knew what was good and what was bad. After noticing the changes in the paintings, he did not continue to open the other paintings and preserved them in good condition.
After being treated with anti-oxidation, the paintings retained their original colors. The colors were bright, bold, and the contrast of light was clear.
Hans mounted the paintings and wrapped them in copper-plated frames, which made them look more classy.
Looking at the portraits in the paintings, Li Du whistled and said, "Wow, it's beautiful."
Hans invited an oil painting expert named Logan Stanley. He worked as a consultant at the Arizona Oil Painting Gallery and was a colleague of Sophie's parents. He was also a doctoral tutor at the State University College of Art.
After Li Du found out about his identity, he specially brought Sophie along when he met him.
Sure enough, Mr. Logan and Sophie knew each other. When they met, the two of them hugged. The old man smiled and said, "So this is little Sophie's boyfriend. We've heard about him from that old ball, Martin, many times. Oh, he looks like an outstanding lad."
Li Du smiled and nodded, then invited him to inspect the paintings.
The old man put on his tortoiseshell glasses and said, "Spoilum, this is an outstanding oil painting master. I didn't expect you to find so many of his well-preserved works."
Hearing this, Li Du felt much more at ease. These paintings should be of some value.
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