money player

Chapter 729 The Perfect Scam Target

"Is everything going well?"

"We didn't encounter any problems."

"Be careful over there, and bring me a Portuguese version of 'War and Peace' when you come back."

Quan Xu quickly realized that the man in "War and Peace" was instructing him to send some money to Andrei Bolkonsky.

"Anything else?"

"No need. Take care of yourself. You kid, watch out, don't shoot every rabbit you see."

"Sir, I have never hunted in Brazil."

"I'd be a fool to believe you. Get your health checked more often. Bye."

After hanging up the phone, Sin Yiu-man glanced at his watch. The call had lasted less than a minute; he wouldn't be taken advantage of.

Calls from New York to Rio de Janeiro cost $24 per minute—not too expensive. He has a lot of international communications to do with it, and without careful budgeting, the communication costs could bankrupt him.

It was four o'clock in the afternoon, the sun wasn't too strong, and he took a new Yellow Pages book and sat by the window, flipping to the Greenwich Village section and browsing the list from top to bottom.

Landlords in Greenwich Village fall into three categories. The first category consists of early Italian and Irish immigrants, whose families own multiple apartment buildings and control most of the properties.

The second category consists of landlords with ties to organized crime, whose tenants are mostly illegal immigrants.

The third category consists of artists who made a name for themselves early on or who already had some savings before coming here. They buy properties and rent them to other artists, allowing tenants to pay the rent with their paintings or poems.

He was looking for the names of landlords like this, to see if he recognized any. When you're desperate, you have to be resourceful; you might as well pick up any bargains you can find.

From the list, he saw Jack Kerouac, the key figure of the "Beat Generation," the very person who defined the meaning of "Beat."

The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement initiated by a group of writers whose works explored and influenced American culture and politics after World War II.

Judging from Christian moral standards, the Beat Generation is nothing but trash: drug addicts, thieves, homosexuals, bisexuals, murderers—there's always a label that fits the names of its members and writers. Even the most respectable writers are full of disdain for erotic fiction, and their first works are full of explicit erotica.

The Beat Generation took one step forward and became the hippies, who led the popular culture of the United States in the 1950s and 60s.

Recalling the Beat Generation literature he knew, although he had only read *On the Road*, he could still recall quite a few titles such as *Howl*, *Naked Lunch*, *The Dharma Bums*, *Nova Express*, and *Drug Addicts*.

"The Beat Generation, take out the beat, Beat it, the most direct meaning is to defeat it, but it can also be extended to get out of the way, stay away, don't get involved, give up, quit, shut up, or the sound of hitting a musical beat. If you add Just, Just beat it, it's quite powerful and can be used as an anti-violence slogan, but it sounds a bit familiar..."

He snapped his fingers and muttered, "Avoid lightning, avoid lightning!"

A moment later, a project formed in his mind—to open a publishing house called "Just Beat It" in Greenwich Village, mainly publishing works by the Beat Generation, as well as some unconventional works, taking a cool route, and fighting endless lawsuits all year round, such as obscenity and poisoning teenagers, trying to turn every court appearance into a fashion show to cater to the hippie era.

Books shouldn't be too expensive; fewer hardcover editions, more paperback editions, and pocket editions.

Pocket books use a small amount of paper, so you can purchase some scrap paper for printing, which can significantly reduce costs. They are also convenient to carry in your pocket, so you can take them on the subway or bus and read them during spare moments.

For teenagers under the supervision of parents and teachers, pocket books are easy to hide.

If JBT finds the right product, it may become an instant hit and enter a profitable period within two or three months of operation.

"There are about 2700 million full-time housewives in the United States, and at least half of them are sexually frustrated and yearning for love. This is a huge market."

The most common names shared by women born in the 1920s and 30s are Mary, Linda, Patricia, Barbara, Susan, and Nancy.

They released a book called "Mrs. Mary's Salesman Lover," catering to the sexual fantasies of stay-at-home wives, priced at 40 or 50 cents, making it easy for them to scrape together money from their daily expenses.

Take out a pen and paper, and draw a fist breaking glass on the paper, symbolizing breaking rules, constraints, or anything else, so that whoever sees it can discover for themselves the Hamlet they want to break.

This is the JBT logo, usually printed in the lower left corner of a book cover, with a fist pointing diagonally upwards, giving the impression of breaking the book title.

His drawing skills were still terrible, but it was easy to understand what he was trying to express. It was a good opportunity to place an order with Ogilvy to test the illustrator's skills.

It's all nonsense. Before Photoshop, all advertising images had to be drawn by hand. His fist is too simple. Even a novice could produce a perfect drawing. What's the point of testing it? It's just a matter of transferring the drawing from one hand to the other to save money.

He closed the notebook, sat on the sofa, picked up the phone, and dialed the number.

"I am Adam Ford, looking for Miss Christina."

After waiting for more than a minute, Christina's voice came from the other end of the line, "This is Christina, hello Mr. Adam."

"Miss Christina, do you have time tonight? I'd like to invite you to sit down and discuss the issues from last time again."

"I'm sorry, I already have dinner appointments, I won't be free until after 8 pm."

"It's alright, 8:30, Oak Hall, Plaza Hotel, I'll be waiting for you in the hotel lobby."

"OK."

As soon as he put down the microphone, Xian Yaowen heard the sound of the door opening. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw Wang Xiamin walking in from outside, carrying two shopping bags from Alexander Department Store.

"Did you go to the Bronx or Brooklyn?"

“The Bronx.” Wang Xiamin sat down next to Xian Yaowen.

"Why did you go to Alexandria? Manhattan has plenty of upscale department stores."

“Alexander’s items are cheaper.” Wang Xiamin took a dress out of her shopping bag. “The exact same dress sells for $29.95 at Macy’s, but only $19.95 at Alexander, a difference of $10.”

"It's a different brand, isn't it?"

"The brand doesn't matter, the style and material are the same anyway." Wang Xiamin held up the dress against herself a couple of times. "Sir, will this dress look good on me?"

"Okay, get ready, let's go to Central Park for dinner."

"Ah."

Twenty minutes later, Wang Xiamin, dressed in a new outfit, went out arm in arm with Xian Yaowen.

The two dined at the boathouse restaurant. Appetizers and main courses were served at the dining table, while dessert was moved to the boat. A small boat was rowed to the middle of the lake, where they whispered sweet nothings to each other under the moonlight and the restaurant lights.

After a breathtakingly long kiss, Wang Xiamin, her cheeks flushed, started talking about something to distract herself: "Song Gen thinks his name doesn't sound good, and he wants to change it to Zhaohui."

"Although Songgen has a story behind it, it does not sound very nice. A good name can bring many hidden benefits, so it's good to change it."

"That's what I think too, but Mom disagrees."

"Just take your time with the work. How's Ali been lately? Has she been behaving well?"

“She’s not very well-behaved. I stopped her allowance, but she still has money to spend,” Wang Xiamin said resentfully. “Sir, the red envelopes you gave her were too big.”

"For girls, personality is a minor issue. As long as they don't get fooled by men, that's fine. Ali has a good attitude and is an optimist. She'll be fine in the future. After she finishes junior high, we'll send her to study in the United States. As long as she gets past the racial discrimination hurdle, the road ahead will be smooth."

"is this okay?"

"Ah."

Wang Xiali's personality hasn't changed much. If she stays in Hong Kong, she'll easily be seen as "unconventional" by others. Going to the United States would be better. Obtaining a higher degree and then returning to Hong Kong would be like adding hundreds of points of defense.

Everyone wears colored glasses. Domestic violence by an academician and domestic violence by a thug, a beautiful woman picking her nose and an ugly woman picking her nose, are completely different things in the eyes of onlookers.

"When I left, Xiaobai was about to give birth again, and her belly was even bigger than last time."

"It's quite prolific in giving birth. After it finished, its daughter was almost ready to have children. In another year, we won't be able to keep it all at home, so we'll only keep one male with it and give the others away."

"That's not a good idea. They might get eaten before they even grow up."

"There's nothing we can do about it. We can't keep them all at home. We'll just have to leave it to fate and see what happens to them."

Wang Xiamin thought about it for a moment. If she didn't give them away now, raising them for two more generations could result in thousands of them. She didn't even want to think about what would happen next. It was better to end it now than suffer for a long time. She decided to control the number as soon as possible.

"That's the only way."

Did you know that many artists live in Greenwich Village?

"I know."

"Tomorrow I'll give you a list and send someone to help you buy paintings from them. Don't buy too many; just buy one fine piece from each person."

There are two things to keep in mind: don't haggle over an exorbitant price, but if it's a last-minute creation, just haggle for a reasonable price. Don't leave the artist resentful. Most painters who make it big have endured a lot of hardship, so it's normal for them to be resentful and narrow-minded.

Also, please take a photo with the painter and his artwork. If you'd like, you can take a photo with him too. I'll select some photos later and have a reporter publish them in the newspaper. The headline will be "Mysterious Eastern Aristocracy: Buying Large Quantities of Paintings in Greenwich Village."

"Is the gentleman trying to create a media frenzy?"

"It may seem like hype, but it's actually leaving evidence. Artworks can only sell for high prices if someone is promoting them. What do speculators want? Nothing more than fame and fortune. The painting you buy has little to do with the speculator's interests. They put a lot of effort into driving up the price, and they may not want you to benefit from it. Without evidence, there's nothing they can do if they say it's a fake."

"So you have to stir-fry it along with the other ingredients when you're stir-frying it?"

"Ideally, if you hear that a painter's work has suddenly skyrocketed in price, it's most likely because someone is speculating on it. They send it to an auction house, sell it at a low price with one hand, and buy it at a high price with the other, completing a change of hands, and the price of the painting goes up."

"I heard that auction houses charge sellers commissions and all sorts of other fees, which can add up to a lot of money."

Xian Yaowen chuckled and said, "That's for laymen. The commission for buying and selling directly is negotiable. I estimate 3% would be about right. If we do business together often, we can get more discounts."

"Is that how auction houses work?"

"It's just about making a living. You think it's so noble? Actually, auction houses are not much different from the old-fashioned matchmakers. They're doing unethical business. But you know, you can't really leave this industry. You buy and sell to yourself again and again, and then you sell when you find someone who offers a high price."

"The price is inflated, why would anyone buy it? Are they going to buy it and then resell it themselves?"

"It's not impossible. Once the price is high enough, a further 30-40% increase could make a lot of money. Also, art can be used as a tool for wealth transfer, or even as a washing machine; it has quite a few uses."

The two chatted on the boat for more than an hour, then strolled to the vicinity of the fountain. Wang Xiamin bought some cat food from a cat food vendor and fed it to the stray cats playing by the fountain.

Wang Xiamin really likes cats; she pets one after another, enjoying it immensely.

She didn't know much about cat breeds and mistook a shorthair for a tabby. Sin Yiu-man educated her about American cat breeds and also noticed a Russian Blue cat. I don't know how this guy managed to survive; it's worth $150, yet it's a stray.

Looking around, he spotted a man whose face screamed "down-and-out." Xian Yaowen waved to him and said, "Hey, buddy, come over here."

The man looked bewildered and pointed to his nose.

"Yeah, it's you, come over here."

The man approached. "Sir, how can I help you?"

The man's tone, so clearly indicating his profession, made it immediately clear to Sin Yiu-man that he had previously worked as a waiter in a high-end establishment.

Have you had dinner yet?

"No."

Sin Yiu-man pointed at the blue cat, “I’ll give you 50 cents for dinner. You take this cat, give it a bath, and tomorrow take it to the rich neighborhood to sell to a wealthy lady. It can fetch $200. If you can tell stories, you can sell it for even more.”

The man said excitedly, "Thank you so much, how can I possibly repay you?"

Do you recognize this kind of cat?

“I’ve seen elegant ladies holding Russian Blue cats before.”

Sin Yiu-man took out 50 cents and put it in the man's hand. "Being discouraged won't solve anything. You're only a short distance away from $200. Siamese and Persian cats can sell for tens of dollars, and even shorthaired cats can sell for $10. Okay, I hope the cat can help you get through this."

"Thank you again, how can I possibly repay you?"

"No need to repay me. When you are able, give the 50 cents to someone in need."

“I will, I promise,” the man said solemnly.

Xian Yaowen chuckled, "It's time to go catch the cat. It's harder to catch one once it's full."

After saying that, Xian Yaowen squatted back down next to Wang Xiamin.

"Sir, once he gets a taste of the profits from selling cats, will he steal cats to sell?"

“Valuable cats can only steal from rich people’s homes. This is America. If a cat dares to enter a house, the owner will shoot it dead. It has no chance to become a great evil.”

"Oh, when I get back to Hong Kong, I'll go to the countryside and get a tabby cat to raise."

"Try a different breed. The tabby cat is very independent and not easy to tame. When we were still in Wenchangwei, we had a cat that caught mice. It would go out at night and come back to sleep during the day. It was never home."

"It's good that she's not clingy; I can't always be with her."

"In the eyes of a tabby cat, you are a servant who brings it food and water. When you want to pet it, it may not pay attention to you. If you dare to force it, it will scratch your face."

"Is that so?" Wang Xiamin asked with a puzzled look. "My neighbor used to have one, and it seemed quite well-behaved."

"Then you can try raising one."

"Ah."

The two stayed in the park until 8:20. Sin Yiu-man saw Wong Ha-man into the car, and then walked to the street in the southeast corner of the park, which led to the entrance of the Plaza Hotel.

Upon entering the lobby, he booked a presidential suite at the front desk. At $300 a night, it was an exorbitant price at the time, but it was already quite an achievement that it was available. A few years ago, he wouldn't have been eligible to stay there at all. The presidential suite was truly created for the president.

After completing the formalities and taking a seat in the lobby, the butler came over to serve us. The butler handles or takes over all the services provided by the hotel, which is quite impressive.

Sin Yiu-man was slightly moved, and inspiration suddenly struck him. He took out his notebook and began to outline a story about a conman.

The presidential suite is impressive, but adding a beautiful secretary and four burly bodyguards makes it even more impressive. As long as the protagonist is handsome and has a slightly noble air, he can pull off the scam.

He quickly wrote down all the feasible plans in his notebook, then carefully considered each one, eliminating those that couldn't be dramatic. His attention then settled on the first plan: "To coax a Hollywood actress into endorsing the product."

The faces of female celebrities flashed through his mind, and he finally settled on Marilyn Monroe. She was perfect for the role of a big-breasted, brainless, and naive girl, so she became the second female lead.

How to scam?
He promised to invest in a film and cast Marilyn Monroe as the lead actress.

The plot of this film needs to be conveyed through dialogue within the storyline; if the film...

Sin Yiu-man wrote "The Perfect Mark" in his notebook. The direct Chinese translation is "Perfect Scam Target". To make it more appealing, it can be translated as "Scam within a scam", "Scammer of the World", or "The Greatest Scammer in American History".

If it flows into a socialist country, it could also be a decadent capitalist deception, the inherent flaws of capitalism, the collapsing American empire, or the American empire in dire straits.

The film's plot summary is presented in the dialogue. If "The Perfect Mark" performs well at the box office, they could then proceed to film a story within the story.

What story?
The story of another female con artist?
The seemingly innocent girl is actually the big boss, creating a surprising contrast?
It seems promising, so we can't reveal too much about the story in the dialogue.

But could Marilyn Monroe have played the role well?
With these questions in mind, Sin Yiu-man continued to develop his story.

The male lead plays the role of a prince from a certain country, and the project he uses to commit fraud is the construction of a canal. Which real project is it based on?

St. Lawrence Seaway?

No, the project is too big, and it might already be under discussion between the US and Canada.

To create a fictional Suez Canal?

That's not good either; anyone with eyes can see that it's not dramatic enough.

Is the North Sea Canal in the Netherlands being expanded?

This is good; the project isn't big, but it has a buzz.

Sin Yiu-man wrote "Holland" on his notebook, then separated the word into "Hol" and "Land," thinking of words that sounded similar to "Holland" and had similar letter combinations.

After a long pause, he thought of a Hungarian word, "Hol Van," which means "where it is."

It's decided that the male lead will play a prince from Holvan. A few days after the film's release, a film critic pointed out the meaning of this word in his review, which will probably cause the box office to soar.

While Sin Yiu-man was engrossed in his writing, Christina arrived and sat on the sofa diagonally opposite him, saying, "May I kiss you?"

“Yeah, if your dinner isn’t garlic butter steak.”

Christina smiled and leaned in to kiss Xian Yaowen twice, then said with a smile, "I had blue cheese for dinner."

Xian Yaowen deliberately wiped his mouth and sneered, "No wonder it smells like stinky socks."

Christina glanced at him sideways, took out a cigarette from her bag and lit it. "Take me home tomorrow morning. I don't want my colleagues to laugh at me."

"As long as you can get up."

"Wake me up."

"Let's go upstairs for a drink."

"uh-huh."

Sin Yiu-man got up and gave the butler ten dollars as a tip, letting him go home. He then led Christina toward the private elevator.

Upon reaching the top floor and exiting the elevator, Christina asked, "You booked the presidential suite?"

"Yes."

"Unbelievable!" Christina exclaimed. "I can't believe I'm staying in the presidential suite!"

"Don't be so surprised, you can afford it too."

“Staying here for one night will bankrupt me.” Christina tugged at Sin Yiu-man’s hand. “Hurry up and open the door. I can’t wait to see the 5000-square-foot room.”

"uh-huh."

Upon reaching the door and opening it, Christina exclaimed "Wow!" and rushed inside.

Sin Yiu-man glanced inside and felt disgusted.

The light from the crystal chandelier shines on the gilded furniture, creating a dazzling golden effect. This is the current trend of top-tier European palace style, where gemstones are paired with gold, making it expensive but also gaudy.

He tossed the key behind him, went to the shoe cabinet, took out a pair of dark blue mules to change into, and then took out a pair of champagne gold ones to examine.

The shoes were made of velvet and had the letters "K" and "M" embroidered on the outside. These were the initials of Christine Morgan, the name he casually gave at the front desk. He didn't expect the hotel to act so quickly.

The lining is silk, and I can't tell if it's from inland China. The sole is soft leather, which is non-slip and quiet. A glance at the stitching reveals that it's definitely handmade, and by a master craftsman.

These shoes are not easy to make, but the profit margin must be substantial. If they can secure orders from a few top hotels, it would be enough to support dozens of master craftsmen. Then, using this as a brand, they can enter the custom shoe market.

"Adam."

"uh-huh."

"Come over here."

Sin Yiu-man looked up and saw Christina lying on the sofa like Sleeping Beauty.

Stepping forward and looking down, I thought, "Is Snow White waiting for the prince's kiss?"

Christina chuckled and said, "Cinderella is waiting for the prince to give her a castle."

"Do you like it here?"

"I really like it, and I want to decorate my house like this when I buy one in the future."

"So, you haven't started paying off your mortgage yet?"

"Yes."

"Why? You're the manager."

"You think managers are paid a lot?"

"Did Ava tell you?"

"Yes, how much salary will you pay me?"

"How much are you doing now?"

"$152."

"Your salary is quite good for a woman."

"My expenses are high; my clothes and cosmetics must be of the best quality."

"Does the company not provide subsidies?"

"No."

"$140, plus a monthly clothing allowance of $140."

“It’s only an extra $1000 a year, which isn’t very attractive to me. Your company is newly established, so maybe…” Christina shrugged.

Sin Yiu-man nodded slightly. "I understand your concerns, so I'll give you an extra benefit: a $2 limit. You can choose a house and renovate it, but the house won't belong to you for the time being."

Each workday you work can offset $8 of your debt. Once you've paid it off, the house is yours. If you leave the job midway, you can pay off the remaining debt, and the house will still be yours.

If the company goes bankrupt, congratulations, you don't have to pay the remaining debt, and the house will be yours directly.

Christina hooked her arm around Xian Yaowen's neck. "Why don't you just give me a weekly wage of $180?"

"My salary is paid by the company, but the house is paid for by me personally."

"So your company will have partners in the future?"

“Not in the future, we already have partners.” Xian Yaowen lifted Christina’s buttocks and carried her towards the conference room. “I hope you can become a partner in the future.”

"I also have a chance?"

"Why not? In theory, everyone in the company has the opportunity to become a partner."

"Actually?"

"Only a few people will not be able to get shares."

"Going public?"

"Smart." Xian Yaowen pushed open the conference room door and carried Christina to the conference table. "Have you tried it in the conference room?"

Christina, with a seductive look in her eyes, said, "No."

"Try?"

"Why not?" Christina took the initiative to kiss Xian Yaowen.

After the frenzy, Sin Yiu-man called his private chef to make a salad and opened a bottle of red wine. He and Christina sat on the bay window and drank together.

Do you have a lot of contact with full-time housewives?

"I've had contact with some of the wives of my colleagues and clients."

Do you think they might fantasize about having an affair with a salesman?

"Definitely, housewives are actually very lonely. Why do you ask that?"

"I'm planning to have someone write a pocket novel about full-time housewives and salespeople, with full-time housewives as the main target audience."

How much profit can a pocket-sized novel generate?

“Normally, I estimate I’ll get a few cents after tax, but I plan to spend a lot on marketing, so I’ll probably lose some money.”

"Why make it at a loss? Is it just to advertise for other books?"

"I have this idea, but the main advertisement is in the book."

Christina, an advertising professional, immediately understood. Her eyes lit up, "You want to integrate advertising into the storyline?"

“Yeah.”

"This is a great idea; you can cram a lot of ads into a book."

“Only one or two are truly memorable, but that’s enough.” Xian Yaowen raised his glass and clinked it against Christina’s. “What does your boyfriend do for a living?”

"Intern doctor".

"surgical?"

"uh-huh."

"Internship year, residency, specialist training, at least seven more years to go?"

“Seven long years.” Christina looked up out the window. “He was very busy, we didn’t see each other often, his income was low, and he couldn’t take me to nice restaurants. Sometimes I really wanted to give up.”

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up."

“No need to apologize.” Christina turned her head and smiled faintly. “I still love him.”

"Damn it, you make me feel guilty."

"Ha, does having a boyfriend mean you can't have a lover?"

Sin Yiu-man shrugged. "You shouldn't be asking me this question. My lover can have a boyfriend, but my girlfriend absolutely cannot have a lover."

"You were just as Ava said."

"what?"

"You have many girlfriends."

"No, I have many wives."

"Holy Mary, please punish this sinner."

"Don't rush to punish me. First, help me conduct a survey. I want to know what a full-time housewife's ideal lover looks like."

"no problem."