America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 283 Artworks

Colonel Wood signed the contract, feeling refreshed. He then called over several female officers from the base to massage the shoulders and backs of these capitalists, even starting the massage right there in front of them, and taking out hookahs from his drawer.

To fit in, the leader didn't refuse this time, but it was limited to physical contact.

Sig stood in the corner watching their underhanded dealings and backroom deals. He was speechless.

Damn it, you beast!

The party didn't end until around 2 p.m.

During this period, Zhang Ailun also received a message from Reco, the manager of Parker Company.

He glanced at it and found that the batch of electronic waste from the waste processing center needed his approval and signature as the big boss. He replied to Lei Ke, informing him that he could wait for him at the waste processing center.

He immediately prepared to leave and declined Colonel Wood's invitation to the party.

With a warm farewell from the other party, I exited the VIP lounge.

"If you like her, I can give her a leave of absence so she can spend two days with you," Colonel Wood said, a cigarette dangling from his lips, gesturing to the female officer accompanying him.

They were completely open and honest, having sex right in front of each other.

The female officer was also blonde with blue eyes, a hot figure, tanned skin, and a heroic air.

Zhang Ailun knew her somewhat; he had asked her name at a party before. She had graduated from high school and had not received any military training. She was previously a cashier at a convenience store, but she met a major by chance while delivering food. Through her own hard work, she eventually became a female officer at a military base.

Although she was just a staff member in the humanities and logistics department, you can imagine how difficult her journey has been, how much she has sacrificed, and how inspiring it is!

Zhang Ailun politely declined Colonel Wood's offer: "I have some things to take care of at my company, so it's not convenient. Perhaps we can reschedule?"

The female officer was clearly disappointed after hearing this, after all, she knew that the leader was extremely wealthy, having acquired a company with annual revenue of over 100 million, made his fortune by selling oil fields, lived in a wealthy villa area in Los Angeles, and also owned a private estate and ranch.

He's definitely a highly eligible bachelor.

If she could get close to the leader, she could simply choose to retire honorably and enjoy life.

After all, if one relies on back channels to become a non-commissioned officer, their career path is basically over.

Even if they can't get married, if they can have two children for the leader, they'll be set for life.

Colonel Wood also expressed his regret, saying that he would have to leave it for next time. He watched as the leader of the headquarters got into the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, waved goodbye, and left the military base.

As they passed through the town, Zhang Ailun also saw military vehicles from a military base parked on the roadside through the window, along with several fully armed soldiers and FBI agents. Under the watchful eyes of onlookers, they directly detained several motel guests and put them into the car.

"Boss, these must be those unlucky auditors, right? Why were they so violent? They beat them until they bled?"

Sieg also saw that one of the auditors had been beaten black and blue, seemingly trying to fight back but being brutally beaten. If there hadn't been so many people around, they would most likely have been shot and killed. Even so, their fate would definitely not be good.

"No need to stop, just go," Zhang Ailun instructed Sig.

Sieg nodded, and without pausing, stepped on the gas and drove away from the town.

At 3 p.m., we returned to the waste disposal center in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Zhang Ailun got out of the car and saw his supervisor, Lei Ke, who had been waiting for a long time, as well as several Beggar Clan disciples and venue staff.

There were also several garbage trucks outsourced by Parker for transporting goods.

Zhang Ailun led his men over to greet them. Lei Ke and the others also warmly welcomed their leader, saying, "Boss, you're here! This waste processing center also has a recycling contract with us; we have 100 tons of electronic waste that needs to be recycled."

"Isn't there a relevant supervisor to handle this kind of thing?" Zhang Ailun asked.

"Boss, in the past, it was the owner of Parker or the head of the acquisition department who signed off, but now that the company has been acquired by you, the process has changed. You need to sign and stamp it first before we can proceed with the normal purchase transaction," Reco explained. "The cost price of these 100 tons of electronic waste is not cheap either."

"How expensive can it be? Even if it's expensive, it's still just some scrap. It can't be worth more than $100,000 in recycling fees, can it?" Zhang Ailun asked doubtfully.

"No, not really. The most expensive electronic waste is just large-screen LCD TVs and monitors, which cost $7.5 per pound. This hundred tons of waste is all sorts of things, and at most it's worth around $6. But there's another shipment in there, some DVDs from film companies. They want to sell them to us in a package. The staff said they're videotapes produced by some Hollywood film companies from the last century, which are no longer available on the market, and they want to sell them to us for $10," Reco said.

"Let me see it." Zhang Ailun had already learned about this through intelligence, and immediately signaled Lei Ke to buy those erotic videos and discs for him to look at. How could he know their value if he didn't look at them?

Whether it's worth $100,000 or not, the Grand Master will know at a glance.

Reco immediately found the equipment for playing discs and videotapes, got the videotapes and discs from the staff, inserted them and tested the playback. Soon, a color picture appeared on the LCD screen.

The logo is a horseshoe print, and it also includes the manufacturer and director.

Although the picture quality is a bit poor, it's clear that Hollywood directors from the last century still had some talent. The movie is at least 1 hour and 30 minutes long, and the plot and casting are very well done. The camera work, costumes, and props are also very meticulous. The lewd plot is interspersed with everyday life before getting to the main story. The movie is set in the West and is a proper Western cowboy story.

It tells the story of a female bounty hunter who, after intervening in a fight against injustice, encounters corrupt police officers, is imprisoned and persecuted, fights back, escapes, and lives a carefree life thereafter.

Isn't this just an American TV series without the Pistons cut scenes?

It's all refined grains.

The only drawback might be that the male actors weren't very muscular, after all, such standards weren't in place in the 60s.

The leader threw himself into it completely. He gave the Western film a thumbs up and asked Seager, "If you were to spend money to collect this film, how much would you be willing to pay? The female lead was a very famous adult film star at the time."

"I wouldn't be willing to spend a single cent," Sieg said matter-of-factly.

"Very good, you've already inherited my true teachings, but not much. You've only passed on my freeloading techniques," Zhang Ailun said irritably.

No wonder you're still single. Aside from relying on the leader to find you resources, you'd starve to death if you went out to find food yourself.

Being extremely stingy is also part of the reason.

"I think wealthy people who lived in the 60s and 70s must really miss old movies. I think there was a rare, out-of-print pornographic videotape of a porn star that sold for $120,000 at an auction in Florida," Reco explained. "It's not pornography, it's art!"

"Are these rich people all out of their minds? Buying this thing for 120,000?" Sig's lips twitched.

Good art, art is just being a rogue. Zhang Ailun, however, thought of old George, old Carl, old Jack, and even Madison, these rich old men.

What market isn't a market?

It's easier to make money off old men.

After thinking it over, looking at the box of videotapes, he immediately and generously told the staff, "One hundred thousand US dollars, I can buy this batch of goods. You can pack it up and put it away now."

He then said to the Beggars' Sect disciple beside him, "Find someone to appraise the best films in the collection, pick them out and organize them; I need them."

"Great, my boss is crazy," Sieg muttered.

"If you say another word, I'll torture you like the corrupt sheriff in the movies who tortures female bounty hunters!" Zhang Ailun viciously raised his middle finger. You want a beating, huh? Daring to challenge your boss.

Sieg immediately became obedient.

"I'll buy these 100 tons of high-quality electronic waste at market price, $60,000. Add that batch of discs, and it'll be $160,000 in total. Are you sure there are 100 tons of this here?" Zhang Ailun asked the staff, looking at the mountain of garbage.

"There are too many quantities to weigh carefully, so let's just say one hundred tons."

The staff member said, "The quantity is more than you expect. I'm only offering you a discount because I have a contract with your company."

"It also costs us money to deal with this garbage. Just paying our employees a day's wages costs tens of thousands of dollars. The factory's machinery and equipment, water and electricity costs, car rental costs—all of these cost money," Zhang Ailun said irritably.

Although it can be profitable, the competition is fierce. The former owner of Parker was brought down by malicious competition. Without some strength, it's not easy to do any business.

"Let's load the goods then. Reco, settle the bill for them." Zhang Ailun waved to the outsourced driver next to him, signaling him to bring over the garbage truck. Then he pulled up a stool and sat down to watch them load the electronic waste onto the truck.

The Beggars' Sect disciples took turns being responsible for professional appraisal.

The film and storyline initially make viewers feel incredibly aroused and their blood is pumping, but this only happens at the beginning. After a while, they become numb, lose interest, and experience aesthetic fatigue.

Even if the actress was a once-popular sex symbol in the last century, tall and hot, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and played various roles such as Catwoman, Alien, Superwoman, etc., and Little Butterfly was also very beautiful, they would still be tired of seeing her.

Playing at 12x speed, several people took turns to appreciate the videos. It was only with great difficulty that they managed to pick out the best films of popular porn stars from hundreds of videotapes. By the time they came out of the room, they felt completely drained and exhausted.

"Boss, it's all here. There are 12 rare, out-of-print films and 9 regular films. The genres are all Westerns that the old man likes, as well as alien sci-fi, aliens, royalty, finance, workplace, and so on. They'll definitely like it!" The Beggar Clan disciple handed the carefully selected films to the leader.

"Go back and soak some fish maw and eat some sea cucumber to replenish your energy." Zhang Ailun patted them on the shoulder, praised them, and then took out $200 as a bonus and gave it to them, one for each person.

The disciples of our Beggars' Sect are truly full of talent; they can use any profession.

Anyway, the leader has no interest in screening films; that's too much trouble.

The Beggars' Sect disciples were all smiles after receiving the money, instantly feeling full of energy and restored to their former vitality. They could even continue to appraise yellow without blinking.

On the other side of the construction site, with the help of excavators and specialized facilities, one hundred tons of electronic waste were quickly loaded onto trucks.

Having settled things here, Zhang Ailun simply said goodbye to Lei Ke, took the discs and videotapes, and led his men away from the construction site.

After getting into the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, he had Sieg drive him to Los Angeles. During the drive, he also took out his phone to send a message to old George and old Carl.

Zhang Ailun: Do you want some high-quality short films? If you do, I'll sell them to you cheaply. It's a rare Hollywood blockbuster, original DVD, starring a popular adult film star. I'll sell it to you for $8 a copy.

The old men: ? ? ?

No, are you robbing me?

Old George: What the hell is so expensive?

Zhang Ailun: There are so many kinds! There are Westerns, royal disputes, Wall Street workplace dramas, aliens—all rare films from the last century, banned from sale now. You simply can't buy them outside. You can buy dinosaur fossils, but you definitely can't buy these rare, high-quality films!

Old Jack scoffed: I don't believe it. I won't buy it.

Zhang Ailun: I knew you couldn't afford it, you old poor bastard. Did you think I was trying to sell it to you?

Old Jack: ...? What do you mean?

Old Carl: Eighty thousand dollars? I could use that to support a high school girl!! When did you switch to selling pornographic videotapes?!

Zhang Ailun: The price is negotiable. Since you haven't seen it, I can send you a DVD. You can make a decision after you watch it. This is a work of art! Don't judge art with vulgar eyes! Erotic films have sold for $12 at auctions before.

Old George: If it's a rare, out-of-print film of Carrie, I might consider it for $10,000. After all, someone asked me before if I had such a collectible, and I think quite a few people would like to collect it.

Zhang Ailun: Deal! What kind of movie do you want?

Old George: ...

No, you actually have one?

Seeing that a deal had been completed, Zhang Ailun nodded in satisfaction, thinking, "I knew this thing wouldn't lack sales."

I then forwarded the message to Madison, inquired about his current situation, and asked him if he was interested in buying the discs.

Madison: Mr. King, you've heard about what happened on my island? Oh! It was a disaster! Those sons of bitches CIA ruined my party. Thank goodness you left early and weren't affected, otherwise, if I invited you over again, you'd definitely ask if I had any CIA members at home. They ruined my reputation and innocence! But don't worry too much, I've already hired a lawyer, and I'll find someone to help me get revenge and make them suffer for a while!

Madison: By the way, what did you say you were going to sell?

Zhang Ailun: I spent a lot of money to acquire a batch of rare Hollywood films from the last century, as well as Playboy and other film company products. I think you might be interested in collecting them.

Madison: You have something like that? I love it! Hahaha!! But I'm not into the actresses, since I can't touch them anyway. I'm after its uniqueness! If they were still alive, I could even invite them over to watch the film and recreate the scene – just thinking about it is amazing. I'll buy as many of these premium films as you have! How about $50,000 a copy?

Zhang Ailun: OK!

It has to be you, Madison, no wonder you're such a great collector.

They accept everything, and they don't haggle over prices.

He's practically an upgraded version of the sophisticated Old George.

But are you serious about inviting the actress herself?

Even if they're still alive, they're all old babies now, and I'm really afraid you'll cause someone's death.

After chatting with the other party for a few more minutes, they agreed that the video would be mailed over later. Zhang Ailun also left the other party with a bank account number, and the deal was easily completed.

Sieg drove back to the streets of Los Angeles.

Zhang Ailun got out of the car halfway through the journey, chased Sieg away, and sat in the driver's seat, letting them arrange their own work and find things to do.

Afterwards, they drove to Armed Nation to inspect Jennifer and Eileen's work and, incidentally, to distribute their share of the arms sales bonuses.

It wasn't because the Grand Master got aroused by the female officer and the videotape.

(End of this chapter)