Chapter 626: Chapter 626 – The Difference In Being A Wealthy Man
“How much are these?”
After Temasko's evaluation specialist checked through the sculptures one by one and did not indicate any issues, Temasko's a.s.sistant asked.
As the a.s.sistant of a wealthy tyc.o.o.n like Temasko, it was normal for one to know 7-8 languages.
So, the a.s.sistant had no problem communicating with Wei Xiao Bei.
Of course, Wei Xiao Bei himself knew four other modern European languages, which were English, French, Spanish, and Danish. He also knew ancient Sanskrit and was fluent in Western Divine Language.
Even if all these didn't work, they could still communicate in English or French.
Wei Xiao Bei had already set the prices for these Jade Sculptures before their arrival.
Such private sales could not be compared to auctions. During an auction, there would be a horde of people fighting for an item, which could cause the price to bubble. The auction company also needed to absorb some fees.
Wei Xiao Bei's eyes glanced over the Jade Sculptures that Temasko had chosen and quickly calculated their price, “One billion US Dollars!”
Frankly speaking, the items were not worth such a high price, because other than the display items, the rest were made with leftover materials after all. Of course, Wei Xiao Bei's skills themselves were what gave them value.
“OK!
Deal!”
Tomasko was satisfied. He was not a true merchant. It was easy for him to get more money anyway. He had so many oil reserves.
To him, it was already a good deal to buy 4 display items and more than 10 other jade items with merely one billion US dollars.
“Wei, your price is fair. I hope we have more opportunities to work together.”
The Middle-Eastern tyc.o.o.n was forthright in his character indeed. He kept the jade items and immediately got his a.s.sistant to make a call to transfer the money. Within 15 minutes, one billion US dollars appeared on Wei Xiao Bei's account.
The third day after Temasko's quick arrival and departure, Nikovski arrived.
As a Russian tyc.o.o.n, Nikovski came with a group of bodyguards dressed in black. It could be seen that he took his own security very seriously.
As the Middle-eastern tyc.o.o.n bought more than half of the jade items, Wei Xiao Bei was worried that he had too few left, which Nikovski might not fancy. So, he took the time before Nikovski's arrival to carve another display item and other artifacts.
The display item was a polar bear, lying on an iceberg. It looked remarkably real, which caught Nikovski's sight.
It was also fated.
Russians called themselves polar bears, so they naturally fancy this stuff.
It had to be admitted that, compared to the Middle-eastern tyc.o.o.n, the Russian tyc.o.o.n was a little hesitant in making purchases. He took a long while to choose the polar bear and 2 rings, saying that those were for his son's wedding.
Regarding the price, Wei Xiao Bei's asked for three hundred million US dollars. It was normal to pay more for buying merely a single display item.
But even with such a price, the Russian tyc.o.o.n bargained for a long while. Eventually, both parties agreed to the price of two hundred and fifty million US dollars.
In fact, Wei Xiao Bei did not know that this Russian tyc.o.o.n was one of the better ones. At least the price he was willing to pay was not considered low.
Only until the tech company CEO who looked familiar appeared in front of him, did he understand what it meant to be a merchant.
From the time of invitation until his arrival, the CEO Telonkosi endured for a whole week. After he saw these Jade Artifacts, he was full of criticism.
Although he had so much criticism, he chose all of them eventually.
Wei Xiao Bei asked for six hundred million US dollars. There were 2 display items after all, along with more than 10 other Jade Artifacts. This was a fair price.
But Telonkosi acted as if he was shopping in a small shop. He straightaway cut the price to two hundred million US dollars.
Usually, customers bargained to ask for half price. This guy asked for one-third of the price right away.
Wei Xiao Bei understood his intention. This guy wanted to push down the price so he lowballed him. From his delayed arrival to his criticism, he was making preparations to minimize the price.
Frankly speaking, Wei Xiao Bei was a little affected by this. Otherwise, he would not have asked for six hundred million US dollars. Instead, he would have asked for seven hundred million US dollars.
“Six hundred million US dollars. This is the lowest price. If Mr. Telonkosi is not willing, then please leave. I will pay for your airfare and accommodations.”
Wei Xiao Bei's face turned cold. Two hundred million?
Am I a beggar to him? Even the Sheep Fat White Jade cost more than this.
These few chunks of raw Sheep Fat White Jade could already be sold for at least three hundred million.
That was why Wei Xiao Bei spoke a little rudely. Yes, Wei Xiao Bei was not a businessman. To him, this was only a one-time business transaction. After he completed this deal, he would never carve jade to sell again.
Troublesome. What a waste of time.
Making legendary aphrodisiac was much more convenient than this.
“Mr. Wei, the handiwork of these Jade Artifacts is very delicate…”
Wei Xiao Bei did not expect Mr. Telonkosi to not be affected by his att.i.tude at all. He kept on speaking, as though he had not made those criticisms at all.
Finally, Wei Xiao Bei really could not endure his nagging. He dropped the price a few times, eventually to five hundred million.
At this stage, he no longer made concessions. He straightaway summoned Zhao Guang to chase them away.
At this moment, Telonkosi reacted quickly to take out his phone and transfer the money to Wei Xiao Bei's account immediately. After that, he instructed his men to pack up the Jade Artifacts.
As the deal was completed, Wei Xiao Bei did not continue to mock him. Once the money was in his hands, he immediately sent them away.
Although the last deal was made difficult by the weirdo, Telonkosi, Wei Xiao Bei was overall satisfied with the earnings.
1.75 billion US dollars.
After transferring 200 million to Zhu Xin Yi, his account was left with 200 million. All together now, he had 1.95 billion US dollars.
In the blink of an eye, he realized that he had already entered the social strata of a ten-billionaire.
Ten billion, of course, in Chinese currency.
With money in his hand, he felt no anxiety at all.
Next, he had to make a trip to the Kingdom of Lucenia personally.
During this trip, his flight was very smooth. The sky fish were nowhere to be seen. There was only one fighter jet escort now too.
From this, one could say that nothing major happened after that.
After he arrived in the Kingdom of Lucenia, Wei Xiao Bei saw Prince Tamasla immediately after he alighted the aircraft.
“Welcome, Welcome, my beloved Lord Wei Family.”
Tamasla smiled joyfully and gave him a strong hug.
Lord Wei Family?
Wei Xiao Bei knew that in Lucenia, calling someone a n.o.ble would mean enfeoffment and to confer n.o.bility. But calling him Lord Wei Family was a little weird.
After Tamasla hugged him, Zhu Xin Yi, Andre, and the others came as well. So, he had to follow the local custom and hug everyone.
Frankly speaking, hugging Zhu Xin Yi and the other girls felt different from hugging Andre.
The king appointed Tamasla as the minister of foreign trade, which made him very busy. He came to see Wei Xiao Bei this time because he heard the news about him intending to purchase a few more islands. It was doubtlessly good news to Lucenia which was currently tight financially.
Before Tamasla left, he made it clear that he wanted to host a feast for Wei Xiao Bei that night at his residence.
After that, Wei Xiao Bei and the rest came to the beach and traveled to Wei's Family Island by seaplane.
Once they were on the plane, Zhu Xin Yi began introducing to him.
The middle-sized seaplane could take up to 15 pa.s.sengers. It cost a million US dollars. It could take off and land on the sea surface with winds and waves lower than level 3.
In Lucenia, seaplanes were considered the second most frequently used transport. The first was s.h.i.+ps. Other than residents living on the capital island, most of the other citizens owned s.h.i.+ps. Of course, the size of the s.h.i.+ps differed.
Cars were ranked third.
Simply put, an ordinary seaplane was not expensive. The cheapest seaplane that could seat less than 7 people cost only 7,000 US dollars. Yes, those were two-seaters. Seaplanes that were seven-seaters and above would cost more.
A seaplane that could seat 15 pa.s.sengers like the one they were taking would cost over a million, which was already considered cheap.
The reason why Zhu Xin Yi gave him the introduction was simple. She was the one who bought the seaplane.
With Lucenia's transport situation, buying a seaplane was considered normal. Even if she did not buy it, Wei Xiao Bei would have bought it after he knew about the transportation.
However, this was different from spending on infrastructure. It was Zhu Xin Yi's first time spending money on such a luxury. As such, she was a little worried that her teacher would reprimand her for wasting money.
For her, planes were a luxury for sure.
Having heard Zhu Xin Yi's introduction, Wei Xiao Bei asked how many such planes did she buy.
When he heard that only one was purchased, he shook his head, which made Zhu Xin Yi very worried.
“This place is different from our country. We will need these things to travel around, you can buy more.”
What Wei Xiao Bei said next made a surprising turn and finally put Zhu Xin Yi's heart at ease.
As the seaplane draw near to Wei Family Island, Wei Xiao Bei looked down.
Now, Wei Family Island had a greater difference than before.
On the West side of the island, a cement concrete structure of Yong Gu Harbor etched slowly toward the seawater.
On Wei Family Island, the structure that cost the most currently was this harbor. Its estimated cost was a hundred million US dollars!
The place was built with golden bridges, silver roads, and a diamond harbor indeed.
The harbor was only 300 meters long. The area nearer to the beach was considered cheap, about 20,000 US dollars per meter. But once it stretched into the deep waters of more than 50 meters, the construction cost increased exponentially.
There was no choice. To construct in the sea, large amounts of concrete and steel were required.
On top of that, the environment had a great impact on the construction as well.
Moreover, all materials, including stones, had to be transported from back home. This was why the construction cost increased to a hundred million US dollars.
Frankly speaking, this was already considered cheap.