After arriving in New York, Hardy checked into a hotel, while Siegel was taken to his friend's home to stay. Before leaving, he patted Hardy on the shoulder and said, "I'll pick you up tomorrow afternoon."

After saying that, he got in the car and left.

Although he had been on the plane for a long time, Hardy didn't feel very tired. He hailed a taxi and prepared to go for a walk around Wall Street.

In the 1940s, New York was already full of tall buildings, showing the charm of a modern metropolis in later generations.

Tomorrow is Godfather Vito Corrion's birthday. I should prepare a gift to be polite. What should I give?

I walked around the street for a few times without seeing anything suitable. When I passed an antique shop, I discovered that the window facing the street was filled with European antiques and some beautiful porcelain.

Hardy walked in.

There are all kinds of antiques in the store, including European antiques, American antiques, and even Egyptian antiques. Of course, Hardy also saw Chinese cultural relics.

After looking around, he found that Chinese porcelain was the most beautiful.

Plum vase, ball vase, enamel, yellow glaze porcelain, red glaze porcelain...

Hardy didn't know much about antiques, but these things looked very pleasing to the eye. "Boss, how much are these porcelains?"

"Which one do you want?" asked the foreign old man.

Hardy pointed to an enamel bottle at random.

"This bottle is priced at $80."

Hardy shook his head.

“It’s too expensive.”

"What about this red one?"

“This one is $55.”

Hardy shook his head again.

Last time I made forty or fifty of these items, but I didn’t spend a penny.

"Your collection here is all Chinese porcelain, right?"

"Yes, beautiful Chinese porcelain."

"How many of these porcelains do you have here?"

The boss thought for a moment and said, "I think there were thirty-five pieces."

"What do you think if I give you $30 per piece and pack them all?" Hardy asked.

The boss was stunned.

It was the first time he saw someone buying antiques in this way.

His businessman nature kicked in and he started bargaining with Hardy, eventually settling on $35 per piece. He bought 36 pieces in total, spending $1,260.

Hardy asked his boss to help find someone from the courier company. The courier company came and packed the goods into boxes. Hardy gave them the address of the security company and asked them to mail it.

In fact, logistics companies have existed for a long time. For example, the USP Logistics used by Hardy has existed since 1907. Now it has developed into an express delivery company covering the entire United States.

After packing, Hardy suddenly remembered.

oops,

I forgot to leave one as a gift for the old godfather.

never mind,

He casually took an exquisite Victorian-era engraved silver plate from the table and said, "Boss, pack this up and make it pretty. I'm going to give it as a gift."

"No problem." The boss agreed happily.

How could he not be happy after buying so many things for him?

After leaving the antique shop with the gift, Hardy thought to himself, there are so many Chinese antiques scattered around the world, probably tens of millions of them.

In the future, when I have the time and ability, I can buy more Chinese antiques. Now Chinese antiques have not yet been recognized by European society and the prices are not high, which is a good time to buy them.

Looking back, I have tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of antiques in my collection, which is also an unimaginable fortune. Isn't it more valuable than just cash?

Of course,

You can also collect European antique artworks.

Almost all wealthy families are involved in collecting antiques and artworks, which is actually an investment.

However, he didn't know much about these things, and he also knew that the antique business was very complicated, so he needed to find someone who was knowledgeable and trustworthy to be in charge of this matter.

the next day,

Siegel came to pick up Hardy on time, and the driver took the two of them to Corion's home. When they arrived, the road outside Corion's manor was already full of cars.

The two got out of the car and walked inside.

Hardy found that the scene here was exactly the same as Corrion's house in the movie, and he immediately found a familiar feeling.

This feeling is so wonderful that words cannot describe it.

Familiar yet strange.

It also reminded him of many things from his previous life.

When I walked into the yard, it was very lively. There were probably more than a hundred people, men, women, young and old. When people saw Sigel, they greeted him. Sigel chatted enthusiastically with the people he knew.

As for Hardy.

He looked young and was a stranger, so everyone thought he was Siegel's follower, a nobody.

Siegel took Hardy into the living room. All the people sitting in the living room were men, many of whom were smoking and chatting idly. When Siegel came in, everyone's eyes turned to him.

Some people looked at me unkindly.

Hardy followed behind and took a look at the situation in the room. Finally, his eyes fixed on the main seat, which was the same character played by Marlon Brando in the movie The Godfather. He had a calm expression and his eyes always showed wisdom.

Hardy knew that this was Vito Corrion, the head of the Corrion family, one of the five major families in New York.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little subtle, Vito Corrion stood up and said, "Okay, you guys go to the yard to eat something. Sigel, let's go inside and talk."

Everyone went out, Vito Corrion and Siegel went to the study, and Hardy stayed in the living room.

In the room.

Vito Corrion sat in his chair, looked at Siegel who was sitting next to him, and said in a hoarse voice: "You saw Tommy and Kolobo and the others. They complained to me that the casino you set up cheated them out of a lot of money?"

"Jamie, there are many businesses that can make money. I don't want any conflicts. The Mafia is not stable right now. Many people have too many ideas."

Siegel shrugged.

"I didn't lie to them. I just wanted to build a tourist destination according to my ideal. They were too impatient and too eager for quick success. If they followed my ideas, I could guarantee that the place would be developed."

"And it's not just one casino, it's the entire city. Las Vegas is now the only place in the United States where gambling is allowed. This is its biggest advantage."

Vito knew that Siegel was a stubborn guy, ever since he was a kid.

"Okay, I know you have your own ideas. I just hope you can resolve this matter satisfactorily and not let things get out of control. I will tell them to be more patient." Vito instructed.

In fact, this time, Siegel came not only to celebrate Vito Corrion's birthday, but also to ask him to mediate the conflict. With Vito's wisdom, he naturally felt Siegel's thoughts.

Siegel smiled and said, "By the way, I brought a little fellow to introduce to you."

"Oh, is it the young man following you? You brought him to my birthday party and it seems that you think highly of him?" Vito Corrion said.

"Yes, he's very good. Have you heard about the Los Angeles bank robbery recently?" Siegel asked.

"I've read the newspaper reports, and there's even a documentary film made about it," said the Godfather.

"The HD security business was the business of this young man. When he learned that a Los Angeles bank was robbed by a group of robbers, he began to plan. He asked Bank of America for $200,000 in advertising fees and promoted the security business to them. In the end, he even reached a cooperation agreement with the Los Angeles police."

"His HD Security is now well-known throughout the United States. The documentary is being screened across the country, and he can make a fortune from it. More importantly, it makes HD Security even more famous. With the current reputation of HD Security, there will definitely be no shortage of business in the future."

"Now he has become friends with Los Angeles government officials, the police chief, and the president of Bank of America."

Vito Corrion is a wise, smart and reasonable man. He never allows his men to touch drugs. He has very good relations with politicians and police. He is very good at winning over government officials, judges, police and union leaders.

So he likes people with brains.

After hearing Siegel's introduction of Hardy, he became interested in the young man, "Siegel, ask him to come in and have a look."

Siegel opened the door and called Hardy, who hurried over.

Walk into the study.

I found this place is very similar to the movie.

"Hello Mr. Corrion, my name is Jon Hardy. This is a gift for you. I wish you a happy birthday." Hardy greeted Vito Corrion politely and then presented the gift.

"Thank you for the gift kid."

Vito Corrion noticed that this young man was not nervous when he saw him. Even many family bosses and second-in-command military advisors were timid when they saw him. This made him feel that the young man in front of him was quite interesting.

"Jamie said that HD Security is yours, and you also have a film company that has started to make a profit?" asked the Godfather.

"Yes, I prefer legitimate business," said Hardy.

The Godfather was a little surprised to hear this explanation. These gang members love underworld business the most.

Why?

Simple, crude and quick way to make money.

It is very difficult to make money in a legitimate business. That is the domain of the social elite. It is almost impossible for these people who come from the bottom to succeed. But this young man in front of him, who came from the underworld but likes to run a legitimate business, is an exception.

......

The birthday party begins.

Blessings from relatives and friends.

The yard was very lively.

The Mafia attaches great importance to family. Everyone was happily dancing, singing and eating barbecue. Siegel met some old friends and sat together to chat.

In this yard,

Anyone you pick out is a big boss.

In the eyes of these people, Hardy, a young man with a strange face, is just an insignificant person.

No one paid any attention to him.

Hardy also saw several familiar faces, the Godfather's eldest son Sonny, the second son Freddy, the Godfather's general Luke Brasi, and the fat man Climantha and Tessio, they were all legion commanders.

Finally, he saw a somewhat lonely figure in a corner.

Hardy recognized who it was at a glance.

michael corriong.

His face did not have the joy that everyone else had, and he looked a little out of place standing under the grape trellis holding a wine glass.

Hardy thought about it and walked over with the glass of wine.

"Hello, my name is Jon Hardy." Hardy introduced himself.

"My name is Mike."

"Were you a soldier?" Hardy asked.

Mike was a little surprised, "How did you know that?"

"Temperament, I see the temperament of a soldier in you." said Hardy.

Hardy was totally lying. He had seen the movie and knew about Mike's situation. He just wanted to find a topic to continue the conversation.

"Were you a soldier too?" Mike asked.

"Yes, I used to serve in the Marine Corps. I participated in the war against Japan last year and was seriously injured and retired. What about you? Where did you serve before?" Hardy asked.

Mike was interested when he heard that Hardy had just retired. He said, "I served in the 4th Infantry Division and participated in the Normandy Landing. Later, I participated in several small battles and was also seriously injured and retired."

Their situations are very similar.

Both of them had served in the military, and their relationship became much closer.