Chapter 958 Artistic Cell
After returning to the hotel, Brina first called her father Frank and asked if there were any part-time jobs in the law firm. After receiving a positive answer, she said Wu Yin and Qu Rui's situation, and what happened today when Chen Feng and I "shared hardships" with them.
After Frank learned that his daughter and Chen Feng had been shot again, he was worried and angry. He cursed the city councilors and politicians and said he would call the police station later to pay attention to this. The progress of the case urged the police to catch the two African-American men quickly.
As for Wu Yin and Qu Rui's part-time job at his law firm, there is certainly no problem, especially working part-time on weekends, which is really what their law firm needs.
You must know that very strict labor laws and overtime systems are implemented here. Working hours must not exceed 40 hours per week, which means that work must not exceed 8 hours per day on working days. If you exceed the limit, you will have to pay overtime pay. , overtime pay is 1.5 times the hourly wage. If the working time exceeds 12 hours, double the overtime pay must be paid.
As for the law firm where Frank is a partner, although in principle they do not work on weekends, if it is some big cases, they will definitely have to work overtime. In addition, people will definitely be needed to send and receive information.
In the past, interns were assigned to do odd jobs in this area, but interns had to pay overtime pay even if they worked overtime on weekends, or even double the overtime pay.
From the perspective of the law firm’s operating costs, this is obviously not cost-effective.
Of course, as a partner, Frank certainly doesn’t care much about the operating costs and overtime pay to employees, but isn’t there a better and more economical option now? Moreover, it was introduced by his daughter and a major customer, Chen Feng.
So, Frank agreed without much hesitation to let these two overseas students from Long Country work part-time at the law firm.
After Brina ended the call with her father, she contacted Wu Yin.
When she explained the part-time work content and remuneration at the law firm, Wu Yin agreed without much thought, and said that Qu Rui would definitely agree as well.
They are actually almost in the internship stage now, and they have been here for more than two years, and they are both good in character and academics, which fully meets the requirements of the off-campus "work-study" program for international students in America. .
They can completely regard this part-time job as an internship. Although the major is a bit inappropriate, who makes the salary high and the work easy?
The next morning, Brina went to school, and Chen Feng did not go with her anymore, but stayed in the hotel honestly.
He is not bored at all. Originally, he was in Xiuzhou and spent most of his time at home. Now that he is living in another place, there is no big difference at all.
You have mobile phones and WiFi, and there is no shortage of food, drinks and women. Isn’t it better to stay at home than stay at home?
Chen Feng’s mentality is very good. Here he still follows his routine in China and insists on morning exercises, reading novels and watching short videos. When his eyes feel a little tired, he puts down his mobile phone, lies on the bed for a while, or contacts Family members, and a few women, send voice messages, make phone calls, etc.
In this way, the day passed easily without feeling bored at all.
As for loneliness, Brina came to see him as soon as school was over. She came back at noon, and after school in the afternoon, she stayed in the hotel room with him without going out.
In this way, two days later, news finally came from the police. The two African-American men who tried to rob them and shot at them were captured.
The two African-American men were very honest. After being captured by the police, they directly admitted their criminal intention of trying to rob the driver of the BMW. As for shooting the four of them, they could not deny it.
There is no need for them to deny it. If armed robbery does not hurt anyone, the sentence here in America is usually light. Even because there are too many such things, the police may not File a case.
This time it was also because Wu Yin and Qu Rui were students at the University of Southern California that the local police opened the case. Later, because of the attention and follow-up of Frank, a senior lawyer, the police stepped up their investigation efforts. The two men were finally captured three days later.
They have already committed crimes before. Although one of them is 21 years old and the other is only 19, they have each committed two crimes. The older African-American man can be said to be cruel and ruthless. He was seriously injured in the first case. In the second case, he went crazy and suddenly fired many shots at a party, injuring an 18-year-old boy.
The young African-American man had committed two crimes before. Once when he was seventeen years old, he robbed a foreign tourist with a gun and injured him. The second time he robbed with a gun and killed two people. Minor injuries.
So, this attempted robbery against Chen Feng and others was their third joint crime.
If they had not succeeded in escaping at that time, they might have been injured or even died.
Although these two African-American men have not killed anyone before, there is no guarantee that they will not kill anyone this time.
What is a bit unbelievable is that they started committing crimes with guns two years ago, and it was not until this attempted robbery that they were caught by the police. It is outrageous.
If the two African-American men hadn't targeted students at the University of Southern California this time, and if Frank, a senior lawyer, hadn't followed up, the two men might not have been caught.
This makes Chen Feng feel so fucked up.
Fortunately, all four of them had a near-miss this time, otherwise the law enforcement agencies here in America would not be able to escape the blame.
After Chen Feng knew these things, of course he couldn't help but complain to Brina, and finally said: "This is the main reason why I don't want to live here. I can't get personal safety." Full protection, everything else is empty. No matter how much money you make here, it will be in vain."
Brina said with a bitter smile: "I don't care about our side either. What's the excuse for security? It's the fact that it's easy to get guns here, and with guns in hand, cowards can become murderers. That's why there are more and more gun-related cases in America. The good thing is that bad guys can easily get guns, and the same goes for good guys. When a bad guy shoots at you or tries to commit a crime against you, you can shoot him and you don’t have to pay any penalty if you kill him.”
Chen Feng shook his head and said, "I don't want to take my life as a joke."
Brina spread her hands and said, "I know you can't stay here longer, and I understand. I don't hope you can either. My family has this expectation to settle down here, but it is obviously unrealistic. Don’t pay too much attention.”
Chen Feng shrugged and said, “I don’t care, I’m just telling the truth. I’m not suitable to live here, let alone settle here.”
Brina said with a smile: “So, I plan to study abroad in Xiuzhou to see if I can adapt there. If I get used to it, I may settle there after my studies.”
Chen Feng still welcomes her to study abroad in Xiuzhou. After all, he gets along very easily and happily with her.
"If you really decide to go to Xiuzhou to live, I will be very happy. I also believe that you can adapt to life there. When the time comes, if you need anything, I will definitely help you."
"Remember what you said, I will definitely have a lot of things to trouble you by then."
"I will definitely help you with your affairs." The two looked at each other and smiled.
In the evening, the two of them were watching TV together in the hotel. Suddenly, they saw that an art fair was going to be held in Los Angeles this Saturday. Chen Feng immediately became interested.
After asking Brianna, he learned that there are many art exhibitions in Los Angeles, and there are also many large and small art fairs. The art fair he just saw is relatively large and can be called "international" marked in it. Two words.
So, Chen Feng, who stayed at the hotel for three days, decided to attend this international art fair the day after tomorrow, hoping to find the art works he needed.
It’s Friday soon.
Brina came back from class in the morning and went back to the hotel to meet Chen Feng, saying that her mother invited him to her home again to have dinner together.
This time it was just her and her parents, not her uncle and cousin.
Chen Feng thought for a while and accepted her mother's invitation. This time, she exchanged a bottle of champagne for more than two hundred dollars as a door-to-door gift. There was no doubt that she was once again warmly welcomed by her parents.
The atmosphere during the meal this time was much more relaxed, including the pre-dinner prayer ceremony, and Chen Feng was able to accept it as the Romans do.
To be honest, it’s actually quite good for them to do this. It’s full of ritual and belief, and they don’t waste much time.
After eating, Chen Feng’s chat with Brina’s family became more relaxed and natural.
After chatting that Chen Feng and Brina were going to visit the art fair tomorrow, Frank and his wife both looked very interested. Frank said that he had also collected some works of art over the years, mainly small works. There are several pieces of handicrafts and several small paintings. Clara said that she started collecting postcards from all over the world when she was fifteen or sixteen years old, and has collected more than 500 kinds of postcards so far.
Chen Feng was quite interested in some of Frank's paintings. Before he asked to take a look, Frank took Chen Feng to the collection room on the second floor as if he were offering a treasure.
First of all, he took Chen Feng to see the various handicrafts he had placed on an exhibition stand. Several of them were from the Dragon Kingdom, including a vase, a porcelain plate, and a cloisonné. And wicker baskets are quite abundant.
Of course Chen Feng has no interest in these. According to his previous experience, these things do not contain the kind of life energy he needs.
After reading these, Frank finally took him to see several paintings in his collection. He wrapped them well in dust-proof cloth, and only after opening them one by one could he see the paintings. true appearance.
After looking at three paintings in a row, none of them were what Chen Feng needed. It was not until the fourth painting that Chen Feng was somewhat surprised to sense the kind of painting he needed.
This is a standard Western oil painting, which feels like an impressionist painting method. The representative work of this genre is Monet's "Water Lilies". Frank's painting is of roses, a red rose bush and green leaves. It looks very ordinary, but It contains the kind of life energy that Chen Feng needs.
So, Chen Feng said: "This painting is really good, I fell in love with it at first sight. Who painted this?"
When Frank heard what Chen Feng said, he was very happy. Said: "I also like this painting very much. Every time when I am in a bad mood, I take it out and look at it. It will make me feel better." Shao, it’s really amazing. The artist of this painting is Deward Calvert, a wandering artist. I met him by chance in Central Park in New York about ten years ago. I saw him complete this work live. I liked it very much, so I spent money to buy it. It's not big yet, I bought it for only five hundred dollars.
Now that this wandering painter has unfortunately passed away, his works that have been spread around the world have gradually been recognized and appreciated by the art world. The prices of the works he left are also getting higher and higher. His previous works have sold for US$1.2 million. The price is high. I also asked someone to appraise my painting. Two years ago, it was valued at more than 50,000 US dollars. Now it is more than 100,000 US dollars."
Chen Feng heard him offer it. price, he smiled and said: "Then if I offer 100,000 US dollars, can you part with me?"
After Frank was stunned for a moment, he asked: "Are you serious?"
Chen Feng nodded solemnly: "Of course."
Seeing this, Frank immediately reached out to Chen Feng without any hesitation. Made a move: "Deal!"
He just His words were somewhat boastful. For example, in fact, when he was buying paintings in Central Park, Devaud, a wandering painter, was in poverty, otherwise he would not have set up a stall in the park. When he asked about the price , the other party offered $500, and he finally got the price of $100.
Now that this wandering painter has passed away, although the value of the works he left behind has increased a lot, it is not too exaggerated. After all, there has only been one Van Gogh since ancient times.
He said before that the other party's works had sold for more than one million US dollars, which was true, but the auction price was for a group of eight works. On average, each work was only worth 150,000 US dollars at most. And there is obviously some premium here.
So, if the work he bought for one hundred dollars ten years ago is now willing to be bought by Chen Feng for one hundred thousand dollars ten years later, the value has increased a hundred times. How can there be any reason not to sell it?
When Chen Feng was about to reach out to shake hands with Frank and seal the deal, Brina suddenly pulled him and said to Frank with some dissatisfaction: "Dad, I heard you say that before. , you bought this painting for only 100 US dollars, how come it became 500 US dollars? Also, when you asked someone to appraise it, it was only 20,000 US dollars. , when did it become more than fifty thousand dollars?”
Frank was speechless by his daughter’s question, and could only spread his hands with a somewhat embarrassed look on his face and said: “Lina, it’s Chen who wants to buy my painting. He also set the price."
Brina said with a serious face: "He was misled by you just now, so he set such a high price."
Speaking of this, she turned to Chen Feng and said, "Chen, do you really like this painting?"
Chen Feng nodded and said, "Of course, otherwise I wouldn't be willing to spend $100,000 to buy this painting." Painting."
He could feel that this painting contained enough life energy for him to absorb for an hour. It could be said to be quite sufficient. If he really had to spend 100,000 US dollars to buy it, Chen Feng wouldn't do it. I feel shortchanged.
Brina didn't know the inside story, but when she saw that Chen Feng really wanted to buy it, she said, "Okay. I think this painting can cost up to ten thousand dollars. Dad, what do you think? You are ten thousand dollars." I only spent $100 a year ago, but I made a hundred times the profit ten years later. . ”
When Frank heard about his daughter’s offer, he immediately felt heartbroken. They Westerners take money very seriously and would not be embarrassed to accept money just because Chen Feng is his daughter’s boyfriend. Even the son-in-law will take it as expected.
"Lina, you can't bargain like this. Chen just offered 100,000 US dollars. No matter how cheap it is, I can sell it to him for 50,000 US dollars at most. Chen, you know the goods and have artistic talent. You should know this painting." Paintings are excellent works of art with high collection value. US$50,000 is really not much, and there will be huge room for appreciation in the future.”
(End of this chapter)