"Where are we?"

"The focal point of all civilization – the Waldorf Astoria."

This is a line from the movie "Smell the Woman", and the classic tango scene was filmed in a ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

As a hotel with over 100 years of history and countless important historical moments, there is no better venue for a charity dinner.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the cameras in the hands of reporters kept flashing, and guests walked into the Waldorf Astoria Hotel with smiles on their faces.

"Good evening, you are the most striking gentleman I have seen tonight." Ariana took the initiative to hug and perform the veneer salute.

Hall smiled reservedly: "To be honest, there are more reporters than I thought, and I'm a little nervous right now." ”

"Don't worry, I don't think there's anyone here who doesn't welcome a young gentleman from England." Ariana said from the bottom of her heart.

Hall's appearance is not ugly, with black hair and brown eyes and a metal maple leaf brooch pinned to his chest, giving people a sense of restraint and youth, which is quite conspicuous in the crowd of blonde and blue faces, and is simply a template for the image of a perfect British aristocracy.

After the pleasantries, he asked, "Are so many reporters really okay?" He has lived through modern society and is wary of the media.

"The media will kill themselves, but they will not hang themselves." Ariana smiled and whispered, "We need the media to help cover charity, and you can safely ignore them." ”

"Thank you." Hall replied speechlessly. The Yankees are really savages, and if they were Aunt Caroline, they would definitely euphemistically say that the media friends are very professional and they have a keen sense of smell......

Ariana gestured please: "Monte told me, are you interested in Monet's "Water Lilies on the RB Bridge?" It was a lot donated by Ms. Onassis. The two sides walked into the banquet hall as they spoke.

"The daughter of the Greek ship king? I heard that she inherited the entire inheritance of the ship king, which is really a big deal. Hall exclaimed.

Ariana called the waiter and fetched a glass of red wine: "It doesn't seem that simple, as far as I know, there are neon rich people who are interested in that painting." You know, they're waving checks to buy America short. ”

"Sounds like yes." Hall agreed, the neon rich people at this time are really rich, and they have to be treated with some respect.

Ariana looked not far away, "I'm sorry, I have to go and say hello to my friends, and I'll be back in a moment when the auction starts." ”

"Okay, I'll just go around." Hall took a glass of sparkling water and replied.

This kind of dinner socialization is the theme, and if there are people you want to meet, you can just get together and chat casually.

"You're from London? That's a great place to be, and my daughter is studying at Oxford. ”

"Germany? Hehe, speaking of which, my chef went to Germany some time ago for further study and learned 100 ways to eat pork knuckle. ”

"I'm in the entertainment industry, and I've been at neon recently, yes, the neon businessman who wants to take pictures of water lilies is my client......"

As the night wore on, the upper-class people tirelessly shuttled through the banquet hall, saying things in a short time and walking in a way that was busier than the average postman working all day.

It wasn't until Brandon's pockets were stuffed with all sorts of business cards that Hall finished socializing and stood by the sink outside the bathroom, rubbing his smiling facial muscles in the mirror.

"Hey." A young white girl stepped out of the women's bathroom next to her, standing aside and opening her makeup bag.

Hall politely replied "hello", and was just about to leave when the girl's makeup bag fell to the ground with a thud, and the contents were scattered.

She hurriedly leaned over to collect her items, and Hale turned to stand behind her.

"Beautiful lady, it looks like you need a little help." A young man with a Texas accent next to the two of them wiped off the water on his hands and squatted down to help.

The girl put one hand over her chest and said, "Thank you, I can do it myself." ”

"It's okay, that's what a gentleman does." The Texas cowboy was considerate and welcoming, and looked up and smiled at Hall by the way.

Hall smiled politely and watched him perform.

“…… Well, you'd better pick it up yourself. ”

After a few seconds, the Texas cowboy stood up with an embarrassed smile, and the girl embarrassedly stuffed a sanitary napkin on the floor into her makeup bag.

When she picked up her belongings, Hale quietly walked away.

In fact, it is not a gentleman's job to help pick up a lady's personal belongings.

The so-called: It only takes three days to train a rich man, and it takes three generations to train a nobleman. This is arrogant, but there is some truth, and many details hidden in words and deeds are the accumulation of words and deeds from generation to generation.

If the duel draws a gun, Hall is definitely inferior to the Texas Cowboys; But to change to gentlemanly etiquette, it is not enough to be enthusiastic and polite, and the young Texan gentleman still needs to learn more......

Back in the ballroom, the auction officially opened as the editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal took the stage to open the room.

“…… The ninth lot, from a mid-17th-century still life donated by Madame Mellon, by the Belgian painter Kessel. The starting bid is $90,000. Christie's auctioneer introduced.

This is an oil flower with insect and flower branch patterns, which looks fresh and beautiful, and the most important thing is that the price is in line with the identity, not high-profile and not stingy, just as a Christmas gift for their old mother.

Hall instructed Brandon to hold up his sign: "$100,000." ”

"110,000, 120,000...... 190,000 US dollars, to add to 200,000, good 200,000, 220,000, 250,000 ......" The auctioneer on the stage controls the field professionally, raising cards again and again, and the price keeps jumping.

Everyone expected how much money to donate, and the price of the lot rose to 400,000 yuan, and there were few people left to participate in the bidding.

Brandon raised his card again: "420,000." ”

"450,000? Mr. 56, 450,000. The auctioneer on the stage raised his hand into the distance and said.

Brandon wanted to look back to see who it was, and Hall said, "Calm down, do it again." ”

"Mr. 37, 480,000. Do you want to add more? 480,000, the last time, deal! ”

The auctioneer dropped the hammer and said, "Let's give Mr. 37 a round of applause, the most expensive lot so far." Thank you for your generosity in paying for at least 20 children affected by Black Monday whose families went bankrupt and could not afford to study! ”

Hall got up and bowed around, scolding in his heart: "This guy is really good at stirring up the atmosphere, and he wants to shoot two more pieces." ”

He then snapped a gem and an antique pocket watch for Christmas gifts for Charlotte and Aunt Caroline.

I don't know if everyone had a lot of cash on hand at the end of the year, and the two lots with a starting price of 20,000 or 30,000 US dollars finally cost a total of more than 100,000 yuan to get their hands.

"I have to say that you are such a generous gentleman, and if you participate in the bidding, you will definitely be considered a strong contender." Arian Mie joked.

Hall took a sip of wine: "So, what does this painting say?" ”

"Ms. Onassis wants to sell for a high price, and the dealers want to hype up the value of Monet's work, aiming for the neon rich.

This is a game of cards, and the neon wealthy businessmen know that the painting will be sold for a sky-high price, and the more expensive the better, compared to money, they want prestige, local prestige, and prestige in the United States. ”

Arian Mi lowered her voice: "I just heard the news that the neon rich man said that he would take it for $6 million, and he didn't even mind going higher. It's not a good choice to fight them to the end. ”

"6 million to buy Monet, are you thinking about fart?" Hall didn't ask, but instead asked, "Just because this painting has the word 'RB'?" ”

"There is also a bridge in the painting, although it is in the garden of the French town of Giverny, but Monsieur Monet did name it 'RB Bridge'. The current national pride of the neon people is incomprehensible. Ariana replied reluctantly.

Brandon pouted: "National pride is the cheapest pride. ”

"But for businessmen, it has value." Hall said and looked at Ariana: "Can Goldman Sachs provide me with a temporary guarantee?" ”