Chapter 285: Chapter 285 Fooling The British

London has many art expert. Victor hired several appraisers at high salaries and employed a dozen workers. The auction house officially opened.

The current London is densely populated, mostly with young and strong laborers who have flocked here due to the war. Thus, there's no shortage of manpower.

Victor didn't need to worry about the auction house. His current focus was on selling the penicillin. Although this item wouldn't have trouble selling, he aimed to maximize profits without making mistakes.

He thought it necessary to register a trading company to make sales more legitimate and provide a plausible explanation if investigated.

Victor immediately instructed someone to register a trading company.

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What next? Victor had a plan. His greatest skill was bluffing people. He asked the driver to take him to Nine Elms, where the U.S. Consulate General in London was located.

Victor handed over a business card. Searᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Hello, I am an American citizen. My name is Victor, and I am the general representative of the Hardy Group in London. I would like to meet with Consul General Jim Rhodes. Could you please inform him?"

Victor self titled himself as the general representative of the Hardy Group, and the business card was newly printed.

Seeing an american business man, the staff didn't dare neglect him and immediately took the business card inside to report.

Consul General Rhodes looked at the business card curiously, "Hardy Group? I've never heard of it."

But the other party was an American citizen representing a group company. In America, any company daring to call itself a group wouldn't be a small enterprise, many having deep connections with senators and high ranking officials in Washington.

As a mere consul, he couldn't afford to offend these big groups.

"Please invite Mr. Victor in," Rhodes instructed.

Victor entered the consul's office. Jim Rhodes, seeing Victor's demeanor, realized he might be someone significant.

After shaking hands, Victor introduced himself as the general representative of the Hardy Group in London, responsible for the business here. The Hardy Group planned to invest in the U.K, having already established an auction house and a trading company, and now preparing to host a grand reception to invite the british elites.

"Consul Rhodes, I've just arrived and am not very familiar with London's environment. I hope you can assist in inviting government officials, business elites, and the british upper class to attend."

Rhodes smiled, "We are both Americans. I am naturally willing to help. I would love to see my fellow countrymen invest in the U.K."

"Thank you very much. I will book a hotel and come back to find you once it's done," Victor said as he stood up to leave.

Before leaving, he shook Rhodes hand again, smiling, "Consul, the Hardy Group will remember your help."

After leaving, Rhodes was still in a state of confusion. He had agreed to Victor more out of courtesy. He planned to check whether this Hardy Group existed and its strength before making any decisions. If it was a trivial company, he could easily brush Victor off next time.

Whom should he ask?

Sending a telegram back home was too cumbersome, and telegrams conveyed limited information. However, he thought of someone: Carlson, the manager of Citibank's London branch. Their financial industry had the most updated information. Carlson should know the details of the Hardy Group.

He picked up the phone and called Carlson. It wasn't long before the call connected, "Carlson, it's Jim."

"What can I do for you, Consul?" Carlson replied with a hint of jest in his tone, as they were old friends.

"I want to ask about a company."

"Which company?"

"Hardy Group. Have you heard of it?"

Carlson paused slightly, "Hardy Group? Of course, I've heard of it. Why?"

"Oh, is there really such a group? How come I haven't heard of it?"

Carlson laughed, "Jim, you haven't returned to America in nearly two years, right?"

"Almost."

"No wonder you don't know. The Hardy Group is a newly emerged major company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The boss is named Jon Hardy. Not long ago, the bank reported on Mr. Jon Hardy's situation. Before the new year, he acquired a bank, and now his assets are about $400 million, making him part of the California consortium."

Carlson had a good grasp of Hardy Group's information.

Jim Rhodes was secretly astonished. Four hundred million dollars was an astronomical figure to him, unimaginable wealth.

A person with such wealth would undoubtedly have many senators and high ranking officials supported by him, while he a mere consul in London, was still a small public official compared to the decision makers back in the United States.

But then he thought, American companies rarely invested in European market this days. which was dominated by British companies. Hardy Group was the first conglomerate to invest in London. They probably didn't have many connections here, otherwise, they wouldn't seek his help to contact people.

Rhodes was from California, his hometown being Sacramento. If he performed well in this matter, he might build a relationship with this company. Upon returning to the States, he could gain their support and further his career.

With this thought, Rhodes felt a surge of enthusiasm.

However, he still needed to confirm if Victor was a fraud. If he were a swindler using the Hardy Group's name in the U.K, Rhodes efforts in contacting people would make him a laughingstock and jeopardize his career.

"Carlson, do you know if the Hardy Group plans to invest in the U.K?" asked Consul Rhodes.

"Did Victor find you?" Carlson asked.

When Carlson mentioned Victor by name, Rhodes felt much more relieved.

"You know him?"

"Met him once. He came to London with funds transferred from the Hardy Group through Citibank. Victor handled the formalities himself due to the large amount, and I personally attended to it."

Fifty thousand dollars was a significant sum in London and even in America.

Although Carlson didn't specify the amount, mentioning the large sum spoke volumes.

"Did Victor come to you for something?" Carlson inquired.

"Yes, he asked me to help organize a reception and contact people," Rhodes replied.

Carlson immediately said, "Jim, you must count me in."

"Of course."