Andy thought it over and found his boss's suggestion quite good. Although the boss's affairs weren't too numerous at the moment, his business was diverse, and the volume of financial transactions would only increase in the future. Having an accounting firm would indeed make things much easier.
Thus, Andy established an accounting firm. Hardy funded it and became the major shareholder, while Andy held a 20% stake. They named it "Andy Accounting Firm."
As for the staff, they would be recruited gradually.
By October, Little Elizabeth Taylor had gone to New York to shoot a film. The movie "The Wild Bunch" was nearing completion. The mineral water company was under vigorous construction, and the auction company had already started operations.
Hardy drove to the auction company.
Upon spotting the arrival of the big boss, the receptionist promptly welcomed him with a smile "Good afternoon, Mr. Hardy."
"Is Elena here?"
"President Elena is not here, but Assistant Irina is in the office," the receptionist replied.
Hardy pushed open the office door. When Irina saw Hardy, she immediately smiled, put down her pen, and walked over.
"Dear Chairman, welcome to the company," Irina said warmly, giving Hardy a hug.
One had to say, this girl had a great figure, slim where she should be slim, and generously endowed where it mattered.
"Have you received any good items recently?" Hardy asked.
"Yes, let me take you to the storage room," Irina said.
They went to the storage room, which was a specially designed treasure trove for the auction company, comparable to a small vault. It was about 60 square meters, usually storing newly acquired antiques before being transferred to the HD Security storage room in batches.
The HD Security storage room had also been upgraded. Although it was guarded by a large security force, essential safety measures were indispensable.
"Boss, we've received a dozen or so oil paintings. This one is by Rossetti, a relatively famous British painter from the 19th century. This painting cost $4700."
"This painting is by Diego Rivera, a Mexican painter known for his murals. He's already somewhat famous now."
The canvas was covered with vertical and horizontal grids, almost like tiled walls, a style Hardy couldn't appreciate.
Unbeknownst to Hardy,
The works of these painters would soar in value over the decades, with each painting selling for millions of dollars.
Although Hardy couldn't appreciate the art, he never commented on the things Elena and her team acquired. He understood the importance of expertise in specialized fields and avoided interfering as an outsider.
After the auction company was established, Elena leveraged her connections to recruit two British art appraisers.
The two British art appraisers had previously worked for other auction companies and had substantial experience.
On the shelves were over a hundred pieces of Artworks and antiques
Hardy still found the paintings more pleasing to the eye, than other artworks.
Irina clung to Hardy's arm, her body slightly leaning against his, deliberately brushing against him while walking. Hardy knew she was doing it on purpose.
"Boss, these dozen or so European oil paintings cost $34,000, and these artworks and antiques cost $27,000. We're out of money now. When will you be funding us again?" Irina asked.
Out of money again.
Acquiring artworks was truly expensive.
Initially, he gave Elena a $100,000, which was spent on renting office space, renovations, building a storage room, and hiring staff, costing several thousand.
The remaining money was all spent on acquiring Artworks.
Later, Hardy sent another $100,000, and within a month, it was gone again. These two girls really knew how to spend money.
"I'll give you another $100,000 tomorrow," Hardy said.
Irina immediately beamed, "Thank you, boss." She pressed her body against Hardy a few more times as she spoke.
The staff loaded the Artworks into the car and transported them all to the security company's warehouse. Hardy then said goodbye to Irina and returned to the security company.
Once he confirmed the Artworks were securely stored, Hardy proceeded to Andy's office, as all his money was now managed by Andy.
"Give the auction company another $100,000 tomorrow."
"Okay, let them come by tomorrow to collect it," Andy said.
"How much money is left in the account?"
"Legal cash?"
"Yes."
"After deducting the $100,000 for the auction company, there will be $243,500 left."
"Wow, we've spent so much that there's only this much left. We need to find a way to make money, otherwise, we won't even be able to support the auction house!"
Currently, he had many investment projects, all in the investment phase, with no returns. It would take time before any of them could start generating revenue.
Andy looked at his boss, smiled, and said, "Actually, making money isn't hard right now. You have a gold mine in your hands."
"Oh, what gold mine?"
"It's Wash Mining. I've been focusing on Wash Mining recently. Its current stock price is around two to three cents, which is extremely low, but this also means it's very easy to manipulate."
Andy briefly explained his plan.
Hardy, being the major shareholder, had absolute control and could play it however he wanted.
Hardy suddenly thought of a movie, "The Wolf of Wall Street." Andy's methods were even more sophisticated and subtle than Jordan Belfort.
Back in the day, when Hardy watched "The Wolf of Wall Street," he admired Jordan's maneuvers. They mainly targeted small, worthless stocks, packaged and exaggerated their promotions, and lured individual investors into buying the stocks.
For example, in the movie, the so called "future leader in American communications" was actually a workshop by the roadside in a remote village, barely better than an outhouse.
They sold stocks through hype, which caused the stock price to rise rapidly, creating an illusion that attracted more investors' money.
When the stock price reached its peak, they started selling off, making a huge profit, while those who bought at high prices were left with worthless stocks.
This kind of operation is definitely a financial scam. If regulators found out, they would certainly go to jail. But now it's 1946, and transactions are still completed with pen and paper and by phone, making it impossible to monitor communications, accounts, and assets.