From the 1980s to the 1990s, New York experienced little development outside of the financial industry.

Times Square was ruled by streetwalkers, lacking the dazzling, gigantic billboards of later years. The city saw over two thousand homicides and more than six hundred thousand crimes annually.

To put it plainly, if a window was broken and left unrepaired for too long, others would assume there was no management, leading to more broken windows. Crime was the inevitable result of disorder.

In recent years, New York had been stuck in this pattern, spiraling downward for many years.

No wonder Su Yehao always felt that the city left a bad impression on him, seeming chaotic.

Although the situation had improved somewhat in recent years, recovery would take a long time. The situation was indeed quite bad, far inferior in terms of living experience compared to some high-income, high-welfare, clean, and safe European cities.

However...

In the affluent residential areas of Midtown Manhattan, it looked both safe and prosperous. Sitting by the window and looking out, the night view of the skyscrapers was mesmerizing.

The chaotic scenes were hidden by the night, leaving only prosperity at a glance.

Compared to those standing in the waiting area outside the restaurant, some of whom waited until their calves cramped up and they gave up, Su Yehao directly secured the table with the best view.

After Vera Andrade arrived, including Linda Yun, who tagged along for the free meal, three beautiful girls dined with Su Yehao.

Before even starting to eat, Su Yehao already felt like he had feasted his eyes.

At this moment.

The waiter brought the menu. Su Yehao, who was chatting with Vera, didn't take it, simply saying, "I'm very hungry today and just want to eat until I'm stuffed. Your restaurant's portions are small, so it's best to bring several servings of meat. Let the chef arrange it for me. Also, open a bottle of Lafite."

Su Yehao hadn't been able to taste the difference in Lafite red wine before, and the same was true now.

However, after drinking it often, he had gradually become accustomed to its flavor. Mainly, he was too lazy to bother carefully selecting something else. Anything would do, and at this price point, the difference wasn't significant.

Having received advance notice that Su Yehao was a super-rich man, the waiter immediately nodded and said with a smile, "I understand. How about cod, pigeon, and foie gras? If that's not enough, we can add a steak. We've prepared Wellington steak today."

Wellington steak was complex to make, with the meat covered in egg wash and puff pastry.

This dish took a long time to prepare, so it was usually prepared in advance and baked for ten to fifteen minutes before serving.

After the waiter finished speaking, Su Yehao said, "Okay, I'll take it all. I don't have any allergies. Just bring the food quickly. Help them make some recommendations..."

After everyone ordered.

Yin Liuli turned her head to observe and said in Cantonese, "How is this restaurant so popular? The prices aren't cheap either. If our restaurant could be like this, we wouldn't have to worry about making money. Koko Restaurant also sells steak, but compared to this, it's just a fast-food joint."

Su Yehao chuckled and said,

"To think you'd have to dig up my information just to have a meal. I really don't know what all the fuss is about. I guess for them, what they eat isn't important. It's the class and style that matter. It's like a genuine leather handbag from the street versus a PVC leather bag from LV. What they're selling is the brand. The latter is much more expensive; it's all about vanity."

Linda Yun, who was joining in the fun, said with a smile, "People work hard to earn money, so it's fine to spend some occasionally to enjoy themselves. As long as they're comfortable, that's all that matters. It's not like you, who makes money so easily that you've started to return to simplicity, often wearing cheap shorts and flip-flops from the street."

Her words made them all laugh. Su Yehao was indeed not picky about certain things on a daily basis.

Some chefs purchased the world's top ingredients and meticulously prepared a dish, but he might only respond with, "It's not as good as some beef offal from the street." There was no arguing with that.

Calling it a return to simplicity wasn't wrong. Brands and prestige no longer mattered; only what he liked mattered.

Vera then asked curiously,

"By the way, the last time I went back to Casino to visit my parents, I saw news about you in the newspaper. How long has it been since we last met? How did you grow your business so much? And your family's business too; my mom went shopping at the Sihai International Center Plaza."

The more familiar people were with Su Yehao, the more shocked they were by his achievements.

Including Baoya Jun, He Shaofan, Zhao Yimeng, and a group of old acquaintances, everyone was witnessing Su Yehao's business grow at a rocket-like speed, with wide-eyed amazement.

Su Yehao had explained it many times. He looked at Miss Vera and said with a smile, "The internet makes money fast. It's easy to make ten or twenty times the profit. Whoever encounters it gets rich. I'm just an idle person. The truly capable ones are my team; they manage my business very well for me."

Linda Yun, who had known Vera before, explained,

"I can vouch for him. This guy is really lazy, but he's incredibly accurate at seizing business opportunities. Maybe it's in his genes and talent. His family is also good at doing business."

Su Yehao smiled without saying a word.

Vera casually asked and, after hearing Linda Yun say that the money had been paid to Christie's, inquired again, "Did you attend the Christie's auction in San Francisco the other day?"

"Yes, I bought the Vietnamese Emperor's gold watch, and also gave Liuli a diamond watch. I also bought a Doucai bottle from the Qianlong period."

As soon as Su Yehao finished speaking, Vera exclaimed in surprise, "Then did you also see the Van Gogh painting? I heard the professor talking about it before I left, saying that the buyer suddenly backed out. The auction house hasn't made this news public and seems to be rushing to find a new buyer."

"...They used the Van Gogh painting as the finale that night, but we left before it was auctioned. The news said it sold for $40.07 million. Why would the buyer suddenly back out?"

Su Yehao had just learned of this news and was treating it as gossip.

Van Gogh left behind quite a few works. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, alone houses over two hundred of his paintings.

Once these works enter a museum, they basically never re-enter the market, similar to the stocks held by major shareholders or the residents of a building, acting as a ballast stone to stabilize the market.

Only a small number of Van Gogh's works circulate on the market, and prices won't easily collapse. You can buy Picasso's works for a few tens of thousands of dollars, but if anyone said they wanted to buy a genuine Van Gogh for a few tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, they would be laughed at, unless the genuine work was mistaken for a fake and someone had stumbled upon a super bargain.

Miss Vera shook her head and continued, "I'm not sure. Our professor's wife works as an intermediary for art transactions, so she knows some news. It seems that Christie's auction house is worried about causing negative publicity, so they haven't made it public and want to find a new buyer as soon as possible."

"Ah~ As long as someone buys it, it's the same as if it wasn't unsold. It's already been on the news. If they suddenly change their minds, it wouldn't sound very good. People would think Christie's clients are unreliable."

After Linda Yun finished speaking, she added, "So, will they offer a discount if they re-auction it?"

"...I'm not sure. There should be some discount." Vera looked at Su Yehao and asked him with a smile, "You're so rich, you could consider it."

"Me?"

Su Yehao shook his head.

"Hanging a Van Gogh painting at home would definitely be very impressive. I don't think I've heard of any families in Hong Kong having a Van Gogh painting. It's a pity I don't have that much cash. If the auction house is willing to let me pay next year, then we can talk about it. Why? Your eyes lit up when you mentioned Van Gogh. Do you like his work a lot?"

Vera replied without hesitation, "Of course. The brushstrokes of the *Blooming Peach Tree* I gave you were inspired by him."

"Really? I couldn't tell at all. I only know that your painting looks very beautiful. As for those professional things, I guess only you artists would notice. Van Gogh's works are very distinctive. Even though he had mental problems, they are full of vitality. If he knew that his works would be so valuable after his death, he would be very gratified."

After Su Yehao finished speaking, he looked at Vera.

Miss Vera was slightly stunned, then she thought of something and said with a bright smile, "Don't look at me. I'm still young. Creation is just my hobby. I definitely don't want to return to God's embrace too early..."

They had a relaxed meal.

This restaurant also emphasized authenticity, but Su Yehao actually preferred a little more flavor, even if it meant adding more MSG.

The four of them spent over $1,600, which wasn't particularly expensive compared to the restaurant's reputation, not even as valuable as the fish maw and chicken soup he usually drank at home.

But for ordinary white-collar workers, it was definitely a high price, enough to buy several Nokia phones.

Including the tip, they rounded it up and gave a total of $2,000.

Giving tips was, to put it nicely, called "respect and encouragement for the waiters."

To put it bluntly, the reason it became popular and turned into an overt rule was perhaps because restaurant owners were too stingy to pay their waiters more, which eventually evolved into customers footing the bill.

Otherwise, enjoying service while eating was originally a matter of course. Why should you have to give extra tips to get better service? And many restaurants clearly marked the minimum tip amount, which was obviously a second charge.

When all was said and done, the waiters earned more for their extra work, and it seemed only the restaurant owners profited, able to hire people with meager base salaries.

...

After dinner.

Su Yehao temporarily bought a few Broadway tickets through American Express's channels and arranged to see *The Phantom of the Opera* with Miss Vera tomorrow night.

This was also recommended by Linda Yun, who had wanted to see it for a long time.

Actually, Su Yehao would have preferred to see a movie, but Yin Liuli's English level... was hard to describe. Taking her to see a movie in New York was really bullying her.

Even when going to see the opera, Yin Liuli still expressed her worries in a low voice.

As someone who had been there before, Su Yehao was quite understanding and simply told her that you didn't need to understand opera. Just bring your ears and listen to it as a song, and appreciate the dance performances.

The next day.

During the day, he went to Wall Street and met with people from Goldman Sachs.

The business manager in charge of Yanwenzi Group's IPO guaranteed in front of him that they would definitely be able to do the roadshow by April at the latest, which was next month.

If they were lucky, they could go public by the end of next month, but no later than early May.

For Su Yehao, having this guarantee was enough. He didn't need to worry too much about other small problems. The key was to discuss the issue price with Goldman Sachs. It was estimated that it could still rise a bit, depending on the situation during the roadshow.

In the evening, after a simple dinner, he arranged for a car to pick up Vera. This girl lived near the East Village in Lower Manhattan and was estimated to stay in New York for a few more months, currently living with a female classmate.

It could only be said that *The Phantom of the Opera* was indeed popular for a reason.

Sitting in the VIP seats, the stage experience was quite good, no less than the time he had brought Little Nizi to see *Cats* on Broadway...