Reborn with Consumption System

Chapter 936 - 382: Spending Money—I’m the Ultimate Pro! (Part 2)

"If you just need three or five bottles of top-notch wine, I can get it for you right now, guaranteed authentic and pure, and I won’t charge you a dime.Even if I don’t have it in stock myself, I can just mention your name to any wine merchant or collector, and they’d be happy to do me a favor.

Just a few bottles of wine, how much can you really make from pushing it?

Offering a discount of a hundred thousand or so, for the sake of future relationships, any smart businessman can do the math.

But if your order casually runs into the millions, who wouldn’t be tempted?

A little mischievous thought and you could easily make an extra three to five million, and at that point, you can’t rely on face or reputation to ensure authenticity.

You don’t understand how high the profits from counterfeiting in this industry really are.

Here’s a simple example—Lafite from ’82, less than 10,000 bottles have flowed into the mainland over the decades, yet those wine merchants still have stock till now, where do they come from?

It’s like magic!

Original bottles cost 4000 apiece, aged replica labels and a whole set of customs documents for 2000 per set, a big barrel of aged Lafite second-label red wine costs tens of thousands.

Processed by an expert, sealed, and aged, placed at the supreme position of your wine cellar, it becomes a family collection not for sale for 20 years, a treasure of the establishment.

Do you want to buy?

Sorry, we really don’t sell.

Are you willing to pay a high price?

Sorry, it’s really not about the money, it’s a showcase piece for our establishment...

What? You’re a friend of President Han?

Well, alright then, for President Han’s sake, you can take it for 400,000, it’s a friendly price, don’t think it’s expensive!

When the buyer comes back with a receipt as a gift, then it appears genuine!

Could a treasure of the establishment bought for 400,000 be fake?

But in reality?

Those in the know, know, while nouveau riche pretending to understand keep paying their dues year after year.

These are the conscientious merchants who provide you with the best quality; even I can’t tell the difference at my level, only sipping it can reveal some subtle discrepancies.

Those unscrupulous ones sell wine costing just over a hundred bucks as first-label from the top five chateaux, what can you do?

Seriously, I’m not exaggerating, an average wine enthusiast truly can’t tell the difference.

These acclaimed wine dealers use legitimately imported wine as a showcase, reusing one set of documents repeatedly, selling for ten years and still unfinished, who knows if what ends up being drunk is bulk wine from somewhere?

And with various other tricks?

Given the large volume you purchase, you’re bound to encounter such situations, you can’t count on every wine merchant to be consistent in word and deed.

There’s only one way to resolve this—

First, you need to find a truly knowledgeable and capable expert.

Second, you need to keep them in line!

Have them fully committed, addressing authenticity issues directly from the source, ideally with each bottle of top-tier wine accompanied by an original factory certification, that’s how you can smoothly establish your envisioned wine cellar..."

Pang Xiaoguang truly poured his heart out, making Han Lie feel greatly enlightened.

Spending money, it sounds simple and seems simpler to do, as if anyone with money can spend it, but sometimes it can be harder than making money.

Many can make money because they caught the tide or hit the right moment, safely and smoothly amassing great wealth, only to realize when they truly start to enjoy it—jeez, why are there so many scammers?

The entertainment circle targeting coal mine owners isn’t a rare case.

Casinos trapping and extorting factory owners aren’t a rare case.

The marriage scamming targeted at IT tycoons, represented by Zhai Xinxin, isn’t a rare case either.

And more generally speaking, targeting outsiders to the luxury goods, wine, artwork, and collectible markets as a harvest is an unending business.

Having money ≠ Knowing how to spend it.

Being capable and intelligent ≠ Never being deceived.

Each industry is like a mountain, just as financial scams deceive outsiders with money, so can wine merchants deceive financial experts.

If Han Lie, in a moment of enthusiasm, threw out that 150 million, buying even half genuine stock would be a blessing.

Lack of structured approach leads to such outcomes.

Now, it’s not as bad; although Pang Xiaoguang doesn’t have the direct ability to solve the problem, his advice is indeed sound.

So Han Lie reached out to a certain department head at the Financial Office, got in touch with the CEO of the Free Trade Zone Wine Trading Center, Ms. Su Wanfeng, and the CEO of Magic Capital Wine Trading Center, Gu Guang.

That evening, they sat together for a meal.

Their two platforms, if you have to compare, actually resemble financial operations.

Think of the wine on their platform as stocks.

The platform ensures each type of wine comes from the chateaux, it operates on an F2C model.

The basic physical delivery process is global origin wine merchant wines → entry into a temperature and humidity-controlled 24-hour monitored wine warehouse in the bonded area of the Free Trade Zone → consumer.

However, most customers don’t need physical delivery when buying wine on the platform, instead they hold ownership as an investment for the long term, or opt to buy low and sell high.

Consequently, the two platforms are subject not only to the supervision of the Commerce Commission and the Industry and Commerce Bureau, but also the Financial Office’s oversight.

In fact, financial oversight has a greater say in their survival.

While a certain department head theoretically has supervisory authority over Han Lie’s private equity, in reality, that’s hardly the case—Han Lie gives him face, and in return, he owes Han Lie favors.

Isn’t it a bit hard to understand?

The central bank, the local Financial Office, and the Securities Regulatory Commission are theoretically like parents or in-laws to financial institutions.

But in specific execution, the distinctions are significant.

Except for anti-money laundering, the central bank barely has time to deal with anything else, and won’t overstep the SEC to stir up trouble.