The Tyrant Billionaire

He owned a vast collection of antiques, and perhaps he could profit from them in this way. Once he made enough money, he hoped to rebuild the Abe family's business empire.

He instructed his son, Abe Shojiro, to contact the financial company offering collateralized loans against antiques. Upon hearing that the Abe family possessed a large number of valuable antiques, the business manager immediately brought a team over.

The antiques in Abe Fusajiro's collection were all masterpieces, stored in dedicated rooms for safekeeping and display. With a leg and heart condition, Abe needed a cane for walking. He led the business manager and his team to the exhibition room in his home, feeling a bit melancholic as he gazed at the displayed antiques.

He had never imagined that one day, the Abe family would have to rely on selling antiques to make ends meet.

No, just collateralizing them.

These antiques would eventually be reclaimed, Abe assured himself.

Pointing to a painting on the wall, he introduced, "This is a work by the Filipino artist Juan Luna, titled Spoliarium. It's a rare piece that I bought for 40,000 yen back in the day."

"If the Southeast Asian artist most admired by the Japanese is Haji Abdul Rahman, then Juan Luna would undoubtedly rank second."

The business manager asked an expert from his team to authenticate the painting. After evaluation, it was indeed confirmed to be genuine. The business manager then said, "We can price this painting at $2,500."

Abe Fusajiro was taken aback, slightly irritated, and responded, "If you convert that based on the exchange rate back then, $2,500 is equivalent to 10,000 yen. After keeping it for so many years, I'd be losing a significant amount of money. That's unacceptable; your offer is too low."

The business manager shrugged, "The value of antiques is highest during stable times. The current market prices for antiques have significantly dropped, which is normal. You must understand that many people in Japan are selling their antiques to exchange for daily necessities, while few are buying."

What the business manager said was true.

Malaysian and Filipino artifacts were not popular in Europe, where European art, especially oil paintings, was preferred. As for Americans, they showed little interest in Southeast Asian artworks.

The market for Malaysian and Filipino artifacts was mainly domestic, but with the current domestic situation, who cared about antiques? Japan held a vast collection of Southeast Asian antiques, many of which were looted. Even some ordinary Japanese military officers' households stored several Malaysian and Filipino antiques.

In these hard times, many people sold their antiques to supplement their household income, but the demand was low, as few had the means to purchase them. Consequently, prices were continually driven down.

Currently, Southeast Asian antiques had almost no market. Financial companies offering collateralized loans on antiques were one of the few ways to liquidate such items.

"Fine."

Abe Fusajiro gritted his teeth and accepted, knowing that he currently lacked the leverage to negotiate. Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire

Especially with Americans.

The Americans had governed Japan for five years, implementing high-pressure policies, leading many Japanese to feel a deep fear of them. In many places, even an American homeless person would be treated with respect by the Japanese.

Abe Fusajiro continued the introductions.

"This is The Sultan's Court by Abdullah Ariff, a great Malaysian artist. This painting is over 100 years old."

"Given its age, we can price it at $2,200," said the business manager.

Abe Fusajiro felt a sharp pain in his chest. Did they assess the value of such artworks merely by their age? Americans were indeed culturally ignorant.

"This is The Eight Regions by Jose Honorato Lozano, a famous Filipino painter known for his watercolor works depicting Philippine landscapes and people."

"Eight regions? Never heard of it. How old is this piece?" the business manager asked the appraiser beside him.

The appraiser quickly replied, "It's from the 19th century."

"Then we'll price it at $2,000," said the business manager decisively.

Abe Fusajiro felt his heart could hardly take it anymore. These prices were entirely arbitrary. He turned to his son and said, "Shojiro, you take over from here."

Shojiro took charge, negotiating the prices with the appraisers and business manager. The Abe family's collection was indeed exceptional, including works such as The Meeting of Waters by Fernando Amorsolo, Malay Village by Nain Balan, and The Spirit of the Sea by Malang.

Other notable pieces included Gathering Fish by Botong Francisco, Dance of the Rice God by Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Kampong Scene by Eng Tow, Spring Bloom by Ibrahim Hussein, Waves of Culture by Abdul Latiff Mohidin, and Rays of Hope by Chuah Thean Teng.

There were over 180 paintings alone.

In addition, the porcelain collection was also valuable, featuring pieces from renowned Malaysian and Filipino kilns, as well as fine examples of traditional Southeast Asian ceramics.

The collection also included ivory carvings, wood carvings, Buddhist statues, bronzes, rare manuscripts, and over 3,000 other items. The most valuable items were the paintings, while porcelain and ivory carvings were priced at a few hundred dollars each, and rare manuscripts even less.

Due to the quality and quantity of the collection, the final assessed amount was substantial, totaling $2.3 million.

The business manager's expression did not show any surprise, as if he was used to dealing with amounts in the millions. He said to Abe Fusajiro, "Mr. Abe, your collection has been appraised at a total of $2.3 million. According to the bank's collateral rules, you can get a loan for 70% of that value, which means you can receive $1.61 million."

Abe Fusajiro looked at the business manager and asked, "Can I get this money directly? I have other uses planned for it."

The business manager shook his head vigorously, his expression turning a bit grim, "That's not possible. I can tell you, this business mainly involves negotiations between our company and the bank to obtain cash through collateral. We are an investment company, not a loan broker."