Chapter 33: Gains from the Trip to Germany

 The call came from London. Finally, Pierce and his son managed to sell the Cold War artifacts they brought back from Germany through their channels, and they made considerably more money than they had initially anticipated.


Pierce's reason for making this call was to request that Liang En return to London as soon as possible. The purpose was to swiftly distribute the earnings acquired from the recent auction.


Upon returning to London via a hurried farewell with his parents and a direct flight, Liang En discovered Pierce and his father waiting for him at the Emerald Gem Antique Shop.


"Lawrence, it seems your trip home brought you quite a bit of good fortune," Pierce exclaimed loudly as they entered. "You look much better now than before, I must say."


"Certainly, not only did I get to enjoy my mother's homemade braised pork at home, but my previous paper has also been published in the 'Journal of the British Archaeological Society.' You'll be able to see it in the upcoming issue."


"That's truly admirable," Old Pierce nodded gently. "When I was young, I submitted no less than 30 papers to various journals, but even the campus publications wouldn't accept what I wrote—"


"Alright, let's talk about how much money we made from our last trip to the German warehouse," Pierce quickly diverted the topic as he sensed his father about to delve into the past. "We made quite a substantial amount this time."


"Substantial indeed, is that true?" Liang En asked with some incredulity.


In his eyes, those small tanks and flags were nothing more than toys for children and adolescents. While they possessed unique characteristics due to historical reasons, their prices shouldn't have been too high.


"Yes, because we happened to meet a collector with a keen interest in such artifacts," Pierce explained before delving into the sales details of the items.


"First, the five small tanks. These tanks covered all the tank models of the Vanguard Armored Brigade, and since they were sold as a complete set, the buyer was willing to offer a very decent price."


"At the start, the buyer was willing to pay £32,000 for a tank. However, after we presented the flag that belonged to the tank brigade and several sets of tank crew uniforms from that era, he raised the offer to £33,000."


"As a result, everything related to the Vanguard Tank Brigade, including tanks, flags, uniforms, etc., was sold for a total of £180,000."


As Pierce finished speaking, a brilliant smile immediately appeared on Liang En's face. He hadn't expected that these toys in his eyes would fetch such a price.


Keep in mind that the average annual income in the London area is around £30,000 to just under £40,000. Yet, in just a week's time, they had earned wealth equivalent to 4.5 times that.


"So, what about the items we cleared out afterward? How much might those items be worth?" Liang En inquired after the initial excitement had subsided.


The remaining items didn't pique the buyer's interest much. In the end, they only purchased a few flags from the Ernst Thälmann Vanguard Organization for £10,000 and some wooden boards with propaganda images. So, in total, we earned £190,000 this time."


"That's already quite good," Liang En nodded, then curiously observed the father and son.


"Why did you specifically call me to London this time? I believe you're certainly capable of fairly distributing my share of the money without the need for a face-to-face meeting."


"The main issue lies with the payment the buyer offered this time," Old Pierce cleared his throat. "Due to the substantial amount and the fact that our merchandise is legal, the payment was made via a check."


"Don't tell me the check is counterfeit." Upon hearing Old Pierce's explanation, Liang En immediately thought of certain possibilities.


"Of course not. That collector is the heir of a duke and owns several commercial streets in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. There's no way he would use a fake check for less than £200,000."


Saying that, Old Pierce placed the check on the table and continued, "As per our prearrangement, £120,000 of this is yours."


"But the problem is, although you're not British, you earned this income in the UK. Therefore, just for this transaction, you'll need to pay around £40,000 in personal income tax."


That's also why people preferred using cash in private. However, to avoid tax authorities knocking on their doors, they often used cash only for small transactions while dutifully paying taxes for larger ones.


"That's really a lot." As they were all friends present, Liang En couldn't help but complain.


His only solace was that there were a series of tax agreements between Ireland and the UK, meaning he wouldn't have to pay taxes twice, once he fulfilled the tax requirements here.


"That's why I suggest you set up a company in the Isle of Man, just like our family's shop," Old Pierce chimed in at this point. "While it won't completely exempt you from taxes, it will certainly reduce the amount significantly."


"A company?" Upon hearing Old Pierce's suggestion, Liang En fell into contemplation.


Truth be told, before coming in, he had never considered the idea of setting up a company. However, now reminded by Old Pierce, Liang En suddenly realized that indeed, he needed to establish a company.


This requirement was related to reasonable tax avoidance, but it wasn't an absolute correspondence. He believed that with the Midas touch, he would surely engage in a lot of activities in this field. Hence, going solo might not be the most suitable approach.


For instance, if he wanted to salvage certain shipwreck treasures or excavate underground relics, those tasks were practically impossible for a single individual.


"If I want to register a company on the Isle of Man with the purpose of searching for and excavating various treasures for profit, how should I proceed?" After thinking it over, Liang En turned to the two present for advice.


Choosing the Isle of Man as the registration location was simple; it was renowned for its status as a tax haven in Europe, and registering his company there would also be convenient in terms of the UK jurisdiction.


"That's quite straightforward. Just prepare your identification, funds, and the company name. Then, find a reputable law firm," Old Pierce shrugged. "After all, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of companies that flock to the Isle of Man for registration with tax avoidance in mind. So, for London-based law firms, this is a very straightforward process."


The next morning, armed with funds and a company name he had pondered over for hours the previous night, Liang En headed straight to a law firm in the London city center. He spent half an hour getting everything sorted out.


Just as Old Pierce had mentioned yesterday, this wasn't a particularly challenging task. After comprehending all the paperwork and spending over £4,000, the firm informed him that the process would take about five to six days to complete.


After confirming that they would call him once it was done, Liang En left the law firm and headed straight to the Emerald Gem Antique Shop.


Since he had arranged it with Pierce yesterday, he was ready to travel to Scotland today to purchase Victorian-era furniture. This was part of completing a major deal Pierce had recently undertaken.


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