Adam had led a very miserable life for the past few days.After getting into trouble a few days ago, he had been severely beaten up by his second uncle. Moreover, his uncle also banned him from leaving the house,However, due to his extreme love for antiques, it was impossible for him to miss out on this auction.Therefore, he tried his best to escape the house before he participated in the auction today. However, he did not expect to see Charlie here today.He had always been very disdainful and doubtful of Charlie’s skills. In his opinion, his second uncle had been completely deceived by this young man.However, he did not dare to provoke Charlie face to face. When he saw Charlie making a bid for the pearl necklace, he made a bid immediately because he wanted to challenge Charlie.At this time, Charlie glanced at Adam before he turned around and faced the auctioneer again. After that, he continued his bid. “Seven hundred thousand dollars!”Adam followed in his footsteps. “Eigh
The naturally formed jade contained a certain amount of spiritual energy. Charlie felt that this was the perfect item for Graham to expel the evil spirit from his home. Therefore, he raised his hand immediately.“Nine hundred thousand dollars!”As soon as his voice fell, the familiar voice sounded again.“One million dollars!”Charlie turned around and he met Adam’s provocative eyes immediately.Charlie did not say anything but he continued raising his hand.“One million one hundred thousand dollars!”“One million two hundred thousand dollars!”After bidding several times, the price of the jade had already doubled and under Adam’s deliberate bidding, the price of the jade soared to two million dollars!Everyone in the auction hall knew that Adam had deliberately raised the price of the jade because he wanted to provoke Charlie.Therefore, everyone was waiting to watch another good show as they watched Charlie raise his hand again.At this time, Charlie slowly raised his hand
Everyone was watching Adam at this time. He hesitated for a moment before he finally decided that reason defeated impulse.He said in a furious manner, “I give up!”“Ha!”“Lousy!”“What a shame!”“Such an embarrassment!”Everyone continued scolding and making fun of Adam as they laughed at him. Adam was left embarrassed and he did not know where else to hide his face.He regretted his actions. He regretted coming out today. Otherwise, he would not have been so embarrassed.Adam was very angry as he felt very embarrassed at this time. After a short while, Adam turned around and he was even angrier when he saw Charlie laughing at him.At this time, he could not stop himself from rushing over to Charlie immediately.“The one with the last name Wade! Are you doing this on purpose?”Charlie picked up the glass of wine from the table before he took a sip and said, “No one forced you to bid against me. You wanted to bid against me, so why are you mad at me now?”Jasmine also spoke
The crowd started bidding and very soon, the price of the clam increased to twelve million dollars.Many people stopped bidding as soon as the price exceeded their limit. However, the people who knew the value of the clam continued bidding for it.At this time, Jack suddenly stood up before he said, “I bid fifteen million dollars for it!”After that, he turned around before he bowed and said, “Dear friends, the reason why I am here at the auction today is because of this clam. Therefore, I hope everyone will give up on bidding for this item so I can bring it home with me today. I will give everyone here today a peace talisman as a token of my gratitude.”Most of the guests who were present today were bosses and businessmen who knew of Jack’s reputation. No one dared to offend him.If he was unhappy, he could probably do something that would cost the other party his entire fortune or family!Besides that, he would also be giving out a peace talisman worth two hundred thousand doll
Jack was going crazy!He was well-known in his own city and all over the country. Everyone here today respected him with all their hearts but this young kid was actually so arrogant towards him. He had even tried to trample all over him several times already. This was really annoying!What was even worse was that he actually dared to scold him!He must have a death wish!The people present at the auction were also shocked at this time.Who was this young man? Who gave him the courage to challenge and scold Jack? Was he already tired of living? Jack was a Feng Shui master who had more than ten thousand ways to kill him without involving any blood at all!However, even though Jack was very furious, he remained calm and composed as he wanted to get the clam at a lower price. Therefore, he still maintained his demeanor before he smiled and said, “My friend, I know that we’ve both had a misunderstanding before the auction earlier but this is a little too much. If you are bidding again
“You! You!” Adam’s face was flushed red as he yelled, “You b*stard! How dare you cheat the Quinton family’s money? I am going to crush you sooner or later, you liar!”Jack turned around at this time before he looked at Adam and asked, “Mr. Quinton, do you know this person?”Adam snorted before he replied “All I know is that he is the son-in-law of the Wilson family. He does not have a job and he lives off his wife. Recently, he managed to coax my second uncle into giving him some money…”“Is that so?”Jack asked as he raised his brows. At this time, he snorted because he felt completely reassured at this time.“Alright then, young man. I would advise you not to be so arrogant. Otherwise, you’d be the one to suffer in the end. I am not looking down on you, but are you sure you can afford to pay one hundred million dollars?”Charlie’s face was very cold as he replied, “You don’t have to worry if I have enough money or if I can afford to pay the money. If you want to fight against m
One hundred million dollars in exchange for a clam.Everyone thought that Charlie was insane but Charlie did not care at all.On the way back home, Charlie explained to Jacob that he need not worry because the one hundred million dollars that he spent at the auction had already been authorized by the Quinton family. Charlie was afraid that Jacob would be frightened and worried about what the Quinton family would do to them.After arriving home, Charlie began studying the clam immediately since Claire had not returned home from work yet.The size of the clam was about the size of a regular tyre. It had already been cleaned up and after a simple polishing work, it revealed a golden-red and transparent smooth shell.Charlie managed to break it into several pieces without much effort at all.He picked up one of the pieces as he began inspecting it.As expected, there were three white beads attached to the back of the shell.This was the Holy Pearl of the Ocean, one of the Seven Tre
At this time, Claire took the bracelet in her hand before she asked, “Charlie, you made this yourself, right?”“Yes.”Charlie nodded before he replied, “This pearl and clam shard necklace has the effect of calming the nerves and it will help you to sleep well at night. If you wear it often, it will also help you to ward off evil. It was a little too rushed today that is why the workmanship is a little rough. I promise to make you a more beautiful bracelet when I have the opportunity to do so in the future.”Before he could even finish his sentence, Claire smiled and said, “Thank you, Charlie. I like it very much.”“I am glad that you like it.”Charlie heaved a huge sigh of relief at this time.The jade bracelet that he gave to Claire before this was in fact very precious and valuable. However, Claire did not wear it much.In fact, Claire was a very simple and casual person. She did not care much about gold or silver jewelry and she did not like to wear anything that is too showy
Jacob was naturally gleeful that he could get the late medieval bronze sculpture along with its base. Right after he wired the agreed upon ninety-eight grand to Mr. Cardensky, he was already imagining how Raymond would buy it from him for several hundred grand.On the other hand, once Mr. Cardensky received the transfer, he saw the name on the account: Jacob Wilson.He was left perplexed—wasn't that man's last name Montague? Who was this Jacob Wilson?Still, he didn't worry about it too much since most antique hustlers preferred to work with anonymity and therefore, using a different name was perfectly normal.He then carefully wrapped up the bronze sculpture before passing it Jacob, asking politely, "Would you happen to have any other requests, Mr. Montague? I have plenty of other items here if you'd permit me to give an introduction."Jacob shook his head, "Just this sculpture will do. I'm not fully confident in your work either since this is our first deal, so I'm just trying i
Jacob asked, "Then, what would this sculpture be worth if it was genuine?"Mr. Cardensky thought about it. "Well, there are standards when it comes to Renaissance relics, but with something this exquisite, it'd definitely be auctionable for one or two million—and that's the conservative estimate.""How much would you sell it to me for?" Jacob then asked."Thirty percent of the market price," Mr. Cardensky quickly replied. "As I've said, the conservative estimate for this one is around one to two million, so we will set the price with the median estimate value at 1.5 million. And thirty percent means 450 grand."Jacob shook his head right away. "No, no, no… that's too expensive. What if I end up unable to sell it, on top of that?"In his mind, while he could barely accept that pricing, he still needed Raymond to be able to afford it if he wanted to swindle Raymond for twice the money.Mr. Cardensky quickly chuckled, "Oh, Mr. Montague—now you're being too serious. In this business,
"Okay!"Mr. Cardensky smiled and pointed at a nearby farmyard. "There's our workshop—the good stuff is all in there. Allow me to take you there!"The farmyard seemed uninteresting at first glance, but Mr. Cardensky soon led them to the stables and brushed off the straws covering the floor, revealing a plank laid flat on the ground.Mr. Cardensky then lifted it, revealing a passage below—they had dug a cellar into the ground beneath, with the stables as an entry point.As Jacob followed Mr. Cardensky down the cellar, he exclaimed in awe, "Your operation is definitely big, digging such a huge cellar!"Mr. Cardensky smiled humbly. "Anyone working in the business would have sustained their losses before. In the end, we're all folk of humble origins, starting out with raiding tombs or excavating artifacts. Just digging a cellar is really nothing."As they conversed, they cleared the stairs and arrived at the main hall.It was certainly a hall as it was around a hundred square meters,
Zachary nodded repeatedly. "Mr. Montague? Very well!""Yes!" Jacob grinned smugly. "Longer last names are simply better—it just sounds so authoritative."With that agreed upon, both men alighted, where the master was waiting nearby.Seeing them get off, he hurried over to them, smiling, "Please, follow me."Zachary looked around and huffed, "Honestly, Mr. Cardensky, isn't this way too far from the highway? The road is narrow and terrible, and I have to park my car all the way out here. Just coming here is taxing."Mr. Cardensky smiled in turn. "My friend, that's exactly why we picked this place. Do you remember seeing a couple of cars parked by the road, occupying half of it?""We arranged for them to be there. Anyone coming by car would have to slow down that way, buying time for us to see who they truly are. If it's cops, our watchers would quietly text us while we clean the house and bail."Zachary exclaimed in realization, "You boys really run a tight ship!""For sure," Mr.
After working in Antique Street for years, Zachary's connections and influence were naturally special. And yet, though he was acquainted with some of the more impressive individuals, he was not that close with them either.For example, the forgery masters who worked specifically to deceive experts only accepted jobs from major clients, usually antique traders high in social status and wealth.In contrast, they wouldn't ever be interested in frivolous people like Zachary. Even if he could reach them, they might not look at him twice.If one would describe them as the cartel boss, then Zachary would be a low-level enforcer, managing night joints or goofing off.But now, Zachary had turned over a new leaf—he worked under Don Albert, so one of those masters was pleasantly surprised when he called one of them, inviting him to his own workshop for a visit and further discussion.As such, Zachary picked up Jacob and went over to the master's hideout where the latter worked on his count
Zachary was naturally shrewd enough to read Jacob's intention.In reality, he wasn't offering to pay just because he wanted the profit. He merely wanted to get in Jacob's good graces. After all, wouldn't Jacob be even more grateful that he wasn't just helping his revenge but also helping him make money?As such, he didn't hesitate to tell Jacob, "Well, chief—since you'll be paying, I will make sure that you will get every cent of profit that you deserve."Jacob was grinning ear-to-ear, but he said, "Oh, you don't have to! If we really are making a profit, there's no way I would let your good work go unrewarded!"Spreading his arms, he continued generously, "How about this? I will pay the full cost while you get twenty percent of the net profit!"Zachary laughed. "Now, that can wait, chief. We need to pay as soon as we decide on the item we want, and there's no time for buyer's regret. But if Raymond doesn't take the bait, all that money will go down the drain, and whether we can s
Zachary chuckled and continued, "Well, I went to Antique Street and asked around. Turns out our mutual friend only brought a few hundred thousand grand with him. If he messes up and loses all his money, won't it be over for him?""He won't just be broke either—he'd be humiliated and forced to fuck off from Antique Street. You'd get even then!"Jacob was at once excited.Just yesterday, Claire and Charlie were warning him that assault meant doing time.As the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association and the next presidential-hopeful, he would lose his place if he was charged with assault or being an accessory to a case.However, Zachary's plan was much better. Jacob wouldn't have to take responsibility, and the damage on Raymond would be even worse!In comparison, slapping Raymond meant nothing. Watching him go broke and get humiliated would really ease his heart!With that in mind, he promptly pressed Zachary, "Are you sure that prick will mess up?""I can't a
Jacob Wilson was in his office at the Calligraphy and Painting Association, planning his itinerary in Dubai.Still, he was immediately thrilled when Zachary told him that there was progress, and he quickly said, "Come see me at the Calligraphy and Painting Association. We'll talk in my office!""Alright!" Zachary agreed to it happily. "Just wait, Mr. Wilson. I'll be right there!"Jacob then quickly told him, "By the way, remember to address me as the vice president when you're here. Got it?"Zachary was naturally sharp enough to understand why, especially around other members of the Calligraphy and Painting Association.Smiling, he said, "Don't worry, chief. You can always be at ease when I'm on the job!"Once he hung up, he drove to the Calligraphy and Painting Association at top speed.There were just a dozen people around the dozens of work cubicles although Zachary was curious about the personal effects or office tools in the cubicles.After asking around, a staff member le
Then, Mick continued, "I won't lie—Moore Group's bean counters have been eager to get rid of Vintage Deluxe for a while now. It's only Miss Moore's insistence that keeps them at bay, even occasionally coming to check on how business is going. That means she holds sentiment for this place, but if she knows that Raymond is back and doing well, she might hire him again!"Zachary could laugh right then. After all, Mick was terrible at gathering information—he could worry about anyone taking his palace, but not Raymond. The man was fired because he had insulted Master Wade's father in-law, and Miss Moore was endlessly respectful—even obedient to Master Wade. There was no chance that she would hire Raymond back after what he had done, and Mick was just being paranoid.However, Zachary did not tell Mick that.As Mick was begging him to intervene and thus owing him big time, he would also be helping Jacob Wilson get even.Two birds with one stone, so why not?With that in mind, Zachar