Charlie nodded as he said, “About twenty to thirty thousand dollars.”“Oh! My son-in-law, you are really too generous! You even bought me such an expensive scarf! I can already buy a mink coat with twenty to thirty thousand dollars!” After that, Elaine opened the other gift box before she exclaimed, “Oh! This is a classic Hermes belt for women! My good son-in-law, I’ve loved this belt for several years but I’ve been feeling very reluctant to buy it. I really didn’t expect you to fulfil my dreams for me…”Jacob, who was standing aside, felt a little envious and jealous. He could not help but ask, “My good son-in-law, didn’t you prepare any gifts for your dad then?”Charlie smiled as he said, “Of course, I did! I prepared a few gifts for you.”As he spoke, Charlie handed two Hermes gift boxes over to Jacob.Slapping his thighs in joy, Jacob said excitedly, “Oh! You prepared gifts for me too! You are really my good son-in-law!”As soon as his voice fell, Jacob pranced forward and
When Jacob showed off the Rolex watch which he received from Matilda to Charlie in the car, Claire had also been sitting in the back seat.So, she understood the reason why her father was asking Charlie for a Rolex watch at this time. It was just a formality, mainly because he wanted to look for an opportunity to openly wear the Rolex watch that Matilda had given to him.At this moment, although Claire felt a little uncomfortable, she could only turn a blind eye to the situation when she recalled the pasts of her father and mother, and all the grievances that her father had suffered and endured over the years.However, Claire really did not expect her mother to join in the fun at this time. She even asked Charlie to buy her a Rolex watch.She hurriedly told Elaine, “Mom, Rolex watches are usually worn by men. It will not look good on you. If you really like watches, then I can just buy a female Tissot watch for you later.”Elaine replied in disgust, “Don’t even think of fooling me
Claire said gratefully, “Thank you, husband but in future, you should not spend so lavishly on me like this…”Charlie knew that Claire certainly would not be able to accept such pricey gifts. So, he simply smiled and said, “Okay, I understand. I will buy you much more affordable gifts in future.”…After going into the house, Elaine hurriedly placed all the Hermes gifts that Charlie had given to her over the floors in the living room.While displaying the gifts and package boxes nicely, she took out her cell phone to take various pictures from different angles.Then, she chose nine pictures that she was most satisfied with and immediately uploaded those pictures on her social media with the caption: “My good son-in-law went to work in Eastcliff and he gave me so many Hermes as gifts after coming home! I am extremely happy!”Likes and comments surged on Elaine’s social media account in an instant. Seeing many women hurling envious and bitter comments on her post, she could not hel
Charlie could only shake his head helplessly when he saw Jacob sighing.His father-in-law really had not seen much of this world before.When he played with antiques, he could only afford fake antiques. It was also the same case when it came to tea leaves.The main reason was simply because his status in the Wilson family was simply too low and he had never been valued by Lady Wilson in the past. After that, Elaine had been oppressing him for many years. He had not been living a satisfactory life and he did not have much money either.Fortunately, Jacob had a pretty good personality. If it was someone else, the other party would have already suffered from depression due to taking the situation too hard.As Charlie and his family were happily tasting and enjoying the fine and premium tea leaves, Hannah was preparing lunch for the family in Villa A04 next door.Hannah had always been despised by this family as she was previously pregnant with the child of the supervisor at the coal
At this time, the door was suddenly pushed open.Christopher accompanied the old lady as they walked into the villa first.Harold and Wendy followed behind them.The old lady was wearing an elegant mink coat. Her face was radiant, glowing in good health and she looked extremely happy.Ever since Wilson Group was revived, Lady Wilson had been in high spirits every day and her face glowed with radiance, as if she had just eaten a damn Rejuvenating Pill.As soon as she entered the villa, Lady Wilson opened her mouth and said, “Oh! Although the Webb family is not doing that well anymore, a rich family who had become less richer than they previously were, is still richer compared to a poor family. With this project that they had given to us, we should be able to make a profit of at least twenty million dollars within the next year. This is simply too great!”Christopher, who was standing aside, laughed as he said, “Mom, this is all because you had great foresight! If you had not been
Hannah was filled with resentment toward Lady Wilson as she followed the Wilson family into the dining room.Lady Wilson directly sat at the main seat at the dining table. When she glanced at the food that Hannah had cooked, she was very dissatisfied and frowned as she said, “Why did you prepare all these home-cooked dishes? Why aren’t there any dishes with a lot of meat? Don’t you know that I’m already old and would need to replenish and build up my body?”Hannah was a little aggrieved as she said, “Mom, you can’t blame me for this. You’re holding onto all of the family’s money, so I only have a few hundred dollars on hand. How can I possibly afford to buy a lot of fish and meat then?”Lady Wilson snorted coldly and said, “You’re always full of excuses. Can’t you even buy a chicken if you have a few hundred dollars? One free range chicken costs less than a hundred dollars. Can’t you even afford that?”Hannah felt very angry and she said, “Mom, there are five of us eating in this f
“What face and recognition…” Wendy became anxious and she choked as she said, “No matter what it is, I’m still the public relations director of Wilson Group. It would be really embarrassing if someone were to discover and expose the fact that I’m carrying a fake Hermes bag when I go out!”Lady Wilson sneered and said, “What do you know? At a time like this, if you have a noble and prestigious status, others would think that it is an authentic product even if you are simply carrying a fake bag. However, if you have a humble and lowly status, others would still say that you’re carrying a fake bag even if you’re actually carrying a genuine bag. Since Wilson Group has had a fresh start and has already made a comeback, then to the outsiders, you naturally have a very high worth and status as the public relations director of Wilson Group. Even if you carry a fake bag, no one will think that it is fake!”Wendy was very depressed and she said, “Grandma, even if you refuse to give me one hund
Christopher still hated Elaine very much even now.This was because Elaine had not removed the twenty over green hats that she was hanging on her balcony.She did not only refuse to remove them, but she even bought a new batch of green hats online. Now, she was hanging more than thirty green hats on her balcony.Whenever Christopher entered and left the villa at Thompson First every day, he would have to pass by Charlie’s house. So, constantly having to see more than thirty green hats fluttering in the wind every day really angered and infuriated him.Moreover, whenever he thought of how Elaine had been mocking and humiliating him, he was filled with even more hatred for Elaine.He had been wanting to look for an opportunity to deal with Elaine and teach her lesson. At the same time, he would be able to please and satisfy Donald as much as possible if he could just cause some chaos in Charlie’s family. However, since Elaine had been staying home all the time because she had a plas
Soon, more collectors had gathered outside Treasure Measure even before Raymond showed up at Antique Street, with over ten of them gathered outside in no time at all.Since Raymond had only prepared ten slips, the rest left in disappointment seeing that they had no chance.Even so, the ten collectors who had gotten a number were nervous—save for the first man who had arrived.The details on the online sales post insisted that the price was fixed, and that first-come first-serve applies.If he bought the bronze sculpture, the other nine would have come all this way for nothing.However, if the seller decided to make it an auction, they would have a chance too, although their net profit would thin in turn. After all, they could have acquired the bronze sculpture for just 20 million, and that meant a solid 8 million in profit.An auction would at least raise the price to 27 million, and more would make it chicken feed.If they gave up at that point, it was a waste of a trip.If
Trippy naturally wasn't going to tell Mick everything word-for-word, so he said vaguely, "Uh, they were just being stubborn and refused to listen to anything I said. They kept saying that they wouldn't know until they saw the actual item."Mick got out of bed, staring at his phone as he mused to himself.This was getting a little ridiculous, was it not? A fool who was scammed, actually able to scam someone else? But if he really could sell it, wouldn't all their work be for nothing?With that in mind, he promptly called Zachary, who wasn't even up yet.Ever since he had started working for Don Albert, his daily routine was no longer the same as the days when he was a humble stall owner working on Antique Street, but a man of importance who slept late and woke up late.In the evening, he would be spending his time patrolling Don Albert's night entertainment properties as well as holding meetings with subordinates to decide on management policies and the like. That was why he wo
Seeing that Mick had a favor to ask, Trippy was naturally eager to seize the opportunity to get in his good graces."Don't worry, Mr. Crane!" He promptly replied. "Just leave it to me!"Returning to Treasure Measure, he went up to the first man who had come and said, "Hey, brother… Did you come to buy the bronze sculpture from Mr. Cole?"The man asked warily, "You know about the bronze sculpture?""Of course!" Trippy grinned. "I know all too well—it's actually famous here in Aurous Hill."Whipping out his phone, he played the short video that Mick had spent five grand promoting, saying, "Here—check this out!"Curious, the man took the phone and watched the video solemnly.The other latecomer soon hurried over as well and stared fixedly at the screen too.They watched as Bill entered a room with the bronze sculpture with Mick, the latter who checked it out and started commenting on it.The first man exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, it really is that bronze sculpture."The second ma
The other antique traders who were keeping tabs on the situation were left confused by Trippy's message.[Maybe even those out-of-towners know that Raymond is a sucker? So they traveled overnight just to see what happens?][I know Raymond is in trouble, but is it really worth traveling hundreds of miles just to watch?][Maybe they know he's a sucker, so they came to sell him more counterfeits?][Shit, that must be it! Suckers are rare these days, after all!][Damn straight! Just knowing that there's one in Aurous Hill, you'd be eager to come over.]Even Mick Crane who had just woken up and saw the message immediately sent a voice message: "Those conmen are just like flies flocking around shit as soon as they smell it.""Oh, but what they don't know is that Raymond has no more money! I heard he only had a few hundred thousand for the startup, and the bronze sculpture must have cost most of it. I'm afraid those people won't even get their gas money and toll costs back after travel
Trippy rolled his eyes as he texted back: [Hell no. I need to start my business instead of wasting my time. You morons can come get a number yourself if you like. Haha!]Still, Trippy had just sent his text when a trio arrived in a hurry outside Treasure Measure.Seeing that the doors were closed, the leader asked Trippy, "Excuse me, can I ask if this is Treasure Measure? Owned by a man named Mr. Cole?"Trippy was at once surprised. "You mean Raymond Cole?"The leader quickly said, "We don't know his first name, only that his last name is Cole, and his handle name was Treasure Measure's Mr. Cole."Trippy chuckled. "That'd be him. Has to be, since he hand wrote that shop sign."Pausing, he then asked in curiosity, "So, you've come to see him being a sucker?"The leader was naturally curious as to what Trippy was talking about. However, he was also reluctant to reveal why he had come since there was a killer bargain at stake. In fact, every other collector who was coming was k
Raymond also added that the 20 million price tag wouldn't be cut or increased. To put it simply, the bronze sculpture was right there in Aurous Hill and waiting—it was a race.Hence, many reputable collectors contacted expert appraisers throughout the night, some even booking night flights straight to Aurous Hill.The best amongst them was a fanatic collector of bronze items in Eastcliff.Following a brief exchange with Raymond online, he immediately called an expert who was also a close friend. As soon as his call was answered, he asked the other man if he had time to travel to Aurous Hill so that no one else would beat them to it—and they would drive out in the night if at all possible.After all, the earliest flight was at six in the morning, and it'd be eight by the time they made it to Aurous Hill Airport and nine by the time they got to Antique Street in a cab.Therefore, the ideal way to get there was by driving over six hundred miles at top speed, and that meant reaching A
While Jacob was feeling delighted after pulling off his con, Raymond had posted details of the bronze sculpture online.The website he was using was the biggest platform for antique collectors and the antique trade where each user could set a favorite tag in the antique category and era. If a user who preferred canvas art pieces of the Tudor dynasty set that label as their favorite, they would immediately be notified with text or desktop notifications in regards to any item with the same label.As medieval bronze sculptures were rare in the first place, most who were interested had already set that label on their favorites and were immediately notified soon after Raymond posted pictures of the bronze sculpture online.The collectors were naturally eager to check it out as gilded sculptures of the medieval era were really rare, and most collectors would go a lifetime without picking one up for their collection.On top of that, the seller had even listed a major flaw and was only ask
"Nope," Jacob chuckled. "We were both working separately and just happened to get back in at the same time."Then, he immediately became smug and excited, "Guess what, dear? I made 200 thousand out of the deal! In net profits!""For real?!" Elaine gaped. "200 thousand in just one night?! That's amazing! How did you do that?"Claire was surprised to hear that too, and she came over to ask, "What deal was it, Dad?"Jacob grinned, "Oh, it's nothing to brag about. It's just that I managed to pick up a nice antique item thanks to my wisdom and then sold it for 200 thousand."Pausing, he then sighed in dismay, "However, the buyer wasn't too rich—I would have squeezed him for 400 thousand, but he couldn't afford more, so I had to settle for less."Elaine quickly exclaimed, "Shit, we're talking about a loss of 200 thousand! People would work a year and still never earn that much…"She trailed off for a moment before asking, "By the way, dear—are we still flying out first thing tomorrow?
Jacob laughed. "Put that issue behind us? Sure, but we're not becoming friends. Hell, I can't even hold a grudge now that you're shit out of luck."Then, his tone changed sharply and suddenly became icy, "But you see, Aurous Hill is not a place you can stay just because you want to. No… After this, you're not going to be able to make a living in the antique trade.""If I were you, I'd be running a thousand miles away, far away from Aurous Hill where no one would know my face to start over. That way, you just might be able to make a living."Raymond simply kept smiling, "You need not be concerned about how I'm going to survive here, Mr. Wilson. I'd be very grateful if you'd cease any form of harassment once you leave my premises."Jacob pursed his lips, staring at Raymond in disappointment. "I'm plenty magnanimous, so I won't stoop to such pettiness. Just do whatever you like!"Clicking his tongue, he huffed, "Tut, tut… And here I'd thought you're tough, but you're just yet another