As Aurora stroked the head of the Akita pup, she looked at Nanako with an expectant face and asked, "Nanako, is this dog really for me?!""Yes!" Nanako nodded and smiled before saying seriously, "His name is Momotaro, and he is a little boy. Although he is a boy, he is very good-tempered and gentle. From now on, please take good care of him!"Aurora was very excited, and she said gratefully, "Nana-chan, thank you so much!"Nanako laughed, "We are all friends, why are you being so polite!"Aurora said with a red face, "I… I am embarrassed… I never had the chance to say sorry for hurting you like that in the competition before..."Nanako replied, "Since it was a competition, there are bound to be losses and wins. Some people will get injured. We were all competing fairly, so there is no need to be sorry. You must not take it to heart."Aurora said sheepishly, "But… But… I was..."All of a sudden, Aurora did not know how to explain.After struggling for a moment, Aurora ground her
Hearing the two talk about being saved by Charlie, Aurora was a little lost all of a sudden.With Momotaro in her arms, she sat on the floor and sighed, "Hey, suddenly I envy you guys so much..."The two couldn't help but look at her at the same time. Jasmine opened her mouth and asked, "Aurora, what are you envious of us for?"Aurora said seriously, "I envy you all for having the experience of being saved by Master Wade! Why have I not encountered such a thing..."Nanako hurriedly interrupted her and said offhandedly, "Aurora, don't talk nonsense! This kind of thing is not a joke!""That's right!" Jasmine also said very seriously, "Don’t talk nonsense! The most important thing is to be safe and sound!" Aurora said softly, "But… But I really envy you guys..."Jasmine and Nanako saw her stubbornness, and they could not help but look at each other simultaneously with a bitter smile. On one hand, the two were surprised at Aurora's odd thinking, and on the other hand, they
Jasmine nodded in admiration and lamented, "Maybe there is no one else other than him, just like a flower that can attract so many butterflies as well..." At this moment, several men in another corner of the banquet hall were also talking to each other happily. As everyone chatted, Lord Moore looked at Graham and smiled, "By the way, Mr. Quinton, don't you have a lot of business exporting to Japan recently? In the future, you can get in touch with Mr. Ito to see if there is any good direction for cooperation."Yahiko asked curiously, "Oh? Mr. Quinton also has business in Japan?"Graham nodded and said truthfully, "To be honest, I was initially in the medicinal herb business originally only for the domestic market in Oskia. However, recently, the export volume from Oskia to Japan has surged, accounting for half of all my medicinal herb sales, and it is still growing."Yahiko asked in surprise, "Mr. Quinton, is the amount supplied to Japan that large?"Graham said with a res
Seeing that Charlie had arrived, Graham took the lead and stood up, saying respectfully, "Master Wade, you're here! We were just talking about you!"Charlie laughed, "I heard you! Didn't you say you wanted to have drinks with me to your heart's content later?"Graham hurriedly laughed, "Indeed, I want to have drinks with you to my heart's content, but I definitely don't mean to fill you up."Charlie smiled and then said to Lord Moore, "Are you in good health lately, Lord Moore?"Lord Moore nodded repeatedly and said respectfully, "Master Wade, thanks to your blessing, I am in very good health."Charlie nodded, and at that moment, Yahiko, who was on the side, waved to Charlie and said with the same respect, "Hello, Mr. Wade, we meet again!"Charlie had long guessed that Yahiko must be here, but naturally, he still had to pretend to be very surprised on the surface, so he said, "Oh, it's Mr. Ito! I didn't expect you to be here too."After saying that, Charlie looked at Emi and Tan
Aurora pouted in an aggrieved manner before she said in a low and muffled voice, “I got it, Dad…”Charlie smiled at this time as he asked, “Let the housekeeper take care of the dog first. I’ll play with it after I’m done eating.”Lord Moore then hurriedly asked the housekeeper to take the dog out first.Everyone began to sit down, one after the other.Lord Moore sat on Charlie’s left while Yahiko sat on Charlie’s right.As for Emi and Hiroshi, both of them were originally unworthy to sit at the table to eat together with them. However, Charlie managed to get them to sit down at the table anyway.The relationship between a master and a servant was very clear and distinct in Japanese society. Sometimes, the title as a senior could easily make a junior demonstrate his respect, but it was relatively less rigid in Oskia. Moreover, Charlie was not the kind of person who cared so much about these details. So, he simply asked them to sit down together at the table.Emi and Hiroshi were
As soon as Charlie said this, Lord Moore and Graham had very excited expressions on their faces.They knew that Charlie was actually helping them to build a bridge with the Ito family.The Ito family was now the strongest family in Japan, and they owned assets worth more than trillions of dollars in Oskia. As for the Moore family, they had just entered the 100 billion dollars club, and Graham was still halfway to making it to the threshold of the 100 billion dollars club.Therefore, if they could collaborate with the Ito family, it would indeed be a step up the ladder for both of their families. If the Ito family would truly be willing to collaborate with them, it would certainly bring them more growth and opportunities!Yahiko naturally understood Charlie’s intentions. So, he did not hesitate as he said, “Since Mr. Wade has already said so, the Ito family will naturally go all out to collaborate with Miss Moore and Mr. Quinton!”As he spoke, Yahiko looked at Jasmine before he sai
After he was done speaking, Yahiko looked at Charlie before he said seriously, “Mr. Wade, the Schulz family’s ocean shipping license was recently revoked. So, it is definitely a good opportunity for you to quickly enter this industry at this time. I wonder if you are interested?”Charlie waved his hand before he smiled and said, “I do not know anything about ocean shipping transportation, plus I do not even own a transport ship of my own. So, why would I talk about entering the ocean shipping industry?”Yahiko hurriedly replied, “Mr. Wade, the ship would not actually be a problem at all. In fact, most ocean shipping companies from all over the world would simply rent their freights and oil tankers, just like how most airplanes from most airlines are actually rented. Some companies are good at operations but are not that proficient at managing asset-heavy business modules and fixed asset planning, whereas some companies are good at managing asset-heavy business modules and fixed asset
Charlie currently had more than sufficient funds on hand. Moreover, he also owned Apothecary Pharmaceutical which was constantly making money for him. So, it would not be difficult for him to start an ocean shipping business.Whether it was setting up a company, docking at a pier, or leasing a freighter, Charlie would not have any funding problems at all.However, the most critical issue was that if he were to start such a large new business, he would have to get someone who had sufficient ability and capability to take care of and oversee his business on his behalf.The first person that Charlie thought of was Doris.It was needless to say that Doris was indeed very outstanding and capable, and she was also a very trustworthy person.However, the only problem was that Doris would also have to manage Emgrand Group. If he were to ask her to take the lead for the ocean shipping business at the same time, Charlie was afraid that she would be completely overwhelmed with work.After t
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
Raymond chuckled at the title, humble as ever, "The Duke of Wastage? Now, that's quite the royal title, and I don't think I deserve such an honor…"Trailing off, he then made an especially curious look, "By the way, how'd you know they were calling me that?"Seeing that he was still so ignorant, Jacob scoffed. "You bought a Renaissance-era bronze sculpture earlier, didn't you?"Raymond nodded. "I did. But technically, it's medieval and not Renaissance, along with a Renaissance-era base."Jacob clutched his stomach as he laughed, "Oh, please! Medieval? Hahaha… You're killing me, Mr. Cole!"Raymond kept a serious look on his face. "It's really medieval. Why don't you take a look?""No way," Jacob snorted, pursing his lips. "Anyway, word has already spread that someone was selling a counterfeit bronze sculpture to defraud Antique Street for some serious dough. He went first to Vintage Deluxe, but their manager, Mr. Crane, saw through it and didn't buy it… and then he came to you, an
That was why most of the collectors only knew that such an item existed but they did not know in whose possession it was.After registering a new account and paying the ten thousand registration fee, Raymond got in.It was very safe as it was anonymous, and he posted a photo of the bronze sculpture and an announcement with an asking price of twenty million.In his opinion, it wasn't that expensive—if it was still gilded, it would be worth around a hundred million. Without it, it was plenty reasonable to cut the price down to just thirty million.And Raymond was cutting another ten million off that, so twenty million was plenty reasonable.Moreover, medieval bronze sculptures were exceedingly rare, and less than one specimen showed up annually at times. Collectors who desired it would therefore be willing to break the bank for it, and that was why Raymond was sure that someone would put in an order once he posted it.As he wrote the summary of the item, someone knocked on his door
Jacob frowned in disdain. "Why would I be worried? He's no longer the manager of Vintage Deluxe, and he just lost a shit ton of money for messing up his appraisal. I am also the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, so why would I be worried about some loser who will soon be kicked out of Antique Street?"Straightening his collar, he snorted coldly, "I am now going to see Raymond Cole and humiliate him face-to-face! He thinks he's impressive, doesn't he? Let's see how he will keep up that facade!"Zachary chuckled, "Yes, exactly! People like him need to be given a slap in the face! As hard as you can! Don't worry—I'll be right behind you. If he gets physical, I'll rush in to help. If he doesn't dare to start a fight, you just insult him as much as possible!""Good plan!" Jacob nodded since he was concerned that Raymond might get physical when pushed too far.And with his body, there was no way he could beat anyone…Spreading his arms, he exclaimed, "Come! I'l