Yolden assumed that Charlie only had Emgrand Group and the ten billion dollars worth of cash in his hands. So, Charlie would only have a little over one hundred billion dollars if he were to add these two things together. The possibility of Charlie being able to compete against the Wade family or the Schulz family would basically be close to zero.Charlie smiled slightly at this time as he said, “Professor Hart, to tell you the truth, I still have more than tens of billions of dollars of funds in my hands. Moreover, I also own a pharmaceutical company that is running at a good momentum and is currently earning me an annual profit of ten billion dollars. In fact, the company’s profit might even exceed one hundred billion dollars next year. Therefore, I will certainly have the funds to continue any of my other projects.”Yolden asked in surprise, “You own a pharmaceutical company that is making an annual profit of more than ten billion dollars?! What is the name of your pharmaceutica
“Your daughter?!”Charlie was a little surprised.At this time, Yolden continued, “My daughter is about the same age as you are. She just graduated from Stanford University with a doctorate last year, and she has been working for Goldman Sachs Capital Partners on Wall Street. She just resigned some time ago. I asked her to return to Oskia to further develop her career, but my daughter has some conflicts with me, and she is very rebellious. She refuses to listen to anything I say at all.”Charlie could not help but ask, “Professor Hart, in that case, would your daughter agree to it if I were to ask her to work together with me, then?”Yolden hurriedly replied, “I have been trying to persuade her all this while. The current economic and development momentum in Oskia is so good now, and it is actually much stronger compared to that of Europe and the United States. In terms of development potential, it would certainly be much better for her to develop her career in Oskia rather than ab
When Charlie saw the pained expression on his face, Charlie started comforting him as he said, “Professor Hart, to be honest, you don’t have to be too angry and frustrated. It is actually very normal for young people to be rebellious. Moreover, as far as I know, many geniuses in their own field will naturally be a little more rebellious. Perhaps the more rebellious a child is, the more powerful and independent their thinking would be. That way, they would be able to do many earth-shattering and amazing things, then!”Yolden held onto his chest as he said angrily, “You simply do not know how rebellious that girl is! I could simply endure it and put up with it if she was just going to Syria. After all, even though that place is very chaotic and messy, it is mostly just civil strife. They are relatively friendly toward Oskians. But this girl… she… she…”After repeating the word ‘she’ a couple of times, Yolden was suddenly at a loss for words again.His face was flushed red, he became a
Charlie knew that he did not lack money, but he was lacking in talents now.A business would not be successful just because of a person’s words and imagination.This was especially so when it came to managing a company. He would have to have a good talent who would be capable enough to make the company stronger and better.Charlie only had two businesses in his hands now.The first one was Emgrand Group, and the other was Apothecary Pharmaceutical.He had Doris to manage and be in charge of Emgrand Group, and he had Liam to help him manage Apothecary Pharmaceutical.However, Charlie would be stuck when it came to talents if he were to add on any other new businesses in addition to these two business sectors.Although Albert was very loyal and reliable, no matter what it was, he was not an educated person. He could follow and execute orders, but he lacked the ability to use his head to make real decisions to do big things.As for the others, whether it was Graham, Zeke, Travis,
Yolden laughed out loud as he said, “Hahaha! I don’t think that you will need to go through so much trouble. I believe in your abilities. If you praise her continuously, I believe that she will certainly be very tempted.”With that being said, Yolden was a little worried as he said, “Actually, my main concern is that she has not had enough fun yet. In that case, if she truly intends to continue staying in Syria, which is in great turmoil and chaos because of the ongoing war for another year or so, no one would be able to persuade her or change her mind anymore! Sigh! You do not know that girl at all. She is so stubborn, and no one can ever dissuade her as long as she has set her mind to do something!”Charlie nodded before he said seriously, “I will try my best to persuade her to come back soon.”“Okay.” Yolden hurriedly said, “Why don’t you add her as a friend on WhatsApp now so that you can start talking to her first?”Charlie smiled as he replied, “Uncle Hart, don’t forget that
Charlie did not expect that Autumn would turn him down as soon as he contacted her. However, he naturally would not give up so easily. So, he immediately replied: “I thought that you were back in the United States, Miss Hart. I did not expect that you would actually be in Syria instead. I wonder, why did you go all the way to Syria?”Autumn replied: “I came here with some of my university classmates to film a documentary about the war. We are preparing to use this documentary as an opportunity to launch an anti-war charity fund.”Charlie hurriedly replied: “Miss Hart, if you are interested to set up an anti-war charity fund, I can personally contribute and donate a sum of money to you too. If you would be willing to collaborate with me for the long-term, I am also prepared to transfer thirty million US dollars to your charity fund in a one-off transaction.”As he spoke, Charlie continued: “To be honest, you are a talent who majored in finance. So, why would you go all the way to Syr
Charlie smiled as he said: “Based on what I know, it seems as though the government and the opposition forces have already been in a deadlock war for a very long time. Moreover, their government is also short of money, food, weapons, and ammunition. They would also have inadequate training throughout the year, and they would certainly have very low combat effectiveness. Besides that, the government only sent a few soldiers over there to protect and ensure your team’s safety. In my opinion, that is basically useless. All of you are just unarmed and talented young people. So, if an accident were to happen, all of you would not even have the chance to escape at all.”Autumn replied a little hesitantly: “Well… I don’t think that it is that serious…”Charlie smiled as he said: “That is just your own assumption. If something were to truly happen, your assumption or opinion would not really matter at all.”As he spoke, Charlie suddenly remembered something, and he said: “I heard that merce
Autumn, who was far away in Syria, was indeed very tempted and moved after hearing Charlie’s words.During this time, Autumn and many of her classmates had encountered a lot of difficulties and dangers in Syria. Although they were lucky and fortunate enough to avoid all of these dangers by chance, every one of them knew very well that they were all facing very high risks simply by staying in Syria to continue filming the documentary.So, Autumn felt that if she could truly get the twenty million US dollars sponsorship from Charlie, that would be equivalent to a very great improvement to everyone’s personal safety, and it would be of great help to their filming expenses.As she thought about this, Autumn replied to Charlie: “Mr. Wade, why don’t we do this, then? I will bring up your proposal and suggestion to the people in my team and see what they think about it. If they agree to it, I will not have a different opinion.”Charlie smiled as he said: “That’s great! When will you guys
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