Steven instantly had a very embarrassed look on his face as he thought to himself, ‘If I dare to f*cking say that I’m unhappy, you will definitely scold me for disregarding your kindness and goodwill and treating it as ill intentions instead. I’ve already long figured out the way an old rascal like you gets things done…’After understanding this, Steven simply lowered his head and pretended to be terrified, and he did not answer Albert's words. How could Albert possibly let him off so easily? Albert immediately stepped forward, and he tapped the iron bars with a rubber stick as he questioned Steven coldly, “Why? You’ve grown up and become independent now? You dare to ignore me when I am talking to you?”“No, no…” Steven shuddered in fear and he hurriedly said, “Don Albert, you’re right to reproach me just now. I was just reflecting on myself. Of course I’m unhappy to see my elder brother appearing here…”“Unhappy?” Albert raised his brows, and he was very dissatisfied as he asked,
Steven really would not have expected that his elder brother would have gone through so many hardships and frustrating times during time. In contrast, Steven’s time being locked up at this dog farm was still considered calm and peaceful.Although his personal freedom was restricted and his living conditions were a little tougher, at any rate, he did not have to live under artillery fire all day long. Moreover, it was in Syria which was a remote and war-torn place. Steven and Sheldon were overwhelmed with emotions, and the two brothers who had been fighting each other ever since their childhood suddenly felt a sense of sympathy for each other at this moment. At this time, Albert’s subordinate had already sent them two bottles of beer with a temperature of fifty-six degrees. The two brothers, who were sighing, simply picked up the bottles of beer and drank it directly from the bottle.It had already been a long time since both of them had tasted the taste of alcohol. In addition,
“Why hasn’t anyone taken the initiative to express their willingness to stay and accompany Ten Thousand Armies to tide over the difficult times?!”“At this time, they are still only thinking about asking for money. Even the most ungrateful people cannot possibly be as f*cked up as they are, right?”Hunter hurriedly said, “Lord, this group of our men are all mercenaries themselves…”“These people used to serve in the special forces of various countries, and they do possess a strong sense of collective consciousness and honor when they served their homeland with allegiance…”“But… but that feeling was not developed out of nothing…”“That is twenty, thirty, or even forty years of love and loyalty that they have accumulated for their homeland ever since their childhood…”“However, after they became mercenaries, their purpose was very simple, and it was just to make money…”After saying so much continuously, Hunter could not help but sigh and say, “It’s just like those women who fall
Since Charlie intended to head to Eastcliff on April 3rd, he simply greeted his family and told them that there was a large family in Eastcliff who had invited him to go over there to take a look at the Feng Shui of their ancestral graves during the Tomb Sweeping Festival. So, he would have to leave two days in advance. Charlie had already told Claire about this matter in advance and so, the family did not feel surprised.Anyway, to them, it was already a common thing for Charlie to go out and take a look at Feng Shui. So, Claire only told him to take good care of himself and to go and return as soon as possible. Quinn, as well as Yule and Rachel, who were far away in Eastcliff, had already long been thinking of Charlie’s visit to Eastcliff.During lunch, Yule said to his wife and daughter, “It’s already April 2nd today. I believe that Charlie should be coming to Eastcliff tomorrow.”After saying that, Yule asked Quinn, “Nana, did you ask when Charlie will be arriving? How will
Moreover, no one minded the reishi mushrooms on the mountain. There were many people who would usually go up on the mountain to dig ginseng, but it was rare for people to go up the mountain to dig for reishi mushrooms. This was because it was not difficult to cultivate and grow reishi mushrooms artificially.It was precisely because it was so easy to cultivate reishi mushrooms and because of the high yield that there were a lot of Oskian medicines on the market which were produced out of reishi mushrooms. Both the medicinal herb itself, or even the so-called spore powder, were widely distributed in the market, and the market demand for these products was huge every year. If the same routine was used to package snow ginseng, perhaps the market demand for a year would not be met even if all the snow ginseng in all the three provinces in the east would have already been dug out.Charlie had casually mentioned it to Graham previously, and Graham had already found him several thousand-y
Charlie hung up Quinn’s call. After that, he drove out of Thompson First. At this time, he saw Aurora, who was dressed in sportswear, standing in front of a tall Ford pickup truck.This young lady was tall, and she had an exceptional figure. Coupled with years of martial arts training, she seemed extraordinarily heroic, and she looked even more valiant now that she was standing in front of this big pickup truck.When Aurora saw Charlie driving out, she hurriedly waved at Charlie and said happily, “Master Wade!”Charlie stopped the car by the side, and he smiled as he said, “Aurora, did your father send you here?”“Yes!” Aurora smiled cheekily, and she pointed at the back of the pickup truck as she spoke up, “My dad said that you needed a lot of medicinal herbs and materials, so he asked me to send them over to you.”Charlie nodded as he smiled and said, “Thank you for the trouble, Aurora.”“It’s no trouble at all!” Aurora hurriedly said, “Master Wade, open your car trunk. I will
Therefore, similar pills were naturally more precious.Charlie had only refined two kinds of pills before, which were the Healing Pill and the Rejuvenating Pill.These two kinds of pills did not possess Reiki in itself.This kind of pill that did not possess Reiki was classified as ordinary pills in the , and ordinary pills were subsequently divided into different functions according to their differing effects. For instance, some were healing pills, some were tonic pills, and some were life-enhancing pills. The pills containing Reiki were collectively classified as Reiki pills. As soon as they entered the Reiki pills system, they would have a corresponding grade. Reiki pills were divided into ten distinct levels, from the first grade to the tenth grade. Moreover, the pills at each level would be divided into three tiers, namely the upper, middle, and lower tiers, depending on their purity and potency. The first grade to the tenth grade was equivalent to t
The number of Cultivating Pills and the quality of each of the Cultivating Pills that Charlie could refine from this batch of herbs would depend largely on how well he completed this step of the refining process.Charlie felt that at this moment, he was as excited and nervous as a new jade carver who was supposed to use the most common materials to practice his skills but had to directly start with a piece of priceless imperial green material. At this moment, Charlie carefully gathered all of the essences from the medicinal herbs and materials. Unlike the situation where he had refined pills in the past, when Charlie brought all of the essences from the medicinal herbs and materials together, all of the medicinal herbs and materials had immediately had a strong drug reaction.Charlie felt that the essences from these medicinal herbs and materials were like a big pot of boiling water, and the reaction was not only very lively and intense, but a large amount of Reiki was also spil
"Five hundred grand?"Mick chuckled. "Well, the sculpture looks Renaissance, and the craftsmanship as well as the material are all ideal. It would sell for up to two million in an auction, while established antique traders like us could offer up to a million. So, why the lowball?"Bill sighed. "I won't lie—it belonged to my old man, who just croaked this afternoon. But you see, he left a will stating that every antique in the house would be given to my brother… Since he's playing favorites, I thought I had to get something for myself.""That's why I quietly sneaked this baby out without anyone else knowing and am trying to sell it quickly to change my own circumstances. You don't have to tell me how many millions it's worth—I'm not that greedy. Give me five hundred grand, and it's yours."Mick shrugged as he shot back, "If it's as you say and your old man intended for your brother to have it, the fact that you sneaked it out here makes this theft. Do you think I'd buy stolen proper
It was half past six, and the skies were darkening when a figure hurried into Antique Street, heading straight toward the center—to Vintage Deluxe.Mick Crane, the manager, was holding the fort with some of his employees, and there were some guests window shopping there as well. As Mick asked the employees to assist the guests, he waited anxiously for Billy—Zachary's henchman.Nonetheless, a certain figure rushed inside within minutes, asking eagerly as he entered, "Is the manager in? Do you still buy antiques?""Yes, and yes!" Mick exclaimed as he approached Billy enthusiastically, asking, "May I ask what you're planning to sell?"Billy looked around before sneakily holding up a parcel wrapped in red cloth, carefully lifting a corner to reveal an edge so that Mick could see.Then, he promptly lowered the cloth again, whispering, "This is the good stuff. I'm just not sure if you have the money to buy it."Mick grinned. "What are you saying? If it's something Vintage Deluxe coul
Jacob chuckled. "Can't tell you right now. But I will once it's done.""Well, have you decided when we're going to Dubai?" Elaine quickly pressed.Jacob said, "I'd have to wait until tonight to see if this deal works, but we're leaving first thing tomorrow. I'll get the tickets first, and we will be staying at the Burj Al-Arab that I told you about. People are always saying how amazing it is on the internet every day, seeing how luxurious the seven-star hotel is, but I'll be the judge of that."Elaine was overjoyed to hear that. "That's amazing! And I was just thinking we can't go sooner! Go about your business, then. I'll pack our luggage right away."Jacob chuckled smugly. "Don't pack so much, though. Just stick to the necessities, since we can get the rest over there!""Alright!" Elaine exclaimed, beside herself in excitement. "Alright, you hurry up and get your thing done over there. I'll start packing now!"After hanging up, Elaine called Charlie, who was in Champs Elys Reso
As Zachary agreed to do a favor for Vintage Deluxe's Mick Crane in passing, he and Jacob agreed to meet up at 7pm at the car park by Antique Street.He first took Jacob back to the Calligraphy and Painting Association and called Billy, one of his boys whom he thought was smarter than the rest, giving him the gist of the plan and telling him to familiarize himself with the script.Then, he took the sculpture back to Heaven Springs and met up with Billy in office, telling Billy what to do in finer detail and making sure he committed everything to memory.Zachary's strength as a judge of character certainly proved itself—Billy had never done anything like this before, but he took to the plan like fish to water. He committed the script to memory soon enough, and he was flawless.Once he made sure that Billy was fine, Zachary called Mick.As soon as Mick answered, he immediately asked, "Hello, Mr. Evans. How is that thing we talked about going?"Zachary chuckled. All the arrangements
Zachary continued, "Why do you think casinos are always making a profit? It's exactly because no matter how unassuming a guest is the first time, they would be allowed to win a couple of hands, making a little profit.""And suddenly, they would think that they are the chosen one, destined to win against all odds and always come out triumphant! Once such radical, blind confidence hits them, every last bit of his money would be lost to the casino!""At that point, you can get anything from them—their house, their wife, their children… hell, they'd be willing to die if you'd just let them gamble again!"Turning toward Jacob with a grin, Zachary then asked, "So, with all the points I made and that sculpture you're holding… Do you still think Raymond wouldn't fall for it?"Jacob laughed out loud. "Oh, talk about a plan within a plan! No one would ever see it coming! Raymond Cole is so screwed!"Zachary smiled and nodded. "That's why there's no reason to rush—I'll arrange a man to get r
As soon as they drove out of the village, Jacob asked Zachary eagerly, "So, when do you think we should make our move? I can't wait!"Zachary didn't hesitate, "Let's do it today. It's better than waiting! I'll get someone reliable to bring this to Treasure Measure and get him interested. I'm sure that since he has just returned to Antique Street, he'll need a hot deal to generate hype and make himself known. That's why I'm sure he'll take this sculpture."Jacob nodded repeatedly as he chuckled. "I think so too. Today is definitely best since I'll be going to Dubai soon and probably leaving once I'm done with this. Once you get this settled by the end of today, I'll get tickets for the flight tomorrow!"Zachary grinned. "Don't worry, chief. We will definitely get it settled today…"He trailed off for a moment before continuing, "Still, you should be a little patient. We should do this in the evening—at the second just before Raymond Cole closes shop.""But why?" Jacob asked in curi
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,