Carmen was very clever indeed.She knew that when so many people were equally guilty, whoever stepped up and admitted their mistake first would have the upper hand.Moreover, she also knew far more about Charlie’s deeds as compared to the others, and she had even experienced it more personally. She had also heard of how Charlie had dealt with several experts from the Webb family from Sudbury before this. Charlie had asked Albert to carve words on those few mens’ foreheads, and whoever admitted their mistake first would have lesser words carved on their foreheads. The number of words carved on the forehead of each person after that would increase by one.It was said that when it came to the last person, the space on his forehead had not even been enough to carve all of the words. With these previous lessons learnt, how could Carmen allow others to kneel before she did?Charlie also did not expect that Carmen would kneel so quickly. So, he spoke up, “You’re my aunt, and no matt
Charlie shook his head and said indifferently, “Don’t worry, Aunt. Every single person in this group of people is a cowardly and incompetent person. Otherwise, they would not have sneaked out last night to buy mourning clothes! Since they are all so afraid of dying, how could they possibly knock themselves to death here? That is not logical at all.”As he spoke, Charlie saw that the strength of Felix’s grovel was obviously a lot lesser, and at first glance, it was obvious that Felix was only trying to put on an act to fit in with everyone else. So, Charlie said coldly, “Aunt, do you see Felix? His forehead is just kissing the ground, and he is not using any strength at all!”When Felix heard this, cold sweat broke out on his back. He was so frightened, and he hurriedly knocked his head on the ground with full force, causing him to grimace from the extreme pain!Charlie then turned to look at Jeremiah and asked, “Grandpa, who is responsible for the various businesses of the Wade fami
The members of the Wade family who were kneeling really did not expect that Charlie would be so ruthless. They were all a family, and all of them were children and grandchildren of the Wade family. However, Charlie actually wanted to imprison all of them on Mount Wintry and force them to mourn for their ancestors for three years! For these rich people who were already accustomed to being pampered and enjoying life, even three days would already be unacceptable, let alone three years!So, everyone hurriedly looked at Jeremiah expectantly and waited for him to step up and put in a good word on their behalf. Jeremiah looked at the pitiful eyes of this group of people, and he felt a little compassion in his heart.He supported Charlie in his decision to punish these cowardly children and grandchildren of his properly, but he really did not expect Charlie to be so merciless as soon as he started.So, Jeremiah could not help but say to Charlie, “Charlie, it is indeed a very good pun
However, these people were still from the Wade family’s bloodline, and they were all children and grandchildren of the Wade family. So, it would really not be easy for Charlie to pull them down if they did not commit any big mistakes. If Charlie were to use force and fear, this would trigger the rejection of the Wade family members. That way, the public would also have a very bad perception of Charlie.Still, the beauty of this matter was that this group of people had actually taken the initiative to give Charlie the perfect opportunity for remediation.If these people had not secretly gone out to buy mourning clothes last night, Charlie would not have had the justification to eliminate all of them. It was great now. Just as Charlie had been at a loss as to how he could get rid of them from the Wade family, all of them had taken the initiative to deliver themselves to him.This was similar to how Porter had taken the initiative to deliver himself to Charlie. At this moment, Ca
But today, none of the cast members who had long negotiated with the Wade family came.All of them knew that the Wade family was going to face a catastrophe today and so, everyone was avoiding it.Not to mention these paid cast and crew members, but even more than seven hundred of the Wade family’s collateral family members had also run away, leaving only James behind.Therefore, they could only helplessly remove many of the processes for the ancestor worship ceremony this time.Music, song, dance, and rituals were all omitted, and the only thing left was the sacrificial ritual that was performed by the Wade family themselves. Jeremiah held the memorial text that he had stayed up many nights to write, and he shed tears as he sighed and said, “What I wrote in this memorial text is all about the prosperity and unity of the Wade family members, as well as the re-creation of the Wade family’s glory. It’s a report that I’ve prepared for the Wade family’s ancestors…”As he spoke of th
After listening to Charlie’s command, Porter immediately said in a loud voice, “Don’t worry, Mr. Wade! I will make the arrangements for it immediately!”Charlie nodded and sneered as he said, “They think that the Wade family is done for and they want to draw a clear line with the Wade family. If the Wade family asks them to come here, they will definitely not come. However, if Ten Thousand Armies asks them to come here, I believe that they definitely will not dare to disobey.”Stephen hurriedly said, “Young Master, what are you going to do after they come? As you said, are you going to let them kneel and grovel all the way up Mount Wintry to repent?”“It’s impossible for me to let them off so easily.” Charlie waved his hand and said, “Later today, the public will receive the news, and they will think that the Wade family has lost and accepted Ten Thousand Armies’ harsh conditions. So, when the time comes, when Ten Thousand Armies asks them to take out half of their family assets as
After saying that, he hurriedly asked, “Mr. Wade, I know more about the situation in Europe and the United States. Do you need me to accompany you on your trip to Northern Europe this time?”Charlie waved his hand, “No need. You still have to take care of your parents’ burial. You can take care of your parents’ burial after making the Wade family’s collateral family members kneel honestly tomorrow.” Porter said respectfully, “I understand!”Charlie nodded slightly. “Okay. In that case, I will leave the matter related to the Wade family’s collateral families to you, then.”After he was done speaking, Charlie then looked at Jeremiah again and said indifferently, “Grandpa, we can forget about all those tedious and pompous processes for the ancestor worship ceremony this time! The main point of an ancestor worship ceremony is sincerity. If the heart is not sincere, what is the significance of making this ceremony as grand and magnificent as possible?” Jeremiah nodded, and he said in
After Charlie and the Wade family had finished briefly paying their respects to their ancestors, Charlie arrived at Shangri-La with his grandfather, Jeremiah, and his youngest aunt, Charlotte. As they were preparing to host the banquet for all Charlie’s friends and relatives who had come up to Mount Wintry today, the public who had been paying close attention to the situation on Mount Wintry had already received the news.They learned that the Wade family had finally compromised with Ten Thousand Armies, and none of the people who did not know the inside story doubted the authenticity of the news.After all, no matter how powerful these wealthy families were, they could not possibly be able to defeat Ten Thousand Armies. This was the basic consensus of everyone.What was more, the lord of Ten Thousand Armies had a deep hatred and grudge against the Wade family and would definitely not forgive the Wade family members.As for the Wade family’s collateral family members who had fled o
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,
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