Having said that, Marianne said with some sadness, “Everything here is the same as it was before aside from the fact that they are old now, I have already grown up, and my mother is no longer here.”When Charlie saw that Marianne was a little depressed, he pretended to be relaxed as he said in a light-hearted manner, “My parents passed away very early. After they left, I became an orphan, and I lived in an orphanage for ten years. In comparison, your situation is still much better and happier.”“You’re an orphan?!” Marianne looked at Charlie in surprise with a look of disbelief.Charlie nodded and said, “I was probably the happiest child in the world before I was eight years old. I fell from the highest to the lowest point in my life overnight. After that, I struggled all the way until today.”Marianne exclaimed, “You’re so young, but you’re actually holding a key position in Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group... This proves that you still have very strong personal abilities!”“Is th
When the crowd dispersed, they left a cake and a table full of dishes and snacks behind.Marianne’s eyes were still red, and she was lost in her thoughts as she looked at the table that was full and piled high with dishes. Charlie looked at her and asked softly, “You’re missing your mother?”Marianne came back to her senses and nodded gently. A bean-sized tear rolled down her cheek, and she quickly wiped the tear away as she said, “I always miss her so much whenever it’s my birthday...”Having said that, she quickly smiled, looked at Charlie, stretched out her hand, and said in a playful tone, “Give me a birthday present! Anything will do.”Charlie said embarrassedly, “Look at this surprise. I didn’t even know that it was your birthday today, so I didn’t prepare anything in advance...”Marianne smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter. Anything will do. It’s fine even if you just give me a coin.”Charlie thought for a while and asked her, “Do you want one of the divine pills that ca
However, Dillion had been out the entire afternoon, and he had not come back even after it had become so late. He could not get through to Dillion’s phone either, so this made him very anxious. Over the recent years, as Rudy’s business had grown bigger and bigger, he had actually wanted to stay away from the Order of the Star as much as he could. However, Solomon was also a witty and experienced person, and he did not want to be cast aside by Rudy after he was done using him to his own advantage. Rudy also realized that Solomon was treating him like a cash cow, just like how he used to regard Solomon as his backer to support him, and Solomon was not willing to let go of him no matter what it was.Therefore, Rudy could only try his best to find a way to stabilize Solomon. Solomon had recently made a lot of money in the business of smuggling frozen meat. Still, due to the lack of scale, he hoped that Rudy would be able to come forward to register an ocean shipping company for him
As Charlie and Marianne were almost done eating and starting to cut the cake, a group of subordinates from the Order of the Star had already found Dillion’s Rolls-Royce in the underground parking lot in Tsim Tsa Tsui.At that time, when Dillion, Wester, and the others were tailing Charlie and Marianne, Dillion had thought that he was being smart by not driving his Rolls-Royce. After all, his Rolls-Royce would be too eye-catching as a target. He was afraid that Charlie would discover them in advance. However, at this moment, Dillion, who was lying in Marianne’s car trunk, would never have dreamt that Charlie had already noticed them long before they had set off.When the subordinates from the Order of the Star found Dillion’s Rolls-Royce, they retrieved the surveillance camera footage from the underground parking lot while reporting this matter to Solomon as they planned to look for clues after Dillion had left.At this time, an anxious Rudy also came to Solomon’s house to await an
After saying that, he said to the two of them, “Mr. Star, Mr. Brown, I’ll take my leave first. I will definitely inform both of you as soon as there is any news!”Mr. Lanyon turned around and left. When Solomon saw Rudy’s anxious expression, he comforted him and said, “Rudy, you don’t have to worry too much. I believe that no one in Hong Kong would dare to do anything to them.”Rudy said with a wry expression, “Godfather, to tell you the truth, even if Wester is innocent, I am afraid that there will be other people who are desperate and wants money more than their life who would kidnap Dillion for ransom!”Solomon waved his hand and said, “Rudy, it does not matter even if Dillion has been kidnapped by people from outside. Mr. Lanyon is a three-star martial artist whom I hired with a lot of money. With him around, if anyone dares to do any harm to Dillion, I will make sure that he will not even be able to die in peace!” Rudy was surprised and asked, “A three-star martial artist?!
Rudy knew that he definitely would have to fork out a large sum of money again this time.However, his son was missing now, and he still had to count on Solomon’s help. So, he could only ask respectfully, “Godfather, just tell me what kind of help you need from me. I will definitely do my best as long as I can help.”Solomon nodded in satisfaction and sighed as he said, “Rudy, you really are the best at repaying kindness!” Having said that, he sighed and said again, “Oh! Lately, there has been a slight improvement in my business of smuggling frozen meat. However, this business is not as easy as I had imagined. This is particularly so because the loss of frozen meat is too great when it first arrived. The anti-smuggling department has been keeping a close eye on this area, and we lost a lot of goods. So, I want you to help me register an ocean shipping company. With your reputation, there must be a lot of room for this ocean shipping company to operate in Oskia, and you can also hel
Rudy had not agreed to it, and Bryce had released a message to teach him a lesson.However, at that time, Bryce had never wanted to kill him. He simply wanted to take an arm from him. At that time, when Rudy had asked Solomon for his help, he had not wanted Solomon to kill Bryce at all. He simply wanted Solomon to come forward to help him reconcile things so that Bryce would stay away from him.However, Solomon had made his own decision to kill Bryce directly. After that, Solomon had then thrown Bryce’s body into the foundation at the overpass construction site. Since then, Solomon would always bring up Bryce’s death whenever he needed Rudy’s help. The subtext was nothing more than a warning to Rudy that he had such information that he could use against Rudy in his hands. Rudy had not been afraid at all in the beginning. After all, it was Solomon who had killed Bryce, while he himself had never said that he wanted Solomon to kill Bryce.However, Solomon was a sly old man, and
As Mr. Lanyon was leading a group over to Saffron Ridge, Marianne was driving her Tesla and brought Charlie to Lan Kwai Fong. After the car was parked in front of ClubWaves, Marianne asked Charlie again, “Are you sure you really want to go in?”Charlie nodded and said, “We’re already here, so at the very least, I have to go in and take a seat.” After saying that, Charlie prepared to push the car door open and get out of the car.Marianne took Charlie’s hand in a hurry and said nervously, “Charlie, think it over again. The Brown family and the Order of the Star must be looking for Dillion and his subordinates’ whereabouts at this moment. As long as they search Saffron Ridge, they will know that we are the ones who took Dillion away. At that time, they will definitely be looking for our whereabouts all over Hong Kong. We still have time if we run now, but if we go in, it will be difficult for us to get out.”Charlie smiled lightly and said, “Don’t be afraid. It’s your birthday tod
Later, after Charlie told Jeremiah over the phone about the joint venture with the Ackers to establish Curtis Autos, the old man was awash with tears, especially after Charlie told him that it was Keith who suggested it. After all, Curtis was his favorite son whose death he could never really get over. Moreover, he once believed that only his family mourned Curtis while the Ackers never did, and he held a grudge over his son's passing. As such, he was surprised that Keith held such great respect toward his late son and didn't hesitate to say yes when Charlie invited him to Aurous Hill to sign an agreement with the Ackers.Still, Charlie wasn't in a hurry to arrange for a specific time, and he was going to let the Ackers sort out the human resources of Godot Autos over a few days. It still wouldn't be too late by then.Moreover, he was keen to allow the buzz to have time to grow so that the automotive industry would be astounded by the joint project between the Ackers and the Wade
Christian was the first to exclaim in approval, "Yes! Curtis Autos sounds wonderful! It has my vote!""Seconded!" Kaiden nodded, pumping the air with his right fist. "I've looked up to Curtis the most, and I absolutely agree with naming the company after him!"Jaxson was nodding too. "Me too!""Yes!" Lulu chirped.Yolden couldn't help agreeing as well. "Curtis Autos is definitely a good name!"Merlin raised his hand gingerly as well. "Quit it with your flattery already," Keith chuckled, and he turned toward Charlie solemnly. "In the end, Curtis is Charlie's father, and the final decision goes to him!"Charlie's eyes were welling up with tears—his parents had been gone for almost three decades, yet he had never thought of dedicating anything to their memory.As such, Keith's suggestion to use Curtis's name for the car company left him thrilled. After all, wouldn't his father's soul be honored if Curtis Autos rocked the country, maybe even the world?With that in mind, he nodd
Charlie also had to agree that this was an opportunity to formally reconcile the Wades and the Ackers.While he couldn't reveal himself just yet, the Wades and the Ackers had been in-laws for years. Even if they had had a dispute for the longest time, restoring good relations made sense now that the Ackers had come to Oskia, and it wouldn't arouse any suspicion.That was why Charlie agreed to it without hesitation, even making a mental note to invite his paternal grandfather, Jeremiah, to Aurous Hill.The old geezers could meet up and clear the air while deciding on the partnership.Yolden was prepared to resign as a professor as well so that he could help the Ackers and Charlie fully develop their automotive company.With a general direction planned, he asked everyone, "Since we're creating a new brand, has anyone come up with a name?"No one was feeling inspired at that moment, but that was when Lulu, who had been silent throughout, said, "Since Charlie and our family are worki
Neither Charlie nor the Ackers expected Yolden's insight to cover all corners.In fact, it felt like the man had a blueprint ready and was only waiting for the time to put it to use.That was why everyone was immensely approving of Yolden and wanted no other man for the job of CEO.Kaeden smiled, "Well, since everyone has agreed, let's put this to rest as soon as possible—this will be a joint investment between our family and the Wades, and Professor Hart will take the post of CEO. Let's all do our best to make this a good one!"Yolden also made up his mind, deciding that he didn't want to let slip a chance to realize his ambitions. "I'll resign from the university after my honeymoon trip. It probably shouldn't be long, and I can get involved in early preparations via teleconference."Charlie nodded. "Then, we can have Uncle Kaeden stay on schedule while I'll ask the Wades to send a representative over to sign a memorandum for the investment."Keith smiled and nodded. "You should
Charlie hadn't been born and raised in Aurous Hill, but he still started living here at the age of eight and was more attached to this place than Eastcliff.If he was going to take part in this automotive investment with the Ackers, he naturally found Aurous Hill the ideal location.Not only would it create a huge number of jobs for Aurous Hill, but it would also rake in much economic flow for the region.Yolden also nodded at his suggestion. "If the first plant is meant to cover the demand of the entire local market, there's no reason for a coastal plant. Aurous Hill stands at an intersection between the north and the south, so transportation is convenient. It's also killing two birds with one stone, as Mr. Wade is fond of the city."Charlie couldn't help but agree. "I won't lie—Aurous Hill has been good to me, and I hope to give back. Nothing's better than succeeding in that respect."Yolden spread his hands, "Heavy industries are certainly ideal to contribute to Aurous Hill's e
Yolden had actually been researching new energy for a while—in fact, it was when Tesla's first car models were produced.He was passionate about the subject and had his own opinions as well as ambitions, but he was busy teaching, so he couldn't realize any of it.But was this not a golden opportunity tailor-made for him?Seeing that Yolden was clearly interested, Charlie turned toward Kaeden, "Actually, the professor is getting married soon. There's no way we'd split up newlyweds so soon after the wedding, right? So, is it possible to set up base in Aurous Hill instead?""Not a problem!" Kaeden replied without hesitation. "Our family is planning to return to Oskia anyway, and everyone knows about Ashley and Curtis. So, why don't we invest in this enterprise alongside the Wades and have the base set up in Aurous Hill? And then bring Godot under as a subsidiary?"Turning to Yolden, he continued, "By the way, Godot's plant is already in the province—barely 100 miles from Aurous Hill,
Pausing, Yolden continued, "Moreover, the greatest advantage of AI is that it is self-conscious and has the processing power to analyze astronomical proportions of data. As car sales grow, every car owner's driving data will add precious new data to our data vault, and it will be processed by AI for even greater space of imagination."For example, kst's say I experienced a bumpiness along a certain road, and when the sensors pick up on that anomaly, the data will be uploaded to the servers along with images of the road condition in real time. The processing AI module would determine in no time at all that there was damage and label said location on the map, and then forward the data to other vehicles close to that location, sending notifications when they are close enough and providing the appropriate advice for countermeasures."Naturally, the AI can even be refined further so that it immediately warns us to slow down while uploading the data to the servers and informing any cars cl
Yolden's mind short-circuited at those words. "The most advanced AI module?!"He had been working on Wall Street for years, having invested in substantial startup tech companies as well as assisting plenty of Nasdaq tech enterprises with their IPO. That was why he especially had a sharp six sense for cutting-edge technology.It had been a while since he had gotten up the saddle, and AI had just become the trend recently, but he still paid close attention. He was well aware what applications were possible for AI modules, but he was shocked that Charlie already possessed what all the online giants were coveting!Thrilled, he quickly asked Charlie, "Can the Rothschilds resolve all the hardware and software issues? High-processing power display cards are a dime a dozen these days, and local enterprises are all planning to sell them one by one. The demand is just that high!"Charlie chuckled. "Don't worry—the Rothschilds will handle both issues for me, even the data centers. We bought i
Keith, who had been silent throughout, waved him off as he said solemnly, "Please don't sell yourself short, Professor Hart. I'm sure you can do well in this position, but it's still a matter of will."If your heart is truly set on educating future generations, then I'm sure you'd reject our offer no matter what we say."However, if you felt the slightest interest, even anticipation, for such a major project, then you really should consider our offer."We've already invested in Godot Autos for 3 billion USD and over 10 billion if we're counting in Ricebolt. But we still have 30 billion more in capital available—and that means it's 40 billion USD at play."I doubt any other global car maker can afford that much, let alone a new car maker. So, I dare say that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"Keith's words spoke to Yolden's very soul—a startup capital of forty billion US dollars was certainly unprecedented for electric-powered vehicles. Even Ricebolt had barely garnered ove