Under normal circumstances, it was difficult for others to get a chance to have a share in any of the projects undertaken by the Ackers even if they rushed to buy the shares with money. Moreover, even if some of the Ackers’ projects were open to external investment, not everyone could get the investment share. The Ackers had always been strict in selecting its business partners, and one would not be able to invest even if one had money, as long as the person’s assets did not meet the threshold requirements. What’s more, if outsiders wanted to invest in the Ackers’ projects, it was equivalent to investing in a wealth management fund. Even if they got the opportunity, they would have to pay a certain percentage of management fee to the Ackers, who was the trader, and this management fee had to reach at least twenty-five percent. If it was a project that was worth ten billion US dollars and the Ackers offered a forty percent quota, it seemed that each percentage point corresponded t
Jasmine walked Christian to the door of her office and then asked her assistant to send Christian downstairs while she returned to the office and called Charlie. Jasmine then reported everything that Christian had just mentioned to Charlie in detail over the phone. After hearing Jasmine’s words, Charlie could not help but smile and say, “It seems that my uncle is indeed quite sincere. If these two collaborations between Moore Group and the Ackers can be implemented, the market value of Moore Group may double or increase by even more within the next year.”With that said, Charlie added, “In addition, my uncle’s ideas about the development of healthcare in Aurous Hill almost coincide with my previous plan. With my current ability, if I want to help Aurous Hill improve its international influence and attract more capital, the best way would be through healthcare. If it is done well, it might take a few years for Aurous Hill to become the fifth first-tier city in Oskia.”As Charlie spo
Christian kept waiting for a call from Jasmine’s assistant on the way back to Willow Manor. He knew that the conditions he offered to Jasmine today were very sincere, and Jasmine would definitely ask his benefactor for instructions before giving him a clear answer.However, he did not know where his benefactor was at the moment. He did not know whether he was in Aurous Hill or Oskia. Therefore, Christian speculated that if his benefactor was in Oskia or even in Aurous Hill, Jasmine would definitely contact him as soon as possible and report this matter to him. Jasmine would get someone to reply to him quickly as to whether she would agree to his conditions, then.If the reply came quickly, his benefactor might be in Aurous Hill.However, Jasmine still hadn’t replied to Christian even after he arrived at Willow Manor. When he returned home, the Acker family members immediately put down everything on hand and approached him as they waited for him to give them the latest update on th
Kaeden hurriedly asked, “What did Miss Jasmine say?”Christian replied, “She didn’t give me a clear answer. She said that she wanted to think about it. I think that she wants to report this matter to our benefactor first and ask for his opinion.”Kaeden slapped his thighs and cried out, “Oh, Christian! It should have taken you more than half an hour to drive back here. Did Miss Jasmine send you a reply yet?”Christian said, “Not yet.”Kaeden was a little disappointed and sighed as he said, “It seems that our benefactor is most likely not in Aurous Hill…”Christian nodded and said, “I share the same thoughts as you. If she takes a long time to reply, I’m guessing that there is a high probability that our benefactor is not in Aurous Hill.”With that said, Christian added, “When I was talking to Miss Jasmine, she mentioned that our benefactor had left Aurous Hill as well. I was wondering if our benefactor had continued staying abroad after the incident in New York.”Kaeden smacked
After Merlin was done speaking, Keith, whose condition had improved greatly over the past few days and whose memory had gradually begun to recover, suddenly said with a serious expression, “Merlin is right! We used to deny everything based on intuition too easily. That’s why we haven’t been able to find Charlie even after so many years! Sometimes, when doing things, we have to go against our own intuition!”Christian nodded and said, “After my sister’s accident, we searched Aurous Hill for a while but did not find Charlie’s whereabouts. We intuitively judged that Charlie must have left Aurous Hill at the time. Since then, we’ve always looked for Charlie outside of Aurous Hill, but we’ve been searching for twenty years with no results. Perhaps Charlie never left Aurous Hill in the first place!” Kaeden was silent for a moment and then suddenly raised his head and frowned as he said, “Now that I think about it, there are really unfathomable depths in Aurous Hill! If nothing else, based
Zachary dug out the three magical instruments that Charlie had given him from the smelly soil next to the latrine using a shovel in his hand. These three magical instruments had been buried together with the rotten and smelly pig offal for two days. There was a pungent smell as soon as the magical instruments were dug out.Zachary pinched his nose and picked out the three magical instruments from the soil, then carefully brushed the dirt around the magical instruments with a soft brush and wiped them carefully with a dry towel. He then held the magical instruments under his nose and smelled them vigorously.By this time, the fishy smell of blood had faded a lot. According to Zachary’s previous experience of selling antiques, this smell was very close to the smell of a new jade dug out from new tombs. Objects from new tombs, especially jade objects that were buried close to the body, would typically have a faint fishy odor for a period of time after they had been dug out from the
“That’s right. Zachary, isn’t it better for you to work for and follow Don Albert around to enjoy life instead of playing around with things in Antique Street?”A woman selling fake copper coins said with a smile, “Zachary, could it be that you made some mistakes and were kicked out by Don Albert?”Zachary waved his hand and said casually, “Don’t mention these things anymore. I plan to come back here to set up my stall again.”After saying that, he looked at the man who had greeted him first and said, “Landon Diggor, I lent you my original stall for free after I left back then. Since I’m back now, you should give that position back to me.”The man known as Landon waved his hand immediately and said, “No, no, I can’t do that. Zachary, when you left, you agreed that you would never come back to Antique Street, so you gave that stall to me. A real man should keep his word, so you shouldn’t go back on your word!”Zachary sneered and said, “Landon, you are not taking me very seriously,
Landon, who was aside, also hurriedly said, “Mr. Zachary, please take me with you as well! I have no other advantages aside from being obedient! I will definitely obey your orders and do whatever you ask me to as long as you’re willing to take me with you!”Other people also expressed their sincerity to Zachary. In their opinion, since Zachary was willing to give up his position as Don Albert’s confidant, this proved that he had definitely found a better way to make money. Zachary also mentioned that this new money-making path was related to antiques, so Zachary was not only good at it, but everyone was familiar with it as well. Therefore, everyone wanted to get a share of the pie with Zachary.Zachary said calmly at this time, “Everyone, I just came back to Antique Street and have not smoothed out the new business completely yet. I can’t use so many people at this initial stage, so I’ll just take Landon and Terry with me to get started first. You should not worry if your turn hasn’t
When Jacob came to his senses, he was already in tears. The student presumed he was unwell and asked, "Mr. Wilson, do you want me to call your wife to pick you up?" Elaine's sarcastic face immediately popped up in his mind, and he trembled with fear. He quickly wiped away his tears and stammered, "D-don't bother... I... I just got something in my eyes..." The student obviously didn't believe him and asked worriedly, "Why don't you call your wife? Or I'll call a cab for you." "No, no." Jacob waved his hand and said, "I'll call my son-in-law to pick me up. He has just returned to Aurous Hill, so it shouldn't be a problem." After that, he quickly took out his phone and called Charlie. Just a few minutes ago, Charlie had left the cafe and was about to walk Yolden to his car. When he saw Yolden walking straight toward a domestic new energy vehicle, he asked curiously, "I don't think you were driving this model before, were you?" "I just bought it," Yolden replied with a smil
If Matilda still had feelings for Jacob, his nostalgic strategy would definitely have a strong impact. However, Matilda had already decided to move on, so Jacob's suggestion did not stir any emotions in her at all. With an apologetic smile, she said, "Sorry, Jacob, Yolden is downstairs waiting for me. We have something to discuss. How about another day? We can have dinner together, and I'll treat you." Jacob didn't expect the nostalgia strategy to fall flat. His original plan was to use nostalgia to get Matilda to go with him to eat near the school, then take the opportunity to revisit old places and subtly reignite their past memories. After all, revisiting old places was the best way to rekindle old feelings, no exceptions. It was like drinking the pasta water after cooking the pasta. However, he never imagined that Matilda's expression wouldn't change in the slightest. There was no shyness, no hesitation, no nervousness, and certainly no fluttering heart. She simply and
Matilda had been listening attentively before, but now, she was lowering her head, fiddling with her phone, and her expression even carried a hint of shyness and happiness, like that of a young girl. Jacob felt a pang of jealousy. While doing the presentation, he couldn't help but resentfully think to himself, "What has Matilda been chatting about with that Yolden guy? She's so happy..." At that moment, Matilda had just received a message from Yolden. In the message, Yolden informed her of the outcome of his conversation with Charlie and expressed his desire to have the wedding as soon as possible. Seeing how eager her beloved was to marry her, Matilda naturally felt very touched. At that moment, she had completely fallen into Yolden's love. For this man, who had a similar background, education, values, and even lifestyle to her own, she could find no fault with him. She felt that he was perfectly tailor-made for her by heaven itself, almost as if everything about him perfectly m
Charlie's worries were not unfounded. He had long known that Jacob had not completely given up on Matilda despite her relationship with Yolden. After returning from the cultural exchange in Korea, Jacob had been more dejected than ever before—something he hadn't even displayed when his family had gone bankrupt. If there was still a chance to salvage the relationship when one's beloved was merely dating someone else, their marriage was tantamount to a death sentence. Furthermore, considering the high intellectual backgrounds of Matilda and Yolden as well as their age and life experience, their decision to marry at this stage of life undoubtedly signaled their intention to build a long-term future together. This left Jacob with absolutely no chance at all. At this moment, Jacob was blissfully unaware of the devastating news and was busy conducting a calligraphy and painting workshop at Senior University. The so-called workshop was essentially a few slides showcasing classic
After that, Charlie asked with a bit of curiosity, "When did you and Matilda decide to get married?" Yolden smiled sheepishly and explained, "Remember when the city organized our cultural exchange trip to South Korea? I confessed to Matilda during that trip, and she accepted. After spending some time together, we both felt we were a great match. Considering our age, we didn't want to delay such an important decision any longer, so we decided to take the next step and build a family together." He continued, "Last month, we went to Lambonear for a few days. I bought a ring and proposed to her by the seaside, and she said yes. We also sought the opinion of our respective children—Autumn and Paul—and they were both very supportive. Both kids are exceptional and independent, so they urged us to have the wedding as soon as possible. I wanted to wait until you returned so I could check your schedule. For our wedding, we'd like to ask you to be our officiant." "What? Me as the officiant?
Charlie said without hesitation, "Sure. When is it convenient for you? Send me the address, and I'll go meet you." Charlie had always respected Yolden not only because he was a nice and talented man but also because he and his mother went way back and went to the same school. Yolden said hastily, "I've just come from Senior University. It's the weekend, and I don't have classes today. Why don't you send me the address and I'll meet you?" Charlie gave it some thought. It was a little past 3 p.m., so Yolden had likely already had lunch, and there were still a few hours until dinner. Inviting him to The Heaven Springs didn't seem ideal for a discussion. Considering that he had lived in the United States for many years and probably had a habit of having coffee in the afternoon, Charlie said, "How about this? There's a Starbucks not far south of the university. Let's meet there for a cup of coffee." "Perfect!" Yolden said with a smile. "I was just thinking you could give me an addre
On the way back to The Heaven Springs, Julien was in a much better mood than when he had arrived. Initially, he was filled with anxiety, unsure of what Charlie had planned. But now, everything had become clear. The troublesome matter of Salem and Edmund was no longer his concern. All he had to do was wait for the video from the ship to be released and then head back home. Charlie noticed his improved mood and smiled as he asked, "Julien, you've resolved the most critical matter right after landing in Aurous Hill. You must be feeling pretty happy, right?" Julien chuckled and said, "To be honest, before coming here, I was worried that I'd end up going back empty-handed and being secretly mocked by others. But now, it's different. Once your video is released, no one can blame me for not doing my job. If anything, they can only blame their family for missing their chance. After all, so much time has passed, and it's their fault Salem and Edmund were moved to the Middle East." As he
"Good." With a light nod, Charlie turned to Jiro and spoke up, "Jiro, I'll give you a chance to prove yourself." "Okay, Mr. Wade!" Jiro beamed excitedly. "Please tell me what to do! I promise I will do my best to serve you." Charlie smiled and said, "Once the ship is ready, you'll board it together with them. Your only task is to keep a close watch on them the entire time. Don't let them pull any tricks. If you succeed, you'll be a free man here. You'll get a basic monthly salary and can ask for anything you like within reason—so long as it's not contraband, it will be yours." Hearing this, Jiro was so thrilled that he trembled all over. His current treatment was already decent, but he was still only a semi-free man. He didn't dare casually set foot on the ground outside. If he could become a truly free man, he would be able to enjoy the sunlight outdoors freely. More importantly, from then on, he would have a salary. Although he couldn't personally go out shopping, having a sa
Julien had uncovered Charlie's true identity quite some time ago and investigated Charlie's background. He was well aware that Charlie had become the head of the Wade family and that the Acker family fully supported him. Although the outside world believed that Ten Thousand Armies had subdued the Wade family, Julien had witnessed Charlie's methods firsthand. Even the top two figures of the Rothschild family had been toyed with by Charlie, so how could Ten Thousand Armies possibly make him surrender? Thus, Julien deduced that Ten Thousand Armies was undoubtedly Charlie's covert tool. Considering the combined strength of the Wade family, the Acker family, and Charlie's personally cultivated forces, it was evident that Charlie even had the power to contend with the entire Rothschild family. Moreover, with the life-extending pill in his possession and the life of the Rothschild family head in his hands, Charlie's chances of prevailing in a confrontation against the Rothschilds were e