As he was still feeling disappointed, Zachary, who was aside, spoke up and said, “Old man, in my opinion, you should buy this jade ring as well. You will look very grand when you wear both jade rings on each thumb!”Mr. Chardon secretly thought to himself, ‘Since I’ve already told the British Lord about this ring, it’s good that I can buy a second one now. I can give one of the jade rings to the British Lord and keep the other one. At the very least, I won’t be left with any regrets if it’s something valuable.’With that thought in mind, Zachary said, “Okay. Since I’m fated with jade rings, I will buy this one as well. It’s still five hundred thousand dollars, right?”Zachary hurriedly said, “Old man, five hundred thousand dollars won’t be enough this time. My supplier said that this is already the last ring, and there won’t be anymore after I sell it, so it cannot be sold for less than one million US dollars.”“One million US dollars?” Mr. Chardon said with some displeasure, “That
Mr. Chardon knew very well that no matter what happened, he would have to carry out the mission assigned to him by the British Lord two and a half days later. With his strength, killing the Ackers would be a piece of cake even with the heavy protection of the Ackers’ bodyguards. However, he was well aware that once he laid hands on the Ackers, it would be difficult for him to escape unscathed under the official siege in Oskia. At that time, he would have no chance to extract more magic instruments from Zachary.At a certain moment, Mr. Chardon also considered whether he should seize the opportunity to capture Zachary to force him to reveal information about his superior and then follow the trail to find his superior, directly engaging in a deadly confrontation.However, he worried that making too much noise might leak information. The Ackers had an extensive network, so if they sensed anything, his core mission would likely be compromised. Moreover, he could not quite understand wh
Charlie said, “Let him wait first if he wants the goods. The police and banks have been cooperating closely lately, so you will get targeted easily if the source of large-value transfers is unknown, especially if it’s a transaction in US dollars. Therefore, you have to free up all the money you received over the past few days and tell the buyer that you will deliver the goods to him in a week.”Zachary hurriedly said, “But the buyer can't wait that long. He told me today that he can only wait until no later than dark on the day after tomorrow. Shouldn't we deliver the goods to him earlier? After all, once this opportunity is gone, it might not come back.”When Charlie heard Zachary mention that the great earl from the Qing Eliminating Society would only be able to wait until before dark on the day after tomorrow, Charlie suddenly felt a chill in his heart. He felt that since the other party had said so, the night of the day after tomorrow was likely the time when he would make a mo
Zachary was just acting according to Charlie’s arrangements with this series of performances. In other words, he was eating, drinking, and entertaining himself with public funds that had already been approved by his superior. The reason why Charlie asked Zachary to entertain himself and have fun every night was because he was worried that Mr. Chardon would be secretly monitoring Zachary. Charlie could not allow any clues about Zachary to be exposed before Mr. Chardon made the next move. As long as Zachary did not expose any clues, there would not be any changes on the night after tomorrow. Once the secret was exposed, it could potentially cause Mr. Chardon to take action earlier instead. At this moment, Mr. Chardon was constantly keeping an eye on Zachary, and he was even listening carefully to his conversations with the female escort. The more he observed Zachary, the more he believed in Zachary’s persona and everything Zachary had told him.In his view, Zachary earned money du
Mr. Chardon came over as soon as Zachary set up his stall. When Mr. Chardon saw that Zachary was hungover, he could not wait to ask him, “Zachary, has your superior given you a definitive answer yet?”Zachary shook his head, yawned, and said, “Not yet. They have been thinking of various ways to withdraw cash since last night, but the amount of cash withdrawn each time is limited, so it will probably take a while.”Mr. Chardon felt a little anxious and impatient as he said, “Zachary, I might have to leave Aurous Hill tomorrow night. We might not have the chance to cooperate anymore in the future after I leave.”Zachary had a regretful expression as he said, “Boss, the timing for tomorrow night is indeed a little tight. Why don’t you stay a few more days? Just wait for another three to five days, and you'll probably get what you want. If you feel bored, you can move in to Shangri-La with me. I have a presidential suite there with four bedrooms. I only use one of the bedrooms, so you c
Very soon, it was already the third day. Mr. Chardon arrived early at Antique Street, eagerly awaiting good news from Zachary.At this moment, Mr. Chardon felt nervous and uneasy. According to the British Lord's requirements, he had to make a move against the Ackers before midnight, which would be before 11:00 p.m. tonight. Mr. Chardon also planned to go to Willow Manor precisely at 7:00 p.m. tonight. He would quietly find a safe place to hide in Willow Manor first and then wait for the perfect moment to strike. Once the timing was right, he would immediately attack and annihilate the Ackers.Therefore, his biggest wish today was to get more magic instruments from Zachary before 7:00 p.m. Despite knowing that Zachary might only set up his stall in the afternoon or even later, Mr. Chardon arrived and waited anxiously at Antique Street early in the morning.However, Zachary was late as usual and only arrived later in the afternoon.When Mr. Chardon saw Zachary, he could not contain
Zachary had a regretful expression on his face as well. “Sorry, sir, perhaps we can cooperate again in the future when we have the opportunity.”With that said, Zachary added, “By the way, sir, didn’t you say that you can wait until 7:00 p.m.? I'll try to negotiate with my superior again later. If I can manage to convince him, I'll find you at Holiday Inn, then!”Mr. Chardon had already lost hope, but upon hearing Zachary’s words, he nodded with relief and said, “I'll be at the Holiday Inn before 7:00 p.m.”Zachary nodded vigorously and said, “Okay, I'll go over as soon as I get any news!”The reason why Charlie got Zachary to use the arrival of a large batch of goods the day after tomorrow to tempt and test Mr. Chardon was to truly stimulate Mr. Chardon to the fullest so that he could see if the final deadline tonight was truly unchangeable.If Mr. Chardon still could not wait in the face of five to eight magic instruments, it would prove that this time was set in stone by the Br
As for the Regeneration Pills, they currently stood as the most formidable life-preserving pill in Charlie’s possession. Their healing prowess surpassed even that of the Rejuvenating Pills, presenting a dominance that could potentially safeguard his life in critical moments. Should his opponent truly be an extraordinary master, the Regeneration Pills had the potential to be a lifeline.Charlie believed that with these pills at his disposal, he held the confidence to contend with the great earl from the Qing Eliminating Society. Moreover, given the meticulousness of his preparations, it seemed highly improbable for him to encounter any dangers as calculated by Vera.In addition to these precautions, Charlie securely placed the ring given by Vera and the Phoenixica given by Madam Fumiko in the safe.Having completed all the necessary arrangements, Charlie received a text message from Isaac that Mr. Chardon had left Holiday Inn, hailed a taxi at the entrance, and was heading out of t
Pausing, Julien then said, "I mostly drink wine and the occasional whiskey.""How much are those, usually?" Raymond asked.Julien thought about it. "If it's table wine, 10,000 to 50,000 USD. For bigger occasions, it'd be something over a hundred thousand."Raymond nodded and pointed at the bottle of Oskian vodka he had bought. "Guess how much that is?"Julein shook his head. "I don't usually drink Oskian alcohol, so I'm not too sure…""Come on," Charlie chuckled. "We're not asking if you know—we're just asking you to take a guess.""Then…" Julien quickly said. "I'm guessing, three thousand?""Three thousand?" Raymond chuckled and shook his head. "That's way too flattering. It's around 7 USD.""Seven bucks?!" Julien exclaimed, and he blurted, "You usually drink something that cheap, Mr. Cole?""Well, not stateside," Raymond smiled. "But I liked it after I ordered one from a diner yesterday. It's cheap, and it has quality."Julien gulped as he stared at his own cup filled to th
Julien flinched and promptly threw his hands up. "No, no, no… please don't say that, Mr. Wade! That's not what I mean—as a son, it's only right that I hope my father lives long and prospers. Why wouldn't I want him to?"Charlie pointed out, "Then why'd you say that I've screwed you over repeatedly?""Oh. I, uh…" Julien wasn't sure how to respond to that, and he groaned unhappily, "I was not being mindful with words. I take that back…" Charlie nodded. "Then, I'll give you another chance.""Huh?" Julien was left confused, and he quickly asked, "Another chance… for what?"Charlie clapped him on the shoulder again, smiling, "We're old friends, aren't we? Why would I screw you over? Anyway, your turn."Julien was left utterly aggrieved as he read through Charlie's intention—that was precisely the definition of screwing him over!If his father knew he had come to Aurous Hill to hang out with these two, especially Biden Cole, he would definitely be removed as heir! And yet, Charlie
Having seen a sliver of the common folk's plight, Julien turned back to the journey at hand.Soon, his MPV arrived at Aurous Hill's Antique Street.As it was closing hours, the place appeared bleak, almost as though it had been completely abandoned. It was only during opening hours and the few hours before closing that the place became most alive anyway.Most of the time, the vendors and employees outnumbered the guests, and during closing hours, it would get very quiet. One wouldn't even find strays here as there weren't scraps around.Still, Julien had no idea what the hell the place was, even as he arrived outside Treasure Measure following the location Charlie had sent.Once he was sure he was at the right place, he called Charlie, immediately sounding respectful and flattering, "I'm here, Mr. Wade. If you don't mind opening the door…""Alright, just hang on," Charlie said and put down the phone while turning to Raymond, who was putting the food on a folding table, "Our frien
The lawyer then finished, "To be honest, cases of regretting a donation and seeking a lawsuit to get the money back? Law firms usually won't even get one per year, and that makes it especially newsworthy for the press."Also, court records are always public. That means anyone can access the verdict, and there's no hiding anything. So, if you want the lawsuit, you'd better be prepared."Jacob was already left in despair.All he wanted was to get his money back, but he didn't think that it would end up as public knowledge.And Mr. Bay had just told him over the phone that he would try to quell the scandal's pressure and try his best to protect Jacob's place as vice president.If Jacob's name was suddenly mentioned in a lawsuit attempting to reclaim an 'accidental' donation, even Mr. Bay couldn't save him at that point.Hence, after thinking long and hard about it, Jacob realized that he was not getting his 300 thousand back.The thought crushed him, and he burst into tears, "What
At this hour, most of the employees at Talbot Associates had already left.However, there were several lawyers who had just finished a meeting regarding a certain case, and they were just leaving when Jacob arrived.Seeing that they were packing up their bags and ready to leave, he asked, "Excuse me, are you still able to take cases?"The leader smiled, "Yes, but it's a little late now. Why don't you come again tomorrow morning?"Jacob shook his head impatiently. "This is very urgent—please help me and hear me out, then see if it will work. 300 thousand banks on this, so I'll give you twenty percent whether or not I get it back!"300 thousand was really neither here nor there.However, if it were an easy civil case, that twenty percent commission would still mean sixty thousand.The lawyer thought about it. "Fine. Tell us what your problem is, and we will assess the situation first. If it's easy, we can give you a general strategy right now. But if it proves difficult, we'll hav
The cabbie nodded. "Well, Talbot Associates, it is! They're said to be number two."-While Jacob was heading off to consult a law firm, Charlie was calling Julien Rothschild over the phone.The manchild had just had room service and was lounging on the couch, fiddling with his phone.After visiting the kennels with Charlie, he had been idling his days away at the hotel, waiting for Salem and his son to post that video of them being out at sea.Once that was done, Julien would return to the States, once more the heir apparent of the Rothschilds. Still, it was boring to simply lounge around in the hotel, and he would really like to strengthen his ties with Charlie.However, he was also afraid of being too forward as Charlie could be intimidating, and he could upset him—just like a fan eager to get close to their idol but was still worried about their idol getting disgusted with them.As such, he never expected Charlie to call him, and he immediately answered eagerly, "Good even
Pausing, Mr. Bay continued, "If they're not that upset with the idea, I'll bang my gavel and make the call so that you can at least stay as a vice president."If they keep refusing, I just have to promote Mr. Zonda to become a vice president while you take over his position of head-of-department as insurance. What do you think?"Jacob certainly wouldn't protest the idea of insurance, especially when he thought he would be forced to leave the Calligraphy and Painting Association altogether earlier. He quickly exclaimed gratefully, "Thank you so much, Mr. Bay!"Mr. Bay chuckled, clearly relieved as well. "Come on, Jacob—you don't have to be so formal. I'm like a brother to you! Don't you think that's what I should be doing?"Jacob laughed earnestly for once. "Well, brother, I'm honestly relieved…" He trailed off but soon pressed on, "But I have to ask, won't the other members have things to say even if you manage to persuade the other vice presidents? What if they remain unhappy?
There were times when making a person despair to some extent could be a people-strategy.For example, when your distant acquaintance asked for a ten grand loan but you could only lend him one, you couldn't tell him directly that. It would make them think you were being insincere.The better option would be to tell them how you were worse off than they were and had a debt yourself, or that some other friend had borrowed money for three years and never repaid it.And when that mere acquaintance was in despair, you could tell them that if it was really important, you could lend them one thousand with a credit card loan.That way, while the mere acquaintance wouldn't exactly be awash with gratitude, they at least wouldn't complain about your lack of sincerity.That was exactly what Mr. Bay was doing.He had no intention of offending Jacob, but he also couldn't directly tell him to give up on claiming the position as president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association. Otherwise, Ja
Jacob felt absolutely horrible just then, and he certainly did not expect Don Albert to give him the cold shoulder.If he had known, he would have just stayed content with the 200 thousand he had made and enjoyed his trip to Dubai! If he had, the Calligraphy and Painting Association wouldn't have found out about the bronze sculpture plot, and Don Albert would still be on friendly terms with him.Absolutely regretting everything, Jacob got in the backseat of the cab, tears of grief almost welling up and out of his eyes.Then, noticing that the cabbie was quietly watching him from the rearview mirror, he turned his face aside, whipped out his phone, and called Mr. Bay.As soon as Mr. Bay answered, he asked, "How did things go over there? Have you sorted out Zachary Evans yet?"He was waiting for Jacob to ask Don Albert for help so that the latter would pressure Zachary into posting a statement retracting his previous claims.However, Jacob knew full well that there was no hope for