Upon careful consideration, this indeed seemed somewhat perplexing and incomprehensible.At this moment, even Keith was a little confused. He looked at Charlie, frowned, and said, “Lulu is right. Charlie is their only son. The more dangerous the situation, the further they should have sent their son away, but why did they bring Charlie to Aurous Hill?”After saying this, he asked Charlie, “Charlie, do you remember the details of when your parents took you to Aurous Hill?”Charlie thought for a moment before replying, “We were together in Aurous Hill for about half a year, and there are too many details I can't recall now. But thinking back, I didn't find anything particularly strange at the time.”He continued, “All along, I thought my parents went to Aurous Hill because they had a falling out with Grandpa and the entire Wade family, so they settled in Aurous Hill out of necessity. Therefore, in my perception, I always thought that Grandpa and the Wades were indirectly responsible
He was dining with his grandparents and family for the first time in twenty years, but Charlie felt like his brain couldn't keep up even before the meal began.He hadn't told his grandparents or Merlin about him obtaining the Apocalyptic Book. So far, he had only shared this information with Vera. This wasn't just because Vera had shared her secret of living nearly four hundred years with him, but also because deep down, he felt that he and Vera had some extremely similar traits. It could even be said that they had a certain mutual understanding. It wouldn't be an exaggeration for him to call her his confidante.At this moment, Charlie only wanted to see Vera as soon as possible. He instinctively felt that the matter of the fate of the ascending dragon, the Preface to the Apocalyptic Book, and the Apocalyptic Book could only be discussed with Vera. Vera was knowledgeable and might be able to help him resolve his doubts. Even if Vera didn't understand the mysteries, Charlie still felt
Jaxson nodded slightly and whispered, “I understand, Dad…”Keith didn't say much more. Instead, he introduced Charlie's aunt, saying, “Charlie, this is your aunt, Lulu. The last time you went to the United States with your mom, she was still a young girl. Your mom loved her the most back then.”Charlie politely greeted, “Hello, Aunt Lulu.”Lulu's eyes turned red, and she cried as she stepped forward to hug Charlie, sobbing as she said, “I've been waiting for so many years for you to finally be home, Charlie. Charlie, you’ve grown up and achieved so much. Your parents in heaven must be very proud…”Being the youngest in the Ackers, Lulu naturally received the most affection. She was raised by her older sister since childhood, so Ashley could almost be considered to be just like a mother to Lulu. Needless to say, Lulu’s three brothers all doted on her in various ways as well.Although Keith and his wife valued and cherished their eldest daughter, Ashley, the most, Ashley became inde
Keith spoke up and said, “From today onward, 60% of the assets in various fields of the Ackers’ industries will be transferred to Charlie's name.”He continued, “Hold your opinions for now. Let me explain why I made this decision. There are three reasons. Firstly, at least half of the Ackers' current assets were earned by Charlie's mother. Secondly, Charlie has been away from home for so many years, and we owe him. Thirdly, Charlie has saved the Ackers twice, and he has done us a favor. What do you all think?”Charlie’s uncles and aunt replied unanimously, “Dad, we have no objections!”At this point, Charlie spoke up, “Grandpa, the assets of the Ackers belong to the Ackers, not me. I can't accept them.”Keith waved his hand and said, “Charlie, I’m not just being polite with you. Money isn't important to the Ackers. Even if we give you 60%, the remaining amount we have would last for generations. It's just a number, but now, you have to confront the Qing Eliminating Society, and you
When faced with Lord Acker’s question, Charlie did not beat around the bush. He generously said, “I knew your health hadn't fully recovered, especially with your situation of Alzheimer's disease which did not look too optimistic. So, before you and Grandma arrived, I left a formation and a Rejuvenating Pill in the villa in advance. The formation will slowly release the medicinal effects of the Rejuvenating Pill, allowing everyone living inside to improve their health. Moreover, the worse the health, the more benefits they'll receive.”The Acker family members were speechless with shock. Lord Acker wanted to say something, but his vocal cords seemed halfway stiff, and he couldn't make a sound for a while.Though he didn't speak, tears had already welled up in his eyes. His wife beside him was also teary-eyed.The sky-high price of three hundred billion US dollars for the Rejuvenating Pill was set by the Ackers, but even though Christian had been willing to pay three hundred billion U
For the Ackers, Charlie has saved them too many times and generously produced three Rejuvenating Pills one after another. Faced with this kindness, the Acker family members all deeply remembered it. Previously, the Ackers never owed anyone favors, but now, they owed Charlie a favor that they couldn't possibly repay. So, they all hoped that Charlie could accept the Ackers' assets. This way, they could also feel relieved in their hearts.At this moment, Charlie spoke up, “Grandpa, I can promise to accept the Ackers's assets, but not right now. After all, in the eyes of the Qing Eliminating Society, they still don't know about my existence. If the Ackers transfer the assets directly to my name, my identity might be exposed on the same day. So, for now, please help me hold onto these assets. Once I've dealt with the Qing Eliminating Society, it won't be too late for you to give them to me then.”Keith nodded gently when he heard this. He also knew that promises made verbally about assets
Even though he was touched by his grandson's filial piety, he still felt unworthy of being a grandfather and thought he didn't deserve such deep filial piety from his grandson.When he heard that Charlie no longer blamed him, the huge burden in his heart finally fell.At this moment, Charlie looked at Keith and said, “Grandpa, on such a joyous day, I really want to have a drink with you. So, enjoy yourself and take this Rejuvenating Pill now. When we drink later, let's both have a few more glasses!”Seeing that Charlie had brought up the matter to this extent, Keith unloaded the burden in his heart and nodded heavily, saying, “Okay, Charlie, you will accompany Grandpa to enjoy some drinks later!”Lady Acker, who was next to them, was also delighted and said, “Charlie, Don Albert prepared some ingredients for me. I made a dish of stuffed eggplants that you used to love when you were young. Do you remember how they taste?”Charlie nodded and smiled as he said, “Of course I remember.
The two elderly people kept looking at each other, hoping to see the legendary effect of time turning back from each other's faces.The Rejuvenating Pill never disappoints. Once its effects kicked in, it was like a slideshow that was being played in fast-forward mode.The snow-white hair of the two elderly people quickly began to show patches of black, and the deep wrinkles on their faces seemed to diminish instantly. Their sagging faces also appeared to have gained the ability to defy gravity.As they looked at each other, they were both astonished and delighted to see their companion, whom they had spent most of their lives with and whom they had witnessed gradual aging, suddenly begin to rapidly grow younger. This miraculous experience elevated their feelings for each other once again.However, the biggest change was in their bodies.The old man’s brain which had been ravaged by Alzheimer's disease started to become clearer and more lucid. He was originally an extremely intelli
"What?!" Jacob exclaimed excitedly, suddenly on his feet. "That prick is really going to start a business in Aurous Hill? What, did he get sick of living the good life elsewhere?"In Jacob's mind, there were only two reasons why Raymond had returned to Aurous Hill.The first was that he had gotten so rich that he had come back to open a shop on Antique Street, to salvage some dignity after he had been fired from Vintage Deluxe. The other was the complete opposite—he had screwed up elsewhere too and had no choice but to return to Aurous Hill to make a living.If it was the former, he certainly wouldn't have hope for his revenge.But that was not the case if it was the latter!Meanwhile, Zachary replied, "Truth be told, I haven't seen the man in the flesh. But judging from my tip, he definitely wasn't doing well elsewhere, since the business he's planning now that he's back is quite modest."Jacob immediately laughed. "Hahaha! I see… He must have messed up out there and had no ch
Claire pursed her lips, grumbling, "Like you said, I won't tell Mom for the sake of peace. But you know very well that you shouldn't do that ever again!"Jacob nodded repeatedly as he promised. "Don't worry—I'll never do it again."As he finished, his phone rang on the table, and he looked down to see that it was Zacahary."That's weird," he murmured in surprise. "He's been hiding from me for the longest time, but he's calling me now?"Charlie was surprised too.After Zachary left Antique Street and started helping Don Albert's more unsavory business, he shouldn't have any reason to contact Jacob.So, why call him now?Jacob was confused too, but he ultimately answered the call.On the other end of the call, Zachary greeted him respectfully, "Mr. Wilson? It's me—Zachary. Do you still remember me?""Nonsense," Jacob snorted. "Why wouldn't I remember you after we've spoken so many times? I also couldn't reach out to you when I had all that good stuff before, but you're contactin
Meanwhile, at Thomson's First, the family of four was peacefully having dinner for the first time.While Charlie and Claire never argued, Jacob and Elaine were always either bickering or dissing each other, leaving the air around the table tense and awkward.But this time, neither of them argued, and they didn't seem to despise each other.The table was not just peaceful either—Elaine was a lot less bossy, even helping put food on Jacob's plate, having him try this and that, almost as if she was suddenly the best of wives.Jacob used to regard Elaine with disdain in every way, constantly lamenting how a great man like him didn't have a good wife.But with him being the way he was now, he utterly resigned to himself.It made sense that Matilda wouldn't be interested in him given his current state, and it was amazing that Elaine willingly stayed with him. That was why he no longer regarded Elaine with unconcealed disgust and disdain like before and was instead gentle and emotiona
Mick was left gritting his teeth. "Shit, that's true. It's going to be hard to pull the wool over Raymond's eyes—it has to be the best to actually trick him."Then, he sighed. "If there's someone who can do that, it'd be Zachary Evans! The man was a God back in the day!"The employee nodded. "Well, it's true that his replicas were impeccable… But the man has made it big time working for Don Albert, and we won't be able to ask for his help!"Mick shook his head. "No, it's fine. We're quite close—let me call him right now."With that, he whipped out his phone to make the call.While Zachary used to be humble in Mick's presence before, Zachary was now way above him on the pecking order.Afraid of being remotely disrespectful, he promptly greeted Zachary politely as soon as the latter answered, "Hello, Zachary! It's me, Mick Crane!" "Uh-huh," Zachary replied noncommittally before asking in curiosity, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"Ever since Zachary had started working for Don A
Raymond may have worked abroad for years and was a veteran in antiques, but he was still lacking when it came to reading between the lines.Taking Mick's words at face value, he promptly shook his head, "No, you really shouldn't. I wasn't planning to come back here to work, so you mustn't mention me to Ms. Moore either."And unlike Mick, he really meant what he said, while Mick was saying the complete opposite of what he was thinking.Naturally, Mick didn't believe Raymond, even presuming that Raymond was a liar like himself.The more Raymond said he didn't want to return to Vintage Deluxe, the more he thought he was.Hence, he asked despite knowing the answer, "Well, what are you planning to do now that you've returned to Aurous Hill?""It's been years of traveling for me, so I was just getting a little tired," Raymond admitted. "I'm planning to set up a small business in Aurous Hill, most likely here in Antique Street. That's why I'm visiting—do be neighborly when I set up shop
Meanwhile, Raymond had no idea that he was being targeted as soon as he returned to Antique Street.He had reached the middle where rows of three-floored buildings stood, the largest on the street, and where Vintage Deluxe was. It was not closed yet as tradition on Antique Street was for stalls to open in the morning and close in the afternoon. In comparison, shops opened later and closed later.With the difference of two to three hours, they could afford to have customers who had lower purchasing power or were just window shopping to stroll through the outdoor stalls. Then, when they were gone, customers with actual purchasing power would come on their own time.As Raymond arrived outside Vintage Deluxe, Mick just finished his meeting with his employees, summing up, "So, does anyone have anything to do tonight?"They all shook their heads, answering as one, "No!!!"Mick nodded. "If there's nothing else, stay back for overtime. Ask for some spicy crayfish and beer for dinner."
However, Raymond had accomplished the assignment Curtis had given him years ago, so he had no intention of staying at Aurous Hill and remained unrepentant despite Jasmine's pressure. That was why he could ask to resign without hesitation, even urging her to let him go despite the pain.That was why Mick was now worried that Raymond would return to reclaim his position as manager."Keep an eye on him for me," he told Trippy. "Tell me if anything comes up right away—I will make it worth your while.""Alright!" Trippy agreed to it. "Don't worry—I'll call right away if anything comes up."Once Trippy hung up, Mick gathered the handful of Vintage Deluxe employees.They were all his close allies he had groomed after he took over Vintage Deluxe. Even if Mick hadn't been succeeding in his business, he was succeeding in building his own forces. Anyone who didn't obey his orders had since been removed, and the remaining ones were basically his co-conspirators, embezzling a considerable am
As it turned out, the bean counters of the Moore Group had been suggesting that Jasmine axe Deluxe Vintage and other antique-related businesses.After all, Aurous Hill was hardly the heart of the nation's antique business—not even a hub, and Vintage Deluxe wouldn't grow on such soil.Moreover, their revenue wasn't optimistic.While the business wasn't exactly falling off after Mick took charge, the lack of experience amongst the management team meant they were struggling to break even.And for the bean counters, keeping Vintage Deluxe meant no profits—even net losses in the immediate future. Right now, they might still be able to package it nicely and sell it off, and selling a fixed asset coupled with brand value would more or less turn a profit. But once Vintage Deluxe started incurring losses and the brand value diminished in turn, it would be reduced to zero completely.In other words, the value of Vintage Deluxe was on a springboard—sell it anytime now, and the value would be
The Mr. Crane from the other end of the call was Mick Crane—the current manager of Vintage Deluxe, and a man whom all of Antique Street fawned over.Mick was the assistant manager to Raymond back then, and his skill in the antique trade was at best moderate. However, thanks to his friendly personality, he had managed to secure himself many decent connections down Antique Street.As such, once Jasmine had fired Raymond, Mick had taken over his position as caretaker manager. She was also aware that Mick didn't have the skills to do well as a manager, and her plan had always been to keep him as a caretaker before she found someone better.As her ties with Charlie had strengthened and he had started helping her, her position in her family had skyrocketed. However, that also meant she couldn't watch over most of Vintage Deluxe's operations.Now that she was the head of the Moore family and the leader of a dynasty worth billions, a small business like Vintage Deluxe was even less signifi