Vera asked in surprise, “Young Master, are you going to take her away?”Charlie said firmly, “Of course! Aside from my reluctance to leave her here, wouldn’t it be a waste of such precious natural resources if she falls into the wrong hands or is dug up by someone who doesn't understand?”“But…” Vera hesitated, saying, “But she has been growing here for tens of thousands of years… This is her roots…”Charlie waved his hand and said, “No, no, no. The fact that she failed to overcome the heavenly tribulations after ten thousand years here proves that this place is not suitable for her. People can't fall in the same place twice, and it’s the same for trees as well. We need to find her a new place and take good care of her.”Vera asked, “Young Master, where do you think is an appropriate place to move her?”Charlie said, “I think the small courtyard at the top of Scarlet Pinnacle Manor is quite good. Let's dig her up and plant her by your hot spring pool. You understand how to cultiva
Vera achieved all her goals during her visit to Yorkshire Hill this time. She returned to Diggero, paid respects to her parents, and then returned to Heavenly Lake, where the Mother of Pu’er Tea had failed to overcome the tribulation in the past.Now that Charlie was suddenly saying that he wanted to leave, she didn't feel any regrets at all.Moreover, there was an unexpected gain during this trip to Yorkshire Hill. Previously, she had successfully challenged the limits under Fleur’s watchful eyes, and now, she had unexpectedly obtained a young sapling of the rejuvenated Mother of Pu’er Tea.However, when Charlie said he wanted to take the Mother of Pu’er Tea back to Aurous Hill, she felt particularly nervous. She initially thought the young sapling of the rejuvenated Mother of Pu’er Tea should continue to grow here, but Charlie's words moved her. In any field, if one insisted on following the same path of failure, the result would only be failure. The previous tribulation of the
Upon seeing that Charlie had made a decision, Isaac quickly said, “Young Master, since that's the case, let me confirm the itinerary with the private jet company now. Is there anything else you need me to do?”Charlie replied, “No, that’s all. After you arrange everything for me, don't tell anyone about my return to Aurous Hill because I might only be returning for a day or two, and then I'll be heading out again. I won’t be meeting anyone when I go back.”Isaac didn't ask for reasons and promptly said, “Understood, Young Master!”Charlie initially did not plan to return to Aurous Hill so hastily. He had intended for Fleur to go to Mount Tason first while he accompanied Vera to stay in Yorkshire Hill for a few more days. After all, she had lived here since childhood but hadn't returned for over three hundred years. This homesickness might be something that others simply couldn't understand or experience.When Fleur was about to leave Mount Tason, he would then return with Vera to A
Charlie did not have a reason to refuse Vera’s request. Though Mount Tason was undoubtedly treacherous for a frail girl like Vera, with him around, those dangers seemed trivial. With this thought in mind, Charlie agreed, saying, “Since that's the case, let’s go together.”Vera was extremely thrilled and nodded eagerly as she said, “Thank you, Young Master! I'll try my best not to cause you any trouble!”Charlie smiled slightly and sat next to the Mother of Pu'er Tea as he suggested, “Let's wait here for a while. We will dig up this sapling and head to the airport at dawn.”Vera nodded before sitting down next to the Mother of Pu'er Tea. She looked at the calm surface of Heavenly Lake and asked softly, “Young Master, do you think the storm just now was reality or simply an illusion?”Charlie pondered for a moment and said, “It should have been an illusion, right? What do you think?”Vera contemplated it for a moment and said, “I feel like it was somewhere between reality and illusi
Charlie nodded and said, “You haven't told me about your experience of being ambushed by Fleur on Hong Kong Island and narrowly escaping death in detail.”Vera smiled and said, “Young Master, if you want to hear about it, I'll tell you all about it when we get back.”Charlie stretched lazily and said, “Okay, then. It's about time we head to the airport.”With that said, he pointed to the Mother of Pu'er Tea and said, “Miss Lavor, you have experience in planting tea trees. Would you mind digging up the Mother of Pu'er Tea?”Vera nodded and was about to start digging up the Mother of Pu'er Tea with her bare hands. However, just as she reached out her hand, she suddenly stopped and exclaimed, “Young Master, look! The leaves we picked last night have already grown back!”“Is that so?” Charlie, puzzled, focused his gaze and found that two extremely fresh, dew-covered tender leaves had already grown at the two spots where he had plucked the leaves yesterday.Charlie couldn't help but m
Charlie and Vera returned smoothly.The plane took off on time at 8:30 a.m. and arrived in Aurous Hill at exactly 11:00 a.m.At noon, the two hurried back to Scarlet Pinnacle Manor. All along the way, Vera held the young sapling of the Mother of Pu'er Tea the whole time, not daring to relax for a moment.After returning to Scarlet Pinnacle Manor, Vera asked everyone at the villa to temporarily leave and went to the top floor courtyard with Charlie to immediately replant the young sapling of the Mother of Pu’er Tea.After looking around the courtyard, Vera realized that if she didn't cut down the other trees in the courtyard, only the space by the hot spring pool would indeed be most suitable.She pointed at the empty space and said to Charlie, “According to the normal growth rate of tea trees, the space here is probably enough for a tea tree to grow for eight to ten years. I just don't know how fast the Mother of Pu'er Tea will grow. If it grows to a certain size and the soil spac
With that said, Charlie added, “By the way, Miss Lavor, please have Mr. Sandsor come over so that I can discuss the surveillance matters with him.”Vera stood up and said, “Please wait a moment, Young Master. I'll call Mr. Sandsor.”Soon, Emmett, who looked much younger, hurriedly arrived at the top courtyard.As soon as he entered the courtyard, he said respectfully, “Miss, Mr. Wade, what can I do for you?”Vera asked, “Is there a way to gather all the surveillance footage from Yorkshire Hill from the past few days without alerting anyone?”Emmett replied, “Miss, as long as it belongs to the municipal surveillance, it can be accessed within the system. Given my high authority, I can retrieve it without leaving any trace. Just tell me which surveillance you need to gather.”Vera nodded, recalling that Fleur had appeared at Mount Turtle Back at around 11:00 a.m. yesterday, so she said, “Retrieve all the surveillance footage from Stoneridge first.”Emmett said, “Okay, please wait
At this moment, there were very few cars on the highway. Occasionally, a car would pass by, but nobody paid much attention to the woman parked in the emergency lane. Although parking on the emergency lane was theoretically not allowed, there were few surveillance cameras on this highway in the mountains. In addition, with low traffic and the beautiful scenery, tired drivers often chose to stop and admire the view. So, it wasn't an unusual sight for anyone.The vehicles passing by in a hurry did not surprise Fleur, but she was puzzled by the hundred-meter-high bridge spanning between two mountains, connecting two tunnels. She knew this was the closest point on the highway to where her master used to meditate.However, since this area was nearly uninhabited and there were no exits on the highway for tens of kilometers in either direction. This meant that if she wanted to reach her destination quickly, she could only jump from here. Otherwise, she'd have to exit the highway dozens of
Zachary chuckled and continued, "Well, I went to Antique Street and asked around. Turns out our mutual friend only brought a few hundred thousand grand with him. If he messes up and loses all his money, won't it be over for him?""He won't just be broke either—he'd be humiliated and forced to fuck off from Antique Street. You'd get even then!"Jacob was at once excited.Just yesterday, Claire and Charlie were warning him that assault meant doing time.As the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association and the next presidential-hopeful, he would lose his place if he was charged with assault or being an accessory to a case.However, Zachary's plan was much better. Jacob wouldn't have to take responsibility, and the damage on Raymond would be even worse!In comparison, slapping Raymond meant nothing. Watching him go broke and get humiliated would really ease his heart!With that in mind, he promptly pressed Zachary, "Are you sure that prick will mess up?""I can't a
Jacob Wilson was in his office at the Calligraphy and Painting Association, planning his itinerary in Dubai.Still, he was immediately thrilled when Zachary told him that there was progress, and he quickly said, "Come see me at the Calligraphy and Painting Association. We'll talk in my office!""Alright!" Zachary agreed to it happily. "Just wait, Mr. Wilson. I'll be right there!"Jacob then quickly told him, "By the way, remember to address me as the vice president when you're here. Got it?"Zachary was naturally sharp enough to understand why, especially around other members of the Calligraphy and Painting Association.Smiling, he said, "Don't worry, chief. You can always be at ease when I'm on the job!"Once he hung up, he drove to the Calligraphy and Painting Association at top speed.There were just a dozen people around the dozens of work cubicles although Zachary was curious about the personal effects or office tools in the cubicles.After asking around, a staff member le
Then, Mick continued, "I won't lie—Moore Group's bean counters have been eager to get rid of Vintage Deluxe for a while now. It's only Miss Moore's insistence that keeps them at bay, even occasionally coming to check on how business is going. That means she holds sentiment for this place, but if she knows that Raymond is back and doing well, she might hire him again!"Zachary could laugh right then. After all, Mick was terrible at gathering information—he could worry about anyone taking his palace, but not Raymond. The man was fired because he had insulted Master Wade's father in-law, and Miss Moore was endlessly respectful—even obedient to Master Wade. There was no chance that she would hire Raymond back after what he had done, and Mick was just being paranoid.However, Zachary did not tell Mick that.As Mick was begging him to intervene and thus owing him big time, he would also be helping Jacob Wilson get even.Two birds with one stone, so why not?With that in mind, Zachar
Zachary then said, "By the way, I have some friends who have a lot of stock. How much capital do you have, Mr. Cole? I'll check if they have stuff that suits you, and you can partner with them."When Zachary asked how much capital, he was basically asking Raymond how much he would invest in his own business and how much he could spend on taking new stock as he was buying.As such, Raymond replied modestly, "I've been chasing my tail for a while, so I didn't earn more than a few hundred thousand. I definitely would have no issue taking items with rebates, but I'm afraid I can't afford premiums.""Alright!" Zachary nodded, having discerned the scale of Zachary's capital."I'll check on what's available and see if we can get a few personal deals."Raymond nodded. "Thank you, Zachary!"Zachary smiled, shaking his head. "Mr. Crane, please buy another fruit basket for Mr. Cole—I'll pay you later."Mick quickly said, "Oh, you don't have to, Mr. Evans! It's my pleasure, no worries!"Zach
With the last stroke, Raymond got on a ladder to reach the old signboard, pasting the banner over the old shop sign.Then, he added a notice by the entrance: We buy all antiques and measure all treasures.As soon as the makeshift sign and notice were up, Mick was the first to arrive with a fruit basket to celebrate the occasion.The instant they met, he greeted Raymond warmly, "Ah, Mr. Cole! You sure are efficient—you just came back yesterday evening, and you're already setting up shop today at noon!"Raymond smiled, "Doing a small business by myself is naturally much quicker."Mick shook his head disapprovingly as he put the fruit basket by the door, "Now, now. Don't be a stranger, Mr. Cole—almost everyone in Antique Street is a friend, but you didn't tell the gang when you opened the shop! It'd hype things up when everyone comes bringing you gifts!"Raymond quickly shook his head. "Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't know if this humble trade will last. It's better to keep m
To not lose three months' worth of rent on top of that, Donald called over the owner at top speed while getting some of the friends in the antique trade to appraise what merchandise he had left.Taking losses had always been the hardest pill to swallow, but once the decision was made, there really was nothing that couldn't be given up.The owner was plenty pleased as well since that meant someone was picking up on his rental. He promptly had Donald sign the agreement transferring the last three months for the rental to Raymond while signing a new rental contract with Raymond.Raymond didn't have to pay up immediately either—he just had to start paying rent to the owner once Donald's three-month rent was up.Once the agreement was signed, every stall owner as well as owners of businesses resembling the Pearl House swarmed the premises.After all, they loved to take stock from people in the same line of business. Once a business owner decided to close shop, they wouldn't be bothered
If Donald had to maintain his business under such circumstances, the next three months would be even worse.Hence, instead of doing that, he really wanted to stop this business altogether.As for what remaining merchandise, he'd just get some fellow in the same business to take them off his hands at a lower cost while he gained his freedom sooner.Hence, he stopped Raymond, "Wait, my friend! Let's talk about this… if the hundred fifty grand transfer fee is too much for you, why don't I cut it down even more—say, a hundred grand instead?"Raymond turned and told him solemnly, "I'm not paying a transfer fee at all."Frustrated, Donald blurted, "At least give me ten grand for my troubles! My shop is good—you'd definitely make bank once you take it off my hands!"Raymond thought about it and eventually said, "How about this—if you can clear up the place by the end of the day, I will pay you five grand on top of the forty five grand that is your remaining rent, but not one cent more."
The reasoning was simple too—with businesses failing, most shops were losing money.With months left on Donald's rental contract, all he could do now was keep his business afloat while attempting to transfer the rental to someone else. At the same time, he must be prepared for the situation where no one would rent it from him, and he must honor his contract to the very last second.With the losses he had sustained up until the contract expires, he definitely wouldn't extend it. That meant packing up to leave while returning everything to the owner to claim the deposit that the owner was holding.Even now that he was asking for a transfer fee, his mindset was to get whatever he could get. By the last month, Donald would naturally give up on such pipe dreams regardless.Still, when Raymond saw the lack of merchandise in the shop, he could tell Donald's business was at its final stretch. What little he sold would serve to recuperate his losses, and there was no chance in hell he would
Elaine thought that it would be fine even if Jacob couldn't put aside his pride so soon.Right now, she had become more considerate of Jacob and could understand that men valued their pride. As such, she could just wait until they went traveling together, and they'd definitely be staying in the same room. With that, it would be more natural for them to share a room together again when they return.-Early the next day, Raymond arrived at Antique Street, coming over from an express hotel nearby.Although he had asked Trippy to look for a shop, he knew that Trippy might not really help him—he had to rely on himself for everything.But during his stroll yesterday afternoon, he had noticed plenty of shops that were being offered on rent or sublease. Business in Antique Street was likely poor, so Raymond came early to make inquiries about the rented properties.When Oskia's antique market was at its peak, Antique Street too enjoyed its golden age. Even now, the eyes of any antique p