After experiencing the miraculous effects of the Healing Pill, Harrison had come to understand the principle of rare treasures being invaluable. Sometimes, there were things money simply couldn't buy even if you had all the money in the world. The Healing Pill was one such example, and Nvidia's graphics cards were, in a way, another. Still, he was overall satisfied with the responses from both Nvidia and Mark. While both had shown hesitation and reluctance, they had ultimately delivered the results he wanted. 40,000 graphics cards were the biggest obstacle between him and half the Healing Pill. Once this hurdle was cleared, Microsoft's data center would no longer pose any issue. With this in mind, Harrison pressed on, making another call—this time to one of Microsoft's founders. The world of capital operated with a hierarchy as rigid as that of the mafia. However, while the mafia struggled to identify a single true godfather, the world of capital already had one. The sole g
Bill said without hesitation, "Go ahead and say it. No need for formalities between us. If it's something I can help with, I definitely will." Harrison said, "I heard Microsoft has a data center in Northern Europe. I want to buy it." "Buy it?" Bill was slightly taken aback but quickly replied, "Mr. Rothschild, if Microsoft's cloud services were a Boeing 747, then the data center in Northern Europe would be one of the plane's four engines. An airline can't just remove one engine from an operational plane and sell it. If we sold it, cloud services for half of Europe would collapse, and the other data centers wouldn't be able to handle such a huge load in a short time. We didn't design the system with that much redundancy." "Impossible." Harrison said casually, "I was one of the guests to fly in a Boeing 747 when it was officially launched 50 years ago. You were just a teenager then. I know the plane better than you do. Even in a twin-engine plane, if one engine fails, the other eng
The abrupt gathering and meeting made the members of the branch families wonder if Harrison would hand over the position of the family head to Julien today. However, what made them confused and curious the most was that Julien and Royce seemed to be the saddest men in the room. Logically speaking, Julien and Royce should have been the happiest people in the room if Julien were to take over the position of the family head today. However, judging from their expressions, they assumed that today's meeting didn't seem to bode well for Julien. Could it be that the successor was being replaced? Because of the uncertainty, a cluster of branch family members gathered together, whispering among themselves, unable to keep quiet. This kind of scene made Julien feel as though he was sitting on pins and needles. After all, he was someone who valued his dignity. Being constantly watched and discussed in private made him feel like a maiden for sale in the Middle Ages, embarrassed and uncom
Harrison, beaming with joy and excitement, sat in the main chair in the meeting room. He then looked at the crowd around him and said with a smile, "Everyone, please sit down!" Everyone sat down one by one. Harrison smiled as he looked at the crowd and began, "It's the first time so many people have gathered in this meeting room. I see many of you don't have formal seats. Originally, I planned to convene everyone at the group headquarters so that it would be more comfortable for everyone. However, I haven't been to the company in the past few days, so I could only have you come here. I apologize for the inconvenience and the discomfort it may have caused. Please don't take offense." "N-None taken." The members of the branch families quickly waved their hands with humble expressions, not daring to show any signs of discomfort. Not even the slightest hint of fatigue could be seen on their faces. They didn't expect Harrison, who had always been very cold to them, to suddenly bec
But this time, Harrison's perspective on the matter had undergone a complete transformation compared to before. He came to understand one thing—what he truly needed to care about now was no longer the future of the Rothschild family, but his own future. As he grew older and remained unwilling to pass the position of family head to his sons, it was inevitable that discontent would arise among them. In the future, it was possible that one of his sons might attempt to overthrow or sideline him. Therefore, he decided to first extend goodwill to the collateral branches of the family, offering up a portion of the family's benefits in exchange for their absolute support, ensuring a safer future for himself. At this thought, he stood up amidst the crowd's applause, full of vigor, and said, "From today, remember that as long as you remain steadfastly united with us, we will never let you suffer losses or endure humiliation, because we are family!" The thunderous applause, like a wave o
Harrison's promise made Jennie so excited that she kept crying as she expressed her gratitude. "Thank you, Mr. Harrison! Thank you!" Jennie had long since run out of options and had no effective way to resolve her situation. Initially, she didn't dare seek help from the Rothschild family, fully aware that they looked down on distant relatives like her. But today, this was a stroke of luck! Harrison had suddenly extended an olive branch to the collateral families, and this immediately made Jennie realize that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Seeing Harrison's sense of responsibility for the collateral families, the others were very grateful and excited. Harrison stood up and announced with a calm smile, "If anything similar happens in the future, do not hesitate to visit the Family Relations Office at any time. I will have my most trusted subordinates stationed there to help solve your problems." When Harrison said the word "subordinates", all his sons realized tha
It would be the easiest if they were dead. All that had to be done was to find their bodies and bring them home to Jennie. If it was the second or third possibility, the mission was to find Edmund and Salem, whether they were hiding voluntarily or involuntarily. It would be considered done when they were brought back to the United States. Hence, Harrison looked at the direct family members on either side of the table and asked, "Who among you wants to volunteer to go to Oskia and help Jennie locate her husband and son?" The crowd exchanged sheepish and uneasy glances. No one was willing to leave New York at a time like this. If something were to happen while they were in Oskia, they would lose their competitive edge completely. Seeing that no one was stepping up to respond, Harrison became irritated. His descendants, who usually acted confident and obedient, were now showing no initiative. He would die of embarrassment if no one took the lead. Just when Harrison was stari
Harrison believed that Helena's delivery of the elixir was a gesture of Julien's filial piety. So, naturally, Julien's voluntary offer to take on the task made him very pleased. He looked at everyone and loudly declared, "Additionally, I would like to announce something here today: effective immediately, Julien will officially become the next heir to the Rothschild family! After my retirement, he will be the one to lead the family forward!" Upon hearing this, the branch family members began to applaud, but Julien's brothers and nephews remained expressionless. They all knew that once Harrison made such an announcement in front of the family, it was unlikely to be changed. This also meant that after Harrison's passing and Julien's assumption of the title of the family head, they would slowly become part of the collateral branch. Their descendants would eventually end up in a position like those of the other collateral families—sitting on the sidelines, grateful for the smallest of
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