In Treasure Measure, even Billy was having a hard time understanding what was going on.Before he came, Zachary made it very clear that he was here to dupe Raymond Cole, and he had come.As such, his job was now to claim that this bronze sculpture which was made in the last century was actually from the Renaissance era and then sell it to Raymond at a cutthroat price.But now, Raymond himself was saying that it was medieval? What was that supposed to mean?Even as he was left confused, he blurted out, "Sir, if you say it's from medieval times… then how much is it worth?"Raymond thought about it and said, "It's quite an unpopular item, but it's not to say that no one would buy it or that no one likes it. The main issue is that there were plenty of wars at that time, and most bronze would be used for weapons. Copper production would be low with rationing as well, so bronze tools were naturally rare for civilians.""Gilding is common for better quality items, and from the northern
However, neither Zachary nor Jacob expected Raymond to confuse them further as he asked Billy, "If you can afford to wait, you can leave the bronze sculpture with me as a consignment. I'll only take 10% off the sales while you get the rest—how about that?"Jacob was stunned and asked Zachary, "What the hell is he up to? Did he get too deep into character?"Zachary shook his head. "I don't get it either… is he trying to keep the bronze sculpture to use as evidence against us?"Jacob frowned. "I thought you said there was a gentleman agreement in this business, and the cops won't really care anyway?"Zachary snorted. "He said he would keep it as a consignment, meaning that he won't spend a dime. What if he told all the antique dealers instead of going to the cops? He would prove that he's sharp, making a name for himself… and what can we do? Do we take back the bronze sculpture? Even if we do, can we really ask for it?'"Fuck!" Jacob swore. "Then what are we waiting for? Tell Billy
"Invest?!"Billy was left dumbstruck at the term.What even was this fool up to? This definitely wasn't in the script! What about the questions he was supposed to ask? It was like sitting for a grade-schooler test and suddenly being hit with a bar exam!In the car, Jacob blurted out, "What the hell is that bastard thinking? Is he really going to pay 250 thousand?!"Zachary pursed his lips. "Maybe he's just throwing us bait. Think about it—if we took the deal, we'd have to leave a contact number.""After that, he would trick us and say he sold it for ten million and lure us in for the five million. We'd definitely show up, wouldn't we? Once we came, it might turn out that he has called the cops and would even produce\ the bronze sculpture as evidence. Wouldn't we be just shooting ourselves in the foot?"Jacob was left in misery, his face contorting as he pouted, "But you said the cops wouldn't get involved…"Zachary rolled his eyes, "Yes, they wouldn't most of the time since that
Meanwhile, Raymond sighed unhappily. "I really can't afford four hundred grand—like I said, there's not much to offer here in my shop, which I've been investing a lot in. I'd have to pay rent to the owner soon as well, and everything would end terribly for me if I paid that much…"Billy blurted right then, "You said it's medieval and worth millions, didn't you? You'd make a fortune if you sold it!"Raymond sighed again. "Million-dollar antiques aren't that easily sold, and people would be especially skeptical with a small business like mine. I could sell it at an auction too, but that's only happening when someone decides to organize one, not to mention the troublesome appraisal processes it involves.""And right now, I just think it's medieval in terms of style, but I'm no authority in the matter. In the end, it's up to experts and specific groups that would verify it, and if I messed up, it's entirely my loss.""Even if I'm lucky and it's medieval, I'd still have to wait until th
Just as Jacob was celebrating fooling Raymond, getting his revenge, and earning 200 thousand on top of that, Charlie was left musing to himself on the second floor of the teahouse.He knew that Billy was a conman as soon as he saw him, but he didn't understand why Raymond would buy from Billy.Could the item really be medieval as Raymond stated?As soon as the thought occurred to him, Charlie was sure of it. Given Raymond's knowledge of antiques, there was no way he would mess up in Antique Street of Aurous Hill.While his father-in-law and Zachary had worked hard to weave this elaborate conspiracy, Charlie still wondered how they would take the news that Raymond had bought something worth millions for just 300 thousand.Meanwhile, Raymond watched as Billy left and locked the door from the inside before studying the bronze sculpture once more.He trusted his own judgment that it was a gilded bronze statue from the medieval era. He was playing down its importance since the bronze
There were those in Antique Street who made their living from swindling the average Joe while others swindled antique traders.In fact, it was already cliche for them to trick antique traders with forgeries, and it was not surprising that someone had tried their luck on the opening day of Raymond's shop.As such, it was strange that he had just started today without any hype or even a proper shop sign, but someone was already after him.That told him that he was being targeted, and Raymond was putting his money on Zachary.The sole reason for that was how Zachary had come earlier to ask Raymond about how much capital he had, and he had humbly said a few hundred thousand.The fact that Billy had come and immediately demanded 500 thousand made even more sense—he wanted to siphon all of Raymond's capital.Even losing money wasn't the worst part—the worst was being labeled as an amateur.When that happened, customers who wanted the good stuff wouldn't come to him, and he would find
Raymond had said everything he should and shouldn't and with complete sincerity exactly because Billy would never believe it.As Billy just wanted to swindle him, it didn't matter how sincere Raymond was—he wanted the 300 thousand whatever it took. The key here was that Billy had refused a better prospect when told it was possible, and there was evidence that would support Raymond if either he or Zachary realized the truth and came to start trouble.That meant Raymond had nothing to worry about—they could take this to the United Nations but he'd still win this case.Having been in the antique trade for so long, he had seen every form of oddity and was always cautious with people, considering every aspect of any issue.Hence, once he downloaded the security footage to his phone, Raymond decided that he needed to sell the bronze sculpture—not because he was in urgent need of money, but because he realized that there were those who wanted him out of Aurous Hill's Antique Street.Afte
Mick had already clipped the security footage and was waiting for Zachary's word.He had checked the footage repeatedly as well and was only getting more impressed with his masterful acting by the second. He looked just like a maestro, and every detail he mentioned was flawless and showed experience.Zacahry even said that Raymond had truly slipped up with that bronze sculpture, leaving him endlessly thrilled.The proverbial missing piece of the puzzle was here!Hence, calling all the staff he trusted, he told them excitedly, "Spread the word right away—Raymond Cole slipped up, spending 300 thousand on a fake Renaissance-era bronze sculpture!"His staff had no idea of the conspiracy involved, only that Mick had said that someone had tried to sell a counterfeit bronze sculpture but he had seen through it right away and chased him away, only for Raymond to end up buying the fake bronze sculpture soon after.Someone asked, "Mr. Crane, don't you think Raymond Cole bought from the man
Neither Charlie nor the Ackers expected Yolden's insight to cover all corners.In fact, it felt like the man had a blueprint ready and was only waiting for the time to put it to use.That was why everyone was immensely approving of Yolden and wanted no other man for the job of CEO.Kaeden smiled, "Well, since everyone has agreed, let's put this to rest as soon as possible—this will be a joint investment between our family and the Wades, and Professor Hart will take the post of CEO. Let's all do our best to make this a good one!"Yolden also made up his mind, deciding that he didn't want to let slip a chance to realize his ambitions. "I'll resign from the university after my honeymoon trip. It probably shouldn't be long, and I can get involved in early preparations via teleconference."Charlie nodded. "Then, we can have Uncle Kaeden stay on schedule while I'll ask the Wades to send a representative over to sign a memorandum for the investment."Keith smiled and nodded. "You should
Charlie hadn't been born and raised in Aurous Hill, but he still started living here at the age of eight and was more attached to this place than Eastcliff.If he was going to take part in this automotive investment with the Ackers, he naturally found Aurous Hill the ideal location.Not only would it create a huge number of jobs for Aurous Hill, but it would also rake in much economic flow for the region.Yolden also nodded at his suggestion. "If the first plant is meant to cover the demand of the entire local market, there's no reason for a coastal plant. Aurous Hill stands at an intersection between the north and the south, so transportation is convenient. It's also killing two birds with one stone, as Mr. Wade is fond of the city."Charlie couldn't help but agree. "I won't lie—Aurous Hill has been good to me, and I hope to give back. Nothing's better than succeeding in that respect."Yolden spread his hands, "Heavy industries are certainly ideal to contribute to Aurous Hill's e
Yolden had actually been researching new energy for a while—in fact, it was when Tesla's first car models were produced.He was passionate about the subject and had his own opinions as well as ambitions, but he was busy teaching, so he couldn't realize any of it.But was this not a golden opportunity tailor-made for him?Seeing that Yolden was clearly interested, Charlie turned toward Kaeden, "Actually, the professor is getting married soon. There's no way we'd split up newlyweds so soon after the wedding, right? So, is it possible to set up base in Aurous Hill instead?""Not a problem!" Kaeden replied without hesitation. "Our family is planning to return to Oskia anyway, and everyone knows about Ashley and Curtis. So, why don't we invest in this enterprise alongside the Wades and have the base set up in Aurous Hill? And then bring Godot under as a subsidiary?"Turning to Yolden, he continued, "By the way, Godot's plant is already in the province—barely 100 miles from Aurous Hill,
Pausing, Yolden continued, "Moreover, the greatest advantage of AI is that it is self-conscious and has the processing power to analyze astronomical proportions of data. As car sales grow, every car owner's driving data will add precious new data to our data vault, and it will be processed by AI for even greater space of imagination."For example, kst's say I experienced a bumpiness along a certain road, and when the sensors pick up on that anomaly, the data will be uploaded to the servers along with images of the road condition in real time. The processing AI module would determine in no time at all that there was damage and label said location on the map, and then forward the data to other vehicles close to that location, sending notifications when they are close enough and providing the appropriate advice for countermeasures."Naturally, the AI can even be refined further so that it immediately warns us to slow down while uploading the data to the servers and informing any cars cl
Yolden's mind short-circuited at those words. "The most advanced AI module?!"He had been working on Wall Street for years, having invested in substantial startup tech companies as well as assisting plenty of Nasdaq tech enterprises with their IPO. That was why he especially had a sharp six sense for cutting-edge technology.It had been a while since he had gotten up the saddle, and AI had just become the trend recently, but he still paid close attention. He was well aware what applications were possible for AI modules, but he was shocked that Charlie already possessed what all the online giants were coveting!Thrilled, he quickly asked Charlie, "Can the Rothschilds resolve all the hardware and software issues? High-processing power display cards are a dime a dozen these days, and local enterprises are all planning to sell them one by one. The demand is just that high!"Charlie chuckled. "Don't worry—the Rothschilds will handle both issues for me, even the data centers. We bought i
Keith, who had been silent throughout, waved him off as he said solemnly, "Please don't sell yourself short, Professor Hart. I'm sure you can do well in this position, but it's still a matter of will."If your heart is truly set on educating future generations, then I'm sure you'd reject our offer no matter what we say."However, if you felt the slightest interest, even anticipation, for such a major project, then you really should consider our offer."We've already invested in Godot Autos for 3 billion USD and over 10 billion if we're counting in Ricebolt. But we still have 30 billion more in capital available—and that means it's 40 billion USD at play."I doubt any other global car maker can afford that much, let alone a new car maker. So, I dare say that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"Keith's words spoke to Yolden's very soul—a startup capital of forty billion US dollars was certainly unprecedented for electric-powered vehicles. Even Ricebolt had barely garnered ove
Charlie smiled. "Who, me? You'd laugh at me, but it was only after Steven found me that I learned to drive. I never bought my own car either and only had the two supercars gifted to me, and I only drove those a handful of times at best. Even now, I'm driving the BMW 5-series I bought for my father-in-law."Then, he remembered Marianne Long and said, "I did drive a friend's Tesla back to Hong Kong, but it was only for a short time, and I didn't manage to look into their so-called assisted driving system."Yolden thought about it and smiled, "But y'know… how would I describe the car, specifically? Have you heard of Mario Balotelli, the soccer player?"Every man present aside from Keith nodded—Mario had been a philosopher on the soccer field, and even those who didn't watch soccer were familiar with his name.Nodding, Yolden continued, "The way I see it, Mario has been a player with top-class hardware but third-rate software. Give him Messi or Ronaldinho's intelligence, and he'd be a
Kaeden then asked, "Well, professor, how do you suppose we overtake the competition at turning points? Or indeed, what qualifies as succeeding in that respect?"Yolden thought about it, formulating his words before explaining, "My personal understanding of the matter isn't simply to aim for turning points. Instead, it's things like staying on the inner lane of the race track and reaching the finish line faster by going where no other race car had gone before—or indeed where people never thought to go before."That's the case for new energy cars. Our fossil fuel energies have constantly lost to other countries and would always come up short. But with new energy cars, we can change the rules altogether."We can't catch up to their engine tech? Then we won't—there's no way they are masters in electric-powered engines, are they? They've spent decades on internal combustion engines and haven't the first clue about electric-powered engines."So, while everyone hasn't turned all their foc
The Ackers were really interested in Yolden's perspective.For their family, investing in the new energy automotive industry wasn't meant to make money—they simply intended to add to Oskia's strength as a manufacturer.But with Yolden's input, they had new things to look forward to.If they really could propel their business to giants like Tesla, opportunities and profits would go without saying—there was also no question that it supported and improved Oskia's local car industry and manufacturing sector.Giants in the manufacturing sector were different from online giants, as the latter often enforced a stranglehold monopoly. Before they had the monopoly, they would be offering perks and subsidies to the market, and when they gained sufficient customers and consumer faith, they would start choking the market for profits.To put it in perspective, a five-mile Uber ride would cost five bucks before, and the driver would be paid ten for it. But after Uber got the monopoly, the rider