Chapter 5766

Charlie had never been one to protect others. His father-in-law's recent actions had dealt a severe blow to his reputation, and he showed no remorse. Consequently, Charlie could no longer secretly aid him. With that in mind, Charlie made the decision to let his father-in-law do as he pleased. He had chosen to let go. On the other hand, Peter spoke up for Jacob at that moment and said, "Master Wade, I can somewhat understand why Mr. Wilson did what he did. When he 'broke' that vase, it was actually because of my scheme. I had someone hit him to make it more believable. It's only natural that he resents me." Charlie nodded and sighed, "It's understandable to hold a grudge, and seeking revenge is also understandable. However, the method he used was indeed somewhat inappropriate. Even so, I don't think there would have been a significant issue if he had simply wanted to restore his dignity from you. The problem lies in his inability to know when to stop." "Before Zachary exposed this incident, he wasn't really at a disadvantage. Although he sold a valuable item at a low price, the item itself was sold to him by someone else. He even made a net profit of 200,000 dollars. The problem is that once he found out the bronze Buddha was sold at a high price, he wanted it back. If he hadn't taken it too far, I wouldn't have let Zachary expose this incident." After speaking, Charlie sighed, "In the end, he couldn't handle playing this game. Selling and letting go, and being willing to admit defeat, were still too difficult for him." Peter smiled and said, "He made a mistake and lost 20 million dollars due to a momentary lapse of judgment. Most people wouldn't be able to accept it. It's understandable that Mr. Wilson wants to regain the item to some extent." Then, Peter continued, "As for the subsequent impact, actually, if I don't speak up and it doesn't escalate to the police, there won't be any definitive judgment from the outside. As long as someone in the Calligraphy and Painting Association helps him, he should still have a place there. It's just that the relationships with colleagues might become more tense in the future." Charlie smiled and said, "Let him go. I don't plan to get involved in this matter anymore." "Okay," Peter nodded and said, "For Mr. Wilson, his way of doing things and his logic still lack maturity and rigor. Perhaps he has never started a business or experienced any hardships in his life. His overall abilities are still lacking compared to most people his age." Charlie agreed with Peter's assessment of Jacob. Although his father-in-law had led a miserable life, he had indeed never faced any real challenges. He had been reliant on the Wilson family since graduating from college, and his life only took a downturn after the old master passed away a few years ago. The crucial point was that he had been suppressed by Elaine, the Lady Wilson, and his eldest brother within the family for so many years. The decline in his material life didn't have much impact on him. After all, whether he was in a golden nest or a mud nest, he was still lying down. But his desire to become the president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association stemmed not from lofty aspirations or ambitions, but from a desire to accumulate bragging rights and maintain face in the future. That was all. Considering his father-in-law's current social abilities, he probably couldn't compare to a young person with three to five years of work experience. For so many years, he lacked ambition and always stumbled wherever he went. The only time he showed ambition was recently, in his quest to become the president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association. He schemed and plotted every day. However, it seemed that his chances of becoming the president were doomed. If he were to become the president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, everyone in the association, except for him, would likely resign. But Charlie was now too apathetic to care. His initial concern about this matter was that his father-in-law and Zachary would resort to violence against Peter. Peter didn't have much influence in Aurous Hill, and if they were to use violence to solve the problem, they wouldn't stand a chance against him. Now that the crisis had been resolved, Zachary would no longer help his father-in-law target Peter. His father-in-law had lost the support of violence, and the farce they had just created had helped Peter quickly establish himself in Aurous Hill Antique Street. Peter's future development in Aurous Hill would undoubtedly be smoother. Curious, Charlie asked him, "What are your plans for the next step, Uncle Cole?" Peter replied, "I didn't intend to attract so much attention. I simply wanted to open a shop on Antique Street and take it slow. But now, there's a lot of buzz, and many people come to me for appraisals every day. It's a double-edged sword. So, I plan to slow down the pace in the future, open the shop a bit later, close a bit earlier, and have fewer customers. I estimate that after another month, the hype will die down." Peter continued, "When the hype gradually dies down, I'll run the business with a relaxed attitude. I don't care about making money, nor do I care about expanding the business. The pace of life in Aurous Hill is relatively slow, and it would be pleasant if people could slow down too. I plan to retire here leisurely." Charlie nodded and said, "The Rothschild family is relatively manageable, but I don't know if the Warriors Den is still paying attention to the Four Treasures of the Study and your news. If we can eliminate the Warriors Den in the future, then you will be completely free." Peter smiled and said, "I believe that with your abilities, that day will come soon." Peter suddenly thought of something and hurriedly said, “By the way, Mr. Wade, you haven’t had dinner yet, right? Do you want to eat something together? There’s a small restaurant nearby that makes delicious local dishes and can deliver directly to the store. If you don’t mind, let’s have some food together in the store?” Charlie smiled and said, “Alright, it just so happens that my wife has been busy with the company lately, working overtime every night, so I’ll join you for a meal.”

As he spoke, he suddenly remembered someone and said to Peter, “By the way, Uncle Cole, there’s an old acquaintance of yours in Aurous Hill. Please order a few more dishes; I’ll call him over!” ... Meanwhile, Jacob left Antique Street feeling dejected and hailed a taxi. He told the driver, "Go to Heaven Springs." The reason Jacob wanted to go to Heaven Springs was mainly to invite Chairman Price for a meal and chat. So, he called Don Albert first and said, "Don Albert, it's me, Jacob." Don Albert asked in an indifferent tone, "What's the matter, Mr. Wilson?" Jacob hurriedly said, "Well, I want to ask you to reserve a private room for me. I plan to invite our president to have a meal there tonight." Don Albert politely declined, "I'm sorry, Mr. Wilson, but there are VIPs at Heaven Springs tonight, and it's not open to the public. How about we arrange it for another day?" Jacob didn't expect Don Albert, who had always been accommodating, to be unfriendly now. He felt a deep sense of disappointment and could only say dejectedly, "Okay. Since it's inconvenient, let's arrange it for another day. Thank you." Don Albert responded with a grunt and said, "If there's nothing else, I'll hang up. I'm busy." Without waiting for Jacob to say anything, Don Albert abruptly ended the call. This is not Don Albert’s fault. He respects Charlie deeply, and naturally, he also respects Jacob. However, this time, Charlie wanted his father-in-law to understand the consequences of his actions. Therefore, Don Albert did not dare to continue treating Jacob kindly. While Jacob was polite and responsive, Don Albert’s attitude had to remain cold so that Jacob could clearly feel the difference. Jacob felt extremely frustrated at that moment. He sighed inwardly, "I never expected that even Don Albert would turn against me now. If I had known, I might as well have taken the 200,000 dollars and enjoyed a vacation in Dubai! That way, I would have had 200,000 dollars in hand, and the association wouldn't know about these embarrassing matters, and Don Albert wouldn't bear any grudges against me..." Regretful, Jacob sat alone in the back seat of the taxi, tears of grievance welling up. Noticing the driver discreetly glancing at him through the rearview mirror, he quickly turned his face away and took out his phone to call Chairman Price. When Chairman Price answered the call, he asked, "Jacob, how did things go? Did you manage to handle Zachary's situation?" Chairman Price had been waiting for Jacob to ask Don Albert to pressure Zachary and make him come forward to refute the rumors. But Jacob knew that refuting the rumors was now impossible, so he said awkwardly, "Chairman Price, there's been a problem with Zachary. This guy is determined to oppose me now. It's no use for Don Albert to talk to him, and Don Albert also explained the difficulties. Zachary is Don Albert's subordinate, so he's caught in the middle and can't interfere too much." Chairman Price sighed, "Oh, this is going to be difficult! If you can't refute the rumors, you can't stop the mouths of those people in the association." Jacob hurriedly said, “Chairman Price, although Zachary can’t come out to refute the rumors right now, I can guarantee that this matter won’t continue to escalate. What Zachary said about fraud is pure nonsense. The police won’t intervene, and if they don’t, no one can officially characterize this situation. I also spoke to Felix and explained that it was a misunderstanding. He made it clear that he wouldn’t pursue the matter.” Chairman Price murmured, “This… this is neither good nor bad, and it doesn’t resolve the issue!” Jacob quickly replied, “The issue won’t be resolved, but it won’t turn into something serious either. After a few days, the buzz will likely die down.” Chairman Price said, “Jacob, you think the heat will die down, but the people in the association might not let it go so easily. The key issue is that you’re now the second-in-command, blocking the way for many people. It’s like everyone is in the same line for the restroom; everyone wants to push the person in front out. If they don’t push you out, they won’t give up. I’m afraid they won’t stop making noise.” Chairman Price was under a lot of pressure himself. In fact, he no longer planned to let Jacob take over his position, because that would place all the pressure on him. If Jacob’s scandal continued and he remained in the position, those people would definitely cause trouble and accuse him of protecting Jacob. However, he didn’t dare to offend Jacob too much. After all, he didn’t know Don Albert’s current attitude toward Jacob. If he offended Jacob and was hated by him, his own path would not be easy. Therefore, Chairman Price’s biggest wish now was for Jacob to voluntarily give up the competition for the presidency, and preferably also the position of executive vice president. In that case, the vice presidents would each move up a level, and he could appease them. Keeping Jacob in the association would also avoid offending anyone. Jacob hadn’t yet understood Chairman Price’s intentions, so he said, “Chairman Price, those people are just grasshoppers after autumn. They won’t cause trouble for long. When you are promoted, and I become the president, I will have ways to deal with them and make them behave.” Chairman Price hurriedly said, “Jacob, you still don’t understand. It’s not about whether you should be the president, but whether you can continue to stay in the association! What they want is for you to be removed from the association. Otherwise, the quarrel will continue, and they might even report the situation to the city. If the city feels that this matter damages the association’s reputation and asks you to withdraw, I won’t be able to protect you!” Jacob suddenly panicked, his tone extremely anxious, almost crying, as he begged, “President! Please help me! I’ve lost all of my money now. You can’t just stand by and watch as my status in the association is jeopardized!”