Chapter 53
The sun was already up and blindingly bright when Oliver woke up.
He rubbed his eyes and felt a headache surging.
He then rubbed his forehead and sat up. When he looked up, he saw three faces staring at him in front of the bed.
“Oh my!”
Oliver was so shocked that he almost fainted. After taking a closer look, he noticed that it was Joanna and her parents.
The three of them sat in front of the bed and stared at him.
Oliver patted his chest and complained, “Dad, Mom, what are you doing? I was so scared, I almost had a heart attack!”
Joanna covered her mouth and didn’t speak. As for Calista, she asked him coldly, “Oliver, be honest with me. I don’t care if you got someone pregnant out of wedlock since I’m satisfied with this daughter-in-law of mine, but how did you get the money? A mansion worth more than 200 million dollars and 120 million dollars in cash? You mustn’t do anything illegal, Oliver!”
Oliver was relieved when he heard that and answered honestly, “Mom, don’t worry about it. My money is clean. Let me tell you something. Manchernius produces emeralds, but the unfinished emeralds look like raw stones, and the emerald is inside the stone. That is what Manchernius is producing. Raw emerald roughs are publicly sold in official auctions. They range from thousands of dollars to a few thousand dollars and to tens of thousands of dollars per stone. This is called stone gambling. Those who have skills depend on their skills, while those who don’t rely on luck. If they win the bet, they might make a fortune overnight!”
Calista knew that Oliver earned 800 thousand dollars from emeralds, but she didn’t know that it was earned in that way. She hesitated and stared at her son, asking, “Isn’t it still considered gambling?”
Oliver smiled and said, “It is gambling, but it’s allowed by the government. Others may consider it as gambling, but it’s easy money for me.”
Jason also listened with interest and curiosity. He leaned over and asked, “Is there a trick to it?”
“Of course!” Oliver admitted without hesitation. “I bought more than twenty pieces of raw stone from Manchernius. Most of them were bought for a few hundred dollars a piece, and I earned 140 to 160 thousand dollars after I got back. Five pieces of old mine material were from Manchernius’s official auction, with each raw stone costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not only that, I even earned over 4 million dollars per stone after I came back. There’s also another raw stone that I bought for around 400 thousand dollars, and after it was transported back to us, I found that it was actually a top-grade emerald after I cut it open! That one raw stone earned us up to 200 million dollars in profit, so my boss gave me 120 million dollars as commission.”
Jason and Calista breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it was a good thing Oliver had the skills and that the job was not illegal. Even though he was making a lot of money, they feared it was not from a clean source. Now, they were relieved.
Calista smiled instantly and said, “That’s good. Oliver, get up quickly. I made breakfast!”
Oliver nodded, but suddenly, he thought of another question and asked faintly, “Mom, you… How did you all know that Sienna… got pregnant out of wedlock?”
Calista couldn’t help but laugh. “You confessed to your father-in-law last night, but I like what you did. You did great.”
Joanna also smiled and said, “Oliver, you’re awesome!”
Looking at her son’s stunned expression, Calista sprinkled some salt on Oliver’s wound. “Did you as Sebastian? That’s not right.”
address your
father-in-law
“Oh no!” Oliver immediately screamed while covering his face. “Did I really do that?” he thought.
He was about to call Sienna after breakfast, but his phone vibrated. It was Manuel.
After Oliver answered the phone, Manuel excitedly informed him, “Oliver, your Virgin Mary sculpture is ready. It’s huge! Come over and do a quality check.”
After Oliver agreed, he thought for a while and called Hailey.
However, he couldn’t get through to Hailey.
Oliver then had no choice but to go there himself.
Manuel waited in his factory. As soon as he saw Oliver’s car, he came forward and praised, “Oliver, it’s only been a few days, but you’re already driving a Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Wow! Come! Check it out at my office.”
In his office, Oliver saw a red brocade box on the coffee table. The lid was open, and there was a green Virgin Mary sculpture inside.
As soon as Oliver saw the Virgin Mary sculpture, he stared at it and could identify that the stone used was indeed imperial jadeite
The craftsmanship was identified as “slightly superior.”
This showed that it was still inferior to the top master in carving. But, when compared to ordinary craftsmen, this level was already high-quality. However, most average standards were not up to par compared to the “average standard” that was identified by his eyes.
Oliver closed the box after checking it. He then stood up and said to Manuel, “Thank you, Mr. Camden!”
Hearing this, Manuel frowned and complained, “Oliver, why are you being so polite?”
Oliver then said, “Well, Mr. Camden, I won’t hold back then. I’ll be sending the sculpture now.”
Manuel smiled and patted him on the shoulder, saying, “Oliver, if you have any good products in the future, please inform me first. I promise I’ll offer you a higher price than what the others offer.”
“Of course, Mr. Camden. You can rest assured. You don’t have to offer a higher price. The same is enough, and I promise I’ll bring the goods to you first. I’ll only sell them to other people if you’re not interested in buying them.”
Manuel kept smiling, thinking that this young man was a grateful one.
After Oliver came out of Manuel’s factory, he drove directly to Hailey’s house.
There were two bodyguards at the gate of the yard. Oliver held the box and rang the doorbell, “I’m looking for Hailey. There’s something I need to pass on to her. Can you please let her know?”
The bodyguard in front of Oliver glanced at him through the intercom. However, it wasn’t Hailey who came out, but
Gunther.
Oliver hesitated for a moment before he handed the box to Gunther. “Mr. Fox, this Virgin Mary/sculpture belongs to Ms. Fox. Please pass it to her.”
Gunther lifted the lid. He took a look inside and was stunned.
He was experienced in this field. Besides the Virgin Mary sculpture’s craftsmanship, the emerald used was top-notch.
With so many years of experience, Gunther hadn’t seen such an excellent emerald before. If this Virgin Mary sculpture was auctioned, it could sell for at least 100 million dollars.
The sculpture could be deemed priceless.
Gunther was shocked and looked up at Oliver. “You… You found this?”
Oliver also didn’t hide it. “I spent around 20 thousand dollars on a raw stone in Manchernius and came back to find out that the inside was the imperial jadeite. In addition to making this Virgin Mary sculpture, the remaining emeralds were sold to Manuel, the owner of Blissful Goldsmith, for 200 million dollars.”
“200 million dollars?” Gunther couldn’t help but be startled, though not openly. After pondering for a while, he asked Oliver, “You have a good eye. Who did you learn it from?”
Gunther was very opposed to Oliver getting close to his daughter, but he was honestly surprised by Oliver’s ability to identify items. “This brat, he’s bringing in money like it’s nothing!” he thought.