Becoming the Richest Man Alive

Chapter 251

“What you want to win is a person’s heart, and the best method is to help them out. There’s no reason to refuse to increase their income, but those entrepreneurs…” Jeremy had only figured out a part of the plan.

Casper said, “Of course, we’ve got to bribe them as well. Humans are like that. Imagine this. At first, you force them to give you three thousand every month. Then, one day, you suddenly ask them for only one thousand that month. Of course, they’ll feel happy and be grateful to you.”

He then asked the three men to enter his office. “Besides, that’s not the only reason I’m lowering the protection money. Sooner or later, our association will be exposed to the public. I don’t want our members to be outlaws for the rest of their lives.”

Pointing at some parts of the paper, he continued, “Moreover, this reduction of income is only temporary. Our focus is to get control over all the entertainment sites and stop being easily satisfied with briberies earned from extortion. Our ultimate goal is to have control over them. Even if we can’t take over some major companies, we’ve got to get their shares.”

Stallion widened his eyes. “What? That should cost a lot, right? At least tens of millions?”

Casper’s lips curled into a smile. “We don’t have to spend so much. Jeremy, from today onward, I need you to put all of your attention into another task.”

“What is it?”

“Getting rid of people. I want you to get rid of the pests in our association. Those who privately take bribes, embezzle the funds, disobey orders, and those who are useless; get rid of them all at once. The association only needs elites now.”

“Okay. To be honest, I already knew about all these, but I never mentioned them to you. Well, I guess it’s a great opportunity for me to straighten things out,” Jeremy agreed.

“But what does that have to do with us taking control over the companies?” Stallion was still puzzled.

“Once they’re in trouble, they’ll naturally come looking for us. When that happens, we’ll have the freedom of naming our price,” explained Casper.

After saying that, he leaned against the office chair. He was going to the Antique Fair later. Thus, he was going to seize the time to get some rest.

Ah, it’s not easy to be a boss. He massaged his temples. He was not afraid of troublesome matters. Instead, he only feared that issues might occur one after another. However, if he wanted to expand the association and succeed, he naturally had to put in a lot of effort and cover every detail. That applied to small associations, not to mention the Simpson family.

Suddenly recalling another matter, Casper asked Stallion, “Oh, we have another important matter. We still have Horington food street, right?”

“That’s right. The haunted place. Have you forgotten how you fought against a few armed robbers back then?”

Casper smiled wryly, saying, “It’s coming back to me, now that you’ve mentioned it. I wonder how many merchants will remember that street of ours when Horington food street is finally launched and gets popular. When the time comes, we can name any price we want for their entry fee. At least we’ll get back the money. I really don’t understand why I took over that street back then. It was not even that profitable…”

Casper blamed his lack of experience for buying an abandoned haunted street. In the end, it was merely a street that had some haunted elements. He could not help but wonder if he could earn back all the money within a year.

Right then, Casper’s phone rang. Seeing it was a call from Victoria, he hurriedly answered it.

“Casper, are you busy?” Victoria’s voice sounded enchanting, as usual, but it made Casper shudder. He answered, “No. Please hold on, Ms. Stalling. I’ll go over to Victoria’s Chamber after half an hour.”

“Perfect. I thought you’re a forgetful person who forgot about my tiny matter.”

Casper laughed. “How could I? I’ll be right over.”

As soon as the call ended, he made arrangements to have himself sent over to the location in his car. Pine Street was surprisingly lively that day, and Casper’s car could not move an inch when it was halfway there. He had no choice but to get off the car and rush toward Victoria’s Chamber on foot.

“Boss, what should I do?” shouted Jeremy, who was driving.

“Find a spot and park the car there. Then, get all the others to wait outside.” Casper shouted without turning back, dashing into Pine Street.

Coincidentally, Victoria was waiting for him by the door. That day, she was dressed in a gown that revealed her cleavage slightly, making Casper gaze at it subconsciously.

“You’re finally here! Mr. Lane has been waiting for you.” Victoria wrapped her arm around Casper’s. After glancing at his outfit, she tutted and said with admiration, “Though the Antique Fair doesn’t really have a dress code, aren’t you dressing a little too casually?”

When Casper was at the Williams residence, he was only dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans, which gave him a refreshing look.

“If you think my outfit is too embarrassing, I’ll go get changed now.”

Upon feeling the warm and soft sensation around his arm, Casper felt contented yet anxious at the same time. Now that he was dating Giselle, he constantly felt guilty toward her for doing such things.

Just as he was about to remove his arm from Victoria’s, she tightened her grip around it. “It’s okay. You look great this way. It’s fine as long as you’re good-looking.”

“Uh… Thank you, Ms. Stalling.” Casper did not know what to say, feeling as if a seductive snake had clung to him.

Soon, both of them walked into the main hall of the Antique Fair decorated by Victoria’s Chamber. At that moment, many antiques were already placed in the hall, displayed in a glass case. All of them belonged to Victoria’s Chamber, while some belonged to other merchants. Victoria’s Chamber was the host of the Antique Fair. Hence, it was only natural that they revealed their most valuable antiques.

“Some people aren’t here yet. Once the event starts, the expert appraisers of Horington and prestigious families involved in antiques will start rushing over. That’s the true power of Horington’s underground forces. Casper, you’ve got to seize this opportunity.”

Casper nodded slightly. Right then, a familiar-looking person walked toward him. It was Tony, dressed in traditional clothing. Standing beside him was the eldest son of the Lanes, Winston, and a brawny man, who was probably their bodyguard.

“Casper, you’re finally here. I’ve been waiting for you.” Tony laughed out loud in front of Casper. “I heard you’ve given a porcelain jar to the Antique Fair this time. I’ll definitely buy it from you during the bidding session to let you earn back your losses.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I didn’t spend much money on this porcelain jar. It’s not a loss I need to earn back.”

Casper walked toward a piece of painting displayed in the middle of the venue. It was the piece he had seen in the Lanes’ vault. “This Claude Monet painting is worth more than ten million. I’m sure its value can’t be measured with money in your heart. Are you really willing to let it go?”

Tony gave him a thumbs up. “You remembered it, although you’ve only seen it once. That’s impressive. Though this piece of painting is valuable, it’s worth it since it’s to support Ms. Stalling’s Antique Fair.”

Casper cast the painting another glance. “This is such a precious painting, yet it can only be placed here. I bet the other antique I saw from the previous time must be the highlight, right?”

Victoria nodded. “You’re a smart one. A few days ago, I was actually preparing to make that antique the highlight. However, I found another item after that, and I’m thinking of making that the highlight instead.”

Tony said, “Oh, I haven’t seen that item before. Ms. Stalling, you’re really keeping me in suspense. I can’t wait to see what kind of antique it is.” Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Casper then fell into deep thought. If Victoria found an antique that’s more valuable than that Claude Monet painting and did not get Mr. Lane or me to appraise it, then she must be extremely confident in determining whether the item is real or fake.

“Ms. Stalling, have you found anything about the two people who brought in counterfeit items?” Casper whispered.

Victoria replied softly, “You’re such a genius. I’ll talk to you about it later.”

Shortly after, Tony brought Winston and the bodyguard to look at the other antiques in the venue. When there was finally no one beside them, Victoria said to Casper, “Those two have sealed their mouths tight. They’d rather kill themselves than talk about Francis Buck.”