This is too casual, isn't it?
Mr. Ziwen sighed inside.
When Amelia introduced Sophia to him, she only said she was her junior apprentice, but never mentioned she was a wealthy young lady.
Earlier, Sophia mentioned she had over a hundred pieces of jewelry online, some quite old, but he did not pay much attention.
Mr. Ziwen had handled many antique jewels and immediately recognized this kind of craftsmanship was not modern.
Mr. Ziwen and Assistant An carefully picked up the jewelry laid out on the table.
After examining each piece, they exchanged a glance.
"Mr. Ziwen, how is it? Did this batch pass the initial appraisal?" Sophia asked with a slight smile.
Mr. Ziwen quickly responded with a smile, "Of course! At the end of the month, experts will do a formal appraisal. You can also send the rest of your collection then."
It was only about four or five days until the end of the month.
Satisfied with Mr. Ziwen's reply, Sophia nodded.
She also learned more about the process with Mr. Ziwen, including the fees they would charge after appraisal, which is ten percent of the final selling price.
Only then did Sophia part ways with Mr. Ziwen.
Mr. Ziwen and Assistant An watched Sophia leave.
This was Sophia's first time in the city. Since she still had four or five days, she planned to enjoy the city before returning.
Sophia called Amelia. Earlier, when they contacted each other, Amelia was in Kyoto and said she would come to the city.
Now, Amelia happened to be in the city.
Two hours later, the two met at a restaurant.
"If you were any later, I would have bought a ticket back to Kyoto," Amelia said as they embraced.
"By the way, I just remembered on the way here that the previous owner of Four-Eyes is here. Why don't we take this chance to handle the adoption paperwork?"
Amelia suggested.
Even though Four-Eyes was a police dog, as long as both sides agreed, the adoption paperwork was not difficult.
Sophia tilted her head. "How far is it from here?"
Amelia checked, "About two or three hours by car."
After thinking, Sophia agreed, "Let's first check what documents we need."
Sophia then realized Four-Eyes had not come along and was not sure if it would be possible.
The two gathered together as Amelia called the original owner of Four-Eyes and searched online for related information.
Meanwhile, General Yves led ten vehicles, with soldiers escorting them.
About ten days later, they returned, moving very quickly.
People in the military camp were surprised because it took almost a month to march from Zhao Kingdom. Even with carts carrying loads, it usually took over ten days to travel such a distance.
But this trip took only ten days round-trip.
News about General Yves's deep well drilling reached nearby Wu and Zhao Kingdoms. They even sent people to ask for advice.
They hoped to borrow the drilling machines and General Yves's team to dig wells.
General Ulric and other officers looked serious.
Wu and Zhao Kingdoms, acting like big powers, shamelessly asked to borrow without any offer, trying to get something for nothing.
"Commander, should we lend it? These two bastards, if we refuse, does that mean they will send troops to attack?" General Ulric and others were angry and breathing heavily.
General Yves asked, "How is Yijan's situation? Has he sent any messages?"
General Ulric quickly handed over a letter from Yijan.
Yijan led people to sneak into Zhao Kingdom, stirring up trouble everywhere. Now fires of rebellion kept breaking out across Zhao Kingdom.
The king of Zhao thought it was simply because of drought causing public anger. So he was eager to solve this natural disaster to calm the people.
General Ulric said, "Right now, there are three places in Zhao Kingdom where uprisings have happened. It's chaotic."
"But from what we see now, these three groups are still weak and disorganized."
General Ulric shook his head.
"Let Yijan look for more people. If that doesn't work, we can help find someone ourselves."
General Yves's eyes darkened as he spoke.
If they help find someone, it would be from their own team.
The best choice was naturally Yijan, who spoke Zhao Kingdom's language.
Besides Zhao, Wu Kingdom was stronger in many ways.
Wu Kingdom had a large land area, many people, rich resources, and strong military power.
If General Yves had to fight both kingdoms at once, it would be like hitting a stone with an egg.
He shook his head and said to Assistant Hanra, "Write a letter to the king of Wu. Tell him we are willing to lend five drilling machines. But the machines are big and heavy. Wu must send 500 soldiers to take them."
"Also send a letter to King Chen of Zhao. Tell him the same — five drilling machines to help them through the drought crisis."
Then he told General Ulric, "Send a letter to Yijan. Tell him to act carefully and wait for the right moment."
They absolutely could not let Wu and Zhao join forces.
The group discussed for more than half an hour before finishing.
Everyone felt confused by General Yves's orders but still followed them.
After they left, General Yves wrote to Sophia about their current situation.
At this time, Sophia was still in Shanghai, waiting with Amelia to meet the other party to handle the dog transfer paperwork.
They had already airlifted the dog, Four Eyes, to Shanghai, but the other side never showed up.
"Wait, I'll try contacting again."
Amelia was also waiting with Sophia. The agreed meeting time had passed by over an hour.
When Amelia called, noisy voices came from the other side.
"Miss Zhang, are you at a party?"
Amelia frowned, her tone now sharp despite usually being patient.
They called earlier to say they were on the way and would arrive within half an hour. Now, they were somewhere else.
The other side replied carelessly, "Something urgent came up suddenly. Let's reschedule. We'll meet another day."
No apology in their voice.
Amelia clenched her phone. "This is too much. If you're not coming, why didn't you say so earlier?"
At first, Amelia was polite because of the teacher's face.
Now she didn't care and started scolding.
"You worthless follower! Waiting for you is nothing!"
The other side paused, then seemed to walk somewhere and began insulting Amelia over the phone.
Amelia was furious and trembling — she had never met someone like this.
Sophia stepped forward and held Amelia's hand.
Amelia calmed down, but before she could say anything, the other side hung up.
"Did they stand you up?"
After the call ended, Sophia asked Amelia.
Amelia was furious and repeated the insults from the other side.