Damn, if I’d known my acting was this good, I wouldn’t have needed to rub chili water on my handkerchief, this guy thought to himself as he spoke.

The reporter immediately understood the fate of this master watchmaker. In recent years, Russia had been expelling Jews, with quite a few massacres as well. Interpreter Young’s friend had surely already been killed by those barbaric Russians.

Next, Boss Young vividly described the legendary experiences of these ten wristwatches. In this story, he transformed into Carton from Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities,” and upon learning that his friend’s family was in danger, he drove his own yacht all the way to Russia.

Unfortunately, by the time he arrived, the mob had already begun attacking the Jewish village. He protected his friend’s family as they fled toward the coast, but in the end, because he was outnumbered, his master watchmaker friend and his wife were both killed by the mob. Before dying, they entrusted him with the ten wristwatches they had poured their life’s work into.

While telling the whole story, Boss Young also subtly expressed his deep affection for his friend’s wife.

With this legendary tale as a backdrop, the auction took on a solemn air. Moreover, since Franklin Young had already explained that only one of the nine watches would be auctioned in Britain, and another would be presented to Her Majesty the Queen—not by him to Victoria, but by Samuel Swift in his capacity as Chinese envoy, buying it and presenting it as her birthday gift.

As for the price, since everyone was an acquaintance, Franklin Young could offer a 30% discount off the auction price.

The other seven watches would be sold in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United States, Turkey, and China. As for why Russia wasn’t included, that needed no explanation.

So, the British tycoons and watchmakers who rushed over turned the auction into a show of wealth for the sake of this watch. Boss Young sat to the side, listening to the ever-increasing bids, struggling to suppress the smile on his face.

“Young Brother, it’s already at a hundred thousand pounds—that’s enough to buy a cruiser,” William Howard said beside him. After working together for so many days, he knew exactly what kind of person this guy was and scoffed at his story.

“No rush, no rush, looks like it can go even higher,” Franklin Young said softly, trying hard to feign sadness.

“This price is too high. Even with a 30% discount, Mr. Swift couldn’t possibly buy it,” William Howard said coolly.

“Doesn’t matter, I still need one to sell in Spain anyway,” Franklin Young shrugged. At this price, even if Samuel Swift wanted it, he wouldn’t want to sell! After all, a 30% discount would mean losing nearly forty thousand pounds!

In the end, the Seagull skeleton tourbillon was bought by a British duke for 120,000 pounds—almost the cost of building the Zhiyuan warship. Franklin Young couldn’t help but marvel at how rich these old British pirates were.

As for the other watches, he didn’t attend the auctions in person. Boss Young entrusted them to auction houses in those countries, but he required the auctions to be staggered, one per month, to better build up advertising momentum. In fact, the final seven watches fetched a total sky-high price of one million pounds, with the highest being in Turkey, where there was no auction at all—the Emperor of the Ottoman Empire bought it directly for 200,000 pounds.

Having become rich overnight, Franklin Young immediately revealed his prodigal nature. First, he bought a riverside manor on the outskirts of London, then hired a batch of staff—housekeepers, servants, drivers, bodyguards, and the like. He even painstakingly selected a blonde beauty, just like Keira Knightley, as his governess, responsible for teaching him piano and oil painting, and occasionally composing a fine poem together. As for his real purpose, that needed no explanation.

However, he didn’t quit his job as a translator at the Chinese embassy—he was just a bit less dedicated. Still, whenever he was needed, he’d show up right away; he just didn’t live at the embassy anymore. To be honest, Franklin Young felt that if he kept living in London, he might not have many years left!

At this time, London truly lived up to its name as the “City of Fog.” Towering chimneys belched thick coal smoke, and the fog mixed with the smog made it a world of PM2.5. Back then, no one in Europe talked about environmental protection—that was something people only cared about after they’d had their fun. Now, it was a symbol of national strength.

Besides enjoying a comfortable life, his career was also flourishing. After curing several dying patients who had come to him by reputation—or, one could say, experimental cases of “treating a dead horse as if it were alive”—the mysterious Eastern elixir Tian Yi Sheng Shui quickly spread throughout London. Especially after Franklin Young easily cured an earl’s incurable disease, its reputation became as valuable as gold.

On this point, Samuel Swift and others gave him considerable help. Because they increasingly relied on Franklin Young’s reputation in high society, Old Swift had no choice but to back up his story against his own conscience.

“Yes, Tian Yi Sheng Shui is indeed a famous medicine from Chinese legend. However, it requires many rare ingredients, so it’s extremely difficult to prepare. I’ve only seen it mentioned in some books—never thought I’d see the real thing now.” Samuel Swift, in his capacity as Chinese envoy, forced himself to spout nonsense to the reporters who came to interview him.