Female Novel
Chapter 295
Thomas was not someone who liked to trouble others, especially for a small matter like this.
At 5.00PM, he had scoured all of the pharmacies in Irieson, but he was still unable to acquire all of theingredients he needed.
“There’s no choice. I have to go to the Elliotts,” he mumbled under his breath, driving straight towardthe Elliott Family’s pharmacy.
“Mr. Clifford?”
As soon as he stepped through the door, Timothy’s voice sounded. Rose was not around today, so herfather was in charge of managing the store.
Without beating around the bush, Thomas said, “I’m here to get some ingredients.”
“All right. What do you need?” Timothy inquired solemnly.
Thomas headed to the counter and asked for a piece of paper, where he wrote the names of the herbshe needed as well as the amount.
When Timothy picked up the sheet of paper and took a look, he jolted in surprise at what was written.
“Rhodiola rosea, Century Lotus…”
There were over ten different ingredients listed, each of them being extremely pricey, and even a singleherb would cost an arm and a leg. What does Thomas need all these expensive herbs for? Hassomeone fallen ill? No, that can’t be. The Elliotts are now close with the Peralta Family and the Mortonsas they’re all Thomas’ friends, and I haven’t heard of anyone who’s close with Thomas coming downwith a serious disease!
“Mr. Elliott, do you have these ingredients?”
Now, Thomas could only pin all of his hopes on the Elliott Family. If they didn’t have the ingredients heneeded, his plan to tone up his body would practically be a failure. If he had more time, he couldperhaps gather the required herbs by offering a substantial sum, but he was pressed for time as he hadonly ten days. No, to be precise, less than ten days were remaining.
Timothy looked troubled at his words. “We do have them, but we lack one specific herb—the CenturyLotus. We don’t have it in stock, but we have sufficient quantities of the other herbs.”
“Really? Please pack some for me!” This simple fact was enough for Thomas to be overjoyed. With justone herb missing, the difficulty of gathering all the necessary ingredients had decreased slightly.
With a nod, Timothy turned to instruct his staff to gather the herbs Thomas requested, while hepersonally escorted Thomas to the second floor and offered him a cup of their best tea. His father hadreminded him that Thomas’ status as an esteemed guest of the Elliott Family was never to beforgotten, and they always had to serve him with utmost care. Thomas was not someone who liked totrouble others, especially for a small matter like this.
While enjoying his tea, Thomas waited quietly. After all, it would take some time to gather all of theingredients he needed.
While enjoying his tea, Thomas waited quietly. After all, it would take some time to gather all of theingredients he needed.
After giving it some thought, Timothy suggested, “Mr. Clifford, to be frank, it’s not just us that are out ofstock of the Century Lotus; no one in Irieson would have it either. After all, the Century Lotus isincredibly rare, and even the seventy-year and eighty-year varieties are difficult to obtain. However, ifyou absolutely need it, it is not entirely impossible to get your hands on it. It would just require someeffort on your part to attend an auction.”
Hearing that, Thomas was immediately disappointed. “Mr. Elliott, can I trouble you to ask someone youknow if there are any auctions that have the Century Lotus on their list recently?”
Thomas did not hesitate to ask him as he understood that Timothy mentioning the auction meant thathe had some connections in that line of work.
Timothy waved his hands. “Sure, I’m glad I’m helpful, Mr. Clifford. Please wait a moment while I askaround.”
As this posed a perfect opportunity for Timothy to establish a favorable relationship with Thomas, hewould naturally do as he asked. Moreover, the Elliott Family frequently dealt with major auction housesin Irieson after generations of dabbling in the pharmaceutical business, and inquiring about this matterwas a piece of cake for him.
Twenty minutes later, Timothy returned with his phone in hand. “Mr. Clifford, I’ve asked around, andthere is indeed an auction house that has the Century Lotus. At first, they planned to auction it nextweek, but I spoke with them and they agreed to hold the auction earlier. However, auction houses havetheir rules, so they won’t conduct a private transaction with us.”
Timothy’s face was piled with guilt as he spoke. He had tried his best to communicate with theauctioneers, hoping that they would sell the goods privately to the Elliott Family, but he had beenrejected in an instant. After all, a rare and precious treasure like the Century Lotus could only trulydemonstrate its maximum value through a public auction.
Hearing that, Thomas shook his head. He never held any hope for a private transaction in the firstplace, and he didn’t mind as long as the Century Lotus was available. Besides, he was not worriedabout money either. “It’s fine. May I ask which auction house it is?”novelbin
Timothy immediately replied, “There just so happens to be a listing we’re eyeing at Miles AuctionHouse, and I’ll go with you then.”
Thomas ceded, “That would be nice. Thank you, Mr. Elliott.”
Then, the two decided on the time, and after Thomas’ insistence, he paid for his ingredients and left.
After wandering through the furniture market without finding what he was looking for, Thomas had nochoice but to give William a call. “Will, I need a bathtub made of mahogany, and it needs to be able towithstand heat. Also, it has to be large enough to accommodate an adult male.”
Although puzzled by Thomas’ request, William could sense the urgency in his voice and refrained fromasking further. Instead, he immediately agreed, “Don’t worry, Thomas, I’ll have someone look for it rightaway. If we can’t find one, we’ll arrange for a custom-made option. What time do you need it?”
“Before nine tonight.”
“All right.”
At 6.00PM, Thomas returned to the Elliott Family’s pharmacy to meet Timothy so that they could headto the auction together.
“Oh, so the busy man decided to pay us a visit!”
Thomas had just stepped into the pharmacy when Rose, who had been waiting, spoke up teasingly.
She had made plans with him to have a meal together, but after all this time, he had not uttered a wordnor extended an invitation to her at all. Was she not pretty enough? There were countless young andgood-looking men who wanted to invite her to dinner in Irieson! Only Thomas seemed to havecompletely forgotten about their promise. Not only did he fail to invite her out, but he would alwaysreject her on the excuse that he was busy with other matters whenever she called. How busy could aman get?
Thomas let out an awkward laugh. Naturally, he had picked up on the implication behind her words, buthe did not refute them as he knew that he was in the wrong. Instead, he took a seat on a chair nearbyand waited for Timothy. When he was making his way to the pharmacy, he had already given him acall.
Rose looked at him and said, “I’ll go with you to attend the auction later.”
Raymond had heard from Timothy about Thomas’ intention to bid on the Century Lotus. He wouldnever miss such an opportunity. Hence, he immediately instructed Rose to drop all her prior plans totag along with them. In fact, before she arrived at the pharmacy, Raymond had summoned her homeand personally instructed her to establish a good relationship with Thomas. As she looked at hergrandfather’s suspiciously suggestive expression, Rose understood perfectly well what establishing agood relationship entailed.