Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 468: Chapter 464 Plan

”I can’t help but speak up,” said Xie Daoyuan, who was conducting the topographic survey. ”You’re right, for developers, nothing is more important than money when it comes to the value of relics.”

Ji Kun sneered, ”But this time, those guys are going to make a killing. An ancient tomb was discovered next to the resort. They can fill their coffers, whether it’s from the recent media exposure or from using it as a gimmick to promote their resort in the future. Here we are, working ourselves to death, while those developers are probably at home right now, laughing with joy!”

By this time, it was already past ten in the morning, and many villagers had also come to this part of the mountain.

The perimeter of the ancient tomb was cordoned off, with police guards stationed every several dozen meters.

Most of these villagers knew about the discovery of the ancient tomb, they came here and saw that the site was protected. Casual onlookers couldn’t get in, so they all stretched their necks to peer inside.

Some more astute ones even tried to cozy up to the guards, seeking to gather more information about the tomb’s situation.

Huo Sining took a quick glance and couldn’t help but furrow her brows, ”There are so many onlookers, can we ensure the safety of the artifacts?”

Ding Liang heard this and chuckled softly, lowering his voice, ”Do you think these people are really just here for the excitement? I’m afraid many of them have ulterior motives. I heard that as soon as the ancient tomb was excavated, there were quite a few who took advantage of the chaos to sneak in and steal things. I suspect most of these villagers want to fish in troubled waters. Otherwise, why would so many people suddenly appear in these mountain gorges?”

Huo Sining was startled, and seeing her naïve expression, Ding Liang couldn’t help but silently criticize her. Huo Sining was indeed still young, with too little understanding of these worldly affairs.

If Huo Sining knew what Ding Liang was thinking, she would have been both amused and frustrated.

If her mental age was counted, she was a solid twenty-six years old. Now to be told that she was young and naïve, wasn’t that a joke?

”The situation with this ancient tomb is troubling. I heard that those who went to investigate found a robbers’ tunnel inside,” Ding Liang’s face took on a serious expression.

Huo Sining also remembered what Captain Wu had said. After the developers had inadvertently excavated the tomb, people had mixed in with the chaos to enter.

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but inquire further, ”Was the robbers’ tunnel already there, or did tomb robbers take advantage of the chaos after the discovery to ransack the place?”

This question immediately touched on a critical point. If the robbers’ tunnel appeared after the discovery of the tomb, then the tomb robbers wouldn’t have been bold enough to take everything from the tomb;

But if it was there before the discovery, it meant that the ancient tomb had long been visited by tomb robbers. Their efforts to rescue the artifacts here would have been pointless because these treasures might have already been taken away by tomb robbers.

”It looks like both,” a hint of disappointment flashed across Ding Liang’s face, and the mood of both became somewhat heavy.

Ding Liang also knew the importance of this issue. For them, the trainees, coming here for archaeological practice was one aspect, but obtaining national qualifications was another.

Only if they were effective in rescuing artifacts would their work history be decorated with a splendid achievement. Such national honors were not something just anyone could easily obtain.

However, if this ancient tomb was emptied by tomb robbers leaving only an empty shell, all their efforts would have been in vain.

After a busy morning, the tomb chamber’s structure diagram was finally completed, and the several people who were hungry enough for their backs to stick to their chests could finally start eating.

After lunch, Xie Daoyuan called all the trainees together into an office.

”Do you know why, this time we came to excavate the ancient tomb, not only archaeology professors and students are here, but also experts in artifact appraisal?” Xie Daoyuan asked.

”To appraise the value of the items inside the tomb, right?” Li Xuanbing replied as if it were obvious.

Xie Daoyuan smiled and turned his gaze toward Ding Liang and Huo Sining.

Ding Liang frowned and began to think quickly.

Huo Sining’s heart stirred, and recalling the suspicious villagers she saw at the tomb in the morning who seemed to be watching the excitement but were actually fishing in troubled waters, she blurted out, ”Is it to recover those cultural relics that have been stolen?”

Xie Daoyuan gave Huo Sining an approving look and nodded, ”You’re right. Although the tomb has not yet been excavated, many of the artifacts unintentionally unearthed by the developers have already been pilfered.”

”The preliminary work at the tomb will be finished in a few days, and then the people from the Taicheng Archaeological Research Institute will take over. Our focus will then shift to those artifacts taken from the tomb.”

The students looked at each other, and both Huo Sining and Ding Liang exchanged glances, a mix of surprise and skepticism.

If the items had already been stolen, shouldn’t this matter be handed over to the police to handle? Could they, just a few professors and students, really recover them?

Seeing the students’ confusion, Xie Daoyuan continued, ”Of course, we definitely can’t do it alone, nor do we have the ability to track down the Tomb Robbers.”

”The Public Security Bureau just got in touch with me. They will continue to send people to collect items that might belong to the tomb we’re excavating.”

”However, they’re not professionals and can only search based on instinct, unable to make accurate judgments.”

”Everyone has their specialties, and our upcoming task is to assist the police in collecting, while trying to identify the genuine articles among the collected items.”

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. When Xie Daoyuan first brought it up, they had thought they were going to have to tussle with those artifact smugglers.

A gleam of pleasure crossed Huo Sining’s face. This news was music to her ears; appraising antiques was more appealing to her than investigating ancient tombs.

After all, she was completely clueless about archaeology; trailing behind Ji Kun was just making up the numbers and she couldn’t really offer any tangible help.

But appraisal was different. With her cheating device, discerning the authenticity of antiques was a piece of cake.

This was precisely why Zhou Shitao had sent her along with Ji Kun. After learning of the Taicheng police’s plan, he felt that Huo Sining would surely be useful, which was why he had assigned her here.

Of course, Huo Sining wasn’t the only one who was happy; Li Xuanbing was also extremely excited.

She had been upstaged by Huo Sining when Xie Daoyuan asked the question earlier, and had been feeling irritated. Now, hearing that their next task would be artifact appraisal, she secretly rejoiced.

Previously, Huo Sining had claimed that her strength was in antique appraisal—well, now the opportunity had come. When the students participated in the appraisal, she was determined to trample this ignorant girl underfoot and vent her frustration!

With this thought, Li Xuanbing couldn’t help but smile smugly, casting a disdainful glance at Huo Sining.