Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 487: Chapter 483: The Strange Middle-aged Man

Several media outlets came by in the afternoon, and after interviewing Captain Wu, the reporters sequentially communicated with a few professors.

The onlookers who were watching the excitement saw the CCTV logo on the interview vehicle and suddenly got excited. One of the braver members of the crowd asked the reporter:

”Are you really reporters from the central station? If we hand over the antiques, will we really not be held accountable and even receive a sum of money as a reward?”

The reporter patiently explained, and after receiving a positive confirmation, the crowd looked at the photographers with their long guns and big cannons and then at the TV station’s interview vehicle, still somewhat hesitant.

At that moment, a peasant woman squeezed through the crowd holding a plate, claiming she found it in a pile of construction dirt.

Although the plate was damaged, the students felt it resembled one from a Tang Dynasty tomb after their appraisal, and they immediately contacted Professor Xie Daoyuan to come over.

After Professor Xie Daoyuan confirmed that the plate was indeed a burial object from an ancient tomb, Cultural Relics Bureau staff directly placed the plate into the relic consolidation box. They did not pursue the woman worker’s responsibility and even gave her a sum of money as compensation.

With the first person leading the way, the surrounding onlookers finally felt at ease, and many turned and ran towards their homes. In no time, a large crowd came back carrying things to have the students appraise them.

Some of those who came for appraisal were construction workers from the resort village, while others looked like local farmers.

Of course, their identities were no longer important; the students’ primary job was to appraise the cultural relics.

Since it was already announced that whoever returned the relics would not be held responsible, Huo Sining didn’t bother to investigate the people’s true identities and calmly sat down, ready to start appraising.

Perhaps because compared to the other students, Huo Sining looked younger and more naïve, the villagers might have thought he was easier to deceive, so those bringing items for appraisal actually lined up in a long queue at Huo Sining’s table.

In stark contrast to Huo Sining’s situation, there were only a few people queued up at the other students’ tables.

Especially Ding Liang and Feng Yang, these two bespectacled scholars emanating an academic aura, had scared away quite a few appraisers.

Seeing this scene, the other students who knew the truth couldn’t help but reveal a sly glint in their eyes.

Huo Sining’s face had recently fooled all of them; now, these villagers trying to get an advantage with Huo Sining might have picked the wrong target.

Sure enough, those who wanted to muddle through by taking advantage of the chaos quickly found that they had miscalculated.

”The Kuifeng Zun has a straight mouth, widening below, with a sagging belly and a ring foot. It is brightly colored, has clear layers, and the layout is balanced in density. Its upper half is decorated with two carved Kuifeng ears, named for its shape resembling an upside-down Kuifeng.”

”This porcelain piece meets all the standards in various aspects, but the mark on it is from the Kangxi period, and the famille-rose style is a new breakthrough during the Qianlong era; it absolutely could not have appeared in the Kangxi period. Therefore, I’m sorry, but this item of yours is fake.”

Huo Sining handed the Kuifeng Zun back to an elderly farmer who had come for appraisal. Hearing this, the old man gave Huo Sining a resentful look.

Perceiving the man’s change in expression, Huo Sining had a thought and saw the old man limping out of the crowd, involuntarily frowning.

After appraising seven or eight items, those who came for the appraisal belatedly realized that although this young girl looked as tender as a high school student, her standard of appraisal was unprecedentedly high, and her efficiency was also much faster than the appraisers at other tables.

Not only that, even the people nearby such as Feng Yang and Li Xuanbing had great trust in Huo Sining. When they encountered something they weren’t sure about, their first thought wasn’t to look for their own professors, but to bring it over to ask Huo Sining for her expertise.

Although Ding Liang was the team leader, Huo Sining had unknowingly become the backbone of the entire appraisal team.

Seeing the situation change, the long line of people waiting for appraisal suddenly dispersed, all converging towards the other apprentices instead.

Seeing those seeking appraisals now viewed her as if she were some fearsome beast, Huo Sining couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.

These people were really naive; did they really think they could fool her that easily, believing they could just bring any object and manage to sneak it past for compensation money?

Setting aside whether the items they were holding were real or fake, even if they were genuine, if they weren’t from ancient tombs, the Cultural Relics Bureau wouldn’t accept them anyway.

However, Huo Sining was very clear about their greedy mentality. Even if the notices and media reports clearly stated the requirements for the compensated redemption, these people wouldn’t listen. They still harbored the hope that if they could just get past her, they would get the money.

There weren’t a few people coming for appraisals, but as Huo Sining expected, the number of people bringing genuine items for appraisal was very few; those who brought fakes, however, were uncountably many.

In over two hours, she had appraised no less than twenty items, and without exception, all were fakes.

The other apprentices, on the other hand, did encounter one or two genuine items, but after appraisal, they also weren’t the cultural relics lost from ancient tombs.

After appraising a few more items in succession, Huo Sining felt it was becoming monotonous. Just as she was distractedly yawning, a man dressed in a simple Zhongshan suit approached Song Leyin’s appraisal table, carefully placing a wrapped bundle from his arms onto the table.

”Young lady, could you take a look at my Incense Burner? I bought this at the market, and someone told me it’s a Tang Dynasty relic. I don’t know if you would be interested in it.”

As he spoke, the middle-aged man carefully unwrapped the outer layer of cloth, lifting his head and giving Song Leyin a naive smile.

Song Leyin had just completed an appraisal and was anxious to use the restroom. Seeing another person approaching, she didn’t have time to make conversation and hastily called out to Huo Sining nearby, ”Huo Sining, can you cover for me for a bit?”

Song Leyin gestured the WC sign to Huo Sining, who immediately understood her intent and nodded in agreement.

It just so happened that there was no one seeking appraisal from Huo Sining at that moment, so without another word, she moved over to take Song Leyin’s place.

Seeing Song Leyin leave, the middle-aged man became anxious. ”Hey, hey, hey, why did the young lady leave?!”

Huo Sining quickly reassured him, ”Uncle, she had an emergency. I’ll appraise for you, and it’ll be just the same.”

The man’s eyes flashed with hesitation and struggle before he finally nodded and said, ”Alright then, make sure you take a good look, don’t make a mistake!”

At first, Huo Sining just thought the man was a bit strange. After glancing up at the middle-aged man, a sudden realization flashed through her mind, and she subtly raised her eyebrows without a word.