Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 564: Chapter 561 Celebrity Effect

Huo Sining had not expected that being a celebrity could come with such privileges and benefits, that she could enter the black market without having her identity checked.

Boss Jiang was completely stunned by her side. He had thought that Huo Sining claiming to gamble on stones was just an excuse, knowing well that people coming to the black market did not wish to have their real identities exposed.

So Boss Jiang did not take Huo Sining’s words to heart. However, Jin Gui Sao calling her ”Jade Queen” scared him significantly.

Although he had not attended the Ruili gambling event, Tengchong was not far from Ruili, and the uproar online about Huo Sining defeating the Gambling King’s granddaughter was something he could not have been unaware of.

But Boss Jiang had not expected that this individual, who should have been at the Ruili public gambling event, would now appear before him. If it were not for Huo Sining’s own admission, he would not have believed it.

Huo Sining and Boss Jiang were invited by Jin Gui Sao to sit down in a room inside the house, and gradually, a few more people arrived, all welcomed by Jin Gui Sao.

It was not until the last two people arrived that Jin Gui Sao smiled and said, ”Alright, everyone is here. Let’s go.”

The individuals in the room followed Jin Gui Sao onto a van. Huo Sining stared in disbelief at the last two to board, thinking she saw wrong, only to see Su Qingqing across from her winking, and Huo Sining caught on, no matter how naive she could be. These two must have used some trick to infiltrate.

Feigning ignorance, Huo Sining remained silent as the vehicle started. She wanted to look out the window to see the road, but then she realized that the windows of this van were not like any she had seen before, but purely blacked out, completely obscuring any view of the outside from within.

Moreover, everyone boarding had been searched, and Huo Sining was not spared, though it was Jin Gui Sao who searched her, merely giving a symbolic check of her bag and the pockets of her clothes.

When Jin Gui Sao saw the stack of bank cheques in Huo Sining’s bag, the smile on her face could not be contained, and she became even more courteous towards Huo Sining.

Those who ran the black market naturally hoped that their customers were wealthy, as this meant more profit, and Huo Sining was considered a big spender. They would definitely provide attentive service, fearing offending the wealthy patron.

After nearly an hour, the van finally stopped. When they got off, Huo Sining was surprised to find they had arrived at a desolate suburban area.

Not far from where they disembarked, there was a row of low, flat houses.

Seeing the surrounding environment, Huo Sining could not help but smile wryly, thinking Qin Lianshan and the others certainly did not expect these crafty artifact smugglers to hold the auction in such a place.

After getting out of the vehicle, Wu Jun vigilantly surveyed the area, and only after a careful inspection did his expression relax gradually.

The place looked utterly desolate, but it was actually not far from Tengchong’s urban area, likely nearby, with the occasional sound of honking horns and flashes of light from cars passing on a national road not too far away.

This must have also been carefully considered by the artifact smugglers; if it were too far from the urban center, it could make the black market attendees feel unsafe. Those attending the black market usually had some money, and if the location were too perilous, they would surely be deterred.

But it could not be held within the city either, because if discovered by the police, the smugglers would have trouble escaping. Hence, they chose this spot, close to the national road and, amidst the desolate wilderness.

”Jin Gui Sao, this is the last batch, isn’t it?”

Suddenly, a voice came through, and Huo Sining and her companions turned towards the direction of the sound; they saw a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties walking out of the bungalow, followed by four burly men.

The middle-aged man’s attention was immediately drawn to Huo Sining and Su Qingqing; after all, these two young girls were quite eye-catching. The black market was usually a place for men, and these two girls looked like students at a glance. This wasn’t an amusement park, so why was everyone bringing such people here?

”Jin Gui Sao, why are there a few more people, and what’s the deal with these two young ladies?” The middle-aged man was clearly dissatisfied and looked at Jin Gui Sao with a hint of anger in his eyes.

Jin Gui Sao saw that the man was about to make a delivery and was startled, so she hurriedly went up to explain:

”Brother Hong Si, I’ve checked these people, and there is no problem. The more people, the more business we do, right? Among the girls you mentioned, one of them is Miss Huo, who won against the Gambling King’s granddaughter yesterday.”

As she said this, Jin Gui Sao bent down and whispered a few words into the middle-aged man’s ear. His gaze fell on Huo Sining’s bag, and a glint of sharpness passed through his eyes; he slightly nodded and walked straight up to Huo Sining, displaying a smile that could pass for polite:

”So it’s Miss Huo, my apologies, my apologies. The rudeness just now was uncalled for, and I hope Miss Huo can forgive me. Our line of work always has to be stricter than others. When did Miss Huo arrive in Tengchong?”

Everyone knew that the Jade Queen was at the Ruili gambling tables, but now here she was in Tengchong, naturally arousing suspicion.

Although Hong Si was just making casual conversation, there was still a hint of caution in his words.

But those in their line of business were all bold; they didn’t take ordinary people seriously. As long as there was money to be made, whether you were a gang boss or an antiques authority, once you were in the black market, everyone was the same. They only recognized money, not people.

Huo Sining didn’t have a good impression of the black market boss. Although she was interested in the black market, it didn’t mean she wanted to get involved with cultural relic traders. Besides, she had a very clear purpose for coming here today – it was for the items from the Thousand-Year Ancient Tomb.

”Boss Hong, you are too kind. I only heard the news this morning and made a special trip from Ruili. It’s an elder’s birthday in the family, and I wanted to buy a few trinkets from you to play with. I hope Boss Hong can take good care of me.”

”Of course, of course, we are most hospitable here. Since you’re new, we’ll definitely take care of you!” Hong Si laughed, thinking to himself that with that stack of banknotes, he would indeed treat this great Buddha well.

In fact, in the domestic scene, there are quite a few black markets, but they usually change locations after each deal, so it’s hard to catch wind of them. Unless you’re an insider, most people haven’t even heard of them.

Despite the government consistently saying they would crack down on the black market, these cultural relic traders are too cunning. Catching them is both time-consuming and labor-intensive, and it could take a year or two to catch just one organization.

So as long as the cultural relics on the black market don’t flow out of the country, the state basically turns a blind eye.

Even someone like Qin Lianshan has participated in several black market transactions, occasionally buying a few treasures to play with. These old scholars don’t concern themselves with the provenance of these antiques, so others are even less likely to care.

However, this time the tomb robbers have been too brazen, directly plundering a thousand-year-old ancient tomb, drawing the attention of the higher-ups, and a decree came down to crack down hard.