Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 570: Chapter 568: Throwing a Hundred Million Jin

Huo Sining knew what Qin Lianshan was thinking; such a set of exquisitely crafted and fully preserved Jade Clothing was rare in China. Once it spread, it would be as distant a prospect for repatriation as the twelve zodiac animal heads.

Their purpose for coming to the black market this time wasn’t merely to prevent the outflow of the Jade Clothing but also to glean more information from it, to find the location of the Thousand-Year Ancient Tomb, and to simultaneously dismantle the tomb-raiding gang and bring these criminals to justice.

Huo Sining’s expression also appeared somewhat serious. Clearly, they had divided the tasks among them before arriving, and the mission of bidding fell on her. There was a definite expectation from Qin Lianshan and the others for her to take the lead.

After those who had viewed the Jade Clothing returned to their seats, Huo Sining noticed Zhou Zhen bringing up Watanabe Yasu to the stage, and Zhou Zhen was obsequiously introducing Hattori Masano to the Jade Clothing, short of bowing and scraping.

Zhou Zhen’s sycophantic behavior disgusted Huo Sining, and she couldn’t help sneering inside. How fortunate that Su Qingqing had broken up with such a person, or she would have ruined her life!

Once everyone had finished viewing the Jade Clothing and returned to their seats, Hong Si knew the highlight of the day had arrived, and his eyes also showed excitement,

”Ladies and gentlemen, I believe you are all aware of the true value of the Jade Clothing without me stating it explicitly. We have consulted experts for an appraisal, and the conservative estimate provided by that expert is two hundred million RMB. Of course, this price is subject to verification, but at the very least it can serve as a reference for you all. The starting bid for this set of Jade Clothing is twenty million, and as always, the highest bidder wins!”

What Hong Si said was indeed true. A complete set of Jade Clothing with historical research value, if acquired through regular channels and without provenance issues, would be feverishly contested even for five or ten billion.

However, the Jade Clothing at hand was clearly newly unearthed, still carrying even the earthy smell from the tomb. For ordinary people, it wasn’t just a matter of whether they could afford it but also whether they dared to buy it.

If Huo Sining were acting alone, she truly wouldn’t have had the nerve to bid, as laundering such a valuable item within China involved an extensive network of relationships, which no ordinary person would be capable of navigating.

However, now her identity was that of an undercover agent for the government, backed by the Forbidden City, so naturally, there was no issue.

”Fifty million!” The first to bid was Watanabe Yasu, with a pronounced accent that immediately revealed his Japanese identity, causing everyone to glare at him with animosity.

”Is that an Eastern Ocean man?” Qin Lianshan’s brow furrowed almost instantly.

He had been keeping an eye on the foreigners and hadn’t noticed the Asian man Zhou Zhen had brought. He had been somewhat gleeful when none of the foreigners had spoken up, but he never expected that the most considerable threat wasn’t those westerners but this Eastern Ocean fiend!

Huo Sining was unaware of how Zhou Zhen had gotten mixed up with Watanabe Yasu, but it was apparent that Watanabe was no pushover, and if the Jade Clothing ended up in his hands...

Thinking this through, Huo Sining frowned. After a moment of consideration, she took out her phone and sent a text message to Gu Xu.

Eastern Ocean people surely attracted enmity. Despite the fact that the people present served different masters and were strangers to each other, they shared a common goal. As Huaxia people, none wanted to see the treasures of their country fall into foreign hands.

Especially seeing this Eastern Ocean devil not knowing the real worth of the treasure, thinking to buy the Jade Clothing for only fifty million.

An emotion of anger surged in everyone’s eyes, and feelings of hatred instantly filled their hearts.

”Sixty million!”

”Eighty million!”

”One hundred million!”

”One hundred and thirty million!”

”...”

Watanabe Yasu was utterly baffled by what was happening; these Huaxia people seemed as if they were possessed, immediately outbidding him whenever he called a price, and all glares aimed at him were as sharp as daggers.

This left Watanabe feeling a bit at a loss, and he looked towards Zhou Zhen, almost pleading for help.

Zhou Zhen too felt the pressure from his fellow compatriots. The sharp glares sent his way made his forehead break out in a fine sweat.

Being the person Zhou Zhen had brought, Watanabe Yasu didn’t garner any better impression from Hong Si, who, honestly speaking, also harbored animosity towards Eastern Ocean people. But due to the rules, he couldn’t say much. His impression of Zhou Zhen and Watanabe however soured greatly.

The bidding steadily rose from fifty million to one hundred and eighty million, and then the number of bidders began to dwindle.

Those raising the bids were either running low on funds or were weighing whether buying the Jade Clothing at a steep increase was worth it.

After all, washing the Jade Clothing clean would cost no small sum, and if these expenses were combined, the money spent on the Jade Clothing would definitely exceed two hundred million.

In these calculations, the price would be even higher than what the experts had estimated, leaving them to buy at a loss.

Patriotism is important, but these people also needed to live their lives. They couldn’t possibly buy such an impractical and unwearable Jade Clothing at the expense of their entire fortunes just for the sake of patriotism.

Watanabe Yasu, initially somewhat panicked, now grew complacent upon seeing no further bids.

He had thought these fierce Huaxia people would prevent him from acquiring the Jade Clothing, but they turned out to be paper tigers, unable to call a higher bid past one hundred and eighty million.

Qin Lianshan was also getting anxious, but he didn’t have that much money at hand. Although the Qin Family was well-established in the military, politics, and commerce, it was still difficult for him to produce two billion on the spot.

Although the Forbidden City had anticipated the black market might offer artifacts from the Thousand-Year Ancient Tomb, they did not expect them to be so exorbitantly priced. The money they had prepared, a total of one billion, was not enough.

”One hundred and eighty million, we have a bid of one hundred and eighty million from our friend from the Eastern Ocean. Is there another lord willing to bid?”

Hong Si was somewhat helpless. Although he was with the auction side, he did not wish for the Chinese cultural relics to leave the country. While he was only interested in money, the innate zeal of the Huaxia people was still there.

But now, he couldn’t just stop the auction on a whim and declare he wasn’t selling to Eastern Ocean people. So, he could only try to stall for time.

”One hundred and eighty million for the first time...”

”One hundred and eighty million for the second time...”

”One hundred and...”

Just when Watanabe Yasu thought the Jade Clothing was about to fall into his grasp, Huo Sining, who had not yet spoken up, suddenly raised her bidder card. Without showing any emotion, she uttered two words that shifted everyone’s attention to her side.

”Two hundred million.”