Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 862: Chapter 858: The Little Scoundrel

Huo Sining had never seen a live tortoiseshell, but she had handled a Guangxu-era tortoiseshell round box at Zhou Shitao’s place. The box was exquisitely transparent, with clear and beautiful patterns, soft and bright colors, which were exactly the same as the materials of the three items this man was holding. That’s why Huo Sining could quickly recognize the material of these three items.

Ancient records noted that Wu Zetian had used many tortoiseshell jewelry pieces. During the Ming and Qing Dynasty, items such as vases, pen holders, ink boxes, powder boxes were all made with tortoiseshell. The most renowned was the tortoiseshell peach blossom fan left by Dong Xiaowan, one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, which was highly admired.

Some years ago, Sotheby’s Auction House even auctioned a complete set of Ming Dynasty tortoiseshell jewelry. It was eventually bought by a person from the United Kingdom for a whopping three million British Pounds.

Because tortoiseshell is classified as an organic gemstone and is very expensive, it has become a favorite target for counterfeiters.

Nowadays, genuine tortoiseshell items are rare in the antique market. Many so-called tortoiseshell crafts are imitations made from other types of turtle shells, cow horns, or plastic, mixed in a chaotic way, making it difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake.

Huo Sining was very suspicious. The items this man had were either modern crafts made from genuine tortoiseshell, which were illegal so shops wouldn’t dare to accept them, or they were fakes made from other materials that had been exposed, leading this man to try selling them at their shop to test his luck.

In the antique business, having sharp eyes and being astute is essential. Besides examining the items themselves, observing other details is also crucial. If one couldn’t discern such things, then they wouldn’t survive in this trade.

With this thought, Huo Sining didn’t speak but waited silently to see Li Quan’s reaction.

This was the first real appraisal since taking over Jubao Pavilion, and Huo Sining was watching from the side. Li Quan felt like he was taking a test, his whole body tense, sitting rigidly opposite the man, his eyes meticulously examining the three items the man had brought, fearing to miss any detail.

After staring at the items for a long time, Li Quan finally lifted his head and probingly asked the man in front of him, ”Are these tortoiseshells?”

”Tortoiseshell? Impossible! These items are my family’s heirlooms, passed down from my ancestors!”

Upon hearing Li Quan’s question, the man instantly felt a shock, like a startled cat, jumping up from the sofa and staring at Li Quan vigilantly, pretending to be calm on his face.

”Uh...”

Li Quan saw the man’s reaction and was somewhat confused. He glanced at the man helplessly and shook his head, trying to explain, ”What I meant was ’tortoiseshell,’ the one with the ’king’ radical on the left, referring to an organic gemstone, not ’substitute.’”

”Oh, I see. I thought you meant these items didn’t belong to me, but were stolen.”

The man felt a bit embarrassed, suddenly realizing his mistake from Li Quan’s explanation. His eyes brightened as he anxiously asked,

”I only know these items were made from old tortoise shells. I didn’t realize that ’tortoise shells’ could be referred to as tortoiseshell. Li Boss, you mean these items are gemstones? Does that mean they are valuable?”

Li Quan continued to stare at the man, fearing to miss any expression on his face. Hearing this question, Li Quan felt puzzled.

According to the man’s claims, these items were family heirlooms. It made no sense that he wouldn’t know the materials and age.

Usually, family heirlooms are meticulously described to avoid being undervalued by descendants, and they would be explained clearly rather than vaguely.

Li Quan also suspected these items might be fakes, but the man’s eyes didn’t show signs of evasion or guilt. Instead, when he mentioned tortoiseshell, maybe due to misunderstanding, the man seemed nervous.

Seeing this, Li Quan concluded, ”These items aren’t heirlooms; they were probably used by the elders at home, right?”

Only this could explain why the man reacted so dramatically to the word ’substitute.’ He didn’t know the provenance, likely because he stole the elder’s belongings to sell them.

Sure enough, upon hearing Li Quan’s words, the man’s face changed suddenly. He looked up at Li Quan instinctively.

Li Quan didn’t speak but merely looked up at the man blandly.

The man suddenly smiled proudly, saying, ”Hehe, Li Boss, you are quite knowledgeable despite being young. These items were my grandfather’s. He passed away a week ago. My grandpa loved collecting antiques, but my luck wasn’t good. He passed away while I was out of town. When I returned, his belongings were divided up. I barely managed to grab these, not knowing whether they are genuine, so I brought them to you to check. If they are valuable, I’ll sell them.”

Hearing the man’s explanation, both Huo Sining and Jiang Xiaoqin’s faces darkened, looking at the man with contempt.

”This man is despicable! His grandfather passed away, yet he can still laugh! Saying he couldn’t grab the items because he was late - how can there be such a person in the world! Ningning, we should never let this scoundrel take advantage!”

Jiang Xiaoqin, who was preparing to brew premium Longjing tea for the man, felt furious upon hearing this. She quickly put the tea back in the cabinet, took a disposable plastic cup, filled it with plain water from the dispenser, and handed it rudely to the man.

The man took the cup and was scalded by the hot water, feeling displeased, he glanced at Jiang Xiaoqin.

Jiang Xiaoqin said angrily, ”Sorry, our shop hasn’t opened yet, so we haven’t prepared tea. You’ll have to drink plain water, I hope you don’t mind.”

Seeing Jiang Xiaoqin’s attitude, Huo Sining’s mouth twitched slightly. She didn’t want this man to drink her cherished tea either. So, seeing Jiang Xiaoqin’s indifferent gesture, Huo Sining wasn’t displeased but rather showed a faint smile in her eyes.

This man, regardless of his low character, was beyond Li Quan’s concerns. Since they were opening a shop, such situations would be common, and they would gradually get used to it. Li Quan refrained from commenting on the man’s behavior, instead taking out a magnifying glass and a strong flashlight to examine the items directly.