Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1030: Chapter 1026: Not a Big Deal

”I’m telling you about this matter because that’s what I mean. In fact, the items have already been transferred from Dongyang. As soon as I return to the country, the items will be shipped back. I’m bringing this up to you, Master, because I hope you can help me figure out a way to handle them. Bringing the items back to the country is not difficult, but how to deal with them once they’re here—I have no experience and don’t know what procedures are necessary.”

This is also the ultimate purpose for Huo Sining confessing to Zhou Shitao and Huang Zhenlong and others. With so many cultural artifacts in her hands, she couldn’t possibly keep them hidden in the storage ring forever; ultimately, she needed to find a place for them. But if she actually took them out, hiding them somewhere would be quite a problem.

Huo Sining had considered stashing these items in the basement of her villa in S City, but these were national-grade artifacts. Keeping them in her private collection might attract attention from above. If someone accidentally discovered this secret and reported her, she would be defenseless then;

Moreover, each of these items was worth a fortune. She couldn’t be stationed at home 24/7. There’s an old saying: you can be a thief for a thousand days but can’t guard against a thief for a thousand days. Over time, there would inevitably be lapses, and if someone set their sights on these items and they were stolen or some other mishap occurred, she’d live to regret it.

However, what Huo Sining said brought a collective laugh from Zhou Shitao and the others.

Zhou Shitao pointed at Huo Sining and said, ”I thought the items were stuck in Dongyang and couldn’t be brought back. We were all worried, but it turns out you’re concerned about this? There’s nothing to worry about. You just need to get the items back; we don’t need to make a move. Naturally, someone will take care of the formalities for you.”

Huo Sining was stunned: ”Ah?”

Zhou Shitao laughed: ”Ah, what? How long do you think you can keep such a big matter under wraps? Instead of waiting for someone to expose it later, it’s better to plan ahead. When you disclosed this news to me earlier, I reported it to Chief Lu. After knowing about this, the Chief immediately planned to deploy some people to support you. If it weren’t for you saying you wanted to avoid attracting attention, you probably would’ve had several bodyguards by your side by now.”

Huo Sining was completely dumbfounded. She hadn’t anticipated that even the Lu Family would know about this.

Zhou Shitao continued: ”So what you’re worried about is not really a matter at all. That Dongyang conference, with so many domestic and foreign media present, didn’t dare to announce they lost over 4,000 items. This proves that they’re afraid to admit it.”

”Those items were hidden in the museum warehouse and not dared to be on exhibition—ever wonder why? These are wartime items, the most direct evidence of their plundering Huaxia civilization. If they were to actually show them in an exhibition, they’d really invite worldwide condemnation, so they dare not display them.”

”They don’t dare to display them, which works to our advantage. You bring these items back to the country, and then we can directly and openly exhibit them. Even if Dongyang knows, they can’t do anything about it because they won’t dare claim these items came from their museum! They’d have to swallow their broken teeth along with the blood.”

Zhou Shitao was full of pride. He was very proud of the deed Huo Sining had pulled off. Look, it’s obvious she’s his apprentice; even when it comes to theft, she does it so magnificently, winning hearts.

Huo Sining nodded and cautiously asked: ”Master, did Grandfather Lu say anything about how to handle these items?”

Zhou Shitao seemed to understand what was in Huo Sining’s heart. He glared at her: ”You didn’t mention taking other items when you initially told me. We thought you only took those dozen or so exhibits. According to the Chief’s instructions, these items must be handed over to the Cultural Relics Bureau for processing.”

Upon hearing this, Huo Sining’s face stiffened. These items were taken out of the National Museum at high risk by herself; if she had to surrender them all, it would be quite depressing.

Seeing Huo Sining’s frozen expression, Huang Zhenlong chuckled: ”Old Zhou, don’t scare the child. Huo Girl, you just take the items back with peace of mind. We’ll handle it on the Chief’s side, and definitely won’t let you suffer. We can come up with a plan, like establishing a small private collection gallery in your name, where you can store the items you’ve returned. Then, have this gallery affiliated with the Forbidden City—it wouldn’t be inappropriate.”

Hearing Huang Zhenlong’s words, Huo Sining’s eyes immediately lit up. She asked with some surprise: ”Is this feasible?”

Zhou Shitao nodded: ”Although there is no precedent, there are indeed many private museums operating in the country. Creating a private collection gallery like this is procedurally feasible. As for the collections inside the gallery, it depends on whether the Chief will relent, but with those dozens of exhibits as a premise, I think there won’t be a big problem. After all, these items were brought back by you at a great risk. If all of them were to be handed over to the state, that would be unreasonable anywhere. Chief Lu is not that pedantic; he will approve.”

Hearing this response from Zhou Shitao, Huo Sining felt relieved. She nodded enthusiastically, smiling: ”Alright, I’ll contact my senior brother’s people as soon as possible and try to get the items back within these days. Then, we’ll temporarily store them in the Forbidden City’s warehouse. Director Huang, what do you think?”

Upon hearing Huo Sining’s plan, Huang Zhenlong beamed with excitement, his expression brightening: ”Store at my place? Why not? I’ve been hoping for this. With so many valuable items placed there, those old fellows will definitely go crazy. I reckon they’ll be frequent visitors for a while.”

Huo Sining laughed: ”Alright, I’ll contact you once I have news in a couple of days. Please take care of those items.”

Huang Zhenlong patted his chest, indicating that Huo Sining could rest assured.

Because of the news brought by Huo Sining, all the elderly gentlemen were excited. They chatted with Huo Sining for a long time, reluctant to part when bidding farewell to the Zhou Family. Feeling a bit sleepy, Huo Sining drifted off once in Gu Xu’s car.

Next to her, Gu Xu was quite puzzled, gazing at Huo Sining’s delicate face, sensing something amiss with every thought.

Like Zhou Shitao and the others, Gu Xu also thought that on Christmas Eve, Huo Sining and the others only stole those dozen or so exhibits. It was only when Huo Sining confessed just now that Gu Xu realized these people had actually taken over 4,000 pieces of rare artifacts from the National Museum.

This revelation left Gu Xu totally stunned.