Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1332: Chapter 1327: Benefits

”Ha, it’s so funny! You missed it—Xing Jiaojiao’s face turned green, haha! She was boasting, but ended up shooting herself in the foot. I wonder how she’ll handle this now!”

Huang Hanyun found it amusing and stood deliberately at the door without leaving, waiting to see Xing Jiaojiao face the music, and then she pulled out her bank card to buy all those clothes.

”Let’s go, it’s not worth watching this kind of thing.”

Huo Sining shook her head in resignation and was about to leave with Huang Hanyun when she suddenly received a call from Qin Lianshan: ”Huo girl, where are you now?”

Qin Lianshan’s tone sounded really urgent.

Huo Sining was puzzled: ”I’m near Wangfujing, Elder Qin, what’s the matter?”

Qin Lianshan didn’t directly explain the matter: ”Just wait there; I’ll have Xiao Zhang drive over to pick you up. We’ll talk when you get here.”

Huo Sining was full of doubt, but hearing Qin Lianshan’s tone, if it wasn’t something major, he wouldn’t be so flustered.

Huo Sining had to let Huang Hanyun go back first, while she waited patiently at the spot. Within half an hour, the guard Xiao Zhang drove over.

Coming along with Xiao Zhang was Huo Sining’s uncle, Huang Jialin.

”Why is Elder Qin looking for me so urgently? What happened?” Huo Sining asked her second uncle with a face full of curiosity as soon as she got in the car.

Huang Jialin took the briefcase from the front seat, pulled out a report from it, and handed it to Huo Sining, saying:

”The situation hasn’t been fully investigated yet, but due to the mass swapping of artifacts at H Province Museum earlier, museums everywhere are panicking. The Forbidden City, China Gem Association, and China Jade Association all attach great importance to this issue. They have already sent experts to various museums to gather evidence. But you know, thoroughly investigating this matter is quite troublesome and might reveal a large syndicate.”

Huo Sining glanced at the contents of the report and nodded: ”So what’s this got to do with Elder Qin seeking me?”

”Because of your impressive performance in the assessment a few days ago, especially your ability to discern authenticity just by touch, the leaders above are paying close attention.”

Huang Jialin felt some emotion as well—no one had expected that his niece, who had wandered for over ten years, could achieve such accomplishments that even he could only look up to.

After glancing at the rearview mirror and seeing there was no displeasure on Huo Sining’s face, Huang Jialin continued:

”Several leaders above mentioned conducting another assessment on you. If you can demonstrate your intuition theory with facts, they might invite you to join this investigation team and directly participate in the investigation and retrieval of stolen artifacts.”

Huo Sining was taken aback and only asked after a while: ”Can I refuse this?”

Huang Jialin gave Huo Sining a half-smiling glance: ”What do you think?”

Huo Sining shrugged: ”Alright, so what do I get from this?”

Huo Sining’s manner was just like a savvy business dealer, not willing to settle for less, negotiating in pure business terms.

Huang Jialin found it amusing, laughed a few times, and said with a smile: ”The old chief said that if you pass the assessment this time, you’ll be awarded a special medal and promoted to colonel, with a first-class merit citation.”

The old chief? To deserve such a title from Huang Jialin, there’s likely only one person.

Huo Sining raised an eyebrow, surprised that her cheap grandfather got involved in this. Really, is that old man so idle when not visiting other countries recently?

As for promotion to colonel with first-class merits, Huo Sining couldn’t help but chuckle.

Grandfather Lu really knows how to handle things—in Huo Sining’s eyes, both major and colonel ranks are just trivial matters.

She’s not a formal military personnel; what’s the use of a military rank?

However, Huo Sining understood her situation well—even though Chief Lu publicly acknowledged her as his honorary granddaughter, it was merely a gesture to give her face. If she truly relied on this bit of favor from the Lu Family to act arrogantly and go against Chief Lu’s wishes, she’d only be making things difficult for herself.

The car drove straight to the Lu Family estate, and Huo Sining followed Huang Jialin into the courtyard. As soon as she entered, she saw several elderly men sitting in the stone pavilion, including Qin Lianshan and Jia Bingrong, and of course, Chief Lu in the center.

”Huo girl is here. Come, come.”

Seeing Huo Sining arrive, Chief Lu’s face filled with wrinkles due to smiling: ”Quickly come and help your grandfather look at this thing. Can you spot any problem with it?”

As soon as Huo Sining walked into the stone pavilion, Chief Lu waved her over to the stone table.

Only then did Huo Sining notice the box placed on the table, containing a very old-looking, rust-covered bronze statue.

Jia Bingrong and Qin Lianshan watched eagerly from the side: ”Huo girl, hurry and see if this thing is real or fake.”

Huo Sining examined the bronze statue carefully. It was not tall, with a slightly larger head, a shorter body, and snail-shaped hair whorls.

The statue’s face was full and square, draped with a kasaya featuring raised round rope-like patterns. Judging from the statue’s quality, it was poorly preserved, but it was cast in brass.

Brass was popular from the late Han to the early Ming Dynasty, named for its high zinc content, which gives it a yellow color. Few masterpieces are handed down from that period, as by the Ming Dynasty, with advancements in ancient smelting technology, pure copper became the standard.

The deeper the color of brass, the higher the zinc content, and the higher the price.

This bronze statue had many sand holes, and white mountain color showed through, indicating the addition of a small amount of silver and cool gold. Due to insufficient furnace temperatures at the time, this led to many sand holes in the statue.

From appearance alone, Huo Sining couldn’t see any issue with the bronze statue.

Besides Qin Lianshan and Chief Lu, the other elderly men present were all experienced in the antique world. Without sharp insight, they couldn’t thrive in this field. If the item had no issues, they wouldn’t have made such a fuss about having her examine it.

With a thought, Huo Sining opened the Celestial Eye and reached out to rub the statue.

Unexpectedly, upon touching it, she was immediately astonished, widening her eyes.

The bronze statue was fake! It showed no trace of Spiritual Energy or warmth!

This discovery stunned Huo Sining and left her amazed. The forgery was incredibly convincing—both in its feel and displayed appearance; it was genuinely indistinguishable from the real thing.

”This thing is fake.”

After careful scrutiny and finding no subtle flaws, Huo Sining gently put down the statue.