Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 262: Chapter 259: Cutting the Large Vat Chapter 262: Chapter 259: Cutting the Large Vat Back at the villa that evening, Huo Sining didn’t feel tired. On a whim, she decided to break open that bizarre large fish tank to have a look inside.

Huo Sining had bought two fish tanks from Antique Street. She had used one at the Koi Summit, and as a result, the two Huaxia Koi at the Summit were sent to a research institute, but the institute did not take the large fish tank.

The fish tank was very large, and Huo Sining was reluctant to throw it away, so she simply had Wu Jun deliver it back to the villa, where it was perfectly placed in the yard to house four other Huaxia Koi.

Wu Jun carried the other patched-up fish tank into the basement for her. Although he found it odd, he was not the type to ask questions and didn’t inquire why.

Ever since Gu Xu told her the large fish tank had been patched up, she realized there must be something wrong with the fish tank, and that it had to do with the patched scar.

Because both fish tanks, whether in terms of material or glaze texture, were completely identical. The other fish tank elicited no reaction from the Water-Repelling Pearl, but this one made the Azure Pearl flicker, pointing to the likelihood that someone had tampered with this tank.

Huo Sining’s gaze fell to the bottom of the fish tank, and after a thorough search, she found a subtle difference in an inconspicuous corner at the base of the tank.

If she hadn’t known beforehand that the fish tank had been repaired, if she hadn’t searched carefully, she would never have found this mark.

Ceramics are hard and wear-resistant, but they have one flaw: they are easily broken.

Once a piece of porcelain shatters, there’s nothing to be done; keeping it seems useless, but discarding it feels wasteful.

Thus, craftsmen began to ponder how to repair broken porcelain.

After arduous exploration and practice, through failures and successes, they finally summarized, refined, and standardized a set of rational techniques for porcelain repair.

The greatest contribution was the invention of the unique “Diamond Drill” and “Rivet Nail,” leading to the birth of the porcelain repair trade.

In ancient times, porcelain was a product for nobles, which common folk could hardly possess, so it was particularly cherished.

However, as ceramic technology advanced, the number of Porcelain Repair Craftsmen diminished.

An old saying goes, “Without this Diamond Drill, don’t take on this porcelain job,” referring to this ancient folk art of porcelain repair.

Kintsugi is the technique of mending shattered porcelain using metal rivets similar to staples, and the repaired ceramic vessels usually have very evident patch marks.

Huo Sining was shocked. She had specifically researched the topic recently and found many craftsmen skilled in porcelain repair, but none had such exquisite craftsmanship that allowed for a patched porcelain to look flawless without any sign of repair.

This was too strange. Huo Sining was filled with suspicion and developed a strong interest in what secret the inside of the porcelain tank might hold.

An old and worn ceramic fish tank is not worth much, certainly not worth the effort of a skilled Porcelain Repair Craftsman.

Therefore, Huo Sining felt that what the Antique Street restaurant owner had said was not credible. Either he himself was not clear, or the message had been mistakenly conveyed.

How could the original owner of this porcelain tank possibly be so poor that he couldn’t bear to throw it away and had to hire someone to repair it?

You must know, a Porcelain Repair Craftsman capable of mending it flawlessly to the point where the repair is indiscernible charges quite a sum for such craftsmanship — possibly even more than the value of the tank itself.

This explanation in itself is contradictory, but if there was a problem with the bottom of the tank, why did the original owner not take it with him? Why did he seem to carelessly give it away to the restaurant owner?

Huo Sining pondered over and over but couldn’t figure it out, so he decided to put aside these doubts and began his investigation upon reaching the basement.

The bottom of the tank had been repaired, and the sounds between its hollow inner wall and solid structure were different. Huo Sining tapped on it and heard a faint hollow sound, indicating a small area at the bottom had been hollowed out.

Unsure of what might be hidden inside the tank, Huo Sining dared not tamper with it and opted to use machinery to cut out the hollowed section first.

Fortunately, her basement was equipped with a complete set of stone cutting machines, including a small cutter, so she was able to do it herself.

Marking the hollow section with a pen, she carefully took a small cutter and began to slice through it.

Porcelain cutting is not as easy as stone gambling, and without prior experience, she proceeded slowly, taking almost half an hour to slice off that section.

The cross-section of the tank’s ceramic base was a good seven to eight centimeters thick — hiding something inside wouldn’t have been difficult. After removing that thick piece of ceramic, the real challenge lay ahead.

The hollow space was roughly four to five centimeters squared, but the thickness of the outer wall was unknown since it was clearly added by the Porcelain Repair Craftsman later on. It couldn’t be smashed directly; if the item inside was fragile, it would be ruined with a single strike.

Huo Sining scoured the collection of stone cutting machines and her gaze suddenly landed on a grinding stone machine she had used for polishing stones. An idea flashed through her mind.

She carefully started working the grinder on the hollow section. This task was quite familiar to her, as she had spent recent times unlocking a good number of stone gambles she had bought back from Pingzhou, and her experience in stone gambling had been increasing daily. Polishing stones, therefore, went quite smoothly for her.

When the outer layer of the hollow had been ground down to just a thin remaining shell, Huo Sining stopped and used a sharp knife to carefully slice through the wall.

The tip of the knife quickly penetrated the interior, and Huo Sining could feel a gap inside — a clear indication that space had been hollowed out. She gently scraped with the knife, swiftly cutting through the thin ceramic shell.

After removing the knife, she repeated the technique on the three other sides of the hollow, cutting each side bit by bit until they were connected into one piece, eventually slicing off the ceramic shell that had been reduced to just a layer.

In fact, the porcelain tank had not been damaged; instead, it had been purposefully hollowed out. The outer ceramic layer wasn’t truly porcelain, but a type of porcelain ferment.

It was just that the person who did this had painted the porcelain ferment the same color as the tank’s outer ceramic layer, achieving a level of deception that made it indistinguishable from the real thing. So without close observation, it was impossible to notice the repair or to conceive that the tank had been hollowed out.

By the third cut, the inner wall of the tank was already able to be lifted, and by the fourth, the stone wall had become loose and detached from the ceramic piece.

Huo Sining carefully lifted the shell to reveal the tank’s inner hollow.