Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 273: Chapter 270: Come and Join Me

”What’s the matter? Is it that the hospital room isn’t satisfactory, or is the money not enough?”

Miss Huo stopped, her elegant brows knitting slightly.

”No, no, the full hundred thousand, plus the fifty thousand I have on hand, is enough for the surgery,” Li Quan explained, waving his hand.

”But how will I repay you? You need to leave an address for me,” said Li Quan.

Miss Huo waved her hand with a smile, ”You should focus on taking care of your grandmother for now. It’s essential to have someone looking after her at her age. We can discuss the matter of repaying the money after your grandmother’s health has improved. There’s no hurry for that.”

Li Quan paused in astonishment and hurriedly reached out to stop her:

”No, Miss Huo, your kindness in helping me today is something that I, Li Quan, will never forget. However, I can only treat this money as a loan to you. It’s a matter of principle. Please leave me your contact details. I may not be very capable, but I will do my utmost to repay this debt!”

Miss Huo smiled upon hearing this, a look of admiration and approval flashing in her eyes.

To her, a hundred thousand wasn’t much, but it was an astronomical sum for someone like Li Quan.

Even though poverty had bent his back, even though he was helpless in the face of his current difficulties, he hadn’t lost his integrity. Just for this statement, she respected Li Quan as a true man.

Remembering that Li Quan collected second-hand goods and set up a stall on Antique Street, an idea suddenly struck Miss Huo. She couldn’t help but ask, ”Did you study antique appraisal in college?”

Li Quan didn’t understand why Miss Huo would suddenly ask this and felt somewhat embarrassed as he scratched his head:

”How could I have gone to college? I didn’t even finish high school. I just worked as an assistant in an antique shop for a while, picked up a few tricks of the trade, and then read through a couple of books on my own.”

Upon hearing this, Miss Huo actually smiled. Li Quan seemed crafty and somewhat clever, but he didn’t exaggerate or brag when he spoke. Miss Huo rather liked this trait. After thinking for a moment, she asked with a smile, ”If you don’t mind, how about you come work with me? I’ve seen what happened today; fooling people here on Antique Street isn’t a sustainable plan. I happen to be short-staffed. I wonder if you would be willing to help me?”

Li Quan suddenly looked up, ”Miss Huo, are you serious?”

Miss Huo nodded.

Li Quan’s heart stirred with excitement, yet he still hesitated, doubting, ”But I don’t know much, and I wouldn’t be of much help to you.”

Miss Huo smiled slightly, ”I don’t need you to do anything else for me. You said you understand antiques, that’s enough.”

”Although I don’t deal with antiques, due to special reasons, I inevitably come into contact with such items from time to time, so I need you to be my appraiser.”

”Regarding the salary, whatever is the going rate for ordinary appraisers in the antique circle is what you’ll get. Also, I might open my own antique shop someday, and if you do well, I could put you in charge of it.”

”You can both learn and recharge within the antique circle and do legitimate business, without having to guerrilla fight on Antique Street anymore. I don’t know about you, but do you find this condition acceptable?”

How could it be unacceptable? Upon hearing Huo Sining’s words, Li Quan was completely dumbfounded, gulping subconsciously, he looked at Huo Sining with some disbelief, ”Miss Huo, I... am I really up for it?”

Huo Sining smiled, ”What, are you only brave with fakes? Now that you have the chance to deal with the real deal, you’re backing down?”

”No, not at all!” Li Quan’s face turned slightly red; he wasn’t scared, he just felt inadequate. Huo Sining was helping him so much, and he worried that if he, a half-baked amateur, went over, he wouldn’t help but instead might cause more trouble and make others lose money.

Huo Sining certainly knew what Li Quan was worried about, so she explained, ”Don’t feel any pressure. At this stage, you definitely won’t be thrown in the deep end. Although I want you as my eyeballs, don’t doubt the authenticity of the items I bring back; they will definitely be real, and you won’t need to discern their authenticity. In most cases, all you need to do is help me figure out the origin and value of each item.”

”Ah?” Li Quan was stunned. He wasn’t required to judge the authenticity of antiques for appraisal? What did that mean?

Huo Sining didn’t plan to explain too much, and smilingly waved her hand, ”Just take it literally. I can’t explain much to you in detail, just take it easy.”

This filled Li Quan with confidence, he straightened his chest and agreed, ”Miss Huo, I, Li Quan, am not ungrateful. You are helping me so much, I have no way to repay you. From now on, I’ll work for you. Just command me if you need anything; as for salary, you don’t need to worry about it. Just provide me enough food to eat.”

Hearing this, Huo Sining couldn’t help but laugh, ”Just provide you enough food to eat, and what about your grandmother? Waiting to starve to death? Alright, as for salary, let it be arranged as it should be. I will certainly not treat you unfairly.”

Li Quan scratched the back of his head awkwardly, ”So, when can I start work?”

Huo Sining shook her head with a smile, ”There’s no rush for this matter. Right now, your top priority is to take good care of your grandmother. Once your grandma is discharged from the hospital, we’ll talk then. My contact number is 135********; once your grandma is better, just call me.”

Li Quan had no paper or pen in hand; upon hearing Huo Sining recite the phone number, he recited it over and over in his mind, fearful of forgetting it. When he looked up again, he found that Huo Sining had already left the hospital without knowing when. He could only see a slender silhouette.

Li Quan felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude as he watched Huo Sining board the bus and drive off into the distance. It was a long while before he turned and walked back into the hospital.

Meanwhile, Huo Sining sat on the bus, lost in her thoughts and drifting far away.

The things she told Li Quan were not empty promises; she had been contemplating them for a while.

Ever since Su Qingqing unintentionally mentioned the sunken treasure in the sea, she’d been overtaken by the impulse for an underwater adventure.

But underwater exploration in itself is risky because no one can predict what unknowns lie beneath the sea. If she went alone into the sea and something happened, no one could help her.

Moreover, even though she had the Water-Repelling Pearl, with the vast expanse of the sea, it wouldn’t be an easy feat to make the trip. Not to mention if a woman like her could bring back those treasures, simply planning for food supplies was troublesome enough.

So even though the idea had long been in her heart, various concerns and complications had kept her from carrying it out.

But this time it was different. She hadn’t anticipated that her luck would surge, leading her to stumble upon a Storage Space. Even though the space wasn’t large, it was more than enough for her needs.

With the Storage Space, when she went on her underwater adventures, she could keep all the weapons and tools she might need in the space in case of emergencies, and bring some food to ensure she could replenish her energy in a timely manner. That way, even if she spent several days under the sea, it wouldn’t be a problem.