Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 418: Chapter 414: The True and False Scam

If the old man knew that the smiling girl in front of him was secretly criticizing him for being a swindler, he would have definitely blown his beard, glared his eyes, and jumped up to curse at her.

However, at the moment, his mind was entirely focused on putting on a show. He glanced at Su Qingqing and let out a helpless sigh, ”You little girl have quite sharp eyes! Indeed, you’ve got yourself a bargain!”

With that, the old man dragged the trunk to a corner and then beckoned to Su Qingqing and the others:

”The little girl suits my taste, so I won’t cheat you. These are the treasures I’ve collected over the years. If you like anything, just take it. Each item is three thousand, feel free to pick any.”

Upon hearing this, Huo Sining couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

Antique Street was full of these kinds of ploys to trick people. Although the old man spoke with seeming sincerity, Huo Sining had already made up her mind that he was nothing but a swindler.

Three thousand a piece, she feared that all the items inside didn’t total worth three thousand.

But Huo Sining didn’t expose him because Su Qingqing and Huang Xiaoyi were already engrossed, squatting down and going through the trunk on their own.

”Won’t you pick something, young lady?” Seeing Huo Sining’s amused expression yet no action, the old man’s eyes flashed with a cunning light as he smiled and looked curiously at Huo Sining, asking.

”Yeah, Ningning, pick one too. Three thousand isn’t expensive, and you’re not short of that bit of money. Just have a look. With your luck, maybe you’ll spot a real find!”

Seeing that Huo Sining still hadn’t moved, Su Qingqing was desperately trying to drag her into it, with an expression that said if you don’t pick something, our friendship is over.

My dear, real finds are not so easily picked up. If it were as simple as relying on luck, then all collectors would be spitting blood.

Huo Sining felt helpless inside, but given Su Qingqing’s insistence, she had no choice but to compromise.

She glanced at the bucket of clean water next to the old man, used for rinsing cloths, and asked with a smile, ”Grandpa, may I wash my hands here?”

The old man was taken aback for a moment, then promptly nodded, ”No problem, go ahead.”

Huo Sining immersed her hands in the bucket of clear water, carefully washing them through. Without bothering to wipe them dry, she shook her hands slightly and then squatted down to start her selection.

The items in the old man’s trunk were neatly laid out. Apart from porcelain and pottery, there were calligraphy, jade Bi, wood carvings, bronze artifacts, and other various types of treasures, filling the trunk to the brim with roughly a hundred pieces.

”These items seem to be much better than the junk displayed on the stalls!”

Upon finishing her inspection of these items, Su Qingqing, the half-baked appraiser, couldn’t help but murmur.

”Why do I feel like all these items are genuine?”

Huang Xiaoyi was still a child after all, and even though he was eager to spot a bargain, he only knew the bare basics of appraisal. Once he started, he became overwhelmed, realizing he couldn’t discern the value of these items, which seemed ostensibly genuine to him.

Huo Sining found this amusing, increasingly convinced that this was a trap deliberately set by the vendor to lure in the likes of Huang Xiaoyi and Su Qingqing.

Despite feeling a bit helpless yet curious, Huo Sining decided to unravel this man’s scam, so she nonchalantly picked up a bronze censer that, in the eyes of Huang Xiaoyi, could easily pass off as real. Upon touching it, indeed, the Water-Repelling Pearl showed no reaction.

The corners of Huo Sining’s mouth curled up slightly, and she couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly, her wet right hand gliding over each of the items.

Unlike Su Qingqing and Huang Xiaoyi, Huo Sining didn’t use a flashlight or a magnifying glass.

Because she had to make a quick decision before the water stains on her hand dried, her actions were extremely swift, almost as if she were going through the motions.

Huo Sining didn’t know that the street vendor was ostensibly watching his stand, but in secret, he was intently watching her every move.

Seeing Huo Sining casually pick up an item and then quickly put it down, as if childishly playing house, and ultimately just touch and look without using a flashlight, relying solely on whether or not she found the item visually appealing—like an outsider unfamiliar with appraisal, her actions seemed random and distracted. The street vendor unconsciously furrowed his brows, involuntarily glancing towards Su Qingqing with a questioning look on his face.

However, Su Qingqing was too focused on Huo Sining to notice his expression.

The vendor’s mouth twitched involuntarily, wondering if teaming up with her had been the right choice. Could it be that their ruse was too obvious and had already been seen through?

However, just as the vendor was puzzled and feeling uneasy, Huo Sining suddenly stopped moving when she touched a porcelain plate.

The vendor’s eyes twitched with surprise as he looked at the plate in Huo Sining’s hand, his eyes flashing with a bright light.

Huo Sining had already looked over about a dozen fakes, and she was convinced this was a scam. Just when she decided to give up, her hand accidentally touched a porcelain plate.

In that instant, the Azure Pearl on her forehead began to flash wildly.

”Huh?”

Huo Sining’s face showed surprise, and she paused, subconsciously lifting her head to look at the vendor.

The vendor was busy with the task at hand and seemed not to notice Huo Sining’s movement.

Huo Sining let out a small sigh of relief, yet her gaze was filled with confusion as she looked at the plate in her hand.

It was a Lotus Plate, with an open curved wall and shallow ring foot, the glaze a white base with blue. The rim of the plate was decorated with a sea wave pattern, and the inner rim featured a wave ornament circling around, filled with water plants like water lilies and duckweed tied with a ribbon.

Huo Sining didn’t understand appraisal or know how to decipher the glaze or inscriptions, but the flashing Azure Pearl proved that the plate was definitely an old item.

Huo Sining didn’t make a sound but was secretly puzzled. Could it be that she was wrong and this wasn’t a scam?

Her gaze fell on the other items in the box, and just as she had prepared to give up, her eyes suddenly shone brightly. While the others weren’t paying attention, she wet her right hand again and stealthily extended her grasp towards the remaining items in the box.

Washing her hands again?

The vendor was inwardly puzzled, but having seen many odd appraisers over his seventy-odd years—some who liked to wear gloves, some who preferred to wipe items with a handkerchief, and others who liked to tap items with a jade cone—Huo Sining’s behavior, though strange, didn’t raise any suspicions.

Huo Sining hadn’t noticed Su Qingqing and the vendor’s silent communication, so she had no idea that this was a setup. After finding that genuine porcelain plate, she thought there might be more authentic items in the box, so she continued to search. This time, however, she was much more serious, and didn’t overlook a single item in the box.

After feeling nearly twenty items, just as Huo Sining began to doubt whether the plate was the only genuine item in the box, she brushed against a modest-sized bronze Three-legged Toad Paperweight.

Such an unremarkable, dark item set the Azure Pearl flashing excitedly once again.