Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1104: Chapter 1100: The Shattered Porcelain

At the bottom of the plate, there were a few rows of words written in semi-cursive script: ”Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs, Shu Lord tested a thousand medicines.”

The seal printed below, however, was a red stamp, in large seal script, with the name Bai Buzhi inscribed on it.

Huo Sining had never heard of this phrase and this name. Adding such a saying on the plate, along with such a stamp, inevitably made it seem laughable.

Ordinary porcelain, even the simplest crafts, usually have inscriptions or paintings on their surface, often works of famous artists. But this plate had an inexplicable phrase and a completely unknown person’s signature. Anyone slightly knowledgeable could easily tell its authenticity at a glance.

Nonetheless, the plate gave Huo Sining a strange feeling. She vaguely felt that the inscription on the plate had some unknown connection with the Golden Lotus in her hand.

So, without much hesitation, Huo Sining directly handed over a thousand yuan to the vendor, buying this plate that she believed could possibly unlock the secret of the Golden Lotus, without even bargaining.

After completing the transaction, Huo Sining carefully placed the plate in her backpack.

Seeing Huo Sining’s cautious actions, Su Qingqing felt inexplicably confused. ”Ningning, this plate obviously looks fake. Why did you buy it?”

Su Qingqing noticed how Huo Sining bought the plate without even haggling and was intensely curious. She couldn’t discern anything noteworthy from the plate but knew Huo Sining never acted without reason, making her wonder if there was something special about it.

But she guessed wrong this time. Huo Sining didn’t buy the plate to find a bargain. She bought it because of the lotus depicted on it. She flashed a smile at Su Qingqing and said:

”The difference between antiques and crafts is often just a matter of perception. Appealing to one’s interest, even ordinary crafts can be treasured by some. However, if it doesn’t catch the eye, even true antiques might not impress. I felt a connection with this plate, so I bought it, without any special reason.”

After buying the plate, Su Qingqing also picked out three small trinkets. Huo Sining took a look at them; the best of the lot was from the late Guangxu period, while the other two were items from the Republic of China. Nothing particularly valuable, but they were relatively well-preserved.

However, if these items were to be handed to Xie Daoyuan, Huo Sining estimated that Su Qingqing might indeed fail her finals.

As they were walking, the three of them saw Yin Yizhai in the distance. Yin Yizhai was precisely the shop owned by Su Qingqing’s senior, Yin Zeyan. Huo Sining had previously visited this shop to find things, but in the past six months, she had been busy opening her own shop and went to Dongyang as an exchange student, so she hadn’t stepped inside in quite some time.

Just as she was about to ask Su Qingqing if they should visit the shop to have a look and maybe greet Elder Lu the Shopkeeper, they saw an old granny in ragged clothes being pushed out by the shop assistant right at the entrance.

”The porcelain is missing an edge, not worth a penny. Old lady, we don’t take items like this here. You might want to try somewhere else.”

Despite being pushed out forcefully, the old granny refused to give up. She kept clinging to the shop assistant’s sleeve, pleading:

”Young man, please, have pity. The chip happened on my way here, and I’ve picked up all the broken pieces. My old partner at home needs this money urgently. Could you have another look, please?”

The shop assistant wanted to refuse firmly, but seeing the old granny with teary eyes looking so pitiful, he was reluctant to further scold her and showed a troubled expression.

Such a significant decision couldn’t be made by the shop assistant rashly. As he pondered over an excuse to chase the old lady away, he looked up and, to his surprise, saw someone stepping out of a parked car, brightening his eyes. He turned to the old granny and said:

”I can’t make the decision on this, but perhaps our boss can help you. See, the one coming over there is our boss.”

Huo Sining and Su Qingqing stood not far from the entrance and followed the shop assistant’s direction with their gaze. Indeed, the person walking over from the parking lot was none other than Yin Zeyan. Following Yin Zeyan was someone else, whom Huo Sining also recognized — the son of Zhou Family’s eldest niece, seemingly named Zhou Yan.

Yin Zeyan had seen Su Qingqing and Huo Sining too and couldn’t help but smile as he asked, ”Why are you standing there without coming in? You didn’t even call. If I hadn’t just happened to come back, would I have not properly greeted esteemed guests?”

Su Qingqing felt a bit embarrassed, ”We were just passing by and thought we might come to have a look.”

Yin Zeyan nodded but didn’t take much time to chit-chat. He headed straight towards the old granny and the shop assistant at the entrance and asked in a somber voice, ”What’s going on?”

The old granny looked pleased when she heard the boss had come but was startled when she turned to see Yin Zeyan’s yin and yang face, with its large dark-red birthmark looking somewhat frightening. A trace of fear involuntarily showed in her eyes.

Yin Zeyan’s facial expression remained unchanged, although he felt a sense of frustration internally. This world of judging by appearances really was hopeless.

”This old lady is eager to sell a piece of porcelain, but it got chipped, and I told her we don’t accept it. However, she still wants to have it looked at again,” the shop assistant explained.

”Could you let me have a look at your item, ma’am?”

Yin Zeyan’s voice was gentle, and his gaze was kind. The old lady was initially frightened by Yin Zeyan’s face, but upon hearing his words, she hesitated a bit.

Thinking about her sick husband at home, she bit her lip, trembling as she took a bundle out from her arms. Inside was a Plum Vase, made from white glazed porcelain with red plum blossom patterns on its body. The glaze was bright and shiny, appearing very beautiful.

Even from a few meters away, with just one glance, Huo Sining could tell that it was an extremely fine piece of porcelain.

The only regrettable part was the vase’s base, which had been chipped with a large piece missing due to its owner’s mishap, with the bottom connecting to the body.

The old lady handed the Plum Vase to Yin Zeyan, but he did not take it. His eyes, upon seeing the vase, shrank rapidly, staring intently at the plum blossom patterns and glaze on the vase. After a long moment, he let out a regretful sigh, ”Green where it’s lush, red where it’s vivid. This is a good piece, but unfortunately...”

Everyone understood what Yin Zeyan left unsaid. Their eyes filled with regretful expressions as they looked at the chipped edge of the Plum Vase.