Reborn As Super Heiress

Tang Jinchuan understood that he was now at the end of his rope, yet he still hesitated, suspecting that Huo Sining might be bluffing, trying to deceive him into telling the truth. So he absolutely would not admit anything, instead, he laughed heartily and said:

”Boss Huo, this is just one opinion. Regardless of the brushwork or the style, this painting is in the style of Shen Zhou, and the seal is something no one else could forge. For you to say the painting is fake seems a bit too arbitrary. But Boss Huo, you’re young and haven’t seen many antiques; it’s understandable to make a misjudgment.”

Huo Sining saw Tang Jinchuan starting to use seniority to confuse right from wrong, and couldn’t help but sneer internally, ”Boss Tang, as you said, the truth will out. This painting, to put it nicely, is a replica; to put it harshly, it’s a forgery. There’s a lot of fake stuff on the market. Don’t say I’m young—even you might not have seen it all. Except for Shen Zhou’s seal, there’s not a stroke of his hand in this painting. I don’t know if you genuinely missed it or are pretending not to know, but if you keep insisting this painting is an original, then I’m sorry, but we at Jubao Pavilion can’t accept it.”

By this point, Huo Sining still wore a smile, but her tone was decidedly unfriendly.

Tang Jinchuan was also shocked in his heart. He hadn’t expected Huo Sining to really be able to see the issue, knowing that other than the seal, everything else in the painting was fake. This discovery left Tang Jinchuan unable to brazenly lie anymore; he was both astonished and impressed with the owner of Jubao Pavilion.

The young girl in front of him looked no more than twenty years old, with an unremarkable appearance. And when she was looking at the painting, she seemed quite unskilled, not even having a magnifying glass, just staring at it for a few minutes and then spotting the problem. What a sharp eye she had!

Thinking this, Tang Jinchuan couldn’t help but curse inwardly. Damn, that old fellow from the Liang Family must have been deliberately fooling him. What a rascal, tricking him into thinking the owner of Jubao Pavilion would be easy to deceive and guiding him down this path to make money. But instead, he almost exposed himself. How is this easy to fool? That young girl is clearly sharp and scary in her skills. Trying to trick her? What a joke. He better not end up dragging himself down with it!

Tang Jinchuan broke out in a cold sweat, harboring deep resentment towards Liang Ruicheng, who had tricked him into doing this.

His mind racing with thoughts, Tang Jinchuan’s expression remained unchanged. After hearing Huo Sining’s words, he just dryly laughed a couple of times, going along with Huo Sining’s words:

”Boss Huo, you truly have a keen eye. No wonder you’re already running such a big shop at a young age; it commands respect. Since you’re not planning to make an offer for the painting, I’ll be on my way.”

Seeing Tang Jinchuan prepared to slip away, Huo Sining couldn’t help but laugh again:

”Hold on, Boss Tang. Since you’re here, why rush to leave? I told you earlier, it’s not that my shop won’t accept the painting, but before discussing the price, I have to say a few words. Replicas have their own price. If Boss Tang really wants to sell, we should at least have a calm discussion, don’t you think?”

Tang Jinchuan was momentarily stunned but quickly came to his senses, nodding, ”Boss Huo is right. Let’s not mention whether the painting is a replica or not. But this paper is indeed old Xuan paper passed down from the Ming Dynasty. I won’t hide it from you; I acquired this painting for twenty thousand. Boss Huo, with your sharp eye, I’ve learned something new today. I won’t profit off you; you can have it at the original price I got it for—twenty thousand.”

By this point, Tang Jinchuan no longer insisted on it being an original. Everyone in the circle understood the trick as soon as Huo Sining spoke. So Tang Jinchuan didn’t argue further, and in naming the price, he showed weakness, subconsciously lowering his momentum.

But the name ”Baofu Zhai” isn’t just for show, and Huo Sining isn’t a fool. She wouldn’t believe whatever Tang Jinchuan said. When Tang Jinchuan claimed he bought the painting for twenty thousand, Huo Sining estimated the actual cost at most five thousand, so she wasn’t foolish enough to spend twenty thousand on such a forgery.

”We’ve laid everything out, Boss Tang, let’s be honest. No need to split hairs; we all know what this is about. We’ll take this painting for ten thousand, just like you said, as buying a piece of old Xuan paper from the Ming Dynasty. At that price, you’re likely still making a good profit.”

Li Quan couldn’t quite take Tang Jinchuan’s insincere words either, and couldn’t help but interject from the side.

If it were another boss negotiating a deal and someone under them interrupted, they’d surely be irate. But this was Huo Sining, who consistently preferred to be the boss who leaves things to others. She didn’t mind handing things over to Li Quan to handle.

Tang Jinchuan, being an old hand, heard Li Quan’s offer and thought Huo Sining would be angry. Yet, to his surprise, upon hearing Li Quan’s words, Huo Sining showed no sign of anger; instead, she watched him with a smile, seemingly waiting for his decision.

Tang Jinchuan was somewhat taken aback, partly appreciating the composure of this young girl named Huo, and partly at a loss as to how he should respond.

As Huo Sining had guessed, Tang Jinchuan acquired this painting from the home of an old rural teacher in Zhoushan for only two thousand. But when acquiring it, he mistakenly believed it was an original by Shen Zhou and excitedly rushed back to the Imperial Capital, thinking he had struck gold.

Little did he know, after returning with the painting to the Imperial Capital and having it appraised, he learned from the appraiser about the trick: the painting only had an authentic seal, while the painting and inscription were replicas.

Upon learning this result, Tang Jinchuan was understandably disappointed. Around that time, he met that old fellow from the Liang Family. During their interactions, the topic of the painting came up. Liang Ruicheng seemed to discern his trouble and pointed him in a direction, telling him that a new antique store called Jubao Pavilion had opened in Liulichang, run by two young men not even thirty, suggesting he might try his luck there.

Hearing this, Tang Jinchuan’s interest was piqued, but since those who open antique shops usually have some skills of their own, Tang Jinchuan dared not act rashly. So before trying to sell the painting, he first brought a few other items to Jubao Pavilion for testing and frequently chatted with the shop owner and manager, probing into their backgrounds.

Only when Tang Jinchuan felt the time was right did he bring Shen Zhou’s painting to Jubao Pavilion.