Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1301: Chapter 1297: Grease

Hearing Huang Zhenlong’s words, Su Anning became quite interested and looked at Huang Zhenlong curiously: ”Forgive my ignorance, Grandpa Huang, do you know about this item? Please don’t keep us in suspense, tell me, An Ning, what is the origin of this thing?”

”Are you familiar with the Ru Kiln?” Huang Zhenlong laughed and asked.

Seeing Su Anning nod, Huang Zhenlong smiled and pointed to the celadon glaze, ”The Ru Kiln is famous for its celadon porcelain, known for its glaze containing agate that gives it a clear and crisp color, with the glaze smooth and lustrous like congealed fat.”

As he spoke, Huang Zhenlong gently stroked the item with his fingers and continued, ”Ru Kiln celadon porcelain is reputed to be like jade though not jade, with pieces appearing just like a piece of jade. It is for this reason, it, along with the official kilns, Ge Kiln, Jun Kiln, and Ding Kiln, is regarded as one of the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty. Unfortunately, the prosperity of the Ru Kiln lasted for only about twenty years, and pieces that have been passed down are rare, each one immensely valuable.”

Although she didn’t quite believe that the celadon-glazed brush washer in front of her was from the Ru Kiln, after listening to Huang Zhenlong’s explanation, Su Anning was intrigued. She couldn’t help but take another look at the celadon-glazed brush washer and hesitantly asked, ”Grandpa Huang, are you saying that this brush washer is from the Ru Kiln?”

Huang Zhenlong glanced at Huo Sining, paused, and then chuckled bitterly: ”If this item were brought out by someone else, I might still doubt it, but since it’s brought out by Huo girl, then I estimate there’s a ninety percent chance that it’s genuine!”

Su Anning was well aware of Huang Zhenlong’s identity. As the curator of the Forbidden City Museum, Huang Zhenlong gave such high praise to Huo Sining. The brush washer brought out by Huo Sining did not even cause him to doubt its authenticity, which made Su Anning quite indignant.

Looking at the brush washer, Su Anning couldn’t resist asking, ”But, Grandpa Huang, didn’t you say that Ru Kiln is like jade though not jade, glossy like congealed fat? This brush washer doesn’t seem to match the characteristics you mentioned, right?”

Huang Zhenlong was taken aback and looked down at the brush washer in his hand.

Indeed, the Ru Kiln brush washer that Huo Sining brought out, while celadon-glazed, did not have a pure blue color. Instead, it appeared dull and not at all transparent.

It was because of this that Su Anning thought she had found strong evidence to label the item a fake. She was skeptical of Huang Zhenlong’s words and, seeing that he couldn’t refute, felt smug and couldn’t help but give Huo Sining a gloating look.

For, as Su Anning believed, no matter how you looked at it, this brush washer didn’t seem like a Ru Kiln piece.

Unable to argue back, Huang Zhenlong instinctively looked at Huo Sining.

Zhou Shitao had a smile on his lips: ”Huo girl, what do you say?”

Huo Sining was momentarily stunned, but upon seeing the meaningful smile on Zhou Shitao’s face, she knew her master intended for her to step forward. Without hesitation, she took the brush washer from Huang Zhenlong and said to Liu Pengcheng beside her: ”Brother Liu, please help me get a candle.”

Seeing Huo Sining asking for a candle, everyone felt puzzled, but upon noticing Zhou Shitao’s approving look, they swallowed their doubts.

Following the instruction, Liu Pengcheng quickly turned and went outside to get a candle from the Diecuiyuan staff.

”What does she need the candle for? Does she actually intend to burn the brush washer?”

Su Anning was very puzzled, staring at the brush washer in Huo Sining’s hand, unable to associate it with Ru Kiln celadon porcelain. Even Ji Kun looked at it curiously, unsure of what Huo Sining was about to do.

Before long, Liu Pengcheng returned with two large candles.

Huo Sining sat on the sofa, lit the candles, and then began carefully roasting the brush washer over the flame, rotating it to ensure even heating. All the while, she instructed Liu Pengcheng to bring over a basin of clean water and a piece of clean cloth.

Su Anning watched Huo Sining’s actions wide-eyed, completely taken aback that Huo Sining had indeed intended to burn the brush washer, yet she couldn’t understand what the purpose was.

Everyone in the room looked at each other and gathered around to see what Huo Sining was up to.

Noticing the puzzled looks, Huo Sining explained as she continued to heat the item:

”I believe everyone here is familiar with porcelain. The five thousand years of Chinese history and civilization have always been closely linked to ceramic art. Our ancestors created many marvels that future generations could not imagine. Similarly, they valued precious items highly, often passing down great craftsmanship only through the male line, hence many techniques have continuously been lost throughout history, leaving only a few today.”

”This brush washer was a find from a fake item. At first glance, it seemed dirty with its gray color. Although the carving technique seemed decent, the material was mediocre. Ordinary people, upon seeing such a brush washer, would dismiss it as worthless without suspecting that the dull color held any significance.”

”However, the point is, I found this brush washer hidden within the layers of a fake. If it were a common item, who would go through such trouble to hide a worthless object within a counterfeit? Therefore, I am convinced that there is more to this brush washer.”

”The dullness of this brush washer is not due to material issues, but because it is covered with a thick layer of grease.”

As she spoke, Huo Sining handed the brush washer to Su Anning, and Su Anning reached out to touch it.

Sure enough, after the roasting, the outer layer of the brush washer underwent some physical changes due to the heat, feeling sticky, much like greasy fat.

”This grease, whatever it is made from, is dark green, closely resembling the color of the celadon glaze and is somewhat translucent, making it undetectable when applied to the brush washer.”

”Because the grease had been on the brush washer for too long, it eventually turned into a dry, hard layer covering the surface, which is why it appeared dark green.”

To prove her hypothesis was correct, Huo Sining gently pinched the edge of the brush washer.

As the dark green brush washer was heated under the candle, its surface gradually softened, becoming a thick layer of grease, like water droplets on a lotus leaf falling off the washer.

Soon, the entire brush washer was heated to saturation, and the greasy substance quickly flowed down from the body.

Because the outer flame of the candle doesn’t burn at a high temperature, the brush washer remained unharmed throughout the process, with only the outer layer of grease changing.

As the grease slowly flowed away, the true appearance of the celadon-glazed brush washer gradually emerged, leaving the crowd in awe of this marvelous sight.