Chapter 30: Chapter 28 Professional Appraisal
After seeing the pearl in Huo Sining’s hands, Su Jinyuan immediately looked up at her with an odd expression on his face.
Even Su Qingqing’s eyes widened in surprise as she stutteringly said, “Brother, this, this pearl…”
Huo Sining, puzzled, asked, “What’s wrong?”
“We’ll talk about it later!” Su Jinyuan interrupted Su Qingqing and quickly grabbed Huo Sining’s hand, pulling her to leave.
Su Qingqing seemed to have realized something too and immediately shut her mouth, following closely behind Su Jinyuan.
Feeling the touch of a strange man’s hand, Huo Sining stiffened.
Especially when she felt Su Jinyuan so close to her, Huo Sining instantly felt uncomfortable and couldn’t help wanting to break free from his grasp.
However, seeing the nervous look on the siblings’ faces, Huo Sining felt something was off and forced herself to ignore the discomfort, swallowing down her questions.
It wasn’t until they reached the car that Su Jinyuan finally let go of Huo Sining’s hand, but his eyes remained intently on her, with an unprecedented seriousness, “Where did you get this pearl from?”
Huo Sining couldn’t help but look up at Su Jinyuan.
Seeing the wariness in her eyes, Su Jinyuan realized that his conduct might have been too abrupt and reckless, and he quickly gave an awkward smile to Huo Sining, full of apologies, “I am truly sorry about just now. I got excited and was a bit hasty, rest assured, I have no ill intentions.”
Huo Sining carefully observed Su Jinyuan, and once she confirmed that he wasn’t lying, she spoke,
“You probably heard about my diving talent from your sister. A few days ago, I was fishing for clamshells in the Yellow River, and I found this pearl inside one of them.”
The fact that it was a wild pearl rendered Su Jinyuan speechless, his eyes conveying both surprise and a hint of uncertainty.
Sensing his disbelief, Huo Sining continued,
“If you think my words aren’t credible, you can check my place. I still have the flesh of those old clams, and it’s all fresh.”
In the world of pearls, “seven parts make a pearl, eight parts make a treasure.” Pearls below six millimeters are not considered jewelry grade. The typical materials used in jewelry stores are pearls of seven to nine millimeters, which due to their affordable price are popular with the general consumers.
A ten-millimeter pearl is already very rare, and anything above is considered top-quality. The larger the pearl gets, the harder it is to form and the scarcer it becomes, which means the bigger the pearl, the more expensive it is, with prices increasing exponentially.
Su Jinyuan closely inspected the pearl in Huo Sining’s hand; the pearl she had produced was at least thirteen or fourteen millimeters.
Moreover, it exuded a gentle luster overall, perfectly round and smooth, appearing flawless to the naked eye.
In the sunlight, the pearl’s surface seemed to have a metallic sheen, showing iridescent rainbow colors on the top and reflecting one’s pupils from the bottom, portraying a rich array of layers.
Whether it was luster, roundness, or color, this pearl could be considered an exceptionally high-quality gem.
“This pearl is large, well-shaped, and white in color; indeed, it is a high-quality freshwater white pearl. However, with my limited knowledge, I cannot confirm if it’s a natural pearl. We need a professional to take a look to be sure,”
After a moment, Su Jinyuan finally looked up at Huo Sining, “Would Miss Huo mind if I take it back to the company for appraisal?”
Huo Sining smiled, “Mr. Su, feel free.”
Su Jinyuan nodded, started the car engine, and made a call to his secretary, “Get Professor Xie to the company right away. We have a significant item that needs his appraisal.”
Su Jinyuan’s company was located in the center of S City. When Huo Sining entered the lobby and saw the company’s logo, she was taken aback, somewhat shocked.
Although Huo Sining was not very familiar with the jewelry industry, Su Group’s Donghua, this jewelry company, was well-known nationwide. Even Huo Sining, who came from humble beginnings in her previous life, had heard of it.
Huo Sining didn’t expect Su Qingqing’s family company to be so famous. Fame meant strength, and although she had some doubts about Su Jinyuan at first, she now felt at ease.
Such a big family and business they had, it wouldn’t make sense for them to cheat her for a few damaged pearls.
She had been waiting in Su Jinyuan’s office for less than ten minutes when she heard a set of hurried footsteps.
Hearing the noise, Huo Sining subconsciously looked towards the door, only to see an elderly man with somewhat graying hair push the door open and walk in.
As soon as she clearly saw the old man, Huo Sining felt Su Qingqing sitting next to her stiffen slightly and lower her head as if she dared not look at the newcomer.
“Professor, you’ve arrived.” Su Jinyuan quickly stood up to greet the man, shaking hands with him in a familiar manner.
Clearly, this professor was the expert Su Jinyuan had mentioned who would help appraise the pearls.
Huo Sining curiously glanced at Professor Xie, who smiled and nodded back, but his gaze soon shifted towards Huo Sining as he asked, “And who might this be?”
“Ah, yes,” Su Jinyuan hastened to introduce them, leading Professor Xie over to the table, “This is Miss Huo Sining. She provided the items this time. However, as a student, her knowledge is too limited to determine their authenticity, so we have to trouble you, Professor.”
“Hello, Professor Xie,” Huo Sining said politely as she stood up and shook hands with him.
Upon closer observation, Huo Sining noticed that although the professor’s hair was graying, he didn’t look very old. His skin was tender and fair, not at all loose, and he was probably only in his fifties.
Meanwhile, Su Qingqing lowered her head even more, as if afraid Professor Xie might see her.
It seemed Professor Xie noticed Su Qingqing’s action. With a corner of his mouth hooked in a smile that was not quite a smile, he looked at Su Qingqing and said:
“I believe today is Wednesday, Dr. Su. You’ve skipped class again, have you? If you keep skipping classes, how am I supposed to pass you at the final exams?”
As soon as Huo Sining heard this, she instantly understood why Su Qingqing had been hiding under the table like a mouse who had seen a cat when she saw the professor; it turns out this blockhead was Professor Xie’s student!
Unable to hide any longer, Su Qingqing brazenly raised her head and looked defiantly at Professor Xie:
“I’m here for practical experience. Professor, haven’t you always said that for the study of appraisal, seeing is better than hearing a hundred times? Even with solid fundamentals, it’s useless without practical experience. As soon as I heard that my brother had something good here, I couldn’t resist coming to have a look.”
It was an excuse that was hard to refute, and for the first time, Huo Sining thought Su Qingqing could be so clever.
As expected, Professor Xie’s mouth twitched slightly after hearing Su Qingqing’s words, and with a noncommittal grunt, he said:
“You’ve only remembered the first part of what I said. What about the second half? In addition to solid fundamentals and ample practice, for the field of treasure appraisal, intuition is also extremely important. Without intuition, no amount of study is useful.”
Huo Sining had just bent down to take a sip of tea when she heard this and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
This professor really knew how to dish it out. Was he hinting that Su Qingqing lacked intuition, and was too dumb?
“Professor!” Su Qingqing, though slow on the uptake, mulled over his words and caught on.
Once she understood the meaning behind Professor Xie’s words, she became furiously embarrassed, her face turning beet red as she glared at him.
A hint of amusement flashed in Professor Xie’s eyes, but he quickly turned serious, looked at Su Qingqing, and scolded sternly:
“You still need to learn what you must. Skipping class is not a good habit. This time only, not again.”
Seeing that he wasn’t going to pursue the matter, Su Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief. As Professor Xie turned around, she made a face at the old man behind his back. Catching a warning glance from Su Jinyuan, she quickly composed herself.
Without further delay, Professor Xie got down to business. He took out a magnifying glass and held the pearl that Huo Sining had brought out in his hand, quietly observing it.