The Real Heiress Has an Appraisal System

Just then, a call came from Mrs. Lu Sr. "Shengsheng, I’ve found a contractor for the renovations! I had barely started looking when some of the young folks found one for me. And he’s an international master designer, no less."

"I was thinking we should build you a hidden room to display your artifacts, plus a personal studio. And if we can, we should add a basement too. You might want your own restoration workshop someday... As for the interior design, do you prefer something festive, a dark aesthetic, or something more traditional?"

Gu Shengsheng couldn’t help but laugh. "Grandma, just design it in your style! I’m sure I’ll love whatever you pick."

"Alright, alright! You’re such a sweet-talker! I just love taking care of these things." Mrs. Lu Sr. laughed. "I’ll call your other grandmother, and we’ll plan it all out together."

"Once we’ve picked out some styles, we’ll send them to you. You can make the final decision. And that designer really is first-rate."

"Okay," she replied in a gentle voice.

’Grandma is going through all this trouble for me, I should buy something for her and my other grandma...’

’Since both grandmas will be living together soon, and they both enjoy praying and making offerings...’

’And they’re both particularly fond of Guanyin.’

Gu Shengsheng thought she might as well try to find a nice statue to put in their home.

Thinking it over, she decided to check out a market. There was a place nearby with glazed bodhisattva statues, and it was even said they’d used some kind of Jingdezhen technique to create a "Buddha Statue Street."

Gu Shengsheng had wanted to check it out for a while. Although it couldn’t compare to the real Jingdezhen, she still planned to visit the actual city when she had the time.

She pulled up the directions on her phone and drove straight there.

Remembering she still needed to accumulate Emotion Value, she turned on her livestream.

"Hello everyone," she said. "Today we’re not going to the Antique City, but to a market for Buddha statues. Most of them are modern reproductions, so whether we can find a real treasure will all come down to luck."

The bullet comments immediately started flying:

"It’s usually hard to find anything good outside the Antique City, but it’s not easy to find quality Buddha statues, Guanyin statues, or those good-luck pendants even *in* the Antique City."

"Who knows, maybe the streamer will actually find something great at this market."

"Whatever, I just love watching her streams now!"

"..."

However much they used to enjoy flaming her, that’s how impressed they were now!

Here was a streamer who could have relied on her looks, but insisted on succeeding through her own hard work!

Gu Shengsheng drove up to the market entrance.

It wasn’t large, and the entrance even looked a bit rundown.

An old man working as a security guard was yawning, and only a few people were scattered along the street.

Just as Gu Shengsheng was about to ask the guard about the glazed bodhisattva statues...

The old man let out a yawn so big it brought tears to his eyes. "Little lady," he said, "you here to order a tombstone? Who’s it for? Your parents? Or are you planning ahead for yourself?"

"..." She glanced back at the market’s sign. ’Nope, I’m in the right place.’

"I’m not here for a tombstone. Isn’t this place called Buddha Statue Street?"

"I heard the glazed Buddha statues here are famous. Which shops sell them? Why are there so many tombstone carvers?"

Gu Shengsheng’s lip twitched. ’Is tombstone carving the main business here? And selling Buddha statues is just a side gig?’

The guard looked at her as if she were some kind of rare creature.

He chuckled. "We haven’t seen anyone come to buy carved Buddha or Guanyin statues in months. People just don’t need ’em anymore. We barely get any customers here."

"The carvers around here couldn’t make a living, so naturally they had to pick up a side business. That side business is carving tombstones."

"A lot of people have been dying these past few years, so business for tombstones has been pretty good."

He looked like he was giving a genuine recommendation. "Miss, if you don’t find any glazed statues you like, you should just take a look at the tombstones. They’re suitable for all ages."

"You might not need it now, but you will later. Prices are low at the moment. In the future, so many people will be dying they won’t even be able to afford a plot!"

Gu Shengsheng: "...Thanks, but I really don’t need one."

"I’ll just look around."

The guard enthusiastically pointed her toward a shop in the corner.

"See that one over there?" he said. "Their shop is a jumble of all sorts of things. They’ll probably have the glazed Buddha statues you’re looking for."

"The other places don’t really bother with that business anymore. They’ve probably all switched to selling tombstones full-time."

Gu Shengsheng nodded, thanked him, and headed in that direction.

’In this day and age, so many artisans can’t make a living, and even more intangible cultural legacies are being lost. It’s just a microcosm of society at large,’ she thought.

She didn’t dwell on it. Sighing wouldn’t change anything.

She walked right into the shop he’d indicated. "Do you have any Guanyin statues?" she asked. "I’m looking for glazed ones."

The shop was indeed a chaotic mess. The first things she saw were rows of tombstones, but a few steps further in, there was Jingdezhen Porcelain.

But one glance at the craftsmanship told her something was off.

Gu Shengsheng reached out and touched one, and a message popped up from the System.

[System]

Item: blue and white porcelain

Age: Modern (specifically, one month ago)

Description: The pattern is dyed on. Assembly-line production. The pigment is highly toxic. It is recommended that the Host wear a mask and protect their health.

Market Price: 13 yuan

Recycle Value: Not recyclable

Gu Shengsheng: "..."

It wasn’t just covered in dust; the main issue was that even though it had been made a month ago, she could still smell a pungent odor. The pigment must be seriously hazardous.

Seeing the look on Gu Shengsheng’s face, the shop owner thoughtfully handed her a mask.

"It’s been a while since we had a customer, miss," he said. "It’s all dust. You should be careful."

"Mm." Gu Shengsheng scanned the shop. "Do you have the glazed Guanyin statues I asked about?"

"Of course! We’re the only ones in the whole market who still sell them! Forget glazed Guanyin, I’ve got glazed Buddha statues, and a whole bunch of other deities too. I’ve even got glazed statues of Zeus and the twelve Olympian gods."

"Oh, these are real treasures. The ones I’ll show you weren’t made by our own master—he brought them all the way from Jingdezhen. Carried them back himself, piece by piece, on foot."

"They’re all heirlooms, passed down through the generations. Our family has always insisted on this craft because of the hardships we faced back then!"

"It’s not just traditional Jingdezhen craftsmanship, it’s an ancestral artifact! Our master’s carving techniques and his earth-kiln firing methods are all straight from Jingdezhen. You’ve heard of that legendary place, right, miss?"

"...I have." Gu Shengsheng nodded, then offered a gentle reminder. "It’s just that ’our ancestors’ don’t typically include Western ones. That whole Zeus and the twelve gods thing... that’s from the West."

The owner looked a bit embarrassed for a moment, then cleared his throat with a cough.

"Oh, my brain... it’s getting a bit fuzzy these days."

Just then, a middle-aged woman in an apron came out carrying four or five glazed Guanyin statues of various sizes.

Gu Shengsheng picked them up one by one to examine them.

Because her System had unlocked the Porcelain attribute panel, she knew that these Guanyin statues were also fired ceramics. This type of glazed piece often involved complex appliqué techniques as well.

Even the carving of the outer form had to be done with extreme care.

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