Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 552 Where do you say you're from?
“Ms. Pu Si’s surname is quite unique… Are you from Japan?” Shiraishi asked proactively.

Although it's a little strange that he's specifically interested in young women, but...

Because of the "dark magic aura," Shiraishi would naturally pay more attention to her, so he wanted to find out more about her background.

“Actually… I am Chinese.” Pu Siqinglan smiled slightly.

Shiraishi:? ? ?
Shiraishi was taken aback upon hearing this—your hair and eye color don't seem like it...

Bai Shi quickly realized that China is a large family of many ethnic groups, and it is not without Central Asian people, and there are even Mao people. This person may be a minority.
When Pu Siqinglan saw Baishi's confusion, she showed off her Chinese: "Nihao, Youpengzi Yuanfanglai, Buyisuohu."

Shiraishi:? ? ?
What oil shed, and Yuanfang... what are you babbling about?

Seeing Bai Shi's increasingly puzzled expression, Pu Siqinglan explained with great confidence, "This is an ancient Chinese expression that means to be very happy to have guests from afar."

Shiraishi:? ? ?
So it is "Isn't it a pleasure to have friends coming from afar?"
It's fine if you have an accent...

That "说" is pronounced "yue"!

"I see... Ms. Pu Si is indeed... very knowledgeable!" Bai Shi was already quite suspicious at this point, but still asked one more question: "I'm different, I only like Chinese food... What is Ms. Pu Si's favorite Chinese dish?"

After all, China is a very large country. Perhaps this Ms. Pu Si is just a member of an ethnic minority from a place with a heavy accent... and doesn't have much education?

After a slight hesitation, Pu Siqinglan said, "General Tso's Chicken!"

Shiraishi:……

You really dare to say that!

Does anyone in China eat this?

Bai Shi is now certain that this guy can't possibly be Chinese.

"Ahem, and this is Mr. Han Chuanlong, a freelance filmmaker who's here to film the Russian Easter eggs." Shiro interrupted at this point and introduced the artistic young man carrying the camera.

Shiro was also puzzled—how did you end up chatting like this?

"Please guide me... Should I ask you what I like to eat?" Han Chuan said slyly.

"Hello," Shiraishi said simply.

Clearly, the only difference lies in their attitude towards Pu Siqinglan...

Shiro was astonished – "Don't you need to put on an act?"
Furthermore, after learning the identities of the four people, Shiraishi could roughly guess why each of them was there.

Qian Jiangyi and Pu Siqinglan are probably here to appraise the Tsar's egg.

Although Shiraishi felt that Pu Siqinglan's identity was problematic, in the eyes of others, she was an expert on the Romanov dynasty culture.

As for Qian Jiangyi, he is an art dealer—the kind of dealer who is usually a collector or appraiser, otherwise he wouldn't be able to do business!
As the embassy's secretary, Yarrow shouldn't be here representing himself...

After the revolutionaries came to power, they sold off all the treasures they had seized from the Romanov dynasty to make foreign exchange. Treasures like the Tsar's Egg were sold for very low prices, sometimes as low as a few hundred dollars. This was not from the black market, but from the revolutionaries themselves through official channels.

Including those lost in the war, Mauritius now has only ten "Tsar Eggs" left, which are kept as national treasures in the Kremlin. The rest are in the hands of well-known and unknown museums or private collectors around the world.

Suddenly, news broke that another one had been discovered. Regardless of the chance, Mao Guo would try to take it back...

"So that last Russian Easter egg..." Shiraishi looked curiously at Inui and Urashi Seiran.

“It’s definitely genuine! I never expected there to be an unrecorded Tsar’s egg. It’s quite a surprise. I value it at 800 million…” Qian Jiangyi said.

"Eight hundred million? Did they find hidden gems on it?" Shiraishi exclaimed in surprise.

Although the value of "Tsar's Eggs" has been discovered, they are generally worth several million dollars. Those that are not distinctive enough, not exquisitely crafted, or contain too many gems may even be worth only a few hundred thousand dollars.

Shiraishi remembered Ayako telling him that this Tsar Egg, named "Memory," was made of gold and was rushed out during the final stages of World War I. It was even considered a top-tier price among all Tsar Eggs.

"There are no gemstones, but this Russian egg has special techniques that were not found on the previous fifty eggs... Is that right, Ms. Pu Si?" Qian Jiang asked Pu Si Qinglan.

Pu Si nodded with a serious face and said, "That's right..." After a pause, Pu Si Qinglan added, "But even so, considering its material... that's why I only offered two hundred million."

“Haha, Ms. Pu Si, you might know more about culture and such, but as for the value of an artwork… tsk tsk tsk.” Qian Jiangyi shook his head, then explained, “I think this should be the last piece that Master Fabergé rushed to complete when the Romanov dynasty was on its last legs. Not only is it the ‘last piece,’ but his technique also made breakthroughs at that time, so… this is the one and only Maoist Easter egg!”

As expected of an art dealer, Qian Jiangyi is very good at "storytelling".

“Of course, if Chairman Suzuki is willing to part with it, I am willing to pay an extra premium.” Inui Shoichi was not worried that Suzuki Shiro would ask for an exorbitant price and said very sincerely.

Clearly, in Qian Jiangyi's mind, this is a Tsar Egg that is very suitable for "storytelling", and he wants to acquire it even at a premium.

but……

This answer, however, failed to resolve the doubt in Shiraishi's mind—why would Kid be interested in this?

Logically, if he stole something and didn't read the "story," then there shouldn't be any gems, and without gems, it couldn't be "Pandora"!
at this time……

"Dad, Uncle Mori and Ran are here," Sonoko's voice came from that moment.

Then Sonoko and the Mori family arrived, followed by a black man and a white man.

A thought struck Shiraishi—this commotion was quite significant…

"Ah! Brother-in-law, you're here too?" Sonoko exclaimed upon seeing Shiraishi.

"Cough cough cough! Haha... Detective Mouri, thank you so much this time." Shiro glared at Sonoko.

She's just a kid; it's one thing for her to call me that in private, but to do it to my face? Anyone who didn't know better would think we were actually engaged.

"Who are these two young men?" Shiro also noticed the two people behind him at this moment.

“Oh, these are Heiji Hattori and Kazuha Toyama… Hattori is also a high school detective from Osaka who has solved many cases. He came here specifically to help out!” Sonoko introduced them.

"Thank you both so much." Shiro was a typical smiling person, always smiling at everyone.

However, Nakamori, standing to the side, was not so good-natured... "High school detective? President Suzuki, you can't let these silly kids interfere at a time like this... Waaah..." Nakamori had just opened his mouth when Chaki covered his mouth and pulled him back.

"Huh? Inspector Nakamori, what did you say?" Shiro looked over in confusion.

"It's alright, it's alright. He said he will definitely work closely with the Osaka Prefectural Police to prevent Kid from succeeding," Chaki replied with a smile.

Then Chaki pulled Nakamori aside and whispered something to him.

Nakamori was initially unconvinced, then glared resentfully at Hattori, and even at Sonoko—"The Osaka Prefectural Police's 'eldest son,' you're the 'eldest son,' aren't you! And what's with this 'high school detective' nonsense…"

Meanwhile, tensions rose among the other "four guests".

"Speaking of which... Miss Pusi, as a researcher of the Romanov dynasty, you actually want this 'last egg' too, don't you?" Hanchuan asked, pointing the camera at Pusi.

“Yes, I do have that idea… It’s a pity, if it were 200 million, I could still try to get it.” Pu Si shook his head regretfully.

Shiraishi glanced at the fake Chinese man a couple more times—he seemed quite wealthy.

As a high-ranking police officer, Shiraishi could only afford a haunted house for less than 100 million yen, and he had to take out a loan for thirty years to finally acquire it.

She's willing to fight for 200 million?

Is studying the history of the Romanov dynasty such a lucrative subject?
Of course, deep down, Shiraishi no longer believed her identity!
If she insists on pretending to be Chinese, it's hard to say whether she's really a researcher of the Romanov dynasty; she likely has other hidden identities.

"Yeah, me too. Mr. Qian is indeed a senior in our industry. He has a sharp eye and his prices are quite high..." Han Chuan did not hide his disappointment.

At the same time, the embassy's Yaro persuaded Suzuki Shiro, "Chairman Suzuki, these are national treasures of our country. We hope you can consider donating the Mauritian eggs back. This will earn you the friendship of our country!"

As the representative of the embassy, ​​Yaro naturally hoped that the Suzuki family could donate the "Tsar's Egg" to Mao—he himself had neither the money nor the authority to use so much money.

On the one hand, the situation was chaotic at the time, and on the other hand, the Maoist revolutionaries were too eager. A large number of Romanov dynasty treasures were sold off at "low prices". For example, "Tsar's eggs" were sold for only a few hundred dollars. Although the value of dollars at that time was not comparable to that now, it was not ten thousand times less.

Of course, talking about "donations" now cannot be called moral blackmail. After all, if Chairman Suzuki really wants to donate to Mao, he will eventually gain some "favor." However, it is hard to say how much of a favor he will receive. Compared with China, Mao doesn't value favors as much.

Shiro, of course, didn't want to offend anyone, so he just smiled and said, "Spare me, my advisor really likes these things, I probably can't sell them behind his back."

Whether it's 800 million, 200 million, or the favor shown to Mao Zedong...

Shiro Suzuki didn't care at all.

The four knew they couldn't achieve their goal today, so they all took their leave—although Shiraishi suspected Pu Siqinglan's identity, he had no reason to keep her there at this point…

Just as the four were leaving, a young man in a suit and glasses was about to enter...

Han Chuanlong's expression changed immediately upon seeing this person, and he slunk away.

Shiro then called out, "Nishino, bring the things in... Everyone can take a look at these things first."

Nishino, dressed in a suit and wearing glasses, was probably Shiro's secretary or some other employee. He was holding a wooden box in his hands, which looked to contain the "Tsar's Memory Egg" worth 800 million.

Nishino then placed the box on the table, and everyone gathered around upon hearing this.

Shiro opened the box himself, and inside was a green egg with various patterns engraved on it, as well as some transparent and hollowed-out colored eggs.

For ordinary families, Easter eggs are decorated with paintings or, for more particular families, with carvings. But luxury items like "Tsar Eggs" are exquisite man-made objects.

"Hmm? Are these windows... made of crystal?" Kogoro asked after seeing the small windows.

“No, it’s just glass,” Shiro stated, reiterating the previous assessment.

As everyone knows, the more something resembles glass, the more valuable it is... but glass itself isn't valuable!

"That hot craftsman is really ingenious..." Kogoro could only use such praise to express his doubts.

Such an important and priceless treasure, yet it has a ring of windows and is inlaid with glass?
Shiraishi was even more confused about Kid's actions this time...

It doesn't say there aren't any gemstones at all... there are some small diamonds.

However, neither the previous appraisers nor Shiro Suzuki clearly considered them gemstones.

Shiraishi didn't think that Kid would be interested in this person.

"Uncle Shiro, did Kid send a notice?" Shiraishi asked at this moment.

Kidd's announcement is still under wraps and the public is unaware of it. For some reason, Kidd doesn't seem to care about this and hasn't proactively leaked his crime announcement to the press.

Since there were no outsiders around, Shiraishi naturally started calling Shiro "Uncle" instead of continuing to call him "Chairman."

“That’s right, it’s here.” Shiro said, taking out the notice.

Apart from Chaki and Nakamori, who had already watched, everyone else looked over attentively...

From the crab of dusk to the lion of dawn. The clock without a second hand strikes its twelfth. Descending from the luminous sky pavilion, it collects the egg of memories. —The magician of the end of the century, Phantom Thief Kid.

"The magician of the end of the century? Has Kid ever called himself that before?" Shiraishi was more concerned about Kid and even began to doubt whether the announcement was fake.

As a self-proclaimed encyclopedia of Kid, Nakamori replied directly, "No, but he has claimed to be a 'magician' in various ways before, and this graffiti of a phantom thief's face matches the graffiti on a previously undisclosed announcement letter, so it can basically be considered genuine."

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi nodded—since Nakamori said so, there's probably an 80-90% chance it's true!
Meanwhile, Hattori, Conan, and Mori begin to enthusiastically decipher the code.

Shiraishi wasn't very interested in this and said directly, "Excuse me, I'll have to leave for a bit. I might have to see an old friend."

Ayako:! ! !
Just now, when Shiraishi and Urashi Seiran struck up a conversation, Ayako didn't react at all—knowing Shiraishi as she did, she could guess that Shiraishi had discovered something.

but……

Shiraishi said he wanted to meet someone in Osaka?

Is it the kind of person I'm thinking of meeting people?
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Dongdong: Today is October 2nd, which is my wedding anniversary! Please vote for me! Please vote for me! Please vote for me!
(End of this chapter)