As soon as the painter died, the value of his works skyrocketed, meaning Sha Qingfeng, who held the consignment contract for the artist's pieces, naturally reaped a hefty commission once those works were sold. Especially during this time, with the spring auctions in full swing, their prices were repeatedly inflated under the heavy promotion by the major auction houses, leading to a veritable flood of percentage-based commissions...

Everyone present was an industry insider and clearly understood the percentage breakdown of these commissions. A brief look at the final sale prices of those works, followed by some quick calculation, was enough to know just how much Sha Qingfeng had made. In fact, after pulling off this deal, Sha Qingfeng could afford to do nothing for the next two or three years and still live quite comfortably.

Jealousy leading to genuine hatred might be an overstatement, but how could anyone not envy Sha Qingfeng's incredible good fortune? While marveling at his luck, it seemed almost necessary to exact some sort of financial toll from him just to satisfy the collective grievance.

"Fine, I get it,"

With everyone speaking in unison, Sha Qingfeng could only offer a wry smile. "I'll treat everyone tonight. You pick the place; that should suffice, right?"

"Now that's more like it."

The group nodded in satisfaction, and then, one by one, they began listing numerous hotel names. Although Wang Guan couldn't gauge the expense level of these establishments, Sha Qingfeng's rapidly shifting facial expressions made it clear that there was no ceiling to the cost—only higher ones.

"Alright, enough talk. If we keep going, Old Sha will probably change his mind and try to slip away unnoticed."

A moment later, a middle-aged man in his fifties, with slightly thinning hair, chuckled lightly. "Tell me, everyone, what do you think of these Han Dynasty terracotta figures I have?"

"They are undoubtedly masterpieces," someone quipped. "Especially this dancing musician figure; it's remarkably well-preserved. The eyes haven't weathered or blurred despite being buried for a thousand years, which is extremely rare."

"Indeed..."

The others nodded in agreement, and then someone else inquired with curiosity, "Old Meng, where did you manage to procure these?"

"From Hu City."

At this point, the middle-aged man called Old Meng smiled. "A while back, I was in Hu City attending a lavish birthday banquet for a prominent family. Naturally, upon arrival, I couldn't resist browsing the local antique market."

"The Chenghuang Temple in Hu City, everyone knows that place..." Sha Qingfeng laughed. "I visited a few months ago myself, but I certainly didn't have Brother Meng's kind of luck."

"What luck do I have?"

Old Meng shook his head, his eyes filled with intense envy. "I bought these Han figures at a bargain price. Even selling them in Hong Kong would barely cover my travel expenses plus a bit extra for tea money. But what you all don't know is that at the same time I acquired these figures, someone else found an astonishing windfall at that same Chenghuang Temple. Compared to that, I pale in significance; I could only sigh in frustration."

Hearing this, Wang Guan's expression became somewhat strange, already anticipating what Old Meng was about to reveal.

The others, however, were left completely in the dark and naturally pressed him with curiosity. "Old Meng, don't keep us hanging. Hurry up and tell us, who found what massive bargain?"

As industry professionals, they all understood how slim the chances of stumbling upon such a massive find were, which is why they always delighted in hearing about them. Even if they hadn't experienced it themselves, the tales were exciting enough.

"You might not believe me if I tell you," Old Meng sighed. "Why don't I have that kind of luck? If I could find such a major score in my lifetime, I could wash my hands of this business right now and retire contentedly..."

At his words, the others became even more curious. After all, as peers who understood each other's trades intimately, they were acutely aware of the hardships in this line of work. Despite appearing successful and influential in public, capable of manipulating market fluctuations for artwork, the reality involved pouring in immense effort and capital.

Being an art broker was a capital-intensive business; one couldn't thrive without significant investment. Money had to be put in before money could be made, and every major transaction was built upon piles of cash. So, while the commissions for brokers seemed high after a sale, one couldn't ignore the expenditures they made.

With money going out and coming in, making a profit was inevitable, but everyone had a reasonable idea of how much they could actually net. In fact, everyone present, including the recently wealthy Sha Qingfeng, would never dare claim they could earn enough to retire.

Yet, Old Meng was now saying that if he had found that great score, he could retire with honor. This implied just how valuable that piece must have been.

In an instant, the onlookers urged him on. "What was the find? A Yuan blue-and-white porcelain or an ancient Song Dynasty painting?"

It wasn't that other items weren't valuable, but these two categories were more readily accepted for fetching top prices in the market. Their value was already validated by market demand; other items, even if exceptional, would require a slow accumulation process to command such high bids.

"Heh, it was indeed something from the Song Dynasty,"

Old Meng said with a smile at this point. "But it wasn't a painting; it was a piece of porcelain..."

"One of the Five Great Kilns."

Now, Old Meng didn't need to elaborate further. Everyone started guessing: "Ru ware?"

"Junya ware? Or perhaps Ge ware..."

"Guan ware, Ding ware?"

There were only five kilns; naming each one in turn easily led to the correct answer.

"It was Ding ware," Old Meng confirmed with a nod, then chuckled again. "But this Ding piece was no ordinary item..."

Naturally, it wasn't ordinary. For Old Meng to call it an astonishing windfall, even stating that possessing it would allow immediate retirement, confirmed that the object was certainly a precious Guan Ding—official ware.

"Guan Ding," one person sighed enviously. "Judging by Old Meng's tone, it must be in absolutely perfect condition. If I were managing it, even a small saucer could fetch three to five million at auction. But going back to the core question, what exactly was the item?"

"Yes," Others turned to Old Meng, urging him on.

"A tea bowl, just a tea bowl," Old Meng said with a smile. "However, the color of this tea bowl was rather special; it wasn't the common white of official Ding ware, but black..."

"Black Ding!"

In that instant, Sha Qingfeng and the others gasped, sucking in a sharp breath. As Hong Kong locals, they knew perfectly well that since 2002, over ten years had passed without a single sighting of Black Ding ware at any major auction.

Official Ding ware, and the rarest variant—Black Ding—they immediately understood what this meant...

One person's imagination ran wild, a strange excitement blooming on his face. "If I were to handle that piece, failing to fetch thirty to fifty million would be an insult to my title as a Gold-Medal Broker."

"What's fifty million Hong Kong dollars?" another waved his hand dismissively, full of bravado. "If you entrusted it to [Name Redacted] to operate, we could send it straight to Europe and bring back at least five million Euros."

"You guys are still too naive,"

Someone else scoffed, waving a hand dismissively, brimming with confidence. "I know several major international collectors who would definitely be intensely interested in something like this. Just present the piece and arrange a small video conference, and it will certainly fetch another astronomical price."

The others were not to be outdone, each proposing their own operational strategies. Their proposals clearly demonstrated that these men were not without capability; each possessed their own set of specialized skills...

"But perhaps you are all just staring at the moon in the water," Old Meng couldn't help but laugh after a while. "The owner of the piece hasn't sought any of your help, so what are you all bustling about for?"

Once the reality was laid out, no one felt embarrassed. Instead, one person argued righteously, "This is advanced planning; who knows when it might actually be useful? Old Meng, do you know the person who found the bargain?"

"Nonsense. If he knew him, he would have handled it himself long ago. Why would he need to tell you?" A bystander sighed. "What a pity for such a fine piece of news..."

The others nodded in agreement, deeply feeling the same way. As colleagues, these men often suffered from a kind of occupational hazard: upon hearing about a truly precious object, their first instinct was to figure out how to stir up excitement... No, rather, how to promote, package, and manage it expertly.

"You guessed correctly; I do not know the person who found the bargain."

At the same time, Old Meng also expressed his regret. "When I heard about the matter, I naturally wanted to contact him, but unfortunately, he had already left Hu City."

"Sigh..." The others sighed in shared empathy. Just then, Sha Qingfeng showed a trace of suspicion. "Brother Meng, are you sure this story is reliable? Could it be some ploy by our counterparts on the mainland?"

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, the others immediately became cautious. After all, tales of 'finding bargains' were often a mix of truth and fabrication. True finds were rarely publicized, naturally becoming the object of everyone's envy, jealousy, and resentment. But fake finds were simply rumors spun by colleagues in the trade.

For instance, a while ago, Wang Guan and Yu Feibai had lamented how someone abroad had bought a bowl for a few dollars, only for it to be authenticated as an extremely valuable piece that later sold for a sky-high price at auction.

However, once the news died down, a highly respected expert in the circle vaguely revealed that this "bargain" was actually orchestrated by a colleague—after hyping it up intensely, the auction price naturally soared.

This is why Sha Qingfeng worried that this might just be another beautiful "story."

"Old Sha, you worry too much. You should know my integrity," Old Meng shook his head. "This incident was personally witnessed by several mainland dealers, and one of them is a highly respected elder statesman; he would never lie. Furthermore, I deliberately visited the shop where the find occurred to inquire with the owner; he now regrets the sale so much he's nearly closing up shop..."

"Heh, that's understandable. If it were me, I'd probably be spitting blood too," someone waved a hand, continuing his inquiry. "Brother Meng, since you investigated, didn't you ask who the lucky finder was?"

"I did ask, but the dealers who knew the situation either flatly denied knowing anything or deflected the question, refusing to give up a single clue," Old Meng said helplessly. "Competitors are rivals, after all. They probably intend to manage the piece themselves, so they're keeping their mouths sealed."

"Of course. If you had the lead, you wouldn't say much either," the others agreed understandingly, asking themselves if they wouldn't act the same way if put in his position.

"No."

At this moment, Sha Qingfeng once again voiced his doubt. "Brother Meng, we all know your character; you are the type who never gives up until you hit the Yellow River. You wouldn't easily abandon this without digging out some key information."

"That's right, Old Meng, you must have held something back. That's not fair to us,"

Under everyone's gaze, Old Meng could only offer a wry smile. He had intended to share this story merely as a piece of interesting gossip, but who knew it would backfire so spectacularly? He could only blame his loose tongue; he deserved it!