Wang Guan, closest to the door, naturally walked over when he heard the sound, gently pulling the side room door open. He was momentarily stunned when he saw who was knocking.

"Is Elder Qian present? Please pass the word along; tell him Su Wenyi is calling."

Standing outside the door was a gentle and refined middle-aged man. However, behind him stood that stunningly graceful beauty in a secretary's attire.

Wang Guan blinked in surprise.

Just then, Fang Mingsheng approached, greeting them with a smile: "I wondered who it was! Brother Su, please come in quickly."

"Please enter."

Wang Guan snapped back to attention, quickly stepping aside to clear a path.

"Thank you."

Su Wenyi smiled lightly, stepped into the side room, and shook hands with Fang Mingsheng, exchanging polite pleasantries.

Simultaneously, the secretary, the one with the black-rimmed glasses and lithe figure, followed Su Wenyi in, her slender high heels clicking like a swaying willow branch.

In that instant, as she brushed past Wang Guan, an indescribable delicate fragrance washed over him.

" Kacha! " Wang Guan casually closed the door. When he turned, he saw Yu Feibai stepping forward to greet Su Wenyi, calling out with a degree of deference.

"Uncle!"

Hearing this, Wang Guan was slightly startled, then suddenly recalled that Yu Feibai had mentioned in the appraisal room that this Su Wenyi was an elder to him.

"You must be Feibai, son of Brother Shouchong, right? It's been years; I can’t believe you’ve grown so tall..." Su Wenyi greeted Yu Feibai with a warm smile, then continued addressing the others: "Elder Qian, Elder Zhou, Elder Zhang..."

Su Wenyi greeted everyone in turn, his demeanor gentle and his smile like a spring breeze, making everyone feel warmly welcomed.

"It's Wenyi."

At this point, Elder Qian also smiled and introduced him to Elder Zhou and Elder Zhang: "This is the eldest son of the Su family in Hu City. He has inherited the family business and surpassed his predecessors, expanding the Su family's influence."

"Ah, the child of the old Su family. I have heard of them," Elder Zhang nodded.

"The Su family of Hu City, Brother Ruisheng's family?" Elder Zhou pondered for a moment, then immediately smiled: "Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've seen Brother Ruisheng. Is he well?"

Su Wenyi replied with perfect courtesy: "Thank you for your concern, Elder Zhou. My father's health is still robust; these days he mostly tends to his flowers and plants, reads, and practices calligraphy to cultivate his spirit."

"What refined taste!" Elder Zhou sighed. "Unlike me, muddling along, stuck in the mundane world."

Su Wenyi quickly laughed: "Elder Zhou, you are too modest. My father once said that Elder Zhou just can't let go of..."

While the elders were deep in conversation, Wang Guan quietly moved next to Yu Feibai and whispered: "Your relative? The Su family of Hu City sounds rather significant."

"A distant relative," Yu Feibai thought for a moment, then whispered back. "An aunt in our clan married into his family. I met him once when I visited for family gatherings. We still maintain some contact, but it’s mostly among the elders. We younger ones rarely interact with him. I never expected he'd remember me..."

This clearly indicated that the Yu family was also a prominent lineage. Otherwise, why would anyone waste time remembering an unknown junior?

Wang Guan speculated, noting that Yu Feibai had only roughly explained the relationship between the two families. He hadn't revealed any concrete details about what their families actually did.

"He's really tight-lipped," Wang Guan muttered.

Just then, the others had mostly finished their greetings. Taking advantage of a lull while they raised their cups for tea, Elder Zhou suddenly smiled and said: "Well, my flight isn't until eight tonight, and I still have to transfer to a provincial city. It's already past three in the afternoon."

"It's only three; you have plenty of time. What's the rush?" Elder Zhang asked, surprised.

"I'm not rushed, but I wanted to use this time to discuss something with young friend Wang Guan." As he spoke, Elder Zhou chuckled and called out: "Young man, come over here for a moment."

"Elder Zhou, you're looking for me?" Wang Guan was momentarily perplexed and walked over inexplicably.

At that moment, Elder Zhang cut straight to the chase: "Old Zhou, you aren't trying to persuade the young man to donate again, are you?"

"Donate!"

Hearing that word, Wang Guan stopped in his tracks.

"See? You've scared the poor boy," Elder Zhang said, chuckling. "Old Zhou, haven't you done enough damage to your old friends? Now you're setting your sights on the younger generation—that’s hardly honorable conduct."

"Zhang Dapao, can't you just say a little less?"

Elder Zhou shot him an exasperated look, then gestured in a friendly manner: "Young friend Wang Guan, don't listen to Zhang Dapao's nonsense. You must know, for individuals who donate important cultural relics to the nation, we offer appropriate spiritual or material rewards..."

"Let's forget the spiritual rewards. How much material reward could there be?" Elder Zhang continued to jest. "At most, a third of the item's value, or perhaps even less."

"Zhang Dapao, are you deliberately undermining me?" Elder Zhou grew angry.

"Undermining you? I'm just stating facts," Zhang said, playing dumb, then smiled at Wang Guan: "Young man, don't let Old Zhou fool you. He’s just a researcher at the Palace Museum, fooling himself into thinking he’s the director, always urging people to donate. If it weren't for our decades of friendship, Old Qian and I would have ignored him long ago."

"Zhang Dapao, you..."

Elder Zhou was furious, then suddenly calmed down, breaking into a smile: "Haha, you truly live up to your name, Zhang Dapao, full of schemes and tricks. I almost fell for your ruse. By trying to provoke me like this, have you also taken an interest in Li Mo?"

"So what if I have?" Zhang admitted frankly, laughing. "But I'm not like you, dedicated only to the public good and pushing for donations. I pay in real gold and silver to buy things. Young man, what about eight million? Is that acceptable?"

"Eight million, the Palace Museum could certainly produce that," Elder Zhou ground out. "Furthermore, we could organize a grand donation ceremony, especially to award you..."

"Old Zhou, that’s a clever calculation, killing two birds with one stone. All that ceremony and awarding—that's clearly just publicity," Zhang scoffed. "Besides, the eight million I offered is just the absolute bottom line. In truth, if he's not satisfied, I can adjust the figure upward. In any case, I know the Palace Museum definitely can't produce ten million."

"Zhang Dapao, you are full of wicked ideas, truly despicable," Elder Zhou cursed, indignation flaring.

"It's just fair competition," Zhang chuckled. "Besides, it's not your collection you're worried about; why bother yourself?"

"Elder Zhang is absolutely right; fair competition," said Fang Mingsheng, who had been watching with a slight smile, suddenly interjecting. "Since that is the case, I might as well join the fun. I bid twelve million."

"What!" Zhang was aghast, then shouted: "Little Fang, how could you cut in like this?"

"Old Zhang, that's not right of you."

At this moment, Elder Zhou laughed, enjoying a touch of schadenfreude. "Didn't you just say it? Fair competition."