Wang Guan seemed moved, and Mr. John naturally did not miss such a good opportunity, quickly urging him, "Since Mr. Wang finds it appealing, why not step inside for a closer look."

In this world, it is not just dragons and women who fancy glittering gemstones; men are much the same. It’s just that unlike women, who might scream upon seeing a gem, men are considerably more reserved.

At Mr. John’s invitation, Wang Guan stepped into the vault… a true treasure chamber, where the entire room was displayed with gemstones—natural jewels capable of driving every woman in the world into a frenzy.

When Wang Guan walked in, his vision immediately swam, unsure of where to focus first. However, relative to the various gems, he was more interested in the diamonds. Especially the pink diamonds, which, due to the extreme difficulty in mining them, have always been the jewels among jewels.

Diamonds are expensive in themselves, and their inherent precious value goes without saying. Amidst these diamonds, Wang Guan spotted a pink diamond the size of a pigeon’s egg, possessing an incredibly rich color. It was translucent, bright, and utterly pure; its price was certainly over a hundred million.

“Not bad, very good indeed.”

When faced with true quality, Wang Guan never stinted on praise. Seeing this, Mr. John naturally understood that Wang Guan was definitely tempted. If he was moved, they could negotiate; if not, the discussion would stall.

With that thought, Mr. John instantly transformed into a jewelry company salesman, relentlessly detailing the provenance of the gems in the room. Some were raw stones meticulously cut after being purchased directly from the source regions, while others were items acquired at high prices during auctions. Every single jewel was an expensive treasure, exceedingly rare on the open market.

Wang Guan held no doubts about this; once such luxury items were unveiled, they would undoubtedly incite a bidding war among the world’s wealthiest tycoons, and it was perfectly normal for them to be pre-ordered before even hitting the market, thus never circulating publicly.

Wang Guan certainly had some interest in these items. However, it wasn't enough to cloud his judgment with greed. After observing them briefly, he turned back and said, "Mr. John, I think it’s time we discuss the real business."

"Of course…"

Mr. John was instantly overjoyed to hear this: "Indeed, it is time for a proper discussion."

Following this, under Mr. John’s enthusiastic escort, Wang Guan returned to the living room to negotiate with him. In truth, they didn't discuss specifics; they merely hammered out a general framework of intent. The detailed particulars would require specialized teams to confer later.

Despite this, Mr. John was extremely satisfied. With a preliminary memorandum in hand, he could report back to his boss, secure a promotion and a raise, become CEO, and ascend to the peak of his life…

As Mr. John drifted into pleasant reverie, Wang Guan took his leave. One matter for one, the Australian situation remained unresolved. As for this matter here… that also needed to be settled quickly.

Thinking of the Bixi stored in the warehouse, Wang Guan made a decision almost instantly. He immediately called Elder Qian, reporting the specific situation and stating that further contact could proceed.

"If you feel the negotiation can continue, then proceed," Elder Qian said with a smile. "Furthermore, if my instincts are correct, the items in that warehouse are merely the tip of the iceberg. The mastermind behind this possesses a collection richness beyond your wildest imagination."

"Oh?"

Wang Guan sounded somewhat surprised: "Listening to you, Elder Qian, it sounds like you know the background of this boss."

"I know a bit, roughly," Elder Qian chuckled. "Alright, you don't need to worry about this; leave it to me. Perhaps the process will be faster than you anticipate."

"Oh, then I’ll wait for your good news, Elder Qian." Wang Guan was happy to play the hands-off manager. After ending the communication, he boarded the private jet back to Australia. During the flight, there was inevitably questioning from Elder Zhou and the others.

However, the trip to America was merely a minor detour. Over the next few days, the various items promised by Mr. Anderson were delivered sequentially.

These items were naturally extremely precious cultural relics, including some specifically requested by Elder Zhou and others—treasures such as the Five Great Kilns porcelain of the Song Dynasty, and the famous Yuan Blue-and-White and Underglaze Red wares.

At this very moment, piece after piece of porcelain was laid out on the table: the celadon Ru ware, the uniquely varied Jun ware, the elegantly colored and beautifully decorated Ding ware, the purplish-brown mouth and iron-foot Ge ware with its fine crackle, and the crystalline, ice-crackle-patterned Guan ware. Alongside them were the intricately patterned, heavily potted Yuan Blue-and-White pieces, and the brilliantly crimson Underglaze Red.

Under the lamps, each piece of porcelain radiated a magnificent luster, truly possessing an inherent treasure glow that was breathtakingly beautiful. Wang Guan was certain these were genuine artifacts. Or rather, Mr. Anderson had no need to fob them off with fakes. Moreover, everyone present was a grand expert; determining authenticity would be simple.

"Ru ware, Ru ware porcelain,"

At this moment, an expert specializing in ceramics beamed, unhesitatingly reaching out to pick up a Ru ware brush washer, examining it lovingly.

Although he had seen quite a few pieces of porcelain these past few days, few could be called genuine treasures. While he had been quite pleased seeing the continuous stream of famous paintings and calligraphy, he felt a certain lack of excitement. But now, seeing so many rare ceramics, the expert felt much more balanced, becoming quite elated.

The rarity and value of the Five Great Kilns need no further elaboration; even during the Ming and Qing dynasties, they were seldom-seen treasures. Ru ware, in particular, was considered the foremost of the Five Great Kilns, earning the reputation as the crown of Song ceramics.

The saying, "Foremost among famous wares, Ru ware takes the lead," illustrates just how incredibly rare Ru porcelain is held in the public's eye. "Blue as heaven, surface like jade, cicada-wing lines, morning stars sparse, sesame-seed spur marks glazed perfectly,"—this is a common phrase in the antiques trade, likely familiar to many.

"Blue as heaven" refers to the glaze color. It is said that to fire the treasured Ru porcelain, the kiln artisans incorporated precious agate into the glaze. With agate present, the glaze surface naturally possessed a deep, lush cyan color, the glaze liquid being rich, moist, and brilliantly bright, exquisitely elegant.

"Surface like jade" is also easy to understand; it mainly refers to the warm, soft luster of the Ru glaze. In a semi-matte state, it resembles mutton-fat jade, which also speaks volumes about the excellent quality of the Ru body.

"Cicada-wing lines" are actually a flaw. Ru ware primarily relies on the small amount of iron in the glaze, fired in a reducing atmosphere to achieve the pure sky-blue color, causing the crackle patterns on the glaze surface to become a form of decoration—an unintentional flaw from the firing process. However, people later found this defect possessed a unique charm, so what was unintentional gradually became intentional.

It is similar to the crackle found in Ge ware and Guan ware, where the glaze is covered in cracks, appearing incomplete, yet the ancients greatly appreciated this beauty of imperfection, gradually mastering the patterns of crackling and turning decay into wonder.

As for "morning stars sparse," this refers to the sparse air bubbles beneath the glaze. If examined closely, one can see these bubbles emit a wonderful luster, much like the light of dawn.

Additionally, "sesame-seed spur marks glazed perfectly" is purely an external characteristic.

Since Ru ware was fired upright, placed face-up in the kiln, spur marks were necessary underneath to prevent the glaze from becoming too viscous at high temperatures and fusing the porcelain pieces together. If the marks of these spurs were absent on the bottom of the piece, it could be definitively stated that it was not genuine.

However, after meticulous appraisal by the experts, not a single fake element was found.

"The glaze surface feels like silk to the touch, warm and anciently simple, gleaming and lustrous, the glaze like piled fat, serene and elegant. The glaze is widely dotted with reddish halos, some like the sky after rain, appearing as green peaks and emerald hues, possessing a beauty like jade, yet not jade…"

At that moment, the expert shook his head and sighed with emotion, exclaiming happily, "Beautiful, truly beautiful."

"If you know it's beautiful, hurry up and put it down so the rest of us can see!"

At the same time, someone nearby urged him on. These were good things; even the Palace Museum had some, but treasures of this caliber were counted one by one, exceedingly rare and hard to come by, simply not enough to satisfy everyone’s desire to view them.

"What's the hurry," the expert pouted. "There's more on the table; can't you just grab some yourself?"

"There’s nothing left…" the other person said, frustrated and dejected. "Too slow; they were all snatched up."

That was indeed the reality. Upon discovering the rare porcelain on the table, it was a case of first come, first served. Those quick on the uptake were already holding pieces for admiration; those a step slower could only watch wistfully from the side.

Wang Guan was no exception; feeling reluctant to compete with Elder Zhou and the others, he too could only observe from the periphery. However, what he was examining was not Ru ware, but Guan ware.

Speaking of which, among the Five Great Kilns of the Northern Song Dynasty, one had a degree of ambiguity. This kiln with ambiguity was naturally Guan ware. Generally, when people speak of Guan ware, they refer to the official kilns specifically established by successive dynasties. However, Guan ware and the Northern Song Guan ware are two different concepts. To be precise, Northern Song Guan ware should be termed Guan porcelain.

Guan porcelain is a specific designation, referring exclusively to the ceramics made at the official kilns established in Bianliang during the Dazhong and Zhenghe reigns of the Northern Song. As one of the Five Great Famous Wares of China, Guan porcelain was exclusively for imperial use. Due to the high technical skill required and the extremely low yield rate, coupled with the loss of production techniques, surviving works are scarce, making them highly precious.

Furthermore, as a symbol of nobility and power, Northern Song Guan porcelain is the only Chinese ceramic ware that never circulated on the open market; reserved solely for the court due to its imperial origin, ordinary commoners had no chance to even see it. Hence the saying among the knowledgeable: "To see Guan porcelain is to hold half the empire."

However, Guan porcelain shares some similarities with Ge porcelain, both featuring crackle, resulting in the characteristics of a purplish-brown mouth and iron foot. If one is not careful, it is very easy to confuse the two types of porcelain—this is the common industry practice of mixing up Guan and Ge.

Yet, to true connoisseurs, there are definite distinctions between the two, and they are not difficult to separate. There are no major differences; the distinction lies only in the minor details.

For example, Guan porcelain has "crab-claw lines"—extremely fine, thread-like lines that are faintly visible. In contrast, Ge porcelain crackle is "gold thread and iron line," where the iron line is a thick black fissure, and the gold thread is a naturally formed yellow line. Moreover, the glaze quality differs: Guan glaze has better luster, a glassy texture; Ge glaze has a jade-like texture and is not as bright…

Of course, regardless of the specific features, both Guan and Ge porcelains are highly prized masterpieces, extremely rare and hard to obtain. Coupled with Ru, Jun, and Ding—the Five Great Kilns were completely captured in one sweep—plus the Yuan Blue-and-White and Underglaze Red, it is no wonder everyone’s mood was so uplifted, grinning from ear to ear…