The vendor hesitated, seeing Wang Guan's reaction and realizing he wasn't some rich, gullible mark. If he quoted too high a price, the man might just walk away. After all, a shard wasn't a complete piece of porcelain; it lacked inherent uniqueness. If it were an intact piece, no matter how high the asking price, it would be justifiable.

But what Wang Guan wanted was merely a fragment.

Indeed, the Celadon shard, as the vendor claimed, was a relatively fine piece. However, in the Thousand-Year Porcelain Capital, this was the last thing that was scarce. This particular type of Celadon porcelain was fired right here in the Capital. Over the decades, vast quantities of Celadon shards had been unearthed in the districts and counties surrounding the city, with evidence of at least three hundred kiln sites.

Moreover, the discovery range for this Celadon was extremely broad, not confined just to the Capital. Finds had been made everywhere—in the Northeast, North China, on both sides of the Yellow River, and throughout the Yangtze River basin.

Everyone understood that no matter how excellent an object, once it became abundant, its value diminished significantly. So, after a moment of hesitation, the vendor slowly opened his palm: "At least, this much."

"Fifty cents?" Wang Guan feigned ignorance deliberately.

"No way, boss. I didn't even pay this much when I acquired them." The vendor was torn between laughter and tears. "I meant fifty."

"I suspect you just picked these up by the Chang River bank; they probably didn't cost you five yuan."

Wang Guan showed no inclination to back down, stating calmly, "Do I look like a mark written on my face, charging me such exorbitant rates? This shard is barely the size of my finger. I can offer five yuan at most."

Seeing Wang Guan haggle, the vendor felt no annoyance; rather, he was somewhat pleased. In his line of business, the worst customers were those who heard a high price and immediately turned tail.

Receiving a counteroffer was best, as it signaled that Wang Guan had a genuine interest in purchasing.

Only then could a deal be negotiated.

At the same time, before the vendor could speak, Wang Guan continued, "I don't just want this single shard. If the price is right, I won't bother going anywhere else; I'll buy more right here. Otherwise, I don't believe that in this entire antique market, yours is the only stall with Celadon shards."

"How many do you want to buy?" The vendor hesitated, clearly tempted.

"Twenty or thirty pieces," Wang Guan said casually. "I want to see if I can piece them together to form a porcelain painting."

"These are ancient shards! Wouldn't using them for a porcelain painting be a waste? Fine, I won't argue further... You’re the customer; what you do with them after buying is your business."

The vendor rubbed his hands together and chuckled good-naturedly, "But look at me, running such a large stall, it's not easy to feed my family. Five yuan, that price is really too low, couldn't you add a bit more?"

"Then six, how about that?" Wang Guan revised his offer.

"No, my shards vary in size. If you only pick the large ones, I’ll lose out significantly." The vendor quickly shook his head, conceding ground, "I can make it cheaper; I'll sell you twenty yuan worth."

From fifty down to twenty—a reduction of more than half the price. However, Wang Guan knew this wasn't the vendor's absolute bottom line.

So, Wang Guan patiently raised his bid step by step: seven, eight, nine, holding steady at ten, refusing to budge further.

After another brief struggle, the vendor surprisingly lost patience first and finally sighed, "Fine, I agree to your terms."

"Deal! I'll take thirty shards!"

A triumphant smile spread across Wang Guan's face. He didn't rush to select the shards but instead stood up, stretching his stiff body. Then, as if casually, he took out his wallet, pulled out three red bills, and handed them to the vendor.

"Alright, help yourself," the vendor said.

The vendor didn't suspect anything, took the money, gave Wang Guan a small bag, and told him to pick out his own.

At this moment, Wang Guan remained focused. He bent down, seemingly picking up a piece here and a fragment there, acting as if he were just finding pieces that suited his eye. In reality, he was relying on a faint memory to select every single shard he had previously seen emitting a faint glow, leaving none behind.

Soon, he had gathered a few more pieces, totaling thirty. Wang Guan nodded to the vendor and turned to leave slowly. It wasn't until he was quite far away, having boarded a bus, that he finally began to feel excitement surge.

He finally had them.

Regardless of whether these shards once formed a complete vessel or not, the mere fact that they could manifest a light indicated they were significant, belonging to the same exceptional class of objects.

An hour later, Wang Guan returned to his lodging.

It was already evening; he hadn't even eaten dinner. He immediately climbed to the sixth floor, opened the door, brought the broken shards inside, and carefully placed them on the table to begin his meticulous study.

However, at this moment, no matter how Wang Guan touched, held, squeezed, or grasped the shards, they showed no unusual reaction, much less any light.

Wang Guan felt helpless about this. After a period of brooding, his attention shifted to the shards themselves.

"The vendor said this is Celadon!"

"Celadon porcelain is characterized by its extremely thin body, a glaze that appears white yet tinged with blue, and carved patterns that are faintly visible, allowing one to see through it, hence why some call it Shadow Blue, or Hidden Blue, or Covered Blue!"

Wang Guan picked up a shard, examining it closely, desperately trying to recall the knowledge he had read.

As he compared and verified, Wang Guan realized that the shard in his hand indeed matched the characteristics of Celadon: the body was very thin, pale blue shimmering through the white, and the texture felt smooth and delicate, appearing crystalline and transparent under the light, much like fine jade.

"No wonder Celadon is sometimes called 'false jade,'" Wang Guan marveled. Good things are good things; even when broken, their quality shines through.

"I wonder if these belong to one complete object."

After appreciating them for a while, a thought struck Wang Guan, and he slowly began to experiment, attempting to fit the broken pieces back together.

There were more than twenty fragments, each of different sizes. And even the largest were relatively small, perhaps only the size of a thumb. The smallest were like slivers of a pinky nail.

To piece together these scattered fragments was a tedious and painstaking task. Furthermore, the shards wouldn't adhere; they separated the moment he relaxed his grip, adding considerable difficulty to the assembly.

Fortunately, Wang Guan had watched collecting shows on television and remembered an expert mentioning that if a shattered porcelain bowl was reassembled, applying garlic juice to the breaks could make them stick together, more effective than standard superglue. Once sealed, as long as they weren't submerged in water, they wouldn't easily fracture again.

With this in mind, Wang Guan couldn't find garlic in his room, so he rushed downstairs to a nearby convenience store, bought several heads of garlic, grabbed a few loaves of bread for sustenance, and hurried back.

Returning to his room, Wang Guan drank water and nibbled on bread to substitute for dinner while he prepared the garlic by crushing it. Waves of pungent fumes washed over him, making his eyes water profusely.

Soon, everything was ready, and Wang Guan began his puzzle game, carefully adhering the pieces. His hunch proved correct; in just over an hour, the nascent shape of a small bowl immediately emerged.

Wang Guan's excitement mounted as he delicately held the final shard to fill the last gap.

At that very moment, a magical occurrence unfolded.

............... New book, please support with collections and recommendations.