Chapter 28: I Can Also Find Treasures Here

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In the livestream.

Before Xiao Ran could say a word, Half-Asleep-and-Half-Awake suddenly popped up.

“Xiao Ran, you’re finally online, you rascal! Do you have any idea how long we’ve been waiting? We were practically burning up!”

Before he had even finished, Ghosts, Goblins, and Monsters immediately chimed in.

“I told you before, Xiao Ran. I want this set of blue-and-green landscape porcelain panels. Name your price.”

“Talk about having a nerve! I want this set of porcelain panels too,” another man said disdainfully.

Apart from those few, everyone else was chattering away, all clamoring for the set of porcelain panels.

Those without voice chat kept sending barrages of comments.

Their purpose was the same: they all wanted this extremely valuable set of porcelain panels.

For a moment, the livestream erupted into chaos, with comments filling the screen like falling snow.

Seeing how lively the room had become, Xiao Ran could not help smiling.

Eileen, standing off to the side, was utterly dumbfounded.

She had never imagined that Xiao Ran’s livestream could be so wildly popular.

She had assumed the room contained only a few regular fans who often asked Xiao Ran to purchase things for them—at most, a few dozen people.

Who could have guessed that there were actually more than a thousand fans in the room, all brimming with enthusiasm and seemingly quite wealthy as well?

“Wow! This is unbelievable!”

“I had no idea you were an internet celebrity, Sean,” Eileen exclaimed.

“Hardly. In China, internet celebrities have hundreds of thousands of followers. With my tiny following, I’m not even qualified to sell products through livestreams.”

Xiao Ran made a few self-deprecating remarks.

Then he got down to business.

“Everyone, stop arguing for a moment and listen to me.”

At once, the livestream fell silent.

Only the barrage of comments continued to pour down like snow.

“Seeing how eager everyone is, I don’t even need to ask. You’ve all had these four blue-and-green landscape porcelain panels appraised, haven’t you?”

“You learned where they came from and what they were worth, realized they were rare treasures, and that’s why you’re all scrambling for them, right?”

The next moment, a series of awkward yet polite chuckles rang out through the livestream.

“Did you have to put it so bluntly, Xiao Ran? Don’t we get to keep a little dignity?” Big Tycoon Dog said with a laugh.

“Exactly. Haven’t you heard of tacit understanding? Can’t you see through something without saying it aloud?” Sister Min joked.

Everyone laughed at the teasing and thought nothing of it.

“Let me put it this way. I also had these four blue-and-green landscape porcelain panels appraised and found out their origins and value.”

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“Let me tell you who I consulted: a researcher from the Palace Museum. His authority is beyond question.”

“But I’d like to hear the conclusions you received from your own appraisals first, so we can compare them. Then we can discuss the transaction.”

Xiao Ran spoke with a smile.

Before he had even finished, a chorus of lamentation broke out in the livestream.

“What the hell! You had a Palace Museum researcher appraise them? Doesn’t that mean there’s no bargain left for us to find?”

“You’re not giving us even the slightest chance! Do you really have to be so exacting?”

Xiao Ran nodded and answered frankly.

“That’s right. Here, there truly isn’t any enormous bargain for you to pick up. That much cannot be denied.”

“I risked getting ambushed just to bring these treasures back. Surely I’m entitled to earn a little money for my hard work.”

“Though you won’t be getting some unbelievable bargain, you can still buy valuable antiques, cultural artifacts, and works of art at relatively low prices. That counts as a modest bargain.”

The moment he finished speaking, the livestream fell silent for a brief moment.

Then someone began making sarcastic remarks.

“If I could pick up a treasure worth tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars, I’d do it no matter how great the risk.”

“That isn’t a little money for hard work. That’s a windfall from heaven!”

Clearly, the man was simply jealous.

There were plenty of people like him in the livestream, as could be seen from the sour comments flooding the screen.

Xiao Ran’s approach to such people was simply to ignore them. He had neither the time nor the inclination to engage.

He had made so much money with ease. What harm was there in letting people grumble a little?

As soon as the man finished speaking, Half-Asleep-and-Half-Awake steered the conversation back on course.

“Xiao Ran, since we’ve come this far, I won’t keep anything from you.”

“I did have an expert appraise them, and I found out where those porcelain panels came from and what they were worth.”

“I consulted a porcelain expert from the Shanghai Museum. He said these blue-and-green landscape porcelain panels were works by Wang Yeting, one of the Eight Friends of Zhushan and a master of ceramic art.”

As Half-Asleep-and-Half-Awake revealed the appraisal results, the livestream instantly boiled over.

“What the hell! They’re works by Master Wang Yeting? Then they must be worth a fortune!”

“I visited Jingdezhen a couple of years ago. In Jingdezhen, Master Wang Yeting is practically a god. Every one of his works is incredibly precious.”

Amid their cries of astonishment, everyone also marveled at Xiao Ran’s astonishing luck, their envy and jealousy running high.

Half-Asleep-and-Half-Awake continued.

“While giving me his appraisal, the expert from the Shanghai Museum also asked to contact you. He wanted to acquire the set of porcelain panels.”

“I kept my wits about me and didn’t give him your contact information. I didn’t want him to intercept the deal halfway.”

Hearing this, Xiao Ran immediately laughed.

“Hahaha, no problem. I’d much rather sell good things to the fans in this livestream and enrich everyone’s collections.”

“Only after the fans will I consider domestic institutions and collectors. Foreigners come last!”

“Well said!”

The livestream erupted in cheers.

“That’s the way it should be, Xiao Ran. Good things should stay with our own people. We can’t let foreigners get them cheaply.”

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“Your buddy can’t afford antiques, cultural artifacts, or works of art, but I still have to give you a thumbs-up!”

Next, several more people came forward and shared the appraisal conclusions they had received.

They had consulted several of the country’s top collectors and appraisal experts, and their conclusions were nearly identical.

Those collectors and experts all believed that these four porcelain panels were very likely masterpieces from the peak of Wang Yeting’s career.

However, since they had only seen video footage and high-resolution photographs, they still did not dare to be certain.

Even so, without exception, every one of them wanted to examine this exquisite set of porcelain panels in person.

If they truly were masterpieces by the ceramic artist Wang Yeting, all of them were interested in acquiring them.

In fact, even as Xiao Ran was livestreaming, many of the country’s top collectors, auction houses, museums, and other figures in the antiques trade—far away across the ocean—were discussing this stunning set of porcelain panels that had appeared out of nowhere.

They were also making inquiries everywhere, trying to find out whose hands the panels were in so they could admire them properly.

And if they could add them to their own collections, so much the better.

Unfortunately, apart from a very small number of people, no one else yet knew of Xiao Ran’s existence.

But it was only a matter of time.

Within a few days, Xiao Ran’s name would likely reach the ears of many people in the field.

Once everyone had shared their appraisal conclusions, Xiao Ran stopped keeping them in suspense.

He directly revealed the conclusion given by the Palace Museum’s ceramic-art expert.

Although everyone had already guessed the result, a wave of astonishment still swept through the livestream when he announced it.

“Xiao Ran, what kind of outrageous luck have you had? This is unbelievable! Why do good things like this never happen to me?”

“You got a set of porcelain panels by the master of ceramic art Wang Yeting for free without spending a single cent. I wouldn’t even dare dream of something like that!”

But that was only the beginning.

When Xiao Ran announced the valuation given by the Palace Museum researcher—around thirteen million yuan—the people in the livestream went completely wild.

“Did I hear that right? Thirteen million yuan? A few porcelain panels cost that much? Is this for real?”

“Damn! This isn’t finding a bargain. This is outright robbing someone! Even robbery isn’t that fast!”

Next, several of the people who had completed their appraisals also announced the valuations they had received.

Their figures were even higher, with only one coming in below Xiao Ran’s estimate.

That was perfectly normal. The Palace Museum had always offered lower prices than other institutions and private individuals when purchasing antiques, cultural artifacts, and works of art, but its appraisals carried the greatest authority.

After everyone had revealed their valuations, Xiao Ran finally said:

“All right. There’s no longer any doubt about the origins or valuation of this set of blue-and-green landscape porcelain panels.”

“Now let’s discuss how we’re going to compete for them.”

“I’m planning to hold an auction, but the format will be very unusual.”

Before he could finish, Brother Hua, who had remained silent until then, suddenly appeared.

“An unusual auction? Tell us about it. What makes it so special?”