Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

He stood up quickly, and together with Lou Xiao'e, put the items into the basket on the back of the bicycle, then pushed the bike, left the stall without hesitation, and continued to move forward.

"Xiao'e, there seems to be a small stall selling wontons in front. Let's go over and try it. Eating a bowl of hot wontons will warm you up." Lou Xiao'e smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Brother, give me two bowls of wontons!" Xu Damao shouted loudly.

"Okay! Please sit here!" the stall owner responded enthusiastically.

The wonton sellers seemed to be a couple, who were very skilled and coordinated. At this time, the three tables next to them were already full of customers. The woman quickly moved a table from the cart at the back and placed it on the open space nearby, and also took down two small stools and placed them properly.

Seeing this, the two of them sat down naturally. Not long after, two bowls of steaming wontons were brought to them.

"Da Mao, what did you buy just now? It cost you over 70 yuan." Lou Xiao'e asked Xu Damao curiously while tasting the delicious wontons. There was a hint of doubt in her eyes, and she was obviously a little surprised by the price.

Indeed, he spent more than 70 yuan to buy three strings of wooden beads, two of which were long black strings made of unknown materials, and another one was a Guanyin statue made of unknown wood. He actually spent so much money, which was more than two months' salary for Xu Damao...

"Hey, Xiao'e, don't worry, these things I bought are definitely worth the price. I'll find someone to tinker with them, and then we can play with them together."

"As for this string of court beads, the stall owner just now didn't quite understand its value. Let me tell you, this is truly made of agarwood, and only high-ranking officials above the second rank are qualified to wear it!"

"Oh, I see. During the Qing Dynasty, when officials went to meet the emperor, the chain hanging around their necks was called a court bead. Am I right? So how much is it worth?"

"Indeed, the value of this item is difficult to define. After all, it is an antique from the Qing Dynasty, so it can be considered an antique. But in fact, the price of an antique is not as high as one might imagine, and is even not as high as the value of its raw materials themselves."

"Oh? And what kind of wood is it made of?"

"This is Hainan agarwood. I guess you don't know much about it, so there's no need to explain it. You just need to know that it's extremely precious. Moreover, it's even more difficult to polish it into such a large round bead."

"Agarwood is so expensive! Is it really worth so much money?"

"Its value far exceeds the same weight of gold. The stall owner obviously knows very little about it. If he knew more, he would never sell it to me at such a low price. But there is one thing that the stall owner said is correct. I don't know where he heard it from, but this kind of court bead necklace made of agarwood beads was only worn by officials of the second rank and above during the Qing Dynasty when attending court."

"So, he just sold it to me at the price of an antique, but completely ignored the true value of the raw materials."

Xu Damao arrived gracefully.

"I always thought that court beads were just ordinary beads... then what are these two long black strings? They don't look very nice." Lou Xiao'e asked in confusion with a frown.

"This thing will look beautiful when the light is on! This is amber." Xu Damao explained to Lou Xiao'e as he swallowed two wontons in big gulps.

"Isn't amber the golden and translucent kind? My dad also has a piece, which is the golden and translucent kind. Is this black thing amber? And that thing doesn't seem to be that expensive. My dad's piece is only a few dollars..."

Lou Xiao'e was still very confused.

"There are many kinds of amber. These two strings of amber just look black. They are actually black and red."

Xu Damao opened his mouth wide and gulped down a mouthful of hot soup, then stood up and walked to the back of the bicycle. He took out a small cloth bag from under the seat, opened it and revealed two black amber necklaces. Then, he took out a flashlight from his trouser pocket and walked back to his seat with these things.

Xu Damao handed one of the amber necklaces to Lou Xiaoe, then turned on the flashlight and shone it into the amber. The originally dark amber immediately emitted a mysterious and charming light, and the black and red colors became bright and dazzling, crystal clear, as if containing endless vitality and energy.

Lou Xiao'e was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth. She stared at the amber necklace in her hand with wide eyes and was attracted by its beautiful appearance. She never thought that the seemingly ordinary amber could be so magical and glow so colorfully under the light.

Seeing Lou Xiao'e's surprised expression, Xu Damao smiled triumphantly: "What do you think? Do you believe it now? This is real good amber, and it is very expensive. Ordinary people can't afford such a treasure." As he said that, he turned off the flashlight, put away the amber necklace and put it back into the cloth bag.

It’s a pity that there was no ultraviolet light at that time, otherwise it would have shown a dazzling blue when shining on the amber, and the scene would have been beautiful!

"You know, these are not ordinary ambers. They are known as the king of ambers, and they are top-grade products produced in Fushun, Northeast China. Wearing this kind of amber is very beneficial to your health!"

"The darker the color of this treasure, the better its effect. It is the only amber included in the Compendium of Materia Medica by Li Shizhen!"

"Good for the body? How exactly is it good?" Hearing this, Lou Xiao'e couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Oh, it's too complicated to explain to you. Anyway, you just need to remember that it is good for your health. I plan to turn these two long amber chains into several bracelets and give one to your mother and one to my mother. We will also keep one for ourselves."

As Xu Damao spoke, he smiled with satisfaction. This thing can fight cancer, block radiation and delay aging. Lou Xiao'e wouldn't understand if he said too much, so it's better not to say anything.

"Yeah, that's great! It's just a matter of finding a rope to string them together. It's pretty simple. I'll try stringing them together myself when I get home."

Lou Xiao'e said confidently.

"Xiao'e, this matter may seem easy, but it is not that simple in reality. It is better to leave it to professionals."

Xu Damao shook his head slightly, indicating that he did not agree with your idea.

At this time, Lou Xiao'e noticed that there were two bracelets made of larger beads next to it, so she asked curiously, "Are these two large bracelets also made of agarwood?"

"Yes, I originally planned to change one of them into two bracelets, so that we can each wear one. Compared with the glittering gold bracelet, the agarwood bracelet is more tasteful and elegant."