Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

Xu Damao took out another one and looked at it carefully. He found that although the fonts on it were roughly the same, the specific contents were different.

Some of them said "Keep the house peaceful and peaceful", some said "Keep the mind clear forever", and some even said "Slay demons and expel spirits". The first coin he got just now happened to be the so-called "Slay demons and expel spirits coin".

"Da Mao, what kind of copper coin is this? This is the first time I've seen it!"

Lou Xiao'e stared at these strange coins with curiosity, her face full of confusion and novelty.

"Can this thing be spent like normal currency in ancient times?"

Lou Xiao'e continued to ask questions, and reached out to take a copper coin, holding it in front of her eyes and examining it carefully.

"That's definitely not possible. In the past, this amount of money was used exclusively for religious ceremonies, but ordinary people can carry it with them."

While explaining, Xu Damao picked up a few mountain ghost coins and gestured to the stall owner.

The stall owner seemed to have his eyes narrowed, as if he was lost in some kind of deep thought, but in fact he had been paying attention to the every move of Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e in front of the stall. When he saw the two whispering for a while and then waving at him, he immediately stood up without hesitation and walked towards them quickly.

At the same time, the stall owner thought to himself, "Great! Finally, some business is coming!"

As he approached, Xu Damao lowered his voice and asked, "Boss, how much do you sell these mountain ghost coins for?"

Hearing this, the stall owner's eyes flashed with a subtle shrewdness, and then he pretended to be surprised and asked: "Oh? Could it be that this little brother is interested in these mountain ghost coins? I wonder which one you like?"

Xu Damao did not answer the stall owner's question, but directly counted out nine copper coins from his hand and placed them on the stall, and said generously: "Hey, brother, don't use those nonsense things. You have a total of nine coins here, I want them all! Just give me a more honest price!"

Looking at the straightforward buyer in front of him, the stall owner was secretly happy, but his face showed embarrassment. He rubbed his hands and said, "Well, since you are so sincere, I can't be stingy. Let's put it this way. These nine mountain ghost coins are authentic Ming and Qing antiques. Whether they are placed at home to ward off evil spirits or carried with you for safety, they are an excellent choice. If you really want them, I will give you a price of fifty yuan to take them all! How about it?"

After saying this, the stall owner even stretched out his palm and shook it a few times, indicating that the price was absolutely fair and reasonable.

"Oh my god, it's a different era now, who would still believe in this kind of thing! Do I look like a superstitious person? I just think these things are quite novel and interesting, and they are antiques with a long history, so I want to buy them home and play with them. Please be kind and give me a discount!"

Xu Damao waved his hands impatiently, looking as if he didn't believe it at all.

"My dear brother, although you may not be too interested in these things, they are all genuine old items! Take a close look at the patina and the naturally formed copper rust. Okay, let's be friends. I'll give you another ten dollars off, so you can take it forty! It really can't be any lower!"

The stall owner took the initiative to lower the price by ten yuan and indicated that he had already made a big concession.

"Boss, I won't bargain with you. After all, I am a businessman myself, and I know how difficult it is to make a living by setting up a stall in such cold weather. How about this, you can just sell it to me according to the market price of copper coins during the Ming and Qing dynasties, what do you think?"

"Hey, how can we do that? These mountain ghost coins are much rarer than ordinary copper coins. The price can't be the same. No, no, absolutely not!"

"I really want it. Can we negotiate the price? I see that your stall hasn't made a single sale yet. Why don't you sell it to me at a lower price? It will also help you open a business!" Xu Damao continued to bargain with the stall owner shamelessly. Lou Xiao'e on the side turned around, looked at the stall owner, then at Xu Damao, with a helpless look on her face.

Seeing Xu Damao's persistence, the stall owner hesitated for a moment and said, "I can see that you really like these things, brother. Let me make a concession and give you a price of thirty-five yuan. If you think it's okay, we can make a deal. If not, I can't do anything about it. After all, I got these things with great difficulty, and I can't sell them at a loss!"

"Okay, that's settled!" Xu Damao agreed readily. Without saying a word, he carefully put the nine mountain ghost coins into his pocket, then took out the bills from his wallet and counted them carefully. After confirming that they were correct, he handed them to the stall owner and also grabbed the small brass box in his hand.

"Brother, please count the money. As for this box, just give it to me as a gift!" Xu Damao looked at the stall owner with anticipation, as if he was afraid that the other party would go back on his word.

"Wait, let me take a look first!"

The stall owner took the money from Xu Damao and spoke. Hearing Xu Damao's request, he did not count the money immediately, but reached out and picked up the seemingly ordinary brass box and examined it carefully. After a while, probably after confirming that there was nothing special about the box, he handed it back to Xu Damao.

"Brother, seeing that you can't let go of this thing, I might as well give it to you for free!" After carefully identifying that the brass box was indeed an object from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China period, the stall owner did not take it seriously and gave it to Xu Damao generously.

"Xiao'e, look, there's someone selling hot ginger tea over there. Do you want a cup to warm yourself up?" Xu Damao turned his head and gently asked Lou Xiao'e beside him.

"No, no, ginger tea is too spicy. I'd rather try pear water." Lou Xiao'e replied with a frown.

"Oh, so you like drinking pear water. I guess there will be some in the market. Why don't we go in and take a look?" Xu Damao said as he gently took Lou Xiao'e's hand and the two of them walked side by side towards the deeper parts of the ghost market.

As expected, they found a stall selling pear water not far away, and the price was reasonable. Lou Xiao'e was as happy as a child and ran over to buy water. At this time, they found a relatively spacious open space not far ahead, so Xu Damao stopped his bicycle and planned to set up a stall there.