Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

"That's good! Then I'll pick one first~ Hey, these coins all look different! I have to choose one carefully, I want this one, the one with the Bagua pattern on the back. I heard you mention it before, this is called the Mountain Ghost Bagua Coin, right?"

Lou Xiao'e took a few coins, looked through them, and then picked one out with some hesitation.

"That's right. Since you like the Bagua map, I'll choose Bagua too, and we'll be a pair, hehe."

Xu Damao picked up another Mountain Ghost Bagua coin with a smile on his face and put it away carefully.

"Oh, why did you choose the same mountain ghost coin as mine!" Lou Xiao'e said shyly, with a hint of surprise and confusion in her tone, and pointed at the coin in her hand, "Look, isn't this one with a dragon on the back nice-looking?"

Hearing this, Xu Damao was stunned for a moment, then he scratched his head, laughed dryly and explained: "Haha, this... this Mountain Ghost Dragon's money is not ordinary stuff, it is extremely valuable! It's more cost-effective for us to keep it and sell it for money."

"The stall owner just now doesn't know anything about this business. In fact, each of these mountain ghost coins has a different value. Based on my many years of experience, the mountain ghost coin with a dragon painted on the back is the most valuable! If I meet a knowledgeable buyer, I can probably sell it for fifty or sixty yuan."

After hearing this, Lou Xiao'e widened her eyes and covered her mouth in surprise: "Ah? It's so expensive! I'd better keep it and sell it." Her eyes revealed regret, but she also understood the preciousness of this Mountain Ghost coin.

Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e whispered to each other for a long time, then Xu Damao carefully put the two Mountain Ghost Bagua coins into his pockets, intending to keep them as waist ornaments in the future. As for the remaining Mountain Ghost coins, Xu Damao casually threw them into a corner of the straw mat stall.

"Da Mao, aren't these mountain ghost coins very valuable? Why did you just put them in the corner so casually?" Lou Xiao'e asked in confusion.

"Hey, Xiao'e, you don't know! Some customers always like to glance at the inconspicuous corners of the stalls. They only think that they can take advantage of the things that even the stall owners don't care about and find treasures. This is a common tactic used by many stall owners. I am just copying them." Xu Damao explained with a cunning look on his face.

"Oh~" Lou Xiao'e responded as if she had suddenly realized something, and secretly sighed in her heart: Going out with Damao really broadens my horizons! Every time she gets in touch with many new things, all of which she has never heard of before.

Time passed quietly like the sand in an hourglass. The number of people in the ghost market gradually increased, but it was unusually quiet, as if the whole space was shrouded in a strange atmosphere.

People held lanterns in their hands, and walked slowly and lightly, with only faint footsteps echoing in the air. Those lanterns that swayed like ghost lights, intertwined with the dark figures, and from a distance, they looked like ghosts, which was creepy. It was indeed a ghost market!

At this moment, two or three figures squatted in front of Xu Damao's stall. They held lanterns in their hands and carefully looked at every item on the stall.

Among them was a middle-aged man wearing a Zhongshan suit and glasses, who had been paying attention to the green pottery figurine of a large yellow dog from the Western Han Dynasty for a long time. He frowned, moved the lantern to another angle, continued to illuminate the side of the pottery figurine dog, and then immersed himself in observation.

"Teacher Zhang, I think this dog might be a fake. It should be a replica made during the Republic of China period. Look, it is so lifelike, it is exactly the same as a domestic yellow dog. Look here, it has a collar around its neck, and there is even a bell hanging below it..."

Next to the middle-aged man, his companion, who was staring at a porcelain vase and an ivory carving, caught a glimpse of him holding a lantern and gazing at a terracotta dog for a long time. Finally, he could not help but express his opinion.

"Hey! I had the same idea as you before. But after I carefully examined it myself, I couldn't find any trace of imitation. There is no doubt that this is definitely a pottery dog ​​from the Han Dynasty!"

The middle-aged man who was respectfully called Teacher Zhang responded with a slightly excited tone.

"Oh, Mr. Zhang, you have to look carefully! It's pitch dark now, and you may not make mistakes."

"Don't worry, I have been trying hard to find any falsehood in it. If there is even the slightest flaw, I will never be able to say with such absolute certainty that this thing is authentic. After all, I am a researcher at the Palace Museum, so I still have some ability to distinguish."

"That's right, when many people identify items, they tend to only look for features that look like the real thing, but you experts are too demanding and only pick out the things that are wrong. If there is even the slightest thing that is wrong, you will immediately deny the item completely..."

Although the conversation between the two was as soft as a mosquito, Xu Damao could hear it clearly.

"This man looks plain, I never expected he would be an authority in the Palace Museum!"

"Hey, since you are an expert, you must know the ins and outs of this. If we don't sell it for a good price, wouldn't it be a big loss? This way, the dog will find a good place to go."

Xu Damao pondered secretly in his heart.

"This thing is a rare treasure. Just imagine, a pottery figurine from the Western Han Dynasty has survived for so long and is still intact. It is really rare. I must get it."

The researcher known as Mr. Zhang lowered his voice and whispered softly to his partner beside him.

"Teacher Zhang, the stall owner should have some good taste, right? I guess the price won't be too cheap. How about I test the waters first to see if I can get a good bargain. After all, this thing looks like an ordinary clay puppy."

The two men whispered to each other in low voices, thinking they were speaking quietly enough, but they didn't know that every word of their conversation had been heard by Xu Damao.

"Little brother, what do you think of this bottle?" Teacher Zhang's companion gently pointed at the cloisonné bottle in front of him that he had been looking at for a long time, and asked Xu Damao in a deliberately lowered voice.

"Brother, which one do you like?" Upon seeing this, Xu Damao immediately stood up from his seat and walked forward while pretending that he didn't hear clearly.

"It's that blue porcelain vase. I think it's very beautiful. Please name a price." Teacher Zhang's companion spoke again.