Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

"Oh, I see. Then we can just have a simple one. Anyway, as long as I'm with you, that's fine."

Xu Damao looked at Lou Xiaoe tenderly, his eyes full of love.

Xu Damao held Lou Xiao'e's hand gently, as if he was holding the most precious treasure in the world, with tenderness as deep as water.

"Um……"

Lou Xiao'e nodded slightly, with a happy smile on her face. Xu Damao rode his bicycle and took Lou Xiao'e to the ghost market...

The ghost market at night is quiet and dimly lit, but it is full of a mysterious atmosphere. There is a neat row of bright spots on both sides of the street, which are the lights emitted by the lanterns on the stalls.

In the middle of the road were the customers who came to the ghost market. The light of the lanterns moved slowly, illuminating the shadows of people, as if there were many ghosts.

Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e got off their bicycles and walked slowly side by side, both of them looking curiously at the stalls on both sides.

"Hey! Brother, you've got the walnuts in your hand nicely arranged."

Xu Damao parked the car and squatted down in front of a stall. His eyes were attracted by the walnuts in the stall owner's hands.

"Oh, you have really sharp eyes, you can see it even in this dark. Come, try it out."

The stall owner laughed and enthusiastically handed the two walnuts he was playing with to Xu Damao.

"Okay, I'll also take a look at one of the three treasures of Lord Beile."

Xu Damao took the walnut with a smile and looked at it carefully in the dim light of the lantern.

"Da Mao, what are the three treasures of Beile?"

Lou Xiao'e came over curiously and asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Ahem, I just made it up. These are the three things that the prince of the capital used to like to play with: the jade ring, the birdcage, and this walnut. I just called them the three treasures of the prince out of habit because it came out of my mouth."

Xu Damao looked at the stall owner and explained to Lou Xiaoe awkwardly.

Hearing this, Lou Xiao'e suddenly found it a little funny, but she still chose to believe Xu Damao. She nodded slightly to show her understanding.

At this time, the stall owner suddenly spoke: "Little brother, what you said is quite interesting and to the point. Haha, Baylor Three Treasures, that's a good word."

When Xu Damao heard this, he couldn't help but feel secretly proud. He didn't expect that his casual remark would actually be recognized by the stall owner.

Then, the stall owner said mysteriously to Xu Damao: "Let me tell you, brother, this pair of walnuts was bought from Prince Tao at Deshengmen Ghost Market a few years ago. Look at the head and the color. It would not be this good without more than ten years of polishing."

As the stall owner spoke, he took the pair of walnuts from Xu Damao and showed him the subtle features of the walnuts.

"Look at the color. It's bright red, and the surface is even somewhat transparent. Does it look like red jade?"

Xu Damao looked at the pair of walnuts carefully and found that they were indeed large in size, dark in color, and with a smooth and shiny surface. It was obvious at a glance that they had been played with for a long time.

However, he was not fooled by the stall owner's words, but asked calmly: "Brother, I know Prince Zaitao, Puyi's uncle. He used to set up a stall at Deshengmen Ghost Market. He is a person I respect very much. But let's not talk about such things. How much is this pair of walnuts?"

Xu Damao knew very well that the stall owner mentioned Prince Zaitao just to raise the price of the walnuts. But he would not be fooled easily, so he went straight to the point and asked about the price.

"I think you really want it, so I'll offer you the lowest price, ten dollars, and you just let me make one dollar."

The stall owner quoted a price and then watched Xu Damao's reaction.

"Xiao E, do you think your father would like this thing? I'm not very interested in it. I bought it to give it to your dad, and I don't know if he likes it."

Xu Damao remained calm when he heard the offer, but turned to look at Lou Xiaoe.

"Ah, you want to give my dad something, this is not possible, it was originally rated as..."

Lou Xiao'e's voice became lower and lower, and her little head shook like a rattle.

"Oh, okay, then I don't want it. How much is this thing?"

Xu Damao gave up the pair of walnuts without hesitation, but as if he felt sorry for the stall owner, he picked up something at random and asked the price.

"Just give me five dollars for this thing, brother. Don't underestimate it because it's small. The carving is very delicate."

Xu Damao picked up the small thing and looked at it carefully, and found that it was just as the stall owner said. Although the thing was not big, the pattern carved on it was very delicate and looked lifelike.

"Well, four dollars and I'll take it."

Xu Damao tried to bargain.

"Oh no, four dollars is too low, I won't make any profit."

The stall owner said with some embarrassment.

"Okay, okay, four dollars is fine, let's both make concessions. I will patronize your business again in the future!"

Xu Damao bargained with the stall owner with a smile.

Finally, after some bargaining, Xu Damao bought the small item for four dollars.

After leaving the stall, Lou Xiaoe couldn't help but ask, "Brother Damao, are you really going to give this thing to my dad?"

Xu Damao nodded and said, "Yes, I want to make my uncle happy, but what did you mean just now?"

Lou Xiao'e hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell Xu Damao the truth. She lowered her voice and said, "Our family background is not good. Giving us gifts may bring you trouble."

After hearing this, Xu Damao's face changed slightly, but soon returned to normal. He comforted Lou Xiao'e and said, "Don't worry, Xiao'e, I don't care about these. As long as we truly love each other, nothing else matters."

Lou Xiao'e was so moved that her eyes were red, and she held Xu Damao's hand tightly. The two continued to stroll in the market, enjoying the rare leisure time.

After sending Lou Xiao'e to buy some hot pear water, Xu Damao squatted down on a stall alone to check the things on it.

At this moment, a passerby walked by quickly. He didn't look like a player visiting the ghost market at all. He had his face covered, leaving only his eyes exposed. He held a thick stack of papers in his hand and put one on the stall whenever he passed by.

Xu Damao was no exception. This cunning guy placed a list in front of him.

Xu Damao was curious, so he picked up the list and saw that it said "We accept various old items, prices vary, address XXX".

Xu Damao raised the corner of his mouth slightly and laughed in his heart, the people in this ghost market are really interesting, they are hiding their heads and showing their tails one by one, if you don't know, you would think it is some big business!

At this time, Lou Xiao'e also came over with two glasses of pear water. Seeing Xu Damao smiling at a printed list, she couldn't help but become curious.