Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

"Put it away quickly. After all, we are in the yard, and there are many people around. It won't be good if others see it!"

Xu Damao reminded in a surprised voice, and at the same time reached out to take the treasure from Sister Li and put it carefully into the wooden box.

He walked into the room and stuffed the wooden box under the bed. Xu Damao was not in a hurry to see the treasure, so he walked out and decided to eat first.

"Sister Li, go get the bowl quickly. The ribs are cooked, but the pancakes are not baked yet, okay?"

"The scallion pancakes are ready, but they haven't been baked yet. The oven is ready, but they bake quickly, so just wait a few minutes!"

Sister Li took out a prepared white flour pancake and poured a little lard into the pot, then put the pancake in.

"Sister Li, let the pancakes cook slowly. I'll watch the pan and we can eat first!"

Xu Damao took two large bowls, filled them with two bowls of steaming pork ribs and radish soup, and walked towards the pancake stove while eating one bowl himself.

I just moved a small stool, sat next to the stove and started eating.

A few minutes later, Xu Damao spat out a bone, opened the lid of the pot, and turned over the scallion pancake inside.

"Sister Li, you got up too early today. I'll sleep in your bed for a while before going back."

"Can't we stay here tonight?"

"I want to, but the projection equipment must be returned to the factory on the same day. That's the rule."

"Then you better go back earlier, don't be late."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Xu Damao ate one bowl, then went to get another bowl of pork ribs. Then he took out the pancake, cut it in half with a knife, and handed one piece to Sister Li.

"How is it? My cooking skills are okay, are the ribs delicious?"

"Very tasty!"

Sister Li also ate with big mouthfuls without any pretense, taking a bite of noodle and a sip of pork rib soup. Her mouth was full and greasy.

"I'm done eating. Sister Li, take your time. I'll go into the room to check on the treasure."

"Well, go and see."

Sister Li actually finished eating at about the same time, then took Xu Damao's and her own bowls to the sink to wash the dishes.

Xu Damao returned to the house, took out the Phoenix Pearl and looked at it carefully.

"Beautiful! It's really beautiful!"

Xu Damao watched it carefully, and made sounds of admiration from time to time.

"I think he's very beautiful too. Look at his eyes, they are so expressive, it's as if they are about to come alive and fly away!"

Sister Li finished washing the dishes and came over to stand next to Xu Damao and praised him.

"Sister Li, do you know its value?"

"It should be very expensive. I can't see anything. It's not very big, only about a foot high. Can it be sold for a hundred dollars?"

Sister Li carefully said a number that she thought was very high.

"It's much more than that! Let me explain to you what this treasure is."

Xu Damao shook his head and began to explain to Sister Li the origin of this treasure.

"First of all, this thing is definitely not something that only ordinary people can own. This treasure is called the Phoenix Holding a Pearl, and it is made entirely of silver. You can see that there is a chain hanging from the mouth of the phoenix, and at the end of the chain is a pearl."

"No way, look at its wings and tail on the back, they are all golden, how can they be silver? I thought they were copper."

Sister Li was a little confused.

"Sister Li, please listen to me first. The tail and the back of the wings are made of silver gilded, so they look golden."

"The blue-green color of the phoenix's body, neck, and wings is the result of a blue-baking process. Do you think the wings and tail of the phoenix look real?"

"Yes, this is too realistic. Who would have known it was made of silver?"

"This is a process that uses wire-making. Wire-making is very complicated. You have to pinch the silver wires into strips and then weld them separately. This is the process of wire-making."

“Also, when the belly and neck of the phoenix are difficult to make, the craftsmen will add a kind of ash called gray sedge grass to it, and then make it into a mud ball shape, and then wrap the silver wire around it to shape it.”

"Then when it is fired, the ash will evaporate due to the burning of the flame. It is very, very complicated!"

"And there are more than just these techniques, there are also sterling silver gilding, engraving, hammering, blueing, enamelling, casting, and inlaying!"

"The more difficult one is the pearl that the phoenix holds in its mouth, which is also called the phoenix gall. Sister Li, do you know what the phoenix gall is also called?"

"I heard from the old people that it seems to be the Zhuchen Pearl, which is a rare treasure in mythology."

"Yes! It is the Zhuchen Pearl, the most sacred object between heaven and earth! But there is a gem on it, called turquoise!"

"And the two turquoise stones on the tail are twice as big as my thumb. They are extremely valuable!"

"I also like this cyan gemstone."

"Turquoise is also divided into grades. Sister Li, look at this turquoise gem. Let's not talk about the small turquoises around it. Let's just look at the two large old pit turquoises at the tail. They are high-porcelain jade-like deep sea blue and perfect without any iron lines!"

High-quality turquoise is already extremely good, and there is also a jade-like category above it, which is just like the quality of jadeite. These two turquoise stones plus the one below the chain in the phoenix's mouth would definitely be worth more than ten thousand yuan per gram in the past life!

"This little thing is so rare. It's a real treasure, a top luxury item! Look at the base, it's inlaid with silver wire!"

"Little brother, this thing you said is so miraculous, how much is it worth?"

Sister Li also asked curiously.

"If you sell it now, the value is not high, but in 40 or 50 years, the value will reach an outrageous price."

Xu Damao said this, but he was thinking in his heart: If it were in his previous life, this treasure would have started at at least three million at the auction. Note that this is the starting price.

"How can I live that long? It's still 40 or 50 years later."

"Sister Li, this thing is very valuable. You must hide it well and don't let others steal it. I can't tell you the current price, but I think it will be no problem to sell it for a few thousand dollars!"

Xu Damao reminded seriously.

"What? A few thousand dollars, that's a lot of money? Wouldn't that mean you won't have to worry about food and drink for the rest of your life?"

"Well, that's about the same, but now bills are gradually becoming popular, so it's hard to say what will happen in the future."

Xu Damao reminded gently.

"Little brother, why don't you help me sell this thing? We can split the money equally between us."

Sister Li is very generous, but Xu Damao doesn't think so. After all, it's not his thing.

"Thank you, Sister Li, for trusting me so much. Are you short of money, Sister Li?"

"No, it's just that you said it was so good, I'm really worried about leaving it at home."

"Hehe, if Sister Li trusts me and is worried, you can leave it with me and I will keep it for you."