Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

"Ah? So that's how it is. Let me listen to you, Damao. Safety comes first. But if there are not enough people, the goods may not be able to be sold at a high price." Yan Bugui muttered in a low voice.

Yan Bugui's idea was simple. He thought that only when there were many people would he be able to bid, and only in this way could his things be sold at a good price. However, the ghost market had its own unique rules, and this method was not popular here.

Here, stall owners and customers usually communicate one-on-one. If a customer is holding an item and examining it carefully, other customers must not approach to ask the price of the item. They must wait until the customer in front of them puts the item back to its original place or gives up because the price cannot be negotiated before other customers can make a move.

Although Xu Damao had the special ability of night vision, he had to slow down to accommodate Yan Bugui. In this way, it took the two of them more than half an hour to reach their destination.

"Da Mao, is that the ghost market in front?"

Yan Bugui pointed at the few flickering lights of lanterns ahead and asked curiously.

From a distance, the lanterns seemed to be floating in the air, like erratic will-o'-the-wisp fires, only illuminating black figures, like ghostly shadows.

"Yes, that's the ghost market. However, it's still early and there aren't many people here. Even many of the vendors haven't arrived yet. Let's walk around first and see if there's a suitable place to set up a stall." Xu Damao explained.

"Walk around? Damao, do you want to buy anything else?"

"That's not true. In this ghost market, sellers may become buyers, and buyers may also become sellers. I'm a little hungry, so I have to go buy something to eat. Teacher Yan, would you like to come too?" Xu Damao had eaten early in the afternoon, and his stomach was growling with hunger. He planned to fill his stomach first before continuing to visit the ghost market.

"Oh, I'm not hungry, Damao, you eat yours. I just feel a little creepy here. Should we go back quickly after selling things?" Yan Bugui frowned and looked around nervously, feeling a chill in his heart.

"Hey, Mr. Yan, don't be afraid. This place doesn't start to get busy until midnight! There are still more than 20 minutes left, and the stall owners haven't arrived yet, not to mention those who like to shop at the ghost market. So let's go shopping for a while and then set up the stall later."

Xu Damao comforted him. He knew very well that Yan Bugui was not familiar with this place and would inevitably feel uneasy.

"Da Mao, I see many of these stall owners have their faces covered. And the man who just passed by also had his face covered, leaving only his eyes exposed. Even if the weather is cold, it shouldn't be like this. It looks scary." Yan Bugui whispered worriedly beside Xu Damao.

"Hey! These are common in the ghost market. I wear masks just because I don't want others to recognize me." Xu Damao explained with a smile.

"Why?" Yan Bugui asked puzzledly.

"Hehe! They were all prominent figures in the past. Now they can't make ends meet and come out to sell some things at home! But they care about their reputation and are afraid of being recognized and laughed at." Xu Damao said in a low voice.

"Oh~ So that's how it is! This is really interesting." Yan Bugui nodded with sudden enlightenment.

"Don't underestimate these vendors with masks on. Among them may be princes and nobles from the previous dynasty, as well as big businessmen and wealthy families from the Republic of China," Xu Damao said mysteriously.

"What? There are such powerful people? Why would they come here to sell things?" Yan Bugui widened his eyes in surprise.

"Hey, you don't understand this! Although these people were once prosperous, they are now in poverty and live in poverty. They can only make a living by selling their household items. But after all, they once had prominent status and don't want others to see their miserable appearance, so they choose to set up stalls in places like the ghost market, and they have to cover their faces." Xu Damao explained proudly.

"Oh... so that's how it is!" Yan Bugui was filled with emotion, and felt... secretly happy about the experiences of these people.

"But we don't need to worry too much about these things, as long as we can find good things." Xu Damao comforted.

"Yeah, that's right." Yan Bugui nodded in agreement.

"By the way, Damao, since they are wealthy families or princes from the previous dynasty setting up stalls, then aren't the things on their stalls all good stuff? After all, there are many treasures in the palace. We might as well take a look. If we meet those suckers who sell gold items as bronze items, wouldn't we make a fortune?" Yan Bugui said to Xu Damao excitedly, as if he had suddenly discovered something.

"Alas, Mr. Yan, you can think of it. Others are not fools. Some stall owners take advantage of this and deliberately wear masks to buy things. When someone comes, they will tell stories about their family's decline and having to sell their treasures. Just listen to them, but don't take them seriously." Xu Damao shook his head and explained with a smile: "Most of these people are scammers. They specialize in taking advantage of everyone's curiosity and greed to make you think you can get a bargain. In fact, the things they sell are fake or worthless. If you are deceived by them, it will not be worth it."

"Teacher Yan, both the stall owners and customers in this ghost market are very cunning, so don't fall into their trap!" Xu Damao reminded.

"Oh... so that's how it is." Yan Bugui suddenly realized and felt that he was too naive and almost got fooled.

Yan Bugui looked at Xu Damao with a grateful expression and said, "Thank you, Damao. If you hadn't reminded me, I would have suffered a loss."

"There's a good spot up front, let's set up the stall there!" Xu Damao said, pointing to an empty spot on the side of the road.

"There's no difference between this place and the ones in front and behind?" Yan Bugui's face was full of confusion, not knowing what Xu Damao was up to.

"Hahaha, Teacher Yan, I won't hide it from you. In fact, in the ghost market, it doesn't matter where you set up a stall. I'm hungry now. There's a wonton stall next to me. I'll go get a bowl of wontons after I set up the stall!" Xu Damao said his purpose with a laugh.

"Hey, you kid!" Yan Bugui then realized that Xu Damao wanted to eat nearby, so he said no more.

Xu Damao parked the car, then took out a torn straw mat and spread it on the ground. Then he took out a package and placed it on the mat. This package was some small things he had collected from Zhang Tietou and Huang Genwang.

When Yan Bugui saw Xu Damao doing this, he followed suit, took out a piece of rag from the back basket of the bicycle and spread it on the ground, then carefully placed the things in the basket on the rag.

After the two of them were ready, they began to wait for customers to come.