Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

After taking a sip of hot pear water, the two of them calmed down and continued to wait quietly for the old ghosts to come to their stalls. After all, according to the rules of the ghost market, they could not shout...

......

Time passed by, and finally, an old man came to Yan Bugui's stall. He picked up a bronze incense burner and examined it carefully. With the help of the weak light, he had been looking at it for a minute or two.

“How do you sell this thing?”

The old man asked.

Yan Bugui smiled and said, "Brother, this is a bronze incense burner from the Han Dynasty! Look at the exquisite craftsmanship and preservation condition. It is definitely a rare treasure. Twenty-five yuan is really a bargain."

The old man frowned and said, "Twenty-five is still a bit expensive. Can it be cheaper?"

Yan Bugui quickly shook his head: "Brother, it's so cold, we who set up stalls want to sell our things quickly and go home, we don't want to stand here in the cold! The price is already very low, it's definitely not a high price."

The old man hesitated for a moment and said, "Well, I see you are ready to pack up and go back home, how about twenty dollars?"

Yan Bugui's eyes flashed with a cunning look, but he quickly returned to normal: "Oh, brother, you are making things difficult for me! Twenty yuan is too low, and my purchase price is more than this. But since you are so sincere, I will sell it to you at a loss. Twenty-two yuan, let's be friends, and please take care of my business in the future!"

As Yan Bugui spoke, he rubbed his hands pretending to be cold, as if he was shivering in the cold wind. His performance was so realistic that people could not help but believe that he was really cold.

The old man thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, then twenty-two dollars."

Yan Bugui immediately smiled happily: "Okay, brother, you are really straightforward! I will pack it for you."

He quickly wrapped the bronze incense burner in newspaper, handed it to the old man, and took the twenty-two yuan.

After the old man bought Yan Bugui's Han Dynasty bronze incense burner, he did not leave immediately, but came to Xu Damao's stall with a lantern and started to check it out.

"This thing is pretty good. It's well preserved. How much is it, young man?"

When Xu Damao heard this, he immediately became excited. This was the deal.

So he quickly walked up to the old man and said with a smile on his face: "Old man, you have a good eye! This is a treasure! But the price... If you really want it, just give me forty dollars!" As he said that, he stretched out four fingers and shook them.

The old man frowned, shook his head and said, "Forty, that's too expensive. Don't try to deceive me just because I'm old."

Xu Damao quickly explained, "Grandpa, don't get me wrong! I'm asking such a high price for this thing because it's in good condition. I also had a mirror that was badly corroded before, and I sold it for 15 yuan. But this one is different. Its quality and preservation condition are much better, so the price is naturally higher."

The old man seemed to be a little tempted after hearing what Xu Damao said, but he continued to bargain, "Thirty, thirty is all I want. This mirror of yours should be a hand-me-down, collected from someone else, unlike this Han Dynasty bronze incense burner, which was dug out from a dry pit not long ago."

After saying this, the old man stroked his beard and showed a confident expression, as if everything was under his control.

"Grandpa, you are an expert. Nothing can escape your eyes! Thirty yuan is thirty yuan. This thing is so well preserved. I believe you must cherish this treasure very much!"

Xu Damao smiled quietly as he took out paper to wrap the bronze mirror, his words were full of flattery and flattery...

Hearing Xu Damao's praise, the old man showed a proud smile on his face and laughed heartily: "Hahahahahaha..."

He was in a good mood. He took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket, counted them carefully, and then handed them to Xu Damao.

"Come on, young man, count the money and see if it's enough. I paid so readily, so you can give this brick to the old man as a gift!"

After the old man handed the money to Xu Damao, he pointed to something that looked like a ceramic brick in the corner of the stall and said in a relaxed tone.

"Grandpa, this is not an ordinary pottery brick! This is a pottery mold used to cast copper coins during the Han Dynasty. Look, there are four clearly visible copper coin marks on it!"

As Xu Damao spoke, he raised the ceramic mold in his hand and lit the lantern so that the old man who was pretending to be confused could see the lines and patterns on it clearly.

The old man came closer in surprise and suddenly realized, "Oh, I really didn't notice it! I'm old, my eyes are blurry, and my health is getting worse day by day!"

The old man's expression remained unchanged, as if he had expected such an outcome. He looked at Xu Damao quietly, waiting for him to make a bid.

"I really like this thing. Just name a price, young man. If it's suitable, I'll take it." The old man's voice was low and powerful, revealing an unquestionable determination.

Xu Damao was secretly delighted, thinking that the old man had really taken the bait. He pretended to be hesitant and said, "Well, although this thing is not worth much, it is at least a thing from more than 2,000 years ago. I originally wanted to sell it for ten yuan, but I'll sell it to you for five yuan."

Xu Damao waved his hand, pretending to be generous. In fact, he knew in his heart that this brick was worthless, but being able to sell it for five yuan was already very good.

"Okay, thank you very much, little brother." The old man nodded in agreement. He took out five yuan from his pocket and handed it to Xu Damao, then carefully picked up the brick and put it into a cloth bag in his hand.

After doing all this, the old man turned and left, his steps steady and firm.

Xu Damao looked at the old man's departing back and started chatting with Yan Bugui.

"This old man doesn't look very well dressed, but I didn't expect he's actually a wealthy man."

"Da Mao, this ghost market is full of talented people, and you can't judge a person by his appearance. The truly rich people are very low-key, and you can't judge a person by the way he dresses."

Yan Bugui warned.

"I understand this. I heard the news a few days ago. A hooligans in the city bullied a middle-aged man in ordinary clothes. It turned out that the man was actually a major general."

"In the end, he was arrested and taken to the police station for reform..."

……

"It's getting late, let's go back. Today was pretty good. We sold some things and made a lot of money, Teacher Yan," Xu Damao said to Yan Bugui on the side.

"Yes, we have indeed harvested a lot today. Damao, you have also made a lot of money. Let's go, pack up the stall and go back." Yan Bugui responded with a smile.