Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

A bowl of pig's trotters was placed on the table. The soup from the stewed pig's trotters had already become a rich sauce. Xu Damao dipped a small piece of sesame cake in it, put it in his mouth and tasted it, and his eyes immediately lit up.

Yan Bugui hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't resist the temptation of delicious food, so he reached out and took a piece of pig's trotter and started chewing it. While chewing, he nodded and praised: "Well, it's really delicious, Damao, your cooking skills are getting better and better."

Xu Damao smiled proudly: "Haha, as long as Teacher Yan likes it. I will research some new dishes in the future and let you try them."

"Teacher Yan, take these things home later and give some to the brothers."

The two of them ate a few pieces of pig's trotters and had almost finished eating. Xu Damao pushed the remaining half bowl of chicken and another bowl of pig's trotters in front of Yan Bugui and said.

"Oh, thank you Damao. My kids ate meat during the New Year and now they keep asking me to come back and buy some more meat."

"What's the relationship between us? Don't be polite. By the way, Mr. Yan, what did you bring? Bring it over and let me see it."

"okay!"

Yan Bugui took out a few rectangular jade-like pieces from the basket and placed them on the table, then took out a few ear cups.

Seeing the jade piece, Xu Damao wiped his hands, took a piece and looked at it carefully, and his heart was filled with waves.

"This is actually the jade piece from the Golden Jade Cloth! The group of mountain movers Yan Bugui knew dug a Han tomb!"

He took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and then pretended to be calm and asked: "Teacher Yan, these jade pieces look very special, where did they come from?"

"But the quality of this jade plaque is not very good. Look, it's not very smooth, and the polishing process seems very rough." Xu Damao said while frowning as he looked at the jade plaque in his hand.

"Also, there are two small holes on both ends of this jade piece. I don't know what they are for. Could it be a waist badge made by scholars in ancient times? But the jade is not of good quality. I can't sell it for much."

Yan Bugui nodded and continued, "My friend asked me to help sell this jade. Damao, take a closer look. Even if this jade is not very good, I think it must have been a great thing in the past."

"It's nothing special, but this jade is considered old jade. Maybe someone will like it, but the price will definitely not go up." Xu Damao shook his head slightly and continued.

"Da Mao, how much do you think this thing is worth?" Yan Bugui asked casually.

"It's only one or two dollars. I don't think it will be easy to sell even at this price." Xu Damao replied.

"Hahahaha, Damao, you've made a mistake this time. Look at what's stuck in that little hole."

Yan Bugui said with some pride, he pointed his finger at the small hole on the jade piece, a sly smile on his face.

Xu Damao looked in the direction of his finger, and his eyes fell on the golden metal wire on the jade piece. He sighed inwardly, knowing that he couldn't get a big bargain this time. It would be impossible to buy this thing at a bargain price.

"Copper wire! What else could it be?" Xu Damao answered calmly, but he had already started to think about it in his heart.

"Da Mao, take a closer look." Yan Bugui said slowly, with a hint of pride in his eyes.

Xu Damao pretended to observe carefully again. His heart sank and he realized that he might have made a mistake.

Those guys who move mountains and rob tombs must be good at identifying gold and silver.

"Da Mao, my friend and I have studied it. This is not ordinary metal wire, but gold wire, wire made of gold! Don't underestimate it because it is small in quantity. The gold wire on this jade piece has almost one penny of gold. Let alone one or two dollars, you can't even buy it for five or eight dollars, right?" Yan Bugui said proudly.

Xu Damao's expression became serious, and he couldn't help asking, "Are you sure it's gold thread?"

Yan Bugui nodded vigorously and answered affirmatively: "Absolutely true!"

"Oh, then this thing must have been an incredible thing in ancient times. Teacher Yan, if you trust me, don't rush to sell it. You might as well let me show it to my friend. After all, my level is limited and cannot be compared with that of my friend." Xu Damao said to Yan Bugui seriously.

"Okay, no problem. Damao, just take it and let your friend see it." Yan Bugui nodded and agreed without hesitation.

"Okay, then Teacher Yan, leave a piece of this jade with me later, and I'll take another look at this thing." Xu Damao's mouth corners slightly raised, and a hint of cunning flashed in his eyes.

Then, he picked up a pottery ear cup from the Western Han Dynasty and looked at it carefully. In fact, this thing was something that opened the door at first sight. When Yan Bugui took it out just now, Xu Damao already knew that it was undoubtedly a genuine product.

But he pretended not to know and said, "Teacher Yan, this should be the wine bowl used by wealthy families in the Ming and Qing dynasties. I often see this thing in the ghost market. It's not expensive, only two or three yuan each." After saying that, he shook his head pretentiously.

"Really?" Yan Bugui looked at Xu Damao suspiciously, and began to wonder if he was lying to him. But Xu Damao looked at him sincerely, and no one could see any flaws.

"Teacher Yan, if you don't believe me, next time we go to the ghost market to set up a stall and sell things, take a look first to see if I, Xu Damao, am lying to you. Antique sellers in the ghost market will have a few of these on the side."

"Besides, I can cheat anyone but you, Teacher Yan. We are from the same courtyard. If I cheat you, how can I face you in the future?"

When Xu Damao saw that Yan Bugui doubted him, he smiled bitterly and said.

He showed a trace of helplessness on his face, as if he was a little disappointed with Yan Bugui's distrust. He sighed softly and continued to explain: "Teacher Yan, think about it, if I really wanted to lie to you, would I tell you so bluntly? Besides, we are neighbors in the same yard, how could I do such a thing?"

"Oh, Damao, that's not what I meant. I wanted to say that the price you offered is about the same as the price I was going to sell it for. Damao, let's make an appointment and see when we can go to the ghost market." Yan Bugui explained hurriedly.

He realized that his reaction just now might have caused Xu Damao to misunderstand, and he quickly made it clear that he was not doubting him, but was just confused about the price issue.

Xu Damao was relieved when he heard Yan Bugui's response. He knew that Yan Bugui did not really doubt him, but was just concerned about the price.