Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

Xu Damao rode his bicycle back to the steel rolling mill, took a cigarette, went into the duty room to rest for a while, and then rode his bicycle back to the courtyard.

"Hey, Damao is back, slow down."

When Yan Bugui saw Xu Damao coming back, he walked over to him enthusiastically and lifted up the back seat of the bicycle to make it easier for Xu Damao to be pushed into the yard.

To be honest, there was nothing on the bicycle, except for two large wicker baskets hanging on the back.

Although it is strong, the 28-inch bicycle of Menggang is still a bit bulky.

"Uncle, I have a few boiled eggs here. If we don't eat them in such a hot weather, they will probably go bad. Uncle, give them to the children."

Xu Damao took out a cloth bag and handed it over.

"Hehe, I'm so sorry. Thank you Damao. You know the situation at home. I have several mouths to feed..."

Yan Bugui said sorry, but his hands showed no sign of embarrassment. He took out the egg and put it in his pocket, and then returned the bag to Xu Damao.

"If you encounter any problems, tell your uncle and I will help you if I can! And don't forget that matter."

When he said the last sentence, Yan Bugui deliberately lowered his voice.

"Okay! I've got it all in mind! Third uncle, wait for me outside the gate early tomorrow morning. I'll take you for a bike ride then."

The two separated and Xu Damao returned to his room, lay down on the bed and prepared to rest for a while. After all, he had to go to the ghost market at three o'clock in the morning tomorrow to buy a bicycle for Yan Bugui.

Lying on the bed, Xu Damao felt sleepy and fell asleep.

When I woke up again, it was already dark outside the window. I looked at the time and it was already past nine o'clock in the evening. I slept for more than three hours this time.

"Cuckoo!"

There was a slight sound from his stomach, and Xu Damao felt hungry. He turned over and got up to prepare to cook.

"Just eat something simple!"

Xu Damao took out two steamed buns from his personal space, cut them into slices with a knife, then lit the stove, put the pot on it, and poured some lard into the pot.

After the oil is hot, put the steamed bread slices in, then take out a porcelain bowl, put some salt in it, add a little water, and stir constantly with chopsticks until the salt is completely dissolved in the water.

Picking up the spatula and stir-frying the steamed bread slices in the pot a few times, Xu Damao gently poured salt water into them, and each steamed bread slice absorbed a certain amount of salt water.

Stir-fry for a few times, then take out three eggs, break them in a bowl and mix them evenly, then pour them in when the outside of the steamed bread slices have been fried dry.

After covering the pot and simmering for two minutes, Xu Damao didn't even use a bowl. He just put the pot on a stool and started eating.

After eating, Xu Damao felt a little bored. He wanted to sleep but couldn’t, after all, he had just slept for several hours.

At that time, there was no mobile phone or something to kill time, so Xu Damao went straight into the portable space and wandered around.

"Oh my, these last batch of piglets have grown so big."

The space was a little larger than the last time he entered. Since only the pasture had living things, Xu Damao went straight into the pasture, looked at the piglets, and played with the chickens and ducks. As a result, he was chased out by geese.

Xu Damao exited the space and fell into a deep sleep on the bed again.

At 2:50 in the morning, Xu Damao woke up, hurriedly got dressed, and went out, pushing his bicycle.

Arriving at the ghost market with familiarity, Xu Damao was not in a hurry to help Yan Bugui buy a bicycle. Instead, he directly found an empty space, spread out a broken straw mat, set up a stall and started selling things.

As usual, put the fish in the basin first, then put a few wild turtles, and then put some miscellaneous things on the broken straw mat.

For example, there is a bamboo pen holder I bought from a bicycle seller, a small mirror inlaid with various gemstones on the back, some bronze heart guards, and some other small treasures.

As for the Longquan kiln bird food jar that Xu Damao bought from the bicycle seller, hehe, hey, put it into the rosewood birdcage.

Xu Damao took out the rosewood box he had just received from Qian Longmei, poured all the silver coins inside into a corner of the straw mat, and placed the rosewood box on it.

Finally, three bird cages made of different materials were taken out, a bamboo bird cage, a rosewood bird cage, and a huanghuali bird cage.

There were a few green parrots in the bamboo birdcage, a few larks in the rosewood birdcage, and a few orioles in the huanghuali birdcage.

There was no other way. The flower, bird, fish and insect shop only had these three types of smaller birds, so Xu Damao only bought these three types of birds to sell.

There was a thin wooden board in front of the three bird cages with five yuan per bird written on it.

"Little brother, are you selling fish here again?"

"Yes, I went fishing with some friends yesterday and caught some fish, and they asked me to sell them."

A middle-aged man holding a lantern walked over, but Xu Damao felt he was a stranger to him. After thinking about it, he realized he had never seen this middle-aged man before.

"what is this?"

Seeing the three bird cages placed in the front, I couldn't help but come over with a lantern to check them out out of curiosity.

In the darkness, these parrots and larks were not very noisy, but as the lantern approached, they began to flutter and utter clear chirps.

"Oh! They are parrots and larks. The one inside is... an oriole. It is very pretty and its singing is so pleasant to the ear."

The middle-aged man kept praising the bird, but he casually stroked the birdcage with his hand, and occasionally glanced at the small bowl inside.

"Brother, if you like that bird, just tell me and I'll get it for you."

After Xu Damao sold a fish, he saw a middle-aged man next to him still looking at the bird in the cage, so he asked tentatively.

"Little brother, I really like these parrots and larks, but the price you sell these birds for is much higher than those stores that specialize in selling these birds."

The middle-aged man sighed and shook his head, looking like he didn't want to be a sucker.

"I don't know the price in the store. Don't bluff me. These birds were caught by me and a few friends using baskets and traps. We wasted a lot of food and time. I think five yuan is a little too low!"

"My friend fell from a tree because of this and spent a lot of money in the hospital! I don't care how much it sells for elsewhere, I'll just keep this price!"

Xu Damao said loudly with some indignation, and in a tone that it was up to you to buy it or not.

The voice was a bit loud, attracting many customers from the surrounding area. The middle-aged man hurriedly pulled Xu Damao's arm and signaled him with his eyes to speak more quietly and not to make loud noises.

But it was too late. A middle-aged man and an old man came over with lanterns, not only wanting to watch the fun but also to see the things on Xu Damao's stall.

"Well, it's a bit expensive, but I like it more than any other. Give me two larks and two parrots."

The middle-aged man put down the lantern, took out the money and gestured to Xu Damao.

"Okay! I'll catch it for you right away."