Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

Hearing this, Zhang Meifang's originally slightly red cheeks instantly became even redder, but this time she did not show shyness like before, but her eyes revealed a little reluctance: "Okay, I'll go back..."

After saying that, he slowly turned around and walked towards the house, looking back every few steps.

At this time, Xu Damao took out a box of matches from his pocket, struck it lightly, and with a "crack", the match ignited a small flame.

He quickly brought the flame close to the Daqianmen cigarette in his mouth and took a deep puff, and the cigarette butt immediately lit up with a little red light. Xu Damao stood quietly in place, puffing away leisurely while patiently waiting for the carriage to arrive.

After waiting for about five minutes, a carriage slowly came over.

On this bitterly cold winter morning, the biting cold wind cut across people's faces like a knife.

In front of the carriage parked on the side of the road, the coachman was sitting there, wrapped up tightly from head to toe, leaving only a pair of eyes and a red nose exposed.

At this moment, Xu Damao came forward, and the driver quickly asked, "Young man, you are going to the city, right?"

"It's me, thank you for your hard work, brother!"

Xu Damao replied with a smile, and took out a Daqianmen cigarette from his pocket and handed it to the driver, "Brother, have a cigarette to warm yourself up."

The driver took the cigarette, smiled innocently and said, "Haha, little brother, I've been waiting for a long time. Sister Man told me yesterday that we had to reach our destination early this morning, so I got up before dawn and fed the two animals. I thought I could come earlier, but I didn't expect to be a little late. I'm really sorry!"

Xu Damao waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "It's okay. I didn't wait for more than a few minutes. Come on, brother, lend a hand and help me put this thing on the car and fix it."

As he spoke, he stretched out his hands, lifted the exquisite longevity screen with great effort, and motioned the driver to come over to help.

The driver hurried forward and together with Xu Damao carefully placed the Baishouping on the cart.

Then he looked around and asked in confusion, "Okay! Is this all you have? There's still plenty of space on my cart. Why don't you put your bicycle on the cart, and we can go to the capital together by horse-drawn carriage. This way you won't have to ride the bike yourself, and you won't have to suffer from the cold."

After saying this, he enthusiastically invited Xu Damao to ride in the carriage.

"No, it's not a short distance to the city. It's a long way to go. It's better to let the two horses pull less. This way they can be more relaxed. I can just ride the bike and follow slowly behind."

Xu Damao waved his hand and said.

"That's good! But brother, this thing looks like a screen, right? Such exquisite things were only available to wealthy families in the past. How could ordinary people like us easily see such rare things?"

The coachman looked at the items on the carriage and asked Xu Damao curiously.

"Yes, brother, you have a good eye! This thing has a great origin. It is an antique handed down from the Qing Dynasty. It is worth a lot and is definitely a valuable item."

"So you have to be careful when you use the rope to fix it. It's best to put a piece of cloth under the rope first to avoid scratching or damaging it accidentally."

Xu Damao warned in a serious tone.

"Okay! Don't worry, brother. I just happen to have some rags left in my car that can be used."

After that, the coachman deftly placed the rags under the ropes, and then began to carefully tie up the longevity screen. After a short while, the longevity screen was firmly fixed on the carriage.

After everything was ready, the coachman raised the whip in his hand, and the crisp and loud whip sound echoed in the air. With his shout, "Go!", two horses started to move forward, pulling the carriage with only a hundred-year-old screen on it, slowly moving towards the capital.

Xu Damao turned around and took a last reluctant look in the direction of Zhang Meifang's house, as if he wanted to imprint the scene there deeply in his mind.

Then he got on his bicycle, pedaled hard, followed closely behind the carriage, and headed towards the capital together.

Time passed minute by minute, and before I knew it, it was already past eight o'clock in the morning.

At this time, they passed by a small town. Xu Damao had sharp eyes and immediately saw someone selling mutton soup in the small market on the side of the road.

The aroma that filled his nose instantly aroused his appetite. It happened that Xu Damao and the driver had not had breakfast either.

So he hurriedly called the driver in front, and the two of them stopped the car, walked into the market, found an empty seat and sat down. Xu Damao ordered two bowls of steaming and fragrant mutton offal soup.

After Xu Damao and the driver drank a bowl of steaming and fragrant mutton offal soup in big gulps, they suddenly felt a warm current flowing through their bodies.

The surging warm currents quickly dispelled the slightest chill that had invaded the body, making people feel a cozy comfort from head to toe.

The carriage moved forward slowly, not very fast, like an old man strolling on a country road, leisurely and contented. On the way, the horses pulling the carriage even had some rest time.

The two horses panted and wagged their tails, seeming very satisfied with this rest.

Although the journey was long, Xu Damao and the driver did not find it boring at all.

Along the way, they talked and laughed happily, and the topics ranged from family matters to interesting things in the fields, and then to the prosperous scene of the capital, with constant laughter.

Through the conversation, Xu Damao learned that the coachman would never let the carriage return empty-handed every time he went to the city. He would help other families in the village purchase the items they needed.

At the same time, they can also buy some goods in the capital and bring them back to the village to sell, earning a little difference to supplement the family income.

After a bumpy journey, when they finally arrived in the capital, the sun had quietly set and the clock pointed to a little after three o'clock in the afternoon.

Xu Damao walked briskly in front of the carriage, while the driver drove the carriage closely behind him. Soon, they walked into a long and narrow alley.

Deep in the alley, there is a small courtyard, which is the residence bought by Xu Damao.

Xu Damao carefully moved the Baishouping off the carriage, and then readily paid the fare.

Finally, he even stuffed a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes into the driver's hand.

The driver took the cigarette and a smile as bright as a spring flower suddenly bloomed on his face, and even his eyes narrowed into slits.

"Thank you, little brother. I'll be leaving now. I have to buy some things before it gets dark. Otherwise, some things won't be available after dark."