In the early morning, after dressing properly, Wu Sicheng stood in front of An Moxue's door. Before he could knock, the door opened from the inside.
"Mo Xue, are you ready?"
"Okay, let's go! I already talked to Uncle Ma about it yesterday."
With the flashlight on, Wu Sicheng saw that An Moxue was wearing black trousers and a white shirt, and Wu Sicheng was dressed the same way.
Despite their simple attire, these two exceptionally elegant individuals managed to create the impression of high-end business wear.
"No, wait for me." An Moxue said, and was about to go back into the house.
Wu Sicheng stopped her and asked, "What?"
An Moxue replied: "Get two things to cover your face!"
“I’ve taken them, let’s go!” He held up the two masks in his other hand to her.
"OK."
The two people quickly left.
Wu Sicheng stopped the car one street away from the ghost market.
An Moxue asked, "Have you been here before?"
“Yes, I used to come here a lot with my uncle when I was little. Next time you go to my uncle’s house, go to my room. There’s a small study next to my bedroom. There’s an ornament on the desk. If you turn left nine times and right eight times, you’ll find a secret room full of my old treasures.” After saying that, Wu Sicheng got out of the car with the mask in his hand.
Walk through a hidden alley and go straight through; that's the street where the ghost market is located.
Wu Sicheng put a mask on An Moxue, and then put on the rest himself.
I took her hand and walked over, paid two yuan at the gate, and went inside.
The market was crowded, with kerosene lamps in front of each stall and flashlights in hand. No one spoke loudly; everyone spoke in hushed tones or used hand gestures to communicate. As a result, the entire ghost market was orderly and without a trace of disorder.
He asked in a low voice, "Have you been here before?"
An Moxue searched through her memories and, sure enough, the original owner's father had indeed brought her here before, and more than once.
"Yes, I've been here before. I remember once I saw a pen holder that I liked, but it had already been bought by a young man. I was upset for a long time. When I got home, my dad gave me a good lesson on the common sense of the ghost market. That was my first time here. I never saw that young man again after that. I still remember what that pen holder looked like."
"So you really like that pen holder? What kind is it?"
"The colorful relief of celestial maidens—back then, I dreamed of being a fairy like that, able to float around freely, both beautiful and powerful. It seemed so wonderful." She finished speaking and laughed, though her voice was very soft.
Wu Sicheng was amused, but only smiled faintly. "Now that you're a fairy, you're very capable, which is already quite remarkable. But I think I have a pen holder that looks a lot like the one you described. I'll find it for you sometime. It'll be perfect for storing pens when you go to school or come home."
An Moxue chuckled at his words, and the two walked and looked around.
Almost every stall was occupied. An Moxue stopped at an empty stall, which was filled with porcelain.
An Moxue picked up a colorful vase decorated with a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix, looked at it, and said to Wu Sicheng, "I'll buy this for flower arranging. The vase is vibrant, and the design looks auspicious." She then looked up and asked the shopkeeper, "How much is it, sir?"
The shopkeeper chuckled, his eyes squinting so much they disappeared, making him look like a Maitreya Buddha. "You two have excellent eyesight. This has been passed down from my ancestors for hundreds of years. It's a genuine antique. No bargaining, three thousand."
An Moxue put it down, letting out a mocking "heh heh".
"Boss, you know what this is. I'm not buying antiques, I just want a nice vase to put some flowers in at home. It's no fun with you talking like this. Three thousand? You ask me if I'll pay you thirty? Do you have any antiques in this pile? The bowls and plates you sell wholesale on Qianmen Street look exactly the same as the ones on your stall, even the patterns are the same."
After An Moxue finished speaking, the boss cursed inwardly. Had she just finished shopping at Qianmen Street? Otherwise, how would she know where I bought my bowls and plates wholesale?
Actually, he bought the bottle for 1.5 yuan; he just liked its bright and pretty colors.
The boss patiently asked, "How much money can you offer, boss?"
An Moxue replied with a hint of pain, "Three yuan." She secretly reached out and tickled Wu Sicheng's palm with her finger.
Upon receiving the message, Wu Sicheng understood and reluctantly said, "What bottle? It's worth three yuan? How much is our monthly salary? Don't buy it. We might as well buy a can. The fruit and water are edible, and the bottle can be used to hold flowers and other things. It's only two yuan and fifty cents." As Wu Sicheng spoke, he snatched the bottle from An Moxue's hand and pulled her away.
An Moxue looked back repeatedly, reluctant to leave, "This bottle is colorful; it looks better with flowers than a glass bottle!"
Seeing the two about to leave, the shopkeeper quickly called out to An Moxue, "Hey! Comrade, wait a minute. Twenty yuan, just to cover the cost and make a sale. You can take it and I'm hoping for a lucky start."
An Moxue pretended to grab Wu Sicheng, who was about to leave, and said, "This bottle is pretty, I want to buy it."
Wu Sicheng reluctantly said, "Five yuan. Take it if you want, or don't."
The boss shouted, "Add some more, add some more, I'll take the loss, okay? Just to make things go smoothly."
"Five yuan." Without any intention of backing down, he pulled An Moxue away.
Seeing that they were really going to leave, the boss quickly stopped them, "Hey! Alright, alright! I'm scared of you, I'll sell it to you."
Wu Sicheng reluctantly took out five yuan and held it in his hand, but didn't pay, muttering, "Can you give me two bowls to use for serving rice at home?"
The shop owner's voice was full of helplessness, "Alright, alright, you can choose whatever you want, but you can only choose the small bowls in this row."
“Okay.” Wu Sicheng squatted down, picked out two bowls, handed over five yuan, and An Moxue picked up the vase and looked at it from left to right.
As he left the stall, he muttered, "This five yuan is enough for our living expenses for half a month."
The shopkeeper shook his head, "What kind of man is he? He can't even spare five yuan, yet he dresses like a proper gentleman! It's really frustrating for a woman to marry a man like that."
As they walked, they could still hear the boss grumbling. An Moxue suppressed a laugh and looked at Wu Sicheng. He looked at her helplessly, "Who am I doing all this for? And you're still laughing?"
An Moxue held the bottle, leaned on Wu Sicheng's arm, and laughed so hard she couldn't straighten up.
Wu Sicheng stopped, looked at her, and asked, "Alright, are you planning to laugh from one end to the other?"
An Moxue stopped laughing, and an item on a nearby stall caught her attention.
She crouched down, picked up a paperweight next to the object, examined it closely, then picked up an incense burner, and looked at several other items repeatedly. Finally, she chose the two most beautiful and exquisite hand warmers and an inkstone. "Boss, how much for the two?"
Just as the shopkeeper was about to launch into a long-winded introduction of his items, An Moxue interrupted him, "Stop. Look at this bottle in my hand. I'm just buying it because it looks nice. I don't want to listen to your useless boasting. Just give me a fair price."
The shop owner hesitated, as he rarely saw customers like this. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Give me two hundred for these two items. If not, forget it."
"One hundred, just to add a little something extra." An Moxue pointed to the pile of things she liked, and the shopkeeper thought for a moment before handing her the first thing An Moxue had picked out.
An Moxue said disdainfully, "I was talking about this whole pile, not this dark, unappealing thing."
The shopkeeper said shamelessly, "It's either this or I won't sell it."
An Moxue reluctantly replied, "Fine!"
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