Chapter 339: Buying Crickets

Hongguo Li pointed to a side seat in the room.

I sat down there, and no tea was served to me.

I heard Qiu Xi ask He Zuming: "Mr. He, the year is over, those who went abroad have come back, and with the New Year everyone has some spare cash—I want to organize a cricket‑fighting tournament."

"Mr. He, please tell me, for this tournament, which seating direction will let me win."

Hearing Qiu Xi ask that, I finally understood why He Zuming had earned Qiu Xi's respect: he could calculate auspicious directions for her that would bring winnings.

Does cricket fighting also hinge on direction?

He Zuming stroked his beard and laughed: "Today is the Year of the Tiger, which belongs to wood, green, and its main direction is east. According to the year, east is relatively favorable. But we also need to look at the exact day you have set, plus your zodiac sign and the clashing day."

"Mr. Qiu, if you want a more detailed reading, we need to work it out properly."

"Fine, let's work it out—let He Zuming check the date too. As long as it's favorable to me, that's enough. Come on, let's go to the study to figure it out." Qiu Xi said, then rose from the bench and walked off.

He Zuming turned to Hongguo Li and said, "Mr. Li, this Mr. Zhao wants to buy crickets—please show him around. I'll go help Mr. Qiu pick a date."

Hongguo Li answered, "Mr. He, don't worry, go ahead and be busy—I'll look after Mr. Zhao here."

He Zuming glanced at me,

"Mr. Zhao, just tell Mr. Li what kind of crickets you want—he's the expert in this business."

I nodded,

"Mr. He, you're busy."

After they left,

Hongguo Li said to me, "I don't know what kind of crickets Mr. Zhao wants to buy."

I said, "Mr. Li, I'm new to this line and don't really understand these things. What varieties of crickets do you have?"

"Let me give Mr. Zhao a brief overview: crickets fall into four categories—four yellows, eight whites, nine purples, thirteen blues—altogether thirty-four grades."

"For yellows, copper‑skin yellow is the pick; for whites, white‑sesame head stands out; among purples, chestnut‑shell purple leads."

"Among the blues, the champion is the indigo‑blue hai."

"In color terms, roughly: white < black < purple < yellow < blue."

"But one shouldn't overgeneralize—sometimes a hue produces an outstanding specimen, a valiant warrior like a Batu‑lu, and such examples do exist."

"'You agree, right, Mr. Zhao?' Hongguo Li said, looking at me."

"'What Mr. Li said is quite right; then what makes a good cricket?' I asked."

"'A good cricket, in form, needs a square forehead, strong jaws, long legs, and wings that can open to be top‑grade; pointed heads, retracted necks, short legs, or soft feet make it low‑grade.'"

"'The superior wings recorded in the ancient Cricket Classic—pipa, plum‑blossom, azure‑gold, purple‑gold—are no longer seen nowadays.'"

"'The top‑grade crickets we have are exactly the kind I just described—brave and good at fighters.' Hongguo Li boasted in front of me."

I hurriedly said, "Please, Mr. Li, bring out the crickets so I can have a look."

"'All right, Mr. Zhao, wait a moment,' Hongguo Li said and went into another room."

Soon he brought out a jar.

He placed it carefully on the table,

"'Mr. Zhao, come have a look—now is not the crickets' active season in winter, so we must be careful,' Hongguo Li said."

I leaned in, following Hongguo Li's hand, and looked at the crickets inside the jar,

A jet‑black large cricket lay on the fine sand at the bottom of the jar.

Hongguo Li said, "This one is called the Black Head General; it's a celebrated cricket that has won matches. Mr. Zhao, have a good look—do you like it?"

I examined the cricket closely,

I thought to myself, "I couldn't care less."

It's just a cricket.

"'How much?' I asked."

"'One hundred thousand,' Hongguo Li said."

A single cricket for a hundred thousand—they really dare to ask that much!

I pretended not to care while looking at the cricket,

"'Mr. Li, I may not know much, but I really do like this cricket. Could the price be lowered a bit?'"

Hongguo Li shook his head,

"'Mr. Zhao, you don't realize how rare it is to find such a large cricket this season; picking a good one means sifting through thousands. This creature is picky about food—it needs fresh soybeans and drinks only the dew on lotus leaves.'"

"'Our crickets are all sold at a fixed price.'"

"'All right, then I'll take the Black Head General,' I said happily."

"'Mr. Zhao, you're decisive. May I ask whether you'll keep the cricket yourself or have it boarded?' Hongguo Li asked."

"'How does that work?' I asked, not understanding."

"'If Mr. Zhao knows the secrets of raising crickets, then after paying he can take the cricket away and raise it himself—its success or failure is none of our concern.'"

"'What I mean is, raising this creature is troublesome; look, the floor here is all yellow earth—you can't use wooden flooring or tiles, otherwise the delicate cricket will easily die.'"

"'Crickets like earth, like shade, and fear the cold—does your home have these conditions?'"

"'If we've spent over a hundred thousand on a cricket and then you take it home and it gets injured after a few days, what a waste that would be,' Hongguo Li kept nagging in front of me."

"'So you mean the cricket can only be boarded? Where would it be boarded?' I asked."

"'Mr. Zhao, you can board it here. We have people who specialize in raising crickets; we guarantee it will have food, drink, and lodging, and when the competition comes it could achieve instant fame.'"

"'Many young masters board their crickets with us, then take them out for the matches,' Hongguo Li said."

"'How much does the boarding cost?' I asked."

"'Five hundred per day, and if the cricket shows any problem we'll refund double,' Hongguo Li said."

"'Damn, raising a cricket at five hundred a day—this thing's cost exceeds human living standards by far.'"

This little thing, bought for 100,000 yuan, still costs 500 yuan a day to keep.

Damn, it's really high consumption.

Selling crickets makes more money than selling houses.

Seeing I didn't speak,

Hongguo Li said: "Mr. Zhao, do you know, the crickets placed here are all capable of winning matches,

After this match, the prize money is not just several hundred thousand; it's endless.

Investing in this, the future returns will be higher than you imagine.

I then happily said: "Alright, then I'll buy this Black Head General."

When the time comes, use it for the competition. Keep it here.

"Alright, Mr. Zhao, we've settled it. Xiao Yan, come in, make out an invoice and collect payment from Mr. Zhao." Hongguo Li shouted toward the outside.

Xiao Yan quickly ran in from outside,

"Mr. Zhao, we'll pay here. I'll make out an invoice; do you also need a receipt? We can issue a formal invoice here, and you can decide the item name." Xiao Yan laughed.

So that's how it is; I was saying, this thing is so expensive, but it can be reimbursed.

I laughed: "I don't need an invoice; I'll just play with it myself."

"Alright, I'll give you a receipt. The boarding fee for this cricket for three months is the standard charge—145,000 yuan total. Will you pay cash or bank transfer?" Xiao Yan asked.

"Make it 150,000; the extra will be a tip for you two. Be sure to take good care of my Black Head General." I said.

"All right, thank you, Mr. Zhao. I can tell you're a big spender, so rest assured—I and Mr. Li will take good care of the little bug." Xiao Yan said happily.

I took out money from my bag and handed it to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan made out a receipt for me.

Hongguo Li picked up a marker and wrote on the jar: Mr. Zhao, the date, etc.

Then he returned the cricket.