Chapter 343: with translation of chapter title

After I and He Zuming returned to the villa,

I then called Ding Li to ask when he and Zhu Sheng would be back.

Ding Li said: "Zhao Ge, we'll head back tomorrow morning. We just found the horse hunter. He has agreed to come with us, but it's snowing here. We want to wait until the snow stops before leaving."

I said: "That's fine. When you arrive, don't go to the guesthouse; we've already rented a villa. Just come straight over then."

Ding Li said: "Okay, Zhao Ge, we'll contact you again when we reach Xinfadi."

After contacting Ding Li,

I told He Zuming: "Zhu Sheng has already found that horse hunter; he agreed to come with us to Sijiucheng."

He Zuming said: "That's great."

I asked: "Is the competition still in the courtyard house in Yangquan Hutong?"

"'Exactly there; many people's crickets are being raised by Hongguo Li.' He Zuming said."

"'Is that boss also going?'"

"'He certainly has to go; the chips are all in his hand, and he will distribute them to everyone. That boss was able to start his business because I recommended him a few years ago to Qiu Xi, the boss Qiu.'"

"'That boss is a shrewd person, knows how to handle things; under Qiu Xi's arrangement, he opened a tea shop specializing in this.'"

"'Now I understand; I said, he respects Mr. He so much.'"

"'That's how society is: whoever is smarter, whoever is more capable, mainly depends on connections and opportunities, and whether one can seize them.'"

"'As long as someone has a patron, even loess can turn to gold.'"

"'Connections are always the primary factor. I drift in Sijiucheng under the pretense of doing feng shui, indirectly navigating connections.' He Zuming said."

"'Mr. He, I have one thing I don't understand: with such good connections, why don't you bring your elder brother He Dao Guang along, so he can get rich with you?' I asked He Zuming."

He Dao Guang is He Zuming's only son. Earlier, when I was in Zaocheng, I used connections to get him a job in urban management, a minor section chief.

He Zuming shook his head,

"'Jianqiang, you don't understand this, do you? My connections are like duckweed on water—not reliable.'"

"'I know what kind of person my son is.'"

"'You got him into the system back then; that was already good enough.'"

"'He has food and housing, a wife and children, and is about to retire—how happy. He's doing better than his father, will have a pension in old age. I have nothing.'"

"'What could he do in Sijiucheng,'"

"'If a person lacks ability, even my patronage can't lift him up; instead, he becomes a burden.'"

"'How much wealth a person can amass is predestined,'"

"'If one lacks the fate for wealth, don't dream of vast riches, or it will harm oneself.'"

"'My son has no talent; just having a place to support his old age would be good enough.'"

"'If he were to acquire vast wealth, it would actually harm him.'"

"'His fate is not sturdy; he cannot bear wealth.'"

"'Jianqiang, unlike you, your fate is sturdy; you can endure hardship and also bear vast wealth.'"

I laughed and said: "Mr. He, my fate isn't sturdy either, and that great wealth has flown away."

"'That's only temporary; what's a calamity? These years I've been waiting for you in Sijiucheng, knowing you'd come sooner or later.' He Zuming said."

"'In that case, Mr. He, we will surely be able to overthrow Zhou Renfeng.' I looked at He Zuming,"

hoping to find the answer on his face.

He Zuming lifted his head to gaze at the sky,

"'There is no greater sin than desire; no greater disaster than not knowing contentment; no greater fault than obtaining desire.'"

"'The Zhou family was ruined by not knowing contentment. Jianqiang, all difficult things in the world must start from the easy; all great things in the world must start from the small.'"

"'Success or failure hangs in the balance; the key lies in how one grasps it oneself.'"

Upon hearing He Zuming say that,

I also didn't speak; what he said made sense,

"'Everything starts from the simple,'"

"'Both major and minor matters require attention to detail.'"

He Zuming also didn't say it was a hundred percent,

"'Nothing is absolutely certain to a hundred percent.'"

"'People act, heaven watches; strive yourself and don't worry about the future.'"

The next day, Zhu Sheng and Ding Li brought the horse hunter from Ningyang.

A person specialized in catching crickets.

At a glance, the horse hunter's attire showed he was a rural old man.

His expression appeared dull and simple, but his eyes were actually full of experience.

In the villa, He Zuming briefly questioned him about several cricket-related matters,

and he could answer them all; he appeared to be a true expert.

He also brought over a dozen of his own crickets, all kept in gourd jars.

Because the temperature inside was low, the crickets lay motionless in their jars.

I quickly had Ding Li turn the air conditioner up to the highest setting, lest they freeze to death and be ruined.

I told the horse hunter: "I bought a large cricket, named the Black Head General. It's much bigger than yours; yours is too small,"

"'With such crickets fighting them, I feel there's no chance of winning.'"

The horse hunter shook his head and said: "Mr. Zhao, in cricket fighting, a large-headed cricket does indeed have an advantage, but because it is raised in captivity, it lacks wildness."

"'These few crickets of mine were all caught in the wild.'"

Their living environment is harsh,

Very aggressive.

This cricket fighting is just like villagers fighting.

Some are big in size but have very timid personalities, so they can't fight,

Some are small in size but have hot tempers, so they fight fiercely,

Easily frightening people.

Cricket fighting is the same,

It mainly depends on momentum.

How to stimulate the crickets' fighting spirit is key."

He Zuming nodded,

"What this horse hunter said is not bad; I've watched cricket fighting matches many times,

Some crickets look formidable, yet they lose to much smaller ones."

"This old gentleman is an expert; you can look at the crickets I brought—these are all personally trained by me. If you don't believe me, I'll have them fight right now to show you." said the horse hunter.

"No need, we trust you. Everyone just arrived, and these little guys have traveled a long way from Ningyang; they haven't even had a proper meal yet, so making them fight desperately isn't right either." I said with a smile.

"Exactly, Old Ma, you're a solid guy, we trust you. Having you here will certainly not disappoint you." Zhu Sheng said.

"Did you discuss the fee with Zhu Sheng?" I asked.

"Already discussed. I'm not in it for the money; mainly I'm grateful that Zhu Sheng thought highly of this old man.

Back when I was raising crickets, I needed a loan, and fortunately Zhu Sheng inspected our place, understood the situation, and personally helped me, so I got back on track." The horse hunter thanked Zhu Sheng.

"Those are things of the past, Old Ma, no need to mention them anymore. Now I also don't have the ability to help you with a loan." Zhu Sheng laughed.

"A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring; I will never forget Zhu Sheng's great kindness." The horse hunter continued.

"Haha, Old Zhu, gratitude has come your way. Today you should drink a cup properly. This is cause and effect: the good deeds you do in your position will be returned accordingly." He Zuming said.

I said: "Old Ma, being grateful to Zhu Sheng is your matter, but the fees that are due must be paid in full; you also have it hard coming from afar to us, we shouldn't let you work for nothing. Let's go eat first."

The horse hunter said: "When will we fight the crickets? I want to hurry and let my crickets win a few matches, also to repay Zhu Sheng."

"No rush, settle in first. Ding Li, after we finish lunch, let's buy some supplies for lodging.

Decorate our villa nicely to make it look upscale." I said to Ding Li.

Ding Li said: "Okay, Zhao Ge, after lunch I'll get busy with this."