Chapter 344: Competition Scene

Time passed quickly,

In the blink of an eye it became sixteen,

Having just passed the Lantern Festival,

The lanterns on the road haven't been taken down.

The whole Sijiucheng is filled with hanging lanterns, joyful and bright.

I and He Zuming got up early,

Hurry to the courtyard to compete.

Ma Lie Ren wanted to come with us to watch, but He Zuming refused,

He Zuming said: 'This competition, Jianqiang, you are also participating for the first time; bringing outsiders in on your first time.'

Then how would Qiu Xi view you?'

I nodded, feeling He Zuming's words made sense.

So we didn't let Ma Lie Ren go.

It was just He Zuming and I who went.

We drove to Yangquan Hutong; before entering the hutong, we saw many luxury cars gathered.

They were all parked at the hutong entrance; I drove my car far away before finding a parking spot.

After parking, I and He Zuming got out of the car.

We slowly walked toward the courtyard.

Then a traffic staff member came, seeing the cars parked here, prepared to start checking plates and fining.

From a black sports car came a man wearing black sable, about forty years old.

Only see he wore a thick shiny gold chain around his neck.

Seeing the staff member checking license plates,

He actually started scolding.

The staff member had to reason with him,

Didn't expect he didn't care at all,

He directly shouted at the staff: 'Do you know whose car this is? You just write it down; do you still want to keep this job?'

The staff member was stunned for a moment,

Then he said to the man in sable: 'Regardless of whose car, parking here obstructing traffic must be fined; if you don't move the car, we will tow it. Please don't obstruct law enforcement.'

The man in sable laughed: 'Looks like you really don't want to keep this job; this car belongs to Li Tian, Young Master Li; you write it down, and after that you'll lose your job.'

Damn. Old man deceiving you.'

After speaking, the man took out his phone to make a call,

Soon a white-fat young man walked out from the hutong and approached the staff,

A big slap was swung over,

And scolded: 'I'm just stopping for a moment, what are you checking? You can't even recognize the car, you lack any discernment.'

The staff member looked at the white-fat young man, covering his face, not daring to speak.

The sable-clad man shouted at the staff: 'What are you standing there for? Hurry up and apologize to Young Master Li.'

The staff had to say with a bowed face: 'Sorry, I didn't know Young Master Li was playing here; then I won't disturb your elegance, you guys play.'

After speaking, the staff nervously looked at the white-fat young man.

'Hmph, you still have some sense; forget it, I won't argue with you. Scram, all these cars here are my friends; you shouldn't ticket any of them. What obstructing traffic? This road is my home.' shouted the white-fat young man.

The staff hurriedly left here, not daring to ticket anymore.

I watched the scene before me,

This white-fat young man is one of the Four Young Masters of Sijiucheng, Li Tian, Young Master Li,

Didn't expect, these spoiled brats, in Sijiucheng are so arrogant.

He Zuming sighed: 'Alas, noble but without position, high but without people, arrogant above, violent below—this is a great fault. Come on, Jianqiang. Don't just watch the excitement.'

I quickly withdrew my gaze and followed He Zuming into the hutong.

We soon arrived at the courtyard gate,

Xiao Yan, seeing us come, hastily clasped fists,

'Mr. He, Mr. Zhao, please come inside.'

'Mr. He asked: 'When does the competition start?''

'Xiao Yan said: '11 a. m. You know these big shots wake up late.''

'Good, then let's go in and have a look. Come on, Mr. Zhao; today's competition will surely be exciting.' He Zuming said.

I returned Xiao Yan's salute, then followed He Zuming into the courtyard,

Arrived inside the warm shed,

Many people sat together chatting.

They seem to be players; some hold jars, showing off their insects to others.

Some just watch the excitement, flattering others' insects.

Some also brought beautiful women,

These women wear very little, intentionally showing off their charm in front of these men.

These are the nobles and influential people of Sijiucheng,

I watched them,

I felt these people have already drifted away from ordinary people's lives.

They are high above.

Their dress, food, housing and daily life all surpass ordinary people by dozens of times.

One of the women deliberately held her bag against her chest,

I recognize that style of bag,

That bag is priced at over a hundred thousand.

When it was almost eleven o'clock, the boss hurried in from outside,

Xiao Yan hurriedly said, "Boss, we've been waiting for you; you just arrived."

The boss replied, "Ah, never mind, couldn't find a parking spot. Quickly, let's go inside."

The boss entered the courtyard,

saw me and Mr. He,

walked to the side and whispered, "Mr. He, Mr. Zhao have arrived; here are your twenty bags of tea."

Then he pulled twenty exquisite cards from his pocket and handed them to me.

I took them,

These twenty amount to two million.

I said to the boss, "Thank you, boss."

"Ah, Zhao Laoban, may your banner rise in victory today." The boss shook my hand, then walked over to another man and gave him the cards.

The boss quickly handed out all the cards.

He gave Xiao Yan a subtle signal.

Xiao Yan understood, then went inside to report.

Qiu Xi came out of the room with Hongguo Li,

Qiu Xi said, "Everyone, happy New Year; here I, Qiu Xi, give you all a belated New Year's greeting.

We're holding a competition today; it's our first New Year's contest, meant to boost the program's atmosphere and let everyone have some fun.

It's almost eleven o'clock,

Xiao Yan closed the door,

no one will be let in,

we'll start the competition right away.

Everyone, follow me inside.

After finishing, Qiu Xi pushed open the room's door,

We and the others slipped in one after another into the room.

The room was furnished with simple furniture,

In the center, the Eight Immortals Table held a Dipper Basin.

Around the sides were Cricket Jars, and the crickets inside chirped.

It was very pleasant to the ear.

Hongguo Li said, "Everyone, quiet down; we'll follow the old rules,

Find your own bug; the jars have names on them.

I've already trained the bugs; I believe each will be exceptionally fierce today.

If you brought your own bug, register with me here.

We'll start the competition right away.

He Zuming and I found the Black-headed Grand General,

We opened the jar and saw that the Black-headed Grand General was quietly lying inside.

At this moment, everyone held their own bug.

Waiting for Qiu Xi to announce the start of the competition.

Qiu Xi then said, "Everyone, you don't need to ask now; we can't wait,

Hold your horses; let me explain the rules clearly to everyone first.

Don't cause any disputes later.

The starting stake is one bag of tea; participants may outbid each other without limit. The winner pays a 5% commission, as per the old rule.

As long as the bug doesn't bite, fight, or run away within the allotted time, it counts as a loss.

If it bites and kills, the owner bears the loss.

Bug size doesn't matter; no longer weighed on a scale.

Voluntary challenges.

After each round, pay the tea money immediately.

If you lack tea money, you can buy it on the spot from the boss; cash or transfer is fine.

Also, to avoid disrupting the competition order,

We'll leave only one person to compete, and the rest will rest in the Nuan Peng outside.

We provide tea and snacks there.

Wish everyone a happy time,

I'll reiterate: friendship first, competition second.