Chapter 348: The Bouncing Cricket

When I heard the Horse Hunter say that, I was very pleased.

I felt deep disgust toward that Qiao San; that guy not only took my money, but also humiliated me.

Dealing with people like this, it's hard to calm the surge in my heart.

I asked the Horse Hunter, "This time you came from Ningyang, did you bring that bouncing cricket?"

The Horse Hunter replied, "I brought it. I brought over ten varieties of crickets, each with its own strengths."

I said, "What is the principle behind this cricket's jumping?"

The Horse Hunter said, "This cricket uses the thrust of its hind legs to spring forward. It jumps first, then spreads its wings to fly."

The kind I brought can bounce upward, but not in a perfectly straight upward trajectory; they can't do that,

instead they follow a slight arc.

It takes sifting through tens of thousands of crickets to find one like this,

and requires special training,

each time feeding, deliberately raising or moving the food to increase their jumping speed.

The training takes a long time before it succeeds.

How to defeat a flying cricket?

As long as that flying cricket comes within its launch range, it will fire out like a bullet,

then collide with the cricket flying in midair,

knocking it down.

When that cricket hits the ground, its body inevitably flips over.

At that moment, the cricket that bounced up lands on its body.

Then it bites the cricket's belly with its large teeth, killing it outright.

Hearing the Horse Hunter say that, I got wildly excited.

I hurriedly said, "Can we find a cricket to demonstrate it?"

The Horse Hunter replied, "Mr. Zhao, of course. We need a live cricket, and it must be able to fly."

I then turned to He Zuming and asked,

"Mr. He, besides Hongguo Li's cricket breeding in Sijiucheng, who else breeds crickets? We want to buy a flying cricket to try."

He Zuming thought for a moment,

"The Suo family in North City of Sijiucheng also breeds crickets; I know them. I can't act as the frontman; if I go out to buy crickets, Hongguo Li will find out.

Sigh, Jianqiang, I know what you're up to.

You want to find a cricket to test, then specifically deal with that Qiao San, right."

I said, "Yes, I just want to deal with those two mongrels. Damn, they not only took my money, but also fucking insulted me. I'll make a list for them and settle the scores properly."

"At that time, I indicated that you shouldn't get angry, especially that Li Tian's father, who is a capable person in Sijiucheng. You also saw that even the staff's vehicles didn't dare to check."

"To be honest, I've been hanging around Sijiucheng all these years, why am I still cooped up in that little shop?"

"It's not that I haven't earned money; it's that I keep losing at bug gambling."

"Sigh, I also love this, I enjoy gambling,

I say, every time the insects I pick lose, there's a reason."

"Damn, Hongguo Li actually sold me insects that were fed medicine."

"It was only when Mr. Ma mentioned it today that I understood," He Zuming said angrily.

"So that's why; He Zuming has been in the capital for so many years and is still so poor and destitute. I thought he didn't love money, but actually it's because he kept losing at cricket gambling."

"You can see it at the cricket‑fighting arena; He Zuming has a huge addiction to bug gambling."

I said, "Mr. He, we need to play with them properly. We'll find a way to retrieve all the money you've lost over the years."

"That's wonderful; I originally wanted to meet Wen Han through losing money. I feel that this way they won't look down on us and we have no way to get to know them; only by beating them, hurting them, will it become easy to make acquaintances, and they'll beg us."

"If we want to get to know them, it becomes easy; they'll start pleading for us."

"Old He, that statement is correct.

Just find a way to beat them, Jianqiang; you don't need to worry about money, Brother Mei over there is strongly supporting us," Zhu Sheng said.

I nodded,

"Mr. He, if we go buy a flying cricket, will Qiao San find out?"

"That's hard to say; who knows where his cricket came from. I don't know either. It might even be bought from the Suo family," He Zuming said.

The Horse Hunter said, "No need to emphasize that kind of flying cricket. I've said crickets can all fly,

but the one that can defeat Mr. Zhao takes off in a pot and lands in a pot; that's harder. We're mainly testing,

to see how powerful my bouncing cricket is, to make Mr. Zhao believe.

You can just go to the market and buy any fighting cricket."

Hearing the Horse Hunter say that,

I turned to Ding Li and said, "Ding Li, go buy a fighting cricket right now, we'll test it."

Ding Li said, "Alright. Mr. He, give me the address."

He Zuming gave Ding Li the Suo family's address and phone number,

and Ding Li left.

After about an hour or so, Ding Li returned.

He bought a total of five crickets,

costing around two thousand yuan.

Ding Li brought the crickets into the inn.

The horse hunter took these crickets from Ding Li's hand and gave them a glance.

"All of them are crickets fed medicine. It seems feeding medicine to Sijiucheng's crickets has become a tradition. Sigh, if this keeps going, it'll be pointless."

Ding Li said, "The Suo family crickets are really many; some are much larger than these. One costs several ten thousand yuan."

I said, "My Black‑head General cost a hundred thousand yuan, and I even paid a damn fifty thousand yuan in feeding fees, and they ended up ruining it."

He Zuming said, "Jianqiang, you can't say it like that; we mainly want to make contacts, so we have to spend some money to ask for directions."

"Right, Old He is right; without spending money, they simply won't let us compete," Zhu Sheng added from beside.

"Mr. He, don't misunderstand; next time we'll bring our own crickets to the competition. When roughly will they hold the next match?" I asked.

"It should be in another two or three days; there will definitely be a competition."

Some crickets need rest after a match. At that time, Hongguo Li will inform me," He Zuming said.

At that moment, the horse hunter took a cricket out of the jar.

He then placed it into the fighting bowl he had brought.

This cricket was large in size, looking around the bowl.

The horse hunter selected a cricket from the jar he brought,

And put it into the bowl.

This cricket was not big, but its spirit was clearly vigorous,

The horse hunter pulled a tweezer from his chest,

And fiddled with the large cricket,

The large cricket lifted its abdomen upward, and the horse hunter then used the tweezer to touch its belly.

The large cricket indeed flew up.

It flew out of the bowl with ease.

That's the difference between Qiao San's bomber and this cricket.

As the large cricket was about to fly out of the bowl, the horse hunter's cricket suddenly sprang up in place, truly like a bullet.

It rammed its head straight into the cricket flying above.

The flying cricket was knocked down into the bowl, its six claws pointing upward.

The small cricket descended rapidly in the air onto the large cricket's body,

Then it used its steel teeth to bite hard into the large cricket's belly.

The large cricket quickly kicked its leg and fell lifeless.

Seeing the scene, He Zuming was overjoyed,

Clapping both hands,

"This cricket is amazing. Mr. Ma, no, Master Ma. Oh, Zhu Sheng, why didn't you say it earlier? You caused me to lose so much money. If you had invited Master Ma sooner, I would have gotten rich in Sijiucheng long ago."

Zhu Sheng laughed, "Inviting Old Ma now is to help Jianqiang, for our cause, not for your gambling."

"Old He, I finally understand why you're poor—did you lose all your money gambling on crickets?"