Chapter 10: Selling Insects

Zou Yue'e, however, remained calm and composed, chattering away enthusiastically about the cricket, yet did not lift the lid for them to see

The middle-aged boss was taken aback, "... ... let's take a look first." He pushed aside several second-hand housing posters on the counter, steadily grabbed the jar, lifted the lid, and his eyes brightened, "Hey, it's been a while since I've seen such a dark variety, quite beautiful.

Indeed! Quite ferocious!

More and more people are gathering to watch

The black-headed cricket took a stroll around the scale, and both the boss and several students appeared quite surprised: "Eight point four? That's quite large!"

I am not quite accustomed to such situations, and I always feel a bit embarrassed

My black pearl suddenly tilted its head, raising its large, scissor-like teeth. With a snap, it bit down heavily on the opponent's head, elegantly twisting its body and directly toppling the Grand Marshal to the ground. Afterwards, it stood proudly, letting out a cry of victory. In the blink of an eye, the outcome was decided

At the end of the stone path, there is a square white stone table.

Her shout indeed attracted quite a number of onlookers

Zou Yue'e cast a sidelong glance at the cricket jar and said, "Little classmate, with your tiny stature, how dare you call yourself the Grand Marshal? I think 'Little Grain of Rice' suits you better, and it fits the picture too!" Her words were quite sharp.

I am here

Before Aunt Zou could respond, a middle-aged man with a prominent belly suddenly stepped between us, saying, "Hold on, you say this insect is for sale, what is the price range?"

Zou Yue'e squinted her eyes and clapped her palms with a fan: "Are there no more challenges left?"

Two slightly older young men sitting under the shade of a tree volunteered to step forward

I will give it a try

At this moment, a boy who looked like a middle school student sitting next to me scoffed and said, "Sister, what you said is quite absurd, isn't it?"

We went to a small garden near the Fuchengmen Overpass. According to the fish vendor, many people who bought crickets from the Guanyuan Bird Market come here to exchange information, including quite a few wealthy patrons. Unlike the average cricket enthusiasts, many affluent individuals engage in gambling related to this, so if they take a liking to someone, they are willing to spend tens of thousands of yuan.

"Five thousand?" The boss smiled as he pushed the cricket jar back, saying, "You can keep it well; rest assured, no one in the entire official bird market would be willing to pay five thousand yuan for it."

Everyone applauded

This strike is severe, oh!

The man confidently placed the jar he was holding in his arms onto the table, lifted the lid, and used a type of grass found by the roadside, specifically for probing, to poke at the cricket's antennae. After a series of loud chirps, the boy glanced at Zou Yue'e and said: "The Grand Marshal is a seven-li-two insect, should we still pinch it?"

The collision between teeth is fleeting

I strolled into a relatively formal shop with Zou Yue'e.

Zou Yue'e chuckled and added, "It is 8.6."

The boss let out a sound: "The crickets from Beijing are several levels below those from Shandong. Don't be fooled by their size; their fighting ability is lacking. Young man, here's the deal: I'll take this one from you for one thousand yuan."

A few people find themselves in a difficult situation, unable to back down, and can only brace themselves to face the challenge head-on

Rest assured, it is definitely a good bug. A few students nearby also gathered around.

As the saying goes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment

"Go ahead and try!" He poked a classmate beside him and said, "Aren't you going to let that big marshal give it a shot?"

In the past, it was still possible to find good crickets in Beijing, such as in the Eight Great Places of Xishan, the Yungang area west of the Yongding River, and the Ming Tombs in Changping. However, in recent years, the overall quality of crickets in Beijing has declined. There are only a few scattered ones left, and there are no longer any crickets of good quality. Most of the crickets sold in the market are from Shandong, with those from Sidian Town in Ningyang County, Tai'an, being the most famous. Therefore, when he says that the fighting quality of Beijing's crickets is poor, it is not without reason. There are no longer any crickets of good quality, and most of the crickets sold in the market are from Shandong, with those from Sidian Town in Ningyang County, Tai'an, being the most famous. Therefore, when he says that the fighting quality of Beijing's crickets is poor, it is not without reason

Perhaps to validate his words, for the next hour, I inquired thoroughly both inside and outside the market. There were those asking for 800, some for 300, and even more outrageous were those who thought I was inexperienced, demanding as much as 50 yuan.

Good! Wonderful!

Where there is liveliness, there are Chinese people

I shook my head, half-heartedly saying: "It's too cheap; it should at least be 5,000, right?"

"Xiao Jing, let's switch." Zou Yue'e handed me her flower pot and took the cricket jar, saying, "I see that you don't quite know how to sell things."

Everyone burst into laughter

There are those who stroll with their birds and chat about them, and others who play chess and Go, creating a lively atmosphere

Uh, it is clearly 8.4.

After a brief discussion, Zou Yue'e walked over to a few young people who were engaged in a cricket fight. She flipped the cricket jar onto the stone table, settled herself comfortably on the stone bench with her legs crossed, and took out a small paper fan from her handbag labeled L and the book V. She leisurely fanned herself and said, "Is anyone interested in crickets? These are authentic Shandong crickets, with black heads and bodies, absolutely of good quality, now for sale."

Several middle school students were extremely angry, clamoring for Aunt Zou's cricket to make an appearance

Zou Yue'e chuckled and glanced at him: "Don't believe it? How about we have a little contest to see?"

"No, it was caught in Beijing." I am a rather honest person, speaking frankly: "Right by the moat."

I retrieved the cricket jar and silently exited the store

It is understandable that people generally go to Shandong to purchase crickets in bulk at low prices, and naturally, they are unwilling to spend several thousand on a single cricket

I awkwardly scratched my head and said, "Then I trouble you."

Just as Zou Yue'e and I were preparing to step outside for some fresh air, a kind shop owner selling fish beside us leaned over the aquarium and suggested a place, saying we might as well try our luck there

I thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Alright."

Zou Yue'e smiled and said: "I won't say any more unnecessary words, take the 30,000 yuan."

The boss steadied himself and once again observed the cricket closely, asking, "Such a large specimen, is it from Shandong?"

Thank you

However, at the moment when Zou Yue'e slowly unveiled the cricket's veil, the master of the Grand Marshal almost jumped up, exclaiming, "Eight Li!"

Sighing, I deeply miss the bird market at Guanyuan in Xizhimen from the past. At that time, many enthusiasts set up stalls to sell the good insects they had caught near the single-story houses at the easternmost part of the bird market. There was no stall fee to pay, and there were no restrictions, allowing for a high degree of freedom

A couple of young people were squatting in the corner, sorting through a pile of six-li cricket jars made of small porcelain. Zou Yue'e placed the rather heavy orchid pot snugly in the corner and then looked up to play with a talking parrot in a cage. I walked to the front of the stage and set the cricket jar down on the glass panel, "Boss, do you buy crickets here?"

Uh, it was clearly me who caught it with the moat, so how did it become a Shandong cricket?

The boss adjusted the cricket probe with a satisfied expression, "Shall we weigh it?"

Without losing money or ground, our way of playing does not need to be so formal. Since my cricket jar is relatively large, it naturally became the arena. The competition officially began, and the Black Pearl immediately spotted the Grand Marshal the moment it entered the arena. With a fierce display, it pounced forward, and the Grand Marshal did not back down, biting back head-on.