"Brother Zhou, you have taught me some secrets of raising insects recently. What about choosing insects? I want to choose a general. I haven't gone to fight insects for a few days, and I feel itchy!" Shen Wan couldn't wait to come to him early in the morning to see him off. Zhou Xu rubbed his hands in the small courtyard.
Zhou Xu laughed when he heard this and said, "Third Young Master is a very ambitious insect farmer. He is extremely skilled and wants to pick out a few good insects to raise, right?"
Shen Wan chuckled: "That's right, you have to use what you learn, otherwise we wouldn't have learned it in vain!"
Zhou Xu nodded: "On the eighth day of the month today, I knew that the Third Young Master would definitely come to see me. Let's go to the market to see if there are any good insects lately!"
Shen Wan's eyes lit up and he said, "You are finally willing to help me pick out insects! That's great, Brother Zhou!"
…
On the carriage going to the market, Zhou Xu said: "We will pick out the worms in a while, the third young master must remember [five no-sees]!"
Shen Wan asked curiously: "What is five no-sees?"
"The first one is winter melon frost on the insect's neck; the second one is the fingernail mark on the insect's neck; the third one is the insect's wings embroidered on the shoulders or falling off the shoulders; the fourth one is the traces of the insect's wing plaster; the fifth one is the insect's wings with white ribs!"
Zhou Bi, also known as Zhou Xu in front of Shen Wan, the five points he mentioned were actually taught to him by Xu He.
Since ancient times, the area south of the Yangtze River, especially Songjiang, Yangzhou, and Hangzhou, is the most popular place to play with insects.
This tradition has also been passed down to later generations.
The insect market in Yangzhou is usually mixed with antique shops in the same market.
When Xu He was studying antique appraisal in his former work unit, he often visited several antique markets in Yangzhou.
Over time, I became familiar with some of the insect friends inside.
Although he doesn't like to play with bugs, he is still familiar with this industry.
He had also read several such books and put them into practice at the insect stall. With his intelligence, he soon became half an expert.
Some people may ask, can this half-expert fool Shen Wan?
It's really okay.
First of all, the activity of playing with insects really became popular in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, especially in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, when many people who played with insects appeared.
During this period, many famous books on song insects were published.
For example, the saying "Five Disappearances".
In fact, it is the content of a book written by a Chong family named Huang Jin.
Why not see each other?
In fact, it is a way to identify general bugs.
Anyone who plays with insects can recognize them at a glance.
Shen Wan can do this too.
But after Shen Wan bought the alien bugs and went back, he originally planned to kill everyone in the bug fight, but he didn't expect that these bugs would end up in a disastrous defeat.
So Zhou Bi told him, even if you are a general bug, you are not absolutely powerful.
If those five shortcomings are found on the body, it's okay if they are not obvious. Once they are obvious, even if they are aliens, they are still garbage bugs.
Once on the field, they are not as good as ordinary insects.
During the Wei Dynasty, the custom of playing with insects had just begun. Shen Wan had never heard of this experience summed up by the wisdom of later generations. After hearing this, his eyes lit up. When he arrived at the market, he quickly dragged Zhou Bi to pick out insects.
But where can a good insect be found so easily?
They picked from the time the sun had just risen until noon. They were so hungry that they only bought four or five insects that were of acceptable quality.
In the restaurant, Shen Wan sighed: "Although the method that Brother Zhou taught me is good, there are no good insects. I have learned the art of slaying dragons!"
Dragon Slaying Technique: There are no dragons in the world. If you learn the Dragon Slaying Technique, doesn’t it mean that you have no use for it?
Zhou Xu smiled slightly: "Third Young Master, you are too anxious. It is easy to find priceless treasures, but it is rare to find a lover. The same is true for buying insects. Good insects can be found everywhere, so can you still be called the King of Insects?"
Although Shen Wan knew what Zhou Xu was saying was right, she felt uncomfortable after all.
Zhou Xu knew that the person in front of him was now in an awkward position as an insect farmer.
From ancient times to the present, no one who plays with insects dares to boast that he has a thorough understanding of crickets. If he is like Zhou Xu, who he packages himself as, then wouldn't there be a victorious general in the world?
In reality this is impossible.
And Shen Wan is even more miserable. He is now saying, "I have money. I'm not afraid that I can't keep away the good bugs, but I'm afraid that I don't know the good bugs."
Also, since Shen Wan is rich, he is not afraid of not being able to collect good insects, but he is afraid that he will not be able to meet good insects.
The way to get a person into the game is to understand his needs.
After knowing these two points, Zhou Xu first used the "Insect Classic" taught by Xu He to hang up Shen Wan, making Shen Wan feel that there was hope for fulfilling the first request in his heart.
Next, Zhou Xu will give in to what he wants and help Shen Wan resolve his second request.
After solving the two demands, he completely won Shen Wan's trust.
The principle is very simple, but the operation requires careful planning, and from the beginning of the encounter, the bait must be dropped to lure the big fish into the trap step by step.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Zhou Xu said: "Third Young Master, if you don't have to eat too much wine, please rest your stomach. We still have to look for bugs!"
When Shen Wan heard this, he felt it made sense. He hurriedly grabbed two mouthfuls of rice and went downstairs with Zhou Xu.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I arrived downstairs, I saw a young man selling worms in the lobby of the restaurant. He bought a pancake, asked for a bowl of soup from the store, and sat on the doorstep to eat.
When Shen Wan saw this, he didn't even bother to trade for bugs with such a poor man.
But when I passed by, I found that the young insect seller had strung bamboo silk into bamboo cages and carried the other insects on burdens.
But around his waist was an exquisite tortoise shell gourd with a heart.
The tortoise shell is inlaid on a white horn cover, and paired with a shiny gourd, it looks extremely exquisite.
"Hey, insect seller, do you want to sell that gourd in your waist?" Shen Wan looked down at the young man.
The young man wiped his mouth and said, "No, I'm raising the King of Insects. After dinner, I'll go to the Insect House to make some money!"
Shen Wan sneered: "You are so poor that you can't even afford pancakes, and you still learn from others how to fight insects? What do you fight with? Are you in rags?"
His words caused laughter around him.
The young man was not worried and said naively: "It's impossible for a bug like me to lose, this is my [Eight Defeats and Long Pointed Wings]!"
Every insect owner has a different name for their insect, but this name is interesting. I don’t know anything else, but it’s certain that they won eight games in a row without losing.
When Shen Wan heard this, he immediately became interested: "Hey, show it to me! If it's good, I'll buy it, sir!"
The young man curled his lips and said: "I won't sell it! But it's okay to show it to you, so that you don't say I'm a liar!"
After saying that, he took off the gourd and poured out the worms inside.
Most of the people in this area like to play with bugs. As soon as the young man's bug was released, everyone came closer to take a look and immediately laughed out loud: "Young man, this bug is a useless bug. Are you bragging?"
"Haha, look at this insect. There are spots on its wings. It's not like those good insects with shiny wings!"
When Shen Wan saw it, he shook his head and said, "I don't want the bugs, just sell the gourd to me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his robe was tugged by Zhou Xu on the side.
