When Zhuang Rui was only five or six years old and still living in his family’s old house, his favorite game was cricket fighting. Back then, he and three or five little friends would often grab flashlights in the middle of the night and go searching for crickets among the broken bricks and tiles near Xima Terrace, and then they’d have contests to see whose cricket was the toughest.
Urbanization back in those days wasn’t like it is now, with buildings everywhere. Plus, the old house was located at the foot of Yunlong Mountain, teeming with all kinds of birds and insects. Every night, the air was filled with the sounds of bugs chirping and birds calling. If you casually lifted a stone, there might be a cricket or some other insect hiding underneath.
Aside from cricket fighting, after Zhuang Rui got to know Liu Chuan, the two of them also developed a love for raising katydids. To catch a really good one, they often went out to the vegetable fields on the outskirts of town, and they also got plenty of scoldings and spankings from Liu Chuan’s dad for bringing katydids to class to play with. But back then, owning a katydid that was entirely emerald-green and chirped loudly was undoubtedly a huge point of pride among classmates.
So when Zhuang Rui heard that urgent chirping sound just now, he immediately recognized it as a katydid’s call. Greatly surprised, he knew that most katydid-keeping happens in summer and autumn. Once winter comes, katydids generally can’t withstand the cold and die off. The katydids Zhuang Rui raised as a kid never survived until the New Year, but the katydid sound he just heard was loud and strong, clearly not the kind that’s barely hanging on by winter.
Following the sound, Zhuang Rui saw that the cricket's chirping was coming from Xiong Ge's chest, and couldn't help asking curiously： "Don't crickets all die in winter? How come yours is still chirping so loudly?"
"Hehe, I can tell you're not a real cricket guy, brother. What you're talking about are crickets raised in cages—of course they don't live long. Mine is raised in a gourd, kept close to my body every day, so naturally it's fine..."
Xiong Ge explained proudly while reaching into his chest. When he pulled his hand out again, his palm was tightly holding a cricket gourd that was red throughout with a purple-bright luster.
Through Xiong Ge's explanation, Zhuang Rui only then understood that what he had done before didn't even count as keeping crickets. Real good crickets could survive the winter, and some with longer lifespans could even live up to a year. But there were many nuances to this: first, winter crickets needed special attention to temperature—when it was low, try not to let them chirp; during the day, put them in the gourd and keep them in your bosom so the temperature rises with body heat. Second, although crickets loved to chirp, each session shouldn't exceed half an hour, and no more than three times a day, otherwise it would shorten the cricket's lifespan.
Listening to the cricket's chirping in front of him, Zhuang Rui felt as if he had returned to his childhood. He couldn't help saying to Xiong Ge： "Could you let me have a look at this？"
"Take it, but not too long—low temperature is bad for the cricket..." Xiong Ge was quite straightforward, handing the cricket gourd to Zhuang Rui.
As soon as the gourd touched his hand, Zhuang Rui felt a warmth in his palm. Taking a closer look, this cricket gourd was about 10 centimeters tall from mouth to base, with a belly that was quite plump, maybe seven or eight centimeters wide. The hollow-carved lid was like jade, exquisitely crafted, and the outer skin was a rosy red with a subtly calm luster, radiating a gentle, aged charm. Having crammed a lot of antique knowledge lately, Zhuang Rui knew this was a sign of a thick patina.
The cricket inside the gourd seemed to sense the drop in temperature and stopped chirping. While examining the gourd, Zhuang Rui habitually released the spiritual energy in his eyes.
“Huh？”
The moment the spiritual energy touched the gourd, a familiar sensation surfaced in Zhuang Rui's eyes—spiritual energy. Sure enough, a faint trace of energy merged with the spiritual energy in his eyes. Though the aura was faint and elusive, and the increase in spiritual energy returning to his eyes was tiny, Zhuang Rui could still clearly sense it—this cricket gourd clearly contained spiritual energy.
“Brother Xiong, is it? I like this thing. Are you willing to sell it? I used to play with these when I was a kid, and seeing one now brings back memories. If you’re open to selling, name your price.”
Zhuang Rui first handed the cricket gourd back to Brother Xiong, then kept a straight face and pretended to be quite casual as he asked. He knew everyone hanging around this market was a savvy veteran—the moment you show even a hint of interest in an item, they’ll start praising it like it's the rarest treasure on earth.
Though the spiritual energy contained in this cricket gourd was far less than in the couplet and the manuscript, it was still the third object with spiritual energy Zhuang Rui had encountered. If the price wasn't too steep, Zhuang Rui very much wanted to buy it.
“This one is for my personal enjoyment, not for sale.”
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Xiong Ge's face showed a hint of reluctance. This time he wasn't trying to drive up the price; it was just that he had been keeping this katydid for nearly half a year, carrying it on him every day and carefully feeding it various insects. He had grown attached to it, so hearing Zhuang Rui's request truly made him unwilling to part with it.
Not ready to give up, Zhuang Rui urged, "Xiong Ge, I really do like this one. Could you consider parting with it? Name your price, and if it's reasonable, I'll buy it. It's Chinese New Year — it'll be an auspicious start for you, and I'll get to take home something I enjoy. Everyone wins, right?"
“Xiong Ge, you can always get another one after Start of Autumn. This brother likes it, so let him have it.” Monkey chimed in from the side. In his view, a katydid was worth only ten or twenty bucks at most, so since this guy wanted to buy it, why not just sell it?
Xiong Ge's expression shifted; he was clearly tempted. This katydid had cost him 20 yuan half a year ago, and as for the gourd container, he had picked it up two years ago from a street stall when staying at his uncle's place in Tianjin for just over ten yuan.
With that in mind, Xiong Ge composed himself and said to Zhuang Rui, "This katydid of mine is top-notch, you know. You heard its call just now — crisp and loud. I'm not bragging, but among all the katydid enthusiasts in this market, no one can compete with mine. Since you really like it, I'll name a price. If it seems fair to you, I'll sell it..."
“Go ahead,” Zhuang Rui replied.
“One thousand yuan, no haggling. I'll throw in the gourd container too. This gourd is a fine piece — just yesterday, the old man from 'Ji Ya Xuan' up ahead offered me 800 yuan, and I still didn't sell.”
Brother Xiong said through gritted teeth, and his words were indeed a half-truth. The owner of the 'Ji Ya Xuan' antique shop had actually made an offer for this gourd yesterday, but it was only 100 yuan. Now, coming from Brother Xiong's mouth, he had conveniently added 700 more.
One thousand yuan, Zhuang Rui thought to himself, and decided to buy it. After all, since spiritual energy appeared in his eyes, this was the third item he had encountered that could increase spiritual energy. One thousand yuan wasn't too much money, and even if he lost it all, he could afford it.
"Alright, since Brother Xiong is willing to part with it, one thousand it is. Here's the money, take it, and this item is mine..."
Just as Brother Xiong and Monkey were sizing up Zhuang Rui's expression, Zhuang Rui spoke up. He directly took out his wallet from his pocket, counted out a thousand yuan, handed it to Brother Xiong, and took the cricket gourd. Following Brother Xiong's earlier example, he tucked the gourd close to his body. Brother Xiong indeed seemed somewhat reluctant. He took the money, casually counted it, and stuffed it into his pocket, but his eyes kept glancing toward where Zhuang Rui had placed the gourd.
Feeling the cricket gourd in his bosom through his clothes, Zhuang Rui slowly walked toward Liu Chuan's pet shop. He was somewhat pleased, after all, he had managed to get hold of an item with spiritual energy. Although the spiritual energy absorbed was a bit meager, it was still better than nothing.