As that group of courtesan women walked away with a flirtatious air, Chen Ji joked: "Romantic kind, now going to the brothel is just leaning on red and green, those women are vying to throw themselves into each other's arms. Didn't you see how affectionate that Nian Nu girl was towards Brother Zhou earlier? But Brother Zhou is not interested in romance, which makes him a heartless man in the eyes of romantic women. 'Ten years one dream of Yangzhou', winning the reputation of being heartless in the brothel, and Brother Zhou has only been in Hongzhou for seven days, but his reputation as a heartless man has already spread, haha."
The Sun brothers said: "Brother Zhou has a beauty like Little Wrinkle, who would still look at those ordinary women? The poem Brother Zhou gave to Little Wrinkle is really wonderful - 'Among the crowd, she stands out with one glance, human colors are like dust and dirt', this is the intention of exclusive favoritism."
Yang Xiaoyin lowered her head, and Zhou Xuan saw that the nape of her neck below her glittering earrings had turned red.
"Come on, let's hurry up, the insect war is about to begin."
On the Donghu Baihua Zhou, there is the largest insect club in Hongzhou, "Jin Feng Club". This Chongyang Festival insect fight was hosted by the "Jin Feng Club", and for three days, the fierce insects that can dominate the competition will receive a reward of 1,500 taels of silver. This is a large sum of money, so all over Baihua Zhou, there are people holding insect jars everywhere, some even came from hundreds of miles away, hoping to win this 1,500 taels of silver.
Zhou Xuan is now waiting for the revival of all industries, but also lacks silver. Bringing "untouchable" to Hongzhou isn't it just to make a fortune? Of course, he also wants to come and compete for this 1,500 taels of silver!
It's no wonder that the Golden Wind Society is the largest insect club in Hongzhou, its scale far surpasses Zhou Xuan's "Super Autumn War Hall". It has three insect fighting arenas, among which the largest one is a circular arena that resembles an ancient Roman Colosseum, capable of holding hundreds of people. Admission costs 50 coins per person, and there are clear rules for betting and collecting silver. Those who bring insects to participate in battles need to draw lots, and "Meng Dong" got the lot "Xin Hai".
Originally, this was to give each participating cricket a number, using the sixty Jiazi to number, and dividing into twenty-four solar terms. This numbering method can accommodate more than 1,000 crickets competing on the same field. To win the 1,500 taels of silver, "Mo Bu De" must kill its way through the blood road among these thousands of insects to finally reach the top.
"Jinfeng Society"'s insect fighting organization is quite well-organized, with over a thousand crickets divided into twelve groups. Each group has over a hundred insects, and only the first place winner can enter the final twelve-strong showdown. Those who make it to the top twelve will receive a reward of 120 silver coins. Each group must go through eight rounds of insect fighting to determine the first place winner, with four rounds in the morning and four rounds in the afternoon. The top twelve will be determined on the first day.
Zhou Xuan said to San Chi and Si Chi: "Such continuous battles are not beneficial for the insects. Famous insects, like famous swords, cannot be easily drawn out."
Four idiots deeply agree.
The Sun brothers knew the rules of "Jin Feng Society" and said: "You can skip the first four rounds, but you have to pay money. For the first round, you don't fight and pay two taels of silver, for the second round, five taels, for the third round, ten taels, and for the fourth round, forty taels. If you don't participate in all four rounds, you have to pay 57 taels of silver to "Jin Feng Society". As long as you win in the fifth round, these 57 taels of silver will be fully refunded to you."
Zhou Xuanxi said: "This rule is good, and the insect society can benefit from it. It can also protect the insects from getting too tired."
The Sun brothers looked at the four fools holding the black-backed insect as a treasure, shaking their heads and saying: "Brother Zhou, you'd better start with the first round, don't just give 'Jin Feng She' silver for nothing."
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "This insect of mine is weak when it encounters weakness, but strong when it encounters strength. Therefore, it's better to start participating from the fifth round." At this point, Lai Fu handed over 57 taels of silver under the name "Xin Zhi Meng Dong". In this way, "Mo Bu De" would begin its first insect fight in the afternoon.
The two brothers of the Sun family were excited to let their two insects participate in the first round of the competition. Zhou Xuan took a look at the two insects, one was mid-level and the other was high-level, they should be able to make it to the fifth round in the afternoon.
Unexpectedly, the yellow-backed bug of the upper school level encountered a green-backed bug at the lieutenant general level in the first round and was bitten to defeat. Sun Zhan exclaimed that he had bad luck and could only admit defeat when he met the green-backed bug.
Another middle school-level player didn't encounter any strong opponents in the first three rounds, and advanced to the fourth round, where it met a yellow-backed beetle of the same level, after a fierce battle, it was defeated.
The Sun brothers didn't have much hope for these two insects, winning would be delightful and losing would also be acceptable. He said to the black ceramic pot held by the four fools: "Brother insect, this afternoon it's all up to you to turn the tide."
"Jinfeng Society" has many rules, and members of different groups are not allowed to interact with each other, so Zhou Xuan only knows that the "Yin Group" has a green-backed beetle, but he doesn't know how many green-backed beetles the other groups have.
It was almost noon, and Chen Ji said: "Brother Zhou, there is a 'Chengtian Temple' on the east side of the lake, which is the most famous Zen temple in Hongzhou. The abbot monk and I are old friends, let's go beg for a meal."
A group of over ten people strolled to the outside of Chengtian Temple, where they saw a forest of ancient cypresses outside the mountain gate. The temple's halls were majestic, with many Buddha statues and a thousand-Buddha vase in the front hall. This thousand-Buddha vase was quite rare, with over ninety Buddha statues decorating its exterior, each one simple yet dignified, with different facial expressions.
Live
When he learned that Mr. Shi was coming to visit, he hurried out to welcome him.
Chen Ji introduced Zhou Xuan to the abbot, who had already gained a reputation in Xingzhou over the past few days. The abbot, being an outsider, had also heard of him and showed great respect.
Zhou announced that he would donate 100 taels of silver for the repair of the Buddhist temple, praying for the peace and safety of his parents a thousand years later.
Everyone in the temple was delighted, and Chen Ji told Zhou Xuan about the origin of "Chengtian Temple", saying that it was originally called "Shanglan Temple". Later, due to the suppression of the dragon, it was renamed "Dafu Temple". During the Tang Kaiyuan period, the Chan master Shi Daoyi lived in this temple and changed its name to "Kaiyuan Temple"
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"Thousands of years later, this temple will be renamed 'Youmin Temple', you didn't know that!"
The four fools suddenly exclaimed, their eyes fixed on a worshipper, who was a wealthy man in his fifties, devoutly burning incense in front of each Buddha statue, muttering to himself.
Zhou Xuan saw Si Chai's strange expression and asked: "Fourth brother, do you know this rich man?"
The four fools' ears perked up, listening carefully to the rich old man's prayer, and their faces became even more bizarre. "Zhou Xuan," they said, "come closer and listen to what this person is saying."
Zhou Xuan didn't understand what the four fools meant, and walked closer to the rich old man. He saw that the rich old man was praying to Buddha while saying: "My son's cricket has been lost and then found again, all thanks to the protection of the Buddha, the Bodhisattva, and the Arhat..."
Zhou Xuan still didn't understand what Si Chai meant, so he turned his head and looked at him, indicating that he was asking a question.
The four fools said in a low voice: "Last time, 'Tiger Fool Xu Chu' borrowed from this person."
Zhou Xuan's eyes widened as he looked at the rich old man, then at Si Chou. The rich old man had glanced at Si Chou earlier but didn't react, clearly not recognizing him. It seemed that when Si Chou said "borrow", he actually meant steal. Later, Dao Yi returned the General-level "Tiger-crazy Xu Chu" in a thieving manner.
Only four fools said: "This man is a big rich man in Fuzhou, how did he run here? Is it to participate in the Hongzhou Chongyang insect war?"
Zhou Xuan and Si Chou exchanged a glance, then looked at the black ceramic jar in Si Chou's hand together, their minds thinking the same thing: "If 'Tiger Crazy Xu Chu' participates in this insect battle, 'Molested' will be in a precarious situation!"
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment and then smiled: "What's there to be afraid of? Fighting insects is only fun when you encounter strong opponents. Winning in one battle is boring."
Si Chou looked at Zhou Xuan's eyes and said: "Zhou Xuan, I really admire you on the Dou Huang, you have a domineering aura. Last time when we met 'Tiger Chou Xu', you didn't show any fear. This time, I believe you still have a way to win."
Zhou Xuan smiled and said: "Thank you, Mr. Fourth, for the compliment, but I didn't bring any pills this time, what can be done?"
The lovely and charming Yang Xiaoyin hesitated for a moment before walking up to him, stuttering repeatedly, and calling out: "Young Master..."
Yang Xiaoyin took the initiative to call someone, which was a rare thing. Zhou Xuan turned his head and asked: "What's wrong with Xiaoyin?"
Yang Xiaoyin said with a bashful smile: "Let's go home."
"Go home? I haven't even had lunch yet, and there's still the insect fight this afternoon. Why do I have to go home?" He looked at Yang Xiaoyun with a measuring gaze.
Yang Xiaoyin saw Zhou Xuan looking at her, and her face suddenly turned red like rouge, her body lightly twisting, as if tempting Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan suddenly lost his smile and leaned in close to ask: "Do you want to go to the bathroom?"
Yang Xiaoyan's face turned red and hot, and she almost imperceptibly nodded her head.
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "It's okay, I'll take you there." He asked the temple monks for directions and led Yang Xiaodiao around to the back of the hall.
This Chengtian Temple is a large temple with flourishing incense and many devout men and women. For the convenience of female devotees, there is a special ladies' toilet built.
Yang Xiaoyin, because she rarely went out, was at a loss when she encountered an emergency, which would make Zhou Xuan both shy and grateful. She thought: "The young master seems to know everything, even this can be seen at a glance, it's really embarrassing."
Zhou Xuan and Yang Xiaoyin returned to the front hall, knowing that the guest monk had come to invite them to "Wu Guan Tang" for a vegetarian meal, accompanied by the abbot himself.
Chengtian Temple's vegetarian meal is very famous, without involving meat or fish but with a fresh and delicious taste. Black mushrooms, white tofu, green peppers, yellow flowers, green bitter melon, red pumpkin, Zhou Xuan's appetite was greatly opened, and he ate three large bowls of rice.
Sun Zhan loved to joke and said: "Brother Zhou has donated silver, his heart aches, so he should eat more bowls of porridge to make up for it."
Everyone laughs.
As the time was approaching, everyone bid farewell to the abbot and headed towards Baisuo Island. The four fools looked around east and west, wondering if that rich man had arrived? Indeed, they saw that rich man outside the "Golden Wind Society" ring-shaped insect pavilion, accompanied by two young servants, one of whom held an insect jar.
"'Tiger Fool Xu Chu' has really come!"
(Reading quickly)
