There is a man named Cheng Ming in the county, who is a scholar and has not been admitted to the scholar for a long time. He was dull and inarticulate, and was reported to the county by cunning petty officials, demanding to take over Li Zheng's work. No matter how hard he tries, he can't get rid of (his post). In less than a year, the meager family property went up in smoke. I met crickets by chance, but I dare not blackmail the people after I became famous, but I have no money to pay for it. I am sad, depressed and want to die. His wife said, "What's the good of dying? It is better to find it yourself, hoping that one in ten thousand may catch one. " Fame thinks these words are right. I went out early and came back late, carrying a bamboo tube and a silk cage at the foot of a broken wall. In the weeds, digging stones and digging big holes, all kinds of methods were exhausted and finally failed. Even if we catch two or three, they are still weak and their styles don't match. The county magistrate set a deadline, pursued it severely and became famous in one fell swoop. In ten days, he was beaten hundreds of times, his legs were dripping with blood, and he couldn't even catch crickets. He tossed and turned in bed, trying to kill himself.
At this time, a hunchback witch came to the village. She could predict bad luck through ghosts and gods. The famous wife prepared a gift to pray to God. I saw a beautiful girl and a white-haired old woman crowded at the door. The famous wife walked into the witch's house and saw only a dark room with curtains and an incense table outside. The man who prayed to God put incense on the censer and bowed twice. The witch looked at the sky and prayed for them, her lips closed and she didn't know what to say. Everyone is in awe. Listen. After a while, a piece of paper was thrown indoors, on which was written what the prayer man wanted to ask, without any mistakes. The famous lady put the money on the case and burned incense and bowed down like the people in front. About a meal, the curtain moved and a piece of paper fell. Pick it up and see, it's not a word, it's a picture, and a temple is painted in the picture, just like a temple; At the foot of the mountain behind the pavilion, there are some grotesque stones with clusters of thorns on them, and a green-headed cricket is lying there; There is a toad next to it, as if to jump. She looked at it for a while and didn't understand what it meant. But when I saw the cricket painted on it, it coincided with my own idea, so I folded the paper and put it away, and gave it to a famous artist after I went home.
Thinking about fame repeatedly, I'm afraid it refers to the place where I catch crickets. Look carefully at the scenery on the picture, much like the Giant Buddha Pavilion in the east of the village. Reluctantly, he got up, held the staff and took the painting to the back of the house. There is a towering ancient tomb. Fame ran along the ancient tomb and saw pieces of stones arranged like fish scales, just like in the painting. So he listened carefully and walked slowly in the weeds, as if looking for a needle and a grass; However, my heart, eyesight and hearing are all exhausted, and there is still no trace of crickets. He was exploring with his heart when suddenly a toad jumped over. Fame is even more surprising. I hurried after him, and toad jumped into the grass. He followed the toad's trail, separated from the bushes and found a cricket lying under the thorn root. He rushed to catch it and the cricket jumped into the hole. He poked it with a fine grass, but the cricket didn't come out; Then he poured water into the hole with a bamboo tube, and cricket came out, extremely handsome and strong. He chased it and caught it. On closer inspection, this cricket is very big, with a long tail, a blue neck and golden wings. I'm glad to be famous. I put it in a cage and took it home. The whole family celebrated. I regard it as more precious than priceless Baoyu, put it in a basin and feed it with crab meat and chestnut powder. I take good care of it. I just wait for the deadline and send it to the county to make up the difference.
Fame has a nine-year-old son who secretly opened a pot when he saw that his father was not at home. The cricket jumped out at once, too fast to catch. By the time he caught it, his leg had fallen off and his stomach was broken, and he died soon. The child was afraid and cried and told his mother. Hearing this, she turned pale and said in horror, "Curse, your time has come!" " ! When your father comes back, he will naturally settle accounts with you! "The child ran away crying.
Soon, fame came back, and after listening to his wife's words, his whole body seemed to be covered with snow and ice. I went to my son angrily and he disappeared without a trace. Later, his body was found in the well, and his anger immediately turned into grief, and he cried and was heartbroken. The husband and wife were crying in the corner, there was no smoke in the hut, and they sat face to face without saying a word, and there was no more reliance. It was not until the evening that I took a straw mat and prepared to bury the child. When the husband and wife approached, there was still a weak breath. They happily put him on the bed, and the child woke up at midnight. The husband and wife were a little relieved, but the child was sluggish and just wanted to sleep. When he became famous, he looked back and saw that the cricket cage was empty. He was too anxious to spit out, unable to speak, and no longer cared about his son. He didn't even sleep a wink from night to morning. The sun in the east has risen, and he is still lying flat in bed worried. He suddenly heard the cry of a cricket outside the door. When he stood up in surprise and looked carefully, the cricket seemed to be still there. He was so happy that he began to catch it. The cricket gave a cry and jumped away quickly. He covered it with his palm as if there was nothing inside; I just raised my hand and jumped away. Fame ran after it in a hurry, turned the corner and went nowhere. He looked around and saw the cricket lying on the wall. When you look closely, the short and dark red color immediately doesn't feel like the previous one. Being famous is disdainful because it is small. (Fame) Still keep looking back and forth, looking for the person you are chasing. The cricket on the wall suddenly jumped into his sleeve. If you look closely, it looks like a mole cricket, plum blossom wings, square head and long legs, which seems not bad. He readily adopted it and prepared to hand it over to the government, but he was still not practical in his heart, fearing that it would not meet the wishes of the county officials. He wants to try to make it fight first and see how it goes.
A nosy young man in the village keeps a cricket, which he calls "Crab Shell Green". He fights with other teenagers every day. He wanted to keep it as a rare commodity to make huge profits, so he raised the price, but no one bought it. (One day) teenagers go straight to the door to find fame. When he saw the cricket raised by fame, he just covered his mouth and smiled. Then he took out his cricket and put it in a cage to compete. After becoming famous, I became more and more ashamed to see another cricket grow and grow. I dare not compare my little cricket with the young "crab shell green". Teenagers insist on fighting, but when they become famous, they have to raise such inferior things. After all, it is useless. We might as well let them play and laugh. So put two crickets in a bucket. The little cricket lay motionless, like a wooden chicken, and the boy smiled again. (Then) I tried to fiddle with the tentacles of cricket with a pig, but cricket still didn't move, and the boy smiled again. After teasing it several times, the little cricket suddenly became furious and rushed forward, so they fought each other, lifted their feet and sumo, flapping their wings to fly. After a while, I saw little cricket jump up, open its tail, erect its beard and bite each other's neck. The teenagers were frightened and hurried apart to stop them from fighting. The little cricket held its head high, flapped its wings and sang proudly, as if to give good news to its master. Famous, overjoyed, (they are watching) suddenly a chicken flew over to peck at the cricket. Fame exclaimed (standing there) with fear. Luckily, I missed it. The cricket jumped more than a foot away. The chicken strode after it again, and the cricket was crushed under the chicken's feet. Fame frightened people, I don't know how to recover it, I stamped my feet in anxiety and my face changed greatly. Suddenly, I saw the chicken craning its neck and twisting its head. When I walked to the front, I took a close look. It turned out that the little cricket had squatted on the cock's comb and stung it hard. Fame is getting more and more amazing, being locked in a cage.
The next day, fame dedicated the cricket to the county magistrate, who was angry when he saw that the cricket was small. Fame tells the story of this cricket's strange skills, and the county magistrate doesn't believe it. Trying to fight other crickets was defeated. I tried to fight the chicken again, and it was as famous as I said. So he rewarded fame and presented the cricket to the governor. The governor liked it very much and presented it to the emperor in a golden cage. He played the book carefully and described its skills. After arriving at the palace, butterflies, mantis, oil tarts, moss forehead, and all kinds of exotic crickets contributed by the whole country fought against (small crickets), and none of them had the upper hand. Every time it hears the harp, it can dance with the beat, which is more and more surprising. The emperor liked it better and gave the governor a good horse and brocade. The governor never forgot where the benefits came from, and before long, the county magistrate was also famous for his outstanding talents. As soon as the magistrate was happy, he was relieved of his fame and asked the examiner to make him a scholar. After more than a year, the spirit of the famous son recovered. He said he became a cricket, light and fighting. I just woke up now. The governor also rewards fame. In less than a few years, there are 100 hectares of fields, many tall buildings and hundreds of cattle and sheep. Every time I go out, I wear thin fur and ride a high-headed horse, which is richer than the family that has been an official for generations.
I (Pu Songling) said: "The emperor will use something occasionally, but he may not forget it after using it;" However, the people who practice it below regard it as an unchangeable convention. Coupled with the greed and tyranny of officials, the people mortgage their wives and sell their children all the year round, emerging one after another. Therefore, the emperor's every move is related to the lives of ordinary people and cannot be ignored! Only famous people are poor because of official invasion and rich because of paying tribute to crickets. He put on an expensive leather coat and sat in a luxurious carriage, complacent. When he played Li Zheng and was defeated, I didn't expect him to have such a situation! God will use this to reward those who are honest and upright, and even the governor and county magistrate will benefit from crickets. I heard that' one person becomes immortal, and chickens and dogs ascend to heaven'. It's true! "