Chapter 82 - Chapter 82: Chapter 77: Catching Jin Chan t (2/2)

And in their eyes, swapping women was as casual as changing clothes.

See a pretty one, a shapely one, and they’d take her if they wanted.

When they got tired of her, they’d throw her to the backyard to keep, or even possibly give her away as a gift.

Liu Shuban lightly squeezed his horse’s belly with his legs, and the dark horse sprang forward, turning into a streak of black smoke and disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.

The two from the Yan family also rode away swiftly on horseback.

But the Yan family’s pair of reddish-brown horses were more than just a notch inferior to the dark horse.

Although they were fast when running, they were more than twice as slow as the dark horse.

There was no comparison in terms of momentum.

When the dark horse galloped, it was like a charge of thousands of troops, with an unstoppable momentum.

Qin Niu took Xiao Nui to continue dragging the cut bin trees back from the mountain.

The fact that this calf could make Liu Shuban offer ten silver money meant there must be something extraordinary about it.

All the way, he secretly sized up Xiao Nui.

He couldn’t see anything special.

Moreover, its fur was much sparser than other cattle, really not a sign of top quality.

Perhaps it was its imposing manner when facing the dark horse that caught the eye!

Because he wasn’t a Beast Tamer and had no knowledge or skills in beast control, he couldn’t tell what was good about Xiao Nui. Once he saved up two silver money and bought a Low-grade Contract Charm to make it his Beast Pet, he would be able to check its attributes.

As for Liu Shuban’s claim that Xiao Nui was just an ordinary calf, Qin Niu of course didn’t believe it.

Once man and calf entered the mountain, he began to search for suspicious insect traces with his head down.

If one wanted to earn money quickly, hunting and catching insects to sell were both good paths.

As for hunting, he could only passively wait for prey to come to him.

He didn’t know how to track beasts, nor did he know where various types of wild beasts lurked.

Setting baits, laying traps, and snares were all things he didn’t know how to do.

To put it in a funny way, he entirely relied on the grace of the heavens for his food.

However, he was better at catching insects.

As he searched with his head down along the way, he stopped in front of a very tall elm tree.

Because he found insect shells (exuviae) shed on the trunk of the tree.

After careful identification, these were shells shed by cicadas.

Cicadas are a very special kind of insect, known for their loud calls and for the fact that their bodies can be used as medicine.

They are indispensable for treating measles, German measles, and other illnesses.

Now, entering summer, it is the perfect season for them to climb trees and get ready to emerge from their nymphal casings.

A cicada’s life goes through several stages, including egg, nymph, pupa, and adult.

During the pupal stage, they climb trees and then force their way out of the pupal case to undergo their final transformation. Once they have wings, they can fly far away, leaving only an empty shell behind.

This is the origin of the phrase ‘the cicada sheds its shell’.

Qin Niu was not interested in these ordinary cicadas, which wouldn’t fetch much per pound.

At most, three to fifty wen money at best.

What he was looking for were those special cicadas that could sell for more than one tael of silver each.

His Insect Identification skill was currently at the proficient level and was soon to advance to the next level.

Since there were so many shells on the tree trunk, it indicated there must be cicada nymphs under the tree.

He began to dig under the tree for cicada nymphs that had not yet emerged from the ground.

Lucky for him, with the skill to recognize insect traces, he rarely missed when he dug.

One after another, the cicada nymphs were unearthed, panickedly scuttling around, trying to escape.

Qin Niu began to assess the value of each of these cicada nymphs.

The shedding of cicada shells usually takes place at night because they are very weak after squeezing out from the nymphal case, their wings are curled up, and their bodies soft. At that moment, they are defenseless and unable to escape from predators.

Emerging from the ground at night, they climb trees in the quiet and cool environment with a gentle night breeze the ideal conditions for their transformation.

This large elm tree that could be embraced by one person had at least a hundred cicada shells on its trunk.

They looked very fresh, most likely left from their shedding over the past few nights.

Qin Niu felt that the surroundings of this elm tree were likely a nest for them.

As he unearthed each one, he identified them by their nymphal shells, whether they were male or female, and their robustness, among other characteristics.

“This cicada nymph is very long with a sharp tail, undoubtedly a male cicada!”

Insect Identification proficiency +0.01.

“This cicada nymph is short and round, with an elliptical tail, definitely a female.”

Insect Identification proficiency +0.01.

Besides identifying the gender of the cicadas, he also observed the shape and strength of their second abdominal segment.

Female cicadas do not call; only male cicadas can produce a singing sound.

People who pay high prices for cicadas usually select males with a unique call.

As Qin Niu continued identifying each cicada nymph, his Insect Identification skill kept increasing.

[Congratulations, your Insect Identification skill has progressed to a level of minor achievement! You can now identify an insect’s gender, age, health status, approximate lifespan, reproductive capacity, and have a certain chance to discover their special abilities.]

At the proficient level, you can identify the health of insects, their strengths, and weaknesses.

After progressing to minor achievement, you can now estimate an insect’s lifespan, assess their reproductive capabilities and even have the chance to discover their special abilities.

Indeed, with every skill level advancement, there are new gains and new vistas.

An insect’s lifespan and special abilities are key factors in determining its value.

He now had the ability to enter a shop that bought and sold insects and work as a junior appraiser.

The annual income would be at least twelve taels of silver.

The job was easy and the status quite high.

It was countless times better than working as an ordinary farmer.

“How much money can an appraiser earn? My Insect Mastery skill is not the only one I have. I could completely capture insects myself to sell, enjoying more freedom and a higher income.”

Qin Niu wasn’t the least bit interested in a twelve silver money per year Insect Identification appraiser job.

Excited, he began to re-identify the unearthed cicada nymphs, hoping for a discovery..