Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat points - Chapter 82

Chapter 77: Catching Jin Chan_1

Translator: 549690339

Official attire was reserved only for government officials; commoners would commit a crime by wearing it, similar in nature to civilians donning police uniforms today.

Once discovered, they would be arrested and punished by the authorities.

Official attire typically came in two forms, one was the regular service attire, and the other was the ceremonial attire.

The regular service attire was also known as public attire or plain attire, worn for office or other ordinary occasions.

The ceremonial attire was reserved for festive days, such as sacrifices, ceremonies, weddings, birthdays, welcoming edicts from the Immortal Sect, and other such occasions.

The attire that this official wore was a black, fold-collared official robe, a style ranked below the round-collared official robe.

It bore resemblance to a long robe.

Literate individuals who had passed the civil examinations, aspiring Insect Masters, aspiring Beast Tamers, including middle-grade farmers, were all allowed to wear long robes.

In terms of rank, fold-collared official robes were considered lower than round-collared robes.

Even unranked officials would wear round-collared robes instead of these fold-collared ones.

Because it was folded once, it symbolized the law not being perfectly fulfilled, a flaw.

Only clerks, whose status was higher than that of the commoners but lower than that of officials, would wear these ‘mock’ official robes.

Looking at the hat this person wore, it was a black cloth cap, also known as a clerk’s cap, a soft hat exclusively for clerks, with a flat top, an exposed forehead, a central fold, and wings of an official’s cap on the back.

This was the lowest-ranking official hat.

It indicated that this man was merely a clerk, not a formal official.

A clerk is someone who works as an assistant to an official in the government, the main workforce behind the scenes.

All sorts of account settlements and policy implementations were completed by clerks.

A mere clerk had no right to warrant the Yan Family sending a direct bloodline member to accompany them

This brings us to the red robe the person wore.

Donning a red robe was akin to an honor, signifying greater prestige than the average clerk, comparable to an outstanding figure among the clerks.

If Qin Niu was not mistaken, this person must be a leader among the clerks.

Ranking below Historians, yet above ordinary clerks.

It was precisely because he was a leader among the clerks that the Yan Family would dispatch a direct bloodline member and a mid-level manager to accompany him.

To show the importance and warmth they placed on this individual.

Indeed, how could an ordinary clerk possess a horse worth a thousand taels of silver?

Only a standout leader among the clerks could have such substantial wealth.

Behind many officials lay their own families and industries, for the meager official salary alone was hardly enough to cover gifts for superiors and social exchanges during festivals.

“Listen carefully, this is Official Liu Shuban, in charge of the agricultural taxation for the government office. In light of the floods occurring in multiple areas under the Black Tiger Gang’s jurisdiction, Official Liu, out of compassion for the people, has specially come to inspect the disaster,” called out the middle-aged man who looked like a steward from the Yan Family, introducing the official’s identity.

“We greet Official Liu!”

The common people, who were fearful of officials, were even more reverent upon hearing that this man was an official with real power in the government.

“You may dispense with the formalities!”

Official Liu Shuban raised his right hand lightly and swept his gaze over the crowd.

“The floods did not reach Shuangfeng Village; you should feel fortunate! This year, many areas have suffered from floods and even insect plagues. If you tend to your fields well, you can peacefully get through this year of disasters.”

Having said that, Official Liu Shuban untied the horse’s reins and leaped onto the black steed.

His movements were agile, revealing his impressive skills.

“Heehee~!”

The black steed neighed joyfully.

“Neigh~!”

Facing such a magnificent horse, Qin Niu’s Xiao Nui seemed unafraid and even stretched its neck, issuing its own call.

Official Liu Shuban glanced at Xiao Nui, his eyes showing a trace of surprise, and then looked at Qin Niu.

“Is this calf yours?”

“It’s mine.”

“I’ll give you ten taels of silver for it. Will you sell?”

The price Official Liu Shuban offered was astonishing; a calf was worth at most three taels of silver at most. Offering ten taels outright was generous; just another two or three taels would be enough to buy a grown water buffalo.

“Thank you for the honor, but I intend to keep this calf for ploughing the fields. It’s not for sale,” Qin Niu politely declined.

“Boy, don’t be disrespectful. Official Liu fancies your calf; it’s like your ancestors’ graves have sprouted green smoke. Ten taels of silver could buy you three calves like this and still leave you with change,” the Yan Family’s middle-aged steward scolded coldly.

“Ah Niu, it’s a rare chance, you should sell!”

The other villagers also felt that Qin Niu was being foolish.

Seeing Qin Niu unmoved, Official Liu Shuban waved his hand dismissively.

“Enough. It’s merely an ordinary calf; if he doesn’t want to sell, let him be! Steward Pang, don’t force him, or folks might think I’m compelling the commoners to sell their livestock under duress,” he said.

Then, Official Liu Shuban nodded toward the two from the Yan Family.

“My thanks for your hospitality; please convey my gratitude to Elder Yan.”

The Elder Yan he spoke of was likely Yan Ruohai.

Although without an official title, his status was no lower than that of an ordinary official, for he was the real overlord of Jade Stream Town.

“Wang Youquan, on the fifteenth of this month, take your daughter to Yichun Garden in Black Tiger City. Young Master Lu will be there to admire the flowers. If he takes a liking to your daughter, not only will she be provided for life, but your status too will rise to honor and glory,” Official Liu said.

Wang Youquan was Wang Furen’s given name.

“Thank you, Official Liu, for the tip! If my daughter is chosen by Young Master Lu, I will not forget your kindness,” Wang Furen expressed his excitement, bowing and offering his thanks.

It seemed he was dead set on his daughter becoming a phoenix by ascending to the branches.

“Haha, it’s nothing! Until next time!”

Official Liu Shuban’s attitude toward Wang Furen was quite cordial.

He probably also considered that Wang Furen had a beautiful daughter; once married to Young Master Lu, her status would soar instantly.

Perhaps there would come a time when he might have to ask for Wang Furen’s help.

These officials were cunning, always finding opportunities to gain advantage and never waking early for nothing.

Upon hearing this, Qin Niu felt a pang of sadness in his heart. Such a fine young lady might not necessarily find happiness married to a nobleman’s son.

If Young Master Lu loved her, that would be fine, but if he treated her as a plaything, becoming bored with her after a while and casting her aside, then her fate would be quite tragic.

Nobleman’s sons were never short of women.

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.