Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Searching for a Pet in the Busy Streets

After leaving Wine Alley, Zhao Huai planned to head to the bustling streets of Green Dragon Sect next.

The busy streets of Green Dragon Sect was the largest market in Jinzhou, located in the inner city. Whether you wanted to buy furniture such as beds, tables, and chairs, or luxury items such as jade, ivory, and spices, or even animals like famous horses, cats, dogs, birds, and insects – you can find them all in this market.

In every corner and alley, various breeds of dogs and cats, and birds of all shapes and colors were clamoring on this lively street, making cheerful noises.

Zhao Huai would stop and take a look at each shop he passed.

Madam had asked him to buy some small pets, but she hadn’t specified whether to buy cats, dogs, or birds, instead letting him decide.

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It seemed casual, but this didn’t feel like a genuine desire to keep pets; it was more like wanting to add some liveliness to their shop.

He had been staring at a wooden cage for quite some time, as he found the dog inside constantly watching him.

Zhao Huai stared back at the dog with equal intensity. It was a friendly staring contest between man and dog.

“What are you looking at?”

Zhao Huai couldn’t help but think angrily.

“Dear guest, are you interested in buying a dog? Our dogs are all meticulously bred for dogfighting, guaranteeing each one to be vigorous and spirited,” the dog seller noticed Zhao Huai’s gaze and approached him with a smile.

“No, I’m just looking.”

Zhao Huai immediately shook his head when he heard it was a dogfighting store.

Nowadays, the wealthy gentry in the city like to organize fights for fun.

These days, cricket fighting has become too popular and many ordinary people have joined in. To differentiate their hobbies as more elegant, the gentry have started exploring other avenues.

As the saying goes, when something becomes too popular, it loses its appeal; perhaps the gentry think the same way.

The current trend is dogfighting and horse racing. Both dog breeds and horse breeds are not affordable for ordinary people, and therefore, naturally become the new toys for the rich.

In any entertainment venue, there will inevitably be people opening bets and making money. People rush in hoping to win big, and every year, some lose everything they own.

But on rare occasions, some people do strike it rich and become incredibly wealthy.

However, it does truly stimulate the economic development of Jinzhou.

They were fine for guarding the house, but not suitable for being pampered in one’s hands. Moreover, they often had injuries from the dog fights.

He felt that Madam might not like this kind.

After strolling around, Zhao Huai arrived at a bird shop, which was much more lively compared to the dog stores.

However, there were also many fakes in the bird shops.

Today, you might buy a new throstle, only to find that the seller had applied some kind of substance to make its feathers appear fresh and new. In reality, it was an old bird disguised as a new one.

Furthermore, some birds with beautiful appearances might have been dyed, and such birds usually don’t live long. They were typically used to deceive novices who wouldn’t know any better, and when their birds died, they would think it was their own fault.

Buying birds indeed had numerous tricks, but Zhao Huai was not worried.

He didn’t believe anyone could fool him.

He had always been the one tricking others; it was impossible for people to trick him.

And he had discovered a pleasant surprise.

That was—his [Expert Appraiser] destiny came in handy.

[Expert Appraiser] could not only appraise antiques and articles for amusement but also other things.

As the saying goes, judging treasures naturally includes identifying objects.

It could identify both inanimate and animate objects alike.

Zhao Huai was browsing the various birdcages.

There were quite a few bird species here, including throstle and larks with great singing voices, as well as birds of prey like goshawks and sparrowhawks, which could guard and protect their owners’ properties with prestige.

Glancing inside the shop, Zhao Huai saw some brightly colored parrots.

As everyone knows, parrots can mimic human speech, which certainly piqued Zhao Huai’s interest.

“Speak something to let me see.”

Zhao Huai smiled at the yellow-green parrot in the cage.

“Fool, fool.”

With a tilt of its little head, the yellow-green parrot hopped away, not even looking at him, as it issued a childish voice.

Zhao Huai immediately became unhappy and complained: “Hey, you silly bird, you know how to insult people, huh?”However, he didn’t want to argue with a bird, so he turned to look at the other birds.

Soon, he noticed that among the many birdcages, there was a special one placed separately, covered with a black cloth.

Zhao Huai was curious and asked the bird seller, “Boss, what’s the deal with this cage, is it for sale?”

The bird seller smiled and said, “Well, this bird is too wild, and we couldn’t tame it. It would collide with the cage when exposed to light, so we had no choice but to cover it.”

Zhao Huai nodded in understanding.

It’s common to encounter birds that are hard to tame, and they will keep hitting the cage until they die or are on the verge of death.

“May I have a look?”

Zhao Huai asked.

“No problem, feel free to look, guest.”

Zhao Huai lifted a corner of the black cloth covering the birdcage and saw a black bird with a tuft of white feathers on its head lying at the bottom of the cage, motionless. The white feathers were stained with blood, and one corner of the birdcage was slightly bulging, seemingly caused by the bird’s collisions.

Even he couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of this miserable scene. The bird must be very frustrated and should be allowed to breathe some fresh air.

The bird seller beside him explained, “This is a myna bird. Its white feathers on the head indicate it’s a high-quality breed. It has an excellent voice, and I didn’t dye it. I found it in the mountains outside the city. It took a lot of effort to catch it. The bird flies extremely fast, and it took a dozen people and a full hour to catch it.”

“But since I caught this myna bird, it hasn’t made a sound, just kept hitting the cage. It’s stupid and probably has a problem with its brain. But it’s quite strong, having warped the cage.”

Zhao Huai looked at the myna bird, pondering.

The myna bird is indeed a mysterious breed. It looks very much like a crow, with only slight differences.

However, it represents good fortune, like the magpie, and is considered a mascot.

At the same time, it can imitate the calls of more than a dozen bird species, including the parrot, and can also mimic human speech.

The [Expert Appraiser] destiny activated, and Zhao Huai’s senses were instantly amplified.

His eyes squinted as he took in every detail of the myna bird before him.

The bird’s eyes were full of spirituality, setting it apart from other birds. Although its wings couldn’t flap, its small eyes continued to move.

It was very strange, staring outside the cage or, more specifically, at the black ring on his hand, as if it was thinking about something.

It seemed to have its thoughts.

Through his destiny, Zhao Huai could basically conclude that this bird was not that simple.

If he ignored it, the bird seller might throw it away, and it would be snatched by a wildcat.

So, he decided to take it.

However, before doing that, he wanted to see if he could obtain a destiny first.

He tossed a copper coin and, as expected, got a “fortune” result.

A yellow orb emerged.

[Observing Words and Expressions (Inferior Yellow Grade)]: When doing business with merchants, you will always get a good price, saving a lot of trouble.

“Price-negotiating artifact, not a high grade, but very practical.”

Zhao Huai gradually realized that sometimes practicality was more important than grade.

“Boss, please sell this myna bird to me.”

Zhao Huai spoke up.

The bird seller put down his work and curiously asked, “Why do you want to buy it? It doesn’t make any sound, and it’s not pretty.”

“As the saying goes, a person is admired for their ambition, and a bird is admired for its beauty. Young master, why not buy a good-looking and healthy bird? This bird is probably not going to live long.”

The bird seller kindly reminded him.

Zhao Huai smiled and said, “Buying and burying it would be better than throwing it away to be eaten by a wildcat.”

After hearing his words, the bird seller’s eyes showed a mix of emotions, and he sighed:

“Sigh, guest, you are a kind-hearted person. I’ll sell it to you for a hundred wen.”

“Deal.

Zhao Huai nodded.

Hundred wen was a great bargain. Otherwise, a bird usually cost more than ten taels of silver, and some expensive ones even sold for over a hundred taels. Myna birds’ price ranged at five hundred taels or more.