In verse 18, everyone gathered in Jijiawan, and Lao Ji explained the cattle broker

After resting for two days, Team Leader Ah Jian and I drove to Zhang Village and found Ah Rong.

"Cadre Li, are you looking for me?" As soon as Wu Zhishu brought Ah Rong to the office, Ah Rong immediately spoke, this time he was more relaxed and less nervous than before.

"What's the case?" I asked.

"I have attended several meetings of cattle brokers, and I have memorized the characteristics of the cows you mentioned, but I have not found any abnormal cattle or abnormal people. If there had been any circumstances, I would have informed you long ago. Aron replied.

"When is your next rally? And what location. "I asked him for the purpose.

"On the tenth day of the first month of this month, in Jijiawan, Caopu Village, Siping Town." Aron replied.

"Who are you attending?" I continued to ask.

"It's all people who go often, and it's not certain if there are any new people to participate. Cadre Li, do you want to go too? Ah Rong asked.

"Yes, we're going to participate too, I'm going to see the specifics, do you have anything to remind us?" I asked.

"No, it's not an official rally, you can do whatever you want, but I think it's better not to wear a police uniform, it's more convenient." Aron replied.

"Well, we'll see you then." I said.

August 23, 1996, the tenth day of the seventh lunar month.

This time, we notified more than a dozen owners of stolen cattle who could rush over, and all of them participated in the criminal team.

Jijiawan is located between the mountains, surrounded by verdant trees, there is a big hillside in front of the bay, the slope is gentle, the grass on it is green, looking at it from afar, it is green, there is a large piece of black pressing, it is a big cow, a calf, a cattle, a black cow, a flower cow, a bull, a cow, scattered on the hillside, eating grass, leisurely swinging the tail, there are some fifty or sixty-year-old people standing not far from the cow, some smoke, some three or two gathered together to talk, this is the so-called "cattle broker". It seems that this event has not officially started yet.

We also scattered out in twos and threes, talking to this one, talking to that, looking at this cow, and asking about that cow.

When Ah Rong saw us, he immediately trotted over.

"Cadre Li, Team Leader Ajian, you are here." Ah Rong said.

"Don't call me Cadre Li, just call me Xiao Li." I reminded us that we were here to investigate, but not to inquire.

Ah Rong nodded.

"Who is the person who is talking today?" I asked.

Aron looked at me in surprise.

"What's wrong, what's wrong?" I'm weird.

"You even know the jargon of a talker?" Ah Rong said.

"Before I came, I temporarily hugged Buddha's feet." I replied.

"You are here today, today's speaker is Lao Ji, and he is the most proficient person. You come with me, I'll introduce you, just wait for other cattle brokers. "Ah Rong is interested.

Under a large tree on the hillside, a fifty-year-old man was sitting under the tree smoking a dry tobacco.

Ah Rong walked a few steps quickly, walked up to the man, and whispered something in his ear.

The man immediately stood up and took a few steps.

"Hello Team Leader Ajian, good Cadre Li, welcome." The man said.

Team leader Ah Jian and I also replied politely.

"This is Lao Ji, the most powerful person among us!" Ah Rong said.

I handed over the cigarette and said, "Master Ji, excuse me, we came to visit, didn't bother you, right?" ”

Lao Ji took the cigarette and replied: "No, no, you are distinguished guests who can't pick up the guests, you see that there is no seat here, otherwise, we will sit under the tree?" ”

"Okay." I replied.

Under the shade of the trees, everyone sat in a circle on the grass.

I looked carefully, and the old man had long hair, thin and thin, with a bronzed face, and his eyes were very bright; He wore a gray long-sleeved shirt with his chest open, revealing the white undershirt; There is also a black BP machine pinned to the waist, which is deliberately exposed in front of the abdomen; There are four pockets of black pants under the front and back, the spray paint can is crooked and casually inserted in the trouser pocket, and on the other side there is also a bottle of mineral water with a crooked head, and the back pocket of the trousers is still bulging, presumably stuffed with cash; He wears a pair of black galoshes. A stick rests diagonally at his side, accompanied by a half-new, half-used straw hat.

Seeing that I kept staring at him and didn't speak, Lao Ji looked at me, and then at Team Leader A Jian, a little nervous, but he still couldn't help it and spoke: "A few cadres, if you have anything to say, just ask." ”

It seems that this thin old man is still relatively shrewd, knowing that we have nothing to do but go to the Three Treasures Palace.

"We don't know much about your business, and Ah Rong said that you are the best. No, we want to ask you for advice, can you elaborate on that? I asked.

After listening to my question, Lao Ji was relaxed, put the cigarette I gave him in his ear, picked up his dry cigarette, smoked it, and said while smoking:

"Okay. It's an old and mysterious industry, I know, more than 300 years old. Everyone calls us cattle brokers, but we are actually the people who help the cattle trading business, maneuvering between the cattle owners and cattle customers to facilitate the cattle trade. To put it bluntly, it is the person who helps the seller sell and the buyer picks the cattle. Commonly known as 'bull fighting', proficient in this business, also known as 'connoisseur', and because we always hold a stick to prevent the cow from running, the market also calls us 'cow stick stick', you see, I have used this stick for more than 20 years. ”

I took it and saw that a wooden stick less than a meter long was shiny on it, and it must have been used regularly.

After reading it, Team Leader Ah Jian and I handed it back to Lao Ji, and Lao Ji will put it next to the straw hat again, and the wooden stick and the straw hat will continue to accompany each other.

"We have assembly time every 10 or 5, and other places also have their own designated times, which are not necessarily the same as us, for example, in Jinyang County, it is every 1, 3, 6, and 9.

Well, there is no fixed location, it is almost at the end of the last time, everyone discusses and determines the next location, and some people invite him to trade, but this is rare.

You see, in this remote mountain and countryside, buying and selling cattle depends on our eyes, relying on 'looking, smelling, asking, and cutting' to judge the quality of the ox, the ploughing skill, the surname is smooth, and the strength of the mouth.

'Looking': It is to look at the whole and the part of the cow with your eyes. First of all, it is necessary to see whether the cow has a god, and there is a god for bright eyes and sensitive response; Thoughtless is dark-eyed, with a dull expression and a sluggish response. Different parts of the tongue represent different viscera, and the tongue includes two aspects: the quality of the tongue and the coating of the tongue.

Another important aspect is to watch, what to see? First of all, look at the cow's facial features. Many people talk about superstition, pay attention to the position of the cow's whirlwind growth, think that the whirlwind hair grows in a bad place will "hinder the master", the so-called obstruction of the master's spin has: "clamp beam spin" means that the cow owner loves to beat people, "rolling rock whirl" the cow owner will fall, "empty warehouse spin" the cow owner is poor, "kill the throat spin" the cow owner's house will have a big accident, "squatting on the wall" the cow owner's house will be stolen, etc. There are very few people who want such cattle, and some cattle brokers make a big fuss about it, and use appalling words to make the seller's heart go up and down, and he is uneasy, and finally he is at his mercy, sells and buys, and makes a profit from it.

It also depends on the ox leg, the cow leg is not the stronger the better, but it should be slender, so that it can run fast, and you need such a cow to plow the field.

Also, to see if the cow grows fat, the back, height, length, etc., the cow with a small nose is savage, the cow with big eyes is diligent, the cow's head should be protruding, not too flat, and the cow with 8 teeth, and the cow with 7 teeth is not good. ”

Lao Ji was afraid that we wouldn't understand, so while speaking, he drew various gestures and changed the expressions on his face.

I'm a little stupid, there is so much knowledge in this cattle brokerage, and the history of these hundreds of years is really worthy of its name.

However, I couldn't say that I didn't understand, I had to pretend to understand, so Ah Jian and I both nodded vigorously.

My attitude infected Lao Ji, and his interest also came, and he continued:

"'Smell': To smell is to hear with your ears and smell with your nose. Listening includes cow barking, breathing, and gastrointestinal motility. Breathing evenly and heavily is a normal cow; Those who breathe of different lengths and breath in a low voice are all sick cows. To smell is to smell the smell, including the smell of the mouth and the smell of cow feces and cow urine. Anything with a strong foul smell is a fever, and a fishy smell or a weak smell is a deficiency disease, which is not a good cow.

Cadre Li, don't feel disgusting, we are doing this disgusting thing. We've got to take care of both sides, right? We have to have a work ethic, right? ”

I nodded desperately again, affirming, in fact, my stomach was churning and I wanted to vomit. Quickly take out the cigarettes and distribute them to the people.

This time, Lao Ji took it and didn't put it in his ears, but smoked it.

Lao Ji took a hard puff of cigarette, and slowly, long, exhaled the smoke, and said:

"The cigarettes you cadres smoke just smell like they!"

I understood that he was reluctant to smoke the cigarettes I had just given him.

"Master Ji, you smoke, I still have it here." I said.

"That's good, that's good, I'll go on, I'll go on." Lao Ji replied and said again:

"'Q': There are a lot of things to ask, see if you can ask, it's also a matter for everyone to play, but the most important thing is to ask the price.

There are many ancestral code words and gestures of cattle brokers, and they are different from place to place for fear of imitation.

Complex: Thumb extended, the remaining four fingers flexed represent one; Extend the index finger and middle finger, and the remaining three fingers are flexed to represent two; The big and small thumbs are flexed, and the remaining three fingers are stretched out to represent three; The thumb is flexed, and the rest of the fingers are stretched out to represent four; The full extension of the five fingers represents five; A pinch of the thumb and index finger represents six; The thumb is pinched with the index finger and the middle finger and twisted constantly, representing seven; The thumb and index finger are stretched out and forked to represent eight; The index finger is bent into a hook shape, and the remaining four fingers are flexed to represent nine; The thumb and index finger are likened to an "O" shape, and the remaining three fingers are flexed to represent ten.

Simple: stretching out an index finger is 8, bending the lower index finger is 7, and pinching the earlobe is 9. For example, pinching down the earlobe, that is, the transaction price of a cow is 9,000 yuan.

We use words instead: for example, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, for the sea, marble, pinzi, hanger, abductor, scratcher, firewood, fork, hook Ga code to say, don't tell it, this is our secret, layman can't see it.

'Cut': The cattle owner may let the cattle eat hundreds of catties of food before selling the cattle and stretch the tripe, so it is difficult to accurately weigh them. You have to drive the cow to see if it is agile and strong. If, I say that the cow is 300 catties (referring to the net weight), after the cow is slaughtered, weigh the beef, hey! That's a difference of 10 pounds at most! I'm not afraid of the cow owner's feeding! ”

"Master Ji, we have an eye-opener today!" Team leader Ajian and I have already admired it so much!