Chapter 3 — Champion Flower Queen

General Hong was angry and leaned over to peck forcefully. The sharp beak slid across the hen's scalp, pecking away a few gray feathers. My heart twitched slightly. The hen still did not confront him head-on, just kept avoiding. Outsiders looking in can only see it being overwhelmed. But only we know, although the Tho Phon fighting cock is fierce, it cannot stand being fought for long. The strategy I taught him was to avoid being strong and waiting for weakness, waiting for the opponent to be exhausted. At first, Luu Tiep still crossed his legs to drink tea. But as the number of rounds increased, he gradually sat up straight. General Hong's movements were slow to the naked eye. The old hen suddenly lowered her body, crawled straight into her opponent's lap, opened her beak and bit hard on the lower part of its neck. General Hong cried out and jumped out. A clump of red fur on its neck had been bitten off. The laughter in the tent immediately stopped. Someone took a deep breath. Luu Tiep suddenly stood up, his hands clasped the railing, blue veins appeared on his forehead.
“Dissect it!”
"Useless thing! Use your strength!"
Two chickens rushed at each other. Chicken feathers flew wildly, dust splashed on the arena. General Hong went crazy, both his beak and claws were used, each move was fatal. The hen's back was pecked until it bled, but she still endured it silently. I hold a cup of tea, my back straight. Bich Ha stood next to her and gently waved her circular fan, not fast, not slow. No one saw that my fingers holding the cup of tea were turning white. When General Hong rushed forward again, the hen did not avoid it anymore. It lowered its body, waited for the opponent to get close, then suddenly jumped up, using its whole body to stab into its heart. The hen's neck stretched out, accurately biting the softest part of flesh under General Hong's throat. It bites hard and doesn't let go. I once told him: No matter how aggressive the rooster is, the throat is still the weakest place. General Hong struggled crazily, his claws scratched wildly, chicken feathers flew everywhere. The hen let her back be scratched until her flesh and blood were blurred, the bite in her mouth became stronger and stronger. Half a cup of tea later, he let go and backed away. General Hong staggered back. A blood hole appeared under its throat, drops of blood falling onto the green stone surface. Its head slowly bowed low. Then, the whole body fell heavily to the ground. The sound of inhaling air continuously echoed in all directions. The arena was silent for a moment. I tried to suppress the excitement in my heart, put down the tea cup, stood up, slightly bent towards Luu Tiep who was wide-eyed.
“Master Liu, thank you for giving in.”
The whole arena immediately exploded. Someone shouted:
“The old hen wins!”
Someone held his head and cried:
“My silver!”
Luu Tiep's face turned pale. He stared at the hen whose whole body was covered in blood but still held her head high in the ring. His lips trembled for a long time, unable to utter a word. 06 I asked Liu Tiep:
"According to the contract, you also have to go around the cockfighting arena and learn how to bark three times."
"But I'm inherently an easy-to-talk person. As long as you give me enough money, learning how to bark at a dog can be waived."
Luu Tiep's face changed from blue to red, from red to purple. In the end, he still couldn't bear to lose face, gritted his teeth and took out a stack of bills. I ordered the maid to receive it and smiled at him.
“Sorry for killing Ngu Gia's fighting cock.”
"In the future, if the Ngu family has a new fighting cock, you can come find me. I guarantee I will help it develop its fighting ability at its highest level."
Luu Tiep's gloomy and fierce expression immediately softened.
“Is this true?”
He looked again at the hen in my arms.
“Could it be…”
I smiled, looked around, took the opportunity to promote myself.
“Not wrong.”
"Just by using a special massage method, you can make fighting cocks develop their fighting power three times in a short time."

There were immediately sounds of surprise around. Under everyone's admiring eyes, I leisurely left, hiding my merits and reputation deeply. The old hen curled up in my lap, her claws tucked under her belly, tilting her head and looking at me with one cloudy eye.
“Cluck cluck.”
It said.
“I know.”
I replied softly:
“When we return, we will reunite you and your mother immediately.”
The leader rushed over from the observation tent, grabbed my arm, an excited look on his face. It took a long time to come up with a sentence:
“…You are truly amazing.”
I smiled, hugged the old hen, and gradually left the arena. His appearance is dignified and elegant, calm like a gentle breeze and drifting clouds. Completely the noble demeanor of a noble lady, no shame or honor. 07 The count's carriage drove back to the Lam family's house. I could no longer control my excitement and grabbed the stack of silver bills from Phuong Thao's hand. I counted each sheet, waving my hands and laughing like crazy.
“Get rich!”
"I've made a fortune! Ha ha ha!"
I stomped my feet and hit the seat cushion hard. The maids couldn't bear it anymore and took out their winnings one by one. Phuong Thao said she only bet three taels of silver. Knowing that, she bet her entire fortune. Bich Ha was extremely regretful, saying she only ordered one amount. If she had known in advance, she would have spent all her money on the bet. Phuong Thao also said:
“When the slave went to the cashier to exchange money, the expressions of the cashier and the boss were extremely unsightly.”
The carriage window was tapped lightly. Then, the prefect's voice came in:
"Calm down a bit. This is outside, pay attention to the image."
I lifted a corner of the car curtain and said unhappily:
“I remember you also bet.”
The elder brother first just smirked, then it turned into a loud laugh.
“I bet twenty taels, one gets one hundred!”
"Ha ha ha! Knowing this early, I should have bet all the money!"
I look at him.
"Calm down a bit. This is outside, pay attention to the image."
08 I used an ordinary old hen to defeat the Tu Pho fighting cock, the champion of Liu Tiep's capital. This immediately became the hottest topic in the capital. In just one night, all the old hens of the same type at the market were bought up. Knowing that I had bet and won a large amount of money, the eldest uncle and the second uncle were so jealous that their eyes turned red. Lam Lo no longer comes to me to brag about his marriage with Giang Tuan. On the contrary, many young men come to my door and spend money to invite me to train chickens. I don't refuse anyone. We write the raising method and temperament of each type of chicken on paper, then seal it. Each sheet sells for ten taels of silver. Thanks to that, we earn some extra money. My second aunt said this "damages my reputation", but I didn't pay any attention at all. How many coins can a woman's reputation be worth? Only real gold and silver held in hand is the most practical thing. Since the time of the great lord, the Count's Palace has gradually been removed from the center of the royal court. Household income is limited, but expenses are huge. As a fourth young lady like me, if I want to collect two hundred taels as a bet, I have to borrow from everywhere and find help from my ancestors, mother, and brother-in-law. When the right time comes for cockfighting to be popular, of course you have to quickly seize the opportunity. After this opportunity, there will be no other opportunity. Later, someone even directly spent a thousand taels of silver, wanting to buy my core technology. I ask:
“Do you want to buy exclusive rights or not?”
After I explained the difference between the two, the other person immediately took out a stack of bills.
"Gia is not short of money. Of course we have to buy the exclusive rights."
Then, I gave him a piece of paper.