Chapter 59: Go Buy Some Candy
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Xu Yan knew how to spend money, but he really didn’t know how to gamble.
The large wooden house at the end of the street was a gambling den disguised as a teahouse, constantly echoing with shouting and yelling. The desperately poor Mei Sanniang finally set her sights on that gambling house.
She was truly at her wit’s end – without money, she couldn’t do anything.
Rather than sitting idle and eating away their fortune, better to take a gamble. Clutching their remaining twenty taels of silver, Mei Sanniang pulled the little Taoist into the gambling den.
As soon as they entered, the shouting almost lifted the roof.
“Place your bets, no more changes!”
“It’s opening, it’s opening! This round will definitely be big!”
“Damn it, I’ve lost nine rounds straight. I don’t believe I can’t win back my capital this round!”
“Triple sixes take all!”
“Are you kidding me! That’s my entire fortune – triple sixes?”
“Zhuang Laosi, you’re ruthless. You can even roll triple sixes. I’m going home to sell my children!”
Upon entering the gambling house, Xu Yan immediately felt a sour, foul smell hit his face. Inside, bare-chested men stood on chairs. Some had lost until their eyes were bloodshot, still shouting about using their last bit of money to recover their losses. Some had even bet their clothes – who knew how they’d leave if they lost.
The hundred faces of humanity – only gambling could best reveal the evil of human nature. These gamblers, with their eyes red from losses, could sell their wives and children. If they lost more, they might go out to kill and rob.
Xu Yan wasn’t unfamiliar with gambling. Linshan Town also had a small gambling house for people’s leisure entertainment. But he’d never heard of anyone selling sons and daughters for gambling debts.
Fengshan City’s gambling house was obviously much larger than Linshan Town’s small gambling den. It was packed with people, both men and women. When Xu Yan and Mei Sanniang entered, no one paid them much attention.
“Third Sister doesn’t know how to gamble. It’s up to you.”
Handing their remaining twenty taels of silver to Xu Yan, Mei Sanniang was content to relax. Before Xu Yan could object, she added: “If we lose it all, we’ll become beggars.”
Well, Xu Yan least liked being a beggar, so he steeled himself and approached the gambling table with the most people.
A Taoist gambling wasn’t particularly novel. A few nearby gamblers just joked about it. When the dice cup rattled, these people forgot whether their neighbor was a Taoist or monk, their eyes gleaming as they stared at the dice about to be revealed.
After watching for a while, Xu Yan blinked and, amid the dealer’s shouting, pushed all his silver onto “big.” All in on one bet – this made Mei Sanniang frown.
Win or lose would be decided by this single throw – a one-shot deal relying purely on luck.
Mei Sanniang’s worry turned to delight the next moment. This round indeed opened big. Xu Yan won double, now having forty taels of silver. The next round, he again bet all his silver on “small.”
After winning five consecutive rounds, the little Taoist’s original twenty taels had multiplied to over six hundred taels. The surrounding gamblers’ eyes turned red with envy, cursing the kid’s incredible luck. The dealer’s face grew paler and paler.
In just a short while, twenty taels became six hundred – Mei Sanniang beamed with joy and wanted to quit while ahead. But the dealer urged that this round would surely win too.
Mei Sanniang didn’t want to gamble anymore. Coming to the gambling house was her last resort. Having won so much money, it was enough to renovate that dilapidated tavern.
The little Taoist, experiencing for the first time how easy it was to make money, didn’t want to stop. Smiling, he said “one last time” and bet all the silver on “small” again. Before the money left his hand, Xu Yan’s ears twitched slightly. The six hundred taels about to land on “small” were moved to “big” with lightning speed.
Xu Yan didn’t know how to gamble, but he knew how to listen.
The skill of listening to dice was something he’d learned in Linshan Town, often playing happily with his companions. Of course, the stakes weren’t money but whoever lost got their forehead flicked.
Xu Yan’s hearing was extremely sharp. If he couldn’t achieve listening to wind and discerning position, his stone throwing wouldn’t be so accurate. His sudden switch from small to big was because he heard a tiny sound from within the dice cup pressed on the table.
The dice had been touched by something, changing their numbers.
Nine out of ten gamblers lose – Xu Yan wasn’t ignorant of this simple truth. But this was his first encounter with the schemes and tricks of gambling dens.
Fortunately, his hearing was good. At the crucial moment, he moved the silver away, or all those taels would have been lost. While secretly alarmed, Xu Yan also felt fortunate. He didn’t like gambling. If not for Mei Sanniang being truly desperate, he wouldn’t have wanted to enter such a place.
Xu Yan was indeed about to win, and this round would bring in several hundred taels. From twenty taels to over a thousand – all losses for the gambling house. The dealer’s face had turned white. Surrounded by voices shouting to open the dice, when no one was paying attention, a gambling house servant hurriedly left at the dealer’s signal.
“Open it! What are you waiting for!”
“Zhuang Laosi, hurry up! I’m waiting for this round to recover my losses.”
“Anyone else placing bets? If not, we’re opening!”
Dealer Zhuang Laosi hurriedly joined the shouting, but his eyes kept glancing toward the door. His movements were extremely slow, lifting bit by bit. This was the most nerve-wracking moment – the surrounding gamblers stared wide-eyed, not daring to breathe.
Bang!
The gambling house’s main door was kicked open. Three government bailiffs wearing official robes and carrying sabers rushed in.
“Heard there’s illegal high-stakes gambling here. Zhuang Laosi, don’t you want to keep this teahouse open?”
“The government has clear regulations – gambling stakes over ten taels of silver earn thirty lashes!”
The three bailiffs were burly men. Upon entering, they immediately glowered menacingly. The leader curled his lip and raised his head disdainfully. His two subordinates shouted angrily. Seeing these officials, the gamblers quickly cowered aside, not even daring to claim their bet money.
These were Fengshan City government bailiffs – common people couldn’t afford to offend them. Qi Nation indeed had regulations that gambling stakes over ten taels earned thirty lashes. However, unless someone reported it, officials didn’t investigate. Many people gambled, but few were actually beaten. Some taverns and teahouses had gambling, and this large wooden house used a teahouse front but was actually a real gambling den.
“Oh, Master Chen!”
Dealer Zhuang Laosi greeted with a smile: “Master Chen, calm your anger. We’re just playing small games here – how could we gamble so big? Look, there are only a dozen copper coins on this table.”
The gamblers were frightened by the officials, cowering timidly. While people turned their heads, the piles of silver on the gambling table vanished without a trace like magic, leaving only a dozen or twenty copper coins. Who knew how these dealers practiced – their hands were incredibly fast.
“Hmph, at least you’re honest.” The lead bailiff Master Chen snorted: “Small gambling brings joy, big gambling destroys families. Remember that, all of you.”
“Yes, yes!” Zhuang Laosi maintained his smiling face, chuckling: “Those who come here to play a few rounds are all from small households. Who would bring their coffin money to gamble?”
Speaking thus, Zhuang Laosi looked at the little Taoist before him, smiling as he picked up two copper coins from the table: “Kid, your luck’s not bad. You won this round. Here, go buy some candy.”
