In the southwest corner of Nanzhao City, there is a large area of low houses. The people living in this area are mostly foreigners who are making a living in Nanzhao City and local poor people. The low houses here and the damp ground
Heyinping Hutong also shows the environment faced by the people living here.
In the center of this large area of houses, there is a large courtyard that looks no different from other houses. What is different from other houses is that the owner of this large courtyard is rarely seen, and he comes in and out of the courtyard every day.
The people who come and go include well-dressed wealthy businessmen and even wealthy officials, as well as people in ragged clothes who don't have enough food to eat every day and have no clothes to cover their bodies. But no matter who they are, they have one thing in common. Every time they go in, they are...
Some people go in happily, but when they come out, they all look sad and sigh, and some even feel indignant.
A short and sturdy middle-aged man walked through several alleys and came straight to the door of the courtyard. He seemed to be familiar with the place. He knocked on the door, and two strong men opened the door to welcome him out. The middle-aged man followed one of the big men.
Go inside.
The big man squinted his eyes and asked with a bit of scorn: "Second Master Xu, why are you here free today? Aren't you afraid that your gang leader will find out and break your legs?"
Mr. Xu stamped his feet, suddenly became anxious, pointed at the man and said: "You bastard, take a good look at your door. When I win money, you will naturally benefit from it. Don't be noisy and talkative here again, I last night
I had a dream, and the dream interpreter said that I would make a fortune today."
The big man instantly beamed, nodded and bowed: "Yes, yes, yes, Second Master, you must be very lucky today, so don't forget about me when the time comes."
Following the guidance of the big man, Mr. Xu raised his head and hummed a tune, and swaggered into the inner hall. The big man turned his head and hummed with disdain: "What the hell, are you calling me master in front of me? What?
A windfall, I think, is always a bad fortune."
Mr. Xu walked through the patio and heard bursts of noisy sounds. He opened the door and saw that the huge house was packed with people. The bursts of roars and the smell of sweat filling the air made people almost suffocate.
"Buy less and lose less, buy more and lose more, buy it and leave it with no regrets. Sir, are you buying banker or player?"
Seven or eight gambling tables were crowded with people, and they placed their bets with shouts. There was a sound of dice, and then some people were happy and some people were sighing.
"Damn it, I don't believe it anymore. I've played fourteen small hands in a row. I don't believe I can still play small this time. I'll bet on the big hand this time."
Mr. Xu seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere here. He looked at the tables inside, and his eyes imagined a lot of money pouring into his pocket. As he thought about it, he couldn't help but feel proud.
He actually laughed out loud.
When a guy with a sinister face saw him coming in, he also said with a smile: "Hey! Mr. Xu is here, please come in, I will make a lot of money today!"
Mr. Xu smiled and asked, "Which table is the weirdest today?"
The man quickly pointed to a table and said: "Second Master, that table has opened fourteen hands today. It is really weird. You might as well try it? As long as you go, you will definitely be able to turn things around.
"
Mr. Xu wandered towards the table just now. At this time, the people at that table were holding their breath and quietly waiting for the dealer to open the dice.
The banker is a lean little old man, with a pair of ghostly eyes scanning the crowd.
Then he opened the cup and shouted in a high voice: "Two, three, three, I'm sorry, everyone, this one is still small."
The little old man ignored the dissatisfaction of others and was very busy collecting money to compensate. Just when he was collecting the money, when he saw Mr. Xu, he squinted his eyes and smiled and said: "Master Xu, I haven't seen you for a long time. Today
Why do you have time to come here? Look at the red face of the second master today, I will definitely win a lot of money today."
Mr. Xu squeezed through the crowd, stopped and asked the little old man: "Jia Si'er, the fifteenth shot is too small. You don't know how to tamper with the dice?"
Everyone exclaimed in their hearts, this man was too brave, he even dared to question whether the dice had been manipulated in person. Anyway, it was really weird to open fifteen dice in a row. Let's see how the man said it.
.
Jia Si said with a shy smile: "Second Master, you see what you said, if you are afraid that the dice are fake, you can just use the dice you brought. I, Jia Si, rely on my craftsmanship to make a living, but I never do any crooked things."
.”
Mr. Xu nodded and immediately started gambling with everyone.
It turns out that this compound is an underground casino. Gambling is strictly prohibited by the Ming Law, and the stewards of Nanzhao City are closely guarded. Especially after the Marquis of Xiping was stationed in Yunnan, he inspected the city every now and then to warn people that gambling was harmful.
But there are also people who take advantage of the loopholes and set up the casino in this dirty and messy area. Housekeeper patrols usually don't check here. Even if they check here, they just walk around the outside and don't go deep inside.
Inspection. As a result, this casino was quietly established. Over time, people who are used to gambling will come here.
The real name of Mr. Xu is Xu Chun. He is the younger brother of Xu Yuan, the accounting clerk in Zhenyuan. Because he is the second eldest son in the family, everyone calls him Mr. Xu. Xu Chun is lazy and is a famous bad gambler in Nanzhao City.
Yuan Ye tried to persuade him many times to no avail, and could only turn a blind eye, which only cut off his financial path. But he was always able to accumulate the money distributed by the gang, and after reaching a certain amount, he
Will come here again and gamble away all my money.
The casino was bustling with people. Upstairs in the casino, a young man dressed in plain white was standing by the railing looking at the gambler's paradise. He kept covering his nose with a handkerchief. The air inside was really dirty.
Already.
The young man is about twenty years old. He has handsome features, is dressed like a scholar, has two thin lips, and has a body as soft as a bone. He seems to be out of tune with the environment here. A servant dressed like a scholar is standing aside.
, eagerly offering tea from time to time.
"Master, is that person Xu Chun?" The book boy handed over the tea and asked, "I don't think there is anything extraordinary about him. I wonder why Master values him so much?"
The young man smiled slightly and said: "Huizhi, how many times have I told you that people cannot be judged by their appearance, and sea water cannot be measured. Have you never listened carefully?"
The boy's voice was actually very melodious, and it sounded very pleasant and comfortable. And the relationship between the boy and the book boy seemed to be more than just a master-servant relationship, but more like a master-servant relationship, and also a relationship between brothers.
Shutong was about eleven or twelve years old, and he was also very handsome. At first glance, he and the young master looked like two brothers. Shutong stuck out his tongue and made a face. The boy was not angry, but looked at him dotingly.
, and then laughed it off, the child's character is always like this, and he himself was like this when he was young.
Not long after, Xu Chun began to become dejected. It could be seen from his expression that he seemed to have lost all his money. As the last dice was opened, Xu Chun was like a deflated rubber ball. The momentum just now
With nothing left, Jia Si's attitude towards him instantly became cold.
There was no other way. Xu Chun cursed himself and prepared to leave dejectedly. Just as he was about to leave, a fair-skinned child stood in front of Xu Chun holding a package.
Xu Chun suddenly became angry and started to curse: "Damn it, I thought it was really bad luck, but it turned out to be your little thing. Now that I have lost, why don't you come to see my joke?"
That child was a book boy named Hui Zhi. When Hui Zhi heard Xu Chun scolding him, she didn't give Xu Chun a good look. She pouted and said sarcastically: "The world is big, but you, the King of Heaven, are the biggest, right?"
If I am not lucky, I blame others for being very diligent. I think some people are born with wealth, and some people never make any money until they die."
When Xu Chun was upset, hearing such words made him even more angry. He raised his fist and tried to fight out.
Huizhi jumped slightly and took a few steps away from Xu Chun. She blinked her lovely eyes and said, "Uncle Xu, don't get angry in a hurry. If you hit a child, you won't make any money."
Xu Chun had never wanted to attack a child, and his original intention was to scare him. Huizhi choked him, so he had to put away his fists with a look of embarrassment on his face.
"Whose child are you? What are you doing here? Why are you blocking the uncle's way again?"
Huizhi took a step closer, raised the package in her hands and handed it to Xu Chun, saying: "My young master asked me to give this to Uncle Xu, and ask Uncle Xu to take a look."
"What young man," Xu Chun muttered, walked up to Huizhi, opened the package, and saw that there was a pile of white silver in the package. Xu Chun weighed it, and found that there were as many as one hundred taels.
Xu Chun suddenly became a little conflicted, accept it? But he doesn’t know this young master or this kid, so why should he accept money from others for no reason? No? Xu Chun turned around and looked at the gambling table. Maybe there is such money.
, you can win back all the money you lost in the past.
Xu Chun was a little conflicted. After thinking for a long time, Huizhi said unceremoniously: "Uncle Xu, do you want it or not? Should I just hold it up with one hand? This thing is quite heavy and will get tired after a long time."
Xu Chun was brought back to reality. Could this be related to yesterday's dream? Could this child be my good fortune boy? Could it be that I, Xu Chun, am going to turn over today? Thinking of this, Xu Chun did not hesitate at all, nor did he want to know who the owner of the silver was.
, he only wanted to make money with the money in his hands, and then it would not be too late to return the money to others. But what he did not expect was that there is no free lunch in the world, let alone money for no reason.
Xu Chun, who had money, began to place bigger and bigger bets, and his voice became louder and louder throughout the casino. Xu Chun, who was jealous of gambling, had gradually lost his mind. He now desperately wanted to win.
Get back the money you lost.
But the good times did not last long. The bigger Xu Chun's bet, the more he lost. One hundred taels of silver was an astronomical sum for ordinary people. Some people had never seen so much silver in their lives. But
Putting it on the gambling table, one hundred taels of silver is like water flowing in the east, and you can lose everything in an instant.