After lunch, Song Jianmin led the company members into the venue, cleaned up the surroundings again, and then had the outer sentries go to their posts.
Before one o'clock, Song Jianhao arrived with four people, one of whom was a middle-aged man around forty, and the other three were young men in their twenties.
"Hello, President Wu."
Song Jianmin greeted the newcomers proactively. Sixi and the others also exchanged pleasantries with them, clearly familiar with each other.
"Jianmin, where is your classmate? Introduce us."
The middle-aged man surnamed Wu nodded and asked, his eyes fixed on Yang Jian.
Song Jianmin patted Yang Jian's shoulder, "This is my classmate, Yang Jian. This is President Wu Wangchun, the boss of the Emperor Company. You two are not far from each other, so get acquainted."
Yang Jian didn't know why President Wu was looking for him, but he still extended his right hand to him, "Hello, President Wu, I'm Yang Jian, from Yang Liwan. Where are you from?"
President Wu smiled and shook his hand, "Hello, I'm from Wu Family Village. Yang Jian, right? You're a celebrity in our Xinhe District now. You took down Cao Wu, who had a gun, and his dozen brothers with your bare hands. You became famous overnight. The streets have been full of news about you these past few days. You can walk sideways in Chengguan from now on."
Is it that exaggerated? Yang Jian was a bit stunned. This was not a good thing; if his father heard about it, he would get scolded again.
Song Jianhao also smiled and said, "Yang Jian, you showed your might in Chengguan, and I've benefited from it. Now the whole of Chengguan knows you're my brother. Teacher Hu voluntarily paid back the debt to me, and Brother Mao called just now to ask if the venue here was open, saying he wanted to come and support the game. He probably wants to mend his relationship with you. What are your thoughts?"
"What are my thoughts? Will he return the two hundred thousand to me?"
Song Jianhao gave a wry smile, "Probably not, because he can't admit he swindled you, otherwise, he won't be able to get by in Chengguan."
"Then there's nothing to talk about. I'll settle the score with him later."
Yang Jian had no intention of forgiving Brother Mao, who had driven him to desperation, thus leading him down this dangerous and unknown path.
"What's going on? Yang Jian has a grudge against Mao Zi?"
Wu Wangchun, who was listening nearby, caught the unusual information.
Song Jianmin recounted how Yang Jian lost two hundred thousand and was kicked out by his family on the third day of the Lunar New Year.
"Damn, Old Mao Zi has kicked a steel plate this time. Yang Jian, Sister Feng has publicly acknowledged you as her brother, and even the boss behind Cao Wu doesn't intend to pursue you anymore. Mao Zi is a bit detestable, specializing in confidence tricks to bully honest businessmen. Find an opportunity to teach him a lesson, we all support you."
"Sister Feng? Can we all return to Chengguan anytime?"
"Yes, Sister Feng has already made it known that you are her person. Although she's not exactly from the underworld, she has money. Several bosses in Chengguan have to give her some face. Now, with your formidable martial prowess, no one in Chengguan dares to provoke you."
Wu Wangchun's tone was somewhat fawning. This world was truly amusing; these hoodlums were actually afraid of formidable individuals.
As they were talking, more people kept arriving, presumably to gamble. Even Xiao Wu brought two people, who were said to be sent by Boss Xiong to support the game. It had to be said that Song Jianhao's organizational skills were excellent; by the time gambling officially started, there were already thirty to forty people in the venue.
Seeing Wu Wangchun sitting in a recliner, Yang Jian knew the gambling session was about to begin. His task was to maintain order at the scene. To understand the rules of the game, he stood on a long bench, and the entire gambling table came into full view.
He saw Song Jianmin, sitting opposite Wu Wangchun, take a white porcelain saucer about ten centimeters in diameter and a small white porcelain teacup from a canvas bag, then place a whole board of dice in front of Wu Wangchun and give him three packs of cigarettes.
Wu Wangchun then took a die and placed it on the saucer, then picked one from Song Jianmin's board of dice and placed it in the saucer, arranging it with the two and four spots facing up. Finally, he covered the two dice with the teacup.
Yang Jian understood this ritual; it signified that the gambling company and the Emperor Company were not the same entity. Each contributing one die indicated that the game was fair and just, with no cheating.
While performing this ritual, Sixi distributed sheets of white paper and art pens to the people sitting around the gambling table. Yang Jian didn't understand this action; did gambling require record-keeping?
"It's starting. Let's set the regular players first. This is a black money venue, with a five thousand limit."
Wu Wangchun grabbed the saucer and teacup with his right hand, shook them up and down twice, then placed them on the table and opened them. The result was three and six.
This action was repeated three times, and the final rolled numbers were three and five. Song Jianmin immediately placed a plastic card with "3x5" written on it in the center of the table.
Yang Jian still didn't understand. Coincidentally, Biao Biao stood beside him, so he could ask for clarification.
"Biao Biao, what does it mean to place a card with three and five in the middle?"
"This is called a 'regular player.' If this combination appears in the game, the Emperor doesn't have to lose money. Three and five add up to eight points, a win-win. After this point is rolled, the money bet on odd numbers goes to the Emperor, and those who bet on even numbers can take back their own bets. It's neither a win nor a loss. This is the Emperor's sole privilege and benefit."
Yang Jian was a bit confused, "But that's unfair to the bettors, isn't it? They don't win money if they bet correctly, and losers still lose their money for nothing."
Biao Biao smiled, "This is the rule of our local casino. People who come here to gamble don't have to pay any fees. No matter how much money they win during the game, they don't have to pay any commission. The only loss is when this point combination appears, they don't win money."
"Then what does 'black money venue' mean?"
"A black money venue means that bets of ten or twenty yuan in change are allowed. If the minimum bet is one hundred yuan, it's called a red money venue. Most of these gamblers are local residents, not wealthy people, so this venue allows betting with small change. Moreover, the Emperor can only bet a maximum of five thousand yuan per round. This is called a table limit."
Yang Jian was a bit confused, "Then how does our gambling company profit?"
"Our profit comes from drawing commission from the Emperor. The Emperor has to pay our gambling company seven percent profit for every game won."
"Oh, I understand that. What are the paper and pens in front of the gamblers for?"
"That's called making a record. It's to record the points rolled in each round. Some people use this as a basis for their bets, similar to looking at a trend chart when trading stocks."
"Wow, there are so many intricacies. It seems gambling isn't just blind. You can actually find patterns this way."
"What patterns? It's just self-deception. Those two dice can produce endless variations inside; there are no patterns. It's still about luck."
Biao Biao scoffed, clearly not agreeing with this betting method.