This is a high-stakes gambling den, with hundred-yuan bills covering the tables. Although the number of gamblers is not large, the bets are substantial. Bets of three to five hundred yuan are considered small; over a dozen people are betting one to two thousand yuan.
Two imposing middle-aged men are betting tens of thousands directly. Each has a pile of over a hundred thousand yuan in front of them, with a young, beautiful girl, likely only twenty or twenty-one, standing behind each.
The Emperor has a hundred thousand yuan in cash on display, and the dealers on either side each have ten thousand yuan, along with a bill-counting machine.
The dealer for the gambling company, who handles the house cut, is a handsome young man. He also has a bill-counting machine and a few thousand yuan in cash before him.
This place is quite interesting. Yang Jian has never seen so much money before. He estimates that the cash on the tables in front of all the gamblers combined is at least eight hundred thousand yuan.
City people are truly wealthy, Yang Jian muses. They work hard at construction sites, earning only one to two hundred yuan a day for all their labor, and they don't get paid until the end of the year. These people, however, casually throw around thousands of yuan as if it were blown in by the wind.
Xiao Wu also seems to have just arrived. He has fifty thousand yuan in front of him, still in its wrapper, suggesting he hasn't started gambling yet.
"Place your bets, hands off. The banker is open. Two, five, seven points, odd wins."
With the Emperor's loud announcement, the teacup is lifted. The dice on the plate show two and five facing up, totaling seven points, which is odd.
The two dealers quickly collect all the even bets and then use the bill-counting machines to pay out the odd bets. Their movements are skilled and incredibly fast. In less than three minutes, all bets are paid out, and the remaining money is handed over to the handsome dealer.
In this round, the Emperor won over twenty thousand yuan. The handsome dealer handling the house cut immediately takes out a thousand yuan, and the rest is returned to the Emperor.
Yang Jian understands. They are taking a five percent cut. Although the percentage is small, the Emperor's transaction volume is large. How much cut will he make tonight? Likely over a hundred thousand yuan.
As Yang Jian is calculating, the next round begins. Song Jianhao and Xiao Wu both start placing bets. The amounts are not small. Song Jianhao casually grabs a stack, estimated to be over two thousand yuan, and bets it on odd.
Xiao Wu directly places a ten-thousand yuan stack, secured with a rubber band, on odd as well.
There aren't many people betting on odd, only five or six bets in total, amounting to just over thirty thousand yuan.
On the other hand, the even side is covered in cash, estimated to be around a hundred thousand yuan.
This situation sparks Yang Jian's curiosity. Why is everyone flocking to bet on even? He leans in to look at a record kept by a gambler next to Xiao Wu and discovers that odd has come up five consecutive times. This indicates that most people don't believe it will come up again.
"The Emperor is only betting fifty thousand. Is anyone willing to help cover some of the bet?"
The Emperor, a middle-aged man, has already calculated that the difference in betting amounts between odd and even exceeds fifty thousand yuan. The house rule for this game is a fifty-thousand yuan table limit, which he has clearly surpassed.
"I'll cover ten thousand."
Xiao Wu casually throws another ten thousand yuan onto the odd side.
Seeing Xiao Wu bet so heavily, Song Jianhao also becomes interested. "I'll cover ten thousand too."
Now, the difference between the two sides is only fifty thousand yuan.
The Emperor once again opens the bank: "Two, three, five points. Odd wins."
A wave of groans erupts, as more people had bet on even.
In this round, the Emperor wins over fifty thousand yuan and takes a two-thousand-five-hundred yuan cut.
Xiao Wu wins twenty thousand, and Song Jianhao wins twelve thousand six hundred.
"Go, Wu Ge! Go, Hao Ge!"
Yang Jian whispers, a rule he just learned during the day, and he genuinely feels happy for them.
"Xiao Yang, take this for some tea."
Xiao Wu immediately grabs a stack of money and shoves it towards Yang Jian. Yang Jian is startled. This is a lot of red money, easily over two thousand yuan. He hesitates to accept it.
Song Jianhao hands over five hundred yuan. "Take it all. It's just enough to sign up for driving school tomorrow."
Recalling the rules Song Jianmin had explained, Yang Jian knows he must accept this red money, otherwise, it would be disrespectful to Xiao Wu. He accepts it with composure.
The gambling continues. Because odd has come up six times in a row, the people in the casino are like they've been injected with adrenaline. Before the Emperor even starts shaking the dice, the bets are already covering the even side, clearly showing no one believes odd will come up again.
Xiao Wu continues to bet ten thousand on odd, and Song Jianhao bets five thousand.
In this round, the difference in betting amounts between odd and even is even greater. The even side has a full hundred and fifty thousand, while the odd side has less than thirty thousand.
The Emperor speaks again: "There's too much money on the even side. Is anyone willing to help the Emperor cover a bit more?"
Xiao Wu and Song Jianhao exchange a glance, nod, and clearly intend to increase their bets.
Xiao Wu pushes all the cash in front of him onto the odd side, totaling nearly seventy thousand yuan.
Song Jianhao is more conservative, adding fifteen thousand, bringing his total to twenty thousand.
"Is there anyone else willing to cover twenty thousand?"
The Emperor notices that the difference between the two sides is still more than fifty thousand yuan.
No one responds. After all, most people are betting on the even side, and Xiao Wu and Song Jianhao's cash is insufficient to continue increasing their bets.
The atmosphere turns cold, seemingly stuck in a stalemate. The Emperor's bet is limited to fifty thousand, a pre-set rule, and the gambling company cannot interfere. Those betting on the even side are unwilling to reduce their stakes, as they have lost five or six consecutive rounds and are counting on this one to win back their losses.
"I'll cover these twenty thousand. Banker open."
A burly man suddenly walks behind the handsome dealer and speaks up to take the bet.
Upon seeing the man, the Emperor quickly nods. "Alright, Brother Xiong covers twenty thousand. Banker open."
As the Emperor lifts the teacup, the venue erupts in groans once again.
"Nails! Odd wins!"
The Emperor's voice is tinged with excitement. In this round, they have won another fifty thousand.
Yang Jian doesn't understand what "nails" means. He leans in to look at the dice and sees one and two points. So, this is called nails. It's quite descriptive.
Xiao Wu wins a considerable amount in this round. After the payout, the cash in front of him approaches one hundred and forty thousand yuan. He throws fifty thousand yuan to a young man carrying a briefcase.
"Code company, my account is settled."
"Thank you, Wu Ge."
The young man smiles and puts the cash into his briefcase.
Yang Jian finally understands. Xiao Wu borrowed money from the code company to gamble as soon as he arrived, and he immediately paid back his debts after winning.
"Brother Xiong, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."
Xiao Wu knows when to quit. He tidies the money in his hands, counts out a thousand yuan, and throws it to the handsome dealer, a gesture of support for the gambling company and respect for Brother Xiong.
"Alright, you go ahead. President Song's luck also seems to be quite good."
Brother Xiong also won twenty thousand in this round, but he left it with the dealer.
Song Jianhao came specifically to support the house, so he naturally wouldn't leave after just a couple of rounds. "I've won a little bit of money. Brother Xiong, this place is run very well, and it's very popular."
"It's alright, it's all thanks to the brothers supporting the house. Everyone plays to their heart's content. Anything the Emperor can't bet, the company will cover."
Brother Xiong's words excite everyone. This means that no matter how much is bet, there will be someone to cover it, depending on whether individuals can turn their luck around in one go.