Yu Shuang hung up the phone in a hurry, either because she was too busy or because something else had happened. She didn't wait for me to give an answer.
It was early summer, and the June rain came as it pleased.
Listening to the pitter-patter of the rain outside the window, I was completely devoid of sleep at this moment.
Tossing and turning in bed, my mind kept replaying Yu Shuang's last words.
"I won't let you come here for nothing, twenty thousand yuan."
What exactly happened in the mahjong parlor that made the usually calm and collected Yu Shuang lose her composure so suddenly?
My curiosity thoroughly piqued, I gave up on the idea of sleeping. I got out of bed, dressed, and, braving the fine drizzle, ran to the mahjong parlor at lightning speed.
...
As soon as I reached the entrance, I noticed that something indeed seemed to be wrong.
Two Range Rovers were parked at the entrance of the mahjong parlor, and their license plates were from out of town.
In the middle of the night, why would people from out of town come to such a remote and obscure mahjong parlor to play cards?
Thinking of the twenty thousand yuan Yu Shuang had mentioned earlier, I immediately realized: there was something going on here!
The presence of two foreign luxury cars, each costing over a million yuan, at the mahjong parlor late at night could only mean one of two things.
One, they were looking for someone.
Two, they were here to play cards.
If they were looking for someone, Yu Shuang definitely wouldn't have asked me for help, let alone offered twenty thousand yuan.
Therefore, the owners of the luxury cars were most likely here to play cards! And their identities were certainly not simple.
After entering, the reactions of Sister Ran and Shi Jianguo instantly confirmed that my guess was correct.
The atmosphere in the entire first-floor lobby seemed very oppressive. Shi Jianguo, standing behind the bar, had a dark expression, while Sister Ran, looking flustered, kept waving me over, signaling me to come quickly.
And Yu Shuang... was nowhere to be seen!
Seeing this, I forcibly suppressed my inner curiosity, walked quickly towards Sister Ran, and turned to survey the lobby...
The mahjong parlor, usually bustling with activity, was now eerily deserted.
As Yu Shuang had told me before, the Baole Mahjong Parlor was much busier at night than during the day.
Those gambling addicts loved to shout loudly in the mahjong parlor at night, playing all night long.
But now, except for the table in the very center, where Leng Meng, the female pickpocket, was playing "Zha Jin Hua" with a group of people, there wasn't a soul at any of the other card or mahjong tables!
How strange!
What's more, the faces of the people playing at the table now looked incredibly unfamiliar.
I remembered Uncle Tuo once telling me that in mahjong parlors and casinos, the most to be wary of were unfamiliar faces.
And Uncle Tuo had also emphasized one point.
If these unfamiliar faces came in groups... then there was a ninety-nine percent chance of trouble!
At this moment, apart from the occasional calls to place bets and the sound of lighters igniting cigarettes, there was practically no other sound in the entire mahjong parlor.
It was quiet, but eerily so.
At a glance, apart from Leng Meng, the unfamiliar faces of the outsiders at the table were all dressed very formally.
Their hair was meticulously combed, they wore crisp suits without a single wrinkle, and each of them wore a gold-inlaid, silver-engraved wristwatch.
This extremely professional yet ostentatiously wealthy attire made me highly suspicious and interested in the identities of these newcomers.
When I reached the bar, with a belly full of questions, I lowered my voice and asked Sister Ran, "What's going on? Where's Yu Shuang?"
Sister Ran immediately made a shushing gesture and replied softly in my ear, "Xiao Shuang is on her way back. Did she ask you to come?"
Hearing this, I nodded subtly.
Upon hearing my answer, Sister Ran's eyes lit up slightly, but then quickly dimmed, and she sighed, "Alas! It's a pity you're still a step too late."
"That girl Leng Meng didn't listen to Xiao Shuang and insisted she could handle it herself without you."
"And now, she's been strung along, unable to go up or down, completely held up!"
Sister Ran's words immediately made me understand why Yu Shuang had offered me twenty thousand yuan to come to the mahjong parlor in the middle of the night.
Cheaters!!!
These wealthy people in luxury cars were most likely cheaters! Yu Shuang wanted me to come to the rescue.
Most people who come to mahjong parlors to play cards win money through luck. The owner wouldn't say anything no matter how much money they won.
But there was one type of person who would give the owner a headache – a cheater!
Don't think that real cheaters are like those in movies, only frequenting high-end casinos with bets in the millions or even hundreds of millions.
After all, those are movies, and that is art!
While art originates from life, it is also elevated above life!
Real cheaters who dare to cheat in big casinos are basically top-tier, elite cheaters!
So, while those gambling movies might have slightly exaggerated the portrayal of cheaters, they were still somewhat reasonable.
In real life, most cheaters operate in various folk mahjong parlors and small private casinos.
The situation that the Baole Mahjong Parlor is currently facing is what Uncle Tuo used to call a "money-moving team."
"Qian tong qian," which translates to "money through cheating," and "zou qian tuan" means "money-moving team." It signifies a team of traveling cheaters, much like guerrillas in warfare.
Guerrillas fire a shot and change their location, and a money-moving team cheats in a similar fashion.
Upon arriving in a city, the money-moving team will stop and randomly select targets to cheat.
This could be a casino or a mahjong parlor.
But regardless of the chosen venue, the money-moving team will only make one move.
After their move, win or lose, the money-moving team will immediately leave, and they are the type who never linger!
Furthermore, money-moving teams never cheat stealthily; they do it openly.
After selecting their target, they will communicate with the owner in advance, subtly expressing their desire to "meet friends through cards and compete."
The owner will immediately understand this.
It's still manageable in private casinos. Regardless of their size, they usually have one or two "dark lights" who can maintain order.
As long as the owner agrees and the terms are negotiated beforehand, the dark lights will clear the venue and directly confront the money-moving team.
However, if it's a mahjong parlor, it's a different story.
Most mahjong parlors do not have any "dark lights."
If the owner dares not to accept, they can only offer a generous red envelope to the other party, begging them to show mercy.
If they are not even willing to offer a red envelope, then there is only one outcome left.
They can only watch helplessly as the money-moving team wreaks havoc in their mahjong parlor until they have cheated enough money and leave without a backward glance.
If it reaches this point, then that mahjong parlor... essentially doesn't need to operate anymore.