The minor interlude over, Shi Jianguo continued to bet with his cards face down, and Cao Jie and I followed suit.
The muscular man sitting to my left had already folded, skipping his turn.
The Kidney Deficiency Man's eyes flickered between "Qiu Shuzhen" and his face-down cards as he continued to bet.
The middle-aged man also went face down.
After the second round, whether it was a special signal from the muscular man or his own unease, when Shi Jianguo bet face down for the third time, Cao Jie directly folded.
After Cao Jie folded, it was my turn.
At this moment, I made an unexpected move.
I nudged Leng Meng beside me, frowned, and clutched my stomach, saying to her, "Oh no, I can't take it! I think I ate something bad. You play a couple of rounds for me, I'm going to the restroom."
Leng Meng, who had no idea what I was up to, stared at me intently, looking me over and over.
Unfortunately, she couldn't figure anything out.
As I feigned urgency and got up hastily, all four people at the table besides the Kidney Deficiency Man, as well as the beautiful young woman "Qiu Shuzhen" sitting by the side watching, all turned their gazes towards me.
Shi Jianguo didn't say anything, just frowned deeply, looking at me with a look of disdain.
However, the beautiful young woman "Qiu Shuzhen" suddenly chuckled and said, "Young man, your body isn't up to much! At such a young age, your digestive system is already poor."
Before I could reply, the Kidney Deficiency Man quickly chimed in, "Beautiful lady, my body is great!"
"All functions are top-notch! Especially in *that* area! In the martial world, I'm known as the 'Golden Left Hand'! If you have time... let's chat about length and explore depth?"
The Kidney Deficiency Man's suggestive words made all the male compatriots present burst into laughter, exclaiming his talent.
Of course, everyone except me.
With the main business at hand, I ignored "Qiu Shuzhen" and directly signaled Leng Meng, "Quick, sit down and play for me!"
"If you lose, it's my fault; if you win, it's yours."
Seeing that I seemed genuinely unwell, Leng Meng didn't waste any more words. She nodded and sat in my seat, then began to play face down.
The moment Leng Meng put her money down, I clutched my stomach and rushed downstairs...
Guess what I went to do? Prizes for correct guesses!
Poop? Wrong!
Make a call? Wrong!
Pee and wander? Also wrong!
Alright. Here's the correct answer.
In fact, I didn't go anywhere. I just went to the small supermarket next door to buy a pack of Hong Nanjing cigarettes, over a dozen bottles of drinks, and... all the Binwang poker cards in the supermarket!
Just now, Cao Jie's actions enlightened me, reminding me of some things Uncle Tuo had said.
A true gambler, once seated at the gambling table, would go to any lengths to deceive anyone to win money!
Moreover, they would stop at nothing!
If you encounter such people at the table in the future, remember, you absolutely cannot show mercy!
Fleece them fiercely! Beat them!
At first, after figuring out the cards in Shi Jianguo's hand, and due to my apprehension about what happened yesterday evening, my sole thought was how to fleece people and win his money without revealing my identity.
In reality, this was a mental blind spot caused by negative emotions.
As a seasoned cheat, at the gambling table, one should never fear being discovered, but rather being caught in the act of cheating!
As the saying goes: to catch an adulterer, catch them in the act; to catch a thief, catch them with the stolen goods!
As long as Shi Jianguo has no evidence of me cheating, he can't do anything to me.
After all, he also hired a cheat!
If things were to be laid bare and thoroughly investigated, he wouldn't be in the right.
Therefore, to break the deadlock, the first step is to overcome the mental blind spot.
The most crucial element in this is the deck of cards!
Although Cao Jie decided to go his own way and team up with the muscular man, without knowing who brought this deck of cards, to avoid being backstabbed in the end, I decided to switch to a genuine deck to play!
Once the genuine deck is in play, the rest of the matter... becomes much simpler!
If that seemingly ordinary middle-aged man is a hidden master of the cheating arts, then I'll gladly admit defeat.
If not... then just sit back and watch my performance!
...
About half an hour later.
As I came back up with a large bag of drinks, Leng Meng said somewhat apologetically, "Don't blame me, your cards were too bad."
"It's alright!"
Waving my hand, I showed the bag in my hand and said with a smile, "Sorry for delaying everyone! I'll treat everyone to some water!"
After speaking, taking advantage of the end of the current round, I directly placed the bag containing the drinks and poker cards on the table.
Seeing a whole unopened deck of poker cards inside, Shi Jianguo gave me a meaningful glance and sneered, "Heh heh! I thought you fell into a cesspool!"
"Kid, we're playing Golden Flower, not Go Fish or Dou Dizhu. Why buy so many decks?"
Actually, I had already prepared the answer to this question before coming up.
So, without feigning thought, I directly pointed to the stack of money in front of Leng Meng and said with a smile, "You've lost over three thousand in an hour. Is it too much to ask for a new deck of cards?"
"Moreover, to avoid you all thinking too much, I specifically bought a whole unopened deck! You can inspect it thoroughly until you're satisfied."
In our Anhai County, if a loser in an ongoing card game requests a new deck, it can be changed if more than half of the players agree.
When a new deck is introduced, the person who won the previous hand shuffles the cards.
Don't underestimate the act of changing cards!
In card games involving more than two strangers, the probability of invisible lenses and marked cards with special solutions is quite high.
At least in Anhai County, it's genuinely quite high.
If you sense something is wrong and you keep losing money, don't panic, and definitely don't resort to force.
Gambling is inherently not something that can be brought to the table. If it escalates into a scene, you'll end up losing both money and face.
Therefore, changing the cards is the most stable approach.
It not only allows for immediate loss mitigation but also restores fair competition.
Because changing cards doesn't just change the cards themselves; it changes the flow of the game and one's luck.
If your luck genuinely improves after changing cards, and you even make a comeback, then I sincerely congratulate you.
If it remains the same, or you lose even more, then it can only mean: you're a jinx!
Alright! Back to the main topic.
I had expected Shi Jianguo to try his best to refuse my proposal, but upon seeing him exchange subtle glances with the middle-aged man, and the latter seemingly agreeing, I knew... my gamble had paid off!
From the moment I saw Shi Jianguo arguing with the muscular man in public, everything I did afterward was to pave the way for this very moment!
The first step in breaking the deadlock was this middle-aged man.
A true member of the cheating community would have no reason to look down on someone like the muscular man, a half-baked player, nor would they stand by and watch him unscrupulously use his amateur high-tech to cheat money round after round!
Even though, on the surface, the muscular man was on their side, the former's clumsy performance and incredibly touching win rate all highlighted his trait of being a "teammate like a pig."
As long as the middle-aged man nodded, changing the cards was a done deal!
Of course, if he hadn't agreed just now, I would have had to risk it and cheat, taking down Cao Jie and the muscular man first.
As for whether I would be exposed or caught, that would depend on whether the middle-aged man... had any backup plans!
But now, I don't have to prepare for the worst.
Because the middle-aged man agreed to change the cards, Shi Jianguo also agreed, and then that Kidney Deficiency Man, who had a negligible presence, was also clamoring to change his luck.
Combined with me, that's four people agreeing to change the cards.
Therefore, whether Cao Jie and the muscular man agree or not, they will ultimately have to agree!
Once the cards are changed, the true showdown of this gambling match... will begin!