Some might ask, since so many big bosses enjoy playing cards, why don't they invite people to their homes to play?
Anyone who asks this question is definitely not a regular card player.
Aside from desperate gamblers and addicts, normal people never invite their card partners home to play!
Firstly, you never know what's in another person's heart. Exposing your home address carries risks, both high and low.
Even with the most familiar card partners, without the entanglement of mutual interests, they might not do anything to harm your family.
But card games inherently involve wins and losses. Even a cheat can't guarantee victory at the gambling table every time, let alone an ordinary person.
Moreover, debts from the gambling table are often messy. Nine out of ten times, there are uncleared IOUs and unmanageable bad debts.
If you win, you're the one chasing others for money.
If you lose, others are coming to collect from you.
Bringing people home to play cards means that if you owe money at the table, your creditors will be knocking on your door every other day.
Do big bosses not understand this common sense that the vast majority of ordinary people grasp?
Therefore, they only play cards outside.
When big bosses find places to play cards outside, it generally falls into two categories.
One, casinos and card rooms.
Big bosses who choose to play in casinos and card rooms are almost invariably nouveau riche with no brains, and they often exude a certain "I'm rich, so I'm awesome" swagger, tinged with a rough, streetwise aura.
These types of big bosses, who think they have some connection to the underworld, are essentially what later generations would call idiots who haven't been beaten by society.
Don't flaunt your wealth!
As long as you reveal your wealth in a casino or card room, those with ulterior motives won't care about your status. They'll seize any opportunity to stab you and take a piece of you – that's the harsh reality.
After discussing the first type of place, let's focus on the second.
Two, non-public but fixed venues.
To put it plainly, these venues must have private, highly secluded rooms.
For example: guesthouses, hotels, teahouses, coffee shops, small eateries, and so on.
Before I left the textile factory in Anhai.
I personally saw a small eatery in town where the largest and brightest room on the second floor always had a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door.
Several times in the evening, when my Uncle Tuo and I went for drinks after work, I saw people driving private cars getting out hurriedly, carrying bags, and going straight upstairs into the private room.
Two or three hours later, after finishing their drinks, they came out, and their cars were still parked outside the eatery.
The next morning, when I passed by on my way to work at the textile factory, the eatery was closed, but several cars were still parked there, unmoved.
Later, Uncle Tuo explained to me that they weren't there to eat at all, but rather a group of small bosses had arranged to play cards.
Jiang Jinshan's method is even more discreet than what I saw in Anhai.
The most obvious characteristic is: there's no need to worry about being reported out of envy.
If the Four Seasons Hotel wants to retain Jiang Jinshan as a long-term suite customer, they must first protect his privacy as a guest and ensure he enjoys all his... legal and illegal rights.
Whenever Jiang Jinshan wants to play cards, he doesn't even need to worry himself; the hotel can keep an eye out for any suspicious activities outside for him.
Bosses who own Four Seasons Hotels, if not backed by powerful connections, at least have extensive networks.
If ordinary people, driven by envy, try to report him to claim a reward, they won't get past the first hurdle!
Believe it or not, the moment you make the call, the hotel owner will receive the news!
Unless it's a period of city-wide rectification and crackdown, it's virtually impossible to breach that first barrier.
...
While the advertising company was urgently printing contracts, I began brainstorming based on the personality traits of Jiang Jinshan provided by Gu Yuhe.
For someone so cautious about even finding a place to play cards, the timing of my fake contracts must be absolutely perfect.
Although the beginning is always the hardest, a good start is followed by the process.
If any accidents or minor flaws occur during the process, the outcome will inevitably be a complete failure.
For a big fish worth over four million yuan to start, I repeatedly pondered the timing of introducing the contracts.
Thus, the fourth day of the week set by Gu Yuhe passed by, with more than half the day spent on making business cards and printing contracts.
In the afternoon, around 1 PM.
The urgently printed business cards and the already completed contracts finally arrived in my hands, all accounted for.
Next, I need to make Jiang Jinshan see these items reasonably and believe that the content on them is true.
After eating, I had Luo Tuo drive me around outside for another hour or so.
Around 3 PM, I returned to the Four Seasons Hotel with the female companion named Qin Lan.
Although Jiang Jinshan was no longer in the lobby, I still took Qin Lan to a window seat and asked the waiter for two coffees.
Seeing that there was no one around, and using the opportunity to pick up the coffee cups, Qin Lan looked at me and whispered, "Chen Xiang, Jiang Jinshan isn't even here. Why did you bring me here to keep up this pretense?"
"Heh heh~" After smiling, I replied in a low voice, "Be patient, beautiful! Haven't you heard that details determine success?"
"Can you guarantee that after staying here for so long, Jiang Jinshan hasn't bribed some informants?"
"If this assumption holds true, and I only appear with you at the exact moments he shows up, do you think there might be smart people among those informants who would report such unusual behavior to him?"
"Don't forget, he's a big fish worth at least four million yuan!"
"As professional members of the Orchid Gate, you must have fished countless times, how can you not have this much patience?"
"Trust me, let's nurture him for two days, and then find an opportunity to make our move in the last two days!"
Hearing this, Qin Lan frowned slightly and asked, "You can really stay so calm? You believe your scheme will succeed?"
"As a gambler, I can give up anything, but confidence... not even a shred can be lost!"
"If I don't even believe in my own scheme to cheat people out of their money, how can I expect others to believe me?"
Upon hearing my confident response, Qin Lan couldn't help but ask again, "Then what approach do you plan to use?"
"No rush! I'll decide after the second 'chance encounter' with Jiang Jinshan!"
You never know what's in another person's heart!
I didn't explain too much to Qin Lan. Although she was here to assist me on behalf of Gu Yuhe, she was ultimately an outsider.
Things like the layout and approach that she was asking about are my most guarded secrets, how could I easily let an outsider figure them out?
When Jiang Jinshan appears in the hotel lobby for the second time, I will quickly make a decision based on his expression towards me and the micro-expressions on his face.
Time flew by, and it was evening.
Ding!
As the elevator doors opened, Jiang Jinshan emerged, chatting and laughing with his clients.
Noticing out of the corner of my eye that when Jiang Jinshan saw me and Qin Lan chatting over coffee in the lobby, a look of curiosity instantly flashed across his face.
Seeing this, my heart settled.
Because I knew, the opportunity... had arrived!