Under the synchronized gaze of those three old foxes, I sat down at the table with the three thousand yuan in chips that Han Jinlun had exchanged for me.
The moment the three thousand chips were neatly arranged on the table, a greedy glint flashed in the depths of their eyes.
Even though this greedy glint was fleeting, I saw it clearly.
While three thousand chips wasn't a lot, it was exactly as I had meticulously planned.
In a three-against-one game, ten thousand per person was perfect!
Once the four-player mahjong game was set, the three old foxes immediately invited me to shuffle the tiles together, saying it would be a good chance to get a feel for the tiles while shuffling.
Why are so many people addicted to mahjong and unable to extricate themselves? It stems from that indescribable perfect texture when touching mahjong tiles.
People who enjoy playing mahjong have a common trait: they find joy in the process right from the shuffling.
The clattering sound of shuffling tiles filled the air. I pretended to be enjoying myself as I shuffled, while the three old foxes watched me discreetly.
In their subconscious minds, they had likely already pegged me as a fat pig waiting to be slaughtered.
Little did they know that in my eyes, they were the prey in my sights…
The Yongli Chess and Card Room did not have automatic mahjong tables that combined automatic shuffling and tile stacking. Instead, they used ordinary green-felt mahjong tables, requiring manual shuffling. This was a significant disadvantage.
Because in mahjong, subtle manipulations could begin as early as the shuffling stage.
Those skilled in mahjong know that when shuffling and stacking tiles manually, one can not only hide desired tiles in advance but also use their hands to subtly hold down key tiles and stack them in their preferred positions.
One of the simplest cheating methods is to specifically pick one of the numbers 1, 4, 7, or 2, 5, 8 when rolling the dice.
As long as you hit the chosen number, you can place the tiles in front of yourself.
This way, you effectively have an advantage from the very start!
Of course, if the tiles you manipulated in advance remain at the end of the stack after moving them, you'll need to change your strategy.
You'd preemptively discard tiles corresponding to nearby numbers to avoid the awkward situation of waiting for tiles later on.
If someone else happened to be waiting for a tile with that specific number, it would effectively mean they were waiting for a rare tile, and they wouldn't be able to win for a while!
In addition, there was another benefit to manipulating tiles during shuffling.
If, during the actual game, you suddenly discovered a tile you had hidden earlier on the table, it would mean… someone else was cheating just like you!
Therefore, in summary, while mahjong is prone to cheating, it requires meticulous planning. Otherwise, you might just be paving the way for others!
...
After the shuffling was complete.
An old fox with a slicked-back gambler's hairstyle, taking advantage of his position at the head of the table, demanded to roll the dice first.
Strictly speaking, there are rules for who rolls the dice first in mahjong; it's not something that can be easily brushed aside with a mere "sitting north facing south" claim.
However, this game was already three-against-one. As long as one of them had the first move, even if I managed to get the second, it would be useless.
So, I remained silent and let the slick-haired man do as he pleased.
Before rolling the dice, the slick-haired man lightly tapped the dice on the green felt table in front of him, muttering something under his breath.
Seeing this, I inwardly sneered: Pig with a straw in its nose – what a show-off!
Mercury dice are mercury dice; why the pretense of superstition!
The dice in the slick-haired man's hand were filled with mercury. The principle was that when you wanted a specific number, you just needed to gently place the dice down and tap them. The mercury would then fall, allowing you to accurately roll that number.
This trick of mercury-filled dice had been common in casinos since ancient times.
These three were quite bold to resort to such low-level "high-tech" cheating!
Yes, this action wouldn't be directly classified as cheating, only as a form of manipulation.
If I were to point it out, I wouldn't need to guess to know they would deny everything.
After all, the main hall of this chess and card room had no surveillance cameras.
As long as they said the dice were taken from the drawer under the mahjong table, there would be nothing they could do to them!
To prove their three-against-one scheme, other strong evidence would be needed…
The dice, lightly tapped by the slick-haired man on the green felt table, spun rapidly after being rolled, appearing dazzling.
In reality, this was merely a superficial illusion designed to deceive people.
No matter how fast or frequently the dice spun, the final number was predetermined by the falling mercury, a number the slick-haired man had already decided in his mind.
However, I wouldn't let him gain the advantage so easily.
Under the guise of lighting a cigarette, I swallowed a mouthful of smoke, immediately followed by a series of short, rapid coughs.
Cough, cough, cough…
While coughing continuously, I inhaled and held my breath, then blew forcefully at the rapidly spinning dice.
In an instant, the two dice stopped spinning.
Seeing his intended plan disrupted, the slick-haired man, though displeased, said nothing, merely casting a dissatisfied glance at me.
Seeing this, I seized the opportunity to apologize, "My apologies, brother! I choked on the smoke just now."
"Heh heh~ No problem!" the slick-haired man replied, controlling his tone with a smile.
Regardless of whether the slick-haired man suspected I had intentionally disrupted the dice roll, at least he hadn't secured the initial advantage this round.
It was already a one-against-three game. If they all got to roll the dice according to their wishes, and one of them happened to get a perfect hand, I would be in trouble from the start.
Therefore, I had to be subtly cautious.
After the round of dice rolling, everyone began to pick tiles based on their chosen positions.
At this point, I discreetly observed everything, watching for any small movements from the three of them.
Please remember, every small action from an opponent at the mahjong table is not unintentional; careful observation is crucial.
Those who play mahjong frequently know that insiders use both their left and right hands simultaneously to distract and secretly make small moves.
I wouldn't stare intently at their six hands, because hands are merely disposable cover when there are no tiles to pick.
What truly needs attention are the piles of tiles in front of each of them.
As long as the tile piles move, there's a problem!
...
Originally, I thought these three old foxes were just gamblers who relied on underhanded tactics. To my surprise, one of them was actually using cross-hand tile swapping!
It seemed they had already communicated with each other through glances and micro-expressions, believing my disruption of the dice roll was an accidental mishap.
Therefore, after losing the initial advantage, they changed their strategy and resorted to cheating to regain the upper hand!
This discovery immediately made me overturn my original strategy and decide to catch them red-handed!
I couldn't catch them before because they weren't cheating. But now, it's different.
They've practically brought it to my doorstep; why wouldn't I seize the opportunity?