With my mind made up, I had Han Jinlun call Zhang Chengxiang.
About seven or eight minutes later.
After hanging up the phone, Han Jinlun immediately told me that Zhang Chengxiang was currently guarding a small boss's mahjong parlor, and he had already gotten the address.
On the way to the mahjong parlor, Han Jinlun seemed a bit distracted, his foot pressing too lightly on the accelerator or too hard on the brake several times...
Noticing Han Jinlun's abnormality, I asked, "What's wrong? You seemed a bit restless after your call?"
Hearing this, Han Jinlun quickly shook his head and replied, "No, no, I'm just a bit tired from driving for so long!"
I knew Han Jinlun's excuse was just that, but since he didn't want to talk about it, I didn't press further.
Another ten minutes or so passed.
As the car was nearing the location of the mahjong parlor, Han Jinlun suddenly asked me out of the blue, "Brother Xiang, what will you do if the person doesn't want to follow you?"
Seeing Han Jinlun's hesitant demeanor, I immediately realized that he had been hiding something from me earlier.
With this thought, I rolled down the car window a bit, lit a cigarette, took two or three puffs, and then asked in a deep voice, "Can you tell me why you said that?"
"Or let me ask from another angle, why did you so confidently tell me that he wouldn't want to follow me before I even met him?"
Years of accumulated tacit understanding made Han Jinlun realize that I had seen through his strangeness.
After a moment of hesitation and struggle, he slowed down, pulled the car over to the side, and sighed softly, "Alas, it's my fault for speaking too quickly just now!"
"Brother Xiang, actually... my old classmate detests and rejects gamblers the most!"
"Why?" I asked, frowning.
Looking straight ahead at a mahjong parlor called "Yongli" not far away, Han Jinlun replied, "I'm not entirely sure of the specific reason, but I infer it might have something to do with him guarding the mahjong parlor!"
He paused, then pointed to the Yongli mahjong parlor nearby and said in a deep voice, "That Yongli mahjong parlor is the place he's guarding."
"If you want to poach him, Brother Xiang, it's best not to tell him you're a gambler, otherwise, I'm afraid with his temper, he will..."
Although Han Jinlun didn't finish his sentence, I already understood his meaning perfectly.
As it stood, this Zhang Chengxiang had completely piqued my curiosity.
I was very eager to see what kind of person he was, and why he would reject gamblers so vehemently...
...
Upon arriving at the location, I instructed Zhu Wenjing to stay in the car to provide support, while I, along with Cheng Minglang and Han Jinlun, pushed open the door and got out.
Since we had already informed Zhang Chengxiang in advance, as soon as we entered the mahjong parlor and announced our names, his subordinate immediately led us towards a private room on the second floor.
As we followed him upstairs, I took a general look at the Yongli mahjong parlor.
To be honest, although Yongli's scale was similar to Baole in Anhai, the business's popularity could not be compared; they were not in the same league at all!
Baole's business owed half of its success to the beautiful owner, Yu Shuang.
But for Yongli, to achieve such booming business without the presence of a beauty, it was truly impressive.
If I guessed correctly, Yongli's booming business was either related to the boss's operating model or to Zhang Chengxiang's methods of managing the place.
With this thought, in an instant, my curiosity about why Zhang Chengxiang hated gamblers so much grew even stronger...
Following Zhang Chengxiang's subordinate to a private room at the end of the second-floor corridor, I could hear someone inside shouting loudly before I even entered.
From the sound of it, they seemed to be playing "San Gong."
San Gong, also known as Dou San Gong.
This card game is mainly popular in Hong Kong, Macau, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong provinces.
The gameplay is simple, the atmosphere is lively, and the final outcome has a significant element of luck, making it very widespread and popular among the public.
The reason it's popular among the public is that, like "Golden Flower," San Gong has only a very small presence in legitimate venues.
If it weren't for its extremely high popularity among the people, most casinos wouldn't even bother to set up dedicated tables for it.
The reason is simple.
Any card game where luck plays a significant role is considered highly exploitable by gamblers.
Alright, back to the main topic.
Dou San Gong is a card game with relatively simple gameplay.
Fifty-two cards from a deck (excluding Jokers), where cards A through 9 are point cards, card 10 is a number card representing 0 points, and cards J, Q, K are face cards.
After each player receives three cards, they compare their hand with other players' hands in order, and each hand combination has its own designated multiplier.
After comparing the hand rankings, the winner and loser are estimated based on the hand multiplier, determining the final payout.
To put it simply, the multipliers are as follows.
In San Gong, an eight-point hand counts as a two-times payout, a nine-point hand is a three-times payout, and a San Gong is a four-times payout.
The four-times San Gong hand can be formed in any combination, as long as it's not a "Baozi" (three of a kind).
Except for three 3s, any "Baozi" hand from A to 9 has a five-times payout.
A "Baozi" of three 10s has a six-times payout, three Js is seven times, three Qs is eight times, and three Ks is nine times.
The highest payout is three 3s, which is ten times!
Although San Gong has fewer cards than Dou Niu, there are many cards that can achieve doubled payouts.
Whoever gets nine points can be the dealer; if they don't want to deal, they can pass it to someone else.
If no one has nine points, the dealer continues to deal.
...
The moment the private room door opened, a hazy cloud of smoke billowed out.
When the weather gets cold, mahjong parlors, especially private rooms, essentially become mini smokehouses.
As I stepped inside, the thick, eye-stinging smoke in the room made me cough repeatedly.
This coughing fit immediately drew the attention of everyone in the room.
Following Han Jinlun's gaze, I quickly spotted Zhang Chengxiang among the group.
Zhang Chengxiang, with his buzz cut, had a cigarette dangling from his lips, its ash more than half burned. Without even taking a puff, his eyes were fixed on the three playing cards in front of him.
Just then, the subordinate who had led us in looked at Zhang Chengxiang and said, "Brother Xiang, I've brought your friends."
Hearing this, Zhang Chengxiang subconsciously looked up.
Upon seeing Han Jinlun, he immediately stood up and greeted him with a smile, "Long time no see, Jinlun!"