That evening, it wasn't until the birthday banquet began that I understood what Jin Yan had meant by "you'll know in a moment."
Regarding who arranged the gambling match, how it started, whether it was based on江湖 status, wealth verification, or spontaneous, and so on...
I had guessed it all wrong!
I had to admit, coming with Jin Yan today truly opened my eyes!
These people, with their low cultural levels, who casually cursed "Cao Ni Ma," had actually put their minds to it and come up with a unique way to start a gambling match!
Let me explain briefly.
These gangsters were quite elaborate. It was like a charity gala organized by government-related agencies. They used Hong Ye's birthday celebration as an excuse to put on this elaborate show.
Imagine this: if the government were to lead a charity gala, wouldn't the businessmen invited to attend be particularly enthusiastic when it came to auctions and donations?
Normally, if you asked these people to do a good deed or donate money on the sly, they’d cry poverty and claim they had no money.
But at such an official charity gala, they would open their wallets and donate money faster than anyone else!
Do you know why?
Firstly, it's a legal and legitimate way to avoid taxes, and secondly, it leaves a good impression on the officials!
Once you've made a deep impression on the officials, why would you worry about your business not doing well, not growing, or not becoming stronger?
Now, let's directly apply the same logic of an official charity gala to Hong Ye's private birthday banquet.
Do you remember what I mentioned earlier? Hong Ye's birthday was always handled by his most favored disciples.
And Hong Ye had two such favored disciples: Xu Erye and Wen Sanye.
These two gentlemen are currently the leading figures in the entire Gansu underworld.
If they stamped their feet, the entire Gansu province would tremble!
Whoever prepared the most unique, most unexpected, and most meaningful birthday gift for Hong Ye, and managed to please the old man...
That person would become a guest of honor at the gambling match, which would be arranged by Hong Ye's two disciples, Xu Erye and Wen Sanye, under the guise of fostering relationships, after the birthday banquet concluded!
Besides the unshakeable Xu Erye and Wen Sanye, the remaining four spots at the gambling table would be randomly divided among the underworld figures of Gansu province.
It didn't matter if you were a seasoned veteran of the martial world or a newcomer just starting out. As long as you had the means to attend Hong Ye's birthday celebration, you had a chance to sit at the same table with Xu Erye and Wen Sanye, play cards, and deepen your relationships and impressions.
Of course, the most crucial prerequisite here was that your birthday gift had to be outstanding!
...
It wasn't until the birthday banquet began and Yu Xiurong, who was in charge of hosting it, clearly explained all the intricacies that I finally understood everything.
At the same time, I completely grasped why Jin Yan was here and why, after deducing my identity, she immediately wanted to subdue me.
If I'm not mistaken, Jin Yan intended to use this birthday banquet, with her meticulously prepared birthday gift, to successfully win Hong Ye's favor and approval, thereby securing a seat at the gambling match.
This woman was aiming to advance on both fronts: to have me crush Wu Qiming at the gambling table, and to build a good relationship with Xu Erye and Wen Sanye off the table.
Finally, she planned to execute a two-pronged attack, a complete reversal to turn the tide and completely suppress her mortal enemy.
This is the consequence of offending a smart woman!
As long as a smart woman finds even the slightest opportunity, she can climb the ladder, utilize all the factors that can be utilized, thereby turning the tide and achieving victory from defeat!
I have nothing more to say about Jin Yan, only one word: impressed!
Greatly impressed!
Such masterful scheming ability and the courage to seize every opportunity – it’s fortunate she didn't go into the Thousand Doors or the Blue Path, otherwise, she would have been another figure of the same caliber as Yu Shuang!
So, everyone, please remember this: it is better to offend a villain than to provoke a woman without reason! Especially a beautiful and cunning woman!
Otherwise, you won't even know how you died!
...
As the birthday banquet approached its end, all the guests who came to celebrate Hong Ye's birthday presented their precious birthday gifts.
Just as I had predicted, by virtue of a piece of old-mine glass-type jade, Jin Yan successfully secured a seat in the six-person gambling match.
Her mortal enemy, Wu Qiming, also successfully secured a seat with a statue of a golden lotus blooming everywhere, symbolizing prosperity.
Both Jin Yan and Wu Qiming belonged to the ambitious and bold younger generation, and they were willing to spend money, naturally making them stand out from the crowd.
As for who the other two who secured seats were, I'm not too sure.
Because after hearing the names of Jin Yan and Wu Qiming, I didn't pay much attention to the subsequent birthday scenes and simply glossed over them.
I was hired by Jin Yan to assist in the gambling match. My task was to keep a close eye on Wu Qiming alone, and then play the fool to win all his money.
In this decadent and glamorous world today, human relationships are truly not as effective as money!
Especially for those who are in the underworld, once they run out of money, who would still follow them!
Therefore, as long as I kept my focus on Wu Qiming and found a way to set up a trap and ruin him at the gambling table, this task would be more than half completed...
After the banquet ended, the gambling match officially began!
I originally thought that a six-person gambling match would definitely involve cards, and it would be one of the four choices: Golden Flower, Bullfighting, Show Hand, or Texas Hold'em.
But to my surprise, the protagonist of the banquet, Hong Ye, an old man in his twilight years, perhaps because he saw how valuable all the birthday gifts he received this year were, and coupled with being toasted by the younger generation with many cups of wine...
Hong Ye, with a ruddy complexion, immediately told his two disciples after the banquet that he wanted to join the gambling match for some fun.
The moment the words left his mouth, almost everyone present was shocked.
Even his two favored disciples, Xu Erye and Wen Sanye, found it somewhat unbelievable.
I heard someone nearby whispering that when Hong Ye was still robust, he enjoyed playing Sic Bo, but after his health declined and he moved here, he hadn't touched Sic Bo again.
This was because Hong Ye's heart had issues, and the doctor had told the old man not to gamble anymore.
Seemingly seeing that Hong Ye hadn't been this happy in many years, and not wanting to dampen his spirits, his two disciples, after recovering from their shock, could only change their plans temporarily. They removed the gambling table and poker cards that had already been set up and replaced them with dice cups and dice.
To be honest, when I personally saw the cards being put away and replaced with dice cups and dice...
I was completely stunned!