Wen Siqiang said, "Gambling for fun is one thing, but why bet tens of thousands? I’ve seen people play for a few hundred and still walk away with a couple thousand."
I replied, "The stones on Gambling Street are all rejects from the mines—just washed and sold as raw jade. Spend a day in a shop, and you’ll see that out of a hundred stones, maybe one or two have anything valuable. You only see the celebrations when someone hits the jackpot. You don’t see the piles of worthless scraps—those were bought with money too."
"Of course, if you go to Sino-Burmese Street, you can actually buy the kind of stones you’re talking about for a few hundred from the Burmese. Those have some real potential because they’ve been pre-screened. If you’re just playing around, that’s the place to go."
"As for the shops on Walking Street? Unless you really know what you’re doing and can pick out one or two valuable ones, relying purely on luck means you’ll lose 99% of the time."
Wen Siqiang smirked. "Seems like you’ve really studied this. You talk like an expert, but who knows if you’ve got the skills to back it up?"
I sighed. "I’d love to try, but I don’t have the money."
I put on my best broke act, hoping Wen Siqiang would pass the message along.
He clapped me on the shoulder. "Maybe if we do more for Boss Chen and the others, we’ll get our chance."
I nodded eagerly. "Yeah, as long as Boss Chen gives us opportunities, we’ll prove ourselves. They won’t regret it."
Wen Siqiang grinned. "Exactly. Boss Chen and Boss Liu are stand-up guys."
*Stand-up guys?* I thought bitterly. *Then why did they betray Brother Bao? More like greedy snakes who’d take the meat, the broth, and leave nothing but bones for anyone else.*
*And ‘stand-up’ enough to send us to fetch people from Nongdao while they stayed hidden? That’s not loyalty—that’s cowardice.*
Out loud, I said, "You’ve been here longer than me. Put in a good word for us, will you? More jobs, more money."
Wen Siqiang lowered his voice. "Don’t worry. Boss Chen’s short on reliable people right now. Sure, he’s got plenty of thugs for the dirty work, but for the real deals? That’s where we come in."
I pretended to be thrilled. "Really? So there’s a chance we could get our own turf someday?"
He winked. "Boss Chen already said it—if we play our cards right, he’ll set us up with a place of our own. Being the boss beats being a lackey any day, right?"
I forced an excited grin. "Hell yeah! I’d kill for that!"
*Literally*, I thought.
Wen Siqiang pulled out a cigarette and offered me one. I waved it off. "No thanks. They make me cough."
He shrugged and lit up.
I still couldn’t figure out where the money he stole from me had gone. Gambling halls didn’t even open until afternoon. Unless he’d spent it on drugs.
That’s why I had to be careful with anything he handed me. If Boss Chen or the She-Devil wanted to control me, lacing a cigarette would be an easy way to do it.
The girls had all gone upstairs. I returned my glass to the bar and sat in the back. Wen Siqiang stayed at the counter, flirting with a bartender.
Despite having done three years in prison, he wasn’t much older than me—maybe early twenties. Probably started stealing as a kid and finally got caught.
I’d heard that in prison, two types of people got the worst treatment: rapists and thieves. They were at the bottom of the hierarchy, abused until their release. No wonder Wen Siqiang was terrified of going back.
Having a thief around definitely didn’t make me feel safe. Guys like him struggled to find honest work, which was probably why he’d ended up as someone else’s lackey.
Xiao Lian came down first. "Done already?" I asked.
She nodded. "They just wanted to drink. No pressure, no groping. Northerners here for the jade trade."
I’d heard Northerners loved their liquor, but not being into women was new. Weren’t vice and lust supposed to go hand in hand? Weird bunch—if they weren’t here for the girls, why waste the money? Just for the atmosphere?
Xiao Lian fidgeted, uneasy. Even easy money felt wrong when it came too easily.
Then I spotted a familiar face—the man who’d made me a fortune. The Burmese guy was back. He waved and asked if Xiao Lian wanted to dance.
I smirked. "Not trading stones this time, are you?"
He laughed nervously. "No way! My brother almost killed me for that last time."
"So you’ve got cash now?"
He patted his pocket. "My brother’s orders. No more ‘creative payments.’"
I’d definitely lucked out with him. That ugly black rock would’ve been worthless to anyone else.
"Did you cut the stone yet?" he asked.
I played dumb. "Nah, just keeping it as a souvenir."
No way I’d tell him it was imperial jade. He’d have a heart attack.
I told Xiao Lian to dance with him. "Since he got cheated last time, I’ll cover your tip. But anything extra comes out of his pocket."
The Burmese guy bowed. "Thank you, boss. I understand."
Xiao Lian hesitated, so I slipped her 200 yuan. "Just dancing. He pays for anything more."
She nodded firmly. "Nothing more."
As they headed to the dance floor, Xiao Hong came down and slumped against me, exhausted.
"Marathon session?" I joked.
She groaned. "Those psychos played nonstop techno and made us dance till we dropped."
Seemed like half the clients here were either twisted or desperate to blow off steam.
I held her, already planning to get her a safer job when this was over. Maybe as a manager—still earning, but without the grind.
Xiao Li was last, tipsy but not wasted like before. Seeing Xiao Hong in my lap, she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me hard, tongue and all.
With my hands full, I couldn’t push her away. Xiao Hong didn’t even flinch.
Finally, Xiao Li pulled back, scowling. "What kind of man doesn’t kiss back? You’re no fun!"
I wiped my mouth. "I’m underage, remember? No idea what you’re talking about."
She rolled her eyes. "Bullshit. You just don’t like me. Watch out—one of these days, I’ll take what I want!"