As Madam Ran was lost in thought and remained silent, the short-haired young man next to the bald man grumbled, "Old Bai, you don't even know if this kid has enough bullets in his pocket, and you're already eager to have him join the table?"
As he spoke, the short-haired young man glanced at me with disdain and a mocking smile, "Look at his t-shirt… it's Yichun. Look at us, we're all wearing Mizuno or Back-to-Back. Are we even on the same level?"
The impulsive young man's words first surprised me, and then I sneered inwardly.
This wasn't judging by appearance; it was purely judging by clothing!
Just then, Madam Ran suddenly waved her hand and said coldly, "Are you guys done? We just lost a card player. I'll go find one for you!"
"This young man is here for the first time, and you're already being snobbish. Do you really not want me to get new customers here?"
"I made it very clear earlier that I was just bringing him up to take a look. Why are you bad-mouthing him like this?"
Despite Madam Ran's seemingly protective words, I felt no gratitude whatsoever.
Madam Ran, in her early thirties, dressed in such avant-garde (revealing) fashion, had no wedding ring on her left ring finger. This meant she was either divorced due to an unhappy marriage, had a story to tell, or had someone in her heart and was unwilling to marry.
Whichever of these situations applied, coupled with her attire, she didn't seem like a good woman.
The only reason she spoke up for me was to make a good impression on me, a new customer.
Seeing this, some might say I'm being self-deprecating and unappreciative of kindness.
All I can answer is: Heh.
Whether you believe it or not, she'll reveal herself before I even have to say anything, won't she?
What? You don't believe me?
Fine! Then let's keep reading…
Just then, Brother Shi suddenly spoke.
"Madam Ran, if I remember correctly, that Zhang Wei… wasn't he also introduced by Zhao Xiao Diao?"
As soon as Brother Shi finished speaking, I saw Madam Ran casually adjust her golden, wavy hair and respond lazily, "I think so. What? Is there a problem?"
"Heh heh."
With a noncommittal smile, Brother Shi, while puffing on his cigarette, said in a deep voice, "Look at the kind of people this idiot introduces!"
"He lost twelve thousand and just walked away! It's one thing that he doesn't want to play anymore, but he didn't even give others a chance to play!"
"People like him who can't afford to lose, you should tell them not to come back in the future! And also…"
Raising a finger, Brother Shi said coldly, "You should be grateful that I won money today and I'm in a good mood, and I'm easy to talk to."
"One cigarette! Just the time it takes for one cigarette!"
"Go find us a card player. If you can't do it, then I won't be responsible for your card room anymore."
Hearing this, Madam Ran immediately said in a sweet, girlish voice, "Oh! Old Zhang lost too much today! Besides, you all know him, he's someone who only admits to winning, not losing!"
"Calm down, everyone, calm down! I'll go down and find someone right now."
"Handsome boy, wait for me here."
After saying that, Madam Ran turned around as if to go downstairs and call someone.
But before she could even take a step, she turned back to look at me, smiling sheepishly, "Handsome boy, do you know how to play Golden Flower?"
Hearing this, I nodded without saying anything.
Upon hearing my answer, Madam Ran immediately said, "Do me a favor and play a couple of hands with them first!"
Seeing my lack of reaction, Madam Ran suddenly reached out, grabbed my arm, pulled me closer, stood on her tiptoes, and whispered in my ear, "It's lunchtime now. Where am I supposed to find someone for him!"
"Please bear with me for a bit. If there's still no one after this busy period, I'll call someone over."
"Before I find a card player, if you lose money, I'll cover half of it."
"If you win, it's all yours, and I won't take a cent! Deal?"
I didn't agree immediately. Instead, I feigned hesitation and asked softly, "Madam Ran, how big are their stakes? If they're too high, I definitely won't play."
I remembered Uncle Tuo telling me that true gamblers, before sitting at the table, must learn to hide their sharpness and wait for the opportune moment.
And once seated, they must seize the moment to defeat the enemy with a single move.
I thought that my current timid demeanor, wearing an Yichun t-shirt, must have been noticed by Brother Shi and the others.
Moreover, they were probably all laughing at me and looking down on me right now.
It's fine. Laugh all you want!
In a while, I guarantee I'll make it so you can't laugh or cry!
………………
"Not big, not big! Ten to thirty."
As she spoke, Madam Ran led me to the seat where Zhang Wei had been sitting.
Seeing that they had once again provided me with a divine assist, I no longer refused and sat down decisively.
The city I live in is Anhai County, under Nanshi City in Jiangsu Province. Here, the most popular game in card rooms is Golden Flower.
And Golden Flower is one of the card games most suitable for cheating! Especially Binwang poker.
The back of the cards, with its dense horizontal and vertical lines, appears unremarkable to gamblers. But it's different for a cheat.
To a cheat, the back of Binwang poker cards… offers great potential!
As soon as I sat down, while Madam Ran was explaining the rules, I quickly glanced at the Binwang poker cards on the table. After confirming there were no issues, my heart settled.
After sitting down, before entering the game, check the cards.
This was taught to me by Uncle Tuo.
Checking the cards is not only to confirm that the cards are not problematic but also to ensure that the faces of the cards have not been marked by other cheats.
He said that newcomers to the gambling world like me are prone to falling into the misconception of cheating, always thinking that the cheat is the person, and thus focusing all their attention on the people, neglecting the cards.
Therefore, in the beginning, I didn't learn anything else from Uncle Tuo, only how to recognize cards.
Like Yaoji, San A, Binwang, Diaoyu, Wanshengda, San Tu, Qilin, etc… For all these playing cards, and their backs, even with the slightest difference, I could recognize them at a glance!
Getting back to the point, the card game began.
I have to admit, the young man called Brother Shi has really good luck!
Not long after sitting down, he got a big hand.
Brother Shi, with his lean build, wearing a Mizuno t-shirt that looked like it hadn't been washed in days, with a cigarette in his mouth, humming the background music of the God of Gamblers' entrance from the movie, slicked back his shiny hair with one hand, and revealed a flush of AKJ with the other.
AKJ flush, the highest flush in Golden Flower, second only to straight flush and three of a kind.
In our area, one has to give a "lucky money" for getting an AKJ flush.
In a ten to thirty stake game, the lucky money for a three of a kind is 30, for a straight flush is 20, and for an AKJ flush is 10.