Chapter 44: The Consequences of Chaotic Springtime

After Uncle Yong asked that question, my cousin's eyes instantly lit up, while Wang Chuyi lowered his head and remained silent.

I shook my head and said, "It's fine, Uncle Yong, I can handle it."

Uncle Yong gave me a meaningful look and said, "Well, everything is difficult at the beginning. Often, taking that very first step forward is the hardest part, but once that first step goes smoothly, the path ahead will open up."

I nodded and said, "I understand, Uncle Yong."

He waved his hand and said, "Alright, go back and apply some medicine."

Bidding farewell to Uncle Yong, we returned to my cousin's room. The three of us stripped down to our underwear and helped each other apply the liniment. The herbal wine provided by Uncle Yong was quite effective; after rubbing it on, our bodies felt burning hot, and after a wave of searing heat, the pain subsided significantly. Chen Jianjun puffed on a cigarette and said, "Cousin, I just don't understand what you're being so stubborn about. Uncle Yong offered to help himself; it's not like we went begging for it. If Uncle Yong could take us there, never mind Brother Cai, even the boss would be scared shitless."

I smiled bitterly and shook my head.

Before I could speak, Wang Chuyi explained to Chen Jianjun, "Brother Jianjun, if Uncle Yong helps us this time, whatever goodwill exists between Brother Cheng and Uncle Yong will come to an end right here."

"Why?" Chen Jianjun asked, puzzled.

"If even this minor issue requires Uncle Yong to step in, it means Brother Cheng is no longer worth mentoring!" Wang Chuyi said.

With that, Wang Chuyi asked me, "Brother Cheng, am I right to understand it this way?"

I nodded.

Indeed, everything is difficult at the beginning.

I took out the envelope, pulled out the two thousand yuan inside, and split it into two portions—one thousand for my cousin and one thousand for Wang Chuyi. My cousin, unaware of the origin of the money, asked in astonishment, "Where did this come from? Ah Cheng, you didn't actually turn traitor, did you?"

"This money was indeed given by Brother Bao, but it doesn't mean I turned traitor. The cause and effect here are too complicated to explain in a few words; I'll explain it to you guys later. My job is definitely gone for now, so you two take this money and use it," I said.

They stubbornly refused to take it, especially Wang Chuyi, who said, "Brother Cheng, giving me money is an insult. Do you take me for someone who stood up today just for money?"

"This isn't about that; it's just to get us through the current situation. What's a thousand yuan? In the future, we're going to make a hundred thousand, a million, or even tens of millions!" I said through gritted teeth.

After saying that, I tossed the money to the two of them, left the room, and headed upstairs to the opposite building. My senior martial brother had not gone out; he was sitting in the room reading a book. Seeing me approach, he put the book down and asked, "Got beaten up?"

"Minor issue." I sat down and recounted how Brother Bao had given me two thousand yuan today. Having experienced all kinds of scenarios, my senior brother would surely know the hidden twists and turns behind this.

After I finished speaking, my senior brother smiled and said, "You don't understand why he gave you money? You, a greenhorn, managed to scare the undercover house gambler in the casino. Sigh, I really don't know what to say to you. Do you have any idea how dangerous the stunt you pulled was?"

Seeing my confusion, my senior brother lit a cigarette and said, "A casino is an enterprise that cannot see the light of day, yet within these casinos, there is a distinction between 'clean tables' and 'dirty tables.' I don't mean whether they are sanitary or not. The boss of a clean table must ensure there are no cardsharps, guarantee that anyone who wins money can walk out safely, and make sure the place won't be raided halfway through. Therefore, the casino boss must have connections in both the underworld and legitimate circles, and they will also hire professional gamblers from the industry to monitor the games—using cardsharps to guard against other cardsharps. This is known as an undercover house gambler. As for a dirty table, it goes without saying—the game itself is rigged, with all kinds of cheating and deception flying around, and the boss never intended to run a long-term business. In such a house, even if your gambling skills are superior and you win money, you won't be able to take it out."

"That older brother figure of Brother Bao's is the casino's undercover house gambler. Anyone capable of being an undercover house gambler must possess superb card-cheating skills, be well-versed in all kinds of underworld rules, and have experience dealing with all sorts of ghosts and monsters. Learning from Brother Bao that you saw through his cheating technique, he treated you like a professional cardsharp as well. Naturally, against a cardsharp who has shown up on his doorstep, an undercover house gambler has to be on his guard, especially since you are merely a day-shift security guard; he was afraid you harbored other motives."

"So he had Brother Bao use underworld jargon to sound me out?" I asked.

"Correct. In the gambling world, this is called 'probing the waters.' At first, casinos always show utmost respect to cardsharps who come knocking. For example, back when I first made a name for myself, whenever I walked into any casino, the undercover house gambler would come over to greet me, hand me a red envelope, and speak polite words—meaning roughly: 'Brother, I'm covering this house, do me a favor and don't make a move.' The red envelope given by the casino is known in the industry as 'greet money,'" my senior brother explained.

"I get it. He used jargon to fish for my background, and I replied in jargon. His giving me this red envelope as 'greet money' was meant to keep me from causing trouble at the casino. Putting it that way, my blundering into this actually earned me an unexpected windfall," I laughed.

"Is 'greet money' really that easy to earn? Do you think you got the better end of the deal?" My senior brother gave me a sideways glance and said.

"Otherwise?" I asked.

"The most 'greet money' I've ever seen given was five hundred yuan; usually, it's fifty or a hundred. If a probe like that genuinely yields two thousand yuan, then this money is way too easy to come by. Let me tell you what actually happened: the jargon you used in response had problems. I reckon even the severe beating you took today was triggered by the way you answered in jargon. You haven't the foggiest idea how ridiculously wrong you were," my senior brother said.

"I humbly ask my senior brother to enlighten me," I quickly said, cupping my fists.

"To a casino, a cardsharp is nothing more than a rat coming to cause trouble, and the house doesn't mind spending a little money to buy peace. If you know when to quit and leave, everyone is happy; if you are ungrateful and refuse to show respect, then you'd better weigh your own worth. Those who run casinos—which one of them doesn't have ties to both black and white? It's not that easy to come and fleece a casino. Brother Bao's big brother used jargon to probe you, asking whether you came to 'hunt ginseng' or just to play. The wording was very polite; it was essentially asking: 'Friend, what is your purpose here?'" my senior brother said.

"Right, and my reply was 'Halfway to hunt ginseng, halfway to play,'" I said.

"'Halfway to hunt ginseng, halfway to play'—what you meant was: 'I'll do whatever I damn well please, and it's none of your business. Whether or not I go to the casino to cause trouble depends entirely on my mood.' Think about it: someone asks you a question politely and respectfully, yet your response is excessively arrogant," my senior brother said.

I scratched my head.

Suddenly, the crux of the problem seemed to dawn on me.

"Your arrogant reply left that undercover house gambler completely clueless about your true background. He thought some top-tier gambling master had shown up to stir up trouble, and to avoid complications, he deliberately gave you such a massive red envelope of greet money. But you must remember, the undercover house gambler works for the boss; this is his job. If he messes up on the job, his fate will be even more miserable than being caught cheating in a casino. In fact, you could say that the big talk you blurted out made him feel threatened. Therefore, not only did he give you the red envelope to appease you, but just to be safe, he also reported the matter to his boss as a precaution."

"When the boss heard that a master cardsharp had sneaked into his hotel as a security guard and even spouted arrogant nonsense like 'halfway to hunt ginseng, halfway to play,' he naturally had to test you out. Thus, everything that happened to you today at Ah Wang Restaurant was actually orchestrated behind the scenes by the boss and the undercover house gambler. The root cause of all this lies in the wrong jargon you threw back! Junior brother, didn't Master tell you never to casually toss around underworld jargon? You had no idea what kind of dangerous situation you were putting yourself in with your casual bragging. Ah Wang handled things relatively decently; if he hadn't, he might even have had you silenced!" my senior brother said.

I was left dumbfounded.

Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles.

The underworld is a giant dyeing vat; it is definitely not something I could fully comprehend just by reading a book. Without stepping foot into the jianghu, one can never truly know its perils!

How could I possibly have imagined that there were so many hidden layers behind this?