Chapter 35: A Flick of the Card to Consult the Scriptures

He hesitated, leaving his words unspoken, and I did not press him. In conversation, it is unwise to be overly intimate with mere acquaintances; although I had gifted him two bottles of liquor, we had only known each other for a month.

The morning passed quickly, and still, no wealthy woman had taken an interest in me in my uniform. This was quite a blow, as I had always been rather confident in my appearance.

This time, before I even approached, Brother Leopard and Brother Cai—two of the big shots—began calling me over to play cards. Brother Cai thought I was lucky and wanted to use me to deflate Brother Leopard’s ego, while Brother Leopard was looking for revenge. Naturally, my cousin Chen Jianjun and Wang Chuyi were also excited.

The game began, and I played with the same casual, indifferent style as the day before. Before long, I had lost fifty yuan. Brother Cai was having a good run, winning nearly two hundred, while Brother Leopard remained roughly even.

In this particular hand, Brother Leopard chose to play "blind." This meant he didn't look at his cards, and others could choose to match his blind bet. If you chose to look at your cards, you had to bet double what he put in. He started by raising the stakes to five yuan per round. Those who felt their hands were strong would raise to ten. As a result, the pot grew quickly, reaching about two hundred and fifty yuan after four rounds.

I held a 7-8-9 straight flush. In the hierarchy of "Zha Jinhua" (a Chinese poker variant), a straight flush beats a regular flush, though three-of-a-kind is the highest. I used the same trick as yesterday: while "polishing" the cards, I swapped the middle 8 for a Jack, creating a "mixed-suit" hand to show the lookout behind me, then started calling.

After four rounds, Brother Cai folded. Only three players remained: Brother Leopard, a chef named Guan Dachao, and myself. Brother Leopard kept playing blind, betting five yuan, and Guan Dachao kept calling ten by ten. According to the rules, the three of us weren't showing our cards yet.

Wang Chuyi had already signaled to me that Guan Dachao had a mixed-suit flush. However, since Brother Leopard was playing blind, no one knew what he held; it could be nothing, or he could have blind-dealt himself three Aces. By the sixth round, I chose to fold. By then, I had already lost a hundred yuan on this hand alone, and there were over three hundred in the pot.

Just as I was about to throw my cards away, Brother Cai grabbed my hand and said, "Brother, you've stayed in this long, why quit now? Let me see your cards." When he saw my straight flush, he exclaimed, "You're folding this? I'll buy it!"

"Buying the hand" was a rule they had agreed upon. If I felt I couldn't win and decided to fold, and Brother Cai felt confident, he could buy my cards to continue the battle. If he won, he would pay me back the money I had already bet; if he lost, the loss was his. He mocked me, "Did playing blind for two rounds break your nerve? You can't run with a hand like this!"

I shook my head at him, but Brother Cai took the cards anyway. I stood up and moved behind him to watch. Brother Leopard kept playing blind, and Guan Dachao continued to call. None of them would yield, and the betting went on for ten minutes. By the end, the stakes for this single hand had climbed into the thousands.

Why did I fold a straight flush? Especially knowing that Guan Dachao only had a mixed flush? It was Brother Leopard I feared. In Zha Jinhua, the biggest wins happen when paths cross—three Kings against three Aces, sending someone to their grave. Knowing I had seen through his tricks, he was clearly "fattening the pig" by playing this way. He must have had a deadlier trap waiting to crush me in one blow. Either Guan Dachao’s hand had been tampered with to make Wang Chuyi give me the wrong signal, or Brother Leopard’s blind hand was rigged.

By the sixth round, Brother Cai pushed his last twenty yuan in and said, "No money left. Let's show our cards. I'm going all in."

Brother Leopard shook his head. "That’s against the rules. If you’re out of money, you fold."

Brother Cai retorted angrily, "We’re just playing for fun, where do all these rules come from? You really want to play a game of who has more money?" Others nearby tried to mediate, saying it was enough and that they were all friends, no need to keep pushing. Under their persuasion, the three reluctantly agreed to show their cards.

Guan Dachao’s hand was fine: a 5-7-Jack flush. Brother Leopard laughed, "Heaven is granting me a meal!" He threw down his three blind cards: three 2s.

"Incredible!" "What luck!" "To pull three-of-a-kind while playing blind! Truly, Heaven is feeding him!" The crowd murmured in shock. Brother Cai was ashen-faced and roared, "Are you cheating? Flip the rest of the deck! I want to see what's going on!"

After a thorough inspection, the cards were found to be clean. Brother Cai, furious, tore up his hand and cursed, "I'm done!"

Brother Leopard looked at me as he collected the money. There was no joy in his eyes, only a trace of wariness and concern. The others looked at me, too. The odds of Brother Leopard pulling three-of-a-kind while playing blind were slim. My decision to fold a straight flush was equally baffling.

The game broke up, but no one discussed this thrilling session. Everyone seemed to sense that something was wrong; the hand had been deeply unsettling. I smiled and went to the doorway to find Wu Dahai, where we squatted to smoke, my mind already calculating the next move.

Ten minutes later, Guan Dachao walked toward me. "A-Cheng, Brother Leopard wants to see you."

I stood up. Wu Dahai frowned and prepared to come with me, but I nodded at him and said, "It’s fine, brother. Don't worry."

Guan Dachao took me to the back of the hotel, where five or six men were gathered. When I arrived, Brother Leopard pulled me aside and tossed a roll of money at me—about two hundred yuan by the feel of it. I had lost a hundred and fifty today; he was giving me back more than I had lost.

"Brother Leopard, what is this?" I asked.

"You’re an expert," he said.

"I don't understand what you're talking about," I replied quickly.

He sneered. "Let’s not play games. I’m not a professional gambler, but an old friend taught me a trick—the kind you know. I couldn't figure out how you beat me yesterday. I went back to ask my friend, and he said you used the corner of the card to block the hole card. Am I right?"

Since he had put it so bluntly, there was no point in hiding. "I’m no pro either, just a few parlor tricks."

He looked at me intently. "That friend taught me a sleight-of-hand cut. Today, your straight flush and my three-of-a-kind were both things I cut into place. I wanted revenge for yesterday. My friend told me before he taught me: if I got a straight flush and you stayed in, it was nothing; but if I got a straight flush and you chose to fold, it would prove you’re an expert. He told me to apologize to you and passed along a message: 'A traveler from the mountains comes to pay a visit; dare I ask if you are seeking ginseng or just passing through?'"

Jargon again. This proved that Brother Leopard’s friend was a man of the old underworld. He had concluded that I was a professional gambler with real skills. A gambler like that working as a waiter? It didn't add up. He was probing me, asking for the true purpose of my presence here.

"Tell that old friend of yours: 'The mountains, rivers, and lakes are always connected; the four seas and eight wildernesses are not to be underestimated. The guest has just arrived at this esteemed place; part of me is seeking, part of me is playing,'" I replied.

Brother Leopard scratched his head. "What is all this slang you guys use?"

I offered a traditional hand salute. "Just tell your friend exactly what I said. As for this money, I don’t need it. A gambler who loses must accept the defeat."