"Wow, Dongxu, you're amazing! We've lost all our money this afternoon."
"Yeah, if we keep fighting with you, we'll both end up penniless."
"I'm done playing, my mom's calling me home for dinner."
Following their pre-arranged plan, the people at the card table began to test Jia Dongxu by feigning retreat.
If Jia Dongxu knows when to quit while he's ahead, it means he's still thinking clearly. Next time he plays cards, he'll have to consider whether he should try to win back the money he lost before.
But if Jia Dongxu gets carried away, then they can proceed with the next step of the plan.
"Going home for dinner? No way, I'm on an incredible winning streak right now, let's keep playing."
Jia Dongxu had just won a round, and his afternoon winnings had accumulated to over sixty yuan. At this point, he was reluctant to go home and planned to win a hundred yuan before returning.
If he could earn a hundred a day, he would be laughing in his sleep.
Therefore, he did not see Guang Ge and the others exchanging glances.
"But I'm hungry, I need to eat something to fill my stomach."
"That's right, food is essential for life, so playing cards shouldn't interfere with eating."
"How about we go eat first and come back tonight?"
The group continued to probe, carefully observing Jia Dongxu's reaction.
Jia Dongxu clicked his tongue and said somewhat unhappily, "You're having so much fun, you're not allowed to leave. I'll treat you to something to eat."
"Third Brother, here's five yuan. Take it and buy some food!"
After saying that, Jia Dongxu generously counted out five yuan from a stack of small bills and stuffed it into Zhang Laosan's hand.
"I like meat buns, Third Brother, please buy more meat buns."
In the past, Jia Dongxu would never have been willing to spend five yuan to treat someone to a meal.
But things are different now. He earned more than sixty yuan in one afternoon. Five yuan is nothing to him; he can earn it back in no time.
"Wow, Brother Dongxu is so generous!" Zhang Laosan gave Jia Dongxu a thumbs up.
The others chimed in, "It has to be Brother Dongxu, he doesn't forget to treat us to meat buns even after making money."
"I haven't had meat buns in a long time, I can have a good meal tonight."
"They just took five yuan without hesitation. It's obvious that the Dongxu brothers are well-off."
"Yes, look at Brother Dongxu's face, he looks like a man destined for great wealth and honor."
Listening to these people's flattery, Jia Dongxu couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
But he calmly straightened his collar and said, "Hey, we're all buddies, having fun is the most important thing. Come on, let's keep playing. I'll treat you guys to big meat noodles tomorrow!"
Having spent five yuan to keep these people here, Jia Dongxu naturally wanted to make more money from them, so he urged them to start quickly.
Otherwise, if someone else says they want to go home later, he won't be able to continue earning money.
Jia Dongxu felt his luck was off the charts, like his ancestors' graves were emitting flames, so he wanted to start quickly.
"My third brother and I are going to buy food. You guys keep playing, and none of you are allowed to leave!"
Guang Ge stood up with a smile, handed the cards to the person next to him, and then said to Jia Dongxu, "Brother Dongxu, we've finished our cigarettes, how about we buy a couple more packs?"
Do you still want to smoke?
Jia Dongxu muttered to himself, but still generously took out two yuan and tossed it to Brother Guang.
"Buy, buy two packs of the good ones, we don't smoke cheap cigarettes!"
Jia Dongxu has never smoked before, but he smoked seven or eight cigarettes in one afternoon just to fit in: "You guys go and come back quickly, and third brother, you should buy more meat buns."
After Zhang Laosan and Guang Ge left, Zhang Laosan couldn't help but spit.
"What is this? He was just calling me 'Third Brother,' and now he's calling me 'Third Brother' all over again. It's only been two days, and he's already forgotten who he is."
As a hoodlum, Zhang Laosan still cared about his reputation, and being called Laosan by Jia Dongxu to his face made him somewhat uncomfortable.
Guang chuckled and patted him on the shoulder: "What's there to be angry about? Can't you see he's already addicted?"
Under normal circumstances, Jia Dongxu would not call someone "Third Brother".
But now Jia Dongxu thinks he's incredibly capable, more so than anyone else, so he's no longer as polite to Zhang Laosan.
"Brother Guang, when are we going to make our move?"
Zhang Laosan frowned. He had lost seven yuan to Jia Dongxu today. He had stolen the money from under his wife's pillow. If he didn't quietly return it to her tonight, he would definitely get a good scolding.
The others were in similar situations; everyone lost a few dollars to Jia Dongxu.
Upon hearing this, Guang Ge's gaze turned cold, and a smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he said, "That's about enough. Once we've filled our stomachs, we'll lure him inside, and Tiger will share the spoils with us."
"By the way, are you sure that kid has more than five hundred yuan?"
Guang asked a little uneasyly, not because he didn't trust Zhang Laosan's information, but because Jia Dongxu's behavior didn't seem like that of someone who had five hundred yuan.
He gets cocky after winning a little money and thinks he's the best card player in the world.
How can someone like that make so much money?
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes!" Zhang Laosan nodded very seriously: "This money came from selling his house. After paying off some debts, he still had more than five hundred left."
"It's a pity that his workstation was sold on installment, otherwise we could have squeezed even more money out of him this time."
A steel rolling mill workstation is as valuable as a house; the two together can be worth over a thousand yuan. If Tiger Brother squeezes every last drop of profit out of it, Zhang Laosan can get more than twenty yuan by himself.
This amount of money is enough for him to live a life of leisure for a long time.
"Tsk tsk, I didn't realize this kid was such a spendthrift!" Brother Guang shook his head dismissively, but then he quickly thought of another problem.
"They've lost their house and their jobs. If they owe Tiger money, will they be able to pay it back?"
Those who were lured into the house were not simply made to lose all their assets; they were also forced to incur huge debts, and forced to sell their cars, houses, and fields to pay off their debts. The authorities would not release them until they were completely drained of their wealth.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Laosan couldn't help but scratch his head.
He hadn't considered that problem.
Jia Dongxu has nothing left but money; he sold his job and his sewing machine.
“He also has a wife, who is quite pretty.” After thinking for a long time, Zhang Laosan finally spoke.
“That works too. Having a wife means you have a family. If you owe money, your father-in-law will have to help you out, right?” Guang Ge thought it wouldn’t be a big problem.
After discussing it, the two happily went to buy food.
Jia Dongxu only gave money, not tickets, but luckily Guang Ge had a bad reputation in the area, so the five yuan was spent cleanly, and the two of them came back carrying a bunch of food.
Jia Dongxu was excited all afternoon and was starving, so he ate six big steamed buns in one go.
After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, and lighting a cigarette, Jia Dongxu urged everyone to continue playing.
Jia Dongxu played until after 9 p.m. before finally stretching contentedly.
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