Chapter 77 Green Vein Operation 10 Lucky Kiss
"Why are you so serious? You don't have any friendliness at all!" Heather was looking for trouble today and complained, "Look, Julie is so scared she can't even look at you. Mary also secretly told me you're fierce."
After dinner, Mary and Julie returned to their apartment. Lancaster held Heather back and held her back, while they strolled along the riverbank. It wasn't a good place for a stroll; the crowds of people constantly separated them.
"I'm trying my best to smile." Lancaster looked down at her, angrily lifting her skirt, and pulled her back. "Time is too short today to show off. I actually have some tricks that kids like."
He spoke so seriously and frankly that Heather almost laughed, but she managed to hold back her laughter after recalling Major Brown's words again.
Lancaster observed her expression carefully, then took her hand and walked towards the open space next to the pier where many people gathered.
After walking in, Heather realized that the group of people who were cheering from time to time were watching some kind of competition in the middle.
Nine wooden bottles were arranged in a diamond shape in the middle. Three or four meters apart, two strong men were throwing iron pieces at the bottles. It looked like a game similar to bowling, but more difficult. Although the iron pieces were heavy, knocking down the bottles required controlled force and speed.
In addition, there are nine wooden bottles between two people. If one person clears most of the bottles first, the person behind him will lose the game if he does not have enough bottles.
The competition was in full swing on the simple field. The Chinese people's nature of loving to join in the fun prevailed. Heather broke free from the hand that was being held and was the first to squeeze into the position with the best view.
Lancaster followed behind and said, "This is a popular folk game of nine pins. Two people take turns, and each bottle they knock down gets one point. Number seven is the king pin, and knocking it down doubles your total score for that round."
As the round drew to a close, with only two bottles remaining, the scores were close, and Hessel's ears were filled with the cheers of those around her. A woman with a tray swung by, asking if anyone wanted to raise the stakes.
Heather looked at the amount on the plate, took a bill from his pocket and put it in, then asked, "So the winner's reward comes from the bet?"
Lancaster didn't raise the bet, so the woman waited for a while unwillingly before moving elsewhere.
"The winning bets mainly go to the audience. After the game, the winner will receive sponsorship from some wealthy individuals. Not everyone is eligible to compete during this prime time. Only those who have received a certain amount of bets in advance can participate in the next round. However, there is another reward."
Heather exclaimed, "There are so many rules. What's the reward?"
At this moment, the crowd gave a huge cheer, the game was decided, she hurriedly tiptoed to follow the winner to see. It was a tanned man wearing a linen vest, and he walked straight towards the crowd in a certain direction, amid cheers and whistles.
"It's a lucky kiss." Lancaster leaned down and whispered in her ear, "The winner can kiss the girl they like on the sidelines. This is the unspoken rule for all the ladies who enter the circle."
The man hugged a girl with thick and shiny big pigtails. Without waiting for his next move, the girl hugged his neck and kissed him hard. The men on the sidelines were eager to try and wanted to rush up for the second game.
Heather subconsciously lowered her head, then couldn't help but look up, then embarrassedly lowered her head again. This repeated several times, and they were still kissing. This kiss lasted too long, and you could see Lasi's saliva. She felt her whole face was burning, even though she was not the one being watched.
Lancaster silently took off his coat. Heather heard the noise and turned around to look at him: "What are you doing?" Could it be that he was getting excited watching them kissing?
"Let's go to the next game."
This was overheard by two brothers standing arm in arm. They started to jeer loudly. One said, "Where did you come from, noble sir? This is not the place for you!" The other said, "Even noble sirs have to abide by the rules. Why don't you shout and see if there are any rich people willing to bet on you first?"
After the kiss, they made loud noises, and many people looked over. Heather didn't understand how they suddenly became the focus of attention. She just lowered her head and tugged at Lancaster's sleeve, suggesting that he should stop talking and leave quickly.
Lancaster stuffed his coat into her arms, raised the banknotes in his hand, and said loudly: "Is five pounds enough to qualify for the next round if I raise my own stakes?"
Five pounds was more than all the heads and tails bets on any round tonight combined. It was a practically guaranteed win. The audience murmured in agreement, and the woman carrying the tray, fearing he'd change his mind, snatched the money and tossed it into the plate. Before she could ask if anyone else wanted to raise the stakes, a swarm of people gathered around her. Even the poorest beggars tried to dig out a coin and toss it into the plate. They all agreed that this stranger, a victim of fraud, would lose.
Heather didn't think so. Lancaster could handle flying prey, so what was a standing stake? She took out all the change in her pocket and put it on the side where there was only 5 pounds.
Lancaster curled his lips and walked to the middle line. Soon his opponent came up, who was obviously an experienced dock worker.
The order was decided by drawing lots. Lancaster was lucky. Acting first meant a higher chance of winning, at least for masters.
Heather hugged her clothes tightly, looking forward to it excitedly, maybe it would be a cool knockout blow.
Lancaster shook the iron piece in his hand with a relaxed and carefree posture, took a slight aim, and the iron piece flew out, hitting the king's pillar in the middle with a gasp. The wooden bottle swayed for a moment, then stood firmly, and nothing happened.
"Oh my god, I'm so scared!" someone nearby said, "I thought Jack had met his match today and my money was going to be wasted."
"Me too! I didn't expect this rich guy to have such good aim."
"Hahaha, even though they're wooden bottles, they're filled with sand underneath. How can they be knocked down so easily? If you ask me, even if Jack knocks down all the wooden bottles, that master won't be able to find the secret."
Heather bit her lip. No wonder so many people were watching this game.
There was a burst of laughter from the people around him, but Lancaster acted as if he didn't hear anything at all. He was still calmly shaking the iron sheet with one hand casually in his trouser pocket. Even though he didn't hit anyone, several young girls with red faces squeezed into the inner circle and cheered for him excitedly.
The opponent Jack made a move, and in the first round he hit two bottles that were close to each other on the edge.
"Your turn, sir."
Lancaster didn't hesitate and threw it hard. The iron piece flew a little far away. Fortunately, it hit a bottle at the edge and fell down, and in the process it hit the one next to it.
"Good shot!" Heather couldn't help but shout out, but was soon drowned out by the commotion next to him.
"Don't worry, even if he keeps being so lucky, he will at least be two points behind Jack. Jack almost never misses in every round." Someone comforted his companion.
Sure enough, in the next round, Jack hit two bottles again, leaving only the last three on the field.
"Just a friendly reminder, the King Pillar has doubled, but it's too far away from the other two. Even if you hit it, you won't be able to take down any of the others," Jack said jokingly while waving to the excited fans on the sidelines. He has no problem with rich people who want to show off; the more such people there are, the better.
"So I'm destined to lose?" Lancaster took his hands out of his pockets and looked back at the woman with her hands clasped together on the sidelines.
Jack saw it too and laughed, "That's right. But if you want a lucky kiss, it's 5 pounds. I'll probably lose it next time because I'm exhausted."
Lancaster rolled up his sleeves and stared at the three remaining bottles on the field. He simulated his judgment several times and prepared himself. "I'd be happy to spend money on insurance, but she's too smart. I'd be embarrassed if I were exposed."
As soon as he finished speaking, the iron piece left his hand. As Jack had expected, it brushed past the King's Pillar, causing it to fall without hitting the other bottles. However, the next second, the falling iron piece was hit by a wooden bottle, changing its trajectory and flying towards another wooden bottle to the right.
The wooden bottle fell to the ground.
"Ahhh! King Pillar falls, double!"
"Oh my God, this must be the Son of God. He knocked down two bottles in this round and got four points! He's two points ahead of Jack. There's only one bottle left. Jack is doomed."
"Oh, this is not luck. The force of the rebound was enough to knock over the wooden bottle. Although I lost 2 pence, it was worth it to see such a wonderful performance."
"But I put in five pence!"
Amidst the wailing and screaming, the people around Heather all stepped back at the same time, leaving a small open space. They all knew that she was the female companion who came with the winner.
Heather had just screamed with excitement, but now she realized she was about to receive a lucky kiss. The evening breeze blew against her frozen face, and she herself didn't know what expression was fixed on it.
He came over very slowly, not as if he was going to ignore the lucky kiss.
Rhythmic applause rang out all around, just like the young couples who cheered in class when they were in school. She had always been one of those who followed everyone to watch the fun, and it was the first time she experienced the thrill of being cheered in public.
"Is it okay?" Lancaster used the dim light of the dock to carefully describe her face with his eyes, from her eyes, nose to lips.
It seemed as if someone was urging them to hurry, but that might have been her imagination.
That’s not possible. She tried to push him with her hands, but she wasn’t sure whether she pushed him or not.
Lancaster only waited for two seconds, and after silently counting two numbers, he put his arms around her waist and kissed her decisively.
Just one kiss on the cheek next to the corner of her mouth.
Before he could close his eyes, the blue ocean in his pupils surged over him.
Heather only felt that her eardrums were covered with a layer of mist, and the outside sounds could not come in. Only the sound of their violent heartbeats could be heard, colliding with each other in panic, and they could not escape no matter what.
Lancaster raised his head, stroked her soft hair and pressed her to his chest, then quickly left the scene with his arms around her.
The people behind symbolically shouted out the winner's bet, then happily let them go and divided up this windfall.
I don’t know how long I walked, but when I came to my senses, I had left the noisy crowd and arrived at a quiet corner.
Hazel blushed and stepped out of his arms.
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