At the entrance of Le Tong Manor, a woman wearing a flower hairpin stopped He Yan and said in a coquettish voice, "Sir, this is a casino."

"I know." He Yan nodded, took out a piece of silver from his sleeve and shook it in front of her, "I'm here to gamble."

The woman was stunned for a moment, but before she could say anything, He Yan had already walked in.

The women standing outside the casino were prostitutes. The people who frequented Le Tong Manor were all wealthy people, and money was not worth much, so they learned to judge people by their appearance. If there were people who did not look wealthy, they would be persuaded to leave. First, it would not look good for poor people to walk around inside, and they would dirty the embroidered carpet. Second, poor people cared about money and could not afford to lose. Once they lost, they would cry and ask for money, which would disturb the interest of the rich and would not be worth the loss.

He Yan's clothes were so worn out that she definitely didn't look like a young master from a wealthy family. Unfortunately, before the prostitute could stop her, she had already walked in without being invited.

The casino was bustling with people, all with red faces. Those who won were naturally very proud, while those who lost were unwilling to accept the loss. They took out a stack of banknotes from their pockets and shouted, "Let's play again!"

He Yan walked and looked around, thinking, it turns out that what others said about the casinos and brothels was indeed true.

After she had taught Wang Jiugui a lesson today, she asked him a question, which was the biggest casino in the capital. A street thug like Wang Jiugui would definitely know the answer, and sure enough, Wang Jiugui told her about Le Tong Zhuang.

He Yan had never been to a casino. Before she joined the Pu Yue Army, she was not allowed to go to crowded places, let alone casinos, because of her special status. After she joined the Pu Yue Army and returned to Beijing after winning the battle, He Yunsheng came back and she became the legitimate daughter of the second branch of the He family. She could not go to such a low-class place. So she didn't even know where the casino was. This was the first time.

Le Tong Zhuang has everything: Pai Gow, tanqi, chess, grass fighting, chicken fighting... She was dazzled by the sight, and at the same time she felt a little regretful because she didn't know how to play any of these.

Someone was guessing the dice, putting the dice in a bowl and guessing the number. This was the simplest game and attracted the most people. After the game, the money flowed like a bang, blinding He Yan's eyes. He Yan finally smiled.

The He family was really too poor, but He Yunsheng still had to go to school. The jewelry he pawned could only bring him a few dollars, far from being enough to pay his tuition. Even if he made big cakes to sell, it would take a long time to save up. After thinking about it, He Yan could only think of going to the casino, where money makes money. Although it was a tricky speculation, he couldn't care less about that at the moment.

"Hey brother, what are you doing blocking here? If you don't want to bet, don't stand here." The people around him pushed He Yan, with a hint of disdain in their eyes.

Why go to the casino if you don't have money? Can't you just use the money to buy some nice clothes? It's really disgusting.

He Yan said: "Bet."

The people around were all wearing gold and silver, and they were either rich or noble. Suddenly, they saw a poorly dressed young man coming in, and they couldn't help but look over. He Yan took out the only two pieces of silver from his sleeve and placed them on the table.

Someone laughed at him, "Boy, think carefully. This is not a joke. I see you don't have any more money. Why don't you stop betting? If you lose and cry, others won't return the money to you!"

It's not like this hasn't happened before. Gambling is addictive. The more you lose, the more you gamble, and the more you gamble, the more you lose. Some people lost everything, including their land deeds, wives and children. In the end, they regretted it but failed to cheat and were kicked out by the people from Le Tong Zhuang. It happens here from time to time.

They looked at He Yan with pity. There was no way out for the poor people in Letong Village.

He Yan smiled slightly: "It's okay, just gamble for fun."

Everyone burst into laughter, but no one could tell whether the laughter was meant to be kind or just to get excited.

The dice are put into the bowl and turned upside down. The dealer shakes them left and right, and the dice make crisp sounds, one after another, accompanied by lively voices like music. You can vaguely hear rough men talking and laughing loudly.

He Yan thought back to those years in the barracks.

She joined the army and rose from a small soldier to a lieutenant general, and from a lieutenant general to a general. She had no connections with the He family and achieved her success entirely through her own hard work.

There was no other entertainment in the bitter cold of the border area, so the men in the barracks could not hold back and secretly gambled.

Every time He Yan saw them, he would issue a military order to punish them. He Yan was helpless as they were enjoying gambling in private. In the end, he had to stipulate that they were not allowed to gamble with money, but they could gamble with other things, such as a chicken leg, a piece of dried food, or a piece of fur.

They didn't really want to gamble, they were just bored. Besides training in battle, this was probably the only fun they had, and He Yan couldn't bear to deprive him of it. So they let He Yan join in, and sometimes when He Yan was in the mood, he would join in one or two games, and he would lose badly every time.

She lost almost all the little gadgets she had, but she wasn't upset. She just felt that everyone has their own expertise and not everyone can gamble.

The crisp sound of the dice stopped abruptly, and the Zhuang family put down the bowl and looked at her.

"Big." He Yan said.

"open--"

The bowl was opened, and two dice were lying quietly on the table. Everyone held their breath and looked over. The two dice, one was a five and the other was a six, were indeed big.

Everyone was slightly surprised. After a moment, the man who had just laughed at He Yan laughed and said, "You are so lucky. Take this money and go get some nice clothes!"

Some scattered silver and banknotes were piled up in front of He Yan.

He Yan pushed the silver out again.

Everyone looked at her.

"Come again." She smiled.

Someone couldn't help but said, "Hey, this kid is a bit arrogant!"

"Brother, you'd better quit while you're ahead. It's good enough if you win." This is well-intentioned advice.

"Do you really think you will always be so lucky? Hahaha, children are so naive!"

Mocking voices, admonishing voices, and the lively sounds filled his ears. Amidst the crowd, He Yan only had the two dice in his eyes.

He Yunsheng needs to pay tuition for school and military service, Qingmei can't do all the work, the He family should add some servants. Summer will come in a few months, the rainy season will come, and the tiles on the gatehouse of the He family are missing, so it will definitely leak... Silver is needed inside and outside.

If she wanted to find out about Xu Zhiheng and He Rufei, she would need money.

Money is something you don't need a lot of, but you can't live without it. Otherwise, when you find yourself in a difficult situation, you will realize how difficult life is.

"Have you made up your mind?" The middle-aged man rolling the dice stroked his beard and smiled kindly and gently.

He Yan also smiled politely in response.

"Come again."