Chapter 4 Four Bamboo Star Sleep, You Are My Lucky Eight Bamboo
The car wound its way through the streets to a small teahouse in Xingbei Alley next door, where they played mahjong.
They're all old acquaintances.
She was still locking her car at the door when she could already hear deafening roars and gasps coming from inside.
Xingbei Lane is much narrower than Huainan Lane, and graceful ginkgo trees are planted on both sides of the road.
There are more and more shops of all sizes here, and they are more crowded. In the morning, grandpas and grandmas from the countryside will carry their freshly grown vegetables to the roadside of Xingbei Lane to sell.
My mother has been bringing Xu Zhiyu to this morning market to buy vegetables since she was a child. She knows the place like the back of her hand. But every time she goes to buy vegetables, it's too early. She holds her mother's hand and walks while dozing off. As a result, even after so many times, she still doesn't know how much a pound of cucumbers costs.
Besides Su Ying's teahouse, there's another place in Xingbei Lane that Xu Zhiyu likes the most.
Right across from the vegetable market, hidden in a crowded alley, there is a very stylish afternoon tea shop.
【Dusty pearls】The store is mainly black and yellow, dim and gloomy.
When she went there for coffee last time, she asked the owner how to translate the shop's name, and the owner said "Dirty Pearl".
Xu Zhiyu felt that the translation was not romantic enough, so she suggested: "Personally, I think 'a pearl covered in dust' is quite appropriate."
The owner disagreed because he didn't think the shop's location in Xingbei Alley was a disgrace.
"Dirty is not a derogatory term; it means playful and genuine."
His explanation made Xu Zhiyu feel as if she had met her mentor, and the two became friends.
She rubbed her hands together as she walked toward the private room of the teahouse. The mahjong tables in the main hall were already full of people, filled with the sounds of mahjong machines shuffling tiles and the noise of eating, drawing, ponging, and konging.
You can't hear anything in this place unless you shout.
As he walked, his eyes lingered on the good cards other players had, unable to look away for a long time.
"Hey, you're here! Ah Yu, you've finally arrived. I called you but you didn't answer. All the private rooms for you guys are booked, and we've been waiting for you for ages because we're one short."
Su Ying, holding the phone, beamed with joy upon seeing Xu Zhiyu.
Her sharp, loud voice could be heard from a great distance.
"I know it was you calling. I was riding my bike, sis, and I was thinking I'd be there soon, so I didn't have a hand to answer."
"Alright, let's go in quickly. They're taking the 'Fa Fa Fa' bus again today. Those rooms are always in high demand, and Jiajing always manages to get one first."
Sister Su-ying always combs her hair meticulously, which causes her hairline to recede slightly, revealing her shiny forehead.
Her hair is not very thick, which is probably related to her frequent late nights, as many people here play cards all night.
Even so, every time I saw her, she was full of energy. To be honest, this was what Xu Zhiyu admired most about her. Sister Suying was rather short, but her exaggerated laughter and brisk movements gave me a feeling of being magnetically charged whenever I talked to her.
"Jiajing is back from his business trip?" Xu Zhiyu smiled wickedly, secretly overjoyed.
Her voice was too soft, and the landlady didn't hear her; she turned away to make a phone call.
The Jiajing mentioned in their conversation is the owner of the "Dirty Pearl" coffee shop.
Xu Zhiyu loved playing mahjong with him the most.
Why?
.
Pushing open the door, I saw three people already waiting inside, slumped over.
"I usually play games at 8:30. Why didn't you start another game first today since you came so early? Why did you have to wait for me?"
Inside the room were two men and one woman, and with Xu Zhiyu, there were two men and two women.
"I only fight young people." The speaker was an unfamiliar man, tall and thin, dressed as fashionably as Li Jiajing, and I guessed he was his friend.
But seeing how proactively he responded to my question, it's not hard to tell that this guy is also an e-person.
"Zhizhi, it's been a long time."
Before she even sat down, while fiddling with the cushions, Li Jiajing inexplicably stood up and began to introduce her.
“This is my friend Zhang Zhi.” He pointed to the man.
really.
"Haha, I guessed it. Hi everyone, Zhang Zhi, Xu Zhiyu, just call me Ayu."
She greeted everyone warmly and sat down. The girl who had been waiting on the sofa next to her also sat down at the table.
This girl seems to be the daughter of the pork vendor at the entrance of Xingbei Alley. After graduating from junior college, she returned home, but instead of helping her family sell pork, she worked at a milk tea shop.
I'm not sure about the rest.
I've played cards with her a few times. All I know is that she's a bit introverted and doesn't talk much, but she's quick-witted and has good luck with cards. She wins the most money.
Zhang Zhi glanced at Li Jiajing, a look of understanding flashing in his eyes.
He replied, "Mr. Xu, I've long admired your name."
"No, no." Knowing that the other party was joking, Xu Zhiyu immediately reacted and replied with a smile.
The first round has begun, and those skilled at playing cards are quick and efficient.
Among those present was someone who wasn't exactly a veteran; that person was Li Jiajing.
Fortunately, the others were all good-natured and didn't keep urging him. Xu Zhiyu played cards and chatted with Li Jiajing:
"It's been a long time, haha. Mr. Li, you're hilarious! Running a coffee shop and still having to travel for work? What kind of business trip? Sanya or Western Sichuan?"
"Is it fun...? 10,000, wait, 10,000, pong."
As soon as she started joking, Zhang Zhi burst out laughing. He hadn't expected this pretty girl to be so good at joking.
Li Jiajing was flustered and focused on arranging his cards. Xu Zhiyu noticed that he was placing the cards in piles of two or three in front of him. She glanced at the discarded card 1 on the table and had basically figured out all the cards in his hand.
"What?! I'm not going out for fun, I'm really on a business trip, going to a big city to learn how to manage a business—oh no, I didn't see those five rules, I wanted to get involved with those five rules..."
Xu Zhiyu: "Don't rush, don't rush, I'm ready to win. Here's a five of bamboo, I'll play it for you next time."②
She calmly spread out the five strips of paper she had just picked up and showed them to Li Jiajing.
Another girl, Xiaoshu, usually wears white dresses, with her hair half-tied up and half of it hanging down to her chest. Her quiet and thoughtful demeanor while playing cards has attracted many suitors.
Upon hearing Xu Zhiyu say that she had already won the hand, Zhang Zhi and Xiao Shu both felt a pang of anxiety.
I didn't expect her to be so quick; she had really good cards.
Zhang Zhi: Judging from her hand, she's probably aiming for a winning hand with the bamboo suit. It's so early; even if she discards a tile that allows another player to win, she probably won't leave until she draws it herself. Unfortunately, I'm missing bamboo tiles, and I can't hold onto the ones I draw; even if I discard one, there's nothing I can do. ③
Xiao Shu: She has an eight of bamboo. I can't possibly win that hand. I'll hold onto it, hold onto it until the ends of the earth, until dynasties change. I have an eight of bamboo in my hand, and another eight of bamboo appears outside. She's waiting for an eight of bamboo. I don't believe she can win it by herself.
Li Jiajing: Okay, Zhizhi, will you really call me five times later? I knew she was the best.
It was Xu Zhiyu's turn to draw and play cards again.
"Five of them, go try your luck, they're close to home."
Before even touching the cards, she kept her word and threw the card in her hand in front of him with a flourish. "Close to home" is a homonym for Li Jiajing's name, a joke Xu Zhiyu always loved to use.
"Bang! Bang bang!" Li Jiajing was overjoyed and neatly placed the three five-sticks in the corner.
Xu Zhiyu sat next to Li Jiajing, to his right, which was his downstream seat.
Looking at the single tag in her hand, she took a deep breath and rubbed her gold ring.
How so? It's like touching the top and drawing the bottom.
Experienced players usually aim to build a hand with many melds (pung).
But Xu Zhiyu drew two more tiles after standing up, and immediately went for the eight of bamboo.
One eight of bamboo has already been played outside, and if I'm not mistaken, another one is definitely in Xiao Shu's hand. So, I have one in my hand, and there must be one among the cards I haven't drawn yet.
She was extremely nervous because everyone knew that the probability of her winning with this hand was extremely low.
After figuring out which hand he could use to get a winning hand, Li Jiajing looked up and noticed that the atmosphere among the other three had become very tense.
Zhizhi went even further, closing her eyes and rubbing the card she drew.
Hold your breath and concentrate.
Feel the texture of your thumb gliding across the pattern on the card.
It's round, yes, it's a tube.
Xiao Shu, who had been silent all along, curled the corners of her lips and sneered, "Play it out, it can't be an eight of bamboo."
Xu Zhiyu licked the corner of her mouth, her expression meaningful.
Zhang Zhi: "You're such a performer. You made me think you really touched me."
Li Jiajing leaned closer curiously: "What card?"
Xu Zhiyu slammed the cards onto the table, her face flushing red. She spread out all the cards in front of her, straightened her back, and began to play.
"Sorry, I drew all three tiles myself, with a single tile of bamboo, and then I was waiting on an eight of bamboo. Hey—I actually got it!"
"A perfect hand?!" Zhang Zhi's eyes widened. "Holy crap, you're secretly acting like a big shot here!"
Xiao Shu inhales: "6".
Li Jiajing: "Huh? No wonder you gave me five strips. I should have known better than to touch them!"
Xu Zhiyu shrugged. Actually, it wasn't that big. It was just a small amount, sixteen times, for each of the other three.
The sly smile on the fish's face couldn't be hidden.
Today was great, a fantastic start! The first hand went so smoothly, she said it's good to have a bit of luck when playing cards.
In addition, there is actually quite a story about this Eight of Bamboo.
Su Ying's Fengyun Teahouse is usually the most popular place for playing Sichuan Mahjong, but other types of Mahjong are also played by some people.
Xu Zhiyu knows a little bit of all kinds of mahjong, but she plays Sichuan mahjong and Hangzhou mahjong the most.
Unlike Sichuan Mahjong, Hangzhou Mahjong has a special tile called the "White Board," which comes in four tiles. The White Board is also known as the "God of Wealth" tile because it represents strength and has the effect of doubling the winnings, so everyone likes it.
Including the trifoliate orange.
She certainly liked the white card, but it wasn't her favorite card.
As can be seen above, her favorite tile is the eight of bamboo.
The eight of bamboo was her lucky tile, so even though Xu Zhiyu was a mahjong veteran, she would definitely dare to wait for this tile alone.
If Xiao Shu's style of playing mahjong is theoretical, then Xu Zhiyu's is metaphysical.
She prioritizes intuition over reasoning; she always follows her heart and trusts her gut feeling.
As it turns out, the Eight of Bamboo has never disappointed her.
This bloody storm continued until 1 a.m.
In the end, Xu Zhiyu and Xiao Shu won, Zhang Zhi neither won nor lost, and Li Jiajing lost alone.
This is why Xu Zhiyu loves playing cards with Li Jiajing—because he's bad at it but also loves to play.
Who wouldn't like a lucky charm who brings wealth? Haha.
However, Li Jiajing seems to be a hidden rich second-generation, and for him, this amount of money is purely for buying happiness.
.
Xingbei Lane was much quieter late at night.
Four young people walked out of Fengyun Teahouse one after another. The dim streetlights were like showerheads, and a few shops were still open on the side of the street. The long alley was deep and quiet at first glance.
"Where does this young lady live? Is it safe for her to go home alone? Would you like Zhang Zhi to help her?"
Li Jiajing asked Xu Zhiyu.
Xu Zhiyu was puzzled.
"Why don't you just ask her directly? I don't know where she lives either."
Zhang Zhi: "Xiao Shu, how about I take you home? It's so late, are you going home alone..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Shu interrupted him aloofly, "No need, thank you, I'm very close."
After saying that, Xiao Shu, under the watchful eyes of the three of them, crossed the narrow alley and went straight up the stairs on the other side.
"Li Jiajing, she really lives close to home." Zhang Zhi, who had been rejected, watched Xiao Shu go upstairs, then looked back at his good brother and couldn't help but sigh.
The three of them smiled in unison.
Xu Zhiyu went to the roadside to ride her bicycle, and Li Jiajing followed behind her.
Xu Zhiyu: ?
"Aren't you going home with your friend? My electric scooter can't carry two grown men."
A note from the author:
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Mahjong Terminology Notes:
① Current cards: cards that have already been played in the discard pile.
② Ready to win: also known as calling for a winning hand, means that you only need one more tile to complete the hand and win.
③ Discarding a tile that allows another player to discard it, allowing you to win; Self-draw: Winning by drawing the winning tile yourself (doubles the score).
④ With roots: has a support.
⑤ Pure of Bamboo: All the tiles in your hand are of the same Bamboo suit.
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