Chapter 236 Xiaoyaofang
Anyone who has been a bandit knows that robbing money is the fastest way to make money.
What is easier and faster than robbing money is gambling.
Xiaoyaofang is known as the number one gambling house in Dayu.
Although no one has heard of Su Zhizhi, she is well-known in the gambling circle.
No matter what kind of gambler you are, once you have been to Xiaoyaofang, you will never forget it.
Ordinary gambling houses are dark, noisy, crowded, and dull, filled with smoke and thieves always eyeing people's wallets.
Xiaoyaofang is completely different.
It is as beautiful as a dream.
Xiaoyaofang has three floors in total, and covers a large area in the land-scarce West Market of Chang'an.
Hundreds of colorful lanterns are held up from the eaves, illuminating the plaque with the three characters "Xiaoyaofang" with brilliant light.
As you cross the vermilion lacquered threshold, the scent of sandalwood fills your face. The room is spacious enough to accommodate hundreds of people. The walls, lacquered pillars, and the soft Persian carpet under your feet are all spotless as new.
Every corner is exquisite and bright, even the toilet inside is fragrant.
The guards at the gambling house were all sturdy and strong, and would not give pickpockets any opportunity to take advantage. If someone was still determined to steal here, once caught, they would probably be beaten half to death and thrown into prison.
There is someone behind Xiaoyaofang. No one knows who it is, but no one dares to have any bad ideas.
Such a nice place, yet it welcomes everyone with a smile.
If it were a brothel, they might turn away a customer who was dressed poorly.
But Xiaoyaofang won’t do that.
Regardless of one's clothing, appearance, or appearance, the stewards and attendants of Xiaoyaofang would lead them in respectfully.
If you have money, the servants will lead you to the private room upstairs and find someone to gamble with you.
If you say you have no money, it doesn’t matter, they will still welcome you in with a smile and tell you:
"When a new customer comes for the first time, the gambling house will give them chips worth ten taels of silver. If they lose these chips, they won't lose anything. If they win, they can take the remaining amount away."
The ten taels of chips given as a gift cannot be cashed in and taken away, and it would be a waste not to gamble them away, so many people will gamble away the chips in their hands with a try-it attitude.
The casino also provides free tea and snacks, and even offers fine wines and dishes to those guests who spend money like water.
Let all gamblers stay in the gambling house as long as they want, even if they don’t come out for three days and three nights.
This is the most beautiful place in Xiaoyaofang, but this is also where its horror lies.
The first time you go to a casino to gamble, it’s best to lose.
Only by losing the first time can you give up the idea at the very beginning.
But unfortunately, many people will win money when they first enter Xiaoyaofang.
After winning, you will want to win more money.
The idea of gambling took root in the heart, and countless vines grew out to trap the gambler's heart in the gorgeous and luxurious Xiaoyaofang.
Those gamblers who initially just want to give it a try will definitely come back if they win a lot of money the first time.
After losing money, he will only think about adding chips to make up for the loss.
The more you gamble, the more addicted you become. Even if you lose all your money, you will still continue gambling.
Even if all the money at home was lost in gambling, the servants would still serve refreshing tea and gently encourage the guests to hold on to the glimmer of hope at the gambling table.
The manager would then mention, "We have pawnshops in Xiaoyaofang. You can use jewelry or even farmland as collateral. Sign and seal on the spot to exchange for silver. We can help you with this emergency first. Once you've made a profit, you can immediately exchange the farmland for silver."
The manager did not lie. Anything that was pawned or mortgaged in Xiaoyaofang could really be redeemed at the original price, without cheating anyone.
However, many people exchanged their jade pendants, gold bracelets, houses, and fields for chips, and then lost everything at the gambling table.
At this moment the gambler will have a moment of clarity, and will be too painful to face the situation of losing everything.
The steward would take them to a private room, treat them to some food and wine, and comfort them with sighs and tears:
"Alas, now that things have come to this, you are all like trapped beasts, trapped whether you advance or retreat. All your ancestral property has been lost, how can you face returning to see your family? Why not just take another gamble? Maybe there's still a chance to turn things around."
A gambler who has lost all his wealth will only focus on the last sentence and ask how he can take another gamble?
The steward said: "You all still have seven feet of body to be treasured."
The desperate gamblers cried bitterly, regretting why they did not stop earlier, and then chose to sign the contract to sell themselves while crying.
They stood at the gambling table with the chips they had earned by selling their bodies, and placed their bets with trembling limbs.
The exquisite dice made crisp sounds when they hit each other.
A "Kai" sounded in their ears, and the chips in front of them were lost bit by bit. From then on, they became slaves of Xiaoyaofang...
"Will they then be trapped in Xiaoyaofang forever?"
Su Zhizhi asked Hao Ren in the slightly shaking carriage.
On the way to Xiaoyaofang, Hao Ren quietly and methodically explained the situation of Xiaoyaofang to Su Zhizhi, so that Su Zhizhi could be mentally prepared.
Hao Ren: "The people who were sold may be in the capital, or they may be sent somewhere else to work for them."
Su Zhizhi counted on her fingers: "I heard from Grandpa Qin that when they were young, some people would have their fingers or a hand chopped off if they lost."
Hao Ren: "That's the Jianghu, they're just trying to win. Xiaoyaofang won't chop off people's hands and feet. Because a hand or a foot is worthless to them. They want the whole person, to work for them until death, and squeeze every drop of blood and sweat out of them."
When Hao Ren left the capital, he had no impression of Xiaoyaofang. At that time, it was probably just a small gambling house.
More than ten years have passed, and it has grown to such a powerful level.
The carriage stopped.
The martial arts school was not far from the West Market. Just as the father and daughter finished their conversation, the carriage had already arrived at the gate of Xiaoyaofang.
Hao Ren and Su Zhizhi got out of the car and went in with Murong Ming and He Wenhan.
Bai Xun looked up and saw A Bao's figure passing through the air, and then saw Su Zhizhi and others enter Xiaoyaofang with his own eyes.
Bai Xun adjusted his horse's direction and hurried back to Heishan Prefecture.
After all, He Wenhan had been here once, so he walked ahead with more confidence.
Murong Ming wanted to pretend that he had been there before, but after entering, he couldn't help looking around.
As soon as they entered the door, a servant came forward with tea and said with a smile:
"You all look unfamiliar, but is this your first time here? Have some tea first."
The tea leaves floating in the tea are not the broken tea leaves sold at street stalls, but whole tea leaves, making the tea clear.
The tea looked good and smelled nice, but there were no seats around to sit down and drink the tea.
Hao Ren looked around and saw that in the huge gambling house on the first floor, there were only chairs around the gambling tables.
If you want to sit down, you can only go to the gambling table.
Murong Ming, Su Zhizhi and Hao Ren each received chips worth ten taels of silver.
He Wenhan acted like a regular customer: "This isn't my first time here, so there's no need to give me chips. I'll buy them myself."
"Yes, sir, please follow me." The servant's attitude remained kind and respectful, and he did not ignore them just because they were young.
The attendant could see that although the two young masters walking in front were young, they wore fine jade around their waists, and the servants following behind also seemed to have seen the world.
He Wenhan bought one hundred taels of chips.
Murong Ming didn't have that much money, so when he came to the martial arts school, He Yan didn't let him take any money out to prevent him from messing around with the money.
He Wenhan lent Murong Ming another hundred taels to buy chips.
Hao Ren walked to the accounting office, took out several banknotes from his sleeve, and said to the accountant with a slightly surprised look:
"In exchange for ten thousand taels."
Hao Ren was wearing an ordinary cotton robe, without any silk or satin on his body, and no gold or jade around his waist or hair, but he spent 10,000 taels of silver at once, which was obviously a big piece of fat meat that was delivered to his door.
The accountant gave Hao Ren a wooden box full of chips.
Hao Ren handed the wooden box directly to Su Zhizhi, lowered his head and whispered in Su Zhizhi's ear:
"Zhizhi, lose all the money in it."
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