After listening to the middle-aged man's explanation at the money exchange in Fengmen Village, I almost couldn't help but curse.
I knew Fengmen Village was a place where all sorts of people mingled, but I never expected that I would fall into someone's trap and be ripped off as a sucker less than half an hour after entering the village.
Although four million is not a small amount, fortunately it is not something I cannot afford.
As I walked out of the money exchange, I kept comforting myself, thinking of this as a lesson learned. After all, I had already made two hundred million from selling the jade seal, so losing four million was acceptable. Being cheated out of some money was better than being caught off guard and getting scammed even more. At worst, I could just use the money to hire a tour guide.
Although that young man swindled me out of 2.5 million, the information he provided was still accurate.
When I arrived at the center of Fengmen Village, I saw a huge banyan tree in the distance. The tree must have been at least 20 meters tall, and its huge canopy looked like dark clouds floating in the air.
Based on my investigation, Fengmen Village is clearly a village located in an underground ancient tomb, where sunlight is never seen. How did these trees grow so big?
Under the large banyan tree, there was a circle of upright lamp stands, with a white lantern hanging from each stand. Most of the lanterns were placed under open-air stalls displaying all kinds of antiques, and passersby would squat by the stalls and chat with the stall owners.
Although this was my first time visiting Fengmen Village, I could vaguely sense that these open-air stalls were not selling anything of value.
Of course, the "worthless" part refers to the fact that this is an underground black market, and the goods here are definitely much better than those on the surface.
After bypassing these stalls, I actually saw a building with a sign that read "Zhong Le Gambling House" behind it. It was a three-story Chinese-style building that looked magnificent.
The overall style of Fengmen Village is that of a gloomy atmosphere, with pale white lights everywhere you look. However, the lights inside Zhongle Casino are yellow, which looks very glaring.
As soon as I approached the Zhongle Casino, two burly men at the entrance stopped me. One of them stared at me and said, "This gentleman looks unfamiliar. Have you been to the Zhongle Casino before?"
"This is my first time here, but I know the rules."
I took out some banknotes from my pocket and handed them over: "You need to verify funds here, right?"
The burly man took the banknotes from my hand, verified them, nodded respectfully, and then stepped aside, saying, "Distinguished guest!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a dwarf less than a meter tall ran over, grinning at me: "Welcome guests from all directions, and share wealth from all corners of the world! Welcome, esteemed guest, to Zhongle Gambling House! Please come in!"
"Thank you for your trouble."
I nodded to the dwarf, then followed him into the gambling den, asking curiously, "This is clearly a gambling den, but why is it so quiet inside? Logically, those who love to gamble should be shouting and yelling day and night, right?"
The dwarf chuckled: "Sir, these are the rules of the Joyful Casino."
Seeing that he only talked about rules but didn't follow them, I understood and took out a bill of 500,000 yuan in ghost money and handed it to him: "This money is a reward for you. Come to me later with your people and we can exchange it for your number plate."
"Alright! Thanks, young master!"
The dwarf took my money, his face beaming like a blooming chrysanthemum, but his attitude changed instantly: "You don't know, our Zhongle Gambling House doesn't allow group gambling, it's individual gambling. Each table only accepts one customer! After all, everyone has different goals. If two people gamble together and place bets separately, we'll lose money!"
Having already spent my money, I naturally needed to obtain useful information, so I continued, "You just said that each guest here has different needs, so how should I place my bets?"
"It's simple. After you sit down at the gambling table, you need to tell the dealer what you want. If the casino can accept your request, they will let you place the corresponding amount of chips. If you win the bet, you can get what you want."
As the dwarf spoke, he led me inside the gambling den. The casino was very spacious, but it only had fewer than twenty gambling tables, all of which were separated by screens.
Through the gaps in the screens, I could vaguely see that almost every gambling table was occupied by guests, but the hall was not noisy at all; I couldn't even hear the people talking.
The dwarf, stepping on the velvet carpet, led me inside: "Young master, the Pai Gow and Baccarat tables outside are having a lot of luck today; almost all the customers have been wiped out. However, the dice tables inside have a few customers. I suggest you try your luck there too. What do you think?"
I countered, "You mean, some people come here, lose all their money, and don't get what they want?"
"Nine out of ten gamblers lose! It's not that some people don't get what they want, but that most people who come to Zhong Le Casino leave disappointed. Based on my experience working here, every gambler thinks they will be the lucky one to win, but unfortunately, they are one of the majority."
The dwarf smiled: "The majority fail."
I remained noncommittal: "Your Zhongle Casino is a place for trading information. You can make a fortune with just a few pieces of information. It's truly a highly profitable business."
"That's not quite right. You only see how glamorous our gambling den is, but you haven't considered that information obtained by spending so much money can't be easily acquired. In your eyes, we sell information, but in reality, who knows how much blood has been spilled on this information!"
As the dwarf spoke, he led me to the side of a corridor: "Tonight, the second to last table in the gambling den has the highest winning rate. Three out of ten customers have won. I suggest you go and give it a try! Of course, if you don't believe in luck, just take it as me talking nonsense. You can go to other tables, as long as there are no red ribbons hanging in front of the tables, you can play."
I nodded to the dwarf and stepped forward, saying, "No need, I'll go to the place you mentioned, thanks!"
The dwarf followed me around, beaming. "Young master, according to the rules, I can't sit at the gambling table with you. Do you have any drinks you'd like? I'll bring them to you."
"After all this commotion, I'm really hungry. Could you brew me a pot of glutinous rice tea? ...Do you have anything to eat here?"
"Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong, Huaiyang, Fujian, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Shanghai cuisines—as long as your dish isn't too obscure, we have it."
"I'd like a bowl of wonton noodles."
After giving instructions to the dwarf, I walked into the space enclosed by the screen.
The dealer inside was an exceptionally beautiful young woman, who looked like a porcelain doll. She was dressed very provocatively, with the cleavage of her cheongsam clearly visible, and her fair and smooth skin could be seen along the cuffs.
As I entered, the dealer stood up and smiled at me: "Distinguished guest, would you like to try your luck?"
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