Chapter 1599 - 642: Snow
The sky was gloomy and cold, but indoors it was warm like spring.
Several shanties were connected by breaking through walls to form a long, narrow hall. In this space of about fifty to sixty square meters, there were around twenty to thirty people packed in, mostly men with a few heavily made-up women. They gathered around a gambling table, sometimes beating their chests and stamping their feet, sometimes shouting loudly.
On the table was a simple game called "Baccarat." Cui Min’er had been unable to find Cui Juncai, who was now sitting in the prime spot directly opposite the croupier with the best view.
There were over twenty gamblers in the room, yet only seven or eight seats were available. The players who could sit down were undoubtedly those who wagered the most.
And Cui Juncai’s position signified that he was the big brother among the players, possessing the only "right to squeeze the card."
Across from him, a young croupier lady, clearly dressed for winter but in a revealing low-cut spaghetti strap top, winked flirtatiously at Cui Juncai before pushing two cards, one face-up and one face-down, indicating the player’s count, in front of him.
At this point, the banker’s two cards had already shown an 8. In Baccarat, this was an incredibly high number, while most players had bet on the player hand, which had revealed only a King, representing 0 points.
This meant that Cui Juncai needed to turn over a card worth at least 8 points to beat the banker, a very slim chance.
As Cui Juncai took a deep breath and squeezed the card bit by bit on the table, the tense-looking gamblers behind him craned their necks and shouted along.
"9 points, 9 points, 9 points..."
Then suddenly, Cui Juncai burst into laughter, forcefully flipped the card, and slammed it onto the table.
It was a 9 of hearts.
"Banker 8 points, Player 9 points... Player wins!"
The croupier lady smiled as she announced, then pushed the chips won by everyone over to them.
The table erupted in cheers, and the gamblers who had bet with Cui Juncai excitedly shouted.
"Brother Juncai, you’re amazing, winning four rounds in a row..."
"Juncai, you’re really on a streak lately, impressive!"
"Hurry, keep going, Brother Juncai, tonight we’re going to make the banker lose everything!"
Sitting in the center, basking in everyone’s praise, Cui Juncai’s face was flushed with excitement. Although his eyes were bloodshot, his spirited appearance was a far cry from the dejection Cui Min’er had seen him in yesterday.
"Juncai, not bad, it looks like you really have a chance to pay off your debts today."
A middle-aged man with a scar on his brow, smiling, stood behind Cui Juncai, patting him on the shoulder and speaking in a low voice.
The moment he was patted by the scarred man, Cui Juncai instinctively trembled, chuckled awkwardly, but soon straightened his back:
"Brother Fengxian, rest assured, didn’t I tell you already, even if I didn’t win today, I’d definitely pay off my debt to you? It’s just 30 million Korean Won, I can afford it..."
Hearing what Cui Juncai said, the man named Cheng Fengxian was taken aback.
As fellow residents of Jiulong Village, they saw each other frequently, and Cheng Fengxian knew all too well about Cui Juncai’s character.
Though Cui Juncai was timid and opportunistic, lacking any great skills, his nature was quite honest; he hardly ever boasted. Even when pressed hard for debt repayment, he never dared try to deceive Cheng Fengxian, unlike other gamblers who would easily spout "I’ll definitely pay tomorrow" or "I’ll have it next month."
So when Cui Juncai spoke like this, it indicated he really had some confidence.
Considering that Cui Juncai entered today with over a million Korean Won in chips, and his betting clearly increased, Cheng Fengxian couldn’t help but squint his eyes.
This old fellow... where did he get a big sum of money again?
Contemplating internally didn’t stop Cheng Fengxian from cheerfully waving over a gaudy woman nearby, signaling her to sit beside Cui Juncai.
Regularly soliciting business in Jiulong Village, these women were nothing but ordinary, yet they were easygoing and well-aware of the needs of men in lower tiers. As soon as she sat next to Cui Juncai, one grabbed his hand and pulled it into her soft, warm bosom, acting coy and clingy.
Cui Juncai, not used to this kind of situation, and even sitting in the main position at the table for the first time, was overwhelmed and didn’t know how to respond. He wanted to say no but couldn’t resist the primal warmth, so he half-pushing, half-yieldingly let the woman snuggle up to him...
While Cui Juncai was enjoying the "beauty," still impressively at the card table, the makeshift door panel of the shanty was suddenly pushed open, and a stunningly tall girl walked in, mesmerizing all the men present.
Another man guarding the door was about to act when he was stopped by Cheng Fengxian’s glance. He smiled and looked at the girl.
"Isn’t this our Jiulong Village’s pearl, Miss Cui Min’er? When did you return?"
"It really is Cui Min’er, sigh, who would’ve thought she grew up to be so beautiful..."
"That’s why the son of the financial tycoon took a liking to her."
"Cui Juncai indeed has a good daughter. Just relying on her, he won’t have to worry about food or drink for life."
"Otherwise, how do you think Brother Fengxian dared to lend him so much money, hehe..."
As Cui Min’er appeared, various whispers filled the room.
Cui Juncai, startled, hastily pushed the woman beside him away and stood up quickly, forcing a sheepish smile:
"Min’er, what... what are you doing here?"
"Dad... come home with me."
Cui Min’er glanced around at the smoky and chaotic environment of the room, bit her lip, then looked at the heavily made-up woman. Her face turned pale as she walked up to Cui Juncai and grabbed his arm.