Lin Jiang continued to drive, showing no sign of stopping.
"Is it a family matter? I’ll give you a ride."
Liang Shuhuo was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.
"My dad took an early retirement for medical reasons half a year ago. But somehow, he got hooked on playing Tractor. In less than four months, he’s lost over 200,000 yuan. He won’t listen to reason, no matter what I say. He’s driving me crazy."
Over 200,000 in four months. That averaged out to around 50,000 a month, or less than 2,000 yuan a day.
For an ordinary person, that was definitely not a small amount.
But from a gambler’s perspective, it really wasn’t that much. Plenty of people could lose that much in a single night.
’It seems Liang Shuhuo’s father’s situation isn’t that severe yet. Convincing him to pull back from the brink might not be as difficult as I thought.’
"Just talking to him won’t work. He has to be made aware of how serious the problem is, or he’ll never stop."
Liang Shuhuo looked at Lin Jiang, a little surprised he would say something like that.
"Do you have a plan?"
"We can try. Let’s go check out the situation first."
"Okay."
Following Liang Shuhuo’s directions, they soon found the mahjong parlor named Huilong Card Room.
The term "mahjong parlor" was just a general name. In reality, it had not only mahjong but also poker and pai gow. The variety was even greater than at a maid cafe.
"Try to calm down first. Getting angry won’t solve anything," Lin Jiang reminded her before they got out of the car.
"I’ll try my best to control it."
"Erm... you should be mindful of your breast health. Make sure to get regular check-ups."
Huh?
Liang Shuhuo froze. ’How does he know I have nodules?’
Before Liang Shuhuo could say anything else, Lin Jiang got out of the car first, and she quickly followed.
"The card room is over here. Where are you going?" Liang Shuhuo asked, seeing Lin Jiang walk into the small convenience store next door.
"I’m going to buy something. Wait here for me."
Liang Shuhuo didn’t overthink it, assuming Lin Jiang had gone to buy cigarettes.
After a few minutes, Lin Jiang came out and called to her.
"Let’s go."
The card room was located on the ground floor of an old residential building. The interior had no ambiance or class to speak of.
The first floor was thick with smoke and littered with cigarette butts. At least half the people there were smoking.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think they were all cultivating immortality in here.
When the two of them entered, quite a few people looked over, sizing them up.
Liang Shuhuo fanned the air in front of her, trying to wave the smoke away.
"The first floor is for mahjong. Let’s go upstairs."
Lin Jiang nodded, and they went up to the second floor with Liang Shuhuo.
Compared to the first floor, the second floor was even livelier and much noisier.
Everyone was trying to overpower their opponents with their presence. Psychological tactics were a crucial part of winning, so everyone was doing their best to project an imposing aura to suppress their rivals.
Liang Shuhuo quickened her pace, passed Lin Jiang, and headed toward a spot by the window.
Lin Jiang grabbed Liang Shuhuo’s hand. "Don’t rush over. Let’s wait a bit."
Being held by Lin Jiang like this, Liang Shuhuo felt a strange sense of security well up inside her.
In a place like this, with all sorts of shady characters, having a man with her was indeed very reassuring.
Lin Jiang’s gaze shifted toward the window.
A group of people were there, playing Tractor. There were five of them in total.
Just then, a bald man stood up, his mood exceptionally high. He must have been winning, because a loser wouldn’t be smiling.
"Liang, I’ll bet another 100. Do you dare to follow?"
"Ma Qiang, can you shut up? Don’t distract me," Liang Shuhuo’s father said impatiently.
"The atmosphere is half the fun. What’s the point if you don’t talk?"
The speaker was Ma Qiang. He held his cards in one hand and a cigarette in the other, his imposing manner already overwhelming his opponent.
Using his X-ray Vision, Lin Jiang glanced at the cards in his hand.
A 9, a 10, and a 7.
You could say it was a garbage hand, about as good as shit. It was only slightly better than a meal from Brother San.
To be so loud with such a trash hand meant he was just trying to intimidate his opponents into folding. It was a psychological game to see who would crack first.
Lin Jiang glanced at him, then at Liang Shuhuo’s father.
He was gripping his cards tightly, his expression conflicted, as if deciding whether to follow the last bet.
Lin Jiang took another look at his cards.
An Ace, an Ace, and a King.
In Tractor, this was a very strong hand with a high chance of winning.
Hesitating with a hand like this was definitive proof that his opponent’s psychological warfare had succeeded, intimidating him completely.
Their ante was 10 yuan, and the bet was now up to 100. From an average person’s perspective, that was no small sum.
"I’m in! Another 100."
Liang Shuhuo’s father pushed another 100 yuan forward.
"Another 200 from me!"
Ma Qiang’s confidence didn’t waver; he looked as if victory was already in his grasp.
Liang Shuhuo’s father’s expression grew even more hesitant, and he agonized for a while.
"400! Let’s see your cards!"
Seeing Liang Shuhuo’s father bet another 400 yuan, Ma Qiang’s imposing aura diminished slightly.
"Is that all? I was hoping to win a bit more."
As he spoke, Ma Qiang tossed his cards onto the table. With a cigarette dangling from his lips, he began to collect the money.
Hm?
Just then, Lin Jiang noticed that in the instant Ma Qiang threw down his cards, the 7 suddenly changed into a Jack!
Combined with his other two cards, it became a 9-10-J straight!
Lin Jiang’s expression remained calm. He had already suspected something like this would happen on his way over.
People who gambled regularly were never above pulling a few tricks.
They loved suckers like Liang Shuhuo’s father. He must have lost at least seven or eight hundred yuan on that hand alone.
Liang Shuhuo’s father flipped over Ma Qiang’s cards. When he saw the 9-10-J straight, he slapped his thigh in regret!
At this point, Liang Shuhuo couldn’t hold back any longer and strode over.
"Liang Youjun, can you not—"
Before she could finish, Lin Jiang pulled her back again.
"Calm down, calm down. Think of your breast health."
Hearing Liang Shuhuo’s voice, Liang Youjun looked back. A nervous expression immediately appeared on his face, and the card game paused.
"Duoduo, what are you doing here?"
’So Liang Shuhuo’s nickname is Duoduo.’
"I..."
"I brought her here."
Lin Jiang cut her off before she could speak.
"We knew you were here, Uncle, so we came to have a look. I enjoy playing a couple of hands myself."
"Then you should have just come by yourself. Why did you have to bring my daughter?" Liang Youjun said, a bit embarrassed.
His embarrassment wasn’t because Liang Shuhuo saw him, but because of Lin Jiang’s presence.
They were about the same age and had come here together, which strongly suggested he might be his daughter’s boyfriend.
And him being here gambling didn’t create a very good impression.
"A little gambling is just for fun. You’re retired, so it’s normal to play a bit to pass the time."
"You’ve got a point there. I’d never played this stuff before, but after a few hands, I found it’s actually pretty interesting. It’s just that my luck is a bit off today."
"Tractor is all about turns of fortune. This hand might be bad, but maybe the next one will be good. Luck is cyclical. With the two of us watching beside you, maybe your luck will turn around."
Liang Shuhuo stood to the side, completely baffled.
’What on earth is Lin Jiang doing?’
’It’s one thing not to talk him out of it, but why is he egging him on?’
"You get it. Much better than my daughter, who tries to control me for playing a couple of hands," Liang Youjun said with a chuckle.
"Don’t listen to her. You guys continue. It’ll be a treat for me to watch."
Liang Youjun lit a cigarette as well and called out to Ma Qiang, who was sitting across from him.
"Come on, come on, let’s keep going. My luck will turn on the next hand. I’ll definitely win it all back."
"Then let’s continue."
Ma Qiang shuffled the cards, and Liang Youjun habitually cut the deck.
This hand, Liang Youjun’s cards were K, K, A. Not as good as his last big hand, but not small either.
Ma Qiang, on the other hand, had a 3, a 7, and a 4—even shittier than his last hand. But there was still a chance to swap cards; it all depended on his sleight of hand.
Lin Jiang glanced at the other players’ cards again. None of them had a better hand than Liang Youjun.
"Ooh!"
Standing behind Liang Youjun, Lin Jiang let out a cry of admiration, a look of excitement on his face.
Any veteran player could tell he must have gotten a good hand; otherwise, he wouldn’t have that expression.
And Liang Youjun was the same, grinning from ear to ear.
Lin Jiang felt a bit helpless. ’He can’t even control his expression. It’d be a miracle if he didn’t lose money.’
"Fuck, what is this crap."
Ma Qiang was the first to throw down his hand, and the others didn’t follow either.
"See? The moment you two arrived, my luck really did turn around. I didn’t win much, but I took the pot."
"Right, right. Take it slow. Little by little, it’ll add up. You’ll win it all back eventually."
While the two were talking, Ma Qiang looked at the person sitting next to him and they exchanged a glance. They had already formed a preliminary assessment of Lin Jiang.
Immediately after, a new round began. Liang Youjun’s hand was 3, 8, 7. Though the values were low, it was a flush.
Ma Qiang’s hand was 4, 4, 9. He casually bet 10 yuan.
Beaming, Liang Youjun also followed with 10 yuan, while calling out to the others.
"Anyone else in? Hurry, hurry."
The remaining three players looked at their cards. Two of them folded. Ma Qiang’s partner made a token bet of 10 yuan.
Now, only three players were left in the game, including Liang Youjun.
"I bet 50." Liang Youjun casually tossed 50 yuan into the pot.
Even a dog would shake its head at the way Liang Youjun played, let alone Lin Jiang.
When you have a good hand, you’re supposed to be patient and raise the bet gradually.
But not him. He just threw in that much at once. Anyone could tell he had a good hand, so naturally, no one was willing to call.
"This is damn weird. How come your luck turned around the second your daughter showed up?"
Muttering a frustrated comment, Ma Qiang folded his hand.
Liang Youjun looked at Ma Qiang’s partner.
"You in or out?"
"This hand isn’t worth another bet. I’m out," the other man said with a smile.
There wasn’t much money on the table, but Liang Youjun was very happy.
He looked at Liang Shuhuo, laughing heartily. "Daughter, see? My luck got better the moment you arrived. I’ve won two hands in a row."
Liang Shuhuo was a little speechless. In her eyes, any amount of money won like this was ill-gotten gains. She looked down on money won through gambling.
Suddenly, Liang Shuhuo felt someone nudge her. She realized it was Lin Jiang, who seemed to be giving her a signal.
"It’s true. Your luck did get better after I came," Liang Shuhuo added, playing along.
"Come, come, daughter, just stand right behind me. As long as you’re here, I can win."
Having won two hands in a row, Liang Youjun’s morale was up. He picked up the poker deck and began to shuffle.
Lin Jiang had seen these last two hands very clearly. The reason Liang Youjun won wasn’t because he was lucky, but simply because his opponents didn’t want to win.
If they wanted to, they could swap a single card and completely wipe the floor with him.
In the next few minutes, they played another three rounds.
Liang Youjun won the first two, for a total of 160 yuan.
Ma Qiang’s partner won the third round, but he only took the pot. Not counting his own bet, he only won 40 yuan.
Liang Shuhuo stood to the side, her mind full of question marks.
’How come Dad started winning money after I got here? Did his luck really turn around?’
’Is it really that mystical?’
Standing nearby, Lin Jiang’s lips curved into a subtle smile.
In that third round, Ma Qiang’s partner’s hand was a 2, a 3, and a J. It was the shittiest of shit hands, completely worthless.
The only reason he won was because his bluff was strong enough. He threw down 50 yuan right at the start.
On top of that, everyone else’s hands were also trash, so they were all bluffed into folding, and no one called.
But his real goal wasn’t to win money.
It was just to secure the right to deal the next hand!
Lin Jiang guessed that the real show was about to begin in the next round!

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