Facing his daughter's complaints, Old Ma did not argue, but the atmosphere became a bit awkward.
Yang Jian quickly tried to smooth things over, "Uncle Ma, tell me, how did you buy these numbers? What are the ways to play?"
Before Old Ma could speak, Ma Lan's little mouth started again, "Brother Yang, don't listen to him, and don't learn about this. It will ruin people."
"It's okay, I just want to understand the rules, I won't get interested in this."
Yang Jian had absolute self-control when it came to gambling. Those who had run casinos treated gamblers as both gods and fools, so he naturally wouldn't be that fool.
"Then I'll tell you simply. There are many ways to play Mark Six. I'm not very educated and don't understand it well. Here, we are used to calling buying the special number in Mark Six 'buying marks'. It's based on the Mark Six lottery numbers drawn in Hong Kong. Every week, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings at 8:30, the draw takes place.
Each draw has a special number, which is a number from one to forty-nine. If you guess it correctly, you get forty times the return. For example, if I spend ten yuan to buy a special number and win, the bookie has to give me four hundred yuan.
You can buy multiple numbers at the same time. For example, if I spend a hundred yuan, buying ten numbers at ten yuan each, and one of these ten numbers wins, I can still earn three hundred. The winning rate is actually quite high."
Old Ma didn't understand Mark Six very well, so he only played the simplest special number. Yang Jian basically understood, which meant there was a one in forty-nine chance for each number bought.
"Uncle Ma, I know trying to persuade you not to buy marks is useless, but I want to discuss gambling with you."
"Okay, you say."
"In my hometown, there's a gambling method of betting on odd or even. Gamblers only have two options: odd or even. The probability of winning is one in two. Isn't this probability much higher than your one in forty-nine?"
"Yes, it's much higher. I've heard of this way of gambling, and it's also here, called Baccarat. Many people play it."
Yang Jian nodded, "I've heard of Baccarat, but I haven't actually seen it. Let's talk about betting on odd or even. With such a high winning rate, almost all gamblers lose money. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because people are never satisfied, because of greed. People who love to gamble won't quit immediately after winning once. Those who win want to win more, and those who lose want to recoup their losses. As long as you don't stay away from the casino, no gambler can escape unscathed.
For example, if you bet a hundred yuan on a number today and it hits, you get four thousand yuan in prize money. Can you guarantee that you will take this money and go home immediately, or never buy marks again?
You don't have to answer, I know you won't stop. Instead, you will increase your bet in the next round. You will lose this four thousand yuan in no time.
Because you won this big prize once, you feel your luck is good and you have a chance to win again.
You might even regret not investing a thousand yuan this time, which would have earned you forty thousand. With this mindset, your bet will keep increasing, and you will lose more."
Yang Jian described the psychological state of gamblers in one go, and Ma Lan's gaze towards him changed.
Old Ma nodded repeatedly, "What you said is so true. I've won four hundred yuan twice before, and each time after winning, I increased my bet, and ended up losing it all."
Ma Lan snorted coldly, "Since Brother Yang has explained it so thoroughly, there's no winning in gambling, so will you still buy marks in the future?"
Old Ma fell silent again. He never got angry or argued with his daughter.
Yang Jian continued, "Uncle Ma, there's a saying in our hometown, 'Even immortals lose when they gamble for too long.' No one's luck is always good. Even if you win ten times, as long as you don't leave the casino, you might lose everything in one go."
"I won't lose that much. I buy marks with whatever money I have. If I don't have money, I buy less. If I really don't make money, I won't buy."
"Uncle Ma, the money you earn is hard-earned money. Think about yesterday, so much cement, such high temperatures, carrying cement bags to the third floor, is it easy to earn a hundred yuan?
Wouldn't it be better to use this hundred yuan to buy meat to improve your diet, or buy better clothes? Knowing that the probability of winning is very low, why give it to the casino?
Look at the life you're living! You don't have a single new piece of clothing, not even a piece of meat in the refrigerator, and you drink the cheapest low-quality liquor. You pinch pennies and send your hard-earned money to the casino. I really don't know what you're thinking!"
Yang Jian had experienced the hardship of manual labor these past two days. It was too difficult for people without skills to earn money; it was simply exhausting their lives.
Ma Lan almost wanted to applaud Yang Jian, "Dad, look how well Brother Yang speaks! Don't buy marks anymore. I'll graduate next year and can earn money. You won't have to work so hard. Your younger brother also has a job, and our family will get better and better."
Old Ma clearly wasn't listening. He got up and said, "Daughter, you came at the right time today. I earned over five hundred yuan these past few days, and then I found a stable job. Let's go out for a good meal and welcome Little Yang."
"Dad, you found a job? Doing what?"
"The boss saw Little Yang and asked him to drive and deliver goods. I'll go with him to load and unload, and we'll have three meals included, so we won't have to cook for ourselves anymore."
"Really? That's great. How much a month?"
Yang Jian quickly answered, "Uncle Ma gets four thousand a month. This job shouldn't be too tiring, just delivering fruit to a store."
"So much? That's really great. Most factory assembly lines don't have such high salaries. Thank you, Brother Yang. My dad is very honest, and he doesn't have culture or skills. He's always been doing manual labor here, and his health is getting worse. It's thanks to you for finding him an easier job, and I'm relieved."
Ma Lan stood up and bowed to Yang Jian.
Yang Jian was startled and quickly jumped away, "What are you doing? If Uncle Ma hadn't taken me in, I would still be sleeping on the streets. I'm the one who should thank him."
"Alright, alright, stop thanking each other. Little Yang is a benefactor to our family. My luck has also improved since he arrived. Let's go to your brother's place for barbecue. This kid hasn't been back for a long time, let's have a family reunion."
Old Ma was in a good mood, and his craving for alcohol also kicked in. He took out two bottles of Erguotou from under the bed and went out.
Yang Jian and Ma Lan followed behind, chatting as they walked. Yang Jian learned that Old Ma's son was named Ma Yuan, and he was an apprentice at a barbecue restaurant near the bus station. It was only a seven or eight-minute walk.
"Dad, Sis, why are you here?"
When the three arrived at the barbecue restaurant, a young man with dyed yellow hair immediately came to greet them. He should be Ma Yuan.
"We're here to eat barbecue. Ask your master for leave, and we'll have a reunion dinner as a family."
Old Ma patted his son with a smile.
"Okay, Dad. Who is this? Sis, is this your boyfriend?"
Ma Yuan spoke without restraint, mistaking Yang Jian for Ma Lan's boyfriend.