After receiving assurances from his two younger cousins, Yang Jian took them to Nanhu Farm, where Song Jianmin instructed them on their work.
Yang Jian, meanwhile, busied himself with preparations for the repair shop. He couldn't discuss the matter of Song Jianmin and the others' meals with his sister yet, as his father was still there seeing his grandson off to school and would only return after his brother-in-law was discharged from the hospital.
Xinqiao Town.
All six mahjong tables at Xu Zheng's mahjong parlor were occupied. Men and women alike stared intently at their tiles, while a crowd of onlookers gathered around. The clatter of mahjong tiles created a lively atmosphere in Xinqiao's largest mahjong parlor.
One of the tables in the parlor was an electric mahjong table that Xu Zheng had purchased at a high price from Hancheng. It didn't require manual tile stacking and was a new product, rarely seen even in the county seat, used for high-stakes games.
The other five regular tables required manual stacking and were for lower stakes.
The mahjong parlor operated in afternoon and evening sessions. Regular tables charged one hundred yuan per session, while the electric table charged three hundred yuan per session.
For regular tables, ten yuan was collected from each self-drawn winning hand until the session fee of one hundred yuan was met. For the electric table, twenty yuan was collected from each self-drawn winning hand until the three hundred yuan fee was met.
The mahjong parlor provided a simple dinner with no additional charges.
The parlor's daily income generally exceeded one thousand yuan, as it was always full of mahjong players.
The mahjong played here was a simple variant called "Huānhuān," also known as "Luànjiāng." It had few rules, allowing players to "eat" (chi), "pong" (peng), and win on tiles discarded by others ("diǎnpào"). Self-drawn winning hands doubled the score. Sets like "Qīngyīsè" (all one suit), "Yītiáolóng" (a straight of one suit), and "Qīduì" (seven pairs) were considered major wins, which were further doubled if self-drawn.
This "Huānhuān" mahjong was further divided into "Dìnghuān" and "Jiēhuān."
"Dìnghuān" meant four players played a fixed session, either an afternoon or a half-night.
"Jiēhuān," on the other hand, involved players waiting beside the table to take over. When a player won on a discarded tile, they would be replaced by someone waiting. If a player self-drew a winning hand, the person opposite them would be replaced.
"Jiēhuān" games typically involved five or six players. Once a player left the table, they could leave at any time without time restrictions.
For regular tables, the stakes started at five yuan. A "Pínghú" (a small win on a discarded tile) was five yuan, and a self-drawn "Pínghú" was ten yuan. Major wins like "Qīngyīsè" or "Qīduì" on a discarded tile were twenty yuan, and forty yuan if self-drawn.
Electric table games usually started at twenty yuan, sometimes fifty yuan, with larger wins and losses.
The players were mostly from the town and surrounding villages, and most knew each other.
San Pang and his group of friends were regulars, playing the low-stakes games starting at five yuan. They won and lost, and Xu Zheng welcomed them.
However, in the past two days, four or five unfamiliar faces had appeared at the parlor, all between twenty and thirty years old. Except for one young man around thirty who preferred playing the high-stakes electric table, the others played the low-stakes games.
These individuals didn't seem to know each other, yet their presence had attracted Xu Zheng's attention, as he needed to ensure his mahjong parlor wasn't disrupted by cheaters.
Once cheaters appeared, no one would dare to play.
After two days of discreet observation, Xu Zheng found nothing unusual about these individuals. Their playing skills were average, and their wins and losses were not significant. He concluded they were not cheaters.
"Three of the bamboo."
"Mahjong! All one suit."
San Pang excitedly spread out his tiles, all from the bamboo suit. His luck was exceptional today; he had won over a thousand yuan playing such low stakes.
The man who discarded the tile that allowed San Pang to win grumbled and pushed his tiles forcefully into the center of the table, "I'm done. I lost over five hundred today."
The man stood up and left, leaving the other three players at the table.
San Pang had no choice but to say to his neighbors, "Let's call it a day then. We'll play again tomorrow."
The female player to his right, around forty years old, was unhappy that the game had ended. "This guy is such a buzzkill. He lost over five hundred, and I lost six hundred."
The man to his left was also frustrated. "I lost over four hundred too. San Pang, by this calculation, you've won at least fifteen hundred today."
San Pang grinned from ear to ear. "More or less. My treat, I'll buy you guys drinks. Boss, three bottles of orange juice."
"No thanks."
The middle-aged woman got up and left. She had been losing for three consecutive days, each time losing five to six hundred yuan. For a family with a modest income, this was a considerable loss.
Gambling in moderation is enjoyable, but excessive gambling is detrimental. Those who played these low-stakes games did so to pass the time or to win a little extra money for groceries. However, losing over a thousand yuan was a significant blow, and it would be difficult to explain to their families.
The games at the electric table were also peculiar. Huang Mao, who played with San Pang, actually won over four thousand yuan today, while the other three players lost, including the newcomer who had only been there for two or three days.
After the afternoon games concluded, some chose to continue with the evening session and stayed for dinner, while others, having won money, decided to quit while they were ahead and left without eating.
San Pang and Huang Mao were among those who quit while ahead. After leaving the mahjong parlor, they appeared in a private room at a restaurant in the county seat.
There were ten people in the room. Besides San Pang's six friends from Xinqiao Town, the rest were members of Mao Ge's crew. Mao Ge himself was not present; the host was his disciple, Er Wa.
San Pang and Huang Mao placed their winnings from the day in front of Er Wa, who then distributed two hundred yuan to each person present.
"San Pang, you've won for two consecutive days. You can't win tomorrow; someone else needs to. Otherwise, it will attract Xu Zheng's attention. Huang Mao can win for one more day. My people will continue to cooperate with you. We'll switch players again the day after tomorrow."
Er Wa, meticulously planning, strictly controlled the number of winners and losers and the amounts each day at the mahjong parlor. Under his management, the winners were local residents, regulars at the mahjong parlor. This way, Xu Zheng and other players wouldn't become suspicious.
"Brother Er Wa, how long will this plan of ours last?"
San Pang was Mao Ge's youngest disciple, and his skills were still developing. He needed the cooperation of his senior brothers to win or lose money.
"Half a month to a month. We will use the 'boiling a frog in warm water' method to drain the funds of most players at Xu Zheng's mahjong parlor, gradually causing them to leave voluntarily. Finally, we will deliver the fatal blow to Xu Zheng, and then everyone will receive a bonus."
"Thank you, Brother Er Wa. But I'm still worried that Xu Zheng will eventually discover that we are the ones behind this."
"How could he? You guys are taking turns winning money. If you count the number of times, you lose more than you win. He can't possibly keep track of your total wins and losses. Besides, even if he finds out, what can he do? We have Yang Jian backing us. Does Xu Zheng dare to mess with Yang Jian? You're Yang Jian's classmate; he wouldn't dare to provoke you even if he had the courage of a lion."
Huang Mao quickly nodded. "That's true. Last time, Yang Jian asked me to tell Xu Zheng to repay his aunt's money for cigarettes and alcohol. Xu Zheng acted like a scared little grandson and immediately settled the bill. But I'm still a bit impressed; he managed to get away with three thousand yuan by relying on his uncle being a deputy director."
Er Wa sneered. "Don't think Yang Jian was afraid of his uncle. It's just that he disdained to get his hands dirty over three thousand yuan, so he had us teach him a lesson. If Xu Zheng had dared to escalate the matter, he would have suffered greatly. So, everyone, act with confidence. As long as you help Yang Jian with this matter, you can walk around with your heads held high, whether in the county seat or in Xinqiao."