Old Hei’s name truly matched his appearance; he was genuinely dark-skinned. It was unclear whether he was named Old Hei because of his complexion or if that was his given name.
I casually lifted my eyelids and said dismissively, "Who are you? You think you can just invite me for tea?"
"Heh, Young Master Wang, forgive my rudeness! I forgot to introduce myself. I am the boss here, Wei Liansheng. Because I'm dark-skinned, everyone calls me Old Hei." He then touched his face with an embarrassed smile, chuckling twice.
No wonder, his real name wasn't Old Hei but Wei Liansheng.
"Ah, Manager Wei, this young master is new here. I just have itchy hands for a bit of fun, and I’ve made a fool of myself at your establishment."
"Not at all, not at all. Young Master Wang, you have such good luck. You've stopped now; if you hadn't, I’m afraid the cash prepared today wouldn't be enough for you alone."
"What are you saying? It’s as if I were cheating. I’m simply relying on luck. Haven't you seen when I lost? I was almost stripped bare."
Old Hei: "Young Master Wang jokes. If I'm not mistaken, you lost deliberately, didn't you?"
"Manager Wei, saying that is quite out of line. Am I an idiot to deliberately lose money?"
Old Hei waved his hand, and two fierce-looking thugs approached. They walked over menacingly, one on each side, grabbed my arms, and began escorting me towards Old Hei's office.
Zhen San, who had been watching, was terrified. He quickly scurried over to Old Hei, a smile plastered on his face, and said, "Boss, is there some misunderstanding here?"
Old Hei slapped him hard. "Misunderstanding my ass! You let them rob you and are now counting the money for them? Let’s go to the office and clarify how you know this kid!"
I felt calm inside. I gambled that he only thought I was a cheat, not Li Hua from Da Shi Jie.
At this moment, Xiao Zhang was also apprehended, and the money bag in his hand was snatched away.
I didn't struggle, allowing the two thugs to lead me away.
Once in the office, the two thugs threw me onto the floor. One of them didn't forget to kick me. "You better behave!"
Old Hei sat in the sofa chair behind the boss's desk, propping his legs up on the desk. His subordinate quickly brought him a cigar and lit it for him with a bow.
He took a deep drag, exhaled thick smoke, and said, "You've got quite the nerve, kid. Do you know what kind of place this is? You dare to cheat here!"
Just as I suspected, he thought I was a cheat.
"Which eye of yours saw me cheating?"
"Alright, I, Old Hei, am a reasonable person. Today, I'll make you admit it. I ask you, you lost dozens of rounds consecutively, you admit that, right?"
"Bad luck!"
"Bad luck? Then what about the dozens of rounds you won afterward? Suddenly got better? I suspect you were playing the innocent to trap the tiger."
"I wouldn't know about that."
I stood opposite him, speaking flippantly.
"You lost only twenty thousand, but you won back at least four or five hundred thousand. Correct?"
His tone shifted, and he turned to Zhen San, "Zhen San! I'm asking you, how do you know this person?"
Zhen San was clearly terrified, his speech faltering.
"A friend, introduced by a friend."
"Who is it? Are they in the city? Send people to capture them!"
"No, he's from Tengchong. He sent me a message asking me to host Young Master Wang." Da Feng Novel Network
Perhaps Wen Siqiang had left instructions not to reveal himself.
"Tengchong? Even if he's in the provincial capital, I'll have him arrested!"
Old Hei slammed his fist on the table in anger, making Zhen San tremble and nearly collapse.
"Young Master Wang, we'll settle our accounts. Since you play in casinos, you should know the rules. You should be clear about the punishment for cheating, right?"
I calmly looked at him. "I don't really know that. I like to gamble, that's true, but I've never cheated, nor do I know how to."
"You're tough-mouthed, kid! Guards, bring the cleaver! Chop off his hand first and see whose mouth is tougher, mine or my blade."
With that, a man carrying a cleaver entered from outside and walked slowly towards me. The two thugs who had brought me in now hoisted me up again and walked me to the boss's desk. The one on the right placed my right hand on the table.
"I'll ask you one more time! Do you admit to cheating?"
"I do not!"
"Good! You're a tough one. But I welcome tough men like you. Chop off his hand and feed it to the dogs!"
As soon as Old Hei finished speaking, the man with the cleaver took it, raised it high, and shouted, preparing to strike.
Suddenly, with a bang, the door to Old Hei's office was kicked open. The man with the cleaver froze. I swiftly pulled away and punched the thug on my left. Xiao Zhang also charged forward, darting past the cleaver-wielding man and directly to Old Hei, a dagger now in his hand, pressed against Old Hei's throat.
The one who kicked open the door was Da Kui, followed closely by Qian Bei and the Daoist brothers.
"You, who are you?" Old Hei asked furiously.
I unhurriedly tore off my disguise and said with a smile, "Manager Wei, didn't you order your men to cause trouble at my place today? What, am I not allowed to pay you a visit?"
"You, you, you are Li Hua?"
"Thank you, Manager Wei, for still remembering my name. Aren't you coveting the development project at my farm? I've come today to discuss with you. How about you give me half of this casino starting today?"
"Why should I give you half?"
"Exactly. Since you know you won't give me half, why do you want to snatch my industrial park?"
Da Kui, holding the seized cleaver, pointed at Old Hei. "My brother is asking you a question, speak up!"
Old Hei hesitated, his mouth opening and closing several times before he swallowed his words.
Da Kui spoke no further nonsense and swung the cleaver, striking the Guan Yu statue worshipped behind Old Hei. The large statue was cleaved in half, and with a clang, it fell to the ground.
Old Hei looked at Da Kui in terror. Da Kui then held the cleaver against his chest and said, "You wanted my brother's hand, didn't you? Let me see now how you plan to take it."
Old Hei finally realized he had lost completely today. None of his so-called backers could be relied upon. If he didn't compromise today, this matter wouldn't end well.
Reluctantly, he pointed at Da Kui's cleaver and the dagger in Xiao Zhang's hand, indicating he wanted to speak.
I signaled for them to remove the blades from him and let him speak.
Old Hei: "Regarding today's events, Old Hei apologizes to Brother Li Hua. I was impulsive. As for my brother's park, Old Hei will no longer interfere."
After speaking, he glanced at the scene we controlled. I then gestured for them to release the people.
"Go, bring the money that Li Hua won today. Brother Li Hua has good luck. We hope you'll come and support us often."
I watched as a thug took a bag of money from the table behind them and handed it to Xiao Zhang. Then, I said to Da Kui and Qian Bei, "Let's go!"
Da Kui and Qian Bei said nothing more. Da Kui slammed the cleaver onto Old Hei's desk and followed me out.
Just as we walked out the door, I heard Old Hei call out Zhen San's name.
This is bad. I've completely gotten my brother into trouble today.