Those who went out to work have all co back to the village for the New Year.
Many people, hesitant to spend money on food and clothes while working away from ho, don new clothes and sit at the card table with a fine cigarette bought especially for the New Year, ready to take down everyone around.
Of course, most of the ti, they are the ones being defeated.
You see, in nearly every village there are a small group of people who don’t work regularly and just spend their days playing cards, relying on the New Year gas to win enough money to live on for the coming year.
And those who work outside the village rarely have the chance to play cards, so their skills can’t match those of the village regulars, not to ntion the chance of running into rigged gas.
Thus, it’s common for soone to return to the village only to lose all the money they earned in a matter of days, and so not only lose everything but also end up in debt. The worst part is, without even finishing the New Year celebrations, they have to pack up and head back to work.
This is what Runsheng told Li Zhiyuan on the road.
Because Runsheng heard Xiao Yuan say he wanted to play cards, he shared this to dissuade him.
Li Zhiyuan found that Runsheng was truly a peculiar person; simple and honest by nature, yet he also had a delicate side that could see through these tricks. Of course, his ferocity in fights was even more shocking.
"Brother Runsheng, you know Mr. Shan often loses at cards, why don’t you persuade him?"
"He’s my grandfather, I have to listen to him, just like you’re my brother, I have to listen to you too."
"But you are the older brother."
"My grandpa says I’m slow, so in this lifeti I can only listen to two types of people."
"Which two?"
"One is my grandpa himself. He says he’s also slow and following him might make suffer, but at least he won’t harm .
The other is listening to smart people. Smart people might harm , but they will let enjoy life first."
Mr. Shan was playing cards at a table in the west end of the village, with not many people around, just one table playing the four-player card ga, Fighting the Landlord.
When Li Zhiyuan and Runsheng arrived, Mr. Shan had just put down his cards and was paying up.
"Oh, Marquis Runsheng is back."
"Marquis Runsheng, long ti no see."
"Your grandfather just ntioned you."
Clearly, the card players all knew Runsheng and greeted him warmly.
Mr. Shan also stood up, patting Runsheng’s arm with a smile, "Good, indeed, you look sturdier after dining at Li Sanjiang’s house."
He resembled a shrewd animal that sneaks into the neighbor’s field for a al.
"Grandpa, Xiao Yuan is here too."
"Mr. Shan."
"Hmm, Little Yuanhou." Mr. Shan reached for the money on the card table, hesitated, and then said, "It’s bad luck to touch money during a ga, wait till the evening, I’ll buy you so cooked food."
"Alright, Mr. Shan."
Li Zhiyuan glanced at the stack of money in front of Mr. Shan... Well, it was too shallow to even be called a stack anymore.
The ga had started, Mr. Shan, biting on a cigarette, shuffled the cards while chatting intermittently with Runsheng.
Li Zhiyuan stood quietly to the side watching.
It didn’t take long for Mr. Shan to lose three gas, two as the landlord and one as the farr.
Too few instances to determine if Mr. Shan’s card luck was indeed bad, but at least one thing was certain—his card skills were really very basic.
Players with poor skills who love to play are welco everywhere.
However, Li Zhiyuan wasn’t planning to join here. Playing landlord was too slow and involved too much teamwork which wasn’t efficient enough for winning money.
Li Zhiyuan tugged on Runsheng’s arm, understanding, "Grandpa, I’m going to take Xiao Yuan back first."
"Okay, good." Mr. Shan waved his hand without looking back, already lost in his excitent.
Runsheng rode a tricycle, taking Li Zhiyuan to a larger venue with a tent set up outside a house. Inside, eight tables of people were playing, so playing landlord or bridge, but at the largest round table, nine people were playing Exploding Kittens.
Exploding Kittens is more fun with more people, permitting bluffing.
"Brother Runsheng, do you rember what I told you before?"
"Yeah, I rember." Runsheng patted his chest, then took a seat at an empty spot at the round table, "Count in."
The others at the table were montarily taken aback, sizing up Runsheng.
Being situated conveniently, the smaller venues of Xiting Town were usually for locals, while the larger venues were more frequented by outsiders, hence many didn’t recognize Runsheng.
Mainly, it was because Runsheng’s age was a bit awkward; you couldn’t really call him a child given his size and age, but calling him an adult seed a bit premature.
People at the table didn’t like playing with kids; it didn’t sound right when word got out, and kids didn’t usually have much money.
The venue’s owner, a short, chubby man, waved at Runsheng: "Marquis Runsheng, stop ssing around, your grandpa isn’t here, go look sowhere else."
"I said I want to play!"
Runsheng deliberately kept a straight face, then slamd all the money Li Zhiyuan gave him onto the table.
Seeing Runsheng’s deanor and the money he put out, everyone nodded silently and the owner didn’t object further, turning to pour tea, murmuring, "A crooked beam leads to crooked support beams."
Runsheng was a bit nervous but still kept a stern face.
The round of the card ga wasn’t over yet; three players were still left.
Li Zhiyuan scanned all nine people at the round table, morizing their faces.
Exploding Kittens, just three cards per player, is a lot less skill intensive than Fighting the Landlord, with luck being a major factor.
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