Chapter 4 Opening

  When Yǐn Lè brought people over, the sky had completely darkened. In the early 1990s, due to the economy having just started to develop, the harm caused by mass gambling was very great, and the country strictly controlled gambling. As long as someone reported it, they would thoroughly investigate and deal with it. These gamblers also wanted to play a few rounds very cautiously.

  There were seven or eight people following behind Yin Le. Yin Le's two younger brothers did not enter, and were left by Yin Le at the village entrance to keep watch.

  Yin Le introduced the people behind him to Heizi as soon as they entered the house. After shaking hands with everyone, Heizi smiled and said: "You guys can rest assured and have fun, it's absolutely safe here. As for the money, I think Le has already told you all, anyway, we're just having fun, some things aren't absolute, right?"

  Several people had heard of Hei Zi's great name and knew that three years ago, Ouyang Qiang was injured by Hei Zi. They all thought Hei Zi was very powerful, but after getting to know him, they found out he was actually very gentle and easy-going, and soon they became familiar with each other.

  Hei Zi reminded everyone to keep their voices down, and several people nodded in agreement. The mahjong tiles were laid out, and a few people started playing.

  At first, Heizi watched for a while, but he wasn't interested. In less than half an hour, the room was filled with smoke and noise. Soon, Heizi felt bored and said to Yin Le: "Le'er, keep an eye on things, I'm going out for some fresh air."

  The village at night has no entertainment projects, very quiet, no streetlights on the road, very dark.

  Hei Zi likes this environment, in the troops, he is an excellent scout, night operations are his strong point, during the whole army's big competition, their small team ranked third overall just because of several projects that were done at night.

  Perhaps it was the habit he had cultivated over the years, Hei Zi did everything meticulously. Although the situation had opened up now, he still felt uneasy in his heart. In the darkness, he considered his next move while circling around the courtyard, observing the situation.

  These gamblers played all night, and Hei Zi and the others also stayed up all night. The next morning, when the rooster's crowing woke up the sleeping village, the gamblers finally stopped, their eyes bloodshot. Some people had won, excitedly chattering away in hushed tones, while others had lost, their faces pale, heads hung low as they thought about where to get money for the next time.

  This time Hei Zi didn't lend any money, some gamblers had run out of money early on and were just watching others play in the second half of the night. As someone was leaving, he said to Hei Zi: "Hei Ge, you should also lend some money, we've been playing till midnight and have no more money."

  Hei Zi had thought about usury too, but now he doesn't have any money on hand. If he can't make a move, in a few months even his food and drink will become a problem.

  "Alright, it's fine for now. As long as everyone is having fun, I'll take care of the rest." Hei Zi patted the little kid on the shoulder and said.

  Send away the gamblers, Hei Zi and several others cleaned up and went to sleep, not waking up until noon.

  "Yin Ge, let's go back, brother," said one of Yin Le's brothers.

  Yin Le glanced at Hei Zi.

  Hei Zi, who had just woken up, rubbed his eyes and said: "What are you talking about? Come on, let's go have a drink with the guys."

  Yin Le didn't expect Hei Zi to be so enthusiastic, he knew that Hei Zi was very generous, but it had been more than three years since they last met and he wasn't sure if Hei Zi had changed. Now hearing Hei Zi say this, he felt that the current Hei Zi was still the familiar Hei Zi from their school days.

  Yesterday evening's income was not much, and even the money from selling cigarettes and instant noodles added up to less than a thousand. However, this amount is already considerable for Hei Zi and his penniless friends.

  He locked the door and came into town, entering a small restaurant.

  The small restaurant wasn't crowded, just a few people ordered food. Zhu Xiao Fei took out the money he earned last night and handed it over to Hei Zi. Hei Zi took the money without counting it, took more than half of it and threw it to Yin Le, and handed the other half back to Zhu Xiao Fei, saying: "Le, you've worked hard, you three brothers can split this."

  Yin Le pushed the money in front of Hei Zi and said: "Hei Ge, you just came back and need money, let's talk about it next time."

  Heizi saw Yin Le unhappy and said: "Le'er, looking down on brothers or not, you are also short of money, take it first."

  Yin Le received the money and the dishes were served, Yin Le's two younger brothers were very excited, they had been mixing for a long time, but they had never seen such a generous boss like Hei Zi, the two of them frequently toasted to Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei, swearing that in the future if Big Brother Hei had any orders, just say it, brothers are willing to go through fire and water for Big Brother Hei.

  With a full stomach and enough wine, Hei Zi bid farewell to Yin Le. They returned to the small courtyard in the village, where Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei leaned against the kang and chatted.

  "Lao Wu, I think what we're doing is very dangerous. If we're not careful, one of these days we'll get caught by the police."

  "Hei Zi nodded and said, 'Xiao Fei, doing this isn't a long-term thing, but we don't have money now, so let's do it for a while and then quit. I've asked around, there are many people opening gambling dens nearby, apart from the four in town, there are over a dozen small fixed dens, and besides, during winter, people all over the village are playing, the police won't be keeping an eye on us.'"

  In the northern countryside, when winter comes and farming is idle, people habitually gather to gamble. Some people love to play and also like to invite others to their homes to play. Almost every village has a few such households, which become the village's gambling dens. Without needing to be invited, those who want to play automatically come at night. Some people don't play themselves but specialize in serving others who come to their homes to play. Because they bear the risk, they collect some money as protection fees.

  Xiao Fei thought for a moment and said: "In the short term, we shouldn't be targeted by anyone, let's just do it."

  Although Little Fei understood the situation, he knew in his heart that what he did was different from the villagers gathering to gamble. Most of the villagers were spontaneous gatherings at someone's home, while he and Heizi were organized, with the two of them being the organizers, and the nature was different.

  Two people had nothing to do in the afternoon, and at night, Yin Le and his two younger brothers brought people again. Tonight, apart from the few who came yesterday, there were two more. Everyone was familiar with each other, so they didn't stand on ceremony. As soon as they arrived, they set up their stalls and started playing.

  Yin Le's two younger brothers were still on the lookout outside, while Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei went back and forth in the three rooms, watching these gamblers play. Yin Le soon got busy too, he was responsible for selling instant noodles and cigarettes and so on.

  It was in the second half of the night that some people lost all their money. A small guy with the surname Lu shouted: "Hei Ge, brother has no more money, can you lend us some first?"

  The little fellow with the surname Lu was a miner, slightly hunchbacked and wearing high-prescription glasses; people called him Blind Lu.

  Lu Mangzi had just arrived here from the countryside last year, he was a gambler in the village, and soon became familiar with these rotten gamblers after coming here, and was a regular at various casinos.

  Hei Zi didn't know much about these people, so he looked at Yin Le who was holding a cigarette and watching the card game with great interest, and asked: "Le Er, Xiao Lu is out of money and wants to borrow some."

  Yin Le knew what Hei Zi meant, wanting to know about Lu Mang's situation. Now he couldn't say it clearly himself. He hadn't heard anyone say that Lu Mang had debts that weren't paid back. Every month he had a salary, lending him money didn't have to worry about not being able to get it back.

  "Let him have some first, Xiao Lu knows the rules, he'll send the money over on payday." Yin Le turned his head and said, his eyes immediately returning to the gambling table.

  The money was all on Zhuo Xiaofei's body. Hei Zi found Zhuo Xiaofei in another room and handed over 200 yuan to Lu Mangzi.

  When day broke, Lu Xiangzi came down from the gambling table in high spirits and found Hei Zi: "Hei Ge, brother won, this is what I owe you."

  Lu Xiangzi handed over 300 yuan and then said: "Hei Ge, today brother is treating."

  "Never mind, let's just get a good night's sleep first," said Heizi, shaking his head.

  Hei Zi didn't want to get too close to these gamblers, he knew that not everyone who borrowed money from him could pay it back, and if they couldn't, it would be awkward to take action if their relationship was too close.