Chapter 49: Planning to Open a Casino

  Afternoon, Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei came out of the hospital and met Er Jie. Er Jie was buying vegetables on the street and was about to return to the small restaurant when she saw them and asked: "Hei Zi, where did Wu Mei go last night that she didn't come home?

  Hei Zi looked at Zhu Xiao Fei, Zhu Xiao Fei's face was a bit red, and he said awkwardly: "Second sister, yesterday Wu Mei went to play cards, I was with him, so you can rest assured."

  Second sister thought, I just don't trust you little rascal.

  Second sister asked Hei Zi: "Hei Zi, where did Wu Mei and them play cards last night?"

  Hei Zi used to be a honest kid, but after coming back these few months, he's been practicing lying and doesn't even blush. He smiled and said: "Yesterday they were playing cards at Old Zhang's house in the village, I had a bit of a cold, played for a while and then left, they played all night."

  Second sister believed Heizi's words, she smiled and said to Heizi: "Heizi, I know this younger sister of mine is a crazy girl, you help me keep an eye on her, don't let her get into any trouble."

  "Hei Zi nodded and said: 'Don't worry, Er Jie, with me and Xiao Fei here, Wu Mei will be absolutely fine.'"

  He and Second Sister parted ways, the two of them walking on the road back to the village. Hei Zi asked: "Xiao Fei, where did you guys go last night? Did you give Wu Mei to that guy?"

  "What's up?" asked Zhu Xiaofei, who was walking ahead.

  "It's all over," said Kuroko.

  Xiao Fei smiled awkwardly and said, "Let's just drop it, I'm glad I didn't let her get into trouble."

  Xiao Fei told them about what happened between him and Wu Mei last night, making Hei Zi laugh out loud. He didn't expect that Wu Mei would be like this, nor did he expect that Xiao Fei would remain chaste and not let Wu Mei succeed.

  Don't look at Zhu Xiaofei's fighting and quarreling, he has a good hand, but in front of women, he is just a child. Wu Mei looks at Zhu Xiaofei like a kindergarten aunt looking at children, both loving and hating him, loving his cuteness and hating that he doesn't listen to her.

  Wishing Xiaofei and Heizi to be together every day, the two of them don't even know when they started liking Heizi. Now Heizi is focused on making money, he wants to establish his own power in the shortest time possible, his ideals are very grand, he wants to become a top-notch thug.

  Wu Mei has been winning more than losing since she started playing cards, starting with small bets and gradually increasing the stakes. Now she has accumulated around 120,000 yuan, keeping 50,000 for herself as betting capital and lending the rest to Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei.

  After paying 50,000 yuan as a down payment, both parties signed an agreement and the time and amount of the final payment. Then, Old Zhang took Hei Zi and Hei Zhu to see the mine entrance. On the way, Old Zhang introduced to Hei Zi what needed to be done to open the mine entrance. After listening, Hei Zi felt a bit disappointed in his heart. Originally, he had planned to use the remaining 30,000 yuan to hire people to open the mine, but after hearing Old Zhang's words, he realized that this money was only enough for adding equipment.

  Hei Zi was thoroughly disappointed when he arrived at the mine entrance. This mine entrance was just a hole dug on the half slope of a mountain, and the ore piled outside was not bad, but to make this mine entrance start again, it would probably take more than 1 million yuan.

  Lao Zhang, in order to save money, the mine lacks support and ventilation equipment. The air compressor placed outside the shed is very old and it's uncertain whether it can be used or not. Other equipment is piled up in a simple house next to it, with an old man watching over them. The row of houses where workers live has been locked up.

  Old Zhang introduced Hei Zi and others to the old man Liu Dage who was watching the mine entrance. Liu Dage looked at Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei with a very strange gaze. Taking advantage of Zhu Xiao Fei and Old Zhang going elsewhere, Hei Zi asked Liu Dage: "Liu Dage, how is this mine entrance?"

  Mr. Liu shook his head and said: "It's not good, if you want to make money, you have to invest a lot, investing a little is simply pouring water into the river."

  Mr. Liu told Heizi that the mine must be supported and workers must be insured, only in this way will there be no accidents, even if an accident occurs, it will not cost too much money.

  He hadn't left the mine entrance when Hei Zi decided to leave this mine idle for now, and talk about it later. Liu Dage's wages weren't much, so Hei Zi had him keep an eye on it. As for when to open up this mine, that would depend on the timing.

  Back at the farmhouse, Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei calculated that they still had over 40,000 yuan left. With their daily income from driving a taxi being around 700-800 yuan, after deducting various expenses, they were left with around 500-600 yuan. By the end of the month, they would have an additional income of around 15,000-16,000 yuan. It seemed that after this month, they could go haul coal again without any issues.

  The iron mine uses coal in winter, they just need to pull another thousand tons of coal, the income from a thousand tons of coal is about 700,000 to 800,000 yuan, take out 100,000 yuan for gifts, and the remaining 600,000 to 700,000 yuan should be enough, after one and a half months, the money at the mine entrance can be paid off.

  The two of them planned for a long time before they came up with an idea. In the first month, except for opening the game, nothing else could be done, so Heizi decided to organize another gambling session.

  Xiao Fei and Wu Mei had a fierce fight these past few days, and Xiao Fei left early in the morning. Hei Zi called Liu Zhenghua to ask if he was interested in playing again.

  Liu Zhenghua felt that Hei Zi was quite reliable since the last time they played together. As the deputy director of the Iron and Steel Factory, if he were caught gambling, it would be a loss of face. Moreover, the money he used for gambling didn't come from legitimate sources, so once he got caught, there was a possibility that his superiors would take notice, and it would be difficult to explain himself at that time.

  Liu Zhenghua said he was very willing to go and play, but he couldn't make phone calls for others. If they wanted to play, they should find someone else to organize it, set a time, and come as called.

  Hei Zi then made a few more calls to others, the last one being Liu Ling. From the phone, he could hear the sound of cheering and laughter, like someone was drinking. Hei Zi found it strange that they were drinking so early and wasn't worried about getting drunk.

  In sixty years, Hei Zi hurriedly said: "Hei Zi, come to my house, I'll introduce you to a few people."

  Heizi came alone to Liu Ling's home in town according to the address Liu Ling had given him.

  Hei Zi entered the house and saw that there were four people inside, except for Liu Li who was sixty years old, the others were all young men in their twenties or thirties. Three of them looked very spirited and agile, with a military air about them.

  A few people exchanged polite words and got to know each other. Hei Zi sat down, and Liu Ling gave him a cup of wine. Hei Zi said: "The three brothers must have been soldiers before."

  "No, we are plainclothes police." said Zhou Xiaotian who was sitting in the middle.

  Zhou Xiaotian is the eldest of three people, with a medium build, small eyes, and a slightly collapsed nose. When speaking, he has a nasal tone.

  Hei Zi poured wine and said: "Come on, brothers, let's have a drink."

  The conversation at the wine table seemed so intimate, and before long, several people were like old friends who had known each other for many years.

  Hei Zi learned that Zhou Xiao Tian was from the criminal police team of a certain county in Northeast China. He had been fond of gambling since he was young, and because he didn't dare to gamble near his hometown, he would wander around whenever he had time, going wherever he had friends. During his vacations, it was his chance to go out and look for opportunities to gamble.

  Zhou Xiaotian was delighted to know that Hei Zi had opened a gambling den. He asked about the situation and praised Hei Zi for making excellent arrangements, saying that as long as it wasn't the criminal police or special forces who came, ordinary police would have no chance of catching them in the act.

  Zhou Xiaotian came here to find Liu Ling just to gamble, and heard that Heizi was going to open a game, of course, he was excited. Zhou Xiaotian asked Heizi to organize people, and they would start a game tonight.

  Hei Zi was very excited, he took out his phone on the wine table and notified everyone, telling them a gathering place, asking everyone not to drive, driving would be too conspicuous, Hei Zi was in charge of driving to take them there.