Chapter 9: Losing to Others Due to Gambling

  Since that day, Li Mengsheng's prestige has been established with his divine gun skills. The other team leaders both hated and feared him, showing respect when they met but whispering among themselves behind his back. They resented the military rules he had set up, which restricted their carefree lifestyle of many years. They also resented that this young man had risen to become a team leader relying solely on his martial arts skills and gunplay, unable to command the respect and admiration of his comrades, so they cursed and hated him behind his back.

  Meng Sheng understood that in this group of security guards who were all former bandits, his exceptional marksmanship could only intimidate, not subdue. He also needed to cultivate a sense of "winning people over with virtue". Otherwise, one day when they went into battle, he wouldn't be able to avoid being shot in the back. Something like this had happened before in his father's military camp: a company commander who often withheld military pay and bullied soldiers was shot in the back during a charge, and when they were cleaning up the battlefield, his body was found to have fallen forward, distinct from the other soldiers who had been shot and were lying on their backs. His father often used this as an example to warn officers to take care of their soldiers, so Meng Sheng planned to get close to these bandits.

  The next day, Meng Sheng took Lian Zhu and Xiao Liu into the barracks. The room was in an uproar, with smoke swirling around, and all kinds of games such as mahjong, cards, and dice were being played. Everyone surrounded the gambling table, shouting and scolding, with complaints and curses filling the air. From time to time, someone who had lost all their money would be pushed out of the crowd, making it no different from a real casino.

  Everyone stopped what they were doing as soon as Meng Sheng came in. Xiao Liu hastily said to Meng Sheng, "Old Master Zheng has instructed that the brothers who are not on duty cannot leave the barracks too far away, it's inconvenient for them to gather. The brothers have nowhere to go and just play with money in the camp, you mustn't set any military rules prohibiting gambling again, or else the brothers will get sick from frustration."

  It's better to let them gamble here than to let them go out and harm the common people. So he said, "Everyone, continue playing! I'm just bored and came to see the excitement." The crowd 'heated up' again and continued to play.

  Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu arrived at a mahjong table. Meng Sheng asked one of the players: "How's your luck?"

  That guy said, "My luck is terrible! The cards I drew are all the old ladies' team - B team." He pointed at a sly-looking young man on the opposing side and said, "Today it's still Wei Xiaoying who wins! Damn it! His luck is too good! We play once and he wins once, winning from us for half a year, and all the money we guys scraped together on the streets went into his pocket!"

  Wei Xiaodi smiled complacently and said: "Grandpa, I worship gods and wash my hands every day. You guys touch your buttocks and pick your eyes every night, how can your luck be good?! Haha! Again Hu! **Right Hu! Twenty-five rounds! Take out the money, take out the money!" As he spoke, he pushed down the cards, and indeed it was a Right Hu. The other three people cursed and threw their money onto the table.

  Meng Sheng didn't make a sound, and looked at several more cards. Wei Xiao was indeed formidable, and had won three out of five hands. Meng Sheng had already figured out the trick: Wei Xiao was using a technique called "ship's card" or "coded ship", which involved secretly arranging cards of the same suit or consecutive numbers, separated by one card, in front of himself during the deal. During the game, he would calculate the number of cards and use the opportunity to eat or touch cards to get the pre-arranged cards. This trick was already outdated and not even used by novice gamblers in Beijing and Tianjin's big casinos. Meng Sheng wondered where this kid had learned this three-legged cat technique. When Meng Sheng was studying in Tianjin, he would often sneak into various casinos and was familiar with all sorts of gambling techniques. This little trick couldn't fool his eyes. Even Lian Zhu recognized the trick and snorted in derision. Seeing that Meng Sheng didn't react, he knew that Meng Sheng must have a plan, so he didn't expose him.

  Meng Sheng's mind turned, and he came up with a plan. He saw Wei Xiao play another card and said to Tuan Ding, who had asked the question earlier: "Brother, you take a rest first, I'll play two rounds for you." The man hastily got up and yielded his seat. The onlookers in the house, seeing that Tuan Zhang was also participating in the gamble, rushed over to watch.

  Meng Sheng sat down and shuffled the cards, laying out a pair of pairs in his own hand. Meng Sheng's technique was more skilled and swift than Wei Xiao's, and no one noticed anything unusual. When playing cards, Meng Sheng calculated the number of cards accurately and seized the opportunity to touch or not touch at the right time, not only avoiding Wei Xiao's cards but also grabbing the ones he had made himself. This round, Meng Sheng won with a pair of pairs. Wei Xiao was completely unaware, and Meng Sheng continued to win five rounds in a row, with the onlookers praising him nonstop, saying that Captain Meng's card skills were divine and his luck unmatched. Only then did Wei Xiao realize that Meng Sheng was using his own method against him, and he himself had encountered a stronger thief, and couldn't help but break out in sweat, fearing that Meng Sheng would expose him in public. Those who had lost money to him would kill him or cut off his hands if they knew the truth. This group of bandits was capable of anything. As a result, Wei Xiao's hands began to shake as he shuffled the cards, taking a long time to finish shuffling, and the more people urged him on, the slower he went, with sweat pouring down like rain, dripping down rapidly.

  He saw that his face was as pale as earth, with pleading eyes, and knew he had understood the severity of the situation. So he stood up and said: "Alright, you brothers continue playing, I'll go somewhere else to take a stroll." The team leader who sat next to Meng Sheng admired him so much that he hastily divided the winnings in half and stuffed it into Meng Sheng's hands. Meng Sheng said: "Consider this money as me treating you to a drink!"

  Meng Sheng slipped to the front of the table where the banker, a burly man with a thick beard and mustache, was throwing dice into a large bowl. As soon as Meng Sheng saw the way the bearded man threw the dice, he knew his trick - after throwing the dice, the bearded man would use his hand to sweep them across the bowl, making three of the dice land on "four, five, six", allowing him to win all the bets. The other gamblers either sighed or cursed loudly, and Meng Sheng took advantage of the commotion to slip closer to the bearded man, quietly grabbing his wrist with his left hand while quickly pulling something out of the bearded man's sleeve with his right hand and hiding it in his own sleeve. "Take a break," he said to the bearded man, "I'll deal now." He then shouted, "Others pay double for losing bets, but our team leader is dealing! Five times the stakes!" The crowd heard this and swarmed around the table, even those playing mahjong and cards came over.

  Lian Zhuang hurried to the front to maintain order: "Line up! Put all the money on the table!" The crowd busied themselves, one by one, putting their money on the table. In the blink of an eye, the table was filled with piles of silver dollars, some more or less than a hundred.

  Meng Sheng grabbed the dice in the bowl, as if he had returned to the Tianjin casino where he once gambled away a fortune. He shouted: "Small money is earned through hard work, big money is made by luck! Gambling, gambling, every day is New Year's Day! Everyone watch closely! Go!" After that, he threw the dice into the bowl and mimicked the action of Lao San, his hand gliding over the bowl. The crowd shouted in unison: "Yao Er San" (the banker throws out 1, 2, 3, all pay)! The dice didn't spin much before landing on '4, 5, 6', causing a commotion among the crowd, with some sighing and others cheering.

  Actually, Meng Sheng had already seen through the trick of the man with the whiskers as soon as he saw him throw the dice: the red color used for the 4, 5 and 6 dots on the three dice was made from a pigment mixed with iron powder, and the man's wrist had a small magnet tied to it. When throwing the dice, he would use his wrist to brush against the bowl, and naturally, the iron powder would be attracted upwards. This was also a common trick used by old cheats in Tianjin's gambling dens, how could Meng Sheng not know?

  Xiao Liu hurried over, flattering and boasting: "Team Leader Li is actually an old gambler! His gambling skills are like a god, opening the eyes of his brothers! The brothers are deeply impressed!" The crowd of team members all followed suit, praising him in unison.

  Meng Sheng patted the shoulder of the man with the whiskers, pulled out the magnet stuck in his sleeve and put it into his pocket. The man with the whiskers looked at Li Meng Sheng with gratitude and admiration.

  "Meng Sheng shouted to the crowd: "Meng Sheng is incompetent, and I'm ashamed to be the captain. I hope in the future that my brothers will give me more support and less sabotage! I'll also do my best to help my brothers save face and gain prestige! As for this money, Meng Sheng won't take a single cent, it's all returned to its original owner! Tonight, I invite all the brothers of the team to drink at Huibin Building!" As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd cheered in unison, and then swarmed over to retrieve their own money.

  Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu returned to the team leader's room, Lian Zhu said: "Still big brother has skills, using a little trick made these bandits all obedient to you."

  "These country bumpkins haven't seen the world, but the tricks they learned in the casino are still useful today! These people may seem domineering and bullying on a daily basis, but in reality, they're all bark and no bite, afraid of those who are strong. If you're stronger than them, they'll submit to you. This time, both the literary and martial types have been dealt with, next time I speak, my words will carry weight!" Meng Sheng said.

  "Where did the money for dinner tonight come from?"

  "Of course it's on Old Man Zheng's account!"