Chapter 13: The Gambling Industry of the Great Ming Dynasty (Part 1)

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  Manager Jia didn't understand such profound things, he only knew that his monthly salary hadn't increased much, but silver was worthless. He suppressed the annoyance in his heart and stood up, with his hands behind his back, slowly walking towards the two customers who had just entered the store.

  The two guests were a bit awkward after entering the store, unconsciously looking around or picking up a handful of rice to admire it. Manager Jia didn't say anything, just smiled and accompanied them on the side.

  These two men were dressed in tattered clothes, but they were very clean and had several patches that were neatly sewn on. They must have been apprentices at some shop. The price of a few meters of cloth was three times higher than usual, no wonder every customer who came in looked hesitant.

  Boss Jia cleared his throat and was about to speak when someone else beat him to it: "Boss, how much does this rice cost per stone?"

  Boss Jia opened his mouth and thought for half a day before responding: "One or two silver coins, now that the war is raging..."

  This guy had ordinary hair that was neither short nor long. At first glance, he looked like a laborer, but somehow resembled a scholar, and his refined words nearly choked Manager Jia.

  That man waved his hand: "Shopkeeper, I want three stones of rice. As for the price, I'll give you two taels per stone, but I'll pay you later, how about that?"

  Boss Jia smiled and listened to the previous few sentences, three stones of rice is not a big business, but it's also not small. If ordinary neighbors come to buy three stones, he might even give some discounts or something.

  He just heard that after counting the money later, his face slowly fell: "This store is small and thin, and does not owe..."

  "That's natural..." The man nodded: "Just ask the shopkeeper to put these three stones of rice on the table at the door, and someone will come over to pay for it after a while. The shopkeeper just needs to collect the money."

  That man saw Jia Wangcun hesitate and said again: "I am on behalf of my master to buy rice. Someone will bring money to pick it up later, and at that time, the silver goods will be settled, and the extra five cents per stone will be considered as the shopkeeper's hard work fee, okay?"

  It's rare for the master to give his servants rice and grain these days, but it's not a big deal if they run to the rice shop to pay. The key is that the interest on five qian of silver is enticing, and three dan of rice would yield an interest of one or two liang! This is a large sum, considering that Master Jia was just complaining about the rise in rice prices, and their salaries haven't increased in years.

  "Moving it to the entrance is no problem," said Manager Jia hesitantly, "but I don't know which esteemed guest you are referring to. Also, do you want someone to separate the rice?"

  That man heard the shopkeeper say so, and was overjoyed: "Just put it on the table, my old master is very famous in these ten miles around, I'm sure the shopkeeper has also heard of him. Surname Zhao, Zhao Gongming, Old Master Zhao..."

  Manager Jia was still thinking about a certain Mr. Zhao Gongming in the county town when that person took out a stack of yellow paper from his bosom. He loudly called for the rice shop's apprentices to move the rice, and Manager Jia couldn't help but think much more, hurrying to follow him out.

  That man unceremoniously found a piece of charcoal and started scribbling on the yellow paper, while Manager Jia watched with cold eyes from the side, unaware of what this person was doing.

  Rice has been taken away but the money hasn't arrived yet, he can't help feeling a bit uneasy. Seeing Manager Jia stop and start speaking several times, that person moved the stool out and put it aside "No need to worry too much, the manager only collects money here."

  Manager Jia looked at the door in confusion, then looked at the lively shop assistant. Outside, this street was the busiest place in the county, with vegetable vendors, department stores, mule and horse shops, restaurants, etc. However, after Manager Jia looked around for half a day, everyone outside was busy with their own affairs, where would someone come to Fuke Rice Store to pay?

  "Is this scoundrel of a bird trying to fool me?" Mr. Jia was starting to get displeased in his heart.

  That man nodded towards his companion and said: "Tie Niu, are you ready?" The other person replied in a silly tone: "Got it all memorized, big bro. Shall we start now?"

  Under the gaze of Manager Jia, a dark-faced little boy suddenly turned his head and shouted loudly "We've struck it rich! We've struck it rich! Come take a look, it's time to draw lots... The prize is one dan of rice... It only costs one coin to participate..."

  Boss Jia was suddenly shocked, how could this be different from what they agreed on earlier? He had just prepared to stand up, but unexpectedly the man pressed him down first: "Boss, don't worry, the person who paid has arrived. Are you going to drive them away?"

  Jia Zhanggui looked around and saw that the companion of the person from earlier had shouted something, and a crowd of people had gathered at the entrance of the store. There were also many familiar faces among them, including some neighbors. The man lightly patted Jia Zhanggui's shoulder and began to greet the guests.

  It goes without saying that these two guys who borrowed money to make a fortune were Yang Bo and Tie Niu, the two brothers.

  The locals love to watch lively scenes, and this street was originally crowded with people. After Iron Cow shouted a few times, the table for selling rice was suddenly surrounded by many people, some of whom even abandoned their own stalls to come and watch. Yang Bo smiled and bowed to the crowd in all directions, his expression looking like that of a fox who had stolen a chicken in Jia's eyes.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, neighbors, today is a lucky day for the imperial way, it's suitable for marriage, worshiping ancestors, praying for good fortune, opening markets, and making money... Ah! As the saying goes, coming early is not as good as coming at the right time, if you want to get rich, it's today! Everyone must be wondering, how can we get rich? Is it going to rain cakes from the sky? I'm telling you for sure, yes! Everyone will ask again, how do we do it? Now I'll tell everyone, it's very simple! Look here, with one silver coin, you can draw a lottery three times, and the prize is..."

  Tie Niu was taken aback for a moment, then quickly cleared his throat and shouted, "......It's just one stone of rice! Top-quality rice only costs one silver coin, three chances......"

  At that time, one dan of rice was about 120 to 150 kilograms later on. A large sack of rice was placed horizontally in the middle of the table, and a yellow label was stuck on it at some point, giving it a somewhat solemn look. The three sacks of rice were piled high on the table like a mountain.

  People haven't reacted yet, Yang Bo shouted again: "Passersby don't miss it, as long as you dare to come, good luck will follow, opportunities are rare, hurry up and grab it..."

  The crowd below suddenly burst into a commotion, and everyone was discussing it. As Yang Bo patiently explained, everyone gradually understood the meaning of this lottery.

  "Isn't it just a joke?" Someone seemed to have understood something.

  "Not so, but not as if playing a game" Another spoke out in opposition

  "The colorful head is also tempting" A woman muttered to herself

  People gathered in twos and threes, discussing heatedly...

  They all knew that now a dan of rice was about one or two yuan, and in this world where silver was becoming more and more devalued due to continuous disasters, the price of grain was fluctuating. An ordinary family could make a dan of rice mixed with other grains and wild vegetables last for four mouths or even longer. Moreover, the owner of Fugui Rice Shop, Mr. Jia, was an old acquaintance, so they didn't worry that he would default on his debt.

  Yang Bo stood on the stage, speaking with flying spittle, and everyone was somewhat moved but continued to watch, after all, facing this new thing, no one dared to be the first bird.

  Yang Bo was also in no hurry, gesturing for Tie Niu to continue shouting slogans. As long as someone dared to be the first to eat the crab, the rest would be easy, he wasn't worried.

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