Chapter 14: The Gambling Industry of the Great Ming Dynasty
The news of the lucky draw for rice spread quickly on this street, one told ten, ten told a hundred. Slowly, more and more people came to watch, and the atmosphere began to heat up.
The vendors nearby closed their stalls and ran over, those in the back squeezed in but couldn't get in, so they stood on stools to peer inside, and some who were originally just window shopping also gathered around, from the front it was a sea of black heads.
Yang Bo saw that the fire was almost ready, so he shouted loudly "Who will come and try their luck first? The first one can touch it four times for just one coin! Four times! You neighbors think about it, for just one coin you can take away a stone of rice! If you get it, you can take it away! One coin, one stone of rice, if you miss this chance, there won't be another store like this in the village, what are you hesitating for..."
"If I had money next time, I would definitely invite a few more people!" Yang Bo couldn't help but feel regretful seeing no one taking the lead.
"What if I got it right the first time, how about the next few times?" An old lady obviously heard the flaw in Yang Bo's words. Yang Bo heard this and couldn't help but curl his lips "Think you're so smart? Just one stone mill owner has almost gone bankrupt..."
"It's still possible to get! If you're lucky, three shi of rice for one silver coin! Yang Bo's face turned serious, and without hesitation, he raised his hand high, as if taking an oath, facing the circle of enthusiastic faces in front of him."
"As long as you're lucky, one silver coin can be randomly drawn three times, and if you hit it three times, you can take away three stones of rice! However... " He deliberately prolonged his voice "If you had a romantic encounter with your wife last night, it's best to burn incense and bathe before coming..."
A burst of laughter erupted around, Yang Bo's words had a somewhat literary tone, but the meaning was clear to everyone. Although no one took action yet, the temptation of three stones of rice for one silver coin lingered in their minds, and even if they succeeded just once, they would become rich!
"I'll go first!"
A short fellow squeezed in with great effort, accompanied by a chorus of laughter and teasing from the crowd, apparently everyone knew him.
"Zhang Xiaoyi, didn't you just go to Qin Xiaoniang's house last night? You also dare to come to this...this casino?"
This Zhang Xiaoyi is the owner of a nearby fabric store, good-looking but afraid of his wife. Recently, he hooked up with a widow, but didn't expect to be eaten alive by that widow. He was ridiculed by the neighbors for this matter. Zhang Xiaoyi wasn't angry, and after throwing in one silver coin, he rolled up his sleeves.
"Four times?"
"Four times!"
Boss Jia looked at the pen holder filled with small paper slips that Yang Bo had, wasn't that his own thing? He turned back to look and saw that the several brushes used for accounting on the counter were scattered all over the table. Just as he was lost in thought, someone heavily patted him on the shoulder "Boss, it's time to collect money!"
With Zhang Xiaoyi as the pioneer, things became much simpler afterwards.
Yang Bo carefully controlled the scene, not making enough silver that piece of paper with "middle" written on it and a circle drawn around it would definitely not be thrown in, but how to make these people spend money without complaint or regret, that's a question. Fortunately, Yang Bo had some research on human psychology, plus some influence from later generations, the scene was maintained quite well for now.
Boss Jia was still in a daze and hadn't reacted yet, but as soon as Yang Bo threw the money at him, he mechanically caught it and before long had collected several pieces of silver. Boss Jia was afraid of being cheated, so he went to the counter and took out a small steelyard balance and a pair of tongs.
Zhang Xiaoyi patted the four pieces of silver thirteen times, but didn't even touch a fart. He couldn't help feeling anxious in his heart. He fumbled around in his pocket for half a day and finally slapped a heavy ingot of silver on the table: "I still don't believe it today!"
But Yang Bo refused to let him try again, and instead comforted him in a soft voice: "Little Yige, if today's luck is not good, then don't force it. Otherwise, tomorrow Little Yige will be early, I'll give you another chance here."
Originally, Zhang Xiao Yi and Qin Xiao Niangzi had a wild time last night, and he wasn't very confident in his own luck. Plus, Yang Bo and the neighbors' gentle words of comfort, the reckless energy from earlier dissipated, and he gloomily squeezed to one side to watch the commotion.
The yellow paper roll inside the pen holder has gone down a lot, and many onlookers have started to get excited.
The front scapegoat has touched so many, and his own chances of winning have increased a lot. With Yang Bo's language temptation on the side, many people who had made up their minds to watch also started secretly taking out silver from their bodies to weigh it. They didn't know that Yang Bo had already manipulated things behind the scenes, with the paper roll pressed tightly underneath and only randomly placed ones visible on top.
More and more people tried their luck, Yang Bo's lottery business welcomed a small boom, soon the paper roll in the pen holder went down by nearly half.
The timing is almost right, and many people around who haven't gotten their hands on it are starting to complain. More importantly, the money received so far is enough to pay for two stones of rice. Yang Bo knows it's time to release the sweet potato head.
Yang Bo quietly used the skill of shaking the pen holder to throw in a paper roll with circles drawn on it, but unexpectedly, many people who came to try their luck stretched out their hands to the lower layer to test their luck, while the winning one was thrown on top, and as a result, several consecutive ones still didn't win.
The whispers around began to grow louder, and the questioning voices also became much clearer.
"Scammers..."
"We're going to report to the authorities..."
Shouts and curses rose and fell in waves.
"Hit it! Hit it...... Li Erlang is so lucky!" The crowd suddenly burst into waves of excited cheers, which made Yang Bo's heart feel a lot more at ease.
The winner was a young man with a pleated skirt wrapped around his waist, and there were some dark red bloodstains on the skirt, which looked like a butcher's apprentice. The funny thing is that the emotions of the people around him are more excited than Li Erlang who won the prize.
Li Erlang was overjoyed, and in his haste to move the rice, he forgot that there were still two more chances to draw prizes. It wasn't until someone nearby kindly reminded him that he patted his palm again, spat on it, and rubbed it vigorously.
"China, China, China"
"Oh no......"
Yang Bo secretly smiled, amidst the shouts of the people around him, Li Er Lang drew twice in a row, but unfortunately he no longer had the same luck as before.
Yang Bo resolutely rejected Li Erlang's plea, and with the people around him also making a fuss, he could only secretly make up his mind to come and line up early tomorrow morning, and still have another chance to draw lots.
Under the envious eyes of the people around him, Li Erlang was very satisfied to put a stone of rice on his own shoulders, but he didn't leave. He just stood there with more than 100 kilograms of rice and smiled foolishly as he watched from the side.
Yang Bo took a moment to settle the silver for three stones of rice with Manager Jia. From the moment he received the first payment, Manager Jia was stunned, and even receiving one or two liang of interest money didn't excite him much. He had personally seen Yang Bo arrive at Fumin Rice Store empty-handed, but now not only had he paid off the debt, it seemed like he was still making money? This influx of money was too fast! Manager Jia, who had spent his whole life earning money in a straightforward and honest way, began to sink into an even deeper state of confusion.
