Chapter 2: The Casino Beauty (Part 2)
Yu San Gu is now almost certain that Cheng Jia Ji is a deep and cunning character who, although may not be clear about his own intentions, must have had doubts about his own actions. Yu San Gu believes that the other's intention is to engage in a battle of wits and patience with him. Even if he has misjudged, Cheng Jia Ji is much more difficult to deal with than he originally thought. Not every gambler can resist placing bets for three hours and just drink tea; only those with extremely strong willpower can do so. And someone with strong willpower, even if they have some flaws in life, won't be an easy opponent.
When Yu San was secretly raising her evaluation of Cheng Jiaji in her heart, dinner was already ready. The dining table was filled with dishes, as it was known that this Sixth Master Cheng loved Zhejiang cuisine. Yu San didn't make a big fuss, but let the chef at the casino prepare a authentic Zhejiang meal. There were eight dishes and one soup on the table, although nothing extraordinary, they were all delicacies of Zhejiang cuisine. It was thought that Cheng Jiaji would definitely enjoy them. The head chef of this casino was also a famous chef, who had previously worked in the mansion of Shanghai's celebrity Zhang Xiaolin. His craftsmanship was unparalleled, especially his clear-braised lion's head, which was fatty but not greasy, fragrant and smooth, and melted in the mouth. Wen Songyuan and others had gambled all day and were starving, seeing this table full of delicious food made them drool. If they weren't afraid of losing their dignity in front of the beauty, they would have started devouring the food without waiting for the formal start of the meal.
Ran Yu's three aunts were also shrewd and capable, but for now, she could only take the initiative to speak up. In her heart, she knew that if it was a test of endurance, she would never be able to outlast this seemingly stubborn Cheng Jiaqi in front of her, after all, she needed something from him.
"I have long admired Director Cheng's heroic and chivalrous reputation. Today, I see that you are indeed an extraordinary person. This humble woman offers a toast to Director Cheng, and in the future, this small business will still rely on Director Cheng's care. Here's to you!" With that, Yu San'niu raised her jade neck and drank a cup of Shaoxing wine with a crisp and decisive motion.
These words were originally just some polite phrases, but when Yu San Jie, a beautiful and delicate girl I had met before, said them, they sounded so pleasant to the ear. With her bold and generous demeanor, she added a few rare qualities that made her even more impressive, making all the men at the table feel an increase in their good impression of her.
Cheng Jiaji hadn't even had time to react when Wen Songyuan and the others were already loudly cheering, creating a very lively atmosphere. Among them, Wen Songyuan's voice was the loudest, as he was already considered a god by many. Cheng Jiaji thought to himself that this woman was a real seductress, as she had only said a few words and his own men had all defected to her side. It seemed that beautiful women were just as deadly as planes and cannons. If the Japanese invaded China with an army of such beauties, he wondered if the war could even last eight years. He couldn't help but laugh at the thought, thinking that if it were true, perhaps in two years all these Japanese beauties would be pregnant with Chinese men's children, and the war would be impossible to continue. If that day ever came, it would truly be a great fusion of nations.
"I'm honored that you think so highly of me, Mr. Yu. If there's anything I can do to help in the future, as long as it's within my abilities, I'll naturally be happy to oblige. However, I'm still young and inexperienced, with limited capabilities, so I fear I may not be able to assist you with anything significant." After finishing this speech, Cheng Jiaqi also boldly downed a full cup of yellow wine. Regardless of the circumstances, Cheng Jiaqi was now a young man in the new socialist era, and these words came easily to him. Wen Songyuan and others saw that he was so straightforward and again gave him a big round of applause, which further warmed up the atmosphere on the scene.
Only two people frowned and looked thoughtful. The first of these was naturally Yu San Jie, the hostess of today's gathering. At this moment, she felt even more that this notorious playboy was not someone to be trifled with. His words seemed bold and generous, but upon closer inspection, they were actually very smooth and didn't commit to anything. The tone of his speech even had a hint of rejecting people from afar. Yet, the surface-level courtesy he showed was impeccable, making it impossible to say anything against him. Looking at how skillfully he responded, it was clear that this was no ordinary playboy, but rather someone as cunning as the old foxes in Shanghai.
Another person who came with Cheng Jiaji and others was Gao Shiying. Among the colleagues of the Military Supplies Bureau who gathered at the Hongyun Casino today, only Gao Shiying was a middle-aged man. At 32 years old, Gao Shiying was an old soldier who had been in the military for over a decade but had never achieved his ambitions. In his early years during the Northern Expedition, Gao Shiying was already a squad leader in the Fourth Army. After the Northern Expedition conquered Wuhan, he became a deputy battalion commander. If it weren't for being purged from the Fourth Army due to suspicion of being a Communist Party member during the party purification period, Gao Shiying would have followed his old superior Xue Yue and Wu Qizhen into the Central Army by now. One of his former subordinates who was a squad leader under him is now a regiment commander in the Central Army. If it weren't for the "red hat" on his head, Gao Shiying would have defected to them long ago, and at the very least, he would have become a lieutenant colonel by now. After being purged from the Fourth Army, Gao Shiying wandered into Xia Weimin's army and spent his days there. Before the Central Plains War, he had already become a battalion commander again due to the expansion of the troops and was highly valued by his superiors. He thought that success was just around the corner. However, man proposes but God disposes. After the Central Plains War, Xia Weimin's army not only shrank from over 10,000 people to 3,000 but also changed from a regular army to a security force. Gao Shiying went from being a battalion commander back to being an ordinary soldier. For years, he had been serving in Xia Weimin's security force, and it wasn't until this expansion that he finally got the opportunity to become a junior officer with a salary of 30 yuan per month. Although life was still tight, it was much better than before. His state of mind was vastly different from that of young people like Wen Songyuan who had achieved success early on. After experiencing many hardships in life, one naturally becomes more pessimistic and compromising.
He was originally an old hand, and he wouldn't have looked at Cheng Jiaji, a military prodigal son, in the eye. Although he is now temporarily with him, it's just because they are all making money together. Moreover, Cheng Jiaji's background is indeed hard enough, and he can't afford to offend him, so he has become a partner with Cheng Jiaji and Wen Songyuan on the surface.
With his city and life experience, he can't hear the words of Cheng Jiaji just now, which seem to be superficially packaged, but are actually clever and sinister. On the surface, it gives enough face to the other party, so as not to lose face, and at the same time, it leaves enough room for itself to advance and retreat. This young master, who usually becomes incoherent when he sees a beautiful woman, has become so mature and sophisticated today. Is he pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger? If so, then Cheng Liu is really not showing his true self. But what is the point of being so pretentious? Thinking of this, Gao Shiying felt that this young master, whom he had always looked down on in his heart, was so profound and unpredictable. At the same time, his heart was also trembling. He usually looked down on this young master, and they had done many tricks together under the flower umbrella. If Cheng Liu is really so clever, then he must have known about all these tricks in his heart, but has been hiding them all along. Who knows when he will suddenly erupt, and by that time, he won't be able to take it anymore. Thinking of this, even though he had trained his face to be thick-skinned over the years, his face still changed color at this moment.
The expressions of these two people naturally did not escape the eyes of Jia Lian, who had now completely awakened from the shock of seeing San Jie, this living, breathing, flesh-and-blood goddess, and was taking in the expressions of everyone present.
Cheng Jiaji sat down and thought to himself, "This Yu Sanjie seems to have understood the meaning behind my words, after all she's a clever woman who looks like she knows what's going on. And this Gao Shiying, who looks just like Ah Tu from Taiwanese comics, is actually quite perceptive too, despite his simple appearance. He's not as easy to fool as I thought. On the way here, I already gathered some information about these people through conversation, and I know that Gao Shiying has over a decade of military experience and is a seasoned veteran. People like him are usually not easy to get along with, and on top of that, he's also quite cunning. It seems I'll need to make more of an effort to win him over. Who knows, maybe one day he'll be useful to me."
