Chapter 1478: The Winner is King, the Loser is a Bandit

  Firstly, many casinos have also started making horse shoes, which has taken away a lot of our customers. Of course, since we are the original creators of horse shoes after all, most gamblers still choose to come to our casino.

  Secondly, the casino is seriously short-handed. Although, since County Magistrate Yang invested in it, people have been secretly sent to take care of the casino. However, the casino's business has been too good, and with the stimulation of winning money, customers who win are naturally happy, but those who lose often get angry and can't control their temper, quarreling with winners, and sometimes even fighting, affecting other customers. This kind of brawl happens at least five or six times a day. If more manpower is not dispatched to suppress this situation, it will have a great impact on the casino's business!

  Third, the turnover of money is insufficient. The business of the gambling house is good, and there are winners and losers. Those who lose money need to turn over their silver. The gambling house must lend, otherwise no one will come to gamble. However, the problem is that now the gambling house has to lend out 50 or 60 taels of silver every day, sometimes it can't even recover the money before someone else comes to borrow.

  "Oh dear, you all don't know that I, a weak and delicate woman, have been bothered by these three questions every day, running back and forth until my waist is almost broken!"

  Wen Han and Li Qiang, including Pei Yuanshao who had just joined the group, were all intimidated by this gentle 'little woman', and they couldn't help but secretly curse in their hearts.

  If you are still considered a weak and gentle woman, then those men outside don't need to live.

  Wen Han's face suddenly turned sour, and from the unanimous gaze of everyone present, he knew that this group of people must be waiting for him to come up with a solution again.

  "You guys should at least come up with some ideas, don't always rely on me. In the future, if we 'make it big' and have a large family business, I won't be able to take on all the problems myself. That way, I'll die from exhaustion!"

  "Good brother, the capable one has to work harder, right? I'm also learning, when I can take charge on my own, I'll definitely come up with ideas. For now, it still depends on you." Zhou Lian said without any conscience.

  "Right, right, right. The capable one is busy." Lin, Li Qiang and Pei Yuanshao also simultaneously conform to the way, they have long been convinced by Wenhan's wisdom and that new idea. Moreover, they found that every time when the problem fell on Wenhan, Wenhan would miraculously solve the problem, and solved it perfectly!

  After being together for a long time, if you don't throw problems at this 'terminator', who will you throw them at?

  Wen Han rolled his eyes and knew it was time to get down to business, without wasting any words: "The first problem is relatively difficult to solve. Because we still can't prevent others from imitating us. However, after all, we are the pioneers, and many rules and gameplay were established here. Those casinos that imitate us won't be able to catch up so quickly."

  So as long as we do a good job with our casino brand, those gamblers will always think that the horse racing in our casino is the authentic one. That way, we won't be afraid of imitation, because all of that is just nonsense!

  "Wait a minute, what's a brand? What's a fleeting cloud?"

  Zhou Leng was used to Wen Han occasionally popping out some new and unusual words, and he didn't find it strange anymore. However, every time this happened, he would ask Wen Han to explain the meaning of these words clearly.

  "Well, how to put it, a brand is like the degree of recognition that those gamblers have towards our casino's horse racing. Just like in our county, there's this very famous wine house called 'Wang Yue Lou', whenever outsiders ask which wine house is the best in Xie County, all the locals will immediately mention 'Wang Yue Lou'. That's what a brand means."

  As for rumors, just don't take them seriously. You don't need to understand too deeply, mainly knowing the definition of a brand is enough."

  "Oh!"

  Zhou Luan and the others seemed to understand but not quite, Wen Han didn't mind either, letting them gradually realize it, and continued: "The second question is about manpower. This, I have already solved. I arranged for Pei Yuanshao to take 100 people from the Black Wind Troops every day to help in the gambling house. Each of them has excellent combat skills, generally a few gamblers can be handled by one of them.

  As for the third question, funding. The silver coins seized from Heifeng Mountain can be used to solve the problem first. If it's not enough, I'll think of another way. Also, sister, you make a list of those who often default on loans and give it to Pei Yuanshao. Yuanshao, you let your men go and warn them. If they really have difficulties, you can give them the minimum deadline according to the situation. If they maliciously default, don't be polite! As long as no one is beaten to death, everything will be fine!

  "Alright, I've given you methods for all three questions. Just follow them and you'll be fine."

  A round of applause broke out, and Zhou Lian, Lin Shi, Li Qiang, and Pei Yuanshao applauded Wen Han's wonderful speech. This scene made Wen Han feel as if he were in a meeting of those big companies in later generations discussing problems.

  "Right, and also, the Horse Hanging Competition should be held. Li Qiang, tomorrow you let your guards make a wooden board each, and carve on it the time and participation qualifications of the Horse Hanging Competition. Our Big Brother Zhou, you communicate with County Magistrate Yang tomorrow, tell him to cooperate with us. At that time, Li Qiang, you let your guards put up the boards in all conspicuous places throughout the county, I want everyone in the county to know about this Horse Hanging Competition."

  I plan to hold three games in three levels, low, medium and high. The entry qualification for the low level is 50 cents, the middle level is 5 yuan, and the high level is 50 yuan. We will first hold the low-level game, and the top four players can enter the middle-level game without paying the entry fee. After the low-level game is held, it is the middle-level game, which also adopts the same method, and the top four do not need to pay the entry fee to directly enter the high-level game. The high-level competition is the last one.

  Winning the championship of a high-end game can earn the title of "Ma Diao" awarded by County Magistrate Yang. The top three winners in our casino will receive prizes of 1,000 taels, 500 taels and 300 taels respectively!

  "Why bother with three levels, Master? Why not just go straight to the high-end?" Li Qiang asked in confusion.

  "Heh, good question. Li Qiang, you don't understand the mentality of those aristocratic families and wealthy merchants. They all think they're superior to others. If we were to hold a gathering directly, even if they care about being called 'horse-hangers', they might not come because they can't lower their status."

  Because there are many gamblers who like horse racing, and their identities are also uneven. If it is a low-ranking person, sitting at the same table with those aristocratic families will definitely make them unhappy. Those low-ranking people are also afraid of offending the aristocratic families, feeling uncomfortable, and losing their desire to compete.

  However, I have categorized them, so they become selective. Ordinary gamblers can choose low-end, some wealthy merchants can choose mid-to-high-end, and those aristocratic families generally choose high-end.

  And I let the top four of the lower and middle ranks advance for free, is to give those ordinary gamblers a glimmer of hope, if they can win the top four places in the competition, I believe that the merchants and aristocrats will also give them some respect, after all, people with some strength, regardless of their status, can win others' respect.

  "Good! Good! Good! Younger brother, I don't even know what words to use to describe your brain. If this horse racing competition is a success, my casino will immediately become famous and when the time comes, we can open branches in every county, that's when we'll be set for life."

  Zhou Leng shouted a few good words, his face excited. Being able to make the casino big has always been the wish of Zhou Leng's ancestors for several generations.

  "Big Brother Zhou, don't be too happy too early. You and I both understand that this gambling business can't last for long. I'm not afraid to tell you, although the imperial court seems calm on the surface now, but because of those ten eunuchs abusing power, harming loyal officials, the imperial authority is already precarious. The arrival of a chaotic world is not far away, at most there's only two years' time."

  So, we should now accumulate wealth in large quantities before the arrival of troubled times and build up our strength. Only then can we survive and occupy a place. Brother Zhou, we are all common people, unlike those famous families with troops, wealth, and power. We have nothing, so we must be aware beforehand and take a step ahead of them, otherwise, when the troubled times come, we will be swallowed by them!

  Wen Han and Zhou Yong have now begun to gain some power, all of which they fought hard for with their lives. However, the real storm has yet to come. Wen Han has not experienced a chaotic world, but from historical records, he also understands its terror. Wen Han is afraid that Zhou Yong's vision is not grand enough and is content with the status quo, so he opens his mouth to remind him.

  "Brother, I know your intentions. Don't worry, my vision isn't that shallow. However, I want to confirm once again, will this generation really be in chaos?" Suddenly, Zhou Long's face darkened, as if he didn't want to believe it.

  "It's chaos! And it will last for a very, very long time!" Wen Han knew he had to sound the alarm loudly and clearly to everyone present.

  Everyone present fell into a terrified silence. They knew that Wenhan was not the kind of person to exaggerate, and they seemed to have seen a picture of blood flowing like rivers, corpses everywhere, and continuous gunfire in the near future.

  After a while, Zhou Leng stood up, his face pale and frightening: "I've troubled you, brother. I'll go back to my room to rest first."

  Zhou Luan seemed a bit unsteady on his feet, and Lin Shi hurried over to support him.

  "Brother Zhou... three days later, I will eliminate Ma Zong." Wen Han shouted at Zhou Lian's back.

  "Are you going to take Ma Zong's life?" Zhou Leng stopped, although Ma Zong had wanted to seize his casino many times and even thought of taking his life. However, with Zhou Leng's kind nature, knowing that Ma Zong was about to die at Wen Han's hands, he couldn't bear it in his heart.

  For a moment, Zhou Leng remembered that his father was still there, holding the young him in his arms and laughing heartily.

  "Can't stay."

  Zhou Lian's heart skipped a beat, and his footsteps stopped again as he said: "Younger brother, I'll listen to you from now on. In the future, if there's anything important, you can decide for yourself without needing to tell me. I've always said that as long as it's something you want to do, I'll support you. It's just that my abilities are limited and my heart is too soft. I won't be able to withstand the hardships of great things."

  Wen Han watched Zhou Leng's departing figure and let out a deep sigh.

  Some things are clear in Wen Han's heart. Zhou Lian was originally a small character, if it wasn't for Zhou Lian saving himself, he would have been killed by Ma Zong long ago. His nature is kind and likes to live a comfortable life. If he wants him to go through too much burden now, he can't bear it yet. Wen Han also doesn't want to force him, just hopes that Zhou Lian can change slowly.

  Wen Han came back to his senses and saw that Pei Yuanshao and Li Qiang's faces did not have the same worried look as Zhou Yong, but instead had a eager-to-try feeling.