Chapter 71.2: The Big Gambling Den
Bighead had always been the sort of man who only needed to feed himself and didn’t have an entire family weighing him down. Seeing Jiang Xia struggling to support a whole household on her own, he immediately felt a great deal of sympathy for her. His earlier hesitation vanished, and he spoke frankly.
“Your big brother here isn’t exactly a good person either, but I feel sorry for you, so I’ll point you toward a way out. There’s a place over there that’s looking for people to serve tea and water.”
He paused, then spoke bluntly.
“I’m not going to hide anything from you. It’s a gambling den. The people who go there are all the big shots from the vegetable market. If you take good care of them, they’ll definitely give you plenty of tips. But there’ll also be no shortage of people trying to take advantage of you and get handsy…”
He hesitated briefly before continuing.
“And to put it bluntly, in a place like that, sooner or later you’ll get dragged into their mess. Once you go in, there’s an eighty percent chance you won’t be able to get out again. Think it over carefully. Do you want to go? If you do, I’ll take you there.”
‘Oh my goodness! What a benefactor!’
‘A place with everything I need? Of course I’m going!’
Jiang Xia had been worrying that tracking down each gang individually would be too difficult. She’d never expected a place like this to exist, or that Bighead could actually take her there.
This was simply wonderful!
It felt as though she could take down the entire gang network in one fell swoop.
Suppressing her excitement, Jiang Xia lowered her head and nervously kneaded the hem of her clothes between her fingers. After a long while, she finally replied:
“Well… Big brother, could you give me a little more time to think about it? I really can’t make up my mind right now.”
“All right.”
Bighead didn’t suspect a thing. After all, what young woman could make up her mind so quickly about doing something like that?
He nodded and said, “Then wait here for me a little longer. I’ll come back once I’m done and they’ve finished packing up their stalls.”
“Mm.”
Jiang Xia acknowledged him.
She leaned against the wall and continued waiting. When she saw Captain Liang looking over, she made a discreet hand signal to indicate that she had information to pass on.
After confirming her signal, Liang Jihua walked over with a bag full of vegetables and sat directly on the curb in front of Jiang Xia. Taking out a towel, he wiped the sweat from his face, looking just like someone who had come over to take a short break.
Jiang Xia waited a little longer. Seeing that nobody nearby was paying attention, she also walked over and sat down on the curb, as though she were tired from standing.
Lowering her voice, she quickly explained:
“That pickpocket just told me there’s a major gambling den around here. The leaders and members of the various gangs in the surrounding area all go there to gamble. He’s planning to take me there to work as a waitress. I’ve decided to accept.”
“What?!”
Before she’d even finished speaking, Liang Jihua’s eyes widened in shock.
It had only been a few minutes! Jiang Xia had already managed to extract such an important lead from a pickpocket?
She really was born to work undercover!
He wanted to poach her for his own team.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t compete for her. What a pity.
Suppressing that little pang of regret, Liang Jihua said, “This is extremely dangerous. Our people might not be able to follow you in. Are you sure?”
“If I don’t see the place with my own eyes, I won’t be able to draw a map of it.”
Jiang Xia replied, “This is too good an opportunity to pass up. I have to go. I’ll leave little star-shaped markers along the way. Do your best to follow me.”
“All right.”
After confirming her decision once more, Liang Jihua didn’t waste any time.
“I’ll go make the necessary arrangements right away.”
With that, he wiped his face once more with the towel, then stood up as though he’d rested enough. Carrying his large bag of vegetables, he headed toward the alley.
Jiang Xia remained where she was, waiting.
As time passed, the number of people coming to buy vegetables on the street rapidly dwindled. It was as though, in the blink of an eye, the crowded street had transformed into a scene where there were more vegetable vendors than customers.
Quite a few vendors had already begun loudly shouting out clearance prices.
“Tomatoes! Forty cents a jin! Cheap!”
“Eggplants! Twenty-three cents!”
“Chives! Ten cents a jin!”
…
“Sanitation fees, stall rental fees, fire prevention fees, security fees… Pay them all up!”
The four street thugs Captain Liang had mentioned also began going from stall to stall, forcibly collecting money under a whole assortment of pretexts. They could easily take half of a vendor’s earnings in one go.
Bighead had also hurried over to Brother Deng’s side. Only after handing over his share of the money did he wander back.
“Well, miss? Have you made up your mind?”
“I… I think I’d like to go and take a look first.”
Jiang Xia still wasn’t ready to agree outright. She looked somewhat tempted, but also hesitant.
“If it doesn’t seem suitable, I’ll just leave…”
“All right.”
Bighead agreed verbally, but he wasn’t particularly confident.
The people at that place might act quite friendly before luring respectable young women into their business, but how many gambling den operators were actually easy to deal with? If they really decided to keep her there against her will, there wasn’t much he could do.
Still… he’d at least given her a way to survive, hadn’t he?
Bighead quickly convinced himself of that and said with a smile, “If one of the big shots takes a liking to you, you’ll be set for life. Just don’t forget your big brother here when that happens.”
“Mm.”
Jiang Xia gave a barely perceptible response.
‘Don’t worry. I definitely won’t forget you. In a few days, I’ll even invite you over for a cup of tea.’
And I’ll throw in a pair of bracelets as a bonus. Silver-colored, of course. If you don’t like those, we’ve also got the latest rose-gold models!
Humming a little tune to herself, Jiang Xia asked, “Shall we head over now, then?”
“No rush. Those people aren’t even up yet at this hour.”
Bighead replied, “Let’s grab something to eat first. We’ll go around noon.”
I hate unexpected changes like this!
If they went to eat first, it would make things considerably harder for the plainclothes team to follow them.
Jiang Xia tried to refuse.
“But that would be too much trouble for you, big brother. Why don’t we just skip the meal?”
“What’s the big deal about buying one meal? I haven’t eaten anything since early this morning! I’m treating you, so just come along.”
Bighead waved his hand dismissively, then grumbled, “Everyone gets up so damn early. They make me get up at the crack of dawn like a chicken, too. I must have been cursed in a past life to end up doing this kind of work. I can’t even sleep in!”
There was no way to refuse now.
Jiang Xia could only agree. “Well… all right, then.”
Bighead turned around and beckoned to her. “Come on. I know a little breakfast place on this street where you don’t need ration coupons. You just pay cash.”
Jiang Xia stood up and followed him.
When they reached the middle of the street, a plainclothes police officer who was standing nearby taking a break gave her a slight nod. He then followed behind them at an unhurried pace.
Jiang Xia felt a little more at ease.
After eating breakfast at a small, modest restaurant and chatting for a while, they managed to kill time until a little past ten. Bighead finally led Jiang Xia toward the gambling den.
Gambling dens were a major target of police crackdowns. Everyone was afraid of leading a tail straight to the place, so Bighead had become even more vigilant. After turning into an alley, he repeatedly glanced over his shoulder to check whether anyone was following them.
The plainclothes officer who had been tailing them earlier had no choice but to turn into another alley.
Seeing him leave, Jiang Xia didn’t panic. She quietly dropped two five-pointed stars folded from plastic tubing as markers, then continued following Bighead as though nothing had happened.
After making seven or eight turns and taking several unnecessary detours, Bighead finally led Jiang Xia to a fairly large residential property.
It was an impressive traditional courtyard house, with spacious buildings. Faint shouts and excited voices could be heard coming from inside. The neighboring houses had their gates firmly shut, while two men stood guard at the entrance.
One of them clearly knew Bighead and immediately greeted him.
“Well, well, Bighead! Where have you been making your fortune? And who’s this girl you’ve brought along?”
“I’m so broke I can barely survive. What fortune are you talking about?”
Bighead shrugged and pulled out the cheap cigarettes he smoked from his pocket. He handed one to each of the two guards, then pointed at Jiang Xia.
“This is a new little sister of mine. She’s broke too, and she’s looking to find a way to earn enough to get by.”
“Ohhh…”
The lookout gave him a suggestive wink.
“She’s quite a pretty one. Sister Lan will definitely like her!”
“Yeah. No more chatting. I’m going to see Sister Lan.”
Bighead led Jiang Xia into the courtyard without encountering any resistance.
Sister Lan was a woman in her thirties who held considerable status in this gambling den.
She had previously worked as a prostitute operating outside the law and was now the mistress of Snake, the gambling den’s owner. Her main responsibilities were overseeing the establishment and using her old connections to procure women for the men there. This was how she made money while maintaining her own usefulness and position.
With the police cracking down so heavily on gambling dens, Sister Lan was extremely cautious. When she saw Bighead bringing a pretty young woman to her door, she didn’t let the excitement of having a promising new recruit cloud her judgment. Instead, she frowned and asked:
“Who’s this girl?”
“Ren Xuefang. She’s from Tongluo Alley on Changfu Street.”
Bighead explained Jiang Xia’s family circumstances, then added, “She’s really short of money. I’d appreciate it if you could find her some work, Sister Lan.”
Now that she had both the girl’s name and home address, Sister Lan felt considerably more reassured.
She carefully examined Jiang Xia, who stood awkwardly, nervously tugging at the hem of her clothes. A faint smile appeared at the corners of Sister Lan’s mouth. Then her gaze shifted to Bighead, whom she had barely paid any attention to until now.
“Well, I really have to thank you for this, brother.”
Sister Lan immediately took a ten-yuan banknote from her pocket. She took Bighead’s hand and placed the money in his palm, lightly brushing her thumb and index finger against him as she did so.
“This is just a little something from your big sister. Buy yourself a drink later.”
The flirtatious touch made Bighead’s heart itch, while the sight of the money practically dazzled him. He hurriedly pocketed it.
The little bit of conscience he had left prompted him to emphasize once more, “This girl doesn’t know anything at all, Sister Lan. Please go easy on her and teach her properly. If she really can’t manage it, just let her leave.”
“You don’t need to tell me that. I know what I’m doing.”
Anyone could say nice things, but once a girl came through the door, how could she possibly leave so easily?
Sister Lan had only taken in the first part of what Bighead said. Looking at Jiang Xia, the smile on her lips grew wider.
A respectable, innocent girl was exactly what she wanted. Such girls could be sold for a much higher price. There was no need to resort to force, either. That would be far too ugly. The big shots here had plenty of money, and a poor girl like this might never have even seen several hundred yuan in her entire life. Once she stepped inside and saw how things worked, she’d be hooked before she knew it.
“Xuefang, is that right?”
She gazed at Jiang Xia with a beaming smile, as though looking at a hen that could lay golden eggs.
“The work here isn’t difficult. You just serve the big brothers tea and water, shuffle and deal the cards, and keep them company while they play. We don’t have many other requirements. There’s just one rule: don’t make the big brothers angry.”
“Since you’re new, I won’t give you any difficult work at first. You’ll just serve tea and water and help with the cleaning. But you’ll need to work from twelve noon until ten at night. There’s a bed here, so you can rest right here after work. You’ll get one day off a week, and I’ll pay you sixty yuan a month. That’s twice what an ordinary worker earns. Not a bad deal, right?”
“Not bad.”
Jiang Xia lowered her head, clutching the hem of her clothes as though trying hard to conceal her uneasiness.
“But, Sister Lan, could I avoid working so late at first? I still have a lot of chores to take care of at home.”
“Hey, you… Forget it.”
Sister Lan frowned, looking somewhat displeased. But she quickly concealed it, putting on the appearance of someone who was quite reasonable.
“I’m softhearted, so I’ll let you leave at seven instead. But in that case, your salary will only be forty yuan.”
Jiang Xia visibly relaxed.
“That’s fine.”
“All right, then. Come with me.”
Sister Lan waved her hand and led Jiang Xia toward the main hall.
The main hall was extremely spacious, measuring roughly forty square meters or so. It contained eight tables and rattan chairs with backrests. The tables were covered with tablecloths, the walls had been painted, and no fewer than three incandescent bulbs had been installed overhead. The place was quite luxuriously furnished.
Perhaps the gamblers had played too late into the previous night. There weren’t many people here at the moment. Only two tables were occupied by people playing cards, with several others gathered around watching.
Platters of fruit had been placed on the tables, beer filled the glasses beside the players, and some people were even eating pork knuckles. When they saw Sister Lan leading a young woman inside, one of them immediately asked curiously:
“Well, well, Sister Lan! Who’s this new girl you’ve brought in?”
“That’s right.”
Sister Lan introduced her. “Her name is Xiaofang. She’s new here and doesn’t know how to do anything yet, so I’ll have her start with some cleaning.”
As she spoke, Sister Lan pointed at the sunflower seed shells scattered across the floor.
“Go sweep that up.”
Jiang Xia obediently replied, “All right, Sister Lan.”
She glanced around, found a broom and dustpan, and picked them up. Starting from the innermost part of the room, she slowly swept toward the entrance, all the while observing the people around her.
The gamblers at the two tables weren’t particularly old. Most appeared to be in their twenties or thirties. They all had rather fierce expressions and looked like tough characters. They were also gambling quite aggressively. Every player had a large pile of cash in front of them, with the smallest denominations being one-yuan notes. There was so much money that they couldn’t even hold it all in one hand.
They had access to this much cash and were gambling with it so casually. There was an eighty or ninety percent chance that these were the leaders of the various gangs.
However, although she’d memorized their faces, she still didn’t know which gangs they belonged to or what their names were.
But people playing cards never went without chatting. If she swept slowly and stayed nearby to listen for a while, she’d surely learn something.
With that in mind, Jiang Xia deliberately slowed down her cleaning.
Seeing Jiang Xia’s eyes unconsciously drifting toward the gambling tables, the smile at the corners of Sister Lan’s mouth deepened.
Jiang Xia continued sweeping at a leisurely pace, keeping her ears open to the gamblers’ conversation.
The people at both tables seemed completely absorbed in their games. For the time being, they weren’t interested in women. Even after hearing that a newcomer had arrived, they merely glanced up at her before returning to their cards and conversation.
“Straight flush! That’s a bomb! Pay up, pay up!”
“Big Cannon, your luck is incredible today! You’re going to make a fortune!”
“How could I compare with you, Brother Scar? You’ve got an entire gambling den under your control. Money practically pours in every single day…”
“You’re just flattering me. Sure, I’ve got a gambling den, but I’ve also got plenty of brothers there to look after it. Once the money’s divided up, there’s not much left for me.”
“Oh? Since when did Brother Scar start complaining about being poor?”
“Isn’t it because some idiots still don’t know their place and dare to fight back? They injured one of my men, and I ended up spending quite a bit on medical expenses.”
“Honestly! Why can’t those people ever learn their lesson?”
“Exactly! They’re just too greedy. Brother Tiger already laid down the rules, and everyone else has accepted them. Yet that Mad Dog over in the western part of the city still dared to launch a sneak attack behind our backs.”
“That’s right. Good thing Brother Tiger brought his men and crippled him…”
…
As Jiang Xia listened to their casual conversation, her movements suddenly slowed to a stop for a brief moment.
Brother Tiger? Laid down the rules?
There was a good chance this person was the ringleader of the vegetable racketeering gangs.
The threats against Captain Feng and the attack on her master were probably connected to him as well. He was the worst offender among them all. She absolutely had to bring him in.
But right now, all she knew was his nickname. She had no idea what he looked like.
Would he come to this gambling den?
If he didn’t… she’d have to find someone to ask about him.
<< _ >>