Chapter 72.1: Going Undercover
This underground casino wasn’t particularly large. Even Sister Lan, who was practically a co-owner, couldn’t simply sit back and count money. She still had to come over and attend to the gamblers herself.
After arranging work for Jiang Xia, Sister Lan returned to her role as a dealer, distributing cards to the gamblers.
Every now and then, she would look up and glance at the newcomer.
Jiang Xia was diligently—perhaps a little too diligently—doing odd jobs.
Taking her time, she slowly swept the floor, carefully gathering up every bit of dirt. Then she moved on to cleaning the tables, emptying the cigarette butts from the ashtrays, scrubbing them clean, and bringing them back. After that, she repeatedly wiped down the tables with a rag, polishing everything from the tabletops to the legs until they gleamed. She even wiped down the rattan chairs, behaving as though she really were a cleaning lady.
As Sister Lan watched, her wariness gradually faded, replaced by the confidence that she could easily manipulate this girl.
Just as she thought. She was a newcomer, and they were all the same. At first, they worked so diligently, as though doing so could convince themselves that they were earning money through honest labor, doing legitimate work, and were still respectable, innocent people.
Heh.
A trace of mockery appeared in Sister Lan’s eyes.
Had the girl even stopped to think about where she was working? Where else could you earn forty yuan just for doing a little cleaning these days?
How long would it take to drag her into the muck?
Half a month? That was far too long. They needed to speed things up. A week at most. Several of the big brothers had already grown tired of the two girls working under her. They needed to give those men something fresh.
With that thought, Sister Lan casually flicked another card across the table.
…
Meanwhile, Jiang Xia carried the basin outside.
She poured the dirty water into the drainage ditch nearby, observing the courtyard as she did so and thinking over the situation.
A gathering place like a casino was bound to attract plenty of people. Given enough time, she could become acquainted with not only Brother Hu but also quite a few other criminals.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford to stay here for long.
After all, whether it was pickpockets, local thugs, or underground casinos, violence played an enormous role in all these criminal activities. There was no reason to believe things would be any different when it came to prostitution. On the contrary, their control over the prostitutes’ personal freedom and their use of violence and coercion would only be even more severe.
They hadn’t resorted to that yet. It was simply because she had only just arrived and seemed like someone who could be easily led astray. They could take things slowly, gently coaxing her in and eventually squeezing every last bit of use out of her.
But if she stayed much longer, these people would quickly employ all sorts of methods to lower her boundaries. Groping and taking liberties would be the least of her worries. If she encountered someone who tried to force himself on her, getting out of that situation would be very difficult.
After all, she couldn’t exactly stab another person to death, could she?
She was undercover, here to investigate the situation, not to become some big sister in the criminal underworld.
Three days.
Jiang Xia estimated that three days would be a relatively safe period.
She would prepare for both possibilities. Ideally, Brother Hu and his subordinates would show up. If they didn’t, she would still do her best to find out the location of Brother Hu’s territory and his approximate age. That way, she could search for him in the relevant area later.
Hmm… She also needed to think of a way to get out of here.
Getting in was easy enough. Leaving, however, wouldn’t be so simple.
After washing the basin, Jiang Xia drew another basin of water from the well. Just as she was about to wipe down the rattan chairs again, a young woman emerged from the side room.
The woman didn’t look much older than her, probably in her twenties. She seemed to have just woken up and was wearing nothing but a camisole and knee-length shorts. Her permed hair hung loosely and messily around her shoulders. Her eyes were half-closed, and traces of lipstick remained on her lips.
When she spotted Jiang Xia, who had suddenly appeared in the courtyard, the woman froze for a moment. Her expression gradually darkened, and she shot Jiang Xia a vicious glare before shuffling off toward the toilet in her slippers.
Hmm? That was some pretty obvious hostility.
Watching the woman’s retreating figure, Jiang Xia fell into thought.
She had a feeling this woman might come in handy later.
Inside the house, Sister Lan suddenly called out, “Xiaofang! Come over and pour Brother Wang some liquor!”
“Coming!”
Jiang Xia answered and carried the basin into the main room.
Following instructions, she went to the west room to fetch some beer, popped the cap off a bottle, and refilled Brother Wang’s empty glass.
The gamblers continued eating, drinking, and playing cards.
There was no clock in the main room, so Jiang Xia could only estimate the time by watching the shadows outside through the main entrance. It seemed that people had started arriving at the casino one after another around noon.
Among these people were not just gang leaders. Jiang Xia could tell at a glance that some were fellow pickpockets. There were also middlemen, high-end scalpers, black-market traders, and the like. Although they had different occupations, they all shared some very obvious characteristics.
First, they were all involved in illegal or criminal activities. Second, they were all quite wealthy. Even the poorest among them could casually pull a hundred yuan or more out of their pockets without giving it a second thought.
Quite a few people were betting at least ten yuan per round at the tables. A single bet was equivalent to more than ten days of Jiang Xia’s salary.
She had to admit, the sight was genuinely shocking.
Money here hardly seemed like money anymore. It was casually piled up on the tables in thick stacks, so tempting that even Jiang Xia couldn’t help entertaining thoughts of transferring some of that wealth elsewhere.
This environment really did have a way of distorting people’s values.
Suppressing those stray thoughts, Jiang Xia continued doing odd jobs while pricking up her ears to listen to their conversations.
She opened the Book of Life and Death in her system and began searching for useful information to record amid the calls of bets, the rattling of dice, and the gamblers’ idle chatter.
“Brother Zhao, you’ve made another fortune, haven’t you? Sold quite a few tickets, I bet?”
“Can’t complain. Just making a little money off the hard work of standing in line.”
This one’s a scalper who resells movie tickets. It’s a gray-market business, but not illegal. I’ll make a note of him, but put him at the very bottom of the list for now. I can deal with him later.
“Baldy, I heard you’ve got another batch of good stuff coming in. Got any gold? I’ll pay a high price for it.”
“Brother Li, if you’re asking, of course I’ve got some! I’ve got gold jewelry and small gold bars. Which would you like? Oh, right, I’ve also managed to get my hands on two brand-new radios from down south. Interested?”
“I’ll take everything. Have them delivered to my house tomorrow.”
“As expected of Brother Li! Generous as always!”
This one’s a market gang leader, and the other is a middleman. Looks like he’s also handling the disposal of stolen goods. Both need to be moved higher up the list. I’ll have them arrested together when the time comes.
“Old Shi, why haven’t you been pickpocketing on the big ships these past few days? Why have you been coming here to play cards instead?”
“Don’t even get me started. You guys have no idea! A while back, the railway police somehow developed the Third Eye of Erlang Shen. They rounded up every pickpocket on the train, from the small-time ones to the big shots! If I hadn’t been quick enough to hide, and happened to get off as soon as the train reached the station, I’d have ended up in the police station too! I’d better take a few more days off and see how things go before heading back.”
Uh, this is one of the pickpockets she encountered on the train.
Obviously, Jiang Xia remembered him, but he had absolutely no idea she even existed.
I’ll make a note of him too. That way, I can send this escaped fish to the police station for a nice cup of tea.
“Dalong, weren’t you supposed to be watching over your territory yesterday? Why didn’t you go today? Why are you here playing cards?”
“I finished watching over it this morning. Staying at home is too boring. Playing cards here is much more fun. Come on, it’s my treat! Freshly fried crispy chicken!”
“Now that’s what I call a generous brother! Looks like I’m in for a treat!”
This one’s probably a gang leader who controls a vegetable market. I’ll put him right at the top of the list. I need to listen more closely to his conversations with his friends.
Captain Feng’s investigation over the past few days hadn’t been fruitless. He and his team had mapped out the number and locations of street-side vegetable stalls across the city, identified most of the lower-ranking gang members, and gathered information on some of the more prominent gang leaders, including their appearances, approximate ages, and nicknames.
Jiang Xia had stayed up late the previous night memorizing all that information. Now, as she listened to these people chatting casually, she was quickly able to identify them based on the street names and nicknames they mentioned. Even those who hadn’t shown up were now at least familiar names to her.
Looking at the steadily growing list in her Book of Life and Death, Jiang Xia was quite pleased.
There were forty-one street-side vegetable markets of various sizes in the city. Considering that some gangs might control more than one street market, the total number of gangs was probably somewhere between twenty and thirty, perhaps even fewer.
Yet in just a few hours here, she had already encountered four gang leaders and more than ten core members. She had also confirmed the nicknames of the leaders of seven different gangs. That meant she had gathered information on roughly a quarter of them in one go, not to mention all the additional discoveries.
This trip had definitely been worthwhile!
If she stayed here a little longer, she was bound to find even more!
Jiang Xia threw herself into her cleaning duties with even greater enthusiasm.
As time passed, more and more people arrived at the casino.
Quite a few of them noticed Jiang Xia hard at work as soon as they walked in.
“Well, well! Is that a new girl? She’s quite pretty.”
“Yep, she’s new. Goes by Xiaofang.”
Sister Lan looked up. “Behave yourself. Don’t go scaring her off.”
“I know, Sister Lan. Do you really think I don’t understand the rules?”
The big brothers hadn’t even picked anyone yet. What made them think it was their turn?
But once their turn came… Heh heh.
The man stared at Jiang Xia with a leering smile. After watching her for quite a while, he finally ordered, “Xiaofang, go get me a bottle of beer.”
Suppressing the urge to crack the bottle over the man’s head, Jiang Xia went to the cabinet in the west room and brought back two bottles of beer.
The young woman Jiang Xia had spotted earlier near the entrance to the east room now walked inside.
In the meantime, she had already freshened up and dressed herself. Her long hair, red lips, and bright red dress gave her the look of a Hong Kong or Taiwanese celebrity.
As soon as she entered, she instinctively covered her nose.
“Good grief, the cigarette smoke is so thick in here, and it’s so hot! Sister Lan, why haven’t you turned on the fans?”
“Can’t you see I’m busy?”
Sister Lan replied irritably. “You’ve got hands of your own. Turn them on yourself!”
“Hmph.”
The young woman snorted in displeasure and walked over to the wall, switching on the two large ceiling fans.
“Xiaoli, you’re finally here!”
The moment he saw the young woman, one of the big brothers immediately called out, “Come sit over here with your big brother! I’ve been waiting for your lucky hands.”
“Oh, Brother Chen! Who could possibly have better luck than you?”
Xiaoli swayed her hips as she spoke in a sugary voice, then walked over and leaned against him.
Before long, another young woman entered the room.
Jiang Xia went to fetch more drinks. By the time she returned, the woman was already there. She heard the others call her Xiaoyue. Dressed much like Xiaoli, she took a seat at another table when someone called her over and began shuffling the cards.
When Jiang Xia went over to pour the drinks, she clearly saw the man sitting beside her place his hand directly on her thigh. Yet the woman didn’t seem to mind at all.
After another while of playing cards, a middle-aged man arrived in the courtyard, carrying a food container in his hand. Standing at the doorway, he called into the room.
“A’Lan, I’ve brought you some food. Come out and eat first. I’ll take over here.”
“All right.”
Sister Lan replied. She got up from the table, still wearing a smile, but the exhaustion between her brows was impossible to hide. The moment she reached the doorway, she couldn’t help letting out a yawn.
Taking the food container from her lover, Sister Lan turned around and called to Jiang Xia.
“Xiaofang, take a break from work for now. Come outside and have something to eat with me.”
“Okay, Sister Lan!”
As soon as the woman called her, Jiang Xia immediately pretended to look a little overwhelmed by the environment and hurried outside.
Sister Lan led Jiang Xia into the west room.
Even before the food container was opened, the aroma of roast duck was already escaping through the gaps.
Once the lid was lifted, neatly sliced pieces of duck were revealed, laid out across a plate. The skin was golden, crispy, and glistening with oil. Beside it were thin pancakes, shredded scallions, and a small dish of dipping sauce.
This roast duck looked pretty well made. It must have been prepared by a professional chef.
Jiang Xia sniffed the air. Remembering the character she was supposed to be playing, she stared at the slices of roast duck and swallowed involuntarily.
Seeing how she looked as though she rarely got to eat anything good, Sister Lan’s smile grew even wider.
She picked up two pairs of chopsticks and placed one directly in front of Jiang Xia.
“You’ve been working all this time. You must be exhausted. Come, have some with me.”
Jiang Xia stared longingly at the duck but verbally declined. “Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”
“What’s inappropriate about it?”
Sister Lan simply pushed the chopsticks into Jiang Xia’s hand.
“I’m already sick of eating this duck. I can’t finish it all, and it’ll spoil if we leave it overnight. Just think of it as helping me avoid wasting food.”
“Oh…”
Jiang Xia hesitantly picked up a piece of duck. Without dipping it in the sauce, she carefully took a small bite from the edge to taste it.
Good. No strange taste. It was safe to eat.
Reassured, she stuffed the entire piece into her mouth and swallowed it in one go, like Zhu Bajie eating the ginseng fruit.
“Slow down. There’s no need to rush.”
Sister Lan also picked up a piece of duck, but when she saw its greasy, fatty skin, a trace of distaste involuntarily appeared in her eyes. She took just half a bite of the lean meat, then glanced at Jiang Xia, who was wolfing down her food. Her voice was gentle, but her words carried an unmistakable hint.
“This duck isn’t even expensive. It only costs 3.7 yuan. If you accompany one of the big brothers at the table for a round of cards, the tip he gives you might be enough to buy several of these.”
Jiang Xia’s movements paused for a moment. She didn’t answer, but the speed at which she ate visibly slowed.
Seeing her reaction, Sister Lan knew not to push any further.
There was still time. No need to rush.
“I’ve lost my appetite. You go ahead and eat.”
It was hot, and Sister Lan genuinely had no desire to eat something as greasy as roast duck. She put down her chopsticks and stood up.
“I’m going to take a nap. Come wake me up in two hours.”
As soon as she left, Jiang Xia immediately stopped eating too.
This roast duck was far too greasy. Someone who hadn’t eaten meat in a long time might love it, but Jiang Xia certainly wasn’t short of meat. The first bite had been an explosion of flavor, the second was still pretty good, but by the third, she was already sick of it. And yet, despite being unable to stomach any more, she still had to pretend to enjoy it and force herself to eat. It was truly torturous.
She chewed on a few scallions to get rid of the greasy aftertaste, rested for a while, then returned to the main room to diligently clean while keeping her ears open for useful information.
As time slowly passed, the later it got, the more people arrived. There clearly weren’t enough tables and chairs in the room anymore. Sister Lan’s lover—the casino owner himself—came out and dragged another table over from beside the wall. Once he set out some chairs, they had room for several more tables.
Jiang Xia happily added every one of the newcomers to her list.
Don’t worry. Not a single one of you is getting away!
As the afternoon wore on, the crowd grew larger and larger.
Clearly, nighttime was when people really gathered. If she stayed longer, she might even spot a few bigger fish. But Jiang Xia knew that if she stayed, she wouldn’t be able to leave.
She couldn’t afford to get greedy. The most important thing now was to get the information she had gathered into the hands of the police.
Seeing that the sun was already sinking toward the west, Jiang Xia walked into the main room and found Sister Lan.
“Sister Lan, it’s already past seven. I need to head home.”
“You’re leaving just when I’m short-handed… Ah, forget it. I’ll walk this young lady out first.”
Sister Lan temporarily put down the cards in her hand and explained the situation to the few gamblers at the table. Then she stood up and headed outside.
“Come with me.”
Jiang Xia followed her out. At the card table nearby, two men who were clearly members of a vegetable-market gang were still chatting.
“Pair of sevens. Old Ghost, what has Brother Hu been busy with lately? We haven’t seen him for several days. The brothers are all waiting for him to come out and have some fun.”
“Pair of tens. What else? The cops are investigating. But things should be more or less settled soon. Brother Hu will probably have time to come over tomorrow or the day after.”
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