Yu Shu found the Mingyuan Casino on the west street of Autumn Osmanthus Lane. It was a two-story building, but it wasn't as grand as she had imagined it to be. However, the signboard was bigger than the other casinos on the street. Only one of the three doors was open, and there was an oily yellow leather curtain hanging from the outside with the word "gambling" clearly written on it.
As soon as Yu Shu entered, she was hit by the sour smell of sweat. The hall was filled with the noise of people talking and gambling. It was autumn in September, but there were people who were shirtless, revealing their fat back. Yu Shu was sick of the smell, so she resisted the urge to turn around and leave. She quickly searched the hall and found a man who was drinking tea alone in an inconspicuous corner. He looked like a manager, so she avoided the crowd and walked towards him.
When she got closer, she saw that the man had a scar on his face, from the left side of his forehead to the side of his nose. It looked a bit ugly, but the strange thing was that this man didn't look fierce. He was around 30 years old and looked very calm. Yu Shu stopped and went forward to talk to him: "Brother, may I ask who are you looking for to pay the rent for a divination stall in Autumn Osmanthus Lane?"
The scar-faced man raised his head and glanced at her, but didn't answer. He reached out and waved somewhere else. Soon, a tall and strong man ran over. Yu Shu recognized him as the head of the local gangsters who smashed her stall yesterday. He had the same face. Yesterday, he looked fierce, but now he had a smile on his face. "Brother Hai, what can I do for you?" The scarred man pointed at Yu Shu. The bully turned his head and looked at Yu Shu. He didn't answer and just waved his hand. Soon, a tall man ran over. When Yu Shu saw him, she recognized him as the bully who smashed her stall yesterday. He had the same fierce face yesterday, but now he had a smile on his face: "Brother Hai, what can I do for you?"
The scarred man waved his hand. The bully looked at Yu Shu and said: "Come with me."
Yu Shu first thanked the knife-scarred man before leaving with him. The two of them squeezed to the side of the casino counter. The leader of the local gangsters placed one hand on the counter and said to Yu Shu with a fierce face, "Did you bring the money?"
"I've brought it." Although Yu Shu was still angry at the ruffian, she didn't show it on her face. She took out an ingot of silver she had prepared earlier and handed it over.
He weighed it in his hand twice, then passed it to the waiter sitting behind the counter and said, "The piece of land in front of Old Sun's tavern is for this half a month."
The waiter took the money and immediately wrote on a piece of paper. He handed it to Yu Shu and took out a small piece of paper.
When the plate of cinnabar was placed on the table, Yu Shu looked at the piece of paper with the words, "In front of Sun's Tavern, September 15 and five taels" written on it. She didn't understand what it meant. The head ruffian impatiently urged, "What are you staring at? Sign your name and leave your fingerprint. ,,,
Yu Shu didn't understand and asked, "What's this for?" She didn't know what this was for, so how could she just casually sign it? What if she sold her out?
"I'm asking you to sign it, so hurry up and sign it. Why are you talking so much nonsense!"
The head ruffian shouted at Yu Shu. Yu Shu tilted her head to avoid his spit. She sneered inwardly. Sooner or later, she would give him two slaps to vent her anger. She then went to ask the waiter who was doing the accounting.
The waiter was quite easy to talk to. When he heard her question, he explained, "Write your name at the bottom and leave your fingerprint. That piece of land will be rented to you. If anyone tries to snatch your territory, just bring this note to our Evergreen Gang. I guarantee that you won't be at a disadvantage. Remember to pay the rent next month, otherwise this note will be invalid."
When Yu Shu heard his explanation, she was quite surprised. She originally thought that the protection fee was for nothing. But now, it seems that it was quite useful. At least, she didn't have to worry about others snatching her territory.
After Yu Shu signed the note, the head ruffian left. She didn't rush to leave. Instead, she asked the waiter about the scar-faced man who was drinking tea in the corner. The waiter was probably bored sitting at the counter early in the morning, so when he heard someone talking, he was happy to chat.
From the waiter, Yu Shu found out that the scar-faced man had a powerful background. He was the vice leader of the Evergreen Gang. Today, he came down to patrol and coincidentally ran into Yu Shu. This person's surname was Xu. Previously, Yu Shu heard the head ruffian call him Brother Hai. His real name was Ceng Hai. Listening to the waiter's respectful tone, Ceng Hai had been practicing martial arts for many years. He was skilled in martial arts and was a martial artist. No wonder when she saw him sitting calmly, he must have the confidence of a martial artist.
Yu Shu wasn't interested in Beaver Hai. She just wanted to understand the strength of the Evergreen Gang. She asked enough questions and was afraid that the waiter would notice something, so she changed the topic.
"Little brother, where is the Yi District? I want to try my hand." It wasn't that her hands were itchy, but the five taels of silver that she had to pay for half a month made her heart ache. She couldn't defeat the evil forces, but she could at least be self-sufficient and win back the protection fees for the next month.
When the waiter heard this, he laughed, "Brother, you must be someone from outside the capital. You haven't been here for long. There's no place in the south of the city that dares to gamble openly."
Yu Shu was surprised, "Why is it that people are not allowed to gamble in An Ling?"
It can't be. She always thought that the bigger gambling houses would have gambling houses. There was no rule in Yiyang City that forbids people from gambling.
The waiter said, "It's not the whole of An Ling. It's just that the south of the city is not allowed, but the north of the city is allowed. If you want to gamble, you have to go to the north."
Yu Shu had a strange look on her face, "What's going on? Why is it not allowed in the south of the city, but allowed in the north?"
The waiter said, "We have a saying in the capital. You haven't heard of it, right?"
Yu Shu cupped her hands and said, "Please enlighten me."
"It says that there is a Qianyuan Road that separates the south and the north. The three religions and the nine streams converge in the south of the city, and the wealth and glory gather in the north."
It was not difficult to understand this saying. This was the first time that Yu Shu heard of it. She felt that it was interesting. Just when she was about to ask the waiter to tell her more about An Ling, she heard a shout behind her, "Xiao Qi, why are you slacking off again? Hurry up and settle the bill!
”
After being caught, the waiter called Xiao Qi was too embarrassed to continue chatting with Yu Shu. He pretended to be busy and whispered to her, "Okay, I have to work now. You can go and do your work. Since we've been talking for so long, let me remind you that there are actually gambling places in the south of the city. However, they are not in the open. Our Evergreen Gang has an underground place. However, if you don't have a hundred or eighty taels of silver, I advise you not to gamble there. You will lose more than you earn. Take it easy and live a good life."
When Yu Shu heard this kind advice, she thanked him and left. Before she left, she looked at the corner where Master Zhai was sitting. However, he was nowhere to be seen.
After Yu Shu left Mingyuan Casino, she quickly walked through the alleys and arrived at the street where Sun Ji's Tavern was located. Before she reached it, she saw through the crowd that her little divination stall was surrounded by four people, both men and women. They blocked Jing Chen's figure, and she couldn't see him. Thinking that something had happened, she hurriedly ran over.
"Jing Chen."
As soon as Jing Chen heard Yu Shu's voice, he stood up. When he saw that she had a worried expression on her face, she squeezed through the crowd and approached him. The uneasiness that he had felt earlier immediately disappeared. He waved his hand at her to indicate that he was fine.
When the people in front of the stall saw that Yu Shu and Jing Chen knew each other, a clever-looking girl asked in a crisp voice, "You must be Mr Yu. Young Master Jing said that this is your divination stall. We've been waiting for a long time. You're finally here. Please help me with my divination first." ,,
Before Yu Shu could figure out what was going on, she heard the girl say that she wanted to have her fortune read. It was rare to see a customer. Her heart was filled with joy. She quickly smiled and replied, "Okay.
She gave Jing Chen a look that said 'we'll talk later'. Then, she walked around to the back of the stall and sat down. With a pleasant expression, she asked, "Miss, what's your surname?"
"My surname is Zhou."
"Miss Zhou, what do you want to know?"
"Can you tell me which day of the next month is a good day? My mother and brother are going back to their hometown."
There was a saying that people should first look at the yellow calendar before going out. However, this saying was meant for modern people. In ancient times, the yellow calendar was only used by the emperor's family. If ordinary people wanted to choose an auspicious day to do things and avoid disasters, they would have to ask for divination. For example, moving house, meeting friends, burying people, getting married, etc.
"Very well, wait a moment, I'll give you a palm."
Yu Shu was not very good at arranging the calendar, but she knew enough. She let Jing Chen help her grind the ink, and then she picked up the brush to do the divination. Before she finished writing, she heard Miss Zhou's snickering. Following her gaze, she saw several pieces of paper with Jing Chen's handwriting on it. She looked at her own 'dog crawling' handwriting and knew what Miss Zhou was laughing at. However, she was not angry. Instead, she laughed and said, "Miss, please don't laugh at my ugly handwriting. This brother of mine is handsome, so his handwriting is beautiful.
I am a bit ugly, so naturally my handwriting is ugly. "Miss Zhou was initially embarrassed by what Yu Shu had said, but as she listened to Yu Shu's crooked reasoning, she was amused, just like the people around her. She raised her head and looked at Yu Shu. The youth in front of her had a round forehead and long eyebrows, a straight nose and bright eyes; he looked very amiable. How could he be called ugly? He was just not as handsome as the people around him.
Jing Chen looked at how Yu Shu was able to make the young lady laugh with just a few words, and how she handled the situation with ease; he could not help but admire her.
Yu Shu only joked with the young lady for a while before she started to calculate seriously. About the time needed to drink a cup of tea later, she put down her brush and said to Miss Zhou, "The third, fifth and eleventh of the next month are all good days to visit relatives. May I ask your mother and your brother, what is their zodiac sign?"
Miss Zhou did not know the reason behind Yu Shu's question, but she still cooperated and told her, "My father is Xiao Niu, my brother is Xiao Ji."
Yu Shu reached out her hand and drew a line on the paper. She said, "Then the fifth. On the third day you rush the evil ox, on the eleventh day you rush the chicken, and on the fifth day you rush the best."
Miss Zhou nodded and did not hesitate. "Thank you for your trouble. How much is it?"
This was the first time since Yu Shu set up her stall in Autumn Osmanthus Lane that someone asked for money. Yu Shu was not stupid enough to say, 'I don't need to pay if I can't calculate it.' She quickly compared the market price and said, "You are the first customer today. Fifty copper coins will be enough."
In other places, it was one dime of silver, but when it came to Yu Shu, it was reduced by half. As soon as Miss Zhou heard that it was cheap, she happily counted half a string of copper coins and placed it on the table. She looked at Jing Chen again before she left in satisfaction.
Yu Shu looked at the money on the table and her eyes almost turned red. After enduring for so many days, she finally made a profit. She happily turned her head to look at Jing Chen, who had just helped her get her first business. She thought that this fellow was really good at attracting money. It seemed that Ji Du Xing's divination was not so bad that there was no cure for it.
Suddenly, Yu Shu's smile froze. She stared at Jing Chen and suddenly remembered something. She pressed the table and stood up. She stood on tiptoe and looked at Miss Zhou, who was about to disappear. After saying that, she anxiously chased after her, "Jing Chen, you look after her first, I'll be back soon."
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