Old Qian’s men, though they were all thugs and ruffians used to brawling and fighting,

had never witnessed a scene like this before.

Everyone was stunned into silence.

Even Old Qian himself had not anticipated such a turn of events.

Old Chef Zheng, who had been cornered at the street end,

upon seeing this, raised his blood-dripping cleaver,

his eyes bloodshot as he bellowed with raised arm:

“Brothers, our neighbors have come out to help us. We can’t be cowards, we can’t let down the old street. We can’t let our neighbors get dragged into this. If you’re a real man, fight back with me…”

In these street brawls,

morale is of utmost importance.

And Old Chef Zheng happened to be good at rallying it.

As soon as he finished speaking,

those who had been at a disadvantage immediately counterattacked.

The situation was swiftly reversed.

In this regard, I still have a measure of respect for Old Chef Zheng.

His card room restaurant

has been free for many years.

Whenever neighbors came to eat, he wouldn’t charge them a penny.

It was precisely because of this

that he won people’s hearts.

And today, he reaped the rewards.

Old Qian’s downfall was now inevitable.

Watching any further seemed pointless.

I had Old Hei drive me home.

On the way back, Old Hei asked me:

“Master Chu Liu, what should we do with the two million in the trunk?”

“That’s not ours, it needs to be returned!”

Old Hei was taken aback.

He thought I would pocket the two million.

Unexpectedly, I intended to return it proactively.

I didn’t explain to him.

Both Old Qian and Old Chef Zheng were in hot water.

If I pocketed the money,

both would surely come after me with a vengeance.

I looked at Old Hei and said indifferently:

“This amount of money is nothing. You have to believe that in the near future, we will have ten times, even more, money than this…”

Old Hei nodded with a smile.

He still believed in my words.

“Also, give your two friends twenty thousand each tomorrow. They’ve had a hard time with this affair too…”

Old Hei immediately shook his head and said:

“Master Chu Liu, there’s no need. Those two are like brothers to me, we don’t involve money in our relationship…”

I believe

Old Hei was telling the truth.

His relationship with those two brothers must be very good.

But he misunderstood one concept.

Money and friendship.

Once these two are confused,

the boat of friendship might truly capsize.

I explained to Old Hei:

“Old Hei, your thinking is wrong. Remember, if money can solve it, don’t owe favors. The clearer the money is with good friends, the longer the friendship will last…”

Old Hei was stunned for a moment,

then nodded thoughtfully.

But then he asked me:

“What about us?”

I looked out the window, smoking, and said:

“Our relationship is a partnership!”

A look of disappointment flashed across Old Hei’s face.

But I immediately added another sentence.

“Of course, we’re still brothers!”

Only then did Old Hei grin broadly.

Some people think

that a true Swindler must be cold-blooded and ruthless, disowning all kin.

Actually, that’s not true.

Of course, there are many Swindlers who disown all kin.

Master Liu once said

that those at the pinnacle of the Swindler Sect,

must have an open mind and a profound spirit.

They can be as fierce as a wrathful deity or as gentle as a merciful Buddha.

They can turn to demons or attain enlightenment.

Only in this way

can they create an unbreakable, earth-shattering scheme.

…

The brawl between Old Qian and Old Chef Zheng

caused quite a stir in Harbin North.

Later, it was the officials at the yamen who stepped in to resolve it.

As for how it was resolved, that’s not worth mentioning.

The next day, I returned the two million to Old Chef Zheng and Old Qian respectively.

I couldn’t keep that money.

Both of them had suffered heavy losses this time.

If I had kept the money,

they would definitely have come after me.

Once the money was delivered,

both were grateful to me.

Old Chef Zheng not only thanked me for helping him save the money,

but also for finding a safe place for the two people from Fengtian.

Although Old Qian also expressed his gratitude to me,

he was more preoccupied with cursing He Huan and Eagle Hook Nose.

Those two had run off with his two million.

He even considered putting out a secret bounty, determined to catch He Huan and Eagle Hook Nose.

A secret bounty,

refers to an underground reward offered by those in the underworld.

Although Old Qian said so, he was still reluctant to part with the money.

After a few harsh words, it seemed the matter would just fade away.

From this broken game, I made a total of two hundred thousand.

Old Qian and Old Chef Zheng each gave me fifty thousand.

I also won a hundred thousand at the table.

After deducting forty thousand for Old Hei’s friends and twenty thousand for Old Smoker Brother Zhu,

and some other expenses, I was left with one hundred and thirty thousand.

Plus the one hundred and forty thousand from dealing with Li Dabiao and Old Hei,

I now had a total of two hundred and seventy thousand in hand.

In a few days, it would be Su Mei’s birthday.

Before her birthday, I had to return her two hundred thousand.

Leaving Old Qian’s card room,

I didn’t call for a car, just strolled aimlessly along the street.

Thinking about how I should make money next.

I hadn’t walked far

when I saw a crowd gathered at the entrance of an alley.

They were forming a circle, incessantly shouting:

“Odd, odd, even, even…”

I had seen too many of these street gambling scams.

The Swindler Sect has Eight Generals,

divided into the Upper Eight and the Lower Eight.

These street scams

are mostly the work of the Lower Eight.

Ordinary members of the Swindler Sect do not recognize the Lower Eight,

considering them unorthodox and a disgrace to the Swindler Sect’s reputation.

I didn’t take it seriously and was about to continue walking.

But through a gap in the crowd,

I suddenly spotted a familiar object.

Its owner was squatting among the crowd.

I couldn’t see his face,

but the half-moon purple clay teapot in his hand was all too familiar.

And its owner was none other than Old Wu.

The last time at the casino, when Zou Xiaoxian let him go,

this old guy had played me for a fool.

I didn’t expect to run into him here today.

This time, I had to have a word with him.

As I approached,

I saw Old Wu squatting in front of the gambling stall,

clutching six or seven hundred yuan, intently watching the stall.

This gambling stall

was betting on odd or even.

The setup was simple, with a white cloth spread on the ground.

On it was placed a small porcelain dish.

The lid of the dish was made of a round piece of cardboard.

Beside it was a pile of sunflower seeds.

At the start of the game, the stall owner would randomly grab a few seeds, toss them into the dish,

then cover it, and have you guess odd or even.

Before the year 2000, this kind of street scam was common everywhere in the country.

There were those that guessed odd or even.

There were three cards, two black and one red.

Spades, Clubs, Hearts.

You had to guess which one was red.

There were similar games like “Three Immortals Enter the Cave,” guessing which bowl the ball was under.

There were also street marble games, specifically to swindle the elderly and children.

There were chess endgames, “Fight the Landlord” endgames.

You could say there was a wide variety, all sorts.

But they all boiled down to one word: scam.

When I arrived, the game had just ended.

The stall owner was cracking sunflower seeds while shouting:

“Bet big, win big, go home and swap for a Santana. Bet more, win more, trade your motorbike for a car. Pay attention, I’m starting now…”

Saying this,

he picked up three sunflower seeds, threw them into the dish,

covered it,

and started shouting again.

“Betting time, betting time. Bet on odd to win odd, bet on even to win even, bet on a wife to win a girl…”