Opening a deck of three Aces poker.

Old Hei picked up a card, its back facing me.

He even deliberately covered the side with his other hand, as if afraid of revealing too much. He carefully asked me:

“You said you can recognize the Swindler’s poker, right? Tell me, what is this card?”

Old Hei, sturdy as a tower, looked menacing.

But his actions at this moment were as childish as a preschooler.

“Three of Spades…”

Old Hei was dumbfounded.

He checked back and forth, but still couldn’t see anything.

“How is that possible? Then what about this one?”

“Six of Diamonds!”

“This one?”

“Jack of Hearts!”

“And this one?”

“Are you done yet?”

This kind of behavior was utterly boring.

But Old Hei was now convinced that there was something wrong with these cards.

“Crack”

A crisp sound.

Once again, it startled both me and the supermarket owner.

The tempered glass surface on the counter was smashed by Old Hei’s punch.

“Hou Jun, I treated you like a brother, but you used the Swindler’s poker to trick me. Fuck you!”

Old Hei cursed loudly.

But after a few words, Old Hei immediately shook his head and muttered to himself:

“No, I can’t curse his mother, she’s a good person, I should call her aunt. I should curse his father, he and his father are both scumbags who drink, gamble, cheat, and swindle…”

The supermarket owner on the side had long been scared pale.

After all, he was also involved in this matter.

Knowing the poker, I thought Old Hei would definitely go berserk.

Go find Hou Jun, get the money back, and beat him up.

But unexpectedly, Old Hei fiddled with the poker for a while, and then sighed.

“Damn it, forget it, even if I go to ask for money, he won’t have any to give. For the sake of his mother, I’ll let him off this time. I was blind to treat this bastard like a brother. I won’t pay him back either. From now on, I’ll pretend I don’t know him…”

As he spoke, Old Hei pointed at the owner and said:

“And you, you’re no good either. Let me tell you, don’t even think about getting money for this glass and poker!”

I couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the side.

This was Old Hei.

Simple to the point of being silly, yet adorably so.

Coming out of the supermarket, Old Hei was downcast all the way.

He asked me how I could recognize the cards.

I just said that I had seen them before, and didn’t say much.

I was planning to go home, but he kept following me.

When I was almost home, he said he wanted to invite me for a drink.

But he had just paid off Hou Jun’s money today, and only had a little over a hundred left, and was afraid it wouldn’t be enough.

Looking at the somewhat embarrassed Old Hei, I said lightly:

“It’s okay, I have money, I can treat you!”

Old Hei thought for a moment.

Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and said:

“How could I forget that place. Come on, I’ll take you there, eat and drink as you please, it’s all free. But, I have to tell you in advance. There are a lot of gambling rounds there, you must not play. There are a lot of troublemakers inside…”

In Old Hei’s eyes, I was just a small gambler who happened to recognize the magic poker.

But that’s okay.

I can continue to test his character to see what it’s really like.

Among the Eight Generals of the Swindler Sect, apart from the “Promotion General” who is specifically responsible for persuading people to join the game, there is also a “Fire General”.

The role of the Fire General is similar to that of a killer or a thug.

When the Swindler techniques can’t solve the problem, force is needed.

At this time, it’s the “Fire General’s” turn to take action.

And Old Hei is very suitable for this role.

This is why I told him about Hou Jun’s cheating.

And also why I took leave to accompany him to recognize poker.

If I want to establish myself in the Swindler Sect and expand my territory.

Relying on me alone is not enough, I need helpers.

Old Hei is a good candidate.

The place Old Hei took me to was the old street in the central district.

Compared to the surrounding high-rise buildings, this place seemed a bit rundown.

Blue bricks and grey tiles, grey stone roads.

Walking into the street, the ordinary hustle and bustle immediately hit me.

The shouting, the cooking, the drinking and playing, the scolding of children.

From the narrow and gloomy tube buildings, it came out from time to time.

When Old Hei and I arrived at an old building with mottled traces of soot, Old Hei pointed inside and said:

“Here it is!”

Looking up, I saw three rusty characters on the roof: Chess and Card Room.

Entering the door was an open room.

The room was casually furnished with several dining tables and benches heavily stained with oil.

A dozen men were wolfing down their food around a few tables.

As soon as Old Hei arrived, someone from the kitchen behind poked their head out to greet him.

“Oh, isn’t this Old Hei? Haven’t seen you for a long time, where have you been making money?”

“Making money my ass, if I were making money, would I come here to scrounge for free food? Cook me a few dishes, I’m going to drink here today…”

We found a place to sit down.

Old Hei gave me a brief introduction to this place.

It turned out that Old Hei used to be a watcher here, but later found it too boring and quit.

Although the environment here is average, it’s famous in Harbin North.

Every day, just for Mahjong, there are hundreds of tables.

As for poker, Pai Gow, dice and other gambling rounds, there are also dozens of tables.

And the room where we were eating was specially prepared for gambling customers.

The kitchen is open 24 hours a day.

Eat and drink anytime, no charge.

According to Old Hei, many neighbors nearby don’t play cards, they just come here for free meals.

The boss also defaults, never driving people away.

As for the boss’s income, it’s the table fee.

For example, Mahjong, fifty per person, two hundred per table.

If you play bigger, the table fee is four hundred per table or more.

For poker, Pai Gow, dice rounds, there are special people to rake.

If the banker wins more than two thousand in one hand, rake five percent.

If it’s less than two thousand, don’t take a penny.

And the boss is very reasonable, only raking the banker, not the player.

I listened and marveled, and also did a simple calculation in my heart.

Even with this kind of chaotic management, the boss’s daily income won’t be less than fifty thousand.

Originally, Old Hei and I were planning to have a drink.

But after he said that, I lost the mood to drink.

I asked him to take me upstairs to have a look after he finished eating.

Although Old Hei agreed, he kept reminding me.

There are all kinds of people here, and swindlers often appear, so I should just watch and not play.

I thought to myself, a swindler?

Aren’t I a swindler?

After dinner.Following Old Hei, we climbed the shaky wooden stairs to the second floor.

At first glance, it was clear that Old Hei wasn’t lying.

Not to mention the hall and private rooms.

Even the corridors were filled with mahjong tables.

Poker and Pai Gow games were on the fourth floor.

By the time we got there, the entire fourth floor was already bustling with people, very lively.

Old Hei was quite well-known here.

People would occasionally greet him, some calling him Old Hei, others calling him Brother Hei.

Regardless of what they called him, one could feel.

These people held a certain degree of fear and respect for him.

The most interesting part was, after we made a round.

Old Hei had an extra four hundred yuan in his hand.

Someone who won as the banker had given him a red envelope.

When we reached the innermost poker game, Old Hei stopped.

The banker was originally shuffling the cards, but upon seeing Old Hei, he immediately greeted him with a big smile, saying:

“Isn’t this Brother Hei? Haven’t seen you for a long time. Want to place a few bets?”