PCJ – Chapter 218 Black eats black (Part 5)

Zhang Jiaohua walked away by himself. Ding Baogui repeatedly warned Zhang Jiaohua not to wander too far alone. Zhang Jiaohua naturally promised, but once he left the police station canteen, he ran off quickly. It would be foolish not to explore the town thoroughly on this rare trip to the county.

After running a short distance, he saw a crowd gathered around a place, which piqued his curiosity, so he joined them. It turned out to be a card trick game. There were three playing cards, one of which was an ace, and two were kings. It had a bit of a gambling nature. Each bet was at least ten cents. As long as you chose the ace, the dealer would pay you ten cents. The dealer’s hand seemed not too fast, appearing to be clearly visible.

Two men next to him were betting and had already won more than ten yuan from the dealer in no time.

The dealer sighed, “Today is really bad luck. I’ll stop after losing these twenty yuan.”

“Damao, you finally have a bad day, huh? Weren’t you arrogant when you were winning my money yesterday? Not so arrogant now, huh?” The young man betting patted the money in his hand forcefully and placed a five-yuan bill on one of the cards.

“Chen Sandou, don’t go too far!” Damao seemed anxious.

Zhang Jiaohua watched with great interest as Damao, Chen Sandou, and two other people performed. They were obviously in cahoots. They must often work together here, appearing to coordinate seamlessly. If Zhang Jiaohua were an ordinary person, he wouldn’t have noticed.

However, even knowing that the three were working together, Zhang Jiaohua took out a yuan from his pocket and placed it on one of the cards.

“Kid, don’t cause trouble here. Go home and drink your mom’s milk,” Chen Sandou glared at Zhang Jiaohua.

Zhang Jiaohua ignored him, “I’m just trying my luck. Mind your own business!”

Zhang Jiaohua was even fiercer than Chen Sandou. The learning ability of children is strong, and after staying in Xintian County for a short time, Zhang Jiaohua had adopted the local accent. Although the speech of Xintian differed slightly from that of Gezhu Town, it was still recognizable. Now, Zhang Jiaohua’s speech was almost indistinguishable from the local dialect.

Chen Sandou was stunned by Zhang Jiaohua’s fierceness and wondered where this unfamiliar kid came from.

“Whatever, as long as you don’t cry if you lose,” Chen Sandou said angrily. Although Zhang Jiaohua was just a kid, Chen Sandou wasn’t sure who his parents were and didn’t dare do anything to him. They were playing cards here just to make money, not to cause trouble. If they messed with someone’s kid, and the parents caught them, things could get ugly.

“Let him play, let him play,” Damao said nonchalantly.

“Put your money where your mouth is. If you want to bet, do it now. Don’t envy me when I win. Damao doesn’t have much money left,” Chen Sandou said loudly.

The onlookers had been watching for a while and hadn’t seen through Damao and Chen Sandou’s act. Instead, they were tempted by the money in Chen Sandou’s hands. They began to pull out dimes and pennies to place their bets.

Damao flipped a card and immediately smiled, “Sorry, Sandou, it’s your turn to lose. Oh, kid, you have good luck. You picked right, here’s your one yuan.”

Those who had bet a dime or two and lost didn’t feel too bad, but they did regret not following Zhang Jiaohua’s bet.

After winning a round, Damao’s dejected demeanor turned into elation.

“Damao, don’t be too proud. I didn’t look carefully just now and let you win a round. This time, I will win it back,” Chen Sandou said, placing another five-yuan bill on a card after Damao dealt.

“Kid, are you playing again?” Damao asked.

Zhang Jiaohua smiled and put his remaining two yuan on a different card than Chen Sandou’s.

Damao was taken aback, then laughed, “Kid, don’t cry if you lose!”

Some onlookers had considered following Zhang Jiaohua’s bet, but after Damao’s words, they quickly changed their bets to other cards.

However, once the cards were revealed, Zhang Jiaohua won another four yuan.

“Wow, this kid has a good eye.”

“Yeah, we should follow the kid’s bet next time to win back what we lost.”

Damao began to suspect that this kid could see through his tricks.

“Kid, where are your parents? You should go back before they worry,” Damao said, feigning concern.

Damao’s guilty behavior only strengthened the onlookers’ belief that Zhang Jiaohua could see through the dealer’s tricks.

“No way. They’ll be happy if they know I won money,” Zhang Jiaohua laughed.

Damao rolled his eyes, feeling relieved that the kid wasn’t really seeing through his tricks but just getting lucky.

“Hurry up. Stop dawdling. We’re waiting to bet!” The crowd urged.

Damao had no choice but to continue, speeding up his card shuffling to the maximum.

“Wow, his hands are so fast! I wonder if the kid can see clearly this time.”

“Yeah, it’s impossible to see clearly.”

Zhang Jiaohua, however, placed his entire four yuan on a card. Damao was delighted, saying, “Place your bets quickly.”

The crowd, though hesitant, placed their bets too. But they didn’t trust Zhang Jiaohua this time, thinking they had figured out Damao’s expression.

When the cards were revealed, they regretted not following Zhang Jiaohua, realizing they could have won.

Though Damao appeared to be winning, he knew most of the money was from his accomplice, Chen Sandou, with Zhang Jiaohua being the real winner. Reluctantly, he handed over the money to Zhang Jiaohua.

Damao signaled to Chen Sandou, who pretended to be frustrated, “Damn it, I should have stopped earlier. It’s no use; I’m going home.”

Damao then shuffled three new cards, moving faster and more skillfully than before.

“I’m all in. This is my last round as the dealer. Place your bets quickly!” Damao announced.

Their subtle actions didn’t escape Zhang Jiaohua’s keen eyes. He knew they were up to something but didn’t expose them. He placed his entire eight yuan on a card. This time, the crowd followed Zhang Jiaohua’s bet.

“No more bets! Revealing the cards now!” Damao shouted, signaling Chen Sandou, who had walked away.

“Police are coming! Run!” Chen Sandou yelled.

The crowd panicked, thinking they would be caught gambling. Many instinctively ran. Damao grabbed the money and bolted.

Damao stopped in an alley, panting, “Phew, finally shook off that brat. Almost got caught today.” He turned, expecting to see Chen Sandou, but it was Zhang Jiaohua instead.

“What are you doing here, kid?” Damao asked, teasingly.

“You took my money, didn’t you?” Zhang Jiaohua replied, feigning fear.

“You brat, because of you, I lost a lot today. You dare follow me? I’ll let it slide since you’re a kid. Get lost before I get angry!” Damao threatened.

“Then get angry!” Zhang Jiaohua smiled slyly.

Before Damao could react, he found himself lifted off the ground and thrown down hard. Struggling to breathe, he felt a small foot on his back and a hand rummaging through his pockets. The pressure on his back lifted, and when he looked around, there was no one in sight.

Terrified, Damao stumbled away from the alley.

Not far away, under a tree, Zhang Jiaohua sat counting money excitedly: “One, two, eight…”