Chapter 398: Underground Casino

I stayed at the Douqu Hall.

That evening, Wen Han came over with the boss.

When Wen Han saw me, he asked, "Brother Jianqiang, how's it going staying here? Do they all listen to you?"

"Ah, younger brother Wen, what can I say? I just need a place to stay, and you want me to manage them? For that, just have Xiao Yan do it," I told Wen Han.

"Brother Jianqiang, with your ability, you manage a big Group Company; can you not manage this tiny Douqu Hall with only a few people?"

Hearing Wen Han say that, I laughed.

"Younger brother Wen, don't make fun of me. You said you'd take me to meet someone.

I don't know who I'm supposed to meet," I asked.

"You'll know when we get there," Wen Han waved his hand at me,

and then left.

I hurried after him.

After stepping out of the narrow alley,

the boss said to me, "I'll drive with the money, you drive with the bags. Xiao Yan has everything ready."

Sure enough, Xiao Yan had already prepared a dozen or so bags in the front yard.

Since the car couldn't enter the alley, we had to shuttle the bags to the car one by by.

The bags were heavy; the weight in my hands felt like money.

I had no idea what Wen Han intended to do with so much cash.

After we loaded the bags onto the car,

I drove and followed the boss's car.

His car weaved continuously through the bustling Sijiucheng.

Soon we arrived in front of a Chinese‑style villa.

At the villa's entrance, after the boss and Wen Han got out, a server immediately came to fetch the car and park it.

Just as my car stopped, someone came over,

"Sir, please follow me."

I got out of the car and followed the server into a room.

Soon, the server brought the bags I was holding inside.

Then they opened the bags,

which were filled with red bills.

They counted the bills very seriously.

"A total of thirty million, sir; these are chip cards," one of them said to me.

I took a packet of plastic cards.

Thirty million turned into a small packet of cards.

The server said, "Please follow me."

I thought to myself, what are these thirty‑million cards for? Is it a cricket‑fighting bet? It should be at the Douqu Hall; that's Wen Han's turf. Why did he come here?

I don't know.

Soon, guided by the server, I entered the villa's courtyard.

The courtyard was filled with Chinese architecture, antique and elegant.

There were many people inside, and I suddenly recognized a few familiar figures—top domestic celebrities.

Both male and female stars. What are they doing here, filming a movie? I glanced at them, and they chatted and laughed as if nothing were happening.

The server quickly led me to the villa's main hall.

As soon as I entered, I saw many slot machines in the hall.

Some were inserting coins, others shouting with joy.

I instantly understood; this was an Underground Casino in Sijiucheng.

What did Wen Han bring me here for?

Passing through the slot machines,

inside were all kinds of gambling tables—some playing Zha Jin Hua, others playing Blackjack,

each table surrounded by people, all concentrating on the cards in their hands.

Just as I looked around searching for Wen Han,

the boss came over and patted my shoulder,

"Mr. Zhao, this way."

I said, "Where is Mr. Wen?"

"Mr. Wen is waiting for you in the VIP lounge on the second floor. Have you exchanged the money for chips?"

"All exchanged. They're all in the bag," I said.

"Alright, follow me," the boss's plump body moved swiftly.

I followed behind him, and soon we reached the VIP lounge on the second floor.

The so‑called VIP lounge was just a series of private rooms.

Each had a guard at the door.

They required careful inspection of IDs and a scan on a device before entry.

Damn, the management is strict.

The boss arrived at the largest private room at the far east end.

The guard glanced at that boss, then hurriedly opened the door: "That boss, please come in."

That boss said to the guard: "This is Mr. Zhao, a friend of our Second Master Wen."

The guard glanced at me,

"Good, good, please come in."

I then followed that boss into the large private room.

This private room is really large, about over a hundred square meters.

In the center stood a huge gambling table.

Around it sat several players.

Wen Han was also sitting in a seat,

I walked over and placed the chips in front of him,

He nodded,

I then hurriedly moved away from his side, because no one is allowed to stand beside the players.

I and that boss stood not far from the gambling table, watching them play cards.

I quietly asked that boss: "What are they playing?"

"Baccarat," said the boss.

I nodded, then said nothing more; to be honest, I don't really understand gambling.

I originally didn't like this either.

I think that once a person gets involved in gambling, his life is basically over.

This gambling habit is the most harmful; it often leads to losing everything and ruin.

Shi Yong likes to play; he once took me to an underground casino in Zaocheng, once or twice, but I felt uncomfortable there and never went back.

Over these years, Shi Yong has been hanging out with me, and all the money he earned has been lost in the casino.

I told him, but he wouldn't listen.

I looked at the table; some were slowly looking at their cards, others were throwing chips onto the gambling table.

One chip equals one million. I exchanged for these, and I know that.

That means the starting bet is one million.

One can imagine how much was won or lost after this round.

Since we were somewhat far from Wen Han, we couldn't see what cards he held.

All we saw was him occasionally adding chips to the gambling table.

The boss looked at the gaming table and said to me: "Mr. Zhao, later we'll go downstairs for a little play. The stakes downstairs are small. We can have some fun, no less than cricket fighting."

I said: "Mr. Wen is here; we can't just leave arbitrarily, we still need to protect him."

"Right, I misspoke," the boss hastily said.

Time passed second by second; I and that boss could only smoke to kill time.

After about two cigarettes,

Wen Han stood up,

left the gambling table; this round was over.

"Boss, tidy up the chips," Wen Han said.

The boss hurried over and put the chips into the bag.

I walked toward Wen Han,

"How is it, Mr. Wen?"

"Brother Jianqiang, let's play a little; I lost over ten million. Do you want to play? The boss has chips there; try your luck. I'll go there to smoke and rest." Wen Han said.

"Mr. Wen, to be honest, I don't know how to play these games," I said.

"Then what do you like to play? Here we have everything—Flush, Fight the Landlord, mahjong, dice, Pai Gow—whatever you know, they can accompany you." Wen Han said.

"I don't know any of those either; I know how to play chess."

"Hahaha, all right, Brother Jianqiang, you still need to study well in Sijiucheng. Here, nobody doesn't know how to play."

"Mr. Wen, we didn't come here just to play, did we?" I asked.

"Don't rush; we're waiting for someone. He'll be here soon." Wen Han said.

"Who are we waiting for?"

"You'll find out soon." Wen Han said.

Just then, the boss came over carrying the chip bag,

"Boss, go play for a while; see how your luck is." Wen Han said to the boss.

The boss happily took the chip bag onto the gambling table.

Wen Han then said to me: "Brother Jianqiang, go over there and have two drinks."

Wen Han then snapped his fingers, and a waiter quickly came over,

"Sir, what can I do for you?"

"Two glasses of Lafite." Wen Han instructed the waiter.