Chapter 51

In the morning, Enio and a few friends met at the doorway of his home, their faces beaming with smiles from the heart.

Yesterday they pulled off two deals, and counting the commission, they had eleven dollars. It seemed like eleven dollars wasn't much.

But one must know that during this period, those illegal immigrants renting others' work cards could only keep a dozen or so dollars in actual income for themselves.

Add a little more, and this was already equivalent to an illegal immigrant's monthly income, but they had only used one day's time.

To be precise, it was one afternoon's time.

This speed of making money made people's eyes turn red.

Lansi paid them in cash on the spot, with all commissions distributed directly, which could better stimulate them to work for him.

There is nothing in this world that cannot be driven by profit; if there is, it can only be said that the profit you invested is too little.

Eleven dollars was enough for these young immigrants with no proper jobs to work hard for him.

Enio handed out cigarettes to his little buddies. He bought twenty-five-cent packs of cigarettes today; usually, they bought those ordinary handmade rolled cigarettes.

Not only were they choking, but they also left teeth very yellow after smoking. These small-packaged cigarettes were different; not only were they not as choking, but the teeth wouldn't turn too yellow either.

During this period, it was all raw tobacco; flue-cured tobacco had not yet faced the general public, mainly because the market for women smoking was not yet large enough, and cigarette companies had not yet noticed the female consumers who were brewing.

When women linked smoking with the struggle for women's rights, cigarette companies would start to find ways to get more women to start smoking.

But for now, they hadn't thought of it.

Several young people stood at the street corner puffing away; passersby would take the initiative to go around them at a distance. This behavior was actually a form of resistance, or even disdain, toward these people.

But to the young people, they felt this was "powerful" and "cool."

This area was inhabited by imperial immigrants, so most people knew something about the neighbors living nearby. While these people were chatting about whose family might need to borrow money, a small person named Mo Lisi, who hadn't spoken, suddenly said, "I know a place where there must be many people who need to borrow money."

Mo Lisi was not tall, probably only about one meter five, including the height of his shoes. Although he was only seventeen, even if he could grow a bit more later, he probably wouldn't be too tall.

He looked typically malnourished, his hair was somewhat yellow, and he wore an old-fashioned duckbill cap. The clothes on his body were also leftovers from his older brother, washed until they were white.

Enio suddenly perked up. After his father came to the Federation, he divorced his mother, and now he lived with his father.

He had no gratitude for this old man; instead, he felt some resentment because his father had a violent tendency—he only knew how to be violent toward his family.

He worked at a sales company with a base salary of only twenty dollars a month, and this base salary could only be obtained after completing at least one order.

Then, for every additional item sold that month, he could earn an extra portion of income from it.

Once, his mother had persuaded his father to find a job with a higher and more stable income, such as a worker on an assembly line.

The income was high, there was a union to take care of him so he wouldn't be bullied, and the family's income could also be more comfortable.

But his father believed this was a stifling of his future possibilities. He always felt that he would become a sales champion and then own his own office, his own company, and even have his own brand in the future.

After obtaining his federal permanent residence card, he read too many inspirational books about sales creating myths. He believed he was the next lucky person to become a superior through sales, even though many times the only order he sold each month was one he bought himself.

Whoever asked him to change jobs was cutting off his future, and he would turn hostile!

To promote these products, he gave up all his dignity. He didn't care about others saying nasty things, nor did he care if anyone spat in his face.

Trying every possible way to introduce his products and finding ways to sell things was the only flash of light in his life, and even his existence.

He looked like a coward outside whom everyone could bully, but back home, he was the devil of the house. He had a poor tolerance for alcohol and would get drunk after one glass.

Once drunk, he would take his belt and whip his wife to vent the negative emotions suppressed at work, which was also the main reason for their divorce.

He always beat that woman in front of Enio. It wasn't necessarily that he did it on purpose; it might also be that the apartment they lived in was too small, and there was nowhere to hide.

In short, his father once got too drunk, stripped her naked, hung her up, and whipped her, after which the woman took her things and left overnight.

They were married in the Empire, but in the Federation, they were not registered, so from a certain perspective, they were not husband and wife in the Federation.

After the woman left, Enio's father shifted his target for venting onto him. At first, when he was young, he could only be beaten passively, but now that he was older, he would run away, fight back, or even confront him.

Now, Enio's only thought was to earn more money and then leave this damn home.

So when his little friend Mo Lisi said there was a place where many people needed to borrow money, Enio was immediately tempted and felt a bit dry-mouthed.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette; he liked to bite the filter, and the bitter taste of the tar gathering together made him feel relaxed. "What place?"

"In the building behind Laibi's house, there is a casino. My father goes there often, and there must be people inside who need money."

Enio's eyes lit up. "Yes, I've heard of it too."

He couldn't help it. "How about we go over and take a look now?"

Two of the young people were a bit hesitant, but since everyone else was willing to go and take a look, they naturally had to follow.

Thus, seven or eight young people walked quickly on the street, and almost everyone coming toward them would avoid them and show that look of disgust.

No one liked these young people wandering around the streets because no one knew when they would pull a dagger from somewhere and demand that you empty the money in your pockets.

It wasn't actually very far from here to the casino Mo Lisi mentioned, less than two kilometers. Ten minutes later, they were standing in front of a wooden door.

This was in the alley behind the main street. The wooden door looked like the kind that led to a basement. Mo Lisi knocked on the door, and the metal peephole on the door was pulled open with a click, revealing a pair of eyes inside.

Those eyes looked up and down at the people behind Mo Lisi and then closed again.

Just when they thought they couldn't get in, the door suddenly opened.

"Your father didn't come today."

Mo Lisi was a bit nervous. "I brought my friends to play around; they want to see what it's like."

The burly man guarding the door examined the young people behind him again, and finally, his gaze rested on Enio. "Do you have money?"

Enio took out two five-dollar bills. The burly man hesitated for a moment, but finally chose to clear a path. "Don't cause trouble, otherwise you'll regret it!"

The young people let out a breath, and their faces had a few more smiles. A group of them squeezed into the wooden door.

The air inside the door was damp, stuffy, and had a strange smell, like the sour stench of many people who had gone bad gathered together to ferment. This smell was very common among the homeless population.

After they passed through a staircase going down about ten meters, they arrived at a hall.

Saying it was a hall, it actually wasn't very big, less than seventy square meters, and it suddenly became lively here.

There were six tables, and the tables were crowded with stinking, sweaty gamblers.

Even though there were several fans working, it still couldn't lower the temperature here.

Some people were shouting loudly, some were laughing wildly, and some were beating themselves in remorse and pain. In this very instant, this bizarre and grotesque scene gave these young people an unimaginable shock!

Some people noticed them, but after seeing Mo Lisi, they didn't pay much attention. He was a "regular" here; he was brought here by his father and was often asked to run errands.

Buying cigarettes or buying food, other guests would also ask him to run errands and give him a cent or two as an errand fee.

They thought Mo Lisi brought these people here to let them see what it was like while also playing a few rounds.

As long as they came to gamble, the casino operator didn't care who the people you brought were.

Even if it were the President, it wouldn't matter!

"This is blackjack, it's very popular recently, there are three tables here that are blackjack..."

Mo Lisi introduced the gameplay of this table to the young people. There were six seats here, and those who didn't have a seat could also place bets on these six seats, but sitting down obviously gave more of a sense of participation.

Blackjack had just spread into the Federation, and almost every casino had blackjack tables, and the number of participants was large.

Compared to other gambling methods with many rules and complex gameplay, blackjack clearly had more confrontation and fun, and as soon as it spread to the Federation, it became a game that federal gamblers were keen on.

There were no chips on the table; in small underground casinos in this kind of district, only cash was used.

Watching the amount on the table exceed one hundred dollars in no time, Enio's breathing became rapid. So much money, it was the first time he had seen it in his life!

Mo Lisi appeared very calm; he had seen it too many times.

Blackjack is a game of mathematics and probability. As long as the dealer's brain isn't too stupid, they can guarantee a huge probability of winning money without cheating.

This also allowed someone to win money in every round, and someone winning money is the nuclear power that induces gamblers to continue playing, none other!

Just standing and watching for ten minutes, the flow on the table had already exceeded seven or eight hundred. Enio swallowed several times; he even wanted to play a round, but was stopped by Mo Lisi.

"It's addictive!"