Chapter 204 – Falling Into a Trap

Chapter 204 - Falling Into a Trap

That night, in the city's southern slum area, at a horse stable.

Dan Hong lay in the foul-smelling shack, her body covered in bruises.

Her younger brother was eating newly bought meat buns, while her grandmother fanned him.

"Grandma, I want more! I'm still hungry!" Little Treasure whined.

"My dear boy needs to grow, so he should eat more," his grandmother cooed, her eyes softening as she glanced at him before turning her gaze back to Dan Hong with disdain. "Son, you still need to think of a way to get some money!"

"I know," the man replied with a similar look of disgust.

Seeing Dan Hong's bruised face, a pang of guilt hit him. He had been too rough.

He shouldn't have hit her face; he should have hit her body instead. It wouldn't affect her appearance, and this way, they could have sold her immediately instead of having to wait for her to recover.

"Dad, I'm hungry! I'm starving!" Little Treasure continued to fuss.

"I'll go get some money," the man said, unable to bear his son's tantrum, and left the house.

As he left, the old woman warned, "Don't mess around. We don't have much money at home. If you can't get any cash, just grab a few more buns for Little Treasure. We'll manage for a few days. Once that useless girl Dan Hong recovers, we can sell her to get some money."

"I know!"

The slum area became even more chaotic at night.

Street vendors and hawkers lined the streets, all hustling to earn a living.

After walking only a few steps, the man was drawn to a brightly lit place filled with loud shouts.

"Place your bets! Place your bets!"

"Open! Open! Open!"

"Big! Big! Big!"

"Hahahaha! Four, five, six, a straight, I won!"

The stimulating sounds of the gambling den drew him in, filled with excitement and chaos.

He peeked inside and saw the gambling table piled high with copper coins, silver ingots, and stacks of silver notes.

The gamblers crowded around the table, their voices rising in a frenzy, eyes wide and bloodshot, fixated on the cards like predators waiting for their prey.

The man felt an itch in his heart as he watched.

"Hey, mister, come on in and see what's happening!" A servant from the gambling den approached him, eyes gleaming with eagerness.

The man hesitated, his hand instinctively reaching for the few coins in his pocket. He didn't have much left. The last time Dan Hong got two taels of silver from Shuang Hong, her friend, he had spent one tael renting the horse stable over the past two days. After paying for food and other expenses, he only had a few dozen wen left. If he was careful, he could stretch that for a few more days.

By then, Dan Hong would have recovered, and they could sell her and have a steady stream of income.

If Shuang Hong finds out, she’ll probably feel sorry for her sister and give her some money to help. That way, he would have double the money! With two girls like them, how could he not take advantage of the situation?

“Sir, how about a game inside?” At this moment, the servant boy came up to him and pulled him towards the gambling house.

The old man hesitated, but then put on an innocent expression. “I don’t have any money, forget it.”

“Just looking doesn’t cost anything!”

“I, I really...”

“Come on, let’s just look!” The servant boy pulled the old man who kept refusing, but not with much force.

But the old man’s feet seemed to have a mind of their own.

“I told you, I don’t have any money. What good would it do for me to just stand here and watch?” The old man looked troubled after being dragged inside.

“Sir, we have a rule at our gambling house that newcomers get a free coin. This is your first time here, so we’ll give you one. Once you’re done, you don’t have to play again!” The servant boy took out a coin and tempted him.

Hearing this, the old man’s eyes lit up with greed. “Really?”

“Yes, if you really don’t want to play, then you can leave!” The servant boy held up the coin, luring him further.

With the servant boy pushing it this far, how could the old man leave the gambling house?

This free coin was too good to pass up! He didn’t have much money left. After rent and other expenses, he had only a few dozen coins. But if he won now, he could use the money to support his family.

Without hesitation, he snatched the coin and rushed to the gambling table.

Seeing this, the servant boy gave a knowing look to the dealer at the table, and the people around immediately understood.

“Sir, big or small?”

The old man glanced at the two betting options. Betting on big meant more money, while small meant less. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Small!”

With only one coin, he had to go big!

“Alright! Place your bets! Open!”

“Open! Open! Open!”

The crowd was buzzing with excitement, and the old man stared intently at the dice bowl.

“One, one, two! Open! Small!”

“Ahhhh! I won! I won!” The old man shouted in joy as he reached out to grab the pile of coins next to him.

“This newcomer is on a roll! One coin won him seventy or eighty coins!”

“Well done, sir!”

“Sir, where will you bet next?”

The excitement of winning big made the old man lose all sense of caution. Why would he stop now? “Ten coins, on big! Next round, big!”

He still had some sense left, knowing he couldn’t go all in, so he started with small bets, playing it safe.

"Six six five, big!"

But then he won again, and seeing the doubled gambling funds, he began to regret betting so little, as he had won consecutively and unexpectedly earned four or five taels!

His winning streak drew in half the crowd—some asking for a cut, others following his bets, and a few praising his luck.

The older man felt his luck was on fire today, and his hand was incredibly hot.

His bets started to get bigger.

From the initial one wen, to ten wen, then dozens of wen, one qian of silver, one tael of silver... He unexpectedly won more than ten taels in no time!

"Sir, your luck is amazing!"

"I'm winning money by following your bets. You're betting too little. I say, bet more, we're about to win one hundred taels!"

"One hundred taels! That’s a fortune!"

Hearing this, the older man’s eyes went wide, and he started throwing down bigger bets.

"One tael on big!"

But this time, his good luck ran out, and he began to lose.

The moment he started losing, his eyes turned red, and without giving others a chance to speak, he shouted loudly, "Two taels, still big!"

After losing one tael, he doubled down with two, hoping to recoup his losses.

"One one one, small!"

He lost again!

"Big big big! Four taels! Big!"

After losing two taels, he bet four taels!

He not only wanted to win but also to get his capital back.

But he lost again.

"Everything on big!"

He refused to believe his luck had run out!

In no time, he blew through all the money he’d just won, and without hesitation, he took out all the money he had on him to continue gambling.

Any sense he had when he walked in was gone, and now he was thinking about where he could score more cash to keep gambling.

Just to win back all the money he had lost!

The results were revealed quickly.

"Two two two, small!"

At this point, the older man’s eyes were bloodshot with desperation.

"Sir, I have ten wen here, I’ll lend them to you!"