The Big Landlord - Chapter 98.2

Compared with the popularity of Tian Long gambling hosue, other casinos could be described as dismal.

Even if some old gamblers gave them face by not going to Tian Long Gambling House, when many people started talking about how interesting and fun the new game at Tian Long Gambling House was, and how strange the interior of the casino was, those old gamblers couldn’t sit still. In the end, many of them found excuses to leave early.

Although it was not said, everyone knew that they must have secretly run over to Tian Long Gambling House to join in the fun.

On this day, one casino rejoiced and nine lamented!

In Bao Hua Gambling House, Luo Yang unexpectedly did not get angry this time.

After being warned by his master last time, he didn’t dare to make any further mistakes, so he was more careful in doing things and no longer lost his temper casually.

Concerning the arson incident, it was not that he did not want to pursue it, but that his master refused to do so.

There were some royal secrets involved here, not many people knew, so the master did not want to make things big, otherwise it was not good for the gambling house.

“Master Luo?” Manager Li carefully glanced at Luo Yang, his voice was not too loud, for fear of irritating this great uncle* again.

[*T/N: Manager Li calls Luo Yang “罗爷 luo ye” and also “大爷 da ye”.

大爷 can be used sarcastically to mean “arrogant idler” or “self-centered show-off,” and also respectfully as a term of respect for an older man. Colloquially it means “father’s older brother” or “uncle.”

When 爷 is attached to a name it can be translated as “father, grandfather, master, or old gentleman” and “master” seemed most appropriate in this case.]

Luo Yang stood by the window, staring at the crowds on the street. They were all rushing to Tian Long Gambling House. After a while, he spoke. “Send someone to mix in with the guests at Tian Long Gambling House. Go study and learn this new gambling game. Then we will bring it over here.”

Manager Li’s eyes brightened.

Since no one has been sent to see Tian Long Gambling House yet, they kept thinking that the real reason why Tian Long Gambling House could attract so many gamblers was because of this new gambling game. So as long as they could copy it, they didn’t need to worry about the customer base. It was not difficult to defeat a newly opened casino with Bao Hua Gambling House’s strength.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Luo Yang wanted to go in person, but he was a familiar face. It would only cause criticism if he went. He could not afford to lose that face, and finally sent a hired thug to go.

After receiving the task, the hired thug arrived outside Tian Long Gambling House not long after.

He finally entered the casino after being pushed a dozen of times and getting his feet stepped on multiple times. Like everyone else, he was shocked by the internal structure of the casino.

Regaining his senses, the thug set off for the second floor right away to find the so-called new gambling game. He easily found a private room, but when he opened the door, the situation inside made him dumbfounded.

The private room was large and could hold more than a hundred people, but there was almost no floor space to place one’s foot. You could imagine just how crowded that room was.

The thug gave up and went the second room, then the third room… But the situation in each room was the same, so how could he complete Master Luo’s task?

In the end, the thug decided to squeeze in anyway.

After struggling pass layers of human walls, the thug finally saw the actual gambling game, and then he was dumbfounded yet again. What was this thing?

No matter how shocked he was inside, it was impossible to learn the so-called playing cards game immediately.

An Zi Ran ordered Zhang Tian Zhong and Ye Yu to strictly control the cards in the casino. Even if they were used to the point of being beat up badly, they should still be properly retrieved. Thus, the thug did not have the opportunity to get samples, and it took a while to observe and study.

The thug didn’t stay long, and returned to Bao Hua Gambling House to tell Luo Yang about it.

Luo Yang didn’t get angry. Instead he snorted coldly. “There are no airtight walls in the world. No matter how hard they hide their stuff, there will still be a day when it comes to light. Furthermore, even if we don’t make a move, the other casinos will not sit idly by.”

“Master Luo, do we still need to send someone over to investigate more?” Manager Li asked.

“Wait a bit more.” Luo Yang narrowed his eyes. Wait until the other casinos couldn’t hold back anymore. But he never thought that this waiting would not be a short amount of time.

……

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At the same time, Li Zhen of the carving workshop was also among the people to pay close attention to Tian Long Gambling House.

After the conversation with An Ziran ended that day, Li Zhen had been paying attention to the situation of Tian Long Gambling Hosue until the rumors of a new gambling game came out just before the opening day. He guessed that the game was directly related to the cards he made.

To confirm this, he went over on the day of the casino’s opening. The result was just as he had guessed. Not only that, the new gambling game seemed very popular.

Li Zhen was a qualified businessman, and he soon realized the business opportunities inside.

The next day, he personally went to the Imperial Fu Palace.

An Zi Ran was not surprised at his arrival. If he had came over a few days later, then he would have been disappointed. The two sides then smoothly negotiated their cooperation.

An Zi Ran had hoped that Li Zhen could find a new place to carry out this production again, because if they waited for the other nine casinos to properly react, then those casinos would definitely think of this. There were not many carving workshops in the capital. If they searched one by one then they would definitely find the right one. But he still wanted to monopolize playing cards for a while longer.

Li Zhen knew his scruples and agreed without saying a word.

He also wanted to master this technique and share the impossible things with others.

However, the official card paper for making playing cards was expensive. Li Zhen’s place was a small business and couldn’t afford too much. So they discussed it: An Zi Ran would provide the money, and Li Zhen would provide the skills. As for the division of profits, it would be eighty percent for An Zi Ran and twenty percent for Li Zhen.

Although it didn’t sound like much, Li Zhen was very optimistic about the prospect of playing cards. He was sure that even twenty percent could make him a lot of money.

On this side they were flushed with success, but Xiao Jin Street was a gloomy strip.

Tian Long Gambling House’s popularity did not change for several days. When news of the new gambling game was thoroughly spread, the original gambling houses only had a few gamblers left. It was a complete tragedy. Every time you go in, you could see the empty gambling houses. There were not many people at all. Even if there were, it was because they couldn’t squeeze into Tian Long Gambling House that they had no choice but to come here. How ironic!

This situation continued unanimously for five days.

When the other casinos could not help but make a move, a heavy bomb exploded over everyone’s head.

What was this membership card system that Tian Long Gambling House was planning to implement? The important point was that it must be paid for. Furthermore, it must be paid for every year. Who would spend money on a card that they had no idea what to do with? It wasn’t like people disliked having too much money and didn’t know how to waste it all.

Thus, the nine major casinos began to look forward to Tian Long Gambling House embarrassing itself.