Zhao Changsheng sat in his seat, his eyes fixed on Chen Biaozhi as he shuffled the cards, while Wang Laohu lit a cigarette and watched Zhao Changsheng across from him through the swirling smoke. At this moment, Zhao Changsheng appeared to him as a fat sheep that could not be fatter.

"The first round, each person gets three cards, dealing alternately," Chen Biaozhi said as he dealt the cards, but no one paid him any attention.

Zhao Changsheng pretended to be very excited, glanced at the cards in front of him, then stood up and went to the corner of the room to look. A ten, two S's, this was a very good hand. He returned to the table and looked at Wang Laohu across from him, like a fighting rooster with a flushed face, clearly the look of a gambler.

"Now, please reveal your cards," Chen Biaozhi said, his eyes unblinking.

"I will definitely win this time."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Changsheng suddenly flipped over his cards. Wang Laohu looked at Zhao Changsheng and his cards, shook his head with a disdainful expression on his face, thinking this was truly a novice. The subsequent gambling was simply a one-sided massacre, until Zhao Changsheng lost ten thousand yuan. At this point, Chen Biaozi and Liu Mazzi couldn't sit still anymore, and they both asked Wang Laohu to step down so that they could play with Zhao Changsheng. It was a wonderful night, but as the saying goes, if God wants to destroy a man, he first drives him mad, and tonight Wang Laohu was just like that. Ten thousand yuan—he hadn't seen that amount of money in a long time, and here was this novice deliver himself up, ready to be slaughtered. Originally, he wanted Zhao Changsheng to be burdened with debt, but unexpectedly, this fellow brought real money. "No way, no one is taking my place. I've lost all my money to him, why should I let him go? I need to win my money back," Zhao Changsheng said excitedly, looking just like a gambler who had lost his mind. "See, it's not that I don't want to step down, but it's Brother Zhao who wants to turn things around. Alright, I'll do it." "This kind of gambling is boring. This money was left to me by my parents for getting married. I'll pour it all out this time, and we'll just gamble once. If you win this time, Wang Laohu, all of the eighty thousand will be yours. We'll just bet on this one hand. Take a look, do you have anything valuable or even money?" Zhao Changsheng suddenly made a decision that stunned everyone in the room, settling everything in one game. "That's not very nice, and besides, I don't have that much money either."

Wang Laohu hesitated. Zhao Changsheng, through his glasses, saw that as long as he dealt the cards to himself first, he would definitely win this time. That was the reason for his all-or-nothing bet, and the purpose of numbing Wang Laohu for such a long time earlier was to ensure a sure hit. 'This house of Brother Hu is worth some money, let's say thirty thousand,' Chen Biaozi chimed in from the side, actually envious of tonight's gambling session, as all the money had been swept away by Wang Laohu, which he found very unfair. 'Thirty thousand for this shabby house? Who are you trying to fool?' Zhao Changsheng disagreed. 'Then how much do you say it's worth?' Wang Laohu looked at Zhao Changsheng with interest. 'At most, at most twenty thousand,' Zhao Changsheng said, baring his teeth. 'Fine, according to you, twenty thousand, but there's still more than fifty thousand left,' Wang Laohu frowned and said. He didn't want to continue gambling because he always felt that tonight was too smooth, unusually so. 'Just add the sister-in-law and it's done, anyway, she's useless,' Liu Mazzi said with a grin from the side. 'Get lost, why don't you bring your wife to gamble?' Wang Laohu cursed. 'Hehe, just kidding, Brother Hu, how could you take it seriously?' Liu Mazzi smiled and said. 'Wang Laohu, do you want to keep gambling or not? If not, forget it, we'll meet again in the future,' Zhao Changsheng no longer gave Wang Laohu any chance; he was ready to crush his greed once and for all.

So he reached for the convenience bag on the table, which contained more than eighty thousand yuan in cash. "I'm in for the bet, plus my wife, eighty thousand. If you agree to this price, we'll bet; if not, forget it." "Wang Laohu, is your wife studded with gold or silver? What could be worth fifty thousand? Who are you trying to fool? Tell me, how much is a virgin worth nowadays? I'll tell you, twenty thousand each. Your wife is worth fifty thousand? You really have the nerve to say that." "What are you talking about, kid? If you don't want to bet, forget it. I'm not interested anyway," Wang Laohu said huffily. Zhao Changsheng suddenly froze, scratching his head and inadvertently pulling out several strands of hair, as if he had made up his mind. "Alright, let's bet. Get me some paper and pen." "What for?" Wang Laohu glared. "A verbal agreement is not enough; we need a written proof." Thus, a note written by Wang Laohu was placed on the table. He held ten thousand in cash, the house was valued at twenty thousand, and his wife, Li Fengni, at fifty thousand. If he lost, all of these would go to Zhao Changsheng. And if Zhao Changsheng lost, the more than eighty thousand in cash on the table would go to Wang Laohu. "Alright, let's start dealing the cards," Chen Biaozi said eagerly, as soon as Wang Laohu and Zhao Changsheng had finished writing. "Wait," Zhao Changsheng said, looking at Chen Biaozi. "What's the matter, having second thoughts? It's not too late to back out now," Wang Laohu said disdainfully. "I have a request. All night long, the cards have been dealt to Wang Laohu first, and I've lost every time. This time, I ask for the cards to be dealt to me first, otherwise, I won't bet," Zhao Changsheng said firmly. "Officer Zhao, are you accusing me of cheating?"

Chen Biaozi's face changed as he spoke. "Brother Biao, I trust you. You wouldn't do that. Getting caught would mean having your fingers chopped off. I just have this one request; I want to change my way of playing." "Brother Hu, what do you think?" Chen Biaozi looked towards Wang Laohu. "Alright, let's humor him. Deal the cards to him first." Wang Laohu made a decision that he would regret for the rest of his life.