The first day of the twelfth lunar month.
Overcast and cloudy.
That day, Mr. Hu Ba received a letter from Fei Ge, which contained only a few sentences:
Ding Xiaodao
Age: twenty-two
Place of Birth: Unknown
Martial Arts: Unknown
Hobbies: gambling, drinking, women
First appearance: One month ago, Chang'an, Yichun Courtyard
Mr. Hu Bat crumpled the letter into a ball, and then rubbed it gently with three fingers. The note was shattered into scraps of paper.
"Call back the two groups of people guarding the sentries and prepare as planned." This was the order issued by Mr. Hu Ba. A dandy who likes gambling and drinking is not worth Mr. Hu Ba's waste of too much manpower.
Ding Xiaodao drank again, but this time it was not in Yipinju, but in Chunhua Building.
Ding Xiaodao had been drinking flower wine in Chunhua Building for two days. He heard from Lao Qin at the grocery store that there was a new oiran named Chu Chu in Chunhua Building, and she was very beautiful. Half of the men on the street went home and secretly took their banknotes to look for Miss Chu Chu.
So Ding Xiaodao also went to Chunhua Tower with his banknotes. Those men who secretly carried their banknotes to Chunhua Tower hated Ding Xiaodao because their banknotes were not as big as Ding Xiaodao's, nor were they as many as Ding Xiaodao's.
Ding Xiaodao's shot was ten thousand taels, and he took another ten thousand taels to reserve the place. All the girls in Chunhua House gathered around him to toast, and even Madam Chen, the madam, took out the good wine from the bottom of the box and gave it to him to drink.
Miss Chu Chu is really a great beauty, she looks really pitiful.
But when Ding Xiaodao woke up the next day and saw Miss Chu Chu sleeping next to him, he vomited, including the last night's wine. He jumped out of the window and escaped without even wearing shoes.
Much later, the girls in Chunhua House still said that they had never seen such a ruthless man.
Chunhua Tower cannot go, Ding Xiaodao secretly regretted that the 20,000 taels of silver notes were not worth spending. Fortunately, these silver notes were won at Jufu Casino in Chang'an.
Thinking of betting, his hands itched again, and the sound of dice seemed to be ringing in his ears. He still remembered that Lao Du said when he was drinking with him that when his hands were itchy, he would occasionally go to the Golden Hook Gambling House.
Golden Gou Casino is several blocks away from Chunhua Building.
Ding Xiaodao bought a pair of boots and put them on his feet, and walked leisurely to the Golden Gou Gambling House.
He was like a playful child, always stopping to ask about any novelty he saw. Before he even finished walking down the street, he already had several things in his hands, including windmills, paper horses, lanterns, and A jar for crickets and a birdcage for two blackbirds. At the second street corner, he actually opened the cage and released the two thrushes, and then gave everything to a little girl.
Except for the small wooden knife in his hand.
It seems that all the toys in the world are not as fun as his little wooden knife.
The Golden Gou Gambling House is really grand, with its gold-edged signboard in black and red letters particularly dazzling under the setting sun.
The Golden Gou Casino is not on the street, but on the outskirts of the city. Although there are many houses around it, it seems uninhabited.
Jin Xiaodao was not in a hurry to go in. He was actually sitting under an old locust tree not far from Jin Gou Gambling House. He took off the boots he just bought, shook them off, and slowly put them on again. "They say they are old." A new one won't come unless it goes away, but only your feet know whether the new one fits your feet or not. Isn't this the case with most things in this world?" He looked up at the old locust tree and smiled.
This old locust tree is probably two hundred years old. The tree trunk is big enough for three or four people to hug together. It has lush branches and leaves and is full of vitality. But the tree is not a human being, so how can it answer him.
Ding Xiaodao still stared at the dense canopy of trees and said with a smile: "You have been following me from Chunhua Tower to here, and you still refuse to come down to rest?"
"If you don't come down, I have to climb up?" After saying that, he actually started to take off his boots, and he actually planned to climb up. Anyone who climbed a tree as a child knows that you must climb barefoot when climbing a tree with no branches at the bottom.
As soon as Ding Xiaodao finished speaking, he saw a black shadow flying out of the tree canopy, a baby swallow throwing itself into the forest, flying in mid-air and performing the extraordinary lightness skill of chasing cicadas in eight steps. After a few ups and downs, it was already twenty feet away. Seeing that Ding Xiaodao didn't chase him, he suddenly picked up green onions on dry ground and jumped two feet high. Another kite turned over and landed on a roof. He looked back at Ding Xiaodao and disappeared in a flash.
From a distance, I saw the dark figure with a black scarf covering his face. Ding Xiaodao didn't seem surprised at all, and murmured with a smile: "You have shown this superb Qinggong skill, are you afraid that I don't know who you are? Sikong Zhaiyue, do you want to invite me to drink again so soon!"
Ding Xiaodao thought to himself, maybe this thief knows my origins, but he doesn't seem to be hostile to me. Is he a friend or an enemy? Ding Xiaodao only felt that his head was a little big, one head was as big as two heads.
Anyone who messes with Sikong Zhaiyue will have a big head.
Sikong Zhaiyue's reputation as the best thief in the world is not for nothing. He has already practiced Qinggong to perfection. Ding Xiaodao believed that he would not necessarily lose to Sikong Zhaiyue in Qinggong, but Sikong Zhaiyue suddenly ran away twenty feet first, and Ding Xiaodao knew that he would never be able to catch up.
If you can't catch up, don't chase. Let’s take a few gambles first.
Speaking of gambling, he thought to himself that if he had the chance, he would force Sikong Zhaiyue to gamble on Qing Kung Fu. As for the bet, hey, he had an evil smile on his face.
Two lanterns, two red lanterns, have been hung on the gate of Jingou Gambling House. There is a word "gold" on the lantern on the left, and a word "hook" on the lantern on the right. The black seal script is particularly eye-catching. At this time, there were several sedan chairs outside the door, and people were coming and going one after another. It must have been very lively inside.
It seems that gambling houses all over the world are the same, smoky and smoky. From time to time there were also screams and curses from women. At this time, some man must have lost all and wanted to take advantage. After a tiring day, these people finally escaped from the yellow-faced woman at home and took out their private money that they had saved for an unknown period of time to have fun. Their bets were not big, and maybe winning or losing no longer mattered to them. Because their purpose is to have fun, and then continue running for life the next day. Although the women are scolding, they always have smiles on their faces. They shuttle around these men, and they also spend one night. I can get a lot of tips, but this is barely enough to support my family, so it doesn't matter if I feel a little wronged.
It seems that no one dares to stop, as if there is a whip chasing behind everyone.
Life itself is like a thick and long whip!
There is no shortage of real gamblers in gambling houses.
Golden Hook Gambling House is like other gambling houses. There are people who play Pai Gow, some who throw dice, and even some who bet on crickets. There is a gambler among the people who bet on crickets, a real gambler!
This gambler turned out to be Sikong Zhaiyue, and he actually changed into new clothes. He was afraid that others would not know that he was a rich man, so he looked like a God of Wealth wearing a saffron outer uniform, but a thin God of Wealth.
Ding Xiaodao was standing opposite him, and he didn't even look at him, as if he had never seen this person before. His eyes were as wide as bells, staring at a box in front of him.
Even Ding Xiaodao began to find this box more and more interesting.
There is a long gaming table. There is a long wooden box on the gaming table. The middle of the box is separated by a piece of transparent gauze, and a cricket is placed on one side. It turns out that they were not betting on a fight between crickets, but on which cricket crows first. The cricket that cries out first wins.
Sikong Zhaiyue is playing bankroll. This method of gambling is new and exciting, and you can bet as much or as little as you like. There are many people betting, and there are also many people watching. It seems that he has good luck, and he has piled up a lot of chips in front of him.
I saw him rolling up his sleeves, putting his hands on his hips, and shouting loudly: "If it comes down, hurry up, I'm done with it..."
