Chapter 11 Entering the Vegetable Market_1

Upon hearing his sister-in-law's response, Xiaoquan was ecstatic, nearly breaking into a run towards the town. Upon their arrival, Liuliu was astounded at the prosperity of the town. The crowd was bustling, the streets filled with the hawkers' calls, and shops lined the streets, making Liuliu gasp in awe. This sight made her realize, that life in this town was fairly acceptable, as long as you didn't gamble.

Xiaoquan, visibly anxious as he looked around, didn't care about anything else but leading his sister-in-law straight to the gambling den. Liuliu wanted to explore more, but she had to keep an eye on him, so her feelings towards him didn't match her irritation. Best not to lose any money here!

By the time they entered the gambling den, it was almost midnight, the place was booming with noise. Groups were gathered around tables, there were about a dozen tables, Xiaoquan mentioned that the upstairs was for high stakes gambling. Apparently, Liuliu had taken him up there to gamble a few months ago, but they had had bad luck, losing over three hundred taels of silver and ended up owing the gambling den one hundred fifty-eight taels. If it wasn't for their elder brother agreeing to repay the debt every month, they would have been severely punished by now!

My goodness! Liuliu was heartbroken to hear that they had lost over three hundred taels of silver in the past! A wealthy family reduced to a poor one due to gambling! Damn, gambling really is harmful!

Xiaoquan was about to plunge with Liuliu in tow into the crowd. Liuliu refused to do so. She decided to observe first. All sorts of games were happening — dice, "Pushing the Nine", and several other types. Liuliu had no idea about any of these games. Coming from a well-behaved civilian background, why would she ever gamble? Though unfamiliar with games, Liuliu was skilled at reading people.

Usually, the gambling den played the role of the bank, and to maximize their benefit, the house would throw some small rewards to entice wealthy gamblers, especially naive rich young men. To stir their desire, the house often seduced them with tempting bait.

As it happened, Liuliu saw a fool fanning himself with a goose-feather fan even in the winter. He was obviously some wealthy young man. In his company, was a lackey-like servant carrying openly a sack of money – such a silly goof she hadn't seen before!

"Oh, our distinguished guest is here for the first time! What a rare pleasure! Which game would the young master like to play?" A quick-witted worker at the gambling den promptly seized the opportunity to cordially and humbly entertain the fat sheep delivered to their doorstep, making a point to feel the weight of the young master's money sack in passing. It felt substantial.

Liuliu figured that he was the one. She signalled Xiaoquan to follow the young master and see what game he played.

"I would like to try the dice first. Awang, bet ten taels on the high roll for me!" The young master started to test his game.

"Xiaoquan, follow his lead and bet high!" Liuliu handed two taels of silver to Xiaoquan, insisting he should follow the young master's lead and bet on a high roll. She wasn't familiar with gambling, but she understood psychology. This novice in the casino had to win small bets before he could lose big ones. She hoped the gambling house's strategy aligned with her prediction. She knew there was a small margin of error. At most, she would lose the two taels of silver and they could leave.

However, Xiaoquan simply thought that winning money was pure luck. He believed that as long as you were lucky, it didn't matter what you bet on. Anyway, the money given by his sister-in-law was under her command, so he followed through with her plan to bet high.

"Come place your bets on high or low; it's about to start! Hurry, place your bet!" The owner of the gambling den called out. Liuliu saw a worker in the den wink at the owner, indicating the young master. She noticed this exchange and was reassured. She guessed that the young master was indeed meant to win small stakes downstairs. Little did he know, the big pit was waiting for him upstairs!

As expected, the young master kept betting on high and winning. He was so happy! This was also good news for Xiaoquan. The two taels of silver Liuliu gave him had multiplied to twenty taels.

The young master looked so thrilled, his face had turned red and he had a crooked grin while he kept betting high.

Xiaoquan intended to continue betting high just like the young master, but Liuliu stopped him: "Let's go!"

Xiaoquan was in no mood to leave, he was in winning streak, he felt that luck was on his side! He ignored Liuliu completely.

Liuliu couldn't drag him out. She was furious, grabbed Xiaoquan by the ear and yanked him from his seat: "We had agreed that as soon as we made some money, we would go to the restaurant. Why aren't we going now?" Liuliu wasn't familiar with gambling, but she knew that like trading stocks, it's ideal to quit when ahead. When you've drawn attention, shouldn't you make yourself scarce?

"What's the matter? Quiet down! I'm on a roll!" Xiaoquan was behaving just like any novice gambler who had won a little bit of money and temporarily forgotten about the world.

"How dare you talk back? If we don't leave now, I'll rip your ear off!" Liuliu deliberately pulled harder on Xiaoquan's ear as she threatened him.

"You ignorant woman! You don't understand anything! This young man is on a lucky streak, why would you disrupt that? Idiot!" An experienced gambler couldn't stand to see what was happening and spat out in disapproval.

Oh, mother! Look who's talking! Wearing worn and shabby clothes and you dare to gamble. You're obviously a hardened gambler! You`re the fool!

"Just one more bet! Only one more?" Xiaoquan was in pain from Liuliu pulling at his ear and begged for mercy.

"Do you want to lose your ear? Dare you defy me? Let's go! We'll go to the restaurant and get some fish and meat!" Liuliu deliberately put on a difficult attitude that matched the image of a shrewd sister-in-law.

With the strength and loudness of her voice, Liuliu almost twisted Xiaoquan's ear off. Pain caused Xiaoquan to grimace. His face turned red, and to save his own ear, Xiaoquan gritted his teeth, took the money, and followed Liuliu out of the gambling den.

Just as Liuliu and Xiaoquan were leaving, a worker from the gambling den privately asked the Manager, "Should we really let them leave just like that?"

"Let them go and feast on fish and meat in the restaurant. It'll serve as an example for our other gamblers here that when you win money, you can enjoy a lavish meal. I know those two; they've lost over three hundred taels in our den. So what if we let them win twenty taels today? Once they get their hands on more money, they'll be back. Now, get back to work!" The Manager was confident in his strategy.

After leaving the gambling den, Liuliu was ready to take the money from Xiaoquan.

"Hand it over!" While one of her hands was still clutching Xiaoquan's ear, Liuliu extended the other hand to take the money away.

"No, it's money that I won. I could have made enough money to pay for Xiaowen's tuition if I had continued gambling."

"Whose stakes were those?" Liuliu glared.

"Here, two taels." Xiaoquan handed over the two taels that Liuliu had provided for betting.

"Who told you to follow that man and bet like him?" Liuliu pinched Xiaoquan's ear and twisted it around again.

"Big sister, gently, let go, take it! I give it all to you!" Xiaoquan couldn't bear the pain and turned in all his money. But he wasn't pleased: "If it weren't for you, I would have won two hundred more taels!"

"Spare me your complaints and come with me to the market." Liuliu needed to understand the world's commodity prices and the level of supplies, so entering the market was crucial.

As they entered the market, Liuliu looked around. She wasn't in a rush to buy anything like oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, or grains. She first wanted to observe.

After a while of observing, Liuliu felt like she was starting to understand. The prices in the market were almost always computed in coins - green vegetables were one coin per jin, celery was two coins per jin, rice was three coins per jin, flour was one coin per jin, oil was eight coins per jin, vinegar was seven coins per jin, and salt was two coins per jin. Liuliu felt confused at first, but later she compared it with the 21st century and realized that one coin here was almost equivalent to one yuan in her time.