On the table sat that same deck of cards. Yang Yi flipped over the top card. It was a "Heart."
Little Lin and Mazi arrived, followed by four or five others. A girl came skipping toward Yang Yi. "Yo, Yi! You're here early!" she greeted him with a beaming smile.
Ah Shui signaled for everyone to sit down first, then turned back to the counter, wordlessly beginning the ritual of preparing the lemon tea. Mazi was clutching a green felt cloth and carrying a chip case; he led the others straight into the inner room.
The chip case was rectangular, made of silver-white aluminum, about a meter and a half long. It was originally a handheld model, but Mazi had specially added buckles on both sides to attach a leather shoulder strap. This allowed him to carry it on his back, leaving his hands free. Slung vertically, he looked like a wandering swordsman carrying a sword casket—or perhaps an artist with a mysterious instrument.
"Sister Zhenzhen, I just got here," Yang Yi replied.
The girl before him was Little Lin's girlfriend. Every time they met, she was dressed in sportswear or a hoodie. She was "round" in every sense of the word—not a classic beauty, but very pleasant to look at. With her fleshy chin and full forehead, she had that "prosperous face"—the kind of look traditional elders believe brings good fortune to a husband.
Zhenzhen, like Little Lin, was a local. Her family owned several properties, so "Chubby, Rich, and Beautiful" was a fitting description. Whether Little Lin actually had money was something Yang Yi wasn't entirely sure about. However, when he cleaned himself up, he had a certain aura; with his headband on, he looked a bit like a "Young and Dangerous" character from a Hong Kong movie. But walking next to Zhenzhen, their physiques and temperaments seemed, in Yang Yi's eyes, a bit mismatched.
"Are you well-rested, Boss Yang~?" Little Lin didn't follow Mazi into the inner room; instead, he sat down next to Yang Yi.
As Little Lin sat, Yang Yi confirmed a scent he had noticed the moment Zhenzhen walked over. It was the smell of roasted meat, or perhaps hotpot. This group had clearly gathered early in the afternoon and only came to Wufang after their dinner party.
"Let's go, into the room." Mazi had changed into another plain outfit—a dark green T-shirt so faded it looked like it had developed a patina from years of wear. A man who kept his wealth hidden, perhaps, because the brand-name sneakers on his feet certainly didn't look cheap.
Inside the room, the familiar long board-game table had been cleared. A large piece of green felt was spread across it, marked with white lines to distinguish the chip area and player positions. A makeshift Texas Hold'em table was ready. Little Lin took the dealer's seat. He always dealt; in his words, he was "serving the public."
"Let me introduce a newcomer, Golden Tooth." Mazi stood behind a man, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Just like the rest of us, he's new to Texas Hold'em. He used to play a lot of Show Hand in Macau."
Unlike "Texas Hold'em," the term "Show Hand" (Stud Poker) was familiar to many. The hand rankings are nearly identical: a Full House beats a Flush, a Flush beats a Straight, and so on. In Yang Yi's current understanding, the difference was that Show Hand removed the low cards below 7 and the Jokers, while Texas Hold'em only removed the Jokers.
The middle-aged man—the "rich guy" Little Lin had mentioned—looked to be about thirty-four or thirty-five. He had a gaunt face and wore massive, black full-rimmed glasses that looked more like reading glasses. He wore a grey-blue suit with slightly soiled cuffs. To Yang Yi, this didn't scream "rich" at all.
Golden Tooth nudged up the glasses that were sliding down his nose, nodding and smiling. His lip curled up, revealing a single golden front tooth. Finally, a bit of a rich man's trademark.
Mazi began giving Golden Tooth a simple "newbie orientation."
"The dealer starts by dealing..." Mazi picked up the deck and paused. "Each player gets two starting cards. Then, five community cards are dealt in three stages: 3 on the Flop, 1 on the Turn, and 1 on the River. You use your two cards and the community cards to make the best five-card hand. You can bet at each stage. If you don't want to bet, just knock on the table to 'check'."
Mazi demonstrated the knocking motion. "No bet? Great, check."
"Come on, let's start. Still 100 per person today." Mazi pulled a hundred-yuan bill from his pocket and stuffed it into Little Lin's hand. "Six players, 100 each. The top three will take the pot at a 5:3:1 ratio—first place gets 300, second gets 180, and third gets 60." Mazi continued explaining. "The remaining 60 in the prize pool is a 'service fee' to thank the dealer for his hard work."
The others handed their 100 to Little Lin. Besides Yang Yi, Little Lin, Golden Tooth, and Zhenzhen, there were Long Ge and Xiao Liu. Long Ge always followed Mazi for Texas Hold'em, while Xiao Liu just played whatever was available.
Golden Tooth also pulled money from his pocket. When he opened his hand, several crumpled balls of cash fell out. He smoothed out two fifty-yuan bills and handed them over.
No way, is this really the 'big boss'? Yang Yi thought to himself.
"Oh, right, forgot to mention—the first game is free for the newcomer. Let's look out for him today." Mazi took back the two crumpled fifties from Little Lin and, with a bit of ceremony, stood up and returned them to Golden Tooth.
Golden Tooth happily took the money, rubbed it, and stuffed it back into his pocket. Great. Back into crumpled balls they went.