Chapter 86: Making Trouble Under False Pretenses

Wait a moment. The men should be bringing their boss over soon. If luck is on your side, you can have a proper meal and get your fill.

It had been twenty minutes or so since they left the gambling den. Jiang Fan noticed the hired muscle had started calling out for customers, and a few people were trickling back in, but the thin fellow still had not shown up.

He said to Zhang Chungen beside him, "Stay here for a bit. I'm going over to see what those paper tigers are really made of. If this isn't settled, they still want to keep the place open."

Zhang Chungen immediately stood up. "I'll go with you. Two people are safer."

Jiang Fan considered it and saw the sense in it, so he did not refuse.

When the two of them returned to the gambling den, the two guards at the door caught sight of them and did not dare stop them.

Passing through the wooden partition, Jiang Fan saw several more men had been added to keep watch inside. The one who had gone to fetch the thin fellow had come back as well, but the thin fellow himself was nowhere to be seen.

The gambling den occupied three connected storefronts, about ninety square meters in all. In the spacious room stood a large circular roulette machine more than a meter in diameter.

It was not electric. Someone had to spin the ball by hand inside the wheel, then cover it, and let the gamblers guess the number and place their bets.

Four long tables were arranged around the machine. Each table was marked with big and small, odd and even, and the numbers from one to twenty-four. Whatever a gambler wanted to wager on, he would place a slip of paper on the corresponding number marked on the tabletop.

When the two of them came in, one of the hired hands had just finished spinning the ball and covering the wheel. Five or six gamblers were gathered around the table placing bets.

Jiang Fan walked up to Ah Dong, glared at him, and said, "Your Thin Brother isn't coming to deal with this, and you still think you can keep right on opening for business?"

In less than half an hour, the arrogance had vanished from Ah Dong's face. He looked at Jiang Fan with timid eyes and answered, "Thin Brother has something to handle and can't come for now. He said he will come personally to apologize tomorrow."

Seeing him make up such an excuse, Jiang Fan no longer bothered with him. Instead, he walked up to the gamblers and said, "This place won't do business until I settle matters with the gambling den. Take back the slips you bet with, and remember to cash them out before you leave. If this is not handled properly, this place definitely won't open again."

The people who came here to gamble were all laborers and wage earners. Jiang Fan did not want his own trouble to turn the slips they had paid for into waste paper.

The gamblers had all witnessed the fight earlier and hurried to collect their slips and cash them in with the hired hand responsible for payouts.

After the gamblers left, Jiang Fan turned back to Ah Dong and said, "If the thin fellow doesn't come, not only can the gambling den not open, but my waiting time must also be counted. Unless this place shuts down completely, I am not letting this go."

Though afraid of Jiang Fan, Ah Dong knew the gambling den's business was closely tied to his own income. So he spoke gently and cautiously. "Brother Fan, Thin Brother really can't make it because of something. Can we talk about this tomorrow? If you make such a scene, it will be hard for our business to draw people again. Please understand."

Only after the hired hand who had gone for reinforcements told him the details did Ah Dong learn that Jiang Fan had not only beaten Ah Sheng, who was his equal in status, but had also beaten the boss's brother-in-law. Because Lu Ge had to save face, he would not allow anyone in the know to spread the word. The thin fellow had feared provoking Jiang Fan again and had therefore stayed away, which was how Ah Dong finally learned the truth.

Once he understood what had happened, Ah Dong read the situation and even changed how he addressed him, calling him Brother instead.

Among the hired men gathered under Lu Ge were two foremen. One was Ah Zhong, a Teochew man and, in fact, Ah Dong's maternal uncle. The other was the thin fellow.

The two foremen had clear divisions of labor: one managed the gambling den and the so-called sleeping arrangements with women, while the other handled underworld grudges and Lu Ge's unsavory business. In truth, he was the enforcer.

Because the thin fellow was local and had some family connection to Lu Ge, he was held in even higher regard and did not need to do the hard vanguard work.

Each of them also brought along two lesser leaders. Lu Ge styled these four men the Four Heavenly Guardians, and they included Ah Sheng and Ah Dong.

"What do I care whether you have business or not? I've said my piece: if the thin fellow doesn't come and you dare keep taking customers, I'll smash every last thing in here and see what you have left to make money with."

After saying that, Jiang Fan wasted no more breath. He returned to the dumpling shop and asked Uncle Qiu to boil a bowl of dumplings for Zhang Chungen.

He sat alone at a table and began thinking of a way to arrange temporary lodging for Zhang Chungen. Since the matter needed to be settled with someone injured present, he needed an excuse to collect some compensation.

The lunch rush was over, and the dumpling shop was no longer busy. Uncle Qiu stepped outside, saw Jiang Fan standing there in a daze, and came over to ask, "Still not settled?"

Jiang Fan shook his head and nodded toward where Zhang Chungen was sitting. "No need to rush. It will be settled sooner or later. What worries me is where he's going to stay and how he'll manage meals."

After learning that Zhang Chungen was the man who had robbed Zhang Xiaoye and then even paid her money, Uncle Qiu thought for a moment and said, "We close around two in the morning every day. He can sleep in the shop. At six in the morning we open again, and when he gets up, if there isn't any business in the afternoon, he can still nap a while."

Jiang Fan thought that would be too much trouble. The rented room he had lent to Huang Guihua was due to expire in less than half a month, and now that he no longer had to worry about residence checks, he also had no intention of renting Zheng Xiaomao's overpriced room again.

After thinking it over, Jiang Fan said, "Chungen is a hard-luck man too. He's been sleeping outdoors for a long time, and if he wants to wash up, he has to run all the way to the seashore to rinse himself in salt water. Why don't I rent another room? That way he'll have somewhere settled and can look for work in peace. The two girls' lease is almost up too, and I was thinking of moving to a cheaper place.

"Changing places won't be as convenient as living across from each other, though. Once Yezi starts working in the factory, it'll still be too dangerous for Xiaohua to live alone. I want to rent the two places together, so if anything happens, Chungen can still look after Xiaohua."

Seeing Jiang Fan think so thoroughly about other people's affairs, Uncle Qiu rested a hand affectionately on his shoulder and smiled. "In a fight you're as fierce as a demon, but in the end you still have a bodhisattva's heart.

From the way Yezi looks at it, she may want to stay here too. Working in the factory means long nights and late hours, and they still might hold back wages. I discussed this with your aunt. Since there are two girls here and business has improved a bit, if Yezi doesn't mind the pay being low, she can stay. If business keeps doing well and we make money, I'll raise it for them little by little and do my best to bring it up to factory wages.

"I'm fairly familiar with the nearby villagers. Since the shop isn't busy right now, your aunt can handle things here. I'll go help you look around and try to find something cheap. That should ease the pressure on you too."

Seeing that the trouble he had caused still needed Uncle Qiu and Aunt Qiu to clean up after him, Jiang Fan said gratefully, "Thank you, Uncle. Yezi should be willing to stay. She even told me she wanted Xiaohua to persuade you to keep the place open twenty-four hours a day. Those two girls are especially sensible. You and Auntie should really think it over. As for the rent, you can advance it for me for now. My woman will pay you back when she returns."

Uncle Qiu stood up. "No rush. Pay it whenever you have the money."

After finding the room, Uncle Qiu even thoughtfully helped Zhang Chungen buy all the things he needed for daily life.

When Yezi heard that the old couple was willing to let her stay, she was so happy she flailed her arms and legs like a child of three or four.

The two girls helped Jiang Fan with tea and water, chatted with him, and attended to him until well past midnight. The thin fellow still did not come, and the gambling den never reopened.

Jiang Fan returned downstairs and complained to Xiao Yuxin, "My woman said she'd try to make it back today, and that was a lie too."

Seeing that Jiang Fan was only thinking about Wang Wenyu and was deliberately hiding the news that was already spreading wildly through the streets, Xiao Yuxin teased, "Maybe her elders found out about the two of you and won't let her come back to Dongguan anymore. If so, congratulations on being in love for only a few days before successfully becoming single again."

What Jiang Fan feared most was exactly this: Wang Wenyu's family standing in the way and refusing to let them be together.

Hearing Xiao Yuxin say that, he asked anxiously, "Sister Xin, her elders couldn't have found out so quickly, could they?"

Seeing the worry in his eyes, Xiao Yuxin stopped teasing him and comforted him firmly. "Don't worry. That girl is very smart. She knows exactly when to tell her family about you two. Besides, you've only just gotten together, and her elders don't have eyes that can see a thousand miles. How could they possibly know so quickly?

"It's already this late. She definitely won't be coming back tonight. Aren't you going to explain anything else?"

Jiang Fan had no idea that Xiao Yuxin already knew about the gambling den, and asked in confusion, "Explain what?"