Liang Jian: I have a canteen

“Here’s a deck of cards!” Lisa pulled out a deck of cards from the bedside table. It wasn’t a gift from the cruise ship, but rather something Xu San had brought.

"Let's play cards!" Alyssa glanced at the time; it was already eleven o'clock. Xu San and the others didn't know when they would be back, so the playing cards Alyssa had found were perfect for passing the time.

"I learned a new way to play."

"Did he teach you?" Elisa asked.

Lisa nodded. "There are exactly three of us."

"Since we're playing cards, let's add some stakes."

“How big is it?” Elisa asked.

"Let's use one pfennig, the minimum one pfennig, and calculate it using that unit?"

"Hey, you still have Imperial Marks? Didn't I tell you to exchange them all for US dollars when you left?" Hans asked Lisa.

“I kept a little bit, as a memento,” Lisa said helplessly. “There’s not much left, less than ten marks.”

In this era, the whole world is at war, and all national currencies are depreciating, except for the US dollar, which is able to hold its value for a while.

However, it is clear from Hans's words that the three siblings will not be able to return to Germany anytime soon.

just
They were unaware that the island nation at that time was not much stronger than Germany.

Among the Axis powers, only the Italians lived relatively comfortably. "I'll go get it!" Lisa took out a carefully wrapped small cloth bag from a hidden compartment in her suitcase. Inside were a few dusty coins, some of which bore the eagle emblem and swastika, but mostly a jumble of old marks and pennies.

"Look, these are all left."

Elisa picked up a brand-new Imperial Mark, examined it under the lamp, and said with a wry smile, "This thing... back home, you'd need a whole basket to exchange for a loaf of bread."

“So it was absolutely the right thing for you to do to have us exchange them for US dollars.” Hans’s tone carried the weight of someone who had been through it all. “The Imperial Bank prints banknotes like they’re printing waste paper. Keeping them is like keeping a memento, a reminder of how we came from that place.”

Lisa began shuffling the cards, her movements practiced. "This new game is called 'bluffen'... When he taught me, he said it's like our lives now, a mix of truth and falsehood, and you have to rely on acting skills."

The first round started with a small bet of one pfennig. But when the cards were revealed and Elisa raised to three pfennig, Hans narrowed his eyes.

“I call.” He tossed out an old coin, his gaze sharp. “Elisa, you know what? On the black market in Berlin, people look at each other like I’m looking at you now. When you get a good hand, you always unconsciously purse your lips.”

Elisa instinctively covered her mouth, then angrily put it down: "Hans! That's not the black market, Mom just told us to go and exchange it for some butter!"

Lisa interjected softly, her tone somewhat incongruous with her youthful face: "But the man who traded Dad's pocket watch for a small piece of butter looks at us like we're lambs to the slaughter. Let's deal the cards, sister."

Elisa revealed a pair of Kings, somewhat smugly. Elisa slowly spread out the cards in her hand—a straight.

“God…” Elisa murmured.

As Lisa gathered the chips in front of her, she calmly said, "He said the essence of this game isn't about what you have, but about making your opponent believe what you have." (End of Chapter)