Courtyard house: Just the right amount of pressure, leaving you bewildered but not brain-damaged.

Chapter 79 Decentralized Gambling

"Stop giving me this piecemeal talk. Explain everything clearly from beginning to end. Who asked you to keep watch for the gambling den? When did they ask you? Who is the gambling boss?"

Gao Xiaosheng had no patience to dawdle with Jia Dongxu; a whole bunch of "tools" were waiting for him to take turns pampering them.

Thinking of this, Gao Xiaosheng's palms felt hot, and he subconsciously slapped the air twice in front of Jia Dongxu.

This terrified Jia Dongxu. "Don't do anything! I'll tell you everything!"

Without wasting a second, Jia Dongxu poured out his heart, explaining in detail how he infiltrated the gambling ring.

He had only officially taken on the exercise responsibilities five days ago.

The person who contacted him was the electrician whom Sun Youtian had met by chance while having dinner.

According to Jia Dongxu, Yi Zhonghai's face had already recovered from the swelling and his fever had dropped sharply. At most, only two or three people would visit the logistics workshop each day.

Yi Zhonghai consumed all the cigarettes offered to him on the spot. Jia Dongxu was running out of food and was penniless. He had no money in his pocket and had no choice but to smoke half a cigarette each time, carefully putting the other half back into the cigarette box to satisfy his craving next time.

He originally intended to use this method to hint to Yi Zhonghai that he hoped his master could throw him two packs of cigarettes to save his life.

As a result, everyone in the workshop saw it, but Yi Zhonghai remained unmoved.

Then the electrician, who didn't deserve a name and had no connection with Jia Dongxu, appeared.

Privately, he called Jia Dongxu outside the workshop and asked him if he would like to earn some extra money during his lunch break.

Jia Dongxu thought it was some freelance work, like making a small tool, and nodded in agreement without hesitation.

But as soon as the electrician opened his mouth, he was forced into a sexual relationship.

The task is simple: patrol around the abandoned yard outside the grove behind the back gate for 40 minutes every day at 12:15 pm. If you see anyone approaching the yard, just loudly ask them questions and shout to stop them.

The payment is settled daily, and although it's only enough to buy half a pack of economy cigarettes, it's a steady stream of income.

In just five days, Jia Dongxu not only achieved financial freedom, but also saved up a little money in his pocket.

In his mind, if he could keep earning this extra money, he would not only no longer have to worry about food, but he could also buy a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes every week to save face.

"Jia Dongxu, you're still hoping for the best, trying to play the game of avoiding the important issues with me, aren't you?"

'

Gao Xiaosheng was still not satisfied after hearing this; this pretty boy wasn't being honest.

"I'm asking you, who paid you? Was it the electrician in your workshop?"

'

Jia Dongxu shook his head. "No, it wasn't him."

""

"Who is that? Tell us right now!"

Gao Xiaosheng checked his watch. If nothing unexpected happened, Section Chief Zhou would be leading the main force back to the factory in a few minutes. He needed to speed things up so as not to miss the important task of earning more lottery chances.

"I...I don't know exactly who it is," the electrician said, "the winners each day will pool their money together to cover my share."

"I estimate that over the course of five days, everyone has probably paid some money."

Gao Xiaosheng was taken aback. Are gambling dens this business-minded now? They even use crowdfunding to hire a lookout?

"Okay, even if the money was pooled together by everyone, you should know who the organizer of the gambling game is, and who is responsible for organizing the games every day and calling people over."

'

"No, no one organized it." Seeing Gao Xiaosheng's impatient expression, Jia Dongxu was so frightened that he stammered.

"I heard that those people all like to play Pai Gow and dice."

"In the past, we would arrange to meet at someone's house after get off work."

""

"Two years ago, the Military Control Commission did a campaign to ban gambling, but their families wouldn't let them gamble, so they changed it to having some fun in an abandoned courtyard at noon."

"I don't know the specifics, but according to the electrician, there were only seven or eight people at the beginning, with two decks of dominoes and a few dice."

"Later, as more and more people joined, everyone brought their gambling equipment from home. Now there are five or six sets of dominoes alone, and almost a hundred dice."

After listening, Gao Xiaosheng stared at Jia Dongxu with a suspicious look and scrutinized him carefully. It took him a while to realize that the guy didn't seem to be lying.

That gambling den is pretty awesome!

It might be the first decentralized, self-service gambling model in the new society.

Even decades later, casino operations still operate on the model of gamblers setting up tables, attracting gamblers, and taking a cut.

These workers are something else. They found an abandoned yard, crowdfunded gambling equipment, and formed groups of friends. There was no stake, no commission, and winning or losing depended entirely on luck.

No, it's not accurate to say there was absolutely no commission.

The winner has to give a portion of their winnings to Jia Dongxu, according to the logic that whoever takes the cut is the gambler.

Gao Xiaosheng shook his head. Forget it, he couldn't let that pretty boy squander all his money. He'd have to deal with this huge mess, even if it meant working for only five days...

Little Karami, who was only there to keep watch, couldn't handle it.

"Old Li, go check if the section chief and the others are back yet. It should be about time, why haven't we heard any sound from them?"

Gao Xiaosheng was too lazy to interrogate Jia Dongxu any further; perhaps he could hear a different testimony from someone else.

"Okay, I'll go take a look at the door." Li Shuguo put down his pen, closed his notebook, and got up to leave the detention room.

He couldn't stand it any longer.

After listening to Jia Dongxu's explanation, Li Shuguo knew that this case was much smaller than he had imagined, and he might just give him a few words of advice and release him.

"Gao, Gao Xiaosheng, when can I go back to work in the workshop? Will I be detained again?"

There were only two people left in the room, and Jia Dongxu mustered his courage and asked.

"What's the rush? We'll know how to deal with you after we bring the others back and interrogate them," Gao Xiaosheng said dismissively, giving Jia Dongxu a disapproving glare.

A little brat who's never even been to a card table, knows nothing when asked, and can't even lift a finger to hit anyone—isn't he just a worthless piece of trash?

"Gao Xiaosheng, Brother Gao, I really didn't gamble. I just wander around outside a few times every day. Please, have mercy and let me go."

"If I get detained again, I really won't have a chance to become a low-level worker."

""

Jia Dongxu pleaded, his voice trembling with tears.

The last time I was detained, the punishment decision was clearly stated: my apprenticeship period was extended by six months.

If this is extended again, it will drag on until the end of next year.

Although Jia Zhangshi was stingy before, she would at least leave him some money to buy cigarettes every month.

Since being detained, despite her master Yi Zhonghai's repeated attempts to persuade her, Jia Zhangshi has become even more demanding, cutting the money for cigarettes in half.

The reason is quite valid: the apprenticeship period is longer, and the family will have to endure six more months of hardship, so they need to be more careful with their money.

Aside from not considering Jia Dongxu's feelings, what he said was actually quite reasonable.

But Jia Dongxu couldn't stand it; otherwise, he wouldn't have knowingly taken the risk of acting as a lookout for the gambling den.

You can't just pick up cigarette butts on the street and smoke them, that would be too embarrassing.

"Alright, stop acting like a woman all day. This isn't serious enough to warrant detention. You'll probably just write a self-criticism and it'll be over."

""

Gao Xiaosheng got goosebumps from hearing this and had no choice but to tell Jia Dongxu the truth, also throwing him a cigarette as a side note.

This pretty boy was born in the wrong era. If he had been born a few decades later, with his clean-cut looks and his perpetually submissive expression, he could easily have been an idol.

"Thank you, thank you, Brother Sheng."

""

Gao Xiaosheng's attitude softened, and Jia Dongxu immediately relaxed. Remembering how He Yuzhu addressed Gao Xiaosheng, he quickly changed his address to "Brother Sheng".

Even a strong man can bend and stretch; a mere man like him can certainly bend, bend, and bend again.