At eleven in the evening, the gambling session officially concluded.
Liangliang and Lu Feng stayed behind to settle the day's profits for the gambling company, while Yang Jian, along with San Pang and others, returned to the construction site early. San Pang brought out all the cash and meal tickets for counting.
The final result was a win of twenty-eight thousand three hundred yuan in cash and twelve thousand five hundred meal tickets, totaling forty thousand eight hundred.
With their first venture a success, Yang Jian was in high spirits. He gave San Pang a thousand yuan, Liu Chao five hundred, and Jing Yongli two hundred. He also prepared three hundred yuan for Lu Feng and Liangliang, who had their own salaries at the casino, this being an additional reward.
"Brother Yong, here are the meal tickets. Please keep the accounts straight. The meal tickets I gave you belong to us. For the meal tickets Liangliang gave you, I only hold thirty percent and need to return seventy percent in cash to Huang Hua. Make sure not to get it wrong."
Yang Jian handed all the winning meal tickets to Liu Yong. He still had twenty thousand yuan worth of meal tickets as his initial capital.
Liu Yong took the meal tickets, his face beaming with excitement. "Er Jian, no wonder you insisted on being the banker. Earning forty thousand in one night, if this continues until the end of the year, you'll make a million or two!"
"It's not always that good. Being the banker is like gambling; there are wins and losses. If you win every day, who would play with you?"
Despite saying this, Yang Jian harbored such hopes. Judging by San Pang's performance today, achieving this goal didn't seem difficult.
However, the casino might not operate smoothly until the end of the year. Therefore, his true intention was to earn fifty thousand yuan as soon as possible. With this money, the construction site could be maintained until year-end, and some funds would be left to sustain until the fifth floor's funding arrived.
Most importantly, he wanted to buy a car. For someone who could drive and once owned a car, the sudden lack of one fueled a strong desire to acquire another.
Moreover, it was incredibly inconvenient to be without a car here. The power plant was three kilometers from Baoping Town; it wasn't far, but it wasn't close either. Liu Yong always traveled in Manager Chen's car, while Yang Jian had to rely on a second-hand motorcycle.
The most significant issue was that he occasionally needed to go to the county town to buy materials and attend classes for his Level 2 Constructor exam. Traveling by bus from Baoping Town along a winding mountain road of dozens of kilometers was very inconvenient.
However, he couldn't tell Liu Yong about San Pang's cheating, nor could Liu Chao and Jing Yongli know. If this secret were to leak, not to mention others, Huang Hua and his brother would not let them off.
Not long after, Liangliang and Lu Feng returned. They handed the gambling company's meal tickets to Liu Yong. After Liu Yong counted them, he, along with Liu Chao and Jing Yongli, went to the construction site. Liu Chao and Jing Yongli were now staying in the work sheds at the construction site, replacing Liangliang and San Pang in guarding the warehouse.
Meanwhile, Liangliang and San Pang moved back to the project department's dormitory area, living next door to Yang Jian. Lu Feng also stayed with them.
"San Pang, be honest, was that initial blunder you made intentional or a genuine mistake?"
After Liangliang gave Yang Jian the five thousand yuan from the day's profits, he curiously asked San Pang.
"It was intentional. Since the stakes were low at the start, even losing everything wouldn't amount to much. This made us appear as novices, truly first-time bankers," San Pang replied, not hiding anything from these loyal followers of Yang Jian.
"I knew it! You've been playing mahjong with Brother Mao for two or three years, and you're so skilled. How could you make such a low-level mistake?"
Yang Jian was greatly surprised. "Damn, the mistake in the first round was intentional? But I saw you were genuinely nervous, your hands were shaking, and you were sweating profusely. That's not something you can fake; even an Oscar-winning actor couldn't be that convincing!"
San Pang gave a wry smile. "The mistake was intentional, but I was genuinely nervous. It was my first time experiencing such a large-scale event. My hands shaking and sweating were real. If you hadn't stood behind me, I wouldn't have dared to step onto the stage, let alone play this trick."
"Did Brother Mao teach you this too?"
"Yes. Cheating requires appearing low-key, natural, and even clumsy. That way, no one becomes suspicious. Winning money shouldn't be too obvious either."
Liangliang nodded. "Right, winning money should be low-key. Any cash exceeding fifty thousand on the table should be transferred out promptly. Huang Hua just asked me how much we won tonight. I said about twenty thousand, half of which was meal tickets. If we win too much, he'll obviously get jealous, and something might go wrong."
Lu Feng also advised at this point, "Transfer out three to five thousand at a time. Transferring out round numbers will be remembered by their dealers."
"Alright. From now on, you react spontaneously on-site. Our relationship with Huang Hua isn't solid; he can kick us out at any time. There are many teams on the construction site who can exchange cash for him."
Yang Jian had always been suspicious of Huang Hua's initiative to partner with him. There were four project departments at the power plant construction site, and plenty of people to cooperate with, so why did he specifically approach him?
"Brother Jian, from the sound of it, you're not going to the casino tomorrow night?" San Pang was consistently concerned about his own safety.
"Yes, I can't go every day. The construction site has overtime work at night recently, and I still need to study. Having you few there is enough. Liangliang has quick reactions, and Lu Feng can hold his own. You can do your work with confidence; nothing will happen."
"That won't do. If you're not behind me, I'll feel uneasy. You should at least stay with me for three to five days. My psychological resilience is poor; I need a period to adapt."
"That's right, Brother Jian. If there's overtime at the construction site, let Brother Yong handle it. He's always flushed with health, acting like a hands-off boss. Apart from delivering materials, he's never set foot on the construction site. You're putting in both money and effort. Even as cousins, this isn't how a partnership should be," Liangliang, having been there longer, was well aware of the situation at the construction site and felt Yang Jian was being taken advantage of.
Yang Jian smiled. "It's fine. Brother Yong is not only my cousin but also my mentor. He took on this project, and handling relations with the project department and the client is essential, especially after taking on the double contract. Getting money from the project department is crucial. If he can keep Manager Chen happy, the funding will come faster. This is something he needs to do; I can't."
"But I heard he has a mistress in Baoping, and that's very expensive."
Yang Jian was shocked. "Don't spread rumors. Now that Liu Chao is here, if such rumors reach home, it will cause a huge uproar. My cousin's wife is a very strong-willed woman."
"I'm not spreading rumors. You don't usually chat with people, so you don't know many things. Both he and Manager Chen have mistresses in Baoping. Everyone on the construction site knows this; perhaps you're the only one in the dark."
"What! Brother Yong has such a philandering side? He seems so honest usually."
Liangliang sneered. "Honest, my foot. I have a good relationship with Manager Chen's nephew. He's the driver for the project department. He said Brother Yong is quite the big shot in Baoping, knowing many influential figures. I didn't want to tell you this for fear of affecting your cousinly relationship, but seeing you worry about the lack of funds for the construction site all day while he plays the boss and keeps a mistress outside, as a brother, I really can't stand it."