After work, Yang Jian specifically took Song Jianmin to the rooftop and told him about Li Jin inviting him to open a Golden Flower gambling den. Yang Jian wasn't very familiar with how these casinos operated, and among the people present, Song Jianmin was the only one he could fully trust.
"Golden Flower? Sure, I'll work for you as a dealer, taking a cut for acting as the banker. Two hundred a night is fine."
Song Jianmin wouldn't miss an opportunity to earn extra money.
"Will Brother Hao have any objections?"
"What objections could he have? This has nothing to do with him. After class, we're all free. By the way, do you know those timber bosses?"
"I know them, but not that well. I don't spend much time at the lumber yard each day. What's up?"
Song Jianmin pondered for a moment and said, "If you think these people are reliable, I'd like to bring tens of thousands of yuan to lend out as chips."
"Lending chips? That's a good idea. I think it's more stable than running a casino. I have ten thousand yuan here; consider me a partner."
Song Jianmin was delighted. "No problem. I'll put in fifty thousand, and we'll split the profits fifty-fifty."
Yang Jian quickly waved his hands. "How can that be? If I put in ten thousand, I'll take one-sixth of the profit."
"I said fifty-fifty, and it's fifty-fifty, provided you guarantee that all the money lent out can be collected."
"No problem. These bosses all have the means. Borrowing tens of thousands from us won't lead to them defaulting or fleeing. They have large trucks here, and they've paid a deposit to the company, so they won't dare not to repay."
"Good, let's go get the money now."
Song Jianmin eagerly ran downstairs, afraid of missing this opportunity to make money.
Before Song Jianmin could return with the money, Li Jin called. He had just finished dinner with a few timber bosses and informed Yang Jian that the casino would be set up at his place, providing the specific house number.
When Song Jianmin returned, the two immediately drove to No. 36, Lane 8, Seventh Brigade. That was Li Jin's home.
The entire Seventh Brigade had over six hundred households, with crisscrossing alleys that were like a maze. People unfamiliar with the terrain could easily get lost. It took them ten minutes to find the location.
Li Jin's house was a two-story building with three rooms. It had a courtyard wall over three meters high in front, and the yard inside was quite large, easily accommodating three cars.
Li Jin didn't own a car. There were two cars in the yard, presumably belonging to the timber bosses.
Led by Li Jin, the two ascended to the second floor.
Seven or eight people were already sitting there chatting.
Yang Jian quickly went forward to greet them, as he knew all of them. Apart from two young men who were Li Jin's brothers, the other six were timber merchants.
Li Jin also recognized Song Jianmin. Seeing him carrying a bag, he asked, "Are you here to lend chips?"
Song Jianmin nodded. "Here to make a little money with Brother Jian. Brother Jin won't mind, will you?"
"Not at all, not at all. It's even better if you have a chip company. However, these bosses are our clients. If you lend chips, the commission shouldn't be too high. How about three hundred for every ten thousand?"
"That's fine, Brother Jin. You call the shots."
Although the general rule in casinos was five hundred for every ten thousand, three hundred was acceptable. After all, these people were wealthy and wouldn't default on their debts. Song Jianmin knew Li Jin was trying to please these bosses, and such a setup would last longer.
The gambling game soon began. Li Jin gave a brief opening speech: "Esteemed bosses, this venue is jointly operated by Director Yang and myself. Thank you for coming to support the house. I guarantee you here: First, absolute safety. Neither the underworld nor the police will disturb us.
Second, absolute fairness. The playing cards we provide are bought directly from wholesale markets. You can take them with you for inspection after use. If any issues are found with the cards, we will compensate for all losses. Moreover, none of our staff will participate in the gambling; it's just you bosses playing amongst yourselves.
Third, absolute freedom. Anyone, regardless of wins or losses, can leave at any time and will not be forced to gamble.
Fourth, the commission per hand will not exceed three hundred yuan. The chip company's commission is three hundred for every ten thousand, which is the lowest among all casinos.
Finally, regarding dealing the cards, we can deal for you, or you can deal amongst yourselves. If anyone is caught cheating, the consequences will be severe."
Li Jin was indeed an old hand, speaking comprehensively to both appease and pressure the bosses.
Ultimately, the bosses unanimously requested Li Jin's people to deal the cards. Since Li Jin and Yang Jian were not participating in the gambling, they psychologically considered the game to be fair.
The gambling officially commenced. These bosses had brought their own cash, some twenty thousand, some fifty thousand. They wouldn't be borrowing from the chip company for now, so Song Jianmin sat in another room watching television with his bag.
Yang Jian and Li Jin primarily provided logistical support to the bosses, occasionally offering cigarettes and making tea.
Li Jin arranged for two young men to act as dealers, dealing cards in rotation and collecting the commission promptly.
These bosses were wealthy individuals and played with high stakes. The minimum bet was two hundred per hand, meaning the winner would receive at least twelve hundred yuan per round. In reality, it was far more, with wins and losses easily ranging from two to three thousand, or even ten thousand, per hand.
Each round, the dealer would collect three hundred yuan. This was much faster than the commission collected at Song Jianhao's casino. In less than an hour, over six thousand yuan had been collected.
The dealers registered the money every three thousand yuan and handed it over to Li Jin. Li Jin counted it, recorded it in a small notebook, and then handed it to Yang Jian for safekeeping. Yang Jian also had to keep records.
This entire process was quite standardized. Finally, the amounts recorded by the three were cross-checked to ensure no funds were lost.
Yang Jian greatly admired Li Jin's meticulous approach to handling matters, believing that cooperating with such a person would be seamless.
"Chip company, give me twenty thousand."
An hour into the game, a boss surnamed Chen finally lost all thirty thousand yuan he had brought and began to borrow chips.
Song Jianmin quickly emerged from the inner room, took out twenty thousand yuan in cash, collected six hundred yuan as commission, and gave the rest to the boss, registering his name.
At this point, Li Jin pulled Yang Jian into the adjacent room.
"Director Yang, how much money did Jianmin bring?"
"Sixty thousand. What's up?"
"I originally thought they wouldn't play for such high stakes, and it was too early. I planned to use the commission money to lend chips, so I didn't prepare the chip company's funds. I didn't expect them to bet two hundred as the minimum. Fortunately, you brought the chip company. Otherwise, the game would have stalled. But I estimate Jianmin's sixty thousand won't be enough. How about we give all our commission money to Jianmin to lend out? This way, we can also increase our income."
Yang Jian understood his meaning. Clearly, Li Jin wanted to share in the profits from Song Jianmin's chip lending. Li Jin was being quite forthright, and there was no reason to refuse.
"No problem, Brother Jin. How about we three split the profits from Jianmin's chip lending? Jianmin is putting in more money, but we provided this opportunity. He won't object."
Li Jin smiled. "We are taking advantage of Jianmin."
Yang Jian didn't quite understand what he meant, but he felt he could convince Song Jianmin. At worst, he would subsidize him a little. Based on the current progress, they could collect at least thirty thousand yuan in commission tonight.