Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

        Chapter 19 Supreme Treasure? Monkey King Pair?

Ye Yaodong held a chicken and looked at his childhood friends sitting around the table in a circle. There was a cheerful smile in his eyes, full of happiness, regardless of whether they had money or not, the most important thing was to be happy!

 

He silently counted the heads in his heart: Little Xiao, Ah Zheng, Fatty, Haorzi, Chen Wei, and with Ah Guang at the pier, the infamous Baisha Seven Rascals were all present!

 

At that time, he was closest to Little Xiao, Ah Zheng, and Ah Guang. However, after a few years, the three of them left and went their separate ways, leaving only a few others in the village. They would occasionally come back after many years.

 

He asked Ah Guang's younger sister to fetch some water while he took out a bowl, intending to collect the chicken blood later.

 

After sharpening the kitchen knife a few more times, he deftly grabbed the rooster's comb and plucked a small handful of feathers from its neck. Holding the sharp knife, he swiftly slit its throat, drawing blood instantly.

 

The rooster struggled desperately, and a few drops of blood splattered, but the majority of it dripped into the bowl. In a little while, he would add a small spoonful of salt, let it sit for 20 minutes, and it would solidify into a blood clot. Later, he would stir-fry it with chicken giblets, resulting in a delicious dish.

 

The boiling water was not ready yet, so Ye Yaodong casually threw the convulsing rooster aside and went over to watch them play cards.

 

"Oh, hey, not playing Fifty K anymore? Switching to Pai Gows?"

 

"With five people, we can't play Fifty K, so we have to play Pai Gow with playing cards. Are you joining in? The round is about to start. If you want to bet, you'll have to wait for the next round."

 

He shook his head, indicating that he didn't intend to play. He knew that this game was different from regular card games, and it was better to avoid getting involved if possible. He would rather just watch and observe.

 

Little Xiao held his two cards and casually finished speaking. Then, he used his thumb to press down on the upper left corners of the two cards and slowly started to move his thumb, shifting them little by little…

 

And he exclaimed excitedly, "Hearts... hearts... got it! No edges... no edges... come here... come here..."

 

Ye Yaodong stretched his neck, and he could only see Little Xiao's first card was the King, and as he pulled it out a bit more, he could see a glimpse of a heart. As he pulled it out further, it became apparent that the card had no edges!

 

"Wow, no edges! It must be either 2 or 3. Are you going for the Supreme Treasure?"

 

They were using playing cards as a substitute for Pai Gow, where the King represented 6 and the three of hearts represented 3. This combination together formed the Supreme Treasure, the Monkey King Pair!

 

Little Xiao was also extremely excited. He didn't see any decorative patterns, so this card could only be either 2 or 3.

 

He brought the slightly pulled-apart cards back together and shouted to the others, "Did any of you get a 3?"

 

The others urged, "Stop wasting time. We've all seen our cards. We're just waiting for you to reveal yours. Hurry up, don't waste any more time."

 

"Yeah, hurry up! Is it the Supreme Treasure?"

 

"We'll help you..."

 

"No, I'll do it myself!" Little Xiao twisted his body to avoid their interference.

 

"Then hurry up, you're about to ruin all the cards!"

 

"What are men supposed to hurry up for?"

 

Keeping the pinky finger pressed on the upper left corner, it is already known that the card below is either a 2 or a 3. Instead of pulling it to the right, he slowly pulled the first card downwards.

 

After revealing the first heart, he exclaimed excitedly, “3! 3! 3! Heart... Heart... Oh my, the Supreme Treasure..."

 

Excitedly, he slapped two cards on the table and exclaimed, "It's really the Supreme Treasure, Monkey King pair! Hurry up, money's coming! Money's coming!"

 

He had bent both cards in his grip, and others could clearly see a King and a 3 of hearts. They all cursed, "Damn it, it really is the Supreme Treasure!"

 

At that moment, Ah Guang also returned, and from a distance, he heard them shouting about the Supreme Treasure. Surprised, he hurriedly ran over and exclaimed, "What Supreme Treasure? Who has the Supreme Treasure? So awesome?"

 

"Little Xiao! Damn it, his luck is so good! He's still the dealer! He's winning everything!"

 

"What kind of damned luck is this? I've got the Heavenly King card paired with mixed nines!"

 

"What's yours compared to mine? I even got a pair of red 8, the people's cards! I thought I would win, but I ended up facing the Supreme Treasure. Damn it, such good cards wasted! It made me happy for nothing!"

 

"Hehe, luckily I have a 4 and a 6, just the right cards to lose!"

 

Similarly, Ah Zheng grinned and said, "Same here, I have a 5 and a 6, no hope at all!"

 

Amidst everyone's grumbling, Little Xiao happily collected the small amounts of money in front of them and expressed a slight sense of regret, saying, "The stakes were too low, just a few cents here and there, no excitement at all. It's a waste of my Supreme Treasure~"

 

"Be content with what you've got. You've won everything. We've been playing for so long and haven't even seen the Supreme Treasure!"

 

Ah Guang felt somewhat relieved that he came back late; otherwise, he would have definitely lost a bet too.

 

He managed to escape The Supreme Treasure unscathed. It seems like luck is on his side today!

 

"If only we had made an exception and let Yaodong bet as well, I could’ve got more wins!"

 

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes and said, "Do you want me to bet two cents?"

 

"Yes, no matter how small a mosquito's legs are, it's still meat!"

 

"Come on, give it a rest. Take advantage of your good luck and let's play a few more rounds!"

 

"Yes, yes, yes, play again!"

 

Little Xiao was about to shuffle the cards to continue playing, but to his surprise, Fatty became unhappy and said, "I'm done! I finally got a pair of red 8, and yet I still hit the Supreme Treasure. Such bad luck!"

 

"Oh well, you're not short on money anyway, and we're not playing for big stakes. Let's continue, a little gambling for fun!"

 

In this day and age, being able to become chubby indicates that Fatty comes from a well-off background. Moreover, it seems like everyone in his family is chubby!

 

The reason is that everyone in his family works as cooks. As the saying goes, "The cook does not steal the grain and does not reap it" Therefore, their family has always had the best meals in the entire village.

 

The amount of flesh on Fatty clearly indicates that he hasn't been skipping meals!

 

"Let me be the dealer, or else I won't play anymore!"

 

"Ok, ok~"

 

Since they weren't playing for big stakes and it was mostly among themselves, the money they won was mostly spent on food. In the end, no one was really losing out.

 

After Ah Guang returned, he casually handed the crabs and shrimps he bought to his sister and joined in the game as well!

 

In rural areas these days, there are very few entertainment options for adults. They are no longer children, so they have already experienced the joy of exploring the mountains and the sea during their childhood. During hot days, they prefer not to go out and get sunburned, so playing cards at home becomes their choice of entertainment.

 

Ye Yaodong also watched with great interest. In fact, he had two yuan in his pocket, probably won from playing cards yesterday, but he wasn't entirely sure as he had no recollection of it.

 

As he watched them play, he felt the urge to reach into his pocket several times, but he resisted the temptation. After all, that was all the money he had. Playing Pai Gow was heavily reliant on luck, but when it came to card games, he could confidently join in. His skills were good, and he rarely lost money.

 

After watching for a while, Ah Guang's sister informed him that the water was boiling, so he reluctantly diverted his gaze and got to work.

 

"Hiss~ I'm scalded to death."

 

Ye Yaodong plucked the rooster with shaking hands.

 

This chicken needs to be scalded with boiling water before plucking the feathers, but it really burned him. Why did he even take up this task in the first place?

 

Are the cards not good-looking?

 

Really, seeing his young, old friends brings such joy that he got carried away.

 

(end of this chapter)

 

***

 

1. Fifty K is a poker game that originated in Wenling, Zhejiang, and then became popular all over China and became one of the common poker games. Its characteristic is that it is the largest to show five, ten, and K three cards at the same time. Unless there is "bombing" (four of the same cards are released at the same time). Three cards in one suit are called "True Fifty Kings". When the three cards are of different suits, it is called "false fifty K". Finally, it depends on the individual (partner) score to determine the victory.

2. Pushing Pai Gow is a traditional Chinese domino game . The game is based on the different combinations of the points of two dominoes to compare the size to determine the outcome. It is said that Pai Gow began in the Song Dynasty . There are also related games in the novel The Deer and Ding Ji .Pai Gow means to arrange the number of nine. The biggest pair of cards in Pai Gow is "Supreme Treasure".