Category: The Big Landlord

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Chapter 102.1 – The Person Behind the Scenes

Luo Yang’s threat was passed word for word to An Zi Ran’s ears.

He was the real fearless person*!

[*T/N: 有恃无恐 – secure in the knowledge that one has backing]

However, An Zi Ran didn’t actually know who was behind Bao Hua Gambling House. Before, he hadn’t planned to pay attention to Bao Hua Gambling House, so he had not send anyone to investigate.

He had not expected that Bao Hua Gambling House would refuse to quit and eventually found Li Zhen. One could imagine that the person backing it must have a high status in Da Ya. If this matter was not resolved, they might become hopelessly entangled with Bao Hua Gambling House.

“Wang ye, do you know who is the one behind Bao Hua Gambling House?” An Zi Ran turned his head and looked at Fu Wu Tian, who was resting with his eyes closed on a rattan chair beside him.

Fu Wu Tian slowly opened his eyes and said, “Among the nine major gambling houses, Bao Hua Gambling House seems to have a rather high ranking.”

An Zi Ran responded, “I heard that it is the first of the nine gambling houses.”

That was why Bao Hua Gambling House had dared to openly attack Feng Hua Gambling House, which had ranked at the bottom of the nine major casinos. It was also why the other gambling houses had sat idly by and watched this cake being swallowed by Bao Hua Gambling House without doing anything. This indicated that the one behind Bao Hua Gambling House also made the other casinos afraid. So An Zi Ran was even more curious about who it was.

“Does wang fei know why after the last arson incident, Bao Hua Gambling House took the initiative to evade?” Fu Wu Tian did not answer his question directly.

An Zi Ran responded, “Because they didn’t want to blow up the matter.” As for why they didn’t want things to blow up, he vaguely had a guess, but he wasn’t sure if it was right. Later, more and more things piled onto his plate, and he didn’t have time to think about this matter anymore, thus he set it aside.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

“You know that Da Ya values agriculture and looks down on commerce, and the Chong Ming Emperor does not like businessmen, so in addition to being harsher on Da Ya merchants, he also has strict requirements on his children and grandchildren. He believes that if any member of royalty were to get into commerce, it would be an insult to the royal family of Da Ya. So the ban on this is very severe, if found out, the consequences would be expulsion from the ancestral temple. They would also be expelled from the royal family and degraded to a commoner.”

With such an explanation, An Zi Ran immediately understood.

If farmers were the root of a country, then businessmen should be regarded as a necessary condition for the prosperity of a country. Without these businessmen traveling around to do business, the country’s economy would not develop. Therefore, it was incorrect to restrain businessmen, but the Chong Ming Emperor precisely hated businessmen.

If the elder* hates businessmen, then how could the son disobey?

[*T/N: Those familiar with C-novels might be familiar with the term 老子 lao zi, which is the word used here. It means “father, daddy, (aged) experienced one” and has the tone of “I am your daddy,” used in an arrogant manner.]

Moreover, this elder was the country’s most venerated person!

If they couldn’t do business, then all of the civil and military officials, royal members, and concubines in the harem must depend on the stipend issued to them every month from the treasury. The amount of money was dependant on their official position. Asides from this, they also had the land bestowed on them by the emperor. These farms could also earn a lot of income by hiring tenant farmers to tend them every year.

It sounded like there was no shortage of people who could spend money at will.

But it would be a huge mistake to think like this.

Some people spend a lot of money on the daily. Money poured from their hands like flowing water, causing a great number of people to be unable to make ends meet.

There were also some people who spend a lot of money on their manor, like the princes and officials who had their own residences. Their manors had no less than one hundred people, and some even exceeded five hundred people. Even for a wang ye, one year’s worth of official salary was not enough to cover one month of their manor’s expenditures.

So what could they do?

They could only think up ways to make money!

As a result, many high-ranking officials and powerful men began to take risks. They hid their deeds from the emperor while operating various profit-making industries in private.

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Da Ya didn’t restrict gambling, and gambling was a profit-making industry, so casinos became the first choice for many people, but they could not open gambling houses in their own names, so they could only use various names and push their confidants in front of people, and then sit behind the scenes and enjoy the profits.

These kinds of sneaky behavior meant that they could not justly and honorably stand out; otherwise, the first one to cut them down would be the Chong Ming Emperor.

Therefore, when a fire broke out in Bao Hua Gambling House, Luo Yang’s master could only keep the peace for the time being, because if the matter blew up, then he might be the one to be taken out.

An Zi Ran suddenly thought of a question. “You said that the emperor did not allow members of the imperial family to do business, so what about those businesses within the prince’s palace?”

“Actually, it’s not a complete ban.” Fu Wu Tian slowly explained. “The Chong Ming Emperor just doesn’t like businessmen, but he isn’t stupid. If there were no businessmen in Da Ya, then his treasury would have no income, unless he wanted to destroy the country. Therefore, even though he doesn’t like businessmen, he still won’t say stuff like you are not allowed to do business to his courtiers and princes.”

“I understand now.”

To put it simply, all those who secretly run their own industries were afraid of the Chong Ming Emperor being unhappy.

Chong Ming Emperor was the emperor. He controlled the life and death of everyone, and he could make people’s heads roll with one sentence. If a prince made the emperor unhappy, then he would be hated and thrown out in the cold. The emperor wouldn’t care about him anymore. If an official made the emperor unhappy, then it was likely that his career would be halted, forever unable to advance.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

Having an emperor whose head was full of straw; this was really hard on the officials and his descendants.

However, the Imperial Fu Palace so obviously slapped the emperor’s face time and again, it was no wonder that the Chong Ming Emperor wanted to target the Imperial Fu Palace whenever he could.

“According to you, which prince do you think is behind Bao Hua Gambling House?”

Fu Wu Tian raised his finger. “Two possibilities.”

An Zi Ran asked, “Which two?”

“Take a guess?”

An Zi Ran: “…” He refused to guess!

Fortunately, his IQ was not low. In the end, he thought for himself.

Behind the eldest son, Fu Yuan Wu, was his mother’s family, Zhang Sun, to back him. Furthermore, within the Zhang Sun family, asides from Zhang Sun Chang De and the queen, Zhang Sun Tian Feng, there were many other relatives. Not all of them would be government officials. As the prime minister, Zhang Sun Chang De could not be like the Chong Ming Emperor with a head full of straw. He knew that money was the foundation of a family. Also, without money many things could not be accomplished. So he did not encourage all of his clansmen to become government officials. So the likelihood of it being Fu Yuan Wu was not high.

As for the second prince, Fu Yuan Cheng, An Zi Ran thought it might be a possibility.

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The Big Landlord

Chapter 105.2
Chapter 105.1
Chapter 104.2
Chapter 104.1
Chapter 103.2
Chapter 103.1
Chapter 102.2

Let Me Shoulder this Blame!

Chapter 66
Chapter 65
Chapter 64
Chapter 63
Chapter 62
Chapter 61
Chapter 60

Male Lead 2 and Male Lead 3 Happy Ending!

Chapter 8
Chapter 7
Chapter 6
Chapter 5
Chapter 4

FOD: Xue Zi Xuan

Chapter 8.2
Chapter 8.1
Chapter 7.7
Chapter 7.6
Chapter 7.5
Chapter 7.4

This Alpha’s Pheromones Are Exploding

Chapter 6
Chapter 5
Chapter 4
Chapter 3
Chapter 2 

Didn’t Love You Enough

Chapter 13
Chapter 12
Chapter 11
Chapter 10
Chapter 9

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Chapter 101.2 – Showing Up at the Front Door

Luo Yang said, “Since we know that it is made of official card paper, then it is easy. In order to print the cards, one can only look for a carving workshop. But since we can think of this, then the other side definitely thought of this. They won’t let us find it so easily. So the best course of action is to start from the official card paper.”

“Oh?”

“The manufacturing method of official card paper is a bit more troublesome than ordinary base paper, and it requires the approval of the Ministry of Industry to open a papermaking workshop. It is impossible for the other party to be a papermaking workshop in such a short time. The card paper must have been bought from the workshop. As long as we follow this clue, we will be able to find it!” The corner of Luo Yang’s mouth curved with a hint of confidence.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

Tian Long Gambling House held each deck of cards tightly. Even if they sent someone to watch, it would not be possible to write them down one by one, and the drawing methods of several of them were more complicated. It was almost impossible to draw without a single mistake.

So as long as they found the carving house, they would be able to get the printed template directly, which would save much time than daily observation at Tian Long Gambling House, and he did not want to let Tian Long Gambling House be too at ease.

On the same day, Luo Yang immediately dispatched people to investigate several carving workshops in the city.

However, he was destined to not get the result he wanted. Li Zhen had already ordered his workers, if anyone asked them at his carving workshop, the workers would say that they didn’t know.

There were only a dozen carving workshops in the capital. Luo Yang got the results the next day, and it was as he expected, so he was not disappointed. He was waiting for another result.

There were fewer paper mills in Jun Zi City than there were carving workshops.

Coincidentally, these workshops belonged to the royal family. It was too easy to find out who bought a large amount of official card papers at any time, and the results were quickly returned.

Luo Yang’s guess was correct. He only asked people to investigate the amount of official card paper sold within three months, and eliminated the small amount. As a result, only one person met his requirements. Due to the high price of official card paper, those shopkeepers generally did not buy more than five hundred pieces.

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A workshop owner named Li Zhen had bought a large amount of official card paper many times in the past three months. Each time it was more than a thousand sheets. Especially the latest order, the number reached one hundred thousand, exceeding the total sum of all the previous purchases. He practically wiped out the stocks of several paper mills.

Luo Yang immediately guessed what they were thinking.

The person behind Tian Long Gambling House was indeed very clever. That person knew that he would think of this method, so he bought a lot of official card paper in advance, precisely to avoid others from causing obstruction from within. Indeed, a far-reaching vision.

Fortunately, he still had the clue of Li Zhen. Even if he ran away, he still had his family. As long as he was still in Jun Zi City, then Luo Yang could be sure to search him out, but he didn’t know that things would not be as simple as he thought.

Li Zhen’s large purchase of official card paper could not be unnoticed. Since An Zi Ran decided to cooperate with him, he would protect the personal safety of him and his family.

However, Li Zhen was not too worried because he had the backing of the Imperial Fu Palace. Until Luo Yang and his people came to the door, he remained in his carving house with peace of mind.

“Li Zhen, I won’t beat around the bush. As long as you hand over the playing card samples and tell me who is working with you, I can let you go.” Luo Yang stared at Li Zhen who narrowed his eyes slightly. He was found out by Luo Yang, but he did not show a hint of fear, was the identity of the person behind him really unusual?

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Li Zhen smiled slightly and said without hesitation, “Master Luo talks big, but I am very sorry, I can’t agree to your demands. Furthermore, even if I am willing, the bankroller behind me might not agree. Businessmen value integrity. Li Zhen still wants to be able to live here. If people knew that I would casually betray my customers’ information, who would dare to cooperate with me in the future!”

“If you don’t speak now, then I’m afraid you won’t have a future.”

Luo Yang implicitly threatened. These were not empty words of threat.

Li Zhen’s complexion was proper. “Luo Yang, this is the land at the foot of heaven’s son. Murder is a crime. You can’t not know this. Could it be that you want to commit a crime knowingly? In your eyes, is there still imperial law?”

“Law?”

Luo Yang seemed to have heard something funny, raised his head, and laughed. He stopped after a while. Staring at Li Zhen, he said, “Li Zhen, are you really stupid or fake stupid? You think I would dare say something like this without a backer?”

“Of course I believe you!” Li Zhen said.

In fact, everyone in the capital knew that it was impossible to develop to the present if there were no big backers behind the nine great gambling houses.

“But, even if you say it like this, I still won’t agree to your demands.”

Luo Yang stared at his resolute expression for a long while, knowing that he couldn’t make him change his mind. His expression was somber. He flung his sleeves, threw out a threat, and left the workshop.

“Li Zhen, remember what you said today!”

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Chapter 101.1 – Showing Up at the Front Door

After Tian Long Gambling House opened, it really was gaining more and more gold day by day.

After seven days, Zhang Tian Zhong conscientiously handed over the items that the gambling house had received during those seven days to Ye Yu, who then forwarded them to An Zi Ran.

Zhang Tian Zhong never knew An Zi Ran’s true identity. He could only guess that An Zi Ran’s status in the capital was not low. As for the rest, he did not know.

As for the Ye Yu who came from no where.

This man always had a blank face, and his eyes were very empty. He walked silently. Every time he saw him, Zhang Tian Zhong felt a chill in his back. He knew that An Zi Ran did not trust him one hundred percent, so Ye Yu’s arrival was apparently to help out, but he was actually monitoring him.

Zhang Tian Zhong was not angry. He would do the same if the positions of the two were reversed.

No one can believe one person for no reason at all, especially since both of them could be regarded as businessmen, and businessmen valued integrity, but one must still guard against others. Otherwise, they would lose even the shirt on their back.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

The business of the gambling house was getting better and better. Every time Zhang Tian Zhong saw the entries in the account book, he was unable to conceal his happiness. Even though the silver was not his, he was still happy.

A few months ago, when Feng Hua Gambling House closed down, he never expected that he would be able to make a comeback, and he never thought that he would be able to sit atop mountains of gold and silver. Within one year, Tian Long Gambling House was capable of becoming the biggest gambling house in Jun Zi City.

But what really made him happy from the bottom of his heart was the misery of the other gambling houses.

Bao Hua Gambling House never thought that Tian Long Gambling House could get to this stage, not only making money daily, but also stealing their gambling customers.

The thought of Luo Yang’s potentially distorted face made Zhang Tian Zhong so happy that he could laugh himself awake at night.

Luo Yang, ah, Luo Yang, bet you never thought that you would one day be in this position, right?

At the same time, Luo Yang did not hop around like thunder, as Zhang Tian Zhong imagined. The master was now disappointed with him, only handing affairs over to Jiang Sheng. He had no room to think about other things. He must show some good results; otherwise Jiang Sheng might replace his position by the master’s side.

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Yesterday, Jiang Sheng mixed in with the crowd and entered Tian Long Gambling House. First, he went to the private room of the card game, stayed there for two hours, and tried to play a few games during that time, but he did not gamble too much. Then, with the gold membership card in hand, he entered the rumored little garden.

In the small garden, he saw the second novel gambling game.

According to the workers, this kind of gambling game was called Mahjong. It was a three or four player game. He played a few games and had to admit that the two new gambling games invented by Tian Long Gambling House were really attractive. Even he had a faint sense of wanting to stop playing but can’t.

Unsurprisingly, it wouldn’t be long before the two new gambling games spread throughout all of Da Ya, and even reach other countries.

Jiang Sheng was also jealous of this kind of prospect. If Bao Hua Gambling House could also introduce these two kinds of games…

Jiang Sheng didn’t stay long, and then returned to the casino.

“How was it?” Luo Yang couldn’t wait to ask him when he saw him.

Jiang Sheng glanced at him, poured a cup of tea to moisten his throat, and explained, “I probably know what material the card is made of.”

Luo Yang nodded and asked, “What about the other gambling game?”

Jiang Sheng frowned suddenly. “I can’t see through it yet. The number of things is relatively large. There are a hundred and thirty six pieces. It needs three or four people to play together. The shape is rectangular with some characters on it and the color is white. The material is not soft or hard. I can’t see what it is made of.”

“Dominoes?”

“No, they all said that it was called Mahjong, but…” Jiang Sheng touched his chin in thought.

“But what?” Luo Yang asked.

Jiang Sheng thought long and hard. “I keep thinking that this material is similar to that of dominoes, but it doesn’t feel like it. What kind of wood is white?”

This made him very puzzled. After seeing those things, he kept thinking about the problem, but after searching around in his mind, he still didn’t find a match, as if those things were created out of thin air.
Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
“I will send someone to look into it. Let’s set this one aside for now. Just now, you said you know what material the playing cards are made of, so what exactly is it?” Luo Yang said.

Hearing this question, Jiang Sheng’s face flashed a weirdness, “You will never guess what materials they used, and the cost of that thing is not low, which is not conducive to promotion.”

“What the hell is it?” Luo Yang’s patience faded.

Jiang Sheng laughed. “It is the famous official card paper. The price is not low. Making a deck of cards requires six or seven official card papers. If you can’t reduce the cost, this thing can only be played in the casino. Normal people cannot afford it.”

Luo Yang calmly said, “Even if it is just in the casino, you can still earn a lot.”

Jiang Sheng did not comment, “What are you going to do?”

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T/N 1: Go to the translations page for the June 2020 (and future) updating schedule.

T/N 2: I’ve picked up two new BL projects recently: Male Lead 2 and Male Lead 3 Happy Ending! and Transmigrated into a School Idol and Forced to Do Business. They’re both transmigration stories with a modern setting.

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Chapter 100.2 – Scholar

Fu Wu Tian, who came up from behind, noticed his line of sight. He immediately took out some money and bought four steamed crab dumplings. The dumplings were freshly made and slightly hot, because there was a lot of soup inside. Without a straw to drink the soup inside, they could only wait for the dumplings to cool down a bit first.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

An Zi Ran glanced at the dumplings and forced himself to look away. They bought it already but couldn’t eat it right away, because it was too hot. Even though he wasn’t a foodie, he still itched to eat it.

After a while, the two walked to a deep-fried tofu stall. The fresh tofu was fried until golden and the scent wafted in the air. One whiff was enough to cause one to drool.

An Zi Ran’s attention abruptly shifted from the dumplings to the fried tofu. For the first time, he discovered that he might have the potential to eat.

“Want to eat it?” Fu Wu Tian’s low voice sounded in his ear.

An Zi Ran hesitated and then nodded. He finally had time to stroll around Jun Zi City. Naturally, he had to indulge and eat all the junk food that he didn’t normally eat.

Fu Wu Tian immediately went to buy fried tofu. As the god of war in Da Ya, this was his first time mixing with a crowd of defenseless little people in order to buy fried tofu. If his subordinates knew about this, his image would definitely take a nosedive, but he would still gladly do this.

“Hold it.” Fu Wu Tian handed him the fried tofu he bought.

An Zi Ran was about to take the tofu when he felt a scorching line of sight. After looking around, he found the person staring five or six meters away from them across the street. The other party did not expect that he would suddenly go over and quickly retracted his line of sight.

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It was a young scholar. He held a book in his hand and there was a small stall in front of him, which seemed to have some calligraphy and paintings on it, but there were almost no customers in front of his stall. Compared to the other lively stalls around, by contrast, his stall was too deserted.

With just a glance, An Zi Ran could guess the probable reason.

Coincidentally, the woman and the middle-aged man manning the two stalls nearby were having a conversation that immediately caught his attention.

“How many paintings did Zhuo gong zi sell today?”

“From morning till now, it seems that he did not sell a single one.”

“Aye, really, this fellow. Obviously we all know that the majority of people prefer copybooks for calligraphy, so why is he only selling paintings, furthermore, they’re all portraits of people.” The woman sighed.

“He’s so stubborn, no one can help it!”

Da Ya values literature, so many people actually liked to draw, especially portraits of well known figures, which were more sought after in Da Ya. The most common was landscape paintings, while portraits were relatively rare. Unless they were master level, people were more willing to buy landscape paintings. But what this scholar was good at was painting people. There were almost no scenery paintings, so his booth would become more deserted day by day.

“Let’s go over and see.”

An Zi Ran said to Fu Wu Tian and walked over.

The young scholar did not expect that the person who he was just watching would come to his booth and suddenly became nervous. Was he found out?

An Zi Ran didn’t seem to realize his distress. He looked at the paintings at the booth seriously. He couldn’t help wondering. He thought that even if this scholar only painted people, the subjects should all be the good looking types, but his paintings were not like that.

The subjects in the paintings looked like people one could find in their neighborhoods, like playing children, faltering old people, kind mothers, and so on. They were all varied and lifelike images.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

No wonder his paintings wouldn’t sell. Few people were willing to buy such ubiquitous paintings and hang them in their homes, but… it was undeniable that this young scholar had great skills in painting.

Under his brush, the expressions and movements of each subject were very expressive and the details were also handled very well. A small movement, a small change seemed to remind people of reality, as if there were really two children playing in front of them. One could almost hear their laughter.

An Zi Ran’s thoughts stirred. Under the nervous eyes of the young scholar, he gently scratched the corner of his mouth. “What is the price of this gong zi’s paintings?”

There was a hint of confusion on the face of the young scholar.

An Zi Ran was not surprised, and asked again.

The young scholar finally reacted, already blushing, and said sloppily, “One… one painting for ten copper coins.”

“So cheap?” An Zi Ran frowned.

The young scholar studied for a moment, and his eyes became inexplicable. This was the first time that someone said that his price was cheap. In the past, every customer who came to his booth either said his paintings were not good or were too expensive, but it was really not expensive at all.

The drawing paper cost a few copper coins, but there was also his hard work put into the painting. If it were not to make a living, he would not set such a low price. The price was already so cheap, but there were still no customers. He was even considering lowering the price by one or two more copper coins.

An Zi Ran picked up five paintings at will.

Next to him, Fu Wu Tian pulled out fifty copper coins and placed it on the stand.

Probably because the young scholar’s booth had not been patronized by customers for too long, their actions immediately caught people’s attention. When they saw that they wanted to buy scholar’s paintings, many people showed incredulous expressions. Buying five was a miracle.

The young scholar stared at the fifty coins. He didn’t reach out to take them and also did not utter a sound.

After buying the paintings, An Zi Ran didn’t leave immediately. “You paint very well. Among all the artists* I’ve seen, you are the most…”

[*T/N: 画师 The word he used here doesn’t just mean artist, but implies a mastery of the subject, like a teacher or an expert.]

“Ahem.”

“…you are among the top. I want to invite this gong zi to come and be my artist. Is gong zi interested?”

The young scholar looked up abruptly, expecting to see the other’s joking expression, but An Zi Ran looked serious.

On the third day, there was one less scholar selling paintings in the West District, and an exclusive artist was added to Tian Long Gambling House.

Later, the neighboring stall owners discovered that the scholar who had lived on the stubborn sale of portraits was gone.

An Zi Ran didn’t just invite the scholar back in order to find an artist. In his opinion, a person who has been unwilling to change something must be a very principled person. In his most difficult time, An Zi Ran reached out to him. This kind of kindness will be one that the scholar would never forget.

The young scholar did not expect that the young man would hire him to be the painter for a gambling house.

He had also heard about Tian Long Gambling house. The market was a noisy place. He set up stall in the street every day. Even if he didn’t take the initiative to inquire, he often heard the voices of people around him. The most talked about topic during this time was Tian Long Gambling Hall.

Despite his surprise, he did not have even the slightest prejudice against this job.

Seven days ago, he couldn’t even imagine that his paintings would sell for fifty silvers. And it was that young man who had given him all this.

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Chapter 100.1 – Scholar

Seven days prior.

Tian Long Gambling House was a business that An Zi Ran built up by himself.

It wasn’t something that he obtained after becoming An Zi Ran, but rather something that he built up bit by bit for himself, so his awareness of Tian Long Gambling House was much higher than that of the An family’s businesses.

However, even a person made of iron could not handle that many days of high-intensity work, especially since the number of businesses under his hand has increased to three.

Originally, he planned to establish Tian Long Gambling House first. The carving workshop and playing card business were not in his plans, but then in order to better operate the gambling house, he had to have these two industries firmly within his hands.

But recently, he encountered some trouble.

The high quality official card paper that he used for making playing cards was a famous paper product that only qualified officials could afford. The low output was also a contributing factor to its price.

But the most important point was that the cost was too high.

Ten playing cards could be made from one sheet of the high quality official card paper. A deck of fifty-four cards required five and a half sheets of official card paper, including printing and labor costs, the cost of completing a deck of cards was likely to exceed fifty copper coins. This kind of situation was not conducive to the popularization of playing cards.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

People in the capital make at most a hundred copper coins a day. Their daily allowance to spend outside was even less. How could they possibly deliberately spend fifty copper coins on a deck of playing cards? If they had this kind of money then it would be better to buy a few pounds of meat and eat it with the family.

An Zi Ran’s plan was to keep the cost at about ten copper coins as much as possible. But if the cards were made entirely of official card paper, then this idea would not be possible at all. So it could only be replaced with another type of paper.

However, looking at all of Da Ya, there weren’t many types of paper that could replace the hardness and feel of the official card paper.

It couldn’t be that he would have to start a papermaking business himself could it?

An Zi Ran was afraid that if things went on like this, even if he knew how to duplicate himself, he could not juggle so many different things. And too many side occupations would only cause more problems.

Looking at the situation now, in the absence of a suitable paper to replace the official card paper, he could only temporarily service just the rich clientele.

While he was pondering, a warm body suddenly covered his back from behind.

An Zi Ran did not look back. The only person who could easily approach him was Fu Wu Tian.

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A pair of hands covered his temples and lightly rubbed a few times. The accumulating headaches in the recent days suddenly eased a lot. He had been thinking too much during this period of time.

“Wang fei, would you like to go out and relax?”

An Zi Ran hesitated. “Okay.”

He had been busy for so many days. He also wanted to relax, and with more and more industries under his hands, he could not do everything by himself, so he planned to delegate some of that responsibility in a few days.

When he heard that the two of them were going out, the lao wang ye also wanted to tag along.

He hadn’t been outside for nearly three months. Since the cheating incident, he had been quiet again, and was trying his best to hone his skills. He only came out of secluded training yesterday, but it was still his grounding period, so he could only move about within the Imperial Fu Palace.

Fu Wu Tian ruthlessly rejected his request.

He wanted to spend time with his wang fei. How could he possibly bring such a giant third wheel along?

In response, lao wang ye gave him a single comment.

“You ungrateful brat!”

“You make trouble without reason.” Fu Wu Tian countered, tit for tat.

The dialogue between these two amused everyone within the prince’s palace.

An Zi Ran couldn’t help laughing out loud. How come he felt like he had heard this dialogue somewhere before? It really wasn’t some ordinary joy.

In the end, they still didn’t take the lao wang ye out.

The streets of Jun Zi City were intricate. There was a bustling market in four directions: east, west, south, and north. They were named after the four cardinal directions. For example, An Zi Ran’s Tian Long Gambling House was located in the area collectively referred to as the East District. It was the liveliest place in the four major markets of the capital.

But they were not going to visit the East District today.

An Zi Ran has been in and out of the East District for the past two months. He was already clear about the lay of the land, and so was Fu Wu Tian. Since he gave up his military power, he could accompany him every day, which was a great help to him.

So today, they decided to look at the West District, which was the farthest.

West District was not as prosperous as East District. There were no brothels or gambling houses here. Instead, there were a lot of taverns, inns, and teahouses. But the majority of the shops here were the kind that sold various miscellaneous things, for example, clothes, tealeaves, steamed stuffed buns, lamb meat, secondhand clothes, stone work, wood work, etc. There were an abundant variety of items for sell. Thus, the night market in the West District was the liveliest of the four major districts. Even the East District could not compare to the West District when it came to the night market.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

At this moment, An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian were strolling on the streets of the West District.

From time to time, the sound of hawkers yelling and the laughter of children and the elderly would reach their ears. The atmosphere here was much more peaceful and warmer than in the East District.

Seeing this, An Zi Ran couldn’t help remembering the letter from Steward Su a few days ago.

During his time running the casino, Zhou Laohan’s wife garnered huge success. The rice noodles she made were well received in An Yuan County, and many people liked to eat them.

Zhou Laohan’s wife didn’t conceal her recipe. She shared her rice noodle-making recipe with Chef Wang. She was a woman who liked cooking. Later, she experimented with Chef Wang to come up with many delicious dishes. They created two large-sized snack dishes that couldn’t be squeezed into the noodle bar, so Steward Su took the initiative and opened up a restaurant in An Yuan County.

An Zi Ran thought that if the results were good then he could try opening one in the capital and see how it went. Just as he was thinking that, a hand suddenly landed atop his head.

He looked up and saw Fu Wu Tian staring at him. He blanked for a moment and then realized that his thoughts had subconsciously turned in the direction of making more money.

“…Let’s go over there and take a look.”

An Zi Ran shifted the topic with a slight awkwardness, and then he walked ahead before the other could respond.

Fu Wu Tian saw the tips of An Zi Ran’s ears turn red. With a smile in his eyes, he kept up without saying anything.

An Zi Ran wasn’t a foodie, but he was very interested in the food here.

For example, dandan noodles, congee, cakes, steamed buns, crab soup, etc. There were snacks that he had never eaten before, not even in his previous life. He could smell the dense aroma of the food when he walked past the shop and it stirred his appetite.

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Chapter 99.2 – Portrait

Jiang Sheng rarely appeared in front of people, so not many people knew him. Thus, he was the best person to go to Tian Long Gambling House.

“The matter of the small garden can be temporarily set aside, but the card game must be figured out as soon as possible.” Luo Yang said uneasily.

Jiang Sheng took the gold card. The corner of his mouth twitched. “Rest assured. I’m not like the useless men under your command. The master told me yesterday that I must figure out the secret of Tian Long Gambling House, and he takes this matter very seriously.”

Luo Yang’s eyelids jumped.

The master went over him, and furthermore, only told Jiang Sheng this?

Jiang Sheng ignored the complications in Luo Yang’s heart and left the gambling house after speaking.

At the same time, on the first day of opening, the handsome man who accidentally barged into the small garden also brought his guard, Da Hei, to Tian Long Gambling House. These days, he had Da Hei keeping an eye out on Tian Long Gambling House. He learned about the membership program two days ago, but didn’t have an opportunity to go out until today.

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“Gong zi, do you really want to buy a gold card for five hundred silvers?”

Da Hei felt pain whenever he thought about this amount of money. Although he knew that the gong zi did not lack silver, he was short of money. He would rather hide it in his pocket than waste it on gambling.

“We’re already here. This time, no matter what I must satisfy myself.” The handsome man closed his fan and went in.

Da Hei quickly followed.

Following instructions, the two arrived at the counter.

There was a middle-aged person at the counter. When he saw them coming over, he immediately stood up with a pleasant smile on his face and said very politely, “Is there something these two customers need help with?”

The handsome man said, “This gong zi wants to get a gold card.”

The middle-aged person’s eyes lit up. Everyone who applied for a gold card was considered the casino’s financial backer. They either had money or power. None of them could be slighted. “Please wait a moment, gong zi. Gold card applications are on the second floor. This little one will immediately have someone bring you up there.” After he finished speaking, he immediately called over another servant.

The servant smiled at the two and said, “Gong zi, please follow this little one.”

The handsome man’s eyes brightened. On the first day, because there were too many people, he didn’t notice, but all the people working at Tian Long Gambling House were all smiles, but they were not exaggerated smiles and they were very polite. More and more, he felt that the person behind the casino was unfathomable, and the means of operating the casino were absolutely first-rate.

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The gold card was different from the silver card. The gold card had a portrait on it, so it was necessary to draw the image of the cardholder first. This drawing was then passed along, and the card would be completed the next day.

Due to his identity, it was inconvenient for the handsome man to have his image painted, so he asked the artist at the casino to draw Da Hei’s face. The cardholder could only take a maximum of two people with them into the small garden. Thus, as long as he always brought Da Hei along, then it would not be a problem.

The speed of the young artist was very fast. The two waited for only a quarter of an hour before Da Hei’s face was drawn.

The handsome man glanced at it. That artist’s skill was very high. It looked almost the same as the real person. There was no need to worry about the portrait not being recognizable.

Then, the handsome man put down a deposit of two hundred and fifty silvers. After paying, he suddenly thought of a question and asked, “If I suddenly regret it and don’t want the gold card, can I still get my money back?”

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

The young artist looked at him, unsurprised. Obviously, this was not the first time someone had asked him this question. He replied, “Responding to gong zi, if you regret it now, you can only get back two hundred silvers.”

“Why only two hundred silvers?” The handsome man asked.

The young artist pointed at himself. “Gong zi, what do you think of this little one’s painting?”

The handsome man looked again. “Skills are superb. Brushwork is very expressive. I* have seen a lot of portrait painters. You* are among the top five.”

[*T/N: He uses 在下 to refer to himself here, which is a humble way of saying “I,” and he uses 阁下 to refer to the painter, which is an honorific way of saying “you,” and can also be translated as “your distinguished self,” “sire,” or even “your majesty.”]

The young artist started to laugh. “One of my* portraits costs fifty silvers.”

[*T/N: The painter also uses the humble pronoun 在下]

His smile was full of confidence.

The handsome man wanted to say that it was quite expensive, but when he thought of what he had said just now, wouldn’t that be like hitting himself in the face if he said it out loud. Suddenly he laughed. That trick was very well played. He wholeheartedly accepted defeat. But the more it was like this, the more interested he became in the person who operated behind the scenes of Tian Long Gambling House.

After the two left, the young artist gave the dozens of portraits drawn today to a servant and had him deliver the paintings.

There were so many portraits, but the young artist was not exhausted. A few days ago, he would never have thought that his portraits could sell for fifty silvers.

All his success today was thanks to that person.

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Chapter 99.1 – Portrait

Two days later, news of Tian Long Gambling House’s membership program has already spread among the upper class of Jun Zi City.

Along with the exposure of the membership system, there was also the existence of the small garden. In order to increase the bargaining power, An Zi Ran also spread word that there were new gambling games in the small garden.

He had planned this long ago.

If it were just a normal discount, the upper crust of Jun Zi City would certainly not be taken in. If that were the case, then Tian Long Gambling House might really crash and burn, just like the other nine gambling houses had guessed, but with the additional attraction of new gambling games, then things were different.

Within the capital, everyone now knew how popular the card games at Tian Long Gambling house was.

The customers who were attracted to the playing cards were not just those who often mingled with the gambling houses, but there were also some people who were not interested in gambling at all. Those types of people have also shown interest in the cards games. There were also some people who have never stepped into a casino before, but made an exception for Tian Long Gambling House.

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But this was just one of the reasons. What really made them set aside any ill feelings towards casinos was Tian Long Gambling House’s architectural structure.

The new casino not only had a spacious interior, but also unique and innovative designs. Each room was separated. Moreover, there were leafy green plants to contrast and enhance the interior design. It was completely different from other gambling houses, which gave off a foul atmosphere of billowing smoke and chaos, immediately ruining one’s mood.

Now, the existence of card games has spread throughout the capital. With that as a reference point, everyone couldn’t help but be curious about the new types of gambling games in the small garden.

The small garden were elegant and stylish, very novel, and also had fun games that other have never played. It just so happened to cater to those wealthy merchants and nobles who already have a son and wanted to pursue new interests and comforts. So the first day the membership system was announced, a dozen wealthy merchants obtained the gold card right away.

Because the casino just opened, in order to attract customers, An Zi Ran deliberately lowered the requirements. The gold card cost five hundred silvers and was good for one year. If people wanted to keep their membership after one year, then they had to pay another five hundred silvers.

The price sounded very expensive, but for most wealthy merchants in Jun Zi City, it was still within an acceptable range. If you wanted to ask which place had the most wealthy merchants, then that would be Jun Zi City. In addition, An Zi Ran had people spread the word that there would be discounts for gold and silver cards this year. Next year, the fee would be doubled.

The effect of this was undoubtedly significant.

By word of mouth, starting from the wealthy merchants who applied for the gold card on the first day, the mystery of the small garden gradually spread to senior officials and wealthy businessmen.

On the second day after the membership program started, the number of people applying for a gold card multiplied several times, and it continued to increase.

By the time the other gambling houses found out, they were already left behind in the dust.

Luo Yang finally couldn’t sit still anymore.

They still haven’t figured out the specifics of playing cards, and suddenly a small garden has appeared? Furthermore, not only could you not go in casually, but you also had to pay a fee of five hundred silvers every year. Wasn’t this just plain robbery?

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If this were the case before, they would never dare to imagine that so many people would be willing to spend this unjustifiable sum of money, but the fact has slapped them so badly that Tian Long Gambling House was indeed achieving great success. It has only opened for a few days, but their profits within that time could match them for a month’s worth of revenue.

“Master Luo, this is Tian Long Gambling House’s gold card.” Manager Li passed the card in his hand to Luo Yang with a somber face.

Luo Yang looked at this gold card and he couldn’t help but frown a bit. In order to obtain this card, he deliberately took out five hundred silvers. He wasn’t aching over that amount per se, but once he thought about how he had contributed five hundred silvers to Tian Long Gambling House, his heart felt very unpleasant.

The gold card was made from legitimate real gold. Apparently, the words written on the card also used real gold, and the appearance was elegant and stylish. It was impossible for ordinary people to easily imitate it. It really fitted the identity of some senior officials.

Some gambling houses were thinking of copying these gold cards and selling them under the name of Tian Long Gambling House to make money for themselves, but if they could think up this idea, then naturally An Zi Ran could think of it.

In addition to the name of the holder on the gold card, there was a corresponding small portrait on it. An Zi Ran specially painted these small portraits. The painting skills were very delicate, and most people could not imitate it.

But this was only one strategy.

What really left them at wit’s end were the customer records. Every card member of Tian Long Gambling House had a file. When they wanted to enjoy the benefits brought by the card, they must first confirm their identity. They could only enter if they passed. Otherwise, it was a counterfeit.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Luo Yang turned around and looked at the man standing to the side of the door. He tossed him the gold card. “Jiang Sheng, the following matters will have to trouble you.”

When he said this, his attitude was obviously different from when he spoke to Manager Li, because Jiang Sheng was not his subordinate. It was just that the two of them served the same master, and Jiang Sheng had the same foresight and skills, so he was responsible for the gambling house’s security.

The portrait on the gold card was of Jiang Sheng himself.

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Chapter 98.2 – Member System

Compared with the popularity of Tian Long gambling hosue, other casinos could be described as dismal.

Even if some old gamblers gave them face by not going to Tian Long Gambling House, when many people started talking about how interesting and fun the new game at Tian Long Gambling House was, and how strange the interior of the casino was, those old gamblers couldn’t sit still. In the end, many of them found excuses to leave early.

Although it was not said, everyone knew that they must have secretly run over to Tian Long Gambling House to join in the fun.

On this day, one casino rejoiced and nine lamented!

In Bao Hua Gambling House, Luo Yang unexpectedly did not get angry this time.

After being warned by his master last time, he didn’t dare to make any further mistakes, so he was more careful in doing things and no longer lost his temper casually.

Concerning the arson incident, it was not that he did not want to pursue it, but that his master refused to do so.

There were some royal secrets involved here, not many people knew, so the master did not want to make things big, otherwise it was not good for the gambling house.

“Master Luo?” Manager Li carefully glanced at Luo Yang, his voice was not too loud, for fear of irritating this great uncle* again.

[*T/N: Manager Li calls Luo Yang “罗爷 luo ye” and also “大爷 da ye”.
大爷 can be used sarcastically to mean “arrogant idler” or “self-centered show-off,” and also respectfully as a term of respect for an older man. Colloquially it means “father’s older brother” or “uncle.”
When 爷 is attached to a name it can be translated as “father, grandfather, master, or old gentleman” and “master” seemed most appropriate in this case.]

Luo Yang stood by the window, staring at the crowds on the street. They were all rushing to Tian Long Gambling House. After a while, he spoke. “Send someone to mix in with the guests at Tian Long Gambling House. Go study and learn this new gambling game. Then we will bring it over here.”

Manager Li’s eyes brightened.

Since no one has been sent to see Tian Long Gambling House yet, they kept thinking that the real reason why Tian Long Gambling House could attract so many gamblers was because of this new gambling game. So as long as they could copy it, they didn’t need to worry about the customer base. It was not difficult to defeat a newly opened casino with Bao Hua Gambling House’s strength.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Luo Yang wanted to go in person, but he was a familiar face. It would only cause criticism if he went. He could not afford to lose that face, and finally sent a hired thug to go.

After receiving the task, the hired thug arrived outside Tian Long Gambling House not long after.

He finally entered the casino after being pushed a dozen of times and getting his feet stepped on multiple times. Like everyone else, he was shocked by the internal structure of the casino.

Regaining his senses, the thug set off for the second floor right away to find the so-called new gambling game. He easily found a private room, but when he opened the door, the situation inside made him dumbfounded.

The private room was large and could hold more than a hundred people, but there was almost no floor space to place one’s foot. You could imagine just how crowded that room was.

The thug gave up and went the second room, then the third room… But the situation in each room was the same, so how could he complete Master Luo’s task?

In the end, the thug decided to squeeze in anyway.

After struggling pass layers of human walls, the thug finally saw the actual gambling game, and then he was dumbfounded yet again. What was this thing?

No matter how shocked he was inside, it was impossible to learn the so-called playing cards game immediately.

An Zi Ran ordered Zhang Tian Zhong and Ye Yu to strictly control the cards in the casino. Even if they were used to the point of being beat up badly, they should still be properly retrieved. Thus, the thug did not have the opportunity to get samples, and it took a while to observe and study.

The thug didn’t stay long, and returned to Bao Hua Gambling House to tell Luo Yang about it.

Luo Yang didn’t get angry. Instead he snorted coldly. “There are no airtight walls in the world. No matter how hard they hide their stuff, there will still be a day when it comes to light. Furthermore, even if we don’t make a move, the other casinos will not sit idly by.”

“Master Luo, do we still need to send someone over to investigate more?” Manager Li asked.

“Wait a bit more.” Luo Yang narrowed his eyes. Wait until the other casinos couldn’t hold back anymore. But he never thought that this waiting would not be a short amount of time.

……

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At the same time, Li Zhen of the carving workshop was also among the people to pay close attention to Tian Long Gambling House.

After the conversation with An Ziran ended that day, Li Zhen had been paying attention to the situation of Tian Long Gambling Hosue until the rumors of a new gambling game came out just before the opening day. He guessed that the game was directly related to the cards he made.

To confirm this, he went over on the day of the casino’s opening. The result was just as he had guessed. Not only that, the new gambling game seemed very popular.

Li Zhen was a qualified businessman, and he soon realized the business opportunities inside.

The next day, he personally went to the Imperial Fu Palace.

An Zi Ran was not surprised at his arrival. If he had came over a few days later, then he would have been disappointed. The two sides then smoothly negotiated their cooperation.

An Zi Ran had hoped that Li Zhen could find a new place to carry out this production again, because if they waited for the other nine casinos to properly react, then those casinos would definitely think of this. There were not many carving workshops in the capital. If they searched one by one then they would definitely find the right one. But he still wanted to monopolize playing cards for a while longer.

Li Zhen knew his scruples and agreed without saying a word.

He also wanted to master this technique and share the impossible things with others.

However, the official card paper for making playing cards was expensive. Li Zhen’s place was a small business and couldn’t afford too much. So they discussed it: An Zi Ran would provide the money, and Li Zhen would provide the skills. As for the division of profits, it would be eighty percent for An Zi Ran and twenty percent for Li Zhen.

Although it didn’t sound like much, Li Zhen was very optimistic about the prospect of playing cards. He was sure that even twenty percent could make him a lot of money.

On this side they were flushed with success, but Xiao Jin Street was a gloomy strip.

Tian Long Gambling House’s popularity did not change for several days. When news of the new gambling game was thoroughly spread, the original gambling houses only had a few gamblers left. It was a complete tragedy. Every time you go in, you could see the empty gambling houses. There were not many people at all. Even if there were, it was because they couldn’t squeeze into Tian Long Gambling House that they had no choice but to come here. How ironic!

This situation continued unanimously for five days.

When the other casinos could not help but make a move, a heavy bomb exploded over everyone’s head.
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What was this membership card system that Tian Long Gambling House was planning to implement? The important point was that it must be paid for. Furthermore, it must be paid for every year. Who would spend money on a card that they had no idea what to do with? It wasn’t like people disliked having too much money and didn’t know how to waste it all.

Thus, the nine major casinos began to look forward to Tian Long Gambling House embarrassing itself.

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Chapter 98.1 – Member System

Presented in front of the master and subordinate pair was a room that could be called an indoor garden.

He was a man with a lot of experience and knowledge, but he couldn’t help revealing a stunned expression at the scene behind the door. He had only seen large manors and large gardens, but he had never seen such a small and natural garden.
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In the depths of the small green garden, there was a delicate and elegant small pavilion that could be faintly seen. From a distance, the scenery must be very pleasant.

It’s been a long time since he was so shocked by something.

It was but an ordinary gambling house that could be seen anywhere, but to think it could be designed in such a way. In his heart he couldn’t help raising a little admiration for those who designed it behind the scenes.

Who would have thought that there would be such a scene in the casino, and who would have thought that the casino could be so elegantly arranged? He had a hunch that this Tian Long Gambling House would one day become the largest casino in Da Ya.

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The handsome man suppressed the throbbing in his heart and was about to walk over, when a person suddenly stepped out without warning and stood in front of them.

“Who are you?”

Da Hei was startled. With a shout, he immediately stood in front of his family’s gong zi like a shield.

The other person was also startled and became momentarily speechless.

The master and subordinate pair took a closer look and found that it was a person who looked ordinary and dressed the same as the servant they saw when they entered the casino.

The handsome man pushed aside Da Hei, and smiled mildly. “We just want to go to the small pavilion inside. I wonder if you can let us pass?”

The servant took a moment to steady himself. He came over for this specific matter. He didn’t think that he would encounter these two men. “Gong zi, really sorry, but the small pavilion is not open to the public for the time being. Please go back.”

The handsome man frowned, and then immediately relaxed.

Such a fresh and pleasant place, if opened on the same day, the novelty would not last long, and there were too many gamblers, maybe it would ruin the scenery here.

“Since that is the case, then forget it.”

The servant let out a sigh of relief.

The handsome man then said, “This little brother, can I ask, when will this place be opened?” He was very fascinated by the little pavilion. He kept thinking that there should be some interesting things there, just like the novelty of the Fight the Landlord gambling game.

The servant replied awkwardly. “This servant is also not clear. The master did not say and we do not know, but if gong zi is really interested, you can come and see again in a few days.”

“If so, then thank you!”

The handsome man thanked the servant politely and brought his guard back to the door. Because the two of them came down from the second floor, they still needed to walk a flight of stairs.

The servant watched them leave and quickly walked over to bolt the door to the indoor garden.

He also came in from this door, but he had used a key. However, after entering, he forgot to lock up. After walking halfway, he remembered and came back, but he didn’t expect someone to have found this door already and came in. If someone really did rush inside, then it would be tragic for him.

There were a total of five pavilions in the small garden, but they vary in height.

These pavilions were not newly built. Even if the Tian Long Gambling House were bigger, it was impossible to build a small garden in such a short amount of time, so these were all ready-made.

When An Ziran bought Feng Hua Gambling House, he didn’t know that there was another place. Later, Zhang Tian Zhong told him that he had a whimsical idea and set up a channel between the small garden and the gambling house after buying it for a large sum.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

However, the five pavilions have been around for a long time, and some places have been eroded and worn out through the years. Later they were repaired and became what they were now.

It was a great success to be able to surprise the handsome man and his subordinate.

Standing on the pavilion, An Ziran could almost see the situation from a distance. He had a good look. He faintly saw two people come in accidentally. Fortunately, one of the servants found out in time.

“Did someone just barge in?”

Fu Wu Tian came over. He did not see the whole process of events.

An Zi Ran returned: “It’s all right, they’re gone.”

Fu Wu Tian asked: “When is wang fei planning to open the small garden to the public?”

Based on the structure of the garden, most ordinary gamblers would not be able to enter, so the garden was mainly aimed at the upper class of Jun Zi City.

An Zi Ran turned around and sat on a tea chair. While making tea, he explained: “I plan to implement a membership system in the gambling house.” Using moneymaking methods from the twenty-first century, it would definitely elevate the casino to another level. At that time, it would be impossible for Bao Hua Gambling House to compete.

“Oh?” Fu Wu Tian was slightly intrigued.

“I’m going to make cards of many levels, such as gold and silver cards. Those with silver cards can enter the premium box on the third floor and enjoy the services inside. If they order food, they can also get a discount. Gold card, its holder can enter the small garden, alas, the specific situation will be explained in detail later.”

The production of the card must be a bit special, because it couldn’t show the identity of the holder by swiping it like in the twenty-first century, so making it and following up was a bit more troublesome.

Right away, Fu Wu Tian thought of the benefits brought about by such a system. “How does wang fei intend to issue such cards?”

An Zi Ran smiled slight, “It’s very simple. Buy it with money. If you want to continue to have the right to the card, you will have to renew it next year. I haven’t decided how much.”

But the cost would definitely not be low. These cards were mainly for wealthy people. He wanted to make a general estimate and then set a suitable price. He was also not afraid of there not being any foolish spendthrifts. He had already released enough temptations; furthermore, most people have calculations in their hearts, that if there were one enticing attraction then naturally there would follow a second.

“Wang fei is indeed clever.” Fu Wu Tian praised sincerely.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Fu Wu Tian said, “Wang fei, you don’t know how to be humble at all.”

“What is humility?”

Fu Wu Tian found that his wang fei was occasionally more of a rascal than him.

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Chapter 97.2 – Casino Open for Business

The day that everyone was looking forward to…

It was finally here.

September 1^st was a very auspicious day for opening a new business.

Almost eighty percent of the gamblers in Jun Zi City flocked to Tian Long Gambling House.

Rumors of the new game spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, and from a hundred to a thousand. Finally, the rumors were determined to be true. As a result, everyone went crazy for it and the street was blocked up.
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On the first day of Tian Long Gambling House’s opening, the entire casino was full of people, leaving a lot of people waiting at the doors, unable to get in. Among them, asides from gamblers, there were also those who didn’t gamble but were very curious. It could be seen that the new gambling game attracted not only gamblers.

“Gong zi.”

Da Hei looked at the crowd in front of him and his scalp was numb. He just realized that there were so many people in Jun Zi City. He also saw that some people couldn’t squeeze in, were pushed down, and then stepped on a few times, looking like they were on their last breath. Despite his martial arts, he already wanted to beat a hasty retreat.

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The handsome man did not expect that there would be so many people, but since he was already here, then he was not going to shrink back. And it wasn’t easy for him to come out, so how could he go back with regret!

“Da Hei, go!”

Da Hei had a face full of black lines. Gong zi, your subordinate is a person, not an animal, he thought.

Nevertheless, the master gave a command; naturally the subordinate dared not disobey.

So, with the sacrificial spirit of one ready to be trampled into a pancake, Da Hei went into the crowd to open up a way for his family’s gong zi. Fortunately, he was physically fit. Even after multiple people had stepped on his feet, he still advanced bravely to the front doors of Tian Long Gambling House, and in the end, he safely delivered his family’s gong zi to the destination place.

“Da Hei, you have worked hard.” The handsome man smiled and patted his loyal dog guard. Then he walked into Tian Long Gambling House under the envious eyes of others.

The gambling house had a unique style. The handsome man who had just entered took in the layout of the place at once and his eyes flashed with obvious surprise.

From the outside, once could guess that the interior of Tian Long Gambling House was not small, but it was really shocking to actually see it, because what appeared in front of them was a huge space. It wasn’t just a two-story structure, but a three-story building. On both the left and right side were long and broad staircases. Looking up, one could clearly see the walkways for the second and third floor, as if enticing them to explore the mysterious inside.

“Gong zi, this Tian Long Gambling House is very unusual.”

It was also Da Hei’s first time seeing a gambling house of this structure, which was full of modern elements. An Zi Ran had spent a lot of energy designing the interior space of the gambling house.

The first floor of Tian Long Gambling House was different from other casinos. There was no gambling room. There was only a spacious lobby. Whether it was someone standing upstairs or downstairs, one could clearly see all the people coming in and going out.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Almost all the people who came in were amazed by this design. One by one, they couldn’t wait to walk up the stairs. Now, whether there was a new gambling game or not, they felt that this trip was still worth it. Being able to play inside this kind of casino full of freshness; it felt better than playing at other casinos.

The handsome man and his subordinate walked towards the second floor along with the flow of people.

They didn’t rush to play like everyone else, but looked at each room along the corridor. They didn’t know how big the space inside the private rooms was, but outside each private room was a sign with the name of a gambling game written on it.

There were dices, dominoes, etc., as well as gambling games that they have never heard of, such as the Fight the Landlord game in front of them.

This name was particularly interesting. Most people who saw this would think of the big and small landowners that hold a lot of farmland in Da Ya, but don’t know if this was the same as what they were thinking.

“Gong zi, would you like to go in and take a look?”

Da Hei stared at the door of the private room as if anxiously waiting to go in, and couldn’t help but ask out loud.

The handsome man glanced at him. “Look at you, so interested.”

Even Da Hei who never gambled was attracted. This Tian Long Gambling House was really extraordinary. He was also very interested, but it must be full of people. He was not interested in crowding with a group of men.

Da Hei was a little disappointed.

The two continued to walk deeper inside.

The owner of the casino seemed to have anticipated this situation, so there were more than one private room set up in the casino, but each one was full of people, very lively, just standing at the door and one could feel the atmosphere of many people inside.

The two walked to the end of the corridor.

Da Hei turned around and wanted to go back, but his family’s gong zi suddenly stood still and stared at the red carved door in the corner. The door was carved beautifully.

“Gong zi, why is there a door here?” Da Hei asked in amazement. He hadn’t seen it just now.

The handsome man was also in doubt, and when he heard what he said, he looked at him silent and said, “You ask this gong zi, then who should this gong zi ask? If you want to know, go and see.”

Da Hei’s speech choked off.

Gong zi, do you not notice that you’re exposing more and more of your arrogant personality? If some people saw this, then they would definitely be shocked.

The handsome man walked over and gently opened the door after speaking — the door to the new century?

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