Chapter 88: Gambling is Also an Art
After arriving at the casino where Tevez was a shareholder, Xu Cheng and the others got off their car.
Lin Chuxue was wearing a hat and a pair of sunglasses, so it was difficult for people to recognize her. After all, her eyes, which were her most beautiful features, were covered up, and the paparazzi wouldn’t go up to her to take off her glasses. Otherwise, they would be beaten up by the security guards of the casino.
It was relatively safer after getting into the casino, and Lin Chuxue walked along side of Xu Cheng.
In comparison to the casino operated by West Gate, this one looked more magnificent and classy, and the entire casino was dazzling. Many hotel resort chains were located around it, and it could be called a must-go destination for sightseeing in Shangcheng.
Tevez proudly introduced, “This casino costed over 500 million dollars to construct. Not just in Shangcheng, this casino is even pretty famous on a global scale.”
Lin Lei asked, “How much of the casino do you own?”
“Not too much, just about 20%.” Tevez tried to downplay it, but 20% meant an initial investment of more than 100 million dollars, and that was a pretty big sum. Being able to become a shareholder and help run this casino already gave him enough bragging rights among people of his age. After all, many people wished to get a piece of this pie and to be able to do so also demonstrated the strength of one’s network and connections.
“Auntie, Uncle, you can play whatever you want! As long as you guys have a great time, if you lose a couple of million yuan, just put it on my tab.” At this moment, Tevez felt like he was winning a lot of impression points. Seeing how poorly dressed Xu Cheng was, and then looking back at himself, even though the Lin Family was very rich, they still probably wouldn’t feel comfortable about having a son-in-law that couldn’t even pay big bills. So, if his actions today could make them feel a bit upset with Xu Cheng and form a favorable impression of himself, then his goal would be achieved.
Speaking of this, he came over and patted Lin Lei on the shoulder. He felt like if he was going to try and steal Lin Chuxue from Xu Cheng, her brother could also be an opening. So, he smiled and said, “William (Lin Lei’s English name), it’ll be hard to find time to go to Las Vegas, but since you came here to the biggest casino in Asia, you should experience it! Come, I will show you guys around. If you win then you can take home the money, and if you lose less than a couple million, then you can just put it on my tab.”
Lin Lei removed his hand from his shoulder, giving him the “Are we that close?” face and then moving to Xu Cheng’s side.
There was still a smile hanging on Tevez’s face, and he looked at Xu Cheng and said, “You want to give it a try too?”
“I’m a public servant, I shouldn’t touch this kind of thing,” Xu Cheng replied.
You shouldn’t or are you too poor to touch it? A hint of disdain flashed past Tevez’s eyes, and he smiled. “Wouldn’t you regret not giving it a shot since you are already here anyways? Come on, just play a couple of rounds for fun.”
Lin Chuxue whispered to Xu Cheng, “If you want to play, you can use my card.”
Tevez looked all apologetic as he quickly said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot that Mr. Xu is very respectable and didn’t accept any generous allowance from Uncle Lin. I heard patrol officers earn peanuts though, right? I’m quite curious as to how Mr. Xu survives in this financial metropolis that is Shangcheng.”
“I just did some real estate investment with the money my dad left me, so I do alright for myself,” Xu Cheng replied.
“Oh? I heard real estate investments are very profitable, how much have you earned so far?“ Tevez continued to ask.
“Not too much. Ten years ago when I was still in Britain, I took the money and asked my friend to buy a place in Shangcheng. Back then, my dad left me a million, and now the land and the building is just worth about a billion. But it’s not dollars, just yuan.” Xu Cheng copied how this pig was and spoke nonchalantly like it wasn’t too big of a deal.
On the side, Lin Lei couldn’t help but laugh out. He saw how Tevez’s face became slightly unnatural when he heard a billion. Although 1 billion was only about 1.6 million US dollars, it was still much better than him coming out to play the business game with the money he got from home.
“You little brat, why didn’t you tell me about this?” Even Lin Guiren was a bit dumbfounded by this.
Xu Cheng was a bit shy as he said, “Back then, my dad’s friend transferred this money to me, and I was afraid of the money devaluing if I just left it there, and it was also during the time when real estate suddenly started booming. Yeah, I just got pretty lucky, that’s all.”
Mommy Lin laughed and said, “That’s already really good! Investments rely on luck and vision, and you were able to turn a million to a billion with just real estate! Even just looking at people of your age in the country, I don’t think there are many people that can earn that kind of return, right?”
Tevez couldn’t bear to listen anymore. He dry-coughed and said, “Since you have the money, then why not just play a few rounds? A little gambling is good for your mood, and you can experience the atmosphere here.”
“Mom, Dad, you probably didn’t bring too much local currency when you came over, right? I still have some savings, you can use my money,” Xu Cheng said to the Lin Guiren couple.
The two of them obviously didn’t want to use Tevez, an outsider’s money anyways, since they were also people of status and didn’t want to owe Tevez a favor for just a small sum like this. As for Xu Cheng, he was basically their son so they could comfortably take Xu Cheng up on his offer, and think of it as just their child doing nice things for his parents. Besides, it was quite troublesome to convert currencies.
“Okay, then let’s just play a few rounds.” Lin Guiren also liked to go to Las Vegas when he had time, since gambling was usually on the list of favorite things to do for rich people, just like golf.
Tevez was quite excited when he heard that. That’s awesome, watch me make you lose all of your money. Then, when you lose enough, I can return all the money and say “Put it on my tab”. That’ll immediately turn the tables around.
The entire casino was quite tiring and boring to tour, and soon the Lin Family lost their patience. After all, it wasn’t their business, why would they care? This was quite painful for Tevez, who just wanted to show off and brag about all the details.
Then, he led them to the VIP area to play some cards.
On Xu Cheng’s bank card, he had about 20 million yuan collected by the property management company. The Lin Guiren couple didn’t want to play heavy-stake games, so Xu Cheng just got about 5 million yuan worth of chips for them to play with.
Lin Lei took 100 thousand worth and just went off to play some small games. Since they arrived on his territory, Tevez sat down and of course would play with Lin Guiren. After all, Lin Chuxue would be staying by her parents’ side, so he had nowhere else to go as well.
Tevez looked at Xu Cheng and asked, “You won’t play one yourself?”
The area they sat down in was where the preferred games of foreigners were situated. Before Xu Cheng could speak, Lin Guiren already started laughing. “This kid doesn’t know how to play this kind of cards. Tevez, since you run the casino, you are probably already very skilled in most kinds of games, right? Don’t pull my son-in-law into this.”
“I’m not that skilled, but I did spend quite a bit of time studying it,” Tevez laughed and said.
Lin Chuxue had her arm around Xu Cheng and she asked, “You really don’t want to play?”
Xu Cheng slightly smiled. “It’s fine, this stuff is kind of boring.”
Because he could see through the cards, the game was obviously boring.
“It’s normal for outsiders to think this way. But, gambling is also an art, and people that don’t know how to play naturally think it’s boring because they always lose. To be frank, these card games aren’t as easy as winning or losing, the process involves one’s ability to read cards and wage psychological warfare,” Tevez ridiculed.
