The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

At that moment, Wang Qingzhi came to Zheng Jiaxing’s side and whispered, “You lost again?”

Zheng Jiaxing subconsciously nodded. “Yeah.”

“It’s fine. Things always reverse themselves after reaching an extreme. After a lot of losses, your luck will definitely turn for the better. When that happens, you will win big!”

“Yeah, Jiaxing, don’t worry. It’s just gambling. Winning and losing is very common. You had a winning streak the past two days, and probably your luck has turned worse. After a few rounds of losing, it will turn good again,” Wang Laosi added.

Zheng Jiaxing nodded. He was familiar with everyone there. They were all frequent patrons of the gambling tables. Everyone gambled all the time, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was likely just the way luck worked. Wins and losses were just statistics.

With this in mind, Zheng Jiaxing continued playing, but he continued losing. The thousands of yuan he had from his past winnings began depleting. Soon, it was almost reaching his own capital.

At that moment, Wang Qingzhi said, “It’s almost time. Make a big bet and win it all back.”

Zheng Jiaxing was already tilted from his losses. Among everyone present, he was closest to Wang Qingzhi, and he treated Wang Qingzhi as a straw to clutch at. He listened to his advice and pulled out all the money in his pocket. He took out a thousand yuan from the last three thousand he had and made his biggest bet! He called out, “Continue!”

“Nice!”

“Nice bravery!”

“Hehe, our Jiaxing has grown up! He’s so domineering now!”

“Holy sh*t, to raise the stakes so suddenly, even I do not dare to continue.”

“Me too. How fearsome. Jiaxing, you are awesome, but since you have done so, how can I pass on this?”

Therefore, the others called. Immediately there was three thousand yuan on the gambling table. Zheng Jiaxing’s eyes turned red from the sight of it. If he were to win this round, he would win it all back. With this in mind, Zheng Jiaxing’s hands began to tremble because his cards were not bad!

“Aiyah, f**k. What crappy cards are these? How am I to continue?” At that moment, someone standing behind cursed.

The person who had his cards seen immediately glared back and cursed. “F**k off, son-of-a-bitch. Don’t make a fuss when watching others gamble.”

The person knew that he had broken the rules as he fell silent.

However, Zheng Jiaxing seemed to have seen hope. If the other party’s cards were no good, then… With this in mind, Zheng Jiaxing raised the stakes! He added another five hundred.

Wang Qingzhi whispered, “Jiaxing. Your cards aren’t bad. Since your opponent has crappy cards, you should take this opportunity.”

Zheng Jiaxing nodded and quickly shouted for a pause as he added another five hundred.

Indeed, the other two players hesitated, but they eventually called. Zheng Jiaxing did not bother to go all-in as he left a thousand behind. He refused to raise the stakes, so everyone revealed their cards…

And indeed, Zheng Jiaxing won! Zheng Jiaxing excitedly pulled in all the money as he could hardly close his mouth. By the side, Wang Qingzhi smiled as he secretly placed something in Zheng Jiaxing’s pocket before going to another table to gamble.

Zheng Jiaxing continued playing. He felt confident after winning a round. But then he continued losing the remaining rounds. When he lost his final thousand yuan, Zheng Jiaxing turned flustered.

“Jiaxing, are you continuing? You have lost a few consecutive rounds. It’s probably around time your luck changes for the better,” said someone.

Zheng Jiaxing said stumped, “But… I’m out of money.”

“So what? Just borrow from Laosi. All of us do that. When we run out of money, we borrow from Laosi. After all, once our luck turns for the better, we can win it all back. It’s gambling, so there’s always wins and losses. It’s all about having fun. Today you win, tomorrow he wins, it’s all a cycle. The money just circulates among us. We won’t lose by borrowing money.”

Zheng Jiaxing’s interest was piqued, but he did not request a loan.

At that moment, Wang Laosi spoke up, “Don’t say it that way. I’m not lending you guys the money for nothing. Jiaxing, if you have money, continue. If you don’t, forget it. Money lost is money lost. Go home.”

The moment Laosi said that, Zheng Jiaxing immediately felt upset. After being placed on a pedestal for a few consecutive days, the feeling of being lauded by everyone and that pride instantly shattered! He was being reduced to his original state! They were looking down on him! They believed that he would not be able win back the money! They were treating him as a child!

Zheng Jiaxing yelled, “Laosi, lend me a thousand first. I’ll return it to you when I win it back.”

“Jiaxing, you have think it through carefully. This money isn’t loaned to you for nothing. You also know that in the line, money comes fast. So 4% interest a month. It’s neither high nor low.” Wang Laosi’s tone had the implication that Zheng Jiaxing was a child if he was unable to afford the loan.

This only served to agitate Zheng Jiaxing even further. At home, he was always treated like a child. It was not easy for him to build up his confidence outside, so how could he permit others to topple it? Hence he said, “So what if it’s 4%? I’ll take the loan.”

“Deal.” With that said, Wang Laosi pulled out a stack of bills worth a thousand yuan and handed them to Zheng Jiaxing.

With the money in hand, Zheng Jiaxing immediately cried out, “Continue!”

“Aiyah, Jiaxing has money again. Is he gonna wipe us out?”

“Come on… Let’s continue!”

…

Two rounds later, Zheng Jiaxing lost it all. The more he lost, the more indignant Zheng Jiaxing felt. He had that nagging feeling that his luck would turn for the better and that he would win it back. Hence, he borrowed more.

He repeatedly borrowed, to the point of him forgetting how many times he did it. Only when the rooster crowed did Zheng Jiaxing seem to awaken like a basin of cold water had splashed on him! It was daybreak! He had gambled an entire night! Zheng Jiaxing quickly whipped out his cell phone and saw more than twenty missed calls. They were all from his wife.

Zheng Jiaxing immediately turned flustered as he got up. “No, I can’t continue.”

“Jiaxing, you can leave, but you should cover the IOUs you made. Gamblers like us aren’t fond of keeping IOUs.” Two of the gamblers found it unacceptable.

Zheng Jiaxing clenched his teeth as he looked at Wang Laosi, who said, “I can lend it to you, but you will have to draw up another IOU.”

“Alright!” Zheng Jiaxing was in a hurry to return home. He gritted his teeth and agreed. He lowered his head to write, but when he saw the number, he was stunned! He had spent the night as if possessed. He had crazily borrowed money to gamble, and when he took a look again in the morning, he realized he had borrowed a hundred thousand yuan!

“A hundred thousand!?” Zheng Jiaxing nearly lost his mind.

“It’s written in black and white. Do you want me to do the math for you? Jiaxing, you went to school too. You should have studied math, right? I don’t like trouble, and it’s messy if there’s too many IOUs. Write one for me, and I’ll tear the rest.” Wang Laosi pulled out an IOU and placed it on the table. In a daze, Zheng Jiaxing took the IOU slips over and looked at each and every one of them. After adding them all up, there was really a hundred thousand!

At that instant, Zheng Jiaxing’s mind went abuzz before it went blank. He stumbled and nearly fainted.

Wang Laosi propped him up and said, “Jiaxing, isn’t it just a hundred thousand? If you can lose this much in a night, it means you can win that much as well. Do you need to be like this? We are here to have fun. Who hasn’t lost before? It will be fine once you get used to it.”