Chapter 719: Raising the Stakes

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As Aunt Yang spoke, her voice began to waver with emotion. Yang Zhen watched her in silence, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She smiled and said, “I understand you, and it’s all in the past now. Mother, I promise you, if my brother can come to his senses and treat you better, I will help him find a stable job. I don’t object to you taking care of Yuan Yuan. This way, I can come to town more often to see you.”

Aunt Yang looked at her daughter with immense satisfaction. Indeed, no one understood a mother better than her own daughter. She was content, knowing she had such a wonderful daughter.

After the formal wedding banquet at noon, there was another meal in the evening. To keep the guests entertained during the gap between the two meals, Lin Hun and Gui Hua had rented two mahjong parlors next to the garden.

The mahjong parlors in town offered not only mahjong but also card games and tea. They even had dedicated rest areas, making them the perfect place to pass the time. Su Shen, a prominent figure in the area, was immediately invited to play mahjong by the pig farm workers as soon as he stepped down from the banquet.

In the past, the workers would never dare to challenge the cold and aloof boss, Su Shen. But ever since he married Gu Zi, he had become more approachable, and the workers could feel this change. Today was a day of celebration, and with Jin Long egging them on, the workers grew bolder and dared to invite Boss Su to play mahjong.

However, Su Shen sat at the mahjong table with a furrowed brow, clearly out of his element. He was adept at fighting and slaughtering pigs, but mahjong was foreign to him.

Just as Su Shen was about to excuse himself from the table, his wife, Gu Zi, stepped forward. She addressed the crowd, “You can ask my husband to play mahjong, but you can’t bully him like this. He doesn’t know how to play. If you want him to play, I’ll have to teach him first. Is that okay?”

The sight of the couple working together was so sweet that it made the onlookers’ hearts flutter. They couldn’t bear to watch any longer. They heard Gu Zi whisper in Su Shen’s ear, “Husband, I’ll teach you three rounds. Do you think you can learn?”

Su Shen looked at her, his eyes filled with deep affection, as if they were the only two people in the world. “If you teach me, I can learn. Let’s play.”

The crowd shook their heads in disbelief. Was this the same Boss Su they knew, the one who was usually cold, ruthless, and sparing with words?

Now, the way Boss Su looked at his wife was almost adoring. They were openly displaying their affection, which was simply outrageous. They just wanted to win a little money from Boss Su. Was it really going to be this difficult?

Jin Long and Gong Xin exchanged glances, also finding the scene unbearable. Jin Long asked a worker to give up his seat, and he sat down opposite Su Shen. As he stacked the mahjong tiles, he complained, “You two are too much, flirting in public like this. What has the world come to? I promise you, I’ll play three rounds with you to let Boss Su learn. Let’s get started.”

Gu Zi averted her gaze, accepted a stool from someone, and sat down next to Su Shen. She began to teach him how to play mahjong. She was a good teacher, and Su Shen was a quick learner. By the second round, he had already grasped the basics. However, he didn’t say anything and started the third round. But his attention was not on the game; it was on Gu Zi.

As Gu Zi taught him, her soft voice was like a gentle spring breeze, very pleasant to the ear. Her faint apricot blossom scent wafted into his nostrils from time to time, making his ears turn red and his heart race. Jin Long noticed this and slammed his unwanted tile onto the table, making a loud “thud.”

Finally, the third practice round was over, and the real game began. Jin Long rubbed his hands together, eager to make Su Shen empty his pockets. It was too much, flaunting their love so openly. During the practice rounds, Su Shen hadn’t been focused at all. His mind was entirely on his wife. Jin Long didn’t believe he had really learned how to play.

Jin Long said, “Playing for pennies is no fun. We’re playing with Boss Su, after all. Now that the real game is starting, we need to raise the stakes. Ten for a self-drawn win, five for a discard win, five for an exposed kong, and ten for a concealed kong. How about it?”

As soon as Jin Long said this, the other two players at the table were taken aback. One of them said, “Brother Jin Long, what’s the difference between this and gambling? Do you want us to go bankrupt? Can I withdraw? If I play for such high stakes, my mother and wife will kill me when I get home!” The other quickly agreed, expressing his willingness to withdraw immediately if possible.