Everyone gathered around the table as Earth Monkey shuffled the deck of cards, then lifted his head and calmly regarded the group.
Qi Xia rubbed his temples and asked, “Earth Monkey, are you really not going to explain the rules of this deck?”
“What, with your skill level, you should be able to figure it out as we play,” Earth Monkey replied, carefully setting the cards down before pulling a cigarette from his suit pocket and lighting it.
Chen Jun’nan, after listening, found this somewhat unreasonable and couldn’t help but speak up. “Brother Monkey, isn’t this against the rules?”
“Oh?” Earth Monkey exhaled a smoke ring and asked indifferently, “How so?”
“You’re running a ‘casino,’ and as the host, you’re not letting the players know the rules before gambling?” Chen Jun’nan chuckled. “You’ve got some nerve, huh? When’s this place going under?”
“Ha,” Earth Monkey took the cigarette from his lips, holding it between his fingers. “Losing all your ‘chips’ because you don’t know the rules is something that happens every day in this casino. So no, I’m not breaking any rules.”
Qi Xia scoffed. “But isn’t that just boring?”
“Boring?”
“You’ve waited so long to finally use this ‘Waxing and Waning Moon’ deck, and your grand strategy is to win by withholding information?” Qi Xia stroked his chin. “Is that really the best tactic you could come up with? What are you afraid of?”
Earth Monkey’s gaze flickered slightly at these words, as if carefully weighing Qi Xia’s statement. After a few seconds, he sighed softly. “Fair point. To keep the game moving, I suppose I should explain the basics.”
Uncertain of Earth Monkey’s thoughts, Qi Xia crossed his arms and waited for the explanation.
Earth Monkey placed the shuffled deck on the table. A quick glance revealed it wasn’t a full poker deck—likely only thirty or forty cards.
He flipped the top card and laid it face-up on the table.
On it were just two characters in regular script:
**”Grain in Ear.”**
Earth Monkey examined it, then flipped the second card from the deck, revealing:
**”Mid-Autumn Festival.”**
The group immediately grasped the significance. “Grain in Ear” was one of the twenty-four solar terms, while “Mid-Autumn Festival” was a traditional holiday. With over thirty cards in total, it was likely the deck included all twenty-four solar terms and major festivals. But what kind of game could be played with such a deck?
“When the game begins, a ‘community card’ will be drawn and placed face-up in the center,” Earth Monkey explained. “Then, each player will draw two cards—one face-up for everyone to see, and one face-down for your eyes only.”
Qi Xia nodded. “And then?”
“Ha…” Earth Monkey flashed an eerie smile. “Then, using your two cards plus the community card, you’ll compare the strength of your three-card combination against everyone else’s. The highest-ranking hand wins all the chips on the table.”
“Compare strength…?”
The phrase left the group puzzled.
The cards only bore Chinese characters—what could “comparing strength” possibly mean? Were they supposed to compare dates?
But if it really was about dates, why use a combination of their own cards and the community card? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just compare single cards?
“As for the winning conditions… don’t worry,” Earth Monkey added. “My ‘casino’ has standards. If your hand beats mine, I won’t deny it. There’s no bluffing—if you win, I won’t cheat. That would genuinely be against the rules.”
“So… how is victory decided?” Qi Xia pressed. “One round to determine the winner?”
“No… of course not.” Earth Monkey shook his head. “After finally getting to use my ‘Waxing and Waning Moon,’ how could we settle it in one round?”
He picked up the two cards from the table, reshuffled them, and declared, “Eight rounds. No matter the chip count after that, the game ends.”
Qi Xia frowned but nodded.
Now, not only did they have to decipher the rules within eight rounds, but they also had to win enough “chips” to free all six of them.
“How many ‘chips’ can be won in one round?” Xiao Cheng asked.
“Good question,” Earth Monkey said. “At the start, each player antes one ‘chip.’ Then, everyone is dealt one face-up card, which must be shown. The player with the latest date on their card gets to decide whether to raise first.”
“Raise?”
“Exactly.” Earth Monkey nodded. “This is a casino, after all, and casinos have their own rules. After the first raise, the remaining players, in clockwise order, must choose one of three options: ‘fold,’ ‘call,’ or ‘raise.’ Folding means surrendering your ante to cut your losses. Calling means matching the current bet. Raising means increasing it further.”
The group nodded in understanding.
“And if someone raises mid-round, the remaining players who haven’t folded must repeat the process clockwise until everyone has either folded or called.” Earth Monkey scanned the group. “These are basic gambling rules. Clear enough?”
Though his explanation was straightforward, the key issue remained unresolved.
How exactly were they supposed to compare the strength of these cards?
After drawing their cards, how could they decide whether their hand was worth betting on?
And an even more pressing problem loomed.
Even if the game did involve comparing dates—traditional festivals were manageable, but who could accurately recall the dates of all twenty-four solar terms?
Which came first—”White Dew,” “Grain Rain,” or “Grain in Ear”?
They could only hope the comparison wasn’t based on dates but perhaps on the stroke count of the characters. Otherwise, the game’s difficulty would skyrocket to absurd levels.
“Whether you understand or not, that’s all I’m explaining,” Earth Monkey concluded, eyeing the six players. “Are all of you joining this game?”
Tian Tian and Xiao Cheng simultaneously glanced at Zheng Yingxiong, while Chen Jun’nan whispered to Qi Xia, “Old Qi, do you know the exact dates of the twenty-four solar terms?”
Qi Xia rubbed his temples again. Though slightly dizzy, he knew that wasn’t the real issue.
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