Rong Shaoze raised an eyebrow and asked on Lin Xinlan’s behalf, "How high?"
"Not too high, let’s start with ten thousand."
Lin Xinlan was startled, "That’s not high?"
Xu Yao said calmly, "Of course not. You can’t possibly have bad luck all the time. Even if you keep losing, at most you’ll lose a couple of million, which isn’t too much. After all, Rong Shaoze can afford it. Besides, even if he can’t pay up, doesn’t he own a piece of land worth five hundred million? Just carve out a little bit for me, and that’ll be enough."
Lin Xinlan had wanted to say that the stakes were too high and she didn’t want to play.
But hearing Xu Yao mention that five hundred million-valued piece of land, she felt embarrassed to refuse. After all, he had given that five hundred million as a gift to Xiaocong.
If someone can casually offer five hundred million, then it would seem petty of her not to risk a few million.
Rong Shaoze nodded without hesitation, "Sure, let’s do it."
Lin Xinlan looked at him, her eyes innocently communicating: If I lose, you’re paying, okay?
A few million, where would she get that kind of money?
Rong Shaoze chuckled and ruffled her hair, giving her a reassuring look, "Just play, don’t worry about the amount you might lose."
So Lin Xinlan played without concern, knowing that Rong Shaoze would cover the losses. She didn’t have to worry about being unable to pay.
She also mentally prepared to lose millions to them as a way of offering Xu Yao some consolation.
But little did she know, Xu Yao had set her up.
Starting at ten thousand, one turn means twenty thousand, two turns forty thousand, three turns sixty thousand... The highest multiplier can reach hundreds of times that.
Even if each round was just several tens of times the initial amount, she would lose a lot of money.
If she kept losing, she might end up forfeiting the entire five hundred million to Xu Yao.
Lin Xinlan didn’t understand the game, but Rong Shaoze did, as did the other two men.
Neither of them had the wealth of Rong Shaoze or Xu Yao, so they had agreed beforehand that if they lost, they’d just owe the money, as they didn’t carry much cash on them.
Whether they’d pay back the money was a concern for later.
Xu Yao and Rong Shaoze both agreed, since their target wasn’t the other two men.
Before they began, Rong Shaoze roughly explained the rules to Lin Xinlan and gave her a few tips, then let her play on her own.
At the beginning, with his guidance, Lin Xinlan didn’t lose too badly, only a few tens of thousands.
But once Rong Shaoze stopped advising her, she kept getting bumped and barred, and others kept winning on their own turns.
And Xu Yao was the big winner. Every time he won on his own turn, he would announce how many times, letting Lin Xinlan do the math, and then he’d jot it down in a notebook to settle up later.
Lin Xinlan let Rong Shaoze do the calculating, as she had no idea how to manage it.
Rong Shaoze just noted down the multipliers without specifying the amount lost, so she naturally didn’t realize how much money she had already lost for him.
She was just focused on playing the game, and the more she played, the more energized and interested she became.
Mahjong could really be compared to a drug; once you get a taste, you just can’t bear to stop.
Actually, Lin Xinlan was quite smart. After playing a dozen or so rounds, she had picked up on the strategy and had gotten much better. Except for her lack of skill, she had all the rules firmly memorized.
But she still lost more than she won. However, seeing Rong Shaoze’s smiling face, she assumed her losses weren’t substantial. Moreover, she kept thinking about making up for Xu Yao’s losses, so she played even more boldly and freely.