Chapter 23 The Woe of The Gambler (1/2)

Chapter 23 The Woe of The Gambler

I was stunned ... Is this the Niu Xiao’er I once knew?

Once, Niu Xiao’er...was high-spirited amongst my class mates. Although he was not the most handsome, he must have absolutely been the sunniest. Many girls had secretly given love letters to him.

But now he had a bald head, and there was an unspeakably violent scar on his eyebrows.

His right hand only had three fingers; his middle finger and little finger were gone.

He did not hide his disability, and he showed off the three fingers and said, ”My brother, you judge if I have been unlucky. Years ago, I gambled with people, lost everything, and then used my fingers to gamble. Finger was thirty thousand Yuan…shit, I still lost two fingers.

I smiled and said that he was ruthless. Besides money, he began to gamble his life away.

”Damn, do not talk about this matter. I have lost all my money.” Niu Xiao’er drooped his shoulder and said, ”My brother, let's go at noon, we two brothers, to have a drink.”

”Go.” I also wanted to have a drink with him.

Although I knew he was not the Niu Xiao’er I once knew, for the sake of our old friendship, I felt we should have a glass of wine.

I took Niu Xiao’er to a little restaurant next to my tattoo studio, ready to have a meal.

Niu Xiao’er sneered at that small restaurant and said, ”My brother, we can ‘teat here. In small restaurants the chef can't cook good dishes. Let us go downtown and find a classy restaurant.”

I have always been frugal. It would cost maybe a few dozen Yuan to eat at the small restaurant, but if went to the classy restaurant, it would cost a few hundred.

I was a little distressed about the money, but since the brother had said so, for the sake of peace of mind, or for the sake of face, I had to endure. I said, ”The city has a Korean-style grill joint, let’s go there to eat meat.”

I said that at the Korean-style grill place, it would cost two people five or six hundred dollars to eat, plus a good wine. I estimated that a few thousand Yuan were out.

But Niu Xiao’er was still dissatisfied.

He slanted his head with a bad smile, ”Puff, my brother, you call that place a classy restaurant? You look like you're not going to eat. I’ve been to your city before, and I know there's a French restaurant over here, and it's very tasty. Let’s go there to eat.”

I was amazed by him.

To be honest, I really didn't earn much. It’s OK if we eat something cheap, but you’re trying to make me eat ”high-range food”? Isn’t this a bit...?

Alas!

I thought the meal would probably cost me all the money I’d just gotten from Mimi.

I rode the tram and took him to a restaurant in the city for a French dinner.

The place was really luxurious, and I hadn't been there before. But Niu Xiao’er, as if he was a regular, sat on the leather seat and began to order.

”Red wine, big snail, foie gras, and black truffle.” He ordered casually.

I felt a pain in my wallet for his sake.

When I walked in the door, I saw the price of the big snail, oh my god, more than four hundred Yuan.

This time in the French restaurant, I estimated that I couldn't go out if I didn't spend plenty of money first.

But I belong to those people who take things as they come. Now that I was there, I was going to eat boldly. It was OK for me to swipe my credit card.

Frankly speaking, although this French food was expensive, I was really not accustomed to eating it. The black truffle was suffused with a strange flavor, the foie gras was sticky, and the big snail was unsavory.

Maybe I am the kind of person accustomed to eating scallions dipped in sauce, not such fancy dishes?

I did not eat a lot of food and kept drinking red wine, looking at him eating quickly.

After a couple of drinks, both Niu Xiao’er and I were slightly tipsy.

Everyone says that after drinking people tell the truth. He drank too much, and just told me his stories.

I almost fainted when I heard them.

Originally...his life was much more complicated than losing two fingers.

Three or four years ago, he actually had a good life.

Niu Xiao’er had opened a sanitary napkin factory at that time, specialized in fake goods such as Anerle, seven-degree space, Whisper, and other famous sanitary napkin brands. He was making fakes of those brands.

He could make tens of millions of Yuan a year at his peak.

Once people have money, they will be itching to do something. At the time, Niu Xiao’er wasn't satisfied with eating and drinking, so he became addicted to gambling.

This was a bottomless hole. Ten bets, ten losses. After two or three years he lost his all money, and his own house and car were mortgaged out.

He lost all of it.