The King of Cheating

Chapter 2: Cheating in Mahjong.

I used to think that the jianghu (martial arts world) was all about flashing blades and bloodshed. But when I moved from my small town to the city, I discovered that everything seemed no different from my hometown. The only difference was that there were more lights, tall buildings, and bustling traffic.

When I left, Sixth Uncle only gave me a hundred yuan for travel expenses. Sixth Uncle had money; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to find so many women. He only gave me a hundred yuan because he told me that money is abundant in the jianghu and that women are everywhere. If I wanted them, I had to find them myself.

But I didn't know where to start looking. I lived in a small northern border city where bathing culture was popular. To make a living, I first took a job as a service staff at Tianxiang Bathhouse, responsible for distributing supplies in various bathing areas—except for the women's area. I did this for six months.

That afternoon, after distributing the supplies as usual and preparing to leave, my supervisor, Hou Jun, called me and asked me to go to the sixth floor manager's office to deliver a fruit platter to Sister Mei. Sister Mei was the manager of our Tianxiang Bathhouse, not too old, probably around twenty-five or twenty-six. I still remember being a little shocked when I first met her. She was very beautiful, even more so than the dark prostitutes Sixth Uncle had found.

She was about 1.7 meters tall, with fair and smooth skin that looked delicate. Especially her long and straight legs, which glowed with whiteness. Any man who saw her would be captivated.

As I entered while holding the fruit platter, I found Sister Mei playing mahjong in the adjacent suite. All the staff knew that Sister Mei loved playing mahjong. Whenever she had free time, she would go upstairs to play a few rounds. Many men would compete to accompany her, hoping to get close to her.

"Mei Jie, here's the fruit platter prepared for you!" I greeted as I placed the platter down and prepared to leave.

"Wait a moment..." Sister Mei suddenly called out to me. She pointed to the teapot beside her and said, "Change the tea and brew a fresh pot. Use the Mingqian Longjing from the box under my desk!"

So I started boiling water to brew tea. While waiting for the water to boil, I stood at a distance, watching the others play mahjong. They were playing the common variant here, called "Pushing Over the Hu," with a stake of a hundred yuan. Don't underestimate that hundred yuan; because of the different scoring methods, a single game could result in a win or loss of several thousand.

From my position, I could see Sister Mei and her partner's tiles. Sister Mei's partner was also a woman, of similar age but with a completely different aura. This woman was also quite attractive, but she wore heavy makeup, and her black low-cut blouse revealed most of her cleavage.

After watching for a while, I found it strange. I initially thought they were just having a friendly game among friends. But I noticed that the woman in black and the man across from her were acting oddly. The two of them were playing in sync, and it seemed like they were cheating.

Their method of cheating wasn't sophisticated. It was one of the most common tricks in mahjong, using hand signals to convey which tiles they needed. This hand of tiles the woman in black had was a "Pure Sequence with Pairs" type. Her left thumb was tucked back, while her right hand was at the back of her tiles. She was staring at her tiles and not looking anywhere else. Meanwhile, the man across from her had a somewhat wandering gaze, intentionally or unintentionally looking at the woman's hand.

As the tiles circulated, the man across from her played an 8 bamboo tile, and the woman in black immediately claimed it. At that moment, I was still wondering if this was just a coincidence. But after claiming the tile, the woman in black kept her left thumb tucked and her right hand slightly closed. I silently guessed that if they were cheating, the tile she needed should be a 5 bamboo.

Sure enough, after just two more rounds, the man across played a 5 bamboo tile. The woman in black claimed the tile and quickly completed a self-drawn win. A self-drawn win, with no terminals and a pure sequence of pairs, added up to a total of 24 points. Sister Mei's three players each lost 2,400.

In fact, there are various ways to cheat in mahjong, each more intricate than the last. For instance, you could make a comment like "It's a bit hot today," which could signal a bamboo tile. Or you could say, "You look beautiful today," signaling a character tile. The method the two were using, with hand signals, is known in the cheating world as the "Nine-section Whip," where they use the joints of their fingers to convey signals.

I could confirm that the two were cheating, but I didn't know their relationship with Sister Mei, so I couldn't expose them. After I brewed the tea and was about to leave, the man opposite Sister Mei answered a phone call.

The call was brief, and once he hung up, he said, "Sorry, I can't play anymore. My child is sick, so I'll have to leave. I also lost more than ten thousand today..."

As soon as the man left, the alluring woman in black began to complain. "Su Mei, what kind of person did you find? The game isn't even finished, and he just says he has to go. He's just looking for an excuse to leave because he can't stand losing. I haven't had my fill of playing yet..."

Sister Mei casually fiddled with the mahjong tiles in front of her, smiled lightly, and said, "My dear Hua Jie, all three of us lost, but you alone won. You still want to win more?"

The woman in black, called Hua Jie, quickly counted the money in her hand, pouted, and said, "I haven't even won three thousand yet. Su Mei, why don't you find someone else to play with me? I want to play mahjong today..."

Sister Mei, unable to refuse her persistence, glanced at her phone's contact list, unsure who to call at this hour. After a moment of thought, she turned to me, who was pouring tea, and asked, "Chuliu, do you know how to play mahjong? Come over and play a few rounds with us..."

I never expected Sister Mei would suddenly invite me, but I quickly replied, "I know a little, but you're playing too high stakes for me to join..."

Actually, in this type of game, even if I didn't bring money to the table, I would still win. After all, my years of cheating techniques weren't for nothing. But I had to say this, as it was something Sixth Uncle had taught me. A qualified cheat must know how to be low-key and seem weak, to conceal their skills. Only when the opponent completely overlooks you can you deliver a fatal strike.

"It's okay, if you lose, it's on me; if you win, it's yours. Come on..." Sister Mei said as she took out a stack of ten-thousand-yuan bills and threw them onto the table opposite her. "Just sit there and lend us a hand..."

I no longer hesitated and took a seat opposite Sister Mei. In 2000, mahjong machines hadn't yet become popular here; everyone played with manual tiles. This type of manual mahjong was especially suited for seasoned cheats to pull tricks. Of course, even if it were a mahjong machine, it wouldn't hinder the cheating.

As the tiles were shuffled, the woman in black deliberately brushed against my hand and teased me, saying, "Oh, this young man is quite fresh. Tell Sister Hua, do you have a girlfriend? Are you still a virgin?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she laughed out loud, followed by Sister Mei and the other man who joined in the laughter. Meanwhile, I remained expressionless, organizing the mahjong tiles.

When practicing mahjong cheating techniques, the first step that Sixth Uncle required was to remember not only the tiles in front of you but also all the tiles that others revealed while organizing theirs. This way, even without cheating, you can still ensure a high winning rate.