Daomu Biji

Chapter 11 Lighting Sky Lanterns

After she said this, I finally got excited and immediately understood what was going to happen next. I suddenly remembered that my grandfather mentioned this concept in some anecdotes I heard back then.

The so-called lighting of sky lanterns is a saying in casinos in the old days. In fact, it should be called "lighting of lanterns". It is a gambling technique. It means that if you find someone on the gaming table who is very unlucky, bet against him and he bets. If you bet on the big bet, bet on the small bet. If he bets on the player, bet on the banker. What you bet on is not your own luck but the bad luck of others. This person with bad luck is your "light". Some people are born with bad luck and will lose every time they gamble. They will even be specially invited to "light the lanterns" to make small losses and make big profits.

From the perspective of probability theory, this is actually not true. Probability theory does not admit the theory of luck, but lighting sky lanterns is absolutely effective. Any gambler knows that after he loses the first hand, he is likely to continue to do so. If you continue to lose, the world will be so wonderful.

During the Qing Dynasty, in the circle of high-rollers in Jiangnan, because the number of players was huge and uncontrolled, unlucky people often lost everything in one night, so the word "lighting up" was not grand enough in that situation, and , that kind of playboy often likes to be angry with others. You don't like me, I think you are unfavorable, and even before you start a bet, you have to take advantage of your words. As soon as he came up, he said, "Second son of the Wang family, don't be so arrogant, I will use you to light a lantern today." The other party always had to add some spice to the scolding back, "You use me to light a lamp, I will use you to light a sky lantern!"

After a while, this is simply called lighting a sky lantern. In fact, this is more appropriate. Lighting a sky lantern is to burn yourself up with a fire, just like they gamble and lose their fortune in one night.

This was later extended, and people outside the industry used this word. When it came to the auction, singing and selling industry, the meaning also changed. I remember my grandfather told a story about the boss of their Laojiumen. , became famous in Beijing, and chased his wife by lighting up sky lanterns while singing. I had almost forgotten this story. It was only after the old woman reminded me that I remembered it.

Lighting sky lanterns during singing and selling auctions seems to mean that the venue is reserved. In a box, there are two main seats on the left and right, and the one on the right is the lamp holder. If someone sits on the right seat of any box, it means that no matter where the room is, Whatever is on sale, no matter how much it costs in the end, I will automatically add one vote, which is equivalent to saying that no matter how you play, I will order this thing.

This is generally a method used by princes and nobles to pick up girls. It was very common in the Manchu and Qing Dynasties. Political marriages were carried out without hesitation of money. Anyway, it is a trivial matter to control the money of the political power. Therefore, princes and princes who want to pursue the princess like to come here. Sometimes two people happen to be together. The princesses don't like each other, and the heroes on both sides have to fight. It's not about who pays the higher price, but about whose boyfriend can withstand it. There is no time limit in the lamp fight, but the lamp can be removed, but If one party withdraws the lamp, it will be really humiliating. At that time, it would be more uncomfortable for those second-generation ancestors than death.

When hanging a single lamp, it is very cruel. You have to carry it until the end of the auction. No one knows what price this thing will fetch, and the only chance for other auctioneers to get the collection is Light up the lantern and blow it up, bid as hard as you can, and raise the price to a very high level so that the person lighting the sky lantern cannot afford the price. Once this happens, the person who made the previous bid will get the auction. People who light sky lanterns must pay a certain price for their actions. Sometimes it is money, sometimes it may be organs such as fingers. In short, the price is extremely painful, because the boss behind the scenes must let everyone know that this is not a good thing. Something for gaming. Therefore, those who light sky lanterns must weigh their own weight. It is not something that can be played with money.

Fortunately, there are rules for lighting lamps, and I am afraid that you will ask for prices all over the place. Everyone who does business knows that things will only work if the price is within a reasonable range. If a pair of slippers costs 100 million, then the matter will be ruined and no one will come to play with you. , and if you bid too high, even if you successfully light up the lamp, the goods will be postponed to you,

You may also not be able to pay the price quoted at that time, which means that you will explode yourself and you will not get any good results. Therefore, their bids are still within a rational range and are unlikely to be completely ridiculous. At the same time, there is a bidding range, and there is a ceiling for each increase in price. The auction also has a time limit, so most of the auctions end when Kaizi is in extreme pain but can still afford it. This is also a safety measure. If you dare to kill any prince's son, the prince will directly send troops to raid the store.

This round of auctioning a piece of goods is to light a lamp. Back then, the boss of Laojiumen burned three of his harvests for half a year. In the end, the person being chased probably thought about it and lit three lamps in a row. He was already famous. Forty-nine cities. If I keep going, if all their money is spent, how can I get married? So I refused to order any more, and as expected, the marriage proposal was successful the next day. My grandfather said that the biggest characteristic of a smart woman is that she knows how to do things just right.

And I will only take one top-quality item in the entire auction this time. Mrs. Huo is determined to get it. If she doesn’t get to the end of the auction, I’m afraid she won’t give up. I’m afraid it won’t be enough to burn my lamp and even bankrupt the whole family.

In an instant, I covered my head and fell into a trance. Cold sweat broke out like rain. There was something churning in my stomach, which burned all the way to my lungs. I quickly took a sip of tea to suppress the cold sweat, thinking that this time I was too serious. How to do how to do? Do you want to withdraw? How risky will it be to be a swindler later? Will my little finger be cut off and sent back to my house asking for money? What is the probability of success for the three of us, Fatty, me, and Menyou Ping, we should be able to escape for the time being. Damn it, are we going to be hunted down by the underworld after being wanted?

Countless thoughts were in confusion in my mind. Before I could sort out even a single thread, a guy took a gong and struck it in a circle. The whole place was silent for a moment. Apparently, the auction had officially begun.

I didn't listen at all to what the cheongsam woman said. I vaguely heard that the lowest bid was 100,000 and the highest was 1 million. My mind was buzzing and I couldn't hear the rest clearly.

I had no consciousness at all during the whole process, and my mind was in chaos. I didn’t know how it happened for a full hour. What suddenly made me wake up was Mengyouping. He suddenly pressed his hand on my shoulder. Go up, it startled me.

I looked back at him. He didn't look at me, but looked downstairs without any expression. It seemed that everything here had nothing to do with him. He looked like a cold-blooded bodyguard. I suddenly felt that the fat man had taught him too much. , but his hand squeezed my shoulder very hard, obviously with some intention.

I don't know what it means. Could it be that he is deceiving me and telling me that he is there to make me feel at ease? But giving him such a squeeze, maybe it was a conditioned reflex, and I suddenly really calmed down.

The scene was quiet, as if the bidding had stopped. I turned to look at the fat man. The fat man didn't know the meaning of lighting the sky lanterns. He was completely immersed in the atmosphere. He wiped his sweat with a towel. He seemed to be excited.

I calmed down and picked up the tea and asked him what was going on. He said, "His grandma's tea is worth almost 100 million!" I immediately spit out a sip of tea and sprayed it all over his face.

He didn't take it seriously at all. He wiped it with his hand and continued: "Now is the break. Wait for the second half. I will increase the number to two million once. Damn it, your fat grandpa has learned a lot." He pointed. The cheongsam girl who was hosting was counting the records just now in the middle of the stage, "This girl is here. When bidding here, she rings the bell. At the beginning, all the bells rang, and everyone chased the price. The scene was a mess, but this girl didn't If she misheard once, in less than half a second, which bell rang first, she immediately knew that these ears were fairy ears. She was going to get married, and her husband would never dare to call his mistress." He pointed again. Pointing to the pink shirt, "This kid is also awesome. He kept playing with his mobile phone without even raising his head. He rang the last bell just before the break. He seemed determined to win and didn't even have the energy to bid;" he pointed again. Mrs. Huo, "The old lady hasn't come out even once. It looks like she's planning to increase her bets and play big."

I cursed in my heart, I really have no morals, and I won't take it easy. You can't help but pity me if I want to light up the sky lanterns. I don't feel sorry for anyone who spends money, but it doesn't make any sense. Anyway, it's 10 out of 10. I can't take out even one. There is no difference between one billion and one hundred million to me. In the end, aside from the humiliation, even if they were merciful and ruthless, I wouldn't be able to pay even a million dollars in compensation.

Then there's no need to think about it. You can't take it out anyway. You're a deadbeat. It seems that the safest way is to wait and run away.

I whispered to the fat man what I meant by lighting the sky lanterns. The fat man still found it unbelievable and became nervous and said, "What should we do? Damn it, I said the old woman is so calm. I dare you to pay the bill."

I said softly: "What else can I do? This time the old woman wants to look good to us. This is a big trouble. If I don't find any clues, let's forget it. Saving our lives is important. You think about it, and we can find an opportunity to escape." "

"Run away?" The fat man was stunned for a moment, still a little reluctant, "It's not that serious, what can we do with the emperor's feet? We were also deceived by this old woman, and besides, we only watched the first half, maybe we will wait. There will be a good show soon, and it would be a shame not to watch it at such a high price."

"It's a good show, you idiot. It's really going to be a good show if we don't leave." I said angrily, "If it's not serious, we'll just run away. There will still be opportunities in the future, but if it's serious, damn it!"

"Okay, then I'll go around and see if there's any way to sneak out." He nodded and looked at the cheongsam girl, "If that doesn't work, we'll jump off the stage and take that woman and her goods as hostages. This girl's ears It’s so useful, it should be quite valuable.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the cheongsam girl in the audience was suddenly stunned for a moment, then raised her head, looked in our direction, and frowned.

I looked at her and looked at each other, my heart skipping a beat, and I said to myself, "No, can you hear this?" I hurriedly made a small gesture to the fat man, and at the same time, I pointed secretly at the cheongsam girl below.

The fat man laughed dumbly: "You are really serious, no matter how good your ears are, they will never be like this. She admires you very much and glances at you secretly."

As he spoke, he pinched his throat and whispered: "Sister, we are going to run away later, can you hear us? If you can hear us, come and catch us. It will be too late later."

As soon as I finished speaking, I saw the cheongsam girl looking at us with an even stranger look on her face. I felt something was wrong. Damn it, it seemed like she could really hear us. I hurriedly told the fat man to shut up, but it was too late. I saw that she suddenly started drinking and pointed at us. The guy next to me immediately looked at us and rushed up the stairs.

Oops, I cursed secretly, but she really heard me! The fat man was also confused. He was at a loss as he looked at the people rushing towards him. As my mind raced, the oil bottle on one side passed by me like lightning and jumped straight down from the corridor on the second floor.

I was dumbfounded and screamed everywhere. I saw him flipping over as soon as he hit the ground. I screamed again. When I turned around, I saw that the pink shirt was holding the railing of the corridor with one hand and put the other hand in his pocket. He was also flipping over. He came down and stopped in front of Menyoupin; on the other side, the fat man roared, picked up a stool, kicked down the screen and threw himself at the hotel clerk who rushed in.

The scene was in chaos.