Whispering Poems.

Chapter 55 The Luck of Beginners
While waiting, Shade found an empty single-seat sofa and sat next to him. A group of strange men who seemed to have just met each other just now gathered because of current affairs.

Shad also listened sideways, and found that they were discussing the possibility of another full-scale war between the northern kingdom of Delarion and the southern kingdom of Kasenric.

But after a while, the topic shifted to the seafaring trade and piracy of the Old and New Worlds.One of the middle-aged fat men who participated in the conversation seemed to be the manager of a certain trading company. He was familiar with the situation in the New World and believed that adventurers could always win wealth if they dared to go by boat.

The New World is rich in products. Although there are no aboriginal people, many cultural relics can be found.Coldwater Port, the most important port city in the western part of the Kingdom of Delarion, as a connection point between the Old World and the New World, there is never a shortage of opportunities.

After the middle-aged fat man was called to be appraised, everyone's topic finally shifted to the Rhodes card.Men who don't know each other compare their decks, show off their newly acquired special cards to each other, or laugh together at the funny story of the Rhodes card collectors in town.

The middle-aged man with a mustache wearing a black top hat and putting a gold-studded cane beside the sofa is a topic leader among a group of people, because he has more special card-faced Rhodes cards, one of which is [Northland] The flower 13 of the city Artek, the capital of art, even has special rules:
[When using, throw a 20-sided dice, if the number of the dice is equal to 20, you can unconditionally redraw the card. 】

This is a real card that has been appraised by the Prophet Association, so although the effect is normal, it is still excitedly touted by many Rhodes fans.

The moustache man called himself Mr. Lavender. Seeing that the atmosphere was getting warmer, and now he had nothing to do, he suggested:

"Why don't we play Lords and use the simplest rules. If I win, you need to give me 5p, and if I lose, you can give the winner 10p. Oh gentlemen, let's get rid of this boring Morning."

The so-called "simplest rule" means that each player draws three consecutive cards, and wins or loses according to the blackjack rule.If both players bust, then three more cards are drawn until one side wins.

The stakes weren't too high, and it was really boring to chat here, so the good people gathered and crowded around Mr. Lavender to watch the fun.

Xia De also joined in to watch the fun, but he had always hated gambling, and even such a small bet was unwilling to participate, so he just watched (note).

There were three men willing to play cards with Mr. Lavender.

The first is Mr. Luke, who works at the Chengnan Tobacco Company. He just mentioned the tobacco trade and taxation issues of Delarion and Kasenrick, but unfortunately he was directly out with 25 points;

The second is the old Mr. Ponton, who lives by collecting rent from local properties. He has thick knuckles in his knuckles and a crooked right eye with glasses, but his Rhodes is top-notch technology.After three rounds with Mr Lavender, he finally won 3p, which won applause from the onlookers.

Finally, there is the burly Captain Sewell, whose ship travels to and from the Old World water system, mainly for inland shipping.He is a regular here and is known to many, including Mr Lavender.

It's a pity that Captain Sewell was really unlucky, and the two cards at the beginning added up to more than 21, so he could only regretfully throw away five pence.

"Anyone else want to play?"

Mr. Lavender looked to be in high spirits, extending an invitation to the onlookers after his victory over the No.3 opponent.He often patronizes the local Prophet Association and various Rhodes Clubs, and is a well-known card player in the city, so the gentlemen who join in the fun are just booing, but no one wants to end.

Fivepence is money after all.

Mr. Lavender looked around, and finally saw the unfamiliar face of Shade in the crowd, and also saw that he seemed to be coming to this kind of place for the first time:

"This gentleman, would you like to play cards with me?"

The middle-aged person kindly sent an invitation.

"Sorry, I don't gamble."

Shade shook his head, but Mr. Lavender was not angry, but smiled:

"Then we don't gamble, just play one game, how about it? My waiting number is 21, it's my turn soon, we just play a game and try."

The people around were also booing, pushing Shade to the front row.

Xia De thought about it, since he doesn't gamble, he can play it once, just as a pastime to pass the entertainment time.So he took advantage of the opportunity to sit on the single sofa opposite Mr. Lavender, and handed out his business card to the very wealthy gentleman:
"Shad Hamilton, detective."

"The profession of detective is said to be very good at playing cards."

Mr. Lavender took the business card and was surprised when he saw the address of the detective's office, apparently not expecting the young detective to have the money to open an office in that location.

"But I hardly ever play."

While talking, Xia De took out his deck of cards, which was the one he picked up when he went to pick up Mia.Each side shuffles the other side's cards, then draws three cards from the top of their decks.

Mr. Lavender opened his card with an excited expression. There were many special cards with delicate card faces in his deck. One of the three cards drawn was:
"Look, the sun 5, the silver moon 8, the stars 4, 17 o'clock, luck is really good."

The people behind him also whispered congratulations.

Since he didn't gamble, Xia De didn't feel any pressure. He turned over the first card and threw it on the table. It turned out to be Sun 13, and the people around him immediately uttered regretful voices.Under the rule of 21 points, if two more cards are drawn, the probability of busting cards is quite high.

Xia De opened the second card again, it was Xingchen 7, and it added up to 20 points.But under the simple rules, he cannot stand and must draw all three cards.

People were infected by the atmosphere and exchanged their views on the detective's last card.

Shade was also curious about his luck today, so he picked up the last card, stood up and looked carefully at the numbers on the card.The people behind him also stretched their heads to check, and then exclaimed together, and even the woman in his head chuckled, reminding Shade that she was always there.

A smile appeared on Xia De's face, as if the pressure of last night's events had all disappeared at this moment, and playing cards was really a good way to spend time.

Throwing Xingchen 1 on the table, Mr. Lavender, who was sitting opposite, immediately leaned on the coffee table and stretched out his head to look, and then showed the same surprised expression as the onlookers:
"Oh, blackjack. Beginners always have such fantastic luck, but Detective Hamilton, do you want another round, I haven't been beaten by blackjack in a long time."

　PS1：罗德牌规则肯定和“21点”有差别，就比如10、11、12、13在本书的规则内，就是按照卡面数字计算。

　　PS2: In order to prevent the occurrence of high-dimensional attacks, and in order not to promote incorrect values, this book will not involve the protagonist to make a fortune by gambling, so there is no need to wonder why Xia De does not rely on gambling to win money.Hope to know.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)