Chapter 503: Unexpected bets
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
“It will definitely follow a pattern? What pattern?” Wen Dabao was confused.
“The law of women of course.” Fang Zhengzhi looked smirked and replied triumphantly when he saw Ping Yang’s confused expression. “There’s a pattern for women?” Wen Dabao was stumped.
“Mm, don’t you know that there are differences between the male and female body?” Fang Zhengzhi asked. “Young Master Fang, you are a man of my own heart! You must be referring to the chest and… am I right?” Wen Dabao smirked when he heard that.
“F*ck no! What are you talking about?! I was referring to their menstruation cycle! Do you even know what that is?” Fang Zhengzhi sighed as he looked at Wen Dabao scornfully. Doesn’t this man know anything other than breasts and *ss?
“I… I don’t…” Wen Dabao panicked. “That is when ladies find it inconvenient to do stuff! This will happen for a few days every month! That is the difference!” Fang Zhengzhi explained in exasperation.
“Shameless!” Ping Yang’s face was flushed as she glared at Fang Zhengzhi and bellowed.
Yan Xiu turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi, his expression icy. However, his look was slightly complicated, almost as though he didn’t know what to think.
As for Wen Dabao… After he recovered from his initial shock, his eyes brightened up.
“Oh, I know, I know about this! I read about this before! But what does this have to do with the Seven Stars?” Wen Dabao asked. The people around them all looked at each other, faces flushed, when they heard this. No one had ever discussed menstruation periods in broad daylight! It was much too inappropriate! “This man is utterly shameless!” “What a disgrace! How can someone possibly be this shameless?!”
“How can he discuss such things here? This… he is supposedly an intellectual man! Doesn’t he know how to carry himself properly?” Fang Zhengzhi scorned the comments of those around him. In his previous world, this was an acceptable and serious topic to discuss.
Furthermore, this was general knowledge! Why were they making such a big fuss about it? “If you want to know what this has to do with the betting, you have to learn to respect women first!” Fang Zhengzhi added without answering Wen Dabao’s question directly. “How dare he talk about respecting women when he was the one who brought up this topic?”
“Shameless!” The crowd around Fang Zhengzhi looked at him in disdain when they heard this. They weren’t alone. Even Ping Yang looked at him with scorn. Fang Zhengzhi’s current actions weren’t respecting women at all. “Respecting women?” Wen Dabao was lost. This was not something he valued. After all, he had too many women serving in his household as servants. He would scold and hit them whenever he felt like it. Most importantly, women were seen as the weaker gender in this world.
Of course…
People like Chi Guyan were an exception. There was only one Chi Guyan in the world, so she wasn’t representative of the populace. Fang Zhengzhi didn’t continue explaining. He was familiar with this concept. In this world, many were chauvinistic men who saw women as the weaker sex. In some societies, women weren’t even given a choice as to who they were to marry. Some of those in powerful families spent their whole lives in the house before being married off for political gain. Those who resisted… Were few and far between… There were countless ladies from reputable families who were married off before they even set eyes on their husband. If they were bullied after, they didn’t dare to complain to their parents either.
Fang Zhengzhi was a man who had spent more than a decade here. However, he was also a feminist who believed in equal rights. “Any man who respects females will never let a lady perform during those days. During that period, women will have to deal with cramps and mood swings amongst other discomforts. Furthermore, they can’t drink cold water or work too much…” Fang Zhengzhi began to rattle off the things to take note of during that period.
His voice was not loud, but the crowd around him fell silent. All of them looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief.
Because…
Most of them knew the things that Fang Zhengzhi had listed off. However, they never bothered about them nor did they think about those points.
“This shameless fella actually…” Ping Yang’s eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets. As a lady, she knew that what Fang Zhengzhi said was completely accurate.
There were some things that even she herself didn’t know. For example, she didn’t know that she should avoid spicy food and keep her tummy warm.
It was extremely detailed, almost too detailed… Of course, most importantly, Ping Yang never thought that someone would notice these things. Even her beloved father never asked her anything about this. But now…
These words were being said by Fang Zhengzhi, someone who she thought was shameless beyond belief! Someone who she chided for speaking about this in public!
Silence, complete silence!
Even the ladies who were trying to attract customers to the Seven Star Lane stopped what they were doing and looked at Fang Zhengzhi. Their eyes glowed brightly.
“This is a man!”
“This is a man who understands women!” Fang Zhengzhi didn’t know that his explanation would impress the crowd around him. He finally stopped after rattling off all the things he wanted to say.
“Is… is there anything else?” Wen Dabao was the first one to recover from the shock.
“No.” Fang Zhengzhi nodded. “So this is related to the Seven Stars… oh! I understand it now! The seven of them are all ladies, so they will not appear on the days that they’re on their period!” Wen Dabao was flushed when he realized what Fang Zhengzhi was saying. “You finally got it.” Fang Zhengzhi chuckled. “Thank you for the compliment Young Master Fang… wait… hold up, what do you mean by that? Are you saying that I was dumb before?” “You follow!” “Erm…” Wen Dabao was speechless.
However, he was extremely excited now that he knew the pattern behind their appearances. He ignored Fang Zhengzhi’s comment and walked towards the betting table. However, the moment he stepped forward, he stopped. A new question popped into his head.
“How do I know when they’re on their period?”
“That’s why you need to ask.” Fang Zhengzhi smiled.
“Ask? Ask who?”
“The people who interact with them the most.”
“Interact with them the most? Ha… I know! Their servants! They take care of the ladies every day and stay with them! They would know!”
“That’s right.”
“I’ll be on my way!” Wen Dabao ignored Fang Zhengzhi and ran into the Seven Star Lane like a ravenous dog chasing after a delicious piece of meat.
Yan Xiu and Ping Yang looked at each other, shaking their heads when they saw this.
“Shameless fella, why don’t you tell me what else goes into making the prediction?” Ping Yang queried.
“Logical deduction!” Fang Zhengzhi replied.
“Deduction?”
“Mm, first we eliminate those ladies on their period. Then, we will put together the remaining combinations to find out which grouping is the most attractive. Of course, the pairing for each day needs to be different.” Fang Zhengzhi explained.
“But Wen Dabao won’t be smart enough to do that!” Ping Yang asserted, her eyes glittering.
“Yes, there are some factors that he is bound to miss. For example, a lady’s period can change. I doubt he knows that. Furthermore, he has to consider the novelty of each combination which will require an understanding of psychology.” “So he will still lose?”
“Probably, but at least he’ll have a higher chance of winning once he knows this information.” Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
“Why do I get the feeling that the boss of the Seven Star Lane actually uses this method to arrange the acts. Are you the boss?” Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi.
“Do I look the part?”
“Hahaha… you do! It’s a pity that you don’t have as much silver as me so you could never be the boss of the Seven Star Lane.”
“Is that so?” Fang Zhengzhi smirked.
At that moment, a figure came running out of the Seven Star Lane. He looked like he just struck the jackpot.
“Hahaha… I got it! I’m going to make a fortune this time! Woohoo!” Wen Dabao was extremely excited.
“Are you sure?” Fang Zhengzhi asked.
“Of course! Who am I? Not only did I ask their servants, I even asked the runners inside the Seven Star Lane to double confirm!” Wen Dabao replied excitedly.
“Not bad.” Fang Zhengzhi nodded approvingly.
“I have already decided on what to bet! This time, I am going to bet all the money in my little vault!”
“Oh? That big?” “Of course! By my calculations, I need to bet on six combinations to guarantee myself a win. Even though I’m betting on six combinations, I’ll win 10 times the amount on one! Young Master Fang, are you going to be with me?” Wen Dabao rubbed his hands together. “I need to observe for a little longer.” Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
He did approve of Wen Dabao’s betting strategy. If it worked out, he could bet his entire life’s savings…
And still make money.
Of course, this was high risk. However, given a sufficiently high confidence level, it was a legitimate strategy. “Okay then, I’ll go and place my bets first!” Wen Dabao ignored Fang Zhengzhi and ran towards the betting table.
The crowd all looked at each other when they saw this. Then, they rushed up to the table to place their bets.
“Me too! I bet 1000 silvers!”
“2000 for me! I am going to win a fortune this time! I had no idea there was a pattern to their appearances!”
“Yes, even though that fella has no shame, I have to admit that what he says is very logical!”
“As long as I can make a fortune!”
The crowd rushed forward to place their bets whilst looking back at Fang Zhengzhi.
The atmosphere was vibrant.
A crowd began to gather around the betting table! They had heard what had happened before this, so even some of the more conservative ones came over to try and make a quick buck.
With Wen Dabao leading the charge…
The six bets he had placed became the favorites for the night. The cheques grew into a pile.
Fang Zhengzhi smiled when he saw this.
“You’re going to keep looking? If you don’t bet now you may be too late.” Ping Yang reminded as she watched the sky darken.
“Mm, almost there.” Fang Zhengzhi nodded and walked over to the table, a stack of cheques in his hand.
Ping Yang and Yan Xiu followed behind.
The crowd parted to the side unwillingly when they saw Ping Yang and Yan Xiu follow behind Fang Zhengzhi.
Wen Dabao was just bragging about how much he had spent in order to find out the pattern. When he saw Fang Zhengzhi come over, he leapt off the betting table.
“Hahaha, Young Master Fang, what are you betting on?” “Anyone would do.” Fang Zhengzhi placed the stack of cheques on the table.
“Smack!” He laid down almost 30,000 silvers on the table. Then… The entire crowd was stunned. They looked at that thick stack of cheques in disbelief.
As some of the most influential in the city…
They weren’t stunned by the number. Even though 30,000 silvers was quite a fortune, they weren’t particularly shocked by that.
There were quite a number of people who spent upwards of 30,000 silvers a night. Some even spent 100,000 a night.
However… When Fang Zhengzhi placed his bets in the middle of the table, the feeling was completely different. Smack in the middle. On any other betting table, the middle was the place with the most bets. However, at the Seven Star Lane, that was a spot most people avoided. The middle spot’s bet was very special… “All seven!”
“He placed his bet on all seven? Hahaha…”
“Doesn’t he know that this has only happened once in more than a year? Furthermore, that was half a year ago!”
“What is this guy thinking? He was just telling everyone about the patterns and rules. Why is he throwing his money away?”
“Is he crazy?”
The crowd couldn’t help but burst out in laughter after they recovered from their initial shock from seeing that bet.
Fang Zhengzhi smiled radiantly.
However… His laughter was cut short. Two voices rang out behind him.
“I will take that bet as well! 50,000 silvers!”
“I will do the same. 50,00 for me too.”