1994: I Became a Literary Master in America

Chapter 26 Ghost Uncle

"Uncle Ghost, it's only June, why are you turning the air conditioning up so high?"

After entering the room, Xu Shengjie shivered and couldn't help but complain.

An elderly man with gray hair emerged from the inner room; he appeared to be over sixty years old.

He wasn't very tall, his body was slightly hunched, and he was rather thin.

He had a ponytail, slightly sunken eyes, high cheekbones, and a hooked nose, giving him a sinister appearance.

His name is Li Jin, and his nickname is Ghost Li.

Li Xiling, the founder of On Leong Tong, was his great-great-grandfather.

He gave Xu Shengjie a cold look, a glint of green flashing in his eyes.

Yes, his eyes are green, and the phrase "green eyes and white hair" suits him exceptionally well.

"Of course, this is a funeral supplies store; we have to make people feel at home."

"So that's why there's this chilly wind?"

"Hmph, just you wait and see if it's scary or not."

Gui Li sat down and reached out his hand to Xu Shengjie.

Xu Shengjie didn't stand on ceremony and handed him a piece of paper.

"Is this a pay-your-own-way game?"

"yes!"

"Italy vs. Ireland, you bet on Italy to lose by one goal... That can't be right, Italy is much stronger than Ireland."

"But Ireland has higher odds."

"So you're betting on an underdog? Twenty thousand dollars!"

Gui Li looked up at Xu Shengjie and asked, "Are you going all in?"

"hey-hey!"

Xu Shengjie winning $80,000 in prize money is no secret in Chinatown.

Then he bought his freedom for $50,000 and left the Ghost Shadow Gang... Ordinary people don't know, but Ghost Li knows very well.

Therefore, he estimated that Xu Shengjie's net worth was only around 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.

did not expect……

"The odds are 4.3 to 1. If you win, that's $80,000."

Xu Shengjie laughed and said, "There's not that much, there's also tax to pay... The tax on online gambling in Europe is also incredibly high."

"That's true!"

Gui Li nodded and continued reading.

Xu Shengjie bet on four group stage matches, choosing the matches with the highest odds.

In the knockout stage, he selected Italy, Bulgaria, Germany, Brazil, and Sweden to advance.

Round of 16, quarterfinals, then semifinals to finals.

The initial bets were placed on Bulgaria, Sweden, Germany, and Italy.

The final match was between Italy and Germany.

Among these bets, Sweden and Bulgaria were clearly upsets, especially after reaching the quarterfinals, where the odds for these two teams were quite high, but few people favored them...

"That's an interesting bet!"

Gui Li took out his computer and his fingers flew across the keyboard.

After calculating three times in a row, he looked up at Xu Shengjie and said, "Kid, if you bet on all of them correctly, you're going to become a rich man! Not a super-rich man, but definitely very rich."

But if you lose a game, you'll lose everything!

"Take a chance, and you might just turn a bicycle into a motorcycle."

Seven parts are destined by fate, and three parts depend on hard work; it was an unexpected windfall after all.

If I win, I'll be in the limelight; if I lose, I'll have to swallow it all alone... Uncle Gui, are there any problems with this betting strategy?"

"What a load of crap."

Stoichkov's Golden Boot? Heh heh, you've really dared to bet."

After he finished speaking, he put away Xu Shengjie's betting list, then put away the two stacks of US dollars on the counter, and then gave Xu Shengjie a note.

"A month from now, we'll see whether it's a dragon or a worm."

Dennis was probably wrong to kick you out of the Ghost Gang. But kid, clearing out the sea means a bright future for you.

"Thank you for your kind words!"

Xu Shengjie smiled and exaggeratedly bowed to Gui Li.

"Get out of here and don't disturb my business."

By the way, Aunt Zhang asked me to plead with you. That kid surnamed Cheng from Jackson Heights was being disobedient and broke the rules, going to the police station to report it. It was his fault. However, she's very close to that kid's teacher, so please let him off the hook.

The kid surnamed Cheng?

Um, Cheng Danqing!

Xu Shengjie had almost forgotten about this person.

He laughed and said, "Uncle Ghost, you make me sound like I'm some kind of heinous criminal. I'm a respectable person now, and I'm going to be a cultured person someday... Anyway, if he doesn't bother me again, I won't bother with him; but if he does bother me again, Uncle Ghost, I'll give you face, and give Auntie face too, but only this once, and don't let it happen again, okay?"

"Okay, your Aunt Zhang only got this way because his teacher went to Boss Zhou to plead for him, and Boss Zhou said it wouldn't happen again."

Boss Zhou is Zhou Caiqin.

Xu Shengjie smiled and nodded. "Uncle Gui, I'll be going now."

"Get out!"

Gui Li smiled and waved his hand, shooing Xu Shengjie out.

Xu Shengjie walked out along Mott Street and had just gotten on his motorcycle when a police car stopped next to him.

The car window rolled down, revealing an Asian face.

"Jeffrey, I heard you're writing a book lately, maybe you want to become an author?"

"Hayashi, what are you doing here?"

I don't recall this area being your patrol zone.

The police officer in the car was named Harris Lynn.

But he is not Chinese; he is of Japanese descent.

Lin is most likely a surname that originated in China, but it's also possible that the person was born in a forest; it's hard to say for sure.

The Japanese pronunciation is HAYASHI.

"Damn, is it strange that I write books?"

"Isn't it strange? If you were talking about fighting and killing, I wouldn't be surprised, but writing a book... Do you Chinese people have that kind of ability?"

"Damn it, Chinese people can't even write books, so you're content with your little lives?"

"You all stole Chinese culture back then; even your hiragana evolved from Chinese."

Harris Hayashi sneered, "What's the point of saying all this? It all happened a long time ago."

"Now, it's still up to Japanese writers to spread Eastern culture. We have Haruki Murakami, Kenzaburo Oe (Nobel Prize in Literature), and Junichi Watanabe, who have a huge influence in Europe and America. What about you?"

"us……"

Xu Shengjie suddenly didn't know who to turn to!

Indeed, many writers emerged in China during the 1980s and 90s.

What about "root-seeking literature," "scar literature," "reflective literature"... almost every book they wrote was an emotional outpouring of what they called "suffering." Of course, with the development of the internet and the flow of information, people have come to realize that most of their so-called "suffering" was merely resentment towards that era. It was because their perceived talent was suppressed.

He looked down on those writers in his past life.

Although those people were called "masters" and "great masters," Xu Shengjie disliked none of them.

This applies to even the most renowned directors.

It seems that in the 1980s and 90s, China really didn't have many writers who could be considered internationally successful.

Including a certain statement...

"I will surpass them!"

Xu Shengjie opened his mouth and said.

"Hahaha, you? Jeffrey, I'll be watching."

Harris Hayashi said something to his partner, then rolled up the car window and drove off.

Watching the police car disappear into the distance, Xu Shengjie couldn't help but spit out his anger.

I was in a good mood, but this bastard ruined it. I'll go home and write 10,000 words to vent.

Although Harris Lin had previously helped him settle someone's police report, Xu Shengjie knew very well that they were not on the same side.

This is Chinatown!

Harris Hayashi was well aware that Cheng's police report was useless against Xu Shengjie, so he simply did a good deed.

He shook his head and prepared to start the motorcycle.

Just then, a woman next to him suddenly said, "Hey, Jeffrey, I believe you can do it."

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Xu Shengjie looked at Zhou Wenqiong walking over from the roadside with a surprised expression.

"I came to mail a package for Teacher Zhang, and I happened to overhear you talking to that policeman... Is he Japanese?"

"That's right, it's just a simple life."

"You have a really interesting story to tell, little life..."

"You actually dared to talk to me first? Weren't you used to be quite afraid of me?"

Zhou Wenqiong blushed slightly and said softly, "Teacher Zhang and Teacher Gong said that you are not a bad person."

My previous life on the streets was just a means to an end. Also, thank you for not pursuing the matter with Mr. Cheng; he's actually a good person.

"Well, girl, there aren't that many good people in this world!"

The so-called good people you speak of are either plotting against you or have ulterior motives. Don't easily believe what others say, including me... If you're going to live here in the future, you'd better stay vigilant and not get scammed without even realizing it.

"I……"

Zhou Wenqiong was furious.

I tried to be nice to you with good intentions, but you just launched into a barrage of sarcastic remarks.

It's like you're making me feel like a little kid!

You're actually ten years younger than me.

However, Xu Shengjie didn't give her a chance to refute. He kicked the accelerator, tightened his grip, and the motorcycle roared away.

The older sister is beautiful, but she's not wild enough, I don't like her!

……