"Discard the one bamboo! One bamboo, two bamboo-keep them and trouble will find you!"
Yang Ge stood behind Zhao Miao with his hands tucked into his sleeves, brimming with confidence and speaking with absolute certainty. Rhyming advice poured from his mouth as though the god of mahjong had returned to earth.
Looking utterly lost, Zhao Miao sorted through her tiles, then checked the exposed tiles on the table. Hesitantly, she picked up the one bamboo and discarded it, murmuring timidly, "One bamboo!"
Xiao Baoqi, Hooligan, and Flea all turned innocent faces toward her.
The moment Zhao Miao saw their expressions, her heart gave a lurch.
Sure enough.
Xiao Baoqi pushed his tiles over with a flourish. "Win! Seven pairs!"
Hooligan pushed his tiles over too, his face lighting up. "Win! Pure suit, waiting on a single one bamboo!"
Zhao Miao slowly turned to Flea in disbelief. Looking embarrassed, Flea gently pushed his tiles over. "Don't look at me. Mine's just a lousy little win, a lousy little win... an edge wait on the one bamboo."
"Ah... one shot, three hits!"
Zhao Miao frantically clawed her hair into a Golden-Maned Lion King's mane, then turned and held out her little hand to Yang Ge through gritted teeth. "Pay up!"
Yang Ge retreated two steps and declared self-righteously, "I wasn't the one who discarded it. Why should I pay?"
"Ah..."
Furious, Zhao Miao sprang at him like a vicious dog pouncing on food, clamped both hands around his neck, and opened her mouth to teach him a lesson. "Pay up! Pay up, you crooked merchant! You made me lose two-tenths of a tael of silver!"
Yang Ge planted a palm over her face and held her back. "Now, now, now... a gentleman uses his words, not his fists. How can you blame