Chapter 42: Perfect Shuffle Act
Chapter 42
When Shen Yue heard this news, she was stunned for a moment.
She had originally planned to listen to the routine morning pep talk from the program team and then go back to sleep, after all she still had one chance to make requests that could solve her lunch today.
But what did the program team just say? All special rights are prohibited?
Isn't that just clearly banning her?! How infuriating!
Shen Yue thought she was glaring fiercely at the director who had just spoken, successfully making the director suffer a cute attack and feel slightly guilty for a second.
But it was only a second.
Cuteness was nothing compared to popularity and sponsorship.
Sorry little Yueyue, even you have to work hard today!
"Does not being able to help each other mean we can't even help cook?" Li Xing suddenly asked.
"Yes. Giving away your own property, ingredients, etc. to others is also not allowed... Oh, providing advice on how to earn money and survive is also prohibited. If the rules are violated, all food and property obtained today will be confiscated by the program team."
Li Xing nodded to indicate he understood, then turned his face to say something to Zou Xuezheng and Dong Nuo.
Shen Shuangyi had originally wanted to teach Shen Yue how to dig for potatoes in the field next door, but as soon as he heard the new restrictions from the program team, he immediately guessed that this harshness today was most likely his brother's doing.
Sure enough, after Shen Yue had slept for several days, brother finally got angry.
He would not resist his brother, and at the same time, he also wanted to see if Shen Yue was really like what his brother said. So he did not raise any objections either.
This was the first time that Shen Shuangyi had the idea to really get to know this younger sister.
Zou Xuerong looked at Shen Yue worriedly, and was just about to tell her how to earn money, when she was discovered by the program team and warned once.
Seeing the program team that was clearly serious this time, Shen Shuangyi said to Shen Yue, "Shen Yue, you have to rely on yourself today."
Shen Yue nodded. Although she still hadn't figured out how to rely on herself, she should at least go out for a walk first.
Shen Yue yawned as she thought.
Seeing Shen Yue completely lacking any sense of tension, Shen Shuangyi suddenly felt a little of his brother's helplessness.
If his future daughter was like this, he would be angered to death.
Although the requirement today was that they could not help each other or give gifts, Jiang Shiwen and Zou Xuerong still subconsciously followed Shen Yue.
The reason was simple, they were worried!!!
In their eyes, there was no doubt that Shen Yue was smart and not only smart but also gutsy, able to get the program team's hidden rewards every time.
But intelligence and guts had no relation at all to self-reliance.
From the first day of the show, Shen Yue, apart from making a bit of effort when facing rewards, had spent all her other time lying in bed sleeping. How could they not worry?
So the few of them thought, although the program team had stipulated that they could not provide advice on earning money, surely it wouldn't count as breaking the rules if they just brought Shen Yue to places where she could earn money.
As Shen Yue looked at the yellow earth on the ground, pondering how to make Indian mud cakes, the three of them looked at her, pondering how to get her to earn some money.
In the end, the few unanimously decided to head out first.
Shen Shuangyi's method of earning money was simple. He knew some handicrafts, able to weave pretty little baskets or other things out of grass. Combined with his looks, he could sell them for a bit of money.
The basket weaving wasn't difficult. He had already taught Jiang Shiwen and Zou Xuerong yesterday. Now Shen Shuangyi planned to make a few in front of Shen Yue, so that she could learn.
Jiang Shiwen and Zou Xuerong went to look for materials, to facilitate Shen Yue's learning.
But after Shen Yue took just two glances, she lost interest, and strode towards another inconspicuous stall.
Shen Shuangyi irritably rubbed his head, originally not wanting to bother, but still followed over in the end.
As soon as he got near this stall, Shen Shuangyi's brows furrowed. The stall was clean, even overly clean.
But next to it lay several people sprawled all over, their complexions very poor, as if they would die the next moment.
One was crying and pleading, "Please, give me one more chance."
But the stall owner just laughed as he pushed the person's hand away, laughing, "Even if I give you another chance you'll still lose. Come back when you have money again."
Right after speaking, the stall owner looked down to see Shen Yue in front of him, instantly very impatient, just about to chase her away, but then saw Shen Shuangyi walking over towards Shen Yue, and after looking Shen Shuangyi up and down, the stall owner immediately changed his expression towards Shen Yue. The corners of his mouth that had been upturned were now almost shoulder-to-shoulder with the sun. "Little friend, want to play a round? The first round is free, and if you win I'll even give you 5 bucks back. How about it, want to try?"
As soon as Shen Shuangyi walked over, he heard these words seducing a child into going astray. He immediately pulled Shen Yue's hand to leave without hesitation, "Shen Yue, you can't touch this."
Whether it was gambling or drugs, just a touch would lead to eternal damnation.
But Shen Yue somehow easily broke free of Shen Shuangyi's hand and returned in front of the stall.
Shen Shuangyi could only tell the stall owner, "She doesn't have any money on her. Even if you win, you won't get anything from her."
The stall owner laughed with great warmth, as if he wasn't gambling with people but making some gentle gourmet dish instead. "It's alright, this is just a game. Kids are curious, so let her try."
Although the stall owner spoke like this, he had already seen that Shen Shuangyi was definitely rich, and as long as this young miss lost, then he could threaten her to rake in a huge profit.
The stall owner seemed to already see large amounts of money beckoning him, even more unwilling to let Shen Yue leave now. He even directly started shuffling the cards. "This game is very simple, it's called Twenty-One, just a game of luck. Whoever has the card total closest to 21 without going over wins. What do you think, want to try?"
Shen Yue stared at the stall owner's shuffling, deep in thought. Then she nodded.
Shen Shuangyi had originally still been immersed in the shock of Shen Yue breaking free of his hand, but in the blink of an eye saw that the two had already started playing.
Shen Shuangyi suddenly felt a sense of "if I don't enter hell, who will" duty.
Helping a straying younger sister back onto the right path was something he should do as well.
But before that, if Shen Yue didn't realize she was wrong herself, it would be meaningless.
Based on this thinking, Shen Shuangyi did not stop Shen Yue again, instead preparing to step in only when she had lost every cent and even needed to put up collateral.
Only this way could make Shen Yue realize the scourge that was gambling disguised as a game.
Here, under the stall owner's caring attention, Shen Yue had already won the first round, firmly grabbing the 5 bucks used as bait. When the stall owner asked if she wanted to play another round, she nodded without any hesitation.
The stall owner's mouth hooked into a smile. The fish had taken the bait.
"Let's use chips." Shen Yue lightly opened her mouth, still with some of the laziness of having just woken up, fully demonstrating the obliviousness a fat sheep should have.
The stall owner smiled even more happily. Chips, he certainly had those.
"Eh! Of course! I thought little miss was a newbie, didn't expect you to know your stuff!" The stall owner happily took out a pile of chips, not even asking how many exactly Shen Yue wanted, just pushing the whole stack in front of Shen Yue.
Shen Yue did not speak again, only watching the stall owner's shuffling technique, deep in contemplation.
"Shen Yue, do you know what perfect shuffle technique is? This is a special case of the riffle shuffle, where the number of cards in each stack divided is equal every time. When shuffling, it's strictly one card from each stack, so that after each shuffle the order of the cards is completely fixed."
"If you can't even see through such a petty trick, there's no way you can win."
The familiar yet unfamiliar voice of big sister rang in Shen Yue's head. After a little thought, she understood.
This stall owner was definitely using the perfect shuffle technique!