Chapter 1172, The Playing Cards

Translator: Silavin

 

Since the Yong’an Building had been fitted with a heating system, the snow season no longer felt quite so cold inside it.

 

Su Bai and the others were comfortable enough to wear short sleeves indoors. The living room had no fire pit burning. Only a small stove held a little charcoal, and that was only for boiling water. There was no need for it to warm the room.

 

“Shaman, what are those things on the table?” Yu Ying was studying the curious objects with wide eyes.

 

“Playing cards. Would you like to try?”

 

Su Bai’s interest had sharpened immediately. He had received a deck during the morning’s Daily Check In. A proper stroke of luck.

 

Of course, playing cards were not beyond the reach of this era to produce. He simply had not thought of it until now. If the System had not dropped a deck in his lap, it might have been quite some time before playing cards appeared in this era.

 

“Shaman, what are playing cards? These thin pieces look so refined.” Yu Ying had already picked one up and was turning it over in her fingers.

 

The deck was a classic set of diamonds, clubs, hearts, spades, and a black-patterned reverse side.

 

“Back in my homeland, they’re a kind of game. Don’t underestimate a single deck. There are more games you can play with them than you’d think.” Su Bai’s mouth curved slightly.

 

“Shaman, teach us! We don’t have anything to do today anyway.” Yan Hua blinked her bright eyes with expectation.

 

“Yeah. They look so delicate. The rules must be quite complicated.” Sha Lan was already a little eager.

 

The girls handled the deck carefully, reluctant to put it down but afraid to hold it too firmly. The cards felt thin. They didn’t want to damage them.

 

“It won’t be too complicated, actually. There are several very simple games, the kind where you’ll understand as soon as you start playing.” A particular game had come to Su Bai’s mind at once.

 

He had played it since childhood. Even at gatherings and social occasions he’d played it in his old life. It required no skill at all, only luck, which was exactly why so many people enjoyed it.

 

Most people had little patience for complicated games, especially if losing at them meant drinking forfeits.

 

“Then tell us, Shaman!” Yan Hua’s eyes were blinking rapidly with excitement.

 

“I’ll deal the cards out evenly between the four of us. You pair up any cards of the same number in your hand and set them aside. Pairs only, two at a time. If you have three of the same, you still only put down two. Then one person starts by drawing one card from the next player’s hand. If it matches a number in your own hand, you discard that pair. If it doesn’t, you keep it. Then the person you drew from, draws from the next player…”

 

Su Bai began to shuffle as he explained, his voice slow and deliberate so they could follow.

 

He had thought of this game first because it was truly simple. Simple enough for young children, and yet still very popular.

 

“Understood.” The girls settled down obediently, waiting for the deal.

 

Su Bai shuffled with practiced ease and distributed the cards in short order.

 

“Shaman, how did you do that so quickly? You just go swoosh swoosh swoosh and done.” Yu Ying’s pink eyes went wide.

 

Yu Ying had been caught entirely off guard by the smooth, flowing motion. The cards had been shuffled before she had quite processed it, the movements fast enough that her eyes could barely track them. And, not a single card had slipped out of his hands.

 

“Practice. It’s not that difficult. Now check your hands for any matching numbers.” Su Bai smiled and gathered his own cards, sorting out the pairs and setting them aside.

 

Yan Hua, Yu Ying, and Sha Lan blinked, then followed suit, sorting through their cards and placing down matched pairs.

 

“Xiao Yu, wait. That’s not quite right. I said pairs of two, but you’ve put down three of the same number. Put one back.”

 

“Okay.” Yu Ying’s voice was soft and round as she drew one card back.

 

Sha Lan, who had been about to make the same mistake, quietly retrieved her extra card without comment.

 

A few minutes passed. The girls had their hands sorted.

 

“No more pairs in your hands?” Su Bai asked again.

 

“None.” All three answered at once.

 

“Good. None of you have played before, so I’ll go first.”

 

Su Bai gathered his cards and reached across to draw from Yan Hua’s hand. He looked at what he had pulled, then at his own cards. “Look. I drew a four from Ah’Hua, and I already have a four in my hand. So, they form a pair and I discard them. Understand?”

 

He wanted to make sure. People from this Primitive Era had no experience with games like this. Better to be thorough.

 

“Understood, Shaman. Now it’s my turn to draw from Ah’Lan, yes?” Yan Hua’s hand was already reaching across before she’d finished speaking.

 

“That’s right.” Su Bai lifted his tea and watched to see how they would manage.

 

Yan Hua drew a seven. She happened to have a matching seven in hand. She dropped the pair into the discard pile with visible satisfaction, then tossed back her long black hair.

 

“Shaman, what actually happens at the end of this game?”

 

The girls understood the mechanics, but not the point of it all. If it was simply drawing cards back and forth indefinitely, there wasn’t much meaning to it.

 

“When I dealt the cards at the start, I removed one card from the deck. Does anyone remember?”

 

“I do.” Yan Hua’s hand shot up.

 

“I remember.” Sha Lan and Yu Ying raised their hands as well.

 

“At the end, one player will be left with a single card that has no match. That card is the pair of the ones I removed at the start. Whoever holds that lone card at the end loses.”

 

Su Bai’s expression turned a little sly. “And the loser gets their face drawn on by everyone else. What do you think of that forfeit?”

 

“Okay!” Yan Hua lit up immediately.

 

“Sure.” Sha Lan felt the game become genuinely interesting all at once. And a little nerve-wracking.

 

“I understand.” Yu Ying began quietly counting the cards in her hand.