Gambling Den

Appearance

A grey-coloured tent of about one mu, counted as a large-sized tent, with two pillars at the entrance carved with an antithetical couplet. Inside, three rows of counters hold amber and fossil rocks of many sizes; person-tall rocks sit on the ground because they cannot fit on the counters, and Gu Masters inspect them in near silence. ^{ch. 40}

Tent and rock counters

Fang Yuan stops at a grey tent of about one mu, counted as a large-sized tent, with carved couplet pillars at the entrance among the caravan tents near Gu Yue Village. Inside, three rows of counters hold amber and fossil rocks of many sizes; person-tall rocks sit on the ground because they cannot fit on the counters, and Gu Masters inspect them in near silence. Counters sell at five, ten, or twenty primeval stones per rock, with rank one clerks on green belts serving buyers. ^{ch. 40}

Rock gambling rests on Gu that self-seal into rock when starving. Outside, the rocks look alike; only opening them shows whether a live Gu, a dead Gu, or a solid core sits inside. This den is only small-sized: nine out of ten rocks are empty cores, and even filled rocks often hold dead Gu. Around Qing Mao Mountain such dens stay modest; farther east rock gambling dens grow larger, with named villages holding mega dens of long history. ^{ch. 40} Fang Yuan buys six purple gold fossils from the ten-stone counter for sixty primeval stones, refuses the free opening service, and grinds the rocks himself with Moonlight Gu light. ^{ch. 41}

Shopkeeper and first win