leonardwarren Chapter 45 World Cup Carnival at the Barbecue Restaurant
Chapter 45 World Cup Carnival at the Barbecue Restaurant
Ye Fan took the more than 10,000 yuan he had earned from setting up a stall some time ago and went out to the sports lottery shop.
I had considered buying foreign betting online – the odds were indeed tempting – but considering the potential risk of default, I opted for a legitimate domestic sports lottery shop instead.
After all, if you really win a big prize, you just need to pay taxes, so domestic lottery shops are more reliable.
13号凌晨4点就是揭幕战了，揭幕战是巴西3比1战胜克罗埃西亚，早上7点是宏都拉斯惊奇地以3比3的比分战平西班牙。
其中西班牙3比3宏都拉斯赔率高达惊人的1800倍，而巴西3比1克罗埃西亚的赔率只有7.5倍。
"Buy the ticket." Ye Fan placed 10,000 yuan in cash on the counter. His voice was soft, but it attracted the attention of several regular lottery players in the store.
He mainly bet on a draw between Spain and Honduras, with his participation in the Brazil match being merely symbolic.
最终下注方案是：8000元压西班牙3:3宏都拉斯，1000元压巴西3:1克罗埃西亚，剩下1000元随便买了些其他的小组赛。
"Are you... sure you want to buy it this way?" The ticket clerk, a young man wearing glasses, confirmed several times.
"Spain and Honduras drew? And they scored a total of 6 goals?" His hand was shaking as he pushed up his glasses. In his three years in the industry, he had never seen anyone dare to bet like that.
The ticket clerk confirmed with him several times.
Ye Fan simply smiled and signed his name on the ticket form.
No one noticed that the ticket clerk secretly noted down the score of this upset—later he placed a few bets on it and unexpectedly earned his first million.
Of course, these are all for later.
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Inside the "Yanji Barbecue" restaurant on Nanchang Road, neon lights cast a hazy glow in the smoke.
National flags from various countries hung from the ceiling, and Brazil's yellow and green flag happened to brush past Ye Fan's shoulder.
The corner booth reserved for the four of us had the best view, and the LCD TV on the wall was already tuned to a sports channel.
Ye Fan, Zhao Mingzhe, Pei Yi'an, and Tang Yanning had arrived quite early.
The LCD TV on the wall was playing pre-match analysis, making all the jerseys in the room gleam.
Fans wearing the yellow jerseys of Brazil and supporters of the Croatian national team sat on opposite sides, occasionally raising their glasses in a provocative manner.
Meanwhile, everyone at Ye Fan's table was dressed casually—their team hadn't even played yet.
The sizzling skewers of grilled meat glistened on the iron plate, while condensation from chilled beer bottles dripped onto the wooden tabletop.
Ye Fan and Zhao Mingzhe clinked their wine bottles together, the crisp sound of the glass hitting the glass drowned out by the surrounding noise.
Across from him, Tang Yanning was stirring the ice cubes in his cola with a straw, while Pei Yi'an was drinking orange juice.
The aroma of charcoal fire mingled with the scent of garlic sauce, filling the air.
With less than half an hour left before the opening match, the shop owner suddenly turned up the volume.
The commentator's passionate voice instantly ignited the entire audience:
"China Media Group, China Media Group! Good evening, viewers! The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is about to begin!"
Zhao Mingzhe slammed his beer mug on the table with a "bang," splashing a few drops of golden beer: "Come on! Cheers! To our hard-won high school years—and to the next month of all-nighters watching games!"
"Well said!" Tang Yanning immediately raised the Coke bottle, and the water droplets condensed on the bottle dripped onto her wrist.
"I'll take a sip, you drink! That makes sense, right?" She winked mischievously, like a kitten that had just stolen a fish.
Ye Fan almost choked on his beer—this little girl is too good at taking advantage.
"Cheers!"
Pei Yi'an picked up a Coke and joined in the small celebration.
"Old Zhao, this is just the beginning, take it easy and don't get too drunk," Ye Fan said with a smile.
"Old Ye, you must be joking!"
"I'm known as the Little Prince of Red Wine. Although my grades aren't as good as yours, I'm not afraid of drinking at all."
Zhao Mingzhe patted his chest.
"Yan Ning, it's a deal! You take a sip of Coke, I'll take a glass of beer, but your sip has to be a real big gulp, not like a kitten licking water. I want to see who's the real loser tonight."
Zhao Mingzhe swirled his wine glass in a sly manner.
Ye Fan rolled his eyes at him, but this guy could really drink.
This guy could drink two jin of red wine when he was in junior high school, which is quite amazing. Almost every household in Luxi makes rice wine, and Luxi rice wine is red, so it is called red wine in Minnan dialect.
That's why he calls himself the "Little Prince of Wine".
Coke is fizzy, and normally you'd be eating barbecue, so it's already pretty good for a girl to drink two bottles of Coke. So Tang Yanning might not actually be able to outdrink Zhao Mingzhe.
For Zhao Mingzhe, the beer in front of him was really just a wheat juice drink to go with the barbecue; if he got full, he would go to the toilet to pee.
Ye Fan and Zhao Mingzhe, both Argentinians and die-hard Barcelona fans, had their eyes glued to Neymar on the screen.
The Brazilian prodigy unleashed a beautiful rainbow flick, instantly tearing apart the Croatian defense and eliciting gasps from the barbecue restaurant.
Tang Yanning and Pei Yi'an don't have a deep understanding of football, nor are they fans of any particular team. They only know some of the more famous football stars.
...........
The match had just begun.
Brazil displayed a powerful offensive, with Neymar skillfully dribbling past opponents and making various breakthroughs, putting immense pressure on Croatia's defense from the very beginning.
Zhao Mingzhe, biting into his grilled meat, exclaimed excitedly, "Holy crap! That change of direction! Look, look! Mar is so fast, and his dribbling is amazing!"
Ye Fan took a sip of beer and nodded, "Yes! His technique is top-notch. I think from a technical point of view, only Messi can surpass him in the current football world."
At this moment, Neymar on the screen still looked a bit green. Having just transferred from Santos to Barcelona a year ago, his playing style was both elegant and imbued with the unique flair of South American players.
Looking at this future football superstar, Ye Fan couldn't help but think that Suarez would soon join Barcelona for a record-breaking €8170 million.
They will then form the MSN attacking trident that strikes fear into the hearts of the entire European football world.
In the 2014-2015 season, the three of them contributed 122 goals and 62 assists to the team with their terrifying strength, helping Barcelona win the Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup, achieving a five-title haul.
Tang Yanning and Pei Yi'an didn't understand these things very well, but that didn't stop them from loving the atmosphere. After this World Cup, they both fell deeply in love with football.
Tang Yanning rested her chin on her hand, her eyes glued to the screen: "You guys always say Brazil has a great attack, but the score is still 0-0!"
She pointed to the Croatian goalkeeper: "That tall guy made such a cool save!"
Pei Yi'an nodded seriously in agreement.
Ye Fan patiently explained, "You can't treat football like basketball. Even if a football match ends in a 0-0 draw, you can still tell which team played better and how well they attacked."
He took a sip of wheat juice and continued, "Brazil's attack was very well executed in this match, you're right. Croatia's defense was also very good, otherwise they would have been completely overwhelmed."