CHAPTER 15: CHAPTER 15: SCRATCH-OFF LOTTERY

"Scratch-off lottery? And it’s fifty thousand!"

Upon seeing this piece of information, Qi Yun was instantly wide awake and was ready to go check it out immediately.

Although it was already midnight, with so much hanging in the balance, it was worth making the trip for fifty thousand bucks.

Plus, the lottery shop might still be open.

Not only did they sell lottery tickets, but there were also a few mahjong tables inside, and sometimes when Qi Yun came back from work, they would still be open.

He quickly got dressed and rushed out the door.

The lottery shop wasn’t far, just a few minutes’ walk, and he could see the lights were still on from a distance.

As he pushed open the door, warmth filled the room, and several people were sitting intently around a mahjong table, smoke swirling around them.

The lottery shop owner saw Qi Yun come in and greeted him with a smile, "Yo, rare guest! What brings you here so late?"

Xia Ping Village was small, and Qi Yun had seen the owner a few times, but they didn’t interact much.

He smiled back, "Couldn’t sleep, thought I’d try my luck."

As he spoke, he glanced at the scratch-off tickets displayed under the glass counter.

His gaze swept over them and finally fell on a stack with animals drawn on the cover, emitting a familiar faint glow.

"You’re just in time, a carpenter won ten thousand here this afternoon."

"Really? Give me a stack, I want that one." Qi Yun pointed to the stack next to the glowing one.

The owner gave him a look and teased with a smile, "Wow, going for a whole stack right away. Alright, hope you win big like that carpenter."

With that, he swiftly took out a stack of scratch-offs from the counter and handed it over.

A stack contained ten tickets, each worth twenty yuan, and Qi Yun paid two hundred yuan via his mobile.

He then sat down at an empty table nearby and earnestly started scratching.

In no time, he finished all ten tickets, and as expected, the total prize was just 130 yuan, meaning he lost 70 yuan on that stack.

He brought the winning tickets back to the counter.

"How much did you win?"

Qi Yun shook his head, showing a troubled expression, "No luck."

The owner laughed heartily, comforting him, "It’s okay, it’s just for fun, you might win next time."

"Let me try again! I’ll take those other two stacks."

Seeing Qi Yun’s determined expression, the owner laughed even more joyfully.

"Alright, looks like you won’t stop until you hit a big one today!" The owner took out the other two stacks.

Qi Yun paid four hundred yuan and returned to his seat.

On the surface, he pretended to be eager to make back his money, but inwardly, he already planned how to act later.

After scratching the first stack of ten tickets, he unsurprisingly lost another 80 yuan.

When he got to the sixth ticket of the second stack, Qi Yun saw a ’5’ and his heart started racing.

As the coating was slowly scratched off, four zeros followed one after the other.

He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and then shouted, "I won! I won!"

The previously noisy room fell completely silent.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their gaze towards him.

The owner, seeing his excited face, quickly came over and eagerly asked, "You won? How much did you win?"

"Fifty thousand! I won fifty thousand!"

Hearing this, everyone exploded with excitement. Even the mahjong game was abandoned as they all crowded around.

The owner grabbed the scratch-off from Qi Yun’s hand, wide-eyed and examining it closely.

After confirming the numbers, he couldn’t help but exclaim, "Wow, you really won fifty thousand!"

The surrounding people were equally shocked, "Fifty thousand, that’s an unbelievable stroke of luck!"

"I’ve only ever won two hundred at most; it really drives you crazy comparing with others."

Fifty thousand wasn’t a small sum; it equaled what most people would earn in half a year.

This news would likely spread throughout Xia Ping Village by tomorrow.

Once everyone dispersed, the owner led the still-excited Qi Yun to the shop entrance.

"I can’t cash out fifty thousand in-store; you’ll have to go to the lottery center to claim it."

Qi Yun nodded, indicating he understood, "Okay, I’ll go cash it in myself tomorrow."

"But you know, if you go to cash it in, they’ll take a 20% tax, so you’ll only get forty thousand." The owner glanced inside, then continued,

"But if you’re willing to sell me the scratch-off, I have a way, I can give you five thousand more, how about it?"

Qi Yun gave the owner a knowing look.

He hadn’t won a prize before, but he had heard of such tactics.

The usual offer was according to the original prize, so whatever you won was what you got paid, but this guy wanted to take a 10% cut.

By customary practice, there was sure to be a middleman fee, so it meant the owner wanted a slice from both sides, and his appetite wasn’t small.

Qi Yun lit a cigarette and pulled the scratch-off back from the owner’s hand.

"Ha, never mind, just help me redeem the other winnings."

Most lottery shops probably had the same connections, so there was no need to sell it to him.

The owner’s expression stiffened, realizing Qi Yun probably understood the game here.

He smiled again and said, "If you’re not satisfied with the price, we can negotiate. How about, it’s late now, you come back tomorrow morning, and we’ll talk?"

"Alright." Qi Yun nodded, not refusing.

After exchanging all the other smaller winnings, he contentedly went back to sleep.

...

The next day, the snow outside was even heavier, the accumulation on the roadside reaching seventy to eighty centimeters.

Qi Yun delivered two orders, barely avoiding a fall on his scooter and had to give up.

As soon as he got back to Xia Ping Village, the lottery shop owner from last night called, asking him to come to the shop for a talk.

Qi Yun parked his scooter, went inside to grab the scratch-off, and then walked over.

In the morning, the lottery shop was empty, and the owner greeted him with a warm cup of tea.

"I contacted a contracting boss; he’s willing to buy your scratch-off for fifty thousand, how about it?"

Qi Yun was naturally satisfied with this price, as it saved trouble and fetched him more money, so he nodded and agreed, "Okay."

Seeing him agree, the owner was beaming from ear to ear.

Normally, his lottery shop made only two to three hundred a day, and this deal was worth half a month of business.

"I’ll transfer the money to you now."

Qi Yun took out his phone, displayed the payment code, and after confirming receiving fifty thousand, handed the scratch-off to the owner.

The owner took it, checked it thoroughly once more, and after making sure everything was right, seeing Qi Yun to the door with a smile.

Back at his apartment, Qi Yun paid the last creditor nine thousand yuan, and now all debts to friends were settled.

He still had a debt of 210,000 in credit cards, planning to save up and pay it all off at once, potentially reducing some interest...

With nothing else to do, Qi Yun thought of visiting Old Wang for a while.

Unexpectedly, just as he stepped out of the building, someone suddenly came up from behind and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"Old Qi, I heard you won fifty thousand last night? Is it true?"