Back to the prime of life

Chapter 16 Earn (Seeking monthly ticket and follow-up reading)

Lu Changge doesn't believe that anyone can shine, he only believes that Chairman Mao can shine.

He stayed up late on the night of July 7th.

Because at 7 a.m. on July 10th, the World Cup final between Italy and France will be held.

At times like this, he just wants to be alone.

Zhu Xingyu had suggested several times before that a few people should watch the World Cup final together, as it would be more lively, but he refused every time.

Compared to showing off in front of everyone by announcing that he bought the Italian champion, he feels more secure waiting for the results quietly at home.

In this world, no one wants others to be richer, more powerful, or luckier than themselves.

What will happen if you pretend to be rich and let others know that you are rich?
Most people feel sour but don’t take any action;
A small number of people will think of borrowing money from you;

The rest of the people will think, why can't your money be turned into my money?

So it’s not that he doesn’t like to show off, but he calmly knows which one is better for him.

Because it was the World Cup final, Lu's parents didn't care too much about him staying up late. Dad Lu wanted to watch it anyway, but when he saw it was already two o'clock, he gave up.

So Lu Changge was the only one curled up on the sofa in the living room.
Watching Zidane take a bold penalty kick in the 7th minute, the ball hit the bottom edge of the crossbar and bounced inside the goal line;

Watching Materazzi equalize the score with a header from Pirlo's corner kick in the 19th minute;

Watching Zidane headbutt Materazzi in the chest in the 109th minute and then get sent off with a red card;

Watching the game go into penalties... Italian left-back Grosso feinted to fool the goalkeeper and scored!

5: 4!

Italy is the champion!

Lu Changge knew the result, but seeing it become a reality was another experience.

With odds of 7, after deducting the occasional income tax to be paid, he can get 15.6 yuan.

The amount may not seem high, but in 2006, a 100-square-meter house in Huaishui County cost about the same. The average person's annual income was 5 to 6 yuan, and an egg pancake cost only 1 yuan, and an egg with it only 1 yuan.
Too many families don't have that much savings.

It must be that he has experienced a lot, otherwise he wouldn't be able to sleep in the second half of the night.

But he knew that tomorrow was very important and he couldn't go to collect the money in a daze.

So he slept until about noon, washed up, took an empty bag, a bank card, and the lottery ticket that he had kept in the drawer of the bedside table, and went out.

Anyway, if you give cash, he uses a bag, and if you transfer money to an account, he provides a bank card.

After going out, he went to the sports lottery sales center first because he needed to ask where to claim the prize.

When he reached the door, he saw a bald old man studying the lottery tickets on the wall, and no one else.

Behind the cash register was the familiar plump lady. This time, her eyes lit up as she looked at Lu Changge. "I knew you were coming. You're the guy who bought the 28,000 yuan item. I remember you."

Lu Changge expected this. Although there were many people coming and going every day, it would probably take several years for someone to buy something for 28,000 yuan in Huaishui County. It was normal for him to be impressed.

"I want to ask where to claim the prize."

"Where's the certificate? Let me see it."

Lu Changge didn't give her the voucher, but just showed it to her. "Is it correct? Can I redeem the prize?"

"No...that's right."

"If I want to redeem this prize, should I go to the city or the provincial capital?"

"Let me calculate it for you." The old lady's expression was a little dazed, probably regretting not buying as well. After touching the calculator a few times, she said, "For less than 20 yuan, go to the city according to regulations. For more than 20 yuan, go to the provincial government."

Lu Changge didn't waste any words, "Do you know the address?"

"Yes, it's at No. 4 Changsha Road, Shanyang District."

Lu Changge wanted to take a piece of paper to write it down, but when he heard it was such a simple name, he gave up and said, "Thank you."

The fat lady looked at his leaving back in a daze, she was really envious.

People are likely to do anything when faced with huge amounts of money. Lu Changge remembered an incident reported in the news.

Someone went to buy a scratch-off ticket, but was a step slow in paying. Actually, it’s not really slow, because usually you can pay after scratching the ticket or pay before scratching, it doesn’t matter at all.

But if you really win the prize, it will be a big deal this time.

Just when he thought he could claim the prize, the seller said, "I don't want to sell it to you anymore. Give the item back to me."

He was stupid and of course refused to do it. How much does a scratch ticket cost?

But the seller insisted, "You didn't pay, right? If you didn't pay, it doesn't count as a real purchase."

You said you're paying for it now?

Sorry, I won’t sell it. Buying and selling should be based on the voluntary principle, right?

Lu Changge has seen a lot of dirty things, so he is very careful.

Shortly after he left the Sports Lottery Sales Center, another person walked in. This person recognized Lu Changge's back, but because the distance was a little far, he didn't shout at the top of his lungs.

After entering, he saw the fat lady in a daze and was a little surprised, "Sister, what's wrong with you? What are you looking at?"

The person who came was coach Meng Meng.

The fat lady said with a mixture of sourness and longing, "Just now, a young man won the Italian championship. I calculated that the prize money must be 150,000."

Meng Meng was stunned. "Who is it? The one who just left?"

"Yeah, it was weird when they placed the bet. 28,000, they bought it in no time. They didn't look that old, so I don't know where the money came from. The parents were also very careless, winning so much and letting their child come and collect it himself."

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Meng Meng's mind.

He thought about how he had smoked two packs of his cigarettes and eaten his meal, but the cigarettes and alcohol didn't seem to be very good and he didn't spend much money.

He also remembered that the school leaders had told him to charge the lowest registration fee for these children.

He had originally thought that apart from the two leaders' children, there wasn't much else left, but he hadn't expected this guy to be so rich! And the fact that he dared to bet 28,000 yuan meant that he had even more money. How much was it?
He dared not think.

"I'm not in a daze, you're in a daze again, aren't you?"

Meng Meng came back to his senses. "Ah, I was thinking. What time is it? I have to go back to the driving school. I can't walk too long at noon."

"You're leaving right after arriving, so why did you come out?"

Meng Meng ignored her.

In the afternoon, when he was teaching the three people to practice driving, he intentionally or unintentionally asked about Lu Changge's family situation. Naturally, the information he got was that he came from an ordinary family.

And they obviously didn't know that Lu Changge was very rich.

Meng Meng didn't say much, but he had already come to a very obvious conclusion in his mind: his family was indeed ordinary, and he had just become rich recently.

In other words, a kid who just graduated from high school has 150,000 yuan in his hands.

This sentence is worth pondering.

On the other side, Lu Changge drove to the city under the scorching sun. The city was relatively standardized. After seeing his voucher, they directly introduced him to the prize redemption process and then handled it according to the rules.

The prize of hundreds of thousands of yuan did not make the staff lose their composure. The amount of money that could be claimed here was not small.

It's just that the process is a bit long, especially paying the 20% occasional income tax, which makes him feel very sad.

The imagined process of collecting the money is somewhat grand, but in reality it is just a dull procedure, and then you take the money and leave.

Standing on the street again, looking at the bustling crowd, Lu Changge wanted to make a phone call to share his thoughts, but he didn't know who to call.

Fortunately, he is not the sentimental type, and having money in his pocket is enough to make him happy.

After returning home, he did not go out the next day and made some plans for what to do next.

First of all, considering the current stock market conditions, he must keep most of the money to buy stocks.

I keep a small portion for my own use. I only have a few hundred yuan on me, which I'm not used to.

The key point is that Cai Yue owes their family 28,000 yuan.
I have the impression that because Cai Yue ran away, Lu's father and mother regretted it so much that they couldn't eat for half a month. It's not that they are petty or love money, but that Lu's father originally ran a small business, and 28,000 yuan is not a small amount of money. On top of that, their son has to go to college, and he needs tuition, living expenses, etc.

This couple, who have elderly parents and young children, make their living by hard work and frugality.

Lu Changge thought about it and decided to find a reason to give the 28,000 yuan to his parents.

Money is just a number. Parents’ happiness is more important. It’s not like you will never be able to earn 28,000 yuan again in this lifetime.

To be honest, even if he decided not to give it, it would be hard for him to resist telling it directly after seeing his parents sighing at home every day.

That would actually be even more troublesome, because according to the timidity of Lu's parents, they would definitely deposit all the money in the bank and would not continue to buy stocks for him.

With this in mind, Lu Changge went to the driving school again. He hadn't been there for many days, so it would be better to show up unexpectedly.

When they got there, Zhu Xingyu told him that Yin Anyan had asked him why he didn't come.

Yin Anyan's face flushed red, and he kept denying it. But it seemed like a quibble, so he must have really asked.

When he got in the car, Coach Meng made a strange joke, saying, "You haven't been here for a few days. It seems like you've gone to make a fortune, right?"

In fact, it was just an ordinary joke, but Lu Changge always felt something was wrong. After he denied it, Meng Meng did not continue to ask.

But when it was almost time to end, Coach Meng came over and suggested, "Student Lu is here today. I'll treat you all and go have some fun."

Zhu Xingyu asked, "What are you playing, Coach Meng?"

"Let's eat and play mahjong. Lu Changge is pretty good at mahjong."

His nephew Qiao Guofan said, "Does it make money? It's more interesting if it makes money."

"I'm not going!"

He Feier, who is usually quiet, suddenly expressed her opinion with some determination.

Coach Meng just smiled and said, "What about Lu Changge? Are you going?"

"He's not going either. I have something to talk to him about." He Feier continued.

Something?

Even though Mr. He hadn't told him what was going on tonight, Lu Changge still had the ability to read people's expressions. He said, "We do have something to do. Let's do it next time."

"That's it, okay then."

After leaving the driving school, everyone went home.

Just five minutes after Lu Changge drove out on his electric scooter, He Feier called him and said, "Brother Lu, Coach Meng is a gambler. You can't play cards or mahjong with him."

Hearing this, he frowned, stopped his electric scooter on the side of the road, and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I've never told you that my mother's second aunt and this guy named Meng are from the same village. So I've known for a long time that he's a gambler, has a group of friends, and is known to set people up. Yesterday afternoon, he intentionally or unintentionally asked me about your family situation, and I felt something was wrong."

Lu Changge thought that maybe someone knew that he was rich, but he couldn't figure out how Coach Meng knew it.

As for the tricks He Fei'er was talking about, he completely understood them. When he was involved in urban demolition, he knew from the beginning that people were watching the people being displaced. As soon as the demolition money arrived, someone would immediately use various connections to get in touch with you and then trick you.

In gambling terms, it means first you win money, so you can enjoy the sweetness, and then you lose everything in the end.

"I see. Thanks, Mr. He. But I've never heard you talk about it before."

"This is someone Brother Pig hired. How can I tell you?" He Fei'er said, then she muttered, "But it's strange that he suddenly targeted you. You didn't return the 28,000 yuan to your parents, did you?"

"how come."

"Okay, just be careful anyway."

"Ah."

This is what a good friend is.

Although he doesn't like eating, drinking and having fun, but some people may plot against you unintentionally, and no one can guarantee that he will not be fooled.

(End of this chapter)