Chapter 56: Extreme Joy Turns To Sorrow, Xu Li’s Lottery Ticket Is Really Lost!
Jiang Tao returned to the Xiao Shahe rental room at 1:30 AM, holding a case of Moutai and a box of tea.
Although he didn’t know the value of these two items, System Brother did.
According to the information displayed by the intelligence system.
The tea is worth around 30,000.
A case of Feitian Moutai is worth 17,000!
Today is already the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month, and Spring Festival is in a week.
Jiang Tao decided to keep this case of Moutai.
A case of Moutai has exactly 6 bottles; for Spring Festival, he’ll give 2 bottles each to his father and father-in-law, and keep 2 bottles for himself.
By now, the external debt at home has been paid off.
His and Xu Li’s combined deposits now exceed 500,000.
During the Spring Festival, a couple of bottles of Moutai for some indulgence wouldn’t hurt.
In Jiang Tao’s hometown, the custom is to give tobacco and alcohol to one’s father and father-in-law during Spring Festival.
Every year, he buys Liqun cigarettes, which cost over 100 yuan per carton, and wine that costs around 400 yuan per case.
His mother always says it’s too expensive and tells him to buy cheaper ones next year, even loose wine would be fine, as long as the gesture is there.
However, at his father-in-law’s house, the situation is completely the opposite.
Every year, he inevitably gets a few digs from his mother-in-law and sister-in-law, and they give him looks that make him feel the pressure.
Xu Li’s older female cousins and female cousins-in-law, who are far inferior to her in figure and looks, are all married well.
During festivals, those older male cousins-in-law and male cousins-in-law all give his father-in-law Huazi cigarettes and Moutai.
They are all competing with each other.
Jiang Tao really can’t compete anymore.
He and Xu Li also feel there’s no need to keep up with those older male cousins-in-law and male cousins-in-law for the sake of appearances.
How much do they earn per month, and how much do he and Xu Li earn?
To be looked upon favorably by them would put a huge burden on the lives of their family of three.
That would truly be suffering for the sake of pride.
Although Jiang Tao has recently earned a lot of money through the intelligence system, he remains the same person and hasn’t become arrogant.
He also hasn’t thought about overpowering those brothers-in-law during the Spring Festival and publicly embarrassing them.
At thirty years old, he no longer has the youthful ambition of “don’t bully a young man for being poor.”
This year, it will be the same as in previous years; things will be as they are.
At most, he’ll slightly upgrade the quality of the tobacco and alcohol.
Buying a case of better wine than last year for his father and father-in-law, around a thousand yuan, would be sufficient.
If it’s too expensive, his father will be reluctant to drink it, thus losing the meaning of gifting wine.
Jiang Tao is absolutely certain that his father will be reluctant to drink the two bottles of Moutai he’s sending and will treasure them.
He’ll only take them out when there’s a major happy event at home.
For example, his younger sister’s wedding, or his eldest grandson’s wedding, or his granddaughter’s marriage.
His father-in-law, however, is more laid-back. Every year on the third day of the lunar new year, Jiang Tao visits, and his father-in-law entertains him with Moutai that Jiang Tao himself bought.
Jiang Tao and Xu Li have been married for over 7 years, and he’s drunk quite a bit of his father-in-law’s Moutai.
Giving his father-in-law 2 bottles this year is only right.
As for the cigarettes, they can also be upgraded to Huazi.
In recent years, people have been saying that money is getting harder to earn.
But when Spring Festival arrives, even in the village, there are more people giving and smoking Huazi.
A carton of Huazi costs only around 600 yuan, and Jiang Tao can now fully afford it.
As for the box of tea, which the system valued at over 30,000, Jiang Tao doesn’t plan to keep it.
Tea at this price point is too luxurious for him, as he rarely drinks tea.
Tea costing over 300 yuan per liang (50 grams) is already very good tea for him.
“I won’t be looking for work tomorrow; I’ll find a place to sell the tea.”
Jiang Tao squatted down and placed the case of Moutai and the tea under the large bed.
He briefly washed up with water from the thermos before getting back into bed, ready to sleep.
“Why do I always feel like I forgot something…”
Lying back in bed, Jiang Tao stared blankly at the floor slab above, but he had a persistent feeling that he had forgotten something.
“Right! The lottery ticket Xu Li asked someone to buy yesterday has had its draw. Why didn’t she call me with the good news?”
Suddenly, Jiang Tao remembered.
Yesterday, he had asked Xu Li to buy a lottery ticket like Sun Na’s, and that draw should have been last night.
Thinking of this, Jiang Tao rolled over again, got out of bed, and sat by the table.
He first opened the WeChat chat with Xu Li and copied the 100-yuan lottery ticket she had sent him onto a piece of paper.
Afterward, he opened the built-in browser on his phone to check last night’s lottery results.
“Red balls 2, 4, 11, 12, 23, 25, basketball is 6…”
Comparing the query results on his phone, Jiang Tao looked at the lottery numbers he had copied onto the paper.
The first ticket matched zero red balls and no blue ball, winning 0 yuan.
The second ticket matched one red ball and no blue ball, winning 0 yuan.
The third ticket matched three red balls and no blue ball, still winning 0 yuan.
The fourth ticket matched two red balls and no blue ball, still winning 0 yuan.
The last ticket matched 5 red balls and no blue ball, winning 3000 yuan!
“I won! Why didn’t my silly wife call me with the good news?”
“Could it be… she lost the ticket?”
“Pah, pah, pah, what am I saying with my jinxed mouth.”
“Although my silly wife is sometimes a bit foolish, she’s quite reliable.”
“She wouldn’t make such a simple mistake!”
Although he said Xu Li wouldn’t make a simple mistake.
Jiang Tao felt a bit uneasy in his heart.
According to the normal plot development, Xu Li would have immediately informed him of the good news after winning, but she hadn’t.
This was a bit unusual.
As for the probability of losing the ticket…
A couple of days ago, Jiang Tao himself had found a lost lottery ticket from someone else and sold it for over 70,000 yuan.
“I hope I’m overthinking things. Forget it, time to sleep.”
“I’ll just wait for Xu Li to call me about this; I won’t rush her.”
With a slight sense of doubt, Jiang Tao got back into bed and into his quilt to sleep.
…
Jiang Family Village, Jiang Tao’s home.
“Where did it go, where did it really go…”
“That’s 30,000 yuan, sob sob sob.”
“How could someone make such a huge mistake!”
“No, no, no, still no…”
On the large bed where Xu Li and Jiang Tao slept, clothes were piled up.
Xu Li was searching through the pockets of the clothes one by one for the lottery ticket she had bought yesterday.
Just as Jiang Tao had suspected, Xu Li had indeed lost the lottery ticket!
Although she hadn’t worn this pile of clothes during the day, she didn’t give up.
What if she found it inside?
In her desperation, Xu Li no longer considered whether her actions were logical.
Anyway, she had searched everywhere she could.
Her house had been searched more thoroughly than if a thief had broken in.
That lottery ticket had indeed won!
When the draw happened last night, Sun Na had called Xu Li to share her joy and regret!
If she had listened to Xu Li back then, Sun Na could have earned an extra 27,000 yuan!
It was her own lottery ticket, but she only won 3,000, while her best friend, by betting the same numbers, won 30,000.
Moreover, her best friend had also advised her to bet 10 times the amount, which she hadn’t done.
Just like that, she missed out on a chance to win a big prize, and Sun Na was completely devastated!
However, Sun Na and Xu Li had been friends for over ten years, so this wouldn’t cause any rift between them.
Sun Na just playfully insisted that Xu Li treat her to a big meal, which Xu Li readily agreed to.
But… extreme joy turned to sorrow.
Xu Li had searched through the pockets of her down jacket until she tore them, but still couldn’t find the lottery ticket she had bought that day.
Then she started searching through the cabinets and drawers at home.
In the middle of the night, she even called her mother to ask if she had lost it at her place.
After searching until one or two in the morning without finding the lottery ticket, Xu Li sat on the ground, looking dejected.
Lottery tickets are bearer instruments and are sold anonymously.
If lost, they are lost; there’s no process for reissuing them.
Thinking about losing 30,000 yuan, Xu Li burst into tears.
30,000 yuan was an absolute fortune for their small family!
She had never lost so much money in her life!
