After ending his chat with Xu Li, Jiang Tao put on his clothes and went downstairs to grab a bowl of mutton soup at a street-side stall in the urban village.
A bowl of creamy white mutton soup paired with half a golden, crispy flatbread left him feeling warm all over.
Satiated and content, Jiang Tao stepped outside, lit a cigarette, and leisurely strolled to the lottery shop where he had sold his winning ticket the previous day.
He arrived around the same time as yesterday—just past 8 a.m. The lottery shop was quiet, almost deserted.
Only the shop owner was there, checking his phone to help some regular customers on WeChat place their bets.
"Boss, pick me five random Double Color Ball tickets," Jiang Tao said as he approached the glass counter.
"Hey, it's you, buddy!" Zhao Feng, the shop owner, looked up and recognized Jiang Tao immediately.
Yesterday, Jiang Tao's lottery ticket had been a big help. Though the redemption window was tight, everything went smoothly, and the ticket's recipient successfully claimed the prize.
"If you get another big winning ticket, bring it to me. Saves you the trouble of running to the lottery center," Zhao Feng said with a chuckle, a line he'd used on many customers—just polite small talk.
"Sure thing. More money, less hassle—why not?" Jiang Tao replied, pulling out his phone and scanning the QR code on the counter with a *ding*.
Meanwhile, Zhao Feng deftly selected five random Double Color Ball tickets on the lottery machine and asked, "Wanna check them? Swap any out?"
"No need. Just print them," Jiang Tao said.
At Jiang Tao's words, Zhao Feng pressed the print button. The machine whirred, spitting out a 10-yuan lottery ticket.
Jiang Tao grabbed the ticket from the machine, slipped it behind his phone case, and headed toward the door.
After a few steps, he suddenly stopped, hesitated for a few seconds, and turned back to the counter.
Every move Jiang Tao made was carefully rehearsed in his mind before entering the shop.
He perfectly captured the vibe of a lottery player torn about buying a scratch-off ticket, showing no trace of acting.
In life, who isn't an actor?
Everyone plays roles—employee, husband, wife, son.
Only when alone can you drop those labels and face your true self.
"Boss, what kinds of scratch-offs do you have here?" Jiang Tao asked.
"They're all here, buddy. Take a look. We've got 5-yuan, 10-yuan, and 20-yuan ones—three types total," Zhao Feng said, opening the glass case and pulling out several stacks of scratch-offs in different denominations.
"Let me see which one to pick," Jiang Tao said, lightly sifting through the seven or eight types of scratch-offs Zhao Feng laid out.
Soon, Jiang Tao spotted a 10-yuan scratch-off ticket glowing with a faint golden rim.
This scratch-off was called "Dragon and Phoenix Bring Prosperity."
The rules were simple: scratch to reveal a "Dragon" or "Phoenix" symbol, and the number beneath it was your prize.
"Boss, how many of these are left? I'll take them all," Jiang Tao said, pointing at the dwindling stack of "Dragon and Phoenix Bring Prosperity" scratch-offs, ready to buy them out.
"Let me check. One, two…" Zhao Feng counted. "Twelve left. That's 120 yuan!"
"Buddy, you might just hit a big one. This batch hasn't had any major winners yet," Zhao Feng said with a grin, fibbing a little.
In truth, this batch of "Dragon and Phoenix" tickets had already produced a 500-yuan winner, with the ticket displayed on the wall behind Zhao Feng.
Lottery shop owners like Zhao Feng always kept track of how much prize money a batch of scratch-offs had paid out.
If a batch was nearly sold out with no big wins, they'd often scratch the rest themselves.
Usually, they wouldn't lose money and might even make a small profit.
But if a big prize had already been claimed, like the 500-yuan one in this batch, they wouldn't touch the rest—chances were, the remaining tickets would be a loss.
"Alright, give me all of them," Jiang Tao said, not wasting words. He scanned the QR code, paid 120 yuan, and took the twelve scratch-offs, including the one with the faint golden glow.
With the transaction complete, Jiang Tao sat on a nearby stool and started scratching.
The first ticket: a total bust, no win.
The second: still nothing.
The third: another dud.
Seeing Jiang Tao strike out three times in a row, Zhao Feng felt a twinge of schadenfreude.
But Jiang Tao wasn't discouraged. He'd deliberately saved the glowing ticket for last.
Even if the others were all losers, he could rely on that one to turn things around!
After all, the twelve tickets only cost him 120 yuan.
According to the system's intel, that glowing ticket was worth a whopping 20,000 yuan!
On the fourth ticket, Jiang Tao scratched a "Dragon" symbol, revealing a 10-yuan prize.
The fifth: nothing. The sixth: another 10 yuan. The seventh and eighth: both duds.
The ninth: empty. The tenth: still nothing. The eleventh: a "Phoenix" symbol, another 10 yuan.
In less than five minutes, Jiang Tao had scratched eleven tickets, winning just 30 yuan.
His haul was a complete disaster—definitely a loss!
Zhao Feng's gaze held no sympathy, only cold indifference.
Having run a lottery shop for years, Zhao Feng had seen all kinds of players.
Young guys like Jiang Tao, who impulsively bought a dozen or even a whole batch of scratch-offs to test their luck, were a dime a dozen.
But less than one in ten walked away smiling.
Most ended up in the red.
Scratch-offs were designed to make money, not give it away.
Jiang Tao took a deep breath and started on the final ticket. Soon, he revealed a "Dragon" symbol.
He scratched off the prize amount beneath it—20,000!
"I won!" Jiang Tao exclaimed, feigning shock despite knowing it was coming.
"How much, buddy?" Zhao Feng asked, curiosity piqued by Jiang Tao's excited expression.
"20,000! I hit 20,000!" Jiang Tao shouted.
"Holy—20,000?!" Zhao Feng shot up from his chair like it had springs, staring at Jiang Tao in disbelief.
This guy had brought in a Double Color Ball second-prize ticket worth over 60,000—nearly 70,000—yesterday.
And today, he scratched a 20,000-yuan winner!
Was this guy a natural-born winner or the director's nephew?
"Boss, you buying this scratch-off?" Jiang Tao asked, waving the freshly scratched 20,000-yuan ticket at Zhao Feng.
The system was as reliable as ever!
One hundred twenty yuan turned into 20,030 in just a few minutes!
"Can I take a look, buddy?" Zhao Feng asked.
"Here," Jiang Tao said, stepping to the counter and handing over the winning ticket.
With cameras in the shop, he wasn't worried about Zhao Feng pulling anything over a small sum like this.
"It really is 20,000! Man, you're too lucky!" Zhao Feng said, his eyes filled with envy. In his six or seven years running the shop, this was the first time someone had scratched such a big prize.
Jiang Tao didn't waste time. "You taking this ticket or not?" he pressed.
"I'll take it, I'll take it!" Zhao Feng said eagerly, pulling out his phone and transferring 20,000 yuan to Jiang Tao's Alipay.
Seeing the transfer confirmation on his Alipay, Jiang Tao finally relaxed.
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If you happen to notice any errors, typos, or inconsistencies in the text, please don't hesitate to leave a comment. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me improve the story. Together, we can make it as polished and enjoyable as possible!
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