Upon seeing the pattern on the paper airplane, Xu Li's breathing quickened.
She unfolded the paper airplane, revealing the words "China Welfare Lottery" written on the back.
Flipping it over to the front, she saw it was a lottery ticket worth 100 yuan.
Wasn't this the very lottery ticket she had lost?!
*Whoosh!*
Xu Li turned her head to look at her daughter, who was sitting nearby, intently assembling various shapes with plastic snowflake blocks on the coffee table.
So that's it! She had been wracked with guilt and self-blame for a day and a half, only to find out it was her little "cotton-padded jacket" who had let the secret slip!
As if sensing her mother's affectionate gaze, Jiang Xue turned to look at her mom and the colorful unfolded paper in her hand.
"Mommy, why did you take apart the airplane I folded for Shuke?" Jiang Xue asked, her big, sparkling eyes full of confusion as she looked at her mother, whose chest was heaving with deep breaths.
"*Huff… puff… huff… puff…*"
Xu Li took several deep breaths, her expression shifting from cloudy to clear, finally settling back into the calm, composed role of a mother.
What had happened had happened, and no amount of scolding would change it.
In parenting, calm and gentle education was far more effective than yelling.
Besides, this wasn't entirely her daughter's fault—she herself bore half the responsibility.
Something so important could never be so carelessly stuffed into a pocket again.
With a gentle smile, Xu Li asked, "Little Xue, where did you get this piece of paper?"
Jiang Xue pointed to the clothes rack on the balcony, her eyes clear and innocent. "From the pocket of Mommy's coat."
"Mommy needs to tell you, this isn't just paper for folding. It's something very important to Mommy and Daddy, so you can't use it to fold things anymore, okay?"
"Today, how about Mommy takes you to buy lots and lots of colorful paper just for folding?"
"Yay, yay! Mommy's the best!" Jiang Xue exclaimed, instantly thrilled as if it were New Year's.
A child's happiness could be so simple sometimes.
Looking at her joyful daughter, Xu Li's mood, which had been gloomy for a day and a half, finally lifted.
A sudden sense of clarity washed over her.
The guilt of losing 30,000 yuan vanished in an instant, and the pressure that had weighed her down disappeared without a trace.
After educating her daughter, Xu Li didn't bother to smooth out the creased lottery ticket in her hand. Instead, she immediately called Jiang Tao to share her joy.
"Honey! I really found that lottery ticket!"
"Your precious daughter folded it into a paper airplane and tossed it behind the TV!"
"Mm-hmm! I'll call my mom and sister to go with me to claim the prize later."
"With such a big prize, I don't dare go alone—what if I get robbed?"
"Mm-hmm, make sure you eat on time too, okay? Love you, honey! Bye~"
"What? You ate a pearl while eating seafood? You didn't choke, did you?"
Just as Xu Li was about to hang up, she heard Jiang Tao mention something about eating seafood.
"A Melo pearl? Worth over 100,000? Really?!"
"Honey, you've been so lucky lately!"
"You drank a bottle of iced tea and got a phone, got a rare banknote while collecting payment, dreamed about winning the lottery, and now you ate a pearl while eating seafood!"
"Isn't that just too lucky?! Mm-hmm, go for it! Finder's keepers, so split half with me when you sell it, hehe~"
"Mm-hmm, bye honey! Wishing you instant success! You got this, you got this~"
After the call, Xu Li's mood was absolutely radiant.
It felt like the clouds that had been shrouding her heart had completely parted, revealing the long-lost blue sky and white clouds.
Her smile, which had vanished, returned to her face.
The lottery ticket worth 30,000 yuan was lost and now found.
And last night, her husband had eaten a Melo pearl while having seafood, which was supposedly quite valuable according to online comments.
Double happiness!
As the saying goes, the face reflects the heart. After the call, Xu Li seemed to glow with a brighter charm.
"Come on, Little Xue~ Today, Mommy's taking you to eat yummy food and have lots of fun~"
Putting her phone back in her pocket, Xu Li called out to her daughter.
The big and little beauties held hands, chatting and laughing as they headed out the door.
…
Around 10:30 a.m.
Jiang Tao exited the subway at Panjiayuan Station, Exit B4, and arrived at the antique street.
The sun was shining brightly, and the weather was pleasant.
The foot traffic on the antique street was noticeably higher than usual.
"Don't these people have jobs on weekdays…?" Jiang Tao muttered to himself.
He always wondered why, whether it was a weekday or a weekend, the buses, subways, and streets were always so crowded.
Grumbling to himself, Jiang Tao blended into the crowd and made his way deeper into the antique street.
After about ten minutes, he stopped in front of Boya Auction House.
He had sold that rare all-4s banknote here before, and the transaction had gone smoothly.
The young boss of this shop was straightforward with payments, leaving a good impression on Jiang Tao.
So, when he got his hands on this Melo pearl, the first place he thought of was this auction house.
"Hello, sir. How can I assist you?" Zhang Bo, the shop's young owner, greeted Jiang Tao with a cheerful smile as he entered.
Jiang Tao remembered Zhang Bo, but Zhang Bo, who dealt with dozens of customers daily, clearly didn't recall him.
"Boss, I sold you an all-4s rare banknote here before. Do you remember?" Jiang Tao said with a smile, trying to jog his memory.
"Oh! I remember, I remember! Are you here to browse for some antiques today, or do you have another treasure to sell?" Zhang Bo's memory clicked after Jiang Tao's reminder.
These days, aside from Jiang Tao's all-4s Kirin banknote, Boya hadn't acquired any other rare notes.
Zhang Bo had bought that note from Jiang Tao for 40,000 yuan and later sold it for just over 50,000, making a profit of over 10,000 yuan.
Cutting to the chase, Jiang Tao asked, "Do you buy jewelry here?"
Zhang Bo, intrigued, asked, "What brand? What type? Necklace or bracelet? Can I take a look?"
"It's not finished jewelry. It's a Melo pearl I recently came across," Jiang Tao replied.
As he spoke, he reached into his jacket's inner pocket and pulled out a small medicine bottle for Liuwei Dihuang Wan.
He opened the cap and took out the Melo pearl, wrapped in a layer of tissue.
Seeing the little medicine bottle and tissue wrapping, Zhang Bo's mouth twitched slightly.
This guy was, as always, treating these treasures so casually!
Zhang Bo clearly remembered when Jiang Tao had come to sell the rare banknote—it was just pulled straight out of his wallet.
As Jiang Tao handed the Melo pearl to Zhang Bo, he asked, "Boss, do you know about Melo pearls?"
"I've heard of them, but we've never actually acquired one here. Let me take a look…" Zhang Bo replied.
He carefully took the pearl from Jiang Tao, unwrapping the tissue to reveal the shimmering, lustrous Melo pearl inside.
Its surface was smooth as a mirror, and the classic flame-like patterns within caught Zhang Bo's eye, making them light up.
After examining and admiring it for over three minutes, Zhang Bo finally looked at Jiang Tao and asked, "Brother, how much are you looking to sell this pearl for?"
"120,000," Jiang Tao said calmly, as if he were selling vegetables at the market for 12 yuan.
"120,000??"
Zhang Bo's gaze returned to the Melo pearl in his hand. *This thing is worth that much?*