Chapter 81: The Sour Gao Cuifen
A lottery station opened in the alley.
Oh, no, to be precise it should be called a fund lottery station. Although they call this thing a lottery in private, its official name is fund lottery.
The fund lottery ticket station is located at the entrance of the alley. It is a very simple shed made of plastic sheeting. There is a banner hanging on each side of the shed. The left one reads "Asian Games Fund Lottery Ticket Temporary Sales Station" and the right one reads "Every ticket you buy is a support for the Asian Games."
There were several plastic baskets on the stall under the shed, and in the baskets were piles of lottery tickets. Behind the stall stood a beautiful woman in a skirt, holding the lottery tickets and selling them one by one to people who came to buy them.
The residents in the alley were quite supportive of the lottery station. As soon as the shed was built and the lottery tickets were put out in the afternoon, the elderly people in the alley came over to buy some. When it was time to get off work, there were even more people surrounding the lottery station.
When Shi Yue led Shi Qiu Shui out, he saw a few people from their courtyard standing in front of the lottery station. He smiled and greeted them.
"Aunt Gao, Aunt Yao, Aunt Ma, Aunt Li, are you buying lottery tickets?"
The ladies at the lottery booth turned around and said, "Hey, Xiaoshi Xiaoqiu, you guys are out?"
"Xiaoqiu, how are you? I heard you weren't feeling well this morning. Are you feeling better now?"
"Yes, Xiaoqiu, are you still feeling uncomfortable?"
Shi Qiushui shook his head: "It's not uncomfortable anymore!"
Shi Yue added, "I'm so sorry to have worried you all. My Xiaoqiu is fine now. She took some medicine this morning and had a good sleep. She's fine now. She even had the energy to ask for popsicles just now. So I brought her out here just to buy some popsicles."
Several aunts looked at Shi Qiu Shui and noticed that her face was rosy, completely different from her pale face in the morning. They knew that she was really fine and felt relieved.
"It's all right, it's all right."
Shi Yue smiled and glanced at the hands of several aunties. It turned out that they bought a lot of tickets. Each of them held several tickets in their hands.
He asked curiously, "Hey, you guys bought so many lottery tickets, how are you doing? Did you win anything?"
Shi Qiu Shui also blinked his eyes and looked at the aunties curiously. Who would have thought that after hearing what Shi Yue said, the aunties all looked unhappy, and Gao Cuifen even rolled her eyes.
Shi Yue: "Hey, what does this mean? You didn't win?"
Gao Cuifen: "Hmph!"
Yao Dazui pointed at Shi Yue and said, "You're really asking for trouble. Your Aunt Gao just bought ten lottery tickets in a row and didn't win any. She's already mad. Now you're asking her if she won, aren't you just walking into her trap?"
Shi Yue clapped his hands and said, "Oh, it's my fault, it's my fault. I didn't expect Aunt Gao to..."
Aunt Gao glanced at Shi Yue and said nothing.
Don’t think she can’t see it. Shi Yue’s half-finished words just now were lip-synced to “I didn’t expect Aunt Gao to have such bad luck.”
Humph! This is clearly the lottery station's problem, not her luck!
She has been here for half a day and hasn't seen anyone win the prize!
Just as Gao Cuifen was thinking this, she heard a scream coming from the stall.
"I won, I won, I won!"
The person who was shouting was a young man. Shi Yue knew him. His nickname was Coal Ball because his skin was very dark. Coal Ball lived in the yard next to theirs, and everyone knew him.
When Gao Cuifen heard Meiqiu say that she had won the prize, she anxiously squeezed over and said, "Let me see, Meiqiu, let me see, did you really win the prize?"
Meiqiu handed the lottery ticket to Gao Cuifen generously: "Here, Aunt Gao, take a look. It says here, first prize."
Gao Cuifen and the others who gathered around looked at the lottery ticket together.
"Hey, yes, it really is first prize!"
"Wow, Coal Ball, you're amazing! You managed to win a first prize with just one tear! Awesome!"
"Hey, how much is the first prize?"
"I think it's five hundred? I'm not sure. Well, Coal Ball, why don't you ask the women there how much the first prize is?"
The lottery ticket seller smiled and said, "Yes, the first prize is 500 yuan."
She looked up at Meiqiu and asked with a smile: "Comrade, are you going to redeem your lottery ticket? If you do, please show it to me."
Meiqiu: "Exchange, exchange. Here, comrade, look, it says first prize here."
The female comrade nodded: "Yes, that's right, comrade, you won the prize. Wait a minute, I'll get you the money." She turned around and took out five hundred yuan from the small bag behind her, and handed it to Meiqiu, "Comrade, this is your prize money, please keep it."
Meiqiu was dizzy after hearing the huge sum of five hundred yuan. Five hundred yuan, their monthly salary was barely less than five hundred yuan!
"Hehe, hehe——"
Meiqiu happily put the five hundred yuan into his pocket and was about to leave, even forgetting to take back the winning lottery ticket.
The woman selling lottery tickets noticed that he had dropped his ticket and shouted, "Comrade, comrade, you forgot to take your ticket. There are two more draws for this ticket. You can't lose it."
Coal Ball finally realized what was happening. He quickly turned around and picked up the lottery ticket. He smiled innocently, touched his head, and asked, "Hey, comrade, what does this second lottery draw mean?"
The woman selling the lottery tickets pointed to the number in the middle of the ticket and said, "You see this column for the secondary draw? There's a group and number on it. The secondary draw is done by lottery, and the winning numbers for each draw will be announced in the next draw. We'll post them here at the lottery station when the time comes. You can come by and claim your prize with your ticket."
Coal Ball: "Oh, I see."
The woman selling the lottery ticket said: "So, please put this ticket away quickly. We will win the special prize in the second draw. The prize money is 10,000 yuan."
"Then I'll keep this lottery ticket. Maybe I can win again." Meiqiu quickly put the lottery ticket into his trouser pocket.
Gao Cuifen rolled her eyes. She didn't think that silly boy Meiqiu could be so lucky as to win twice with one lottery ticket.
She felt that she was more likely.
She bought ten tickets at once, but why didn’t she win a single dollar? This must be because there was a big prize waiting for her!
So she had to keep these ten lottery tickets safe. What if she won? That would be 10,000 yuan!
Li Xiuying noticed Gao Cuifen's expression.
Her many years of experience as old rivals allowed her to guess what Gao Cuifen was thinking, and she snorted in disdain.
If she were to say, Gao Cuifen was a person with a sharp tongue and no luck, so she would not win the prize. The one who would win should be her. After all, the old people used to say that people with big earlobes are blessed. She has big earlobes and is blessed, so she will definitely win the prize.
Li Xiuying was quite confident. She waved her hand and said to the female comrade selling lottery tickets, "Comrade, please give me another fifty lottery tickets."
"Fifty? Auntie, are you sure you want fifty?"
Li Xiuying nodded: "Yes, give me fifty!"
Seeing that Li Xiuying asked for fifty tickets at once, everyone present was a little surprised. Although one dollar a lottery ticket was not expensive, buying fifty tickets at once would cost fifty dollars.
Fifty yuan is enough for Li Xiuying's living expenses for half a month, but she just used it to buy lottery tickets?
Gao Cuifen glanced at Li Xiuying and said, "Wow, Old Li, what's wrong with you? You're just buying lottery tickets and not living your life?"
Li Xiuying: "Huh, who said I don't live a good life? This fifty yuan is the fifty yuan that Li Si gave me yesterday. I took it from him. I'm afraid it came from a dirty source. I can't feel at ease if I spend this money on other things."
Gao Cuifen: "Oh, so you feel at ease buying lottery tickets?"
Li Xiuying: "Yes. I gave this money to the country to support the Asian Games, so of course I feel at ease."
Gao Cuifen curled her lips: "Oh, what you said sounds nice, but everyone knows that you just want to win the prize, you just want to get something for nothing!"
Li Xiuying: "Tsk, you don't want to win the lottery, you don't want to get something for nothing? Then don't buy lottery tickets!"
Gao Cuifen shut up. She came here just to win the lottery, so how could she not buy a lottery ticket?
Without Gao Cuifen's chattering, Li Xiuying quickly took out money to buy fifty lottery tickets. She held a stack of lottery tickets and tore them apart. The rest of the people took her place and took turns buying lottery tickets.
Yao Dazui, Ma Yulan, Shi Yue, Shi Qiu Shui.
Yes, Shi Qiu Shui was no exception and was also in the queue buying lottery tickets.
I can only say that everyone has a heart that wants to get something for nothing. No, it is a heart that supports the Asian Games. Yes, support the Asian Games.
Even Gao Cuifen quietly joined the queue, planning to buy a few more lottery tickets. She didn't win just now, but maybe she will win this time. Meiqiu, that kid, won 500 yuan, so there is no reason why she can't win even a dollar!
After everyone took turns buying their tickets, they didn't leave but just lay down on the stall and started tearing the tickets. Shi Qiu Shui tore the tickets seriously with a stern face. She took out all the 25 yuan her father had given her last night and bought a total of 25 tickets.
She tore open the first one, but missed. The second one also missed. The third one...
Seeing that none of the previous ones won, Shi Qiushui felt somewhat depressed. She pouted her little face and kept muttering, "Win, win, let me win..."
Perhaps praying really worked, because this time the ticket she tore open didn’t say “Thank you for supporting the Asian Games”, but “Fourth Prize”!
Shi Qiushui's eyes lit up instantly, and he cheered softly, "Wow!"
Shi Yue, who was tearing up the lottery ticket nearby, turned around and asked, "Did you win?"
Shi Qiushui: "Yes, fourth prize!"
She asked the woman selling lottery tickets, "Auntie, how much is the fourth prize?"
Female comrade: "The fourth prize is five yuan. You are in the middle, right? Give me your ticket and I will redeem your prize."
"Auntie gives it to you—" Shi Qiu Shui obediently handed over the lottery ticket.
After the female comrade took a look and confirmed that there was no problem, she turned around to get the money. She quickly took the money and handed it to Shi Qiu Shui.
Shi Qiu Shui happily put the money into his pocket. Even though five dollars is not a lot, it is still a winning amount!
And with this good start, maybe she will win more in the future!
With such hope, Shi Qiu Shui continued to struggle with the lottery ticket. She tore, tore, tore, tore hard, and tore with great effort, but to her disappointment, after she had torn all 25 tickets, there was no winning ticket.
Shi Qiu Shui counted on her fingers and found that she spent twenty-five dollars on the lottery ticket and won five dollars. So, she lost twenty dollars.
Twenty dollars!
She pouted and tears were about to fall.
If she had used the twenty yuan to buy food instead of lottery tickets, she could have bought as many popsicles, bubble gum, instant noodles, and lollipops as she wanted...
But now, it’s gone, all gone, all the snacks are gone, all the money is gone...
Shi Qiushui pouted, and Shi Yue noticed it. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Did you finish tearing it? Didn't you win?"
Shi Qiu Shui nodded dejectedly.
Shi Yue rubbed her head and said, "It's okay. Your dad didn't win either."
Shi Qiu Shui looked up at him, but she didn't feel comforted. Instead, she felt like the sky had fallen.
She paid out twenty dollars, her father paid out twenty-five dollars, and with one dollar added, that’s forty-five dollars in total. How many delicious foods can you buy with forty-five dollars?
Shi Yue: "How about it, do you still want to buy it?"
Shi Qiushui shook his head vigorously: "No, Dad, let's go!"
Shi Qiu Shui was a girl who knew how to cut her losses in time. She had already lost 45 yuan and didn't want to lose any more money, so she immediately grabbed Shi Yue's arm and tried to walk out.
She said, "Dad, let's go buy some popsicles. Didn't you promise to buy me some?"
It's not that she hadn't thought about continuing to buy lottery tickets and maybe making a profit, but she also knew that if she continued to buy lottery tickets, she might also continue to lose money! If the losses continued, she might even lose the money she had spent on popsicles. That wouldn't do!
For his own popsicle, Shi Qiushui tried hard to pull Shi Yue out: "Come on, Dad, let's go..."
"Okay, okay, let's go. Don't pull me first."
After finally getting his daughter to let go and regain her freedom, Shi Yue looked at Shi Qiu Shui with amusement. He had thought that his daughter would be addicted to buying lottery tickets and would keep buying until she won back her money. Unexpectedly, his daughter was very decisive and would stop immediately after losing money. This was actually quite good.
Although everyone in this world hopes to get something for nothing and a huge sum of money falling from the sky, he certainly doesn't want his daughter to become someone who only hopes for something for nothing, because the probability of this happening is too small.
Now that he saw his daughter was sober, he felt relieved.
He smiled and said, "Okay, let's go buy you a popsicle."
Shi Yue took Shi Qiushui's hand and said hello to the aunties: "Well, aunties, I'll take Xiaoqiu shopping first."
Several aunties waved their hands without even looking up: "Okay, go ahead."
Shi Yue led Shi Qiu Shui out. Although he went out because Shi Qiu Shui was clamoring to buy popsicles, he certainly couldn't just go out to buy two popsicles. So, he took Shi Qiu Shui to the vegetable market and bought some vegetables for dinner, two mosquito nets and two plates of mosquito coils. There were too many mosquitoes in the summer, and spraying floral water was of no use at all.
After buying the things, Shi Yue and Shi Qiu Shui carried the things and walked home. When they returned to the slum, several aunties had already started cooking.
Shi Yue smiled and asked Gao Cuifen, who was getting water in the yard, "Aunt Gao, how's it going? Tell me, did you win any prizes in the lottery you bought just now?"
Hearing this, Gao Cuifen's face suddenly turned dark. She didn't even take the water, turned around with a dark face and walked back to her house.
Shi Yue understood as soon as he saw this situation. Gao Cuifen had failed again.
He took two steps forward and saw Li Xiuying again. He greeted her as well: "Hey, Aunt Li, how about you? How are you? Did you win the prize?"
Li Xiuying rolled her eyes, turned around and went back to the house without saying a word.
have to.
This one didn't win either.
There was only one person left in the courtyard, Ma Yulan. She didn't wait for Shi Yue to ask, but waved her hand and said, "Stop it, Xiao Shi, don't ask me if I got the lottery, otherwise don't blame me for getting angry with you."
Shi Yue nodded: "Okay, Aunt Ma, I won't ask, I won't ask."
He shut up and quietly led Shi Qiushui home. After entering the house, he "tsk tsk" twice and sighed: "Hey, his hands are really stinky. Hey, none of the aunties in our yard won the prize."
When Shi Qiushui heard this while sucking on his popsicle, he looked up at him and said, "Dad, you didn't win either."
Since neither of them won the prize, then the eldest brother shouldn’t talk about the second brother.
"Hey--"
Shi Yue patted Shi Qiushui's head and said, "Go eat your popsicle over there."
Shi Qiushui looked at her father and said, "Dad, are you angry out of shame?"
Shi Yue said quietly, "I'm not really angry yet, but if you keep talking, I'll let you know what it means to be truly angry out of shame."
Shi Qiuguo shut up decisively. She sat on the sofa holding her popsicle, turned on the TV and the fan, and watched TV quietly while the fan was blowing.
Shi Yue walked over and said, "Hey, kid, you really know how to enjoy yourself."
He nudged Shi Qiushui with his leg and said, "Move to the side. I want to sit too."
Shi Qiu Shui stared at the TV, but moved aside to make way for Shi Yue.
The Bund was being broadcast on TV at the moment. Seeing the extremely handsome Xu Wenqiang holding a cigarette in his mouth, Shi Qiu Shui thought of the incident yesterday when Old Zhang, wearing sunglasses, tried to scam Xiao Ma Ge. She shook her head and felt that she was right yesterday.
The only thing that is the same between Grandpa Zhang and Brother Ma is their gender!
She was sucking on her popsicle and watching TV intently when suddenly there was a loud noise outside the house.
Shi Qiu Shui curiously peeked outside through the window, only to see Da Liu standing in the yard holding a box of soda, handing out soda to people with a smile. Da Liu's eyes met Shi Qiu Shui's, who was leaning against the window, and he waved enthusiastically.
"Come over, Xiaoqiu. You come too. Call your dad. Everyone, come over here. I'm treating everyone to soda today!"
Soda, please?!
Shi Qiu Shui's eyes lit up, and she immediately opened the door and ran out. She ran to Da Liu, who directly handed her a bottle of Beibingyang soda and considerately pried open the lid for her before handing it to her.
Shi Qiushui took it and said sweetly, "Thank you, Uncle Liu~"
Liu: "Hey, Xiaoqiu is so good~"
Shi Qiushui took a sip of soda and asked, "Uncle Liu, why are you treating everyone to soda?"
The big guys who were called out in the yard were also puzzled. Why was Da Liu so generous today? Such a box of soda was not cheap, so why did he suddenly treat everyone to it?
"Hey, Da Liu, do you have any good news?"
"Wait, Da Liu, don't tell me yet. Let me guess. What's the good news? Um, is Xiao Liu pregnant?"
As soon as Gao Cuifen said this, everyone's eyes turned to Xiao Liu who was next to Da Liu. Xiao Liu was young and thin-skinned, and he blushed when everyone looked at him like that.
She waved her hands and said embarrassedly: "No, no, I'm not pregnant! My Da Liu won the prize today!"
Xiao Liu said, "You know there's a lottery station at the entrance of the alley? We just bought two tickets there, and one won five hundred yuan. Da Liu was so happy that he bought a case of soda so that everyone could share in the joy."
"Oh, I won the prize! Big Liu, you are so lucky!" Ma Yulan didn't win the prize herself, but she didn't envy others who won the prize.
Li Xiuying felt a little jealous, but that was okay. She smiled, picked up a bottle of soda, and said, "Then I'm definitely going to share in your good fortune. I bought several tickets today but didn't win. I'm hoping to share in your good fortune and win tomorrow."
Gao Cuifen felt a little jealous. She thought sourly, why could others win the prize but she couldn't?
She couldn't help but say with a hint of sourness, "Big Liu has such good luck, isn't he afraid that those of us who are just trying to get some of his good fortune will take it away?"
This sounded very sarcastic, and coupled with Gao Cuifen's tone, the atmosphere at the scene froze. Da Liu's expression froze for a moment, but he quickly reacted and said with a smile: "Don't be afraid, Aunt Gao, you can go ahead and get involved."
Ma Yulan tried to smooth things over: "Oh, happiness is something that will only come with you the more you touch it. How can it be taken away? Lao Gao, if you can't speak, then don't say anything."
Gao Cuifen also realized that what she had just said was too sour. She smiled stiffly and said, "It's Auntie, I can't say anything anymore. Don't mind it, Da Liu."
Liu smiled and said, "It's okay, I don't take it to heart."
Although he said so, only he knew what he was thinking in his heart.
After Gao Cuifen's incident, the atmosphere in the courtyard was no longer as lively as it had been at the beginning. After distributing the soda, Da Liu carried the box home. Ma Yulan turned around and glared at Gao Cuifen, saying, "Lao Gao, Lao Gao, how can I say hello to you! Da Liu was so kind as to treat everyone to a drink, and you said something like that. It must have made people feel awkward!"
Gao Cuifen frowned in frustration. "Oh, Old Ma, please stop talking. I know what I said just now was inappropriate. I didn't mean to say that. I just didn't think before I spoke, and I blurted it out without thinking."
Ma Yulan: "You're always like this, you don't think before you speak!"
She pointed her index finger at Gao Cuifen and said, "Just say it. Don't you see how many people you've offended over the years because of your mouth?"
Gao Cuifen: "Oh my, I know I was wrong. I will definitely not do that again next time, okay?"
Ma Yulan rolled her eyes at Gao Cuifen and was too lazy to talk nonsense with her.
Gao Cuifen has never offended anyone in all these years. She always says she will change, but she makes the same mistake again next time.
Watching Ma Yulan leave, Gao Cuifen muttered quietly, "Oh my, oh my, it's just a small matter. What's the big deal? I'll just wait for the lottery results to come out. If I win, I'll just treat Liu to a soda and that'll be it."
Shi Yue glanced at Gao Cuifen and thought, it’s not even dark yet, how come Aunt Gao is having a dream?
The prize that is drawn by lottery is the special prize. Only one special prize is chosen in each issue. How can it be so easy to win?
Besides, this is not just about a bottle of soda!
It seems that the saying is true: two people cannot sleep in the same bed.
Gao Cuifen, like Old Zhang, is not a very capable person.
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