Chapter 281 – First Prize!
Noon.
Welfare Lottery Store.
Five men were crowding in front of the TV, and Dong Xuebing’s eyes were glued to the screen.
Dong Xuebing had done everything he could and can only wait for the result. Based on his experience, there might be a b.u.t.terfly effect. It is just like when he was playing the Roulette at Jing Di Mansion casino. The result changed after he used BACK. It might be due to his expression, movements when placing the bets, etc. that changed the dealer’s movements. But PK10 is controlled by software, and the b.u.t.terfly effect might not be significant.
The race cars got into position, and the race started!
“The race starts, and number 8 is first!”
“Ah! It’s the same as the ticket I bought.”
“Wait… their positions now will not be the final result, and other cars will be overtaking the first car.”
Dong Xuebing clenched his fist nervously. It’s the same! Everything is the same as before!
Racecar 10 overtook race car 8, and race car 1 overtook race car 2. The cars’ positions kept changing every few seconds. Even the race car in the last position might become first at the finis.h.i.+ng line. No one knows what the result will be, and three seconds later, race car 7 took the first position.
The race is ending!
The race will end in a few seconds!
Dong Xuebing looked at his lottery tickets. 1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 9, 7, 3, 4, 6. The race is almost ending, but race car 1 is still third from the last!
Hurry!
Go faster!
With five seconds remaining, race car 1 overtook two cars and is in the sixth position!
With three seconds remaining, race car 1 sped up and took the third position!
With one second remaining, race car 1 took the second position!
The finis.h.i.+ng line is in front!
Go! Go! Go!
The men gasped as all ten race cars crossed the finis.h.i.+ng line. The race is over!
“Ah! I almost got it right!”
“I will not buy this again. It’s harder to win than “Two-toned b.a.l.l.s.”
“That’s right. I only got two numbers right.”
Dong Xuebing ignored their grumbles because he saw race car 1 overtook the second first race car just before the finish line. He stared at the screen to show the final result of all the race cars’ sequence. 1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 9, 7, 3, 4, 6.
Dong Xuebing checked his tickets again. 1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 9, 7, 3, 4, 6!
Dong Xuebing took a deep breath and almost shout out with joy!
All the numbers are in the right sequence!
I had won the lottery! I won the first prize!
Dong Xuebing is excited not because he had won money. He had won a few million RMB before, but this is different. This sum of money is legal, and no one can say anything. He can spend it without worrying about the Commission for Discipline Inspection. He can drive expensive cars, wear expensive watches and buy properties without worrying about people reporting him!
One of the men saw Dong Xuebing smiling and asked. “Young man, you won the PK10?”
Another man overheard it and moved closer. “What type of ticket did you buy? Pick 10?”
“Huh? No… I did not win.” Dong Xuebing quickly keep his lottery tickets. “I had almost won.”
“Oh…”
The store owner was in a daze as he looks at the row of numbers on TV. He felt the numbers are familiar, and he had keyed in those numbers earlier. But he keyed in too many sets of numbers for customers every day and can’t recall anything.
……
Qu Yunxuan’s apartment.
Dong Xuebing entered the house and laid on the sofa without even taking off his shoes. He laughed to himself as he looked at his winning ticket. Thanks to Qu Yunxuan’s text message, or else, he will not even step inside a lottery shop and will not know about this PK10 lottery. This lottery happens every five minutes, and it’s the best lottery for his power. If Dong Xuebing can manage the timing better, he can win five million every two days!
Of course, it’s not as easy as it seems.
Even if Dong Xuebing can win the lottery every day, he will also not dare to do it!
BACK is Dong Xuebing’s greatest secret and does not belong to this world. If anyone senses it or knows about it, there will be grave consequences. Even an idiot will sense something is wrong if Dong Xuebing wins the first prize of the lottery every few days.
That’s why Dong Xuebing must control and limit the number of times he wins the lottery to prevent suspicions.
Dong Xuebing has a rough idea of how to prevent suspicions.
Winning the first prize in a lottery is fine, as everyone will be lucky occasionally. But it will be dangerous if he wins it twice in a row. Dong Xuebing still has not heard of anyone who won the first prize of a lottery twice within a few days. The probability is too low. But PK10 lottery is not as prominent as “Two-toned b.a.l.l.s,” and not many people will take note of it. He can lower the risk of getting noticed by asking Aunt Xuan or someone else to claim the winnings on his second win.
Dong Xuebing tapped his fingers on the coffee table as he weighs the pros and cons.
It will be risky if Dong Xuebing buys it again, but if he does not buy, he will feel uncomfortable.
It’s 5 million! Who knows how long Dong Xuebing must wait to earn this amount if he depends on the auction company?!
Dong Xuebing decided to buy the lottery again. Since he entered the government service, he had been treading on thin ice, and this risk is nothing to the problems he faced in the past. He should be fine if he is not greedy and stop buying lottery after winning the first prize again. If he needs money, he can save his powers and buy “Two-toned b.a.l.l.s” next year. The winnings from “Two-toned b.a.l.l.s” are more than ten million, and he avoids risk by not buying any more lotteries before that.
That’s right! I will win the first prize one more time!
Dong Xuebing got up from the sofa and is prepared to go out. He will visit a different lottery shop now, but he hesitated when he is about to open his door. People will be suspicious if he appears and wins the top prize at two different lottery shops on the same day. No. This is too dangerous, and he must think of another way. Dong Xuebing put down his bag and entered Aunt Xuan’s room to use her PC.
Dong Xuebing went online to the Welfare Lottery website.
Dong Xuebing was not surprised to see that PK10 lottery can be bought online!
Ok! This is it!
Dong Xuebing immediately register an account and bind it to Aunt Xuan’s bank account. After the registration, he starts to buy a few sets of PK10 randomly, as he wants to see if he can transact online, and how long it will take. This is also to lower suspicions. He thought about his visit to the lottery shop and winning the first prize on his first try. It was too risky. With that experience, he decided to buy a few hundred sets of 10 numbers in multiples of six first.
The first set of numbers did not win.
The second set of numbers did not win.
Dong Xuebing won on his third set of numbers. But his sequence is not right, and he won only a few RMB.
The fourth set of numbers did not win.
The fifth set of numbers did not win.
……
These preparations lasted until it’s almost 4.30 in the afternoon
Dong Xuebing felt it’s about time, and he opened the results in a new window. The next race will start in 1 minute, 35 seconds. He rubbed his hands and lit a cigarette. 60 seconds… 40 seconds… 20 seconds…
It started!
The website showed the same thing as the TV in the shop.
The race started, and ten race cars rushed towards the finis.h.i.+ng line. Racecar 5 is ahead, but Racecar 8 overtook it one second later. The row of numbers on the top of the screen changed every second.
Over 10 seconds had pa.s.sed since the race started!
Zoom… zoom… zoom… the cars crossed the finis.h.i.+ng line, and the final results are out!
03, 05, 08, 04, 01, 09, 06, 02, 10, 07!
Dong Xuebing immediately shouts: “BACK two minutes!”
……
The scenes in front of Dong Xuebing flashed!
The computer screen is showing the information Dong Xuebing was looking at earlier. A timer indicating the start of the next race shows 1 minute and 33 seconds. In the left bottom corner, there is another timer showing the time remaining to place the bet. 52 seconds. Dong Xuebing has 52 seconds to place his bets!
Dong Xuebing clicked open a window he prepared. This is the transaction page for placing bets.
Quick! Quick!
Forty-five seconds are remaining!
Ta… ta… ta… ta… Dong Xuebing quickly key in 03, 05, 08, 04, 01, 09, 06, 02, 10, 07.
Eighteen seconds left!
Dong Xuebing quickly click the payment tab!
8 seconds…
6 seconds…
5 seconds…
4 seconds…
Six bets! Total 12 RMB!
3 seconds…
Transaction completed!
Dong Xuebing sighed in relief and snubbed his cigarette!
He made it just in time!
The results will be announced in around twenty seconds, and Dong Xuebing crossed his arms nervously. His eyes are glued to the screen and mumbled under his breath. Quick! Just start the race! He can’t wait for the race to start. When Dong Xuebing lit another cigarette, the race started.
Dong Xuebing is focused on the monitor.
Racecar 5 is leading but was overtaken very soon. The first position is racecar eight and very soon, another car takes the lead. None of the cars held the first position for more than two seconds!
Same!
Everything remained the same as what Dong Xuebing saw before!
Dong Xuebing clenched his fist. Yes! Just remain the same!
About 10 seconds later, the results are out!
03, 05, 08, 04, 01, 09, 06, 02, 10, 07!
“Yes!” Dong Xuebing punched his fist in the air. The results remained the same, and he had bought the winning tickets!
First prize!
I had won the First prize with six bets again!
Click! Someone opened the main door.
“Xiao Bing, I am back.” Qu Yunxuan shouted.
Dong Xuebing can’t wait to share his joy with someone else. He waved to Qu Yunxuan. “Aunt Xuan, come over quickly. I want to tell you something!”
Qu Yunxuan laughed. “Wait for me to put the groceries in the kitchen first.”
“Ah… just leave them there. Hurry up!”
“What’s the rush?” Qu Yunxuan gave Dong Xuebing a stare before placing her groceries on the coffee table. “You won the lottery?”
Dong Xuebing was surprised. “How do you know?”
Qu Yunxuan laughed and points to the monitor. “That’s the Welfare Lottery’s website.”
“Hah, you are so smart.” Dong Xuebing laughed. “Didn’t you tell me that I can solve my problems if I win the lottery? I went to try my luck, and I won the first prize twice with 12 bets! One bet is 888,888 RMB, and after-tax, my winnings is slightly less than 8 million. Aunt Xuan, you can rest a.s.sured now. I am no longer afraid of people reporting me to the Commission for Discipline Inspection.”
Qu Yunxuan laughed and pinched Dong Xuebing’s nose lightly. “Ok. I will prepare dinner now.”
“Eh, why are you not surprised?” Dong Xuebing asked. “What’s with this reaction?”
Qu Yunxuan replied. “I had just mentioned about winning the lottery this afternoon, and you won the first prize immediately afterward? Not only you won the first prize, and you still won it with more than ten bets?! How can it be possible? Do you think I am a fool to believe you? Alright. Go and wash your hands and help me to prepare dinner.”
Dong Xuebing was speechless. But if he is in Aunt Xuan’s shoes, he will also not believe him. It’s too unbelievable…
“Aunt Xuan, Aunt Xuan, don’t go first.”
“What else do you want?” Qu Yunxuan turned and looked at Dong Xuebing.
Dong Xuebing waved his hand. “Come over and look at this ticket.”
Qu Yunxuan walked over unwillingly. “What ticket?”
Dong Xuebing took out his winning ticket from his pocket and points to the number on it. “Have you heard of PK10 lottery? It’s the lottery that draws every five minutes, and you will win 888,888 RMB if you get all ten numbers in sequence. Look at this row of numbers and check against the result on the web.” Dong Xuebing opened the results page on the Welfare Lottery.
After a while, the results for that race appeared on the screen.
Dong Xuebing laughed. “Here, you can check it.”
Qu Yunxuan looks at the screen. “Eh?”
“Hahaha…”
“… all the numbers matched.” Qu Yunxuan was stunned.
Dong Xuebing opened another window, showing the results of another race. “Look at this set of results and your bank account’s transaction records.”
Qu Yunxuan looked at the numbers on the screen.
“Eh? This set of numbers is the same too.” Qu Yunxuan gasped. “You had won the lottery?!”
Dong Xuebing replied. “Why should I lie about this?”
Qu Yunxuan pushed Dong Xuebing aside and sat in front of the PC. “Go aside, and let me check it myself.”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
A few minutes later, Qu Yunxuan confirmed Dong Xuebing had won the lottery. “… you… you won the first prize!!”
Dong Xuebing nodded and proudly said. “You should know I had always been lucky. Hahaha… all my problems are solved. Oh, I am afraid to stand out, and I need you to claim the prize of the ticket I bought online, and deposit it into the company’s account. I will collect the other ticket myself. In the future, if I need to use money, I will use cheques. Anyway, the cheque is tied to the company’s account, and it’s the same.”
Qu Yunxuan recovered from her shock and hit Dong Xuebing’s arm lightly. “Idiot! You are so lucky!”
Dong Xuebing laughed. “Hurry and give a few more praises.”
“Be modest!” Qu Yunxuan rolled her eyes.
After Dong Xuebing’s problem is solved, Qu Yunxuan’s mood also becomes better and prepares a feast for their dinner.
The next day, Dong Xuebing and Qu Yunxuan went to Welfare Lottery Center to claim their winnings.
Dong Xuebing did not win the full 5 million RMB with the ticket bought from the lottery store. Someone else had also won the first prize, and in the end, Dong Xuebing’s winning is only around 4 million after-tax. Aunt Xuan also redeemed her winning with the ticket Dong Xuebing bought online, and she owns all six winning bets of the first prize for that race! Her prize money is slightly more than 4 million after-tax!
Together, Dong Xuebing had won slightly less than 8 million!
Dong Xuebing is satisfied with the winnings. Now, Yunde Auction Company will have 37 million cash, and the company’s a.s.set reached 40 million RMB. Yunde Auction Company is no longer considered a small company compared to other auction houses in Beijing.
40 million RMB!
Dong Xuebing is getting closer to be a billionaire!