Chapter 049: 120,000 in Savings—One Step Closer to the Main Quest’s 100 Million Cash Goal

"Young man, that's incredible!"

"I've run this lottery shop for so many years, and I've never seen two grand prizes in a single pack of scratch-offs!"

After recording a video for Douyin, the owner first cashed out the two grand prizes for Li Zhiyan.

While Xu Qianqian despised seeing Li Zhiyan succeed, she also sped up her scratching, hoping to hit a ten-thousand-dollar grand prize herself.

If she could win ten thousand, this month's loan repayment would be mostly resolved.

However, after scratching through an entire pack, Xu Qianqian didn't win a single decent prize.

"Boss, another pack!"

Li Zhiyan calmly scratched his tickets, gathering all the winning ones together.

Right up until the very last ticket, he still hadn't hit the hundred-thousand-dollar grand prize.

This made Li Zhiyan feel a twinge of unease—could it be that it wasn't there?

Yet, the moment the final scratch-off was cleared, the number one hundred thousand appeared in his field of vision.

Li Zhiyan finally let out a deep breath of relief! The owner, who had been watching him closely, noticed this scene as well.

"One hundred thousand! Young man, your luck is ridiculously godly!"

Meanwhile, across from him, Xu Qianqian had just finished her second pack of scratch-offs with zero returns, only to hear that Li Zhiyan had won one hundred thousand!

Her face twisted in bitter jealousy.

"Young man!"

"I have to put up a banner for you!"

"Let me shoot another Douyin video first."

As a lottery shop owner, nothing was more desirable than customers winning grand prizes; they served as living advertisements, and every win always boosted business for a period of time.

The sign outside his shop advertising a fifty-thousand-dollar win was already two years old, so he could finally update his promotion!

Underneath Xu Qianqian's deeply agonizing gaze, Li Zhiyan left the lottery shop!

As soon as he departed, she trembled violently with pure rage.

In her heart, she looked down on Li Zhiyan the most and hated seeing him succeed above all else.

"Qianqian, are you alright?"

"I'll buy you another pack. Maybe we'll hit the grand prize too."

A-Fei looked at his WeChat wallet balance and decided to keep buying scratch-offs for his goddess to cheer her up.

...

The trip to the lottery center to claim the prize went smoothly as well.

At noon, inside a Shaxian Delicacies restaurant.

Li Zhiyan ordered a portion of scallion-oil noodles, a plate of steamed dumplings, and a bowl of pork rib soup.

He looked at the balance in his WeChat wallet.

It gave him an immense sense of security and confidence.

"It turns out a man still needs money."

Li Zhiyan recalled a line from a television drama: a man without a woman is still a man.

Yet if a man lacked money, he would be like a boneless invertebrate with its spine removed, forever unable to stand tall.

Having money was truly more important than anything else!

"One hundred and twenty thousand... Once I get my driver's license, I can consider buying a car."

The main quests of one hundred million in cash and a villa were still a long way off, but Li Zhiyan's heart was already filled with anticipation!

He was even pondering what gifts to buy for his parents the next time he went home.

What felt the most satisfying of all, however,

was the look of anguish on Xu Qianqian's face when she watched him win.

For someone to bear such an expression when it was the person you loathed most was a form of psychological gratification. Even though his cheat wasn't overwhelmingly heaven-defying, Li Zhiyan's heart was filled with confidence and longing for the future.

...

At the same time, Zhao Shumin was sitting inside a small eatery, eating the cheapest lunch available.

To save up for a bride-price and a wife for her son, Shang Shun-sheng, she had always worked hard and lived frugally.

Whenever the company required overtime work, she never uttered a single complaint and rushed right over.

Today was Zhao Shumin's birthday, so deep down, she longed to spend it with her son and Liu Yan. Although Liu Yan had always been at odds with her, Zhao Shumin had always regarded Liu Yan as a member of her own family.

"I should call my son."

"He probably bought me a cake."

Zhao Shumin thought of the gift her colleague's son had given her a few days prior on her birthday—a nineteen-inch large cake.

Along with a pair of high heels costing over two thousand dollars.

Such extravagant gifts were things Zhao Shumin wouldn't dare to imagine.

Even if Shang Shun-sheng bought them for her, she would undoubtedly have told him to return them.

Still, in her heart, she desperately wanted a birthday cake.

Because ever since her mother passed away when she was ten years old, no one had ever said "Happy Birthday" to her again.

After dialing Shang Shun-sheng's number, his voice sounded distinctly impatient.

"What is it?"

"Son, what are you doing?"

"Eating, what else could I be doing? Spit it out if you have something to say."

Hearing Shang Shun-sheng's tone, Zhao Shumin couldn't help a pang of disappointment.

Ever since he was a child, Shang Shun-sheng had been a deeply rebellious boy whose attitude toward her was always terrible, and she hadn't expected him to remain the same way as an adult.

Especially after he found Liu Yan as his girlfriend.

"Well, it's like this."

"Today is Mom's birthday, so tonight Mom will come over to your place and cook something delicious for you."

As she spoke, a flicker of hope arose in Zhao Shumin's heart.

Her son and future daughter-in-law surely must have prepared a cake for her; after all, today was her birthday.

"How old are you, and you're still celebrating birthdays?"

"Aren't you ashamed?"

"Liu Yan and I are both busy, don't come."

"What kind of birthday nonsense is this anyway."

With that, Shang Shun-sheng hung up the phone.

Zhao Shumin fell into silence. She truly never imagined that her own biological son could utter such words.

She remembered clearly how, just a short while ago, he had spent a whole month's salary to buy a bracelet for Liu Yan's birthday.

Yet now, he was dismissing her birthday as nonsense.

Staring at the disconnected call,

Zhao Shumin felt a profound sorrow, a wave of despair washing over her soul.

So, her own son really didn't care about her birthday at all.

At that moment, Zhao Shumin felt completely hollowed out by grief.

That afternoon, back at the company office, the boss walked in.

"Tonight, everyone continues working overtime until midnight."

"Put in a good effort. As everyone knows, most companies are laying people off right now, and I hope you all cherish your jobs."

His words heavily implied that there would be no overtime pay.

Yet not a single person dared to voice even the slightest disagreement.

Because finding a job right now was simply too difficult.

The boss cast a lecherous glance at Zhao Shumin's chest before turning around and leaving the office.

Sitting at her desk, Zhao Shumin had an intense urge to burst into tears.

It was her birthday, yet her own son didn't even want to spend it with her.

And that was after she had explicitly told him.

On top of that, she had to work overtime until midnight tonight. An unprecedented wave of sadness and desolation spread through her heart, making her yearn to cry her eyes out.

In this world, she thought bitterly, nobody truly cared about her at all.