Chapter 73: Striking the Jackpot

When Li Qingying saw He Haoxuan acting this way, she mistook his silence for agreement and scolded him angrily, “He Haoxuan, how can you be like this? Even if you’re poor, you should have your dignity.”

“My money is clean, you don’t have to worry,” He Haoxuan replied.

“Don’t have to worry? How am I supposed to be at ease? You suddenly pull out two luxury cars for me—are you planning to go to prison?” Li Qingying was exasperated with him.

How could he end up like this? Even if they were poor, they could just spend less. But if he’s done something illegal, his life would be ruined.

All of a sudden, Li Qingying remembered how harshly they always treated He Haoxuan, constantly mocking him. Perhaps, in order to prove himself, he had taken a dangerous risk and gotten into trouble.

“He Haoxuan, you can’t get into trouble. I want you to earn your money honestly, not by some shady means,” Li Qingying fixed her gaze on him.

He Haoxuan could only reply helplessly, “Wife, if I told you now that I bought a lottery ticket and won a few million, would you believe me?”

“Impossible.” Li Qingying sneered. “Do you think I’m a little child?”

He sighed. “Alright then, I’ll prove it to you when the time comes.” Sweat beaded on He Haoxuan’s forehead.

Telling the truth, no one would believe him. It seemed he’d have to lie for Li Qingying to be convinced.

“Alright, I’ll prove it to you then.” Remembering he’d have to stand up for Li Qingwan tonight, He Haoxuan asked, “I have something to do this evening. Can I borrow the car?”

“You can. Just don’t let my mother find out, or she’ll make a huge scene again,” Li Qingying warned him.

That afternoon, Yi Xiaoyan returned to her dormitory and checked her phone for bank notifications.

Recently, she’d been secretly taking on some tutoring jobs outside and had saved up a bit. But to repay a hundred thousand yuan, it wasn’t something she could do all at once. With her current situation, it would take a year or two.

She was exhausted these days. Just as she was thinking of lying down for a good rest, there was a knock at the door.

“Who is it?” Yi Xiaoyan called out.

“Excuse me, is this Miss Yi Xiaoyan’s residence?” came a man’s voice from outside.

Curious, Yi Xiaoyan got up and walked to the door.

She lived in a single teacher’s dormitory—one bedroom, one living room, one bathroom—very small.

But for a single teacher, especially in such a central location, having such a place was already quite good.

She opened the door to find a young man in a work uniform standing outside. “Miss Yi, I’m from the headquarters of Baijia Chain Supermarket.”

“Hello, what can I do for you?” Yi Xiaoyan was secretly startled.

Baijia Supermarket was just a short distance from the school gate—very large and known to be a chain. She shopped there often. Why would someone from there come to her door? Could it be she had forgotten to pay and walked out with goods by mistake?

“Don’t worry, it’s good news.” The young man smiled. “Last time you made some purchases at our supermarket, and later our headquarters held a lottery draw in the system. Your membership card was drawn as the first prize winner.”

“I won first prize?” Yi Xiaoyan smiled wryly.

These days, many businesses were clever with promotions—so-called first prize usually meant a bottle of laundry detergent or something similar. Not valuable, but spreading the word made regular customers happy and encouraged them to shop more often.

When she got her membership card, she’d filled in her phone number and address, so it made sense they could find her.

“So, what’s the first prize? Is it laundry detergent?” Yi Xiaoyan laughed.

Even if it wasn’t valuable, something was better than nothing. She was trying to save every penny she could these days.

“Oh, you want laundry detergent?” The young man was momentarily stunned.

What should he do? The boss had instructed them to deliver things like washing machines, so this was not going according to plan.

Still, he was quick-witted and continued, “That’s no problem—laundry detergent can be delivered to you soon. But the first prize this time is an imported washing machine worth three thousand yuan.”

“What? I won a washing machine?!” Yi Xiaoyan could hardly believe her ears. How could this be? Was the business really putting up such a big prize? That was rare. “Are you trying to trick me?”

The young man was startled and shook his head vehemently. “How could that be, Miss Yi? The washing machine is outside right now.”

Yi Xiaoyan walked out and saw a truck outside, loaded with goods.

Next to the truck were two workers in uniform. At the young man’s signal, they immediately carried a washing machine over. “Miss Yi, do you believe it now? Please tell the workers where you’d like the washing machine installed.”

“This, this—” Yi Xiaoyan was dazed. She pinched herself—this wasn’t a dream.

The two workers moved quickly. After installing the washing machine, they asked, “Miss, where would you like the air conditioner installed?”

“Air conditioner?” Yi Xiaoyan was stunned.

The young man quickly explained, “Miss Yi, I forgot to mention earlier—besides the washing machine, the first prize includes other items.”

“There are more?”

“Yes, there’s also an air conditioner, and one more item of your choice. Just say the word, and we’ll provide it.”

“So many?” Yi Xiaoyan pinched herself again—painful, and definitely not a dream.

“Sir, how about this—don’t install the rest for now. Just leave them with me, and I’ll call you when I’m ready,” she said, her eyes turning with new ideas.

The young man signaled the workers to bring the air conditioner in and leave it in the small living room, then asked what other prize she would like. Yi Xiaoyan’s eyes were already on the standing three-horsepower air conditioner on the truck. Just yesterday, she’d heard some colleagues talking about wanting to buy one.

Now she had two air conditioners—she figured if she offered one at a good price, her colleagues would want it.

The young man was taken aback. Her dorm was so small; installing such a large air conditioner seemed like overkill.

But he dared not object. As long as Yi Xiaoyan was happy, that was all that mattered.

Watching the standing air conditioner being carried into her room, Yi Xiaoyan was overjoyed.

Just as the young man was about to take his leave, Yi Xiaoyan quietly asked, “Sir, could I exchange the washing machine for another air conditioner?”

“What? Exchange for an air conditioner?” The young man’s expression changed slightly.

“Yes, you know as well as I do, the washing machine is only installed—not used yet. If you uninstall it, it can be sold again, right?” Yi Xiaoyan pressed.

The young man felt a headache coming on. The washing machine was specifically designated by his boss to be given away. If he took it back, he’d likely lose his job.

“Oh dear, Miss Yi, look at my memory. This lottery is quite special—you can choose one more prize!” The young man slapped his forehead and exclaimed.