Chapter 3: Claiming The Prize!

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation  Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Not only that, I want to be in the newspaper!”

Old Zhang fumed as he took out the newspaper he had subscribed to at home and called the hotline on it.

“Hello, is this S City Evening News? I want to contribute some news! Big news!”

“I’ve been buying lottery tickets for 30 years, and today I finally won the lottery! The first prize!”

..

Old Zhang told the story of his experience.

At the end, he didn’t forget to ask the editor who answered the phone, “How is it? Is It big news? Can I get some money in return?”

Nowadays, many newspapers would set up a corresponding reward or a red envelope to let the citizens provide clues to the news.

As the best-selling newspaper in the city, S City Evening News naturally offered money in exchange for news, and it was more than any other newspaper publishing house.

The editor on the other end of the phone smiled and said, “Grandpa Zhang, your experience is indeed very interesting. If you are willing, we can give you an interview. The corresponding reward will definitely not be small. Do you think it’s convenient for you to accept an interview?”

Old Zhang hurriedly nodded. “It’s convenient! Very convenient! When will you come?”

The editor smiled and said, “Ten o’clock tomorrow morning, is that okay?”

Old Zhang was about to agree, but then he thought that tomorrow was a working day, and most of the young people in the neighborhood would have gone to work by that time, so he asked, “Eight o’clock at the gate of the residential estate, is that okay?”

He thought that at that time, everyone would be going out to work, and when they passed the gate of the neighborhood, they would definitely see him being interviewed by the reporters.

How shameless would that be!

So it was decided.

After hanging up the phone, the editor said to the new reporter, “Xiao Wang, at 8 am tomorrow, go to Le Tian Residential Estate to do an interview. The subject of the interview is Mr. Zhang, who has been buying lottery tickets for thirty years…”

The editor told him about the general situation of Old Zhang.

The newcomer, Xiao Wang, had finally gotten an independent interview, so he was naturally overjoyed. He prepared the interview outline overnight, and even wrote a draft of the news.

Everything was ready. He was just waiting for the interview to be completed the next day. Then, he would make some detailed adjustments according to Old Zhang’s description. After that, he would be able to see the newspaper!

Xiaowang was filled with joy as he worked through most of the night. He finally felt satisfied after revising and revising the draft.

In the document, the first line had a big title —

“Hard work pays off. A longtime gambler from S City’ has persisted for 30 years. Finally, his dream of winning the first prize is fulfilled!”

“Hehe, if everything goes well, we’ll see the newspapers tomorrow night. I’m looking forward to it!”

Xiao Wang excitedly imagined the contents of the document turning into type. He couldn’t help but giggle at the screen.

At the same time, Old Zhang tossed and turned on his bed, unable to fall asleep no matter how hard he tried.

He couldn’t close his mouth no matter how hard he tried as he imagined the envious gazes of the neighbors passing by during the interview the next day.

“Hehehe, I’m going to be featured in the newspaper, hehehe…”

The more Old Zhang thought about it, the more excited he became. He simply got up and ran to the toilet. He quietly practiced in front of the mirror, simulating the actions and expressions he would have during the interview.

The next day.

Lin Bai woke up naturally after a good night’s sleep. After eating and drinking to his heart’s content, he changed into a set of old academic-style clothes and went out to receive the award in high spirits.

When he passed by the gate of the community, he happened to see Old Zhang being interviewed.

Old Zhang’s face was flushed, his white hair was neatly combed, and he spoke with great vigor.

He was afraid that the neighbors passing by wouldn’t notice him.

“Speaking of the secret to winning the lottery, there’s actually only one word, and that is persevere!”

“As the old saying goes, God does not disappoint those who put in effort! As long as you can persevere, persevere until the heavens are moved, then you can succeed no matter what you do!”

Old Zhang’s voice was like a loud bell as he spoke confidently to Xiao Wang, imparting the so-called experience of winning the lottery.

The residents of the estate who passed by looked at him one after another. Some were envious, while others were disdainful.

However, Old Zhang was completely immersed in his speech. He only felt that at this moment, he was a famous person who attracted the attention of the world.

Lin Bai could not help but laugh. He thought to himself, ‘There are benefits to winning a small prize in the lottery to You even dare to publicize it in such a high-profile manner.’

‘If he had won five million just like me, he definitely wouldn’t have dared to be so ostentatious.’

As a precaution, Lin Bai did not take a taxi directly to the lottery center. Instead, he got off early at a place across the street.

After that, he avoided the cameras, put on his hat, scarf, and sunglasses, and covered his entire face. Only then did he walk into the entrance of the lottery center in a low-profile manner.

When the receptionist saw him enter like this, she immediately guessed that he might be here to cash in his prize. She immediately put on a smile and took the initiative to ask him.

“Hello, do you want to cash in your prize?”

“Yes.” Lin Bai lowered his voice and said, “First prize. One hundred bets.”

The receptionist immediately led Lin Bai into a special reception room and invited the relevant staff to verify Lin Bai’s winning lottery ticket and basic information.

Everything was confirmed. After going through all kinds of procedures, the staff handed over the check with both hands.

“Sir, your prize money is a total of five million yuan. After deducting 20% for the personal accidental income tax, you shall be entitled to the remaining four million yuan. This is the check, please keep it well.”

Lin Bai took the check and kept it well. Thinking of the one million yuan worth of tax that had been deducted, he couldn’t help but feel a little pained.

But on second thought, he only spent 200 yuan but he got a total of four million in return. It was a 20,000 percent return!

Thinking of this, he felt much better.

“Thank you.”

He kept the check and prepared to leave.

The staff said, “Sir, please wait a moment, would you like to accept an interview? It’s very, very rare for someone to win five million in one go, we sincerely hope that you can accept an interview. Of course, it’s all up to you. We’re just asking, not forcing. You can refuse if you don’t want to.”

Lin Bai knew that the other party wanted him to be interviewed so badly because they wanted to use his winnings as publicity to attract more people to buy lottery tickets.

But what does it have to do with him?

It wouldn’t benefit him, and it might bring him endless trouble. Lin Bai wouldn’t be stupid to do it.

“I don’t want to accept any interviews. Goodbye.”

After saying that, Lin Bai left.

Although he refused to accept any interviews, the news of his winning of five million yuan was immediately spread to all the major media outlets.

A few minutes later.

Reporter Xiao Wang, who was interviewing Old Zhang at the entrance of the neighborhood, received a call from his superior at the newspaper company.

He glanced at the caller ID and immediately became nervous. He hurriedly said to Old Zhang, “Grandpa Zhang, I’m sorry. My boss is calling. I have to take this call first. Sorry, Sorry!”

With that, he trotted to the side to take the call.

Old Zhang was in the middle of his excitement when he was suddenly interrupted. He was very unhappy.

He muttered softly, “This boss is really something. Doesn’t he know that his subordinate is covering some big news? Why must he pick this time to call….”