Hard work after winning the lottery

Night falls early and is quiet in the mountain village.

The late summer evening breeze, carrying a hint of coolness, slipped in through the open door of the main room, carrying with it the faint scent of mugwort.

A few days later, one evening, Hua Yun, as usual, ate dinner and helped her mother clean up the dishes.

She moved a small bamboo stool and sat in the yard to watch TV with her grandparents.

It was an old Panda brand television set. The screen was small and the colors were somewhat distorted, but it was the elderly couple's nightly entertainment without fail.

Hua An, the younger brother, was still burning the midnight oil in his room, making a final push for the college entrance examination.

Father Hua Shu squatted under the eaves, puffing on his pipe, the embers flickering in the dim light.

The local news was playing on TV, the volume was low, and the chirping of insects outside the courtyard created a tranquil atmosphere that made one want to sleep.

Hua Yun leaned against her grandmother's leg, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan, her eyelids feeling heavy.

Just then, the news broadcast ended, and a light and familiar piece of music started playing.

Immediately afterwards, a clear and slightly impassioned female voice rang out.

Good evening, viewers. We are now bringing you the latest lottery results.

Hua Yun opened her eyelids a crack, showing no interest whatsoever.

The dream of getting rich overnight is too far removed from her current life.

It's so far away, it's like a story from another world.

The winning numbers for the red balls in this draw are...

The host paused for a moment, then began to announce the winning numbers one by one.

"07".

The first number, like a silent pebble, was thrown into Hua Yun's chaotic thoughts without causing any ripples.

"13".

The second number.

Hua Yun paused slightly as she fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan.

Does that sound...familiar?

She frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed her brow.

It's probably just a coincidence.

"19".

When the third number came from the television, Hua Yun's heart skipped a beat without warning.

A strange and intense feeling suddenly surged up from the depths of my heart.

This string of numbers...

She seemed to have heard of it somewhere before, or perhaps... pressed it herself.

She unconsciously held her breath.

My previously drowsy mind instantly became clear.

"24".

The fourth number, like a faint electric current, shot from her tailbone to the back of her head, making the hairs on her body stand on end.

That afternoon at the bustling street corner of Baixi Town market.

That small lottery station, dimly lit and with stuffy air.

The old man wearing reading glasses, dozing off on the counter.

And then there's herself, who, as if possessed, pulled out her phone and randomly pressed a string of numbers onto the calculator...

Fragments of memory began to flood back into my mind!

"28".

The fifth number was like a thunderclap.

The palm-leaf fan in Hua Yun's hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

Her chest heaved violently, her heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly and then pounded like a war drum.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

Each sound made her eardrums ring.

"The last red ball number is... 31."

Do not!

impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

Hua Yun stared intently at the television screen, where the scrolling red numbers seemed to radiate a scorching heat, blurring her vision.

Her hands clenched unconsciously, her nails digging deep into the calluses on her palms, yet she felt no pain.

"Next, we will reveal the blue ball number for this round."

"This week's lucky blue ball is..."

The host's voice seemed to stretch on endlessly at that moment.

Hua Yun felt as if her entire world had been put on slow motion.

She could hear her grandmother asking her in confusion, "Yunyun, what's wrong?", she could hear her grandfather turning his head to look at her, and she could hear the rustling sound of her younger brother turning pages in the distance.

But all the sounds were muffled and unclear, as if separated by a thick layer of frosted glass.

Her entire focus was on the number that was about to be revealed.

"16!"

boom--!

Hua Yun's mind went completely blank in that instant.

Time seemed to stand still.

All surrounding sounds vanished instantly.

The world was deathly silent.

She could hear nothing but the wild pounding of her heart, as if it were about to burst out of her chest.

that's it!

It's this string of numbers!

07、13、19、24、28、31……还有，16！

Exactly the same! Not a single one is different!

"what!"

A short, suppressed scream escaped from Hua Yun's throat.

She suddenly sprang up from the bamboo stool, the movement so forceful that it knocked over the stool behind her.

"Yunyun!"

"sister!"

The scream startled the grandparents, parents, and even Hua'an inside the house.

But Hua Yun was too preoccupied to respond to them.

She rushed back to her room like a whirlwind, as if she were in a frenzy.

With a bang, she slammed the door shut, shutting out her family's alarmed calls.

Her room was small, with a bed, an old wardrobe, and a desk.

The leather wallet she brought back from City A, the only thing that still retained a touch of urban life, was casually tossed on the desk.

Hua Yun lunged forward, but because she moved too quickly, her knee slammed hard against the corner of the table, sending a sharp pain through her.

But she couldn't feel it at all.

Her hands were trembling uncontrollably from extreme excitement and nervousness.

She grabbed her wallet with trembling hands; her fingertips were icy cold and bloodless.

She tried twice before she could open the zipper correctly.

There wasn't much in the wallet: a few coins and an ID card.

Hua Yun trembled as she reached for the deepest layer.

The compartment she casually slipped in a thin piece of paper and never touched again.

Her fingertips touched the paper.

It's very thin and brittle, with a cheap feel to it.

But at this moment, the piece of paper felt incredibly heavy in her fingertips.

She took a deep breath, as if using all her strength, and pulled the neatly folded lottery ticket out of the compartment.

Unfold.

The thin strip of paper rustled softly in her trembling hand.

A line of black, printed numbers clearly caught her eye.

Her gaze was fixed on that string of numbers, as if she were nailed to it.

The first number is 07.

The news on TV also reported it as 07.

Right.

Her heart suddenly clenched.

The second number is 13.

That matches up.

Her breath began to become scalding hot.

The third one is 19.

The fourth one, 24.

The fifth one, 28.

The sixth one, number 31.

Each number was like a heavy hammer, striking her heart hard.

Her eyes were wide open, and her eye sockets were bloodshot and red.

Finally, her gaze slowly, inch by inch, moved toward the last circled blue number.

- 16.