Hard work after winning the lottery

She looked at the lottery ticket over and over again until every number on it was etched into her very being.

As dawn approached, she finally made her decision.

She was going to the provincial capital to get the money safely and securely.

Moreover, it had to be her alone, and in secret.

Over the next few days, Hua Yun behaved as usual.

Herding sheep, cooking, and watching TV with grandparents.

However, no one knew that this girl with healthy tanned skin and calloused hands was harboring a secret that could stir up a monstrous storm.

She secretly used her old phone to check the prize redemption process, address, and all the precautions.

When the time was right, she spoke casually at the breakfast table one morning.

"Dad, Mom, I want to go out for a bit."

Li Guifen was serving food to Hua An when she heard this and looked up: "Where are you going?"

"Go to the provincial capital," Hua Yun said, her eyes downcast as she shoveled into her bowl of corn porridge. Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft. "I have a college classmate who works there. Before... before, when I was feeling down, she always comforted me. I want to go see her and clear my head."

This reason is perfectly reasonable.

Since she returned from City A, her family has been taking great care of her, afraid that she might be reminded of painful memories again.

Sure enough, Hua Shu took a drag of his cigarette and nodded slowly: "It's good to go for a walk and clear your head. Don't always stay cooped up in the mountains."

Li Guifen was a little worried: "Are you going alone? Why don't you have your dad take you to town to catch the bus?"

"No need, Mom," Hua Yun quickly waved her hand, revealing a relaxed smile. "I'm all grown up now. I'm just going to visit a classmate for a couple of days and I'll be back soon. It's fine."

Seeing that she insisted, her family didn't say anything more, only reminding her to be careful on the road and whether she had enough money.

Hua Yun readily agreed, a warm feeling welling up inside her.

The next morning, carrying a simple backpack, she said goodbye to her family and boarded the bus to the provincial capital alone.

Three hours later, the bus arrived at the bustling provincial capital.

Hua Yun didn't go to find any classmates, but went straight to the largest shopping mall in the city center.

She bought a black baseball cap, a pair of black-rimmed non-prescription glasses that could cover half of her face, and a very ordinary plain-colored face mask.

When she came out of the mall's restroom, she was already "fully armed".

She looked at herself in the mirror, at the unfamiliar image that only revealed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then resolutely walked towards the provincial welfare lottery center.

It was a solemn office building.

Hua Yun gripped the shoulder strap of her backpack, her palms sweaty.

The moment she stepped through the gate, she felt her legs go weak.

After explaining her purpose, she was politely led into a private reception room by a staff member.

Verifying ID cards, showing winning lottery tickets, filling out various forms, answering routine questions...

The whole process was tedious and meticulous.

Hua Yun was in a state of high tension throughout the entire process, her heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat.

Finally, a middle-aged man who looked like the person in charge smiled and handed her a brand-new bank card.

"Ms. Hua, congratulations. After deducting 20% ​​personal income tax, your total bonus of 20 million yuan has been transferred to this card. The initial password is six eights. Please change it as soon as possible."

Twenty million yuan.

When those words were clearly heard, Hua Yun's mind went blank once again.

She mechanically took the thin card, her fingertips icy cold.

Stepping out of the lottery center and standing on the bustling street, the summer sun stung her eyes.

She looked down at the bank card in her hand, still feeling a strong sense of unreality.

It was as if all of this was just an overly realistic dream.

She walked into the largest bank across the street as if possessed, and under the respectful guidance of the VIP account manager, sat down on a soft leather sofa.

When she saw the "2" followed by a long string of "0"s in the account balance column at the ATM, her heart was finally struck hard by this heavy reality.

it is true!

Everything is true!

She suppressed the urge to burst into tears and immediately completed the transaction as she had already planned.

She left three million as operating funds, and converted the remaining seventeen million into five-year fixed deposits.

She even calmly calculated that the annual interest alone would be enough to allow her family to live a life of luxury she never dared to dream of before.

After completing all the formalities, she declined the account manager's offer to help her call a car and walked out of the bank alone.

Carrying this huge, burning secret, she boarded the bus back to Baixi Town.

Outside the car window, the city's prosperity was rapidly receding.

Her figure, wearing a mask and hat, was reflected in the car window.

She clutched the bank card tightly in her hand.

She was excited, apprehensive, and a little bewildered.

Her life has been completely cleaved in two by this small card.

Half is the past, and half is the future.

And she was standing on this dividing line, about to return to that peaceful mountain village.

She returned to her home, a place where she had nothing yet possessed everything.

For the first three days after returning to Baixi Village, Hua Yun didn't say anything.

She wrapped that thin bank card in layers of plastic bags and hid it at the bottom of an old wooden box, under her floral dress that she couldn't bear to wear as a child.

The secret was like a burning ember in her heart, scorching her and making her restless and unable to eat or sleep.

During the day, she still went up the mountain with her grandfather to herd sheep.

Looking at the rolling green hills, she would wonder if a state-of-the-art breeding farm could be built in these mountains.

In the evening, she helped her mother start a fire in front of the stove.

Looking at the walls blackened by cooking fumes and the cracked earthen stove, she would imagine her mother in a bright and clean kitchen, using a faucet that dispensed hot water with a simple turn.

She watched her father sitting on the doorstep, rolling a pipe with his rough fingers. In the swirling smoke, his face, etched with the lines of time, was filled with weariness.

She watched her grandmother, her back hunched, mending her younger brother's school uniform under the dim light; every stitch revealed her financial hardship.

She watched her younger brother, Hua'an, hunched over his creaking old desk, engrossed in his studies with a pen that was almost completely worn out, his eyes filled with longing for the future and helplessness in the face of reality.

All of this was like a series of small hammers, repeatedly striking at her resolve.

This money doesn't just belong to her.

It was the only chance for the entire Hua family to change their fate.

She had to say it.

And it should be done in the most solemn way possible, in a way that they can accept.

On the fourth evening, the atmosphere at dinner was as warm and cozy as ever.