Era: Rise from the Wilderness

This kid is really too much trouble. He dares to come up with any idea and do anything. He's incredibly daring!

If a father doesn't take advantage of his young age and the fact that his wings haven't fully grown yet to discipline him a few times and teach him a lesson, he might never have the chance to control him again, and who knows what kind of trouble he might cause!

Of course, Li Hongfeng didn't really go all out; after all, he was his own son, and he couldn't bear to beat him to death.

He simply pressed Li Yunjing down onto the creaking bench in the main room, took off his leather shoes, and lightly slapped the soles of his shoes a few times on his buttocks, making a dull "slap slap" sound.

On one hand, he wanted to vent his anger and teach him a lesson for not discussing such a big matter beforehand; on the other hand, he also wanted to show He Ling, who looked nervous and hesitant, that he still held authority as a father.

Li Yunjing took a few blows, which stung painfully, but he knew his father was all bark and no bite, which reassured him.

If you've beaten it, you've passed most of the level.

He rubbed his backside, grimacing as he climbed off the stool, his face now sporting a grinning expression. He leaned closer to Li Hongfeng and said, "You've had your fun, Dad, right?"

"Now... can you help me find a small printing factory?"

"This is really urgent, the National Day Golden Week is just around the corner."

"I...I must have owed you something in my past life!"

"I've come here to pay off a debt!"

Looking at his son's lazy and irresponsible appearance, Li Hongfeng was furious but helpless. He could only shake his head, throw his leather shoes aside, and dust off his hands. "Alright, stop joking around here."

"The factory is sending me on a business trip out of town the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'll risk all my pride and try to get the car and printing plant matters sorted out for you."

"Let me make this clear first, I can't guarantee it will work out!"

"Hehe, I knew Dad was the most reliable! We really need you in these crucial moments!"

Li Yunjing immediately beamed and, seizing the opportunity, quickly poured his father a glass of water and handed it to him.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he casually added, "Oh, right, Dad, Mom, I'm not going to school tomorrow."

"I need to go to Bincheng; I have some urgent business to attend to."

"Also... it seems that Lu Ruoxi and the others have finished their military training. I promised her that I would go see her after the training was over."

"Oh……"

Li Hongfeng originally wanted to ask what was going on in Bincheng that was more important than going to school.

But upon hearing the name "Lü Ruoxi," the words that were already on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down.

He Ling also raised her head, and the two exchanged a knowing glance.

If this were any other time, or if the person was someone else, Li Hongfeng would definitely give his son a good scolding if he found out!

I'm a senior in high school, it's a crucial time to prepare for the exam, why would I want to date someone?

Distracted!

But that girl, Lü Ruoxi... is different.

Her appearance is undeniably beautiful; she's delicate and pretty, clearly from a well-mannered family.

More importantly, their family background was considered "very good" by the standards of a traditional family like theirs.

Li Hongfeng was actually quite satisfied with his son's "eye for talent," and even secretly felt that if his son could eventually get together with Lü Ruoxi, it would be a stroke of good luck for the Li family, as they were considered to have climbed a social ladder.

He naturally didn't want to delve into such matters, fearing that he might say something wrong that would make his son misunderstand that his parents were against it, thus dampening his son's "enthusiasm."

He Ling had similar thoughts, but added, "It's okay to visit your classmates, but be mindful of your behavior and don't interfere with their studies. Also, come back early."

Li Yunjing gave a vague reply, secretly chuckling to himself, knowing that the "Lü Ruoxi" brand was indeed effective.

That night, it was late and quiet.

The lights in my parents' room were already off, and I could hear their even snoring.

Li Yunjing, however, was wide awake.

He turned on the old desk lamp on his desk, its lampshade yellowed from years of use, and the dim, focused light illuminated a small area in front of him.

He lay down on the small, peeling desk, spread out a sheet of white paper, bit the end of a pencil, and began to carefully draw the design of the lottery ticket.

This thing is the facade, the core of the "props," and it must be made to look presentable, not too rough, so that people will be convinced and willingly take out those two dollars.

He recalled the colorful lottery tickets he had seen at the lottery station, and slowly sketched them out, taking into account the aesthetics and printing conditions of that era.

The lottery ticket is designed to be slightly larger than a cigarette box for easy handling and scratching.

The front should be festive, with a bright red background and simple, auspicious designs, such as golden ingots, carp leaping over the dragon gate, or simple artistic characters like "Wishing you prosperity" or "May good fortune always come."

Most importantly, the scratch-off area is designed as a golden, shimmering cube covered with a uniform silver scratch-off coating.

The back of the document features simple game rules and the words "The organizer reserves the right to final interpretation of this event," giving it a professional appearance.

He kept revising and redrawing, erasing and redrawing, leaving pencil ash all over the table.

As the night wore on, his eyes grew tired in the dim light of the lamp. Finally, looking at the design drawing on the paper, which was gradually taking shape and, though rudimentary, contained all the necessary elements, he smiled silently with satisfaction.

Considering the general printing standards and public acceptance of that era, this was already quite "exquisite" and impressive enough.

What?

Can't intimidate people?

Then let's ask the lottery center, is this thing really convincing?

Everyone knew how crazy the lottery craze was back then!

He almost made a 1:1 replica.

The next day was an ordinary Thursday in mid-September.

The "three-person truancy group" of Class 1, Grade 12, has started taking turns doing homework again.

Fu Chao and Ding Dong sat obediently in the classroom. Although their minds were already on the "battlefield" of the National Day Golden Week, they still pretended to listen attentively, as a way of giving their "pregnant" homeroom teacher some face and avoiding being too conspicuous.

Li Yunjing's seat has been empty since the start of morning self-study.

During the break between classes, the "pregnant woman," with her increasingly prominent belly, surveyed the classroom. Her gaze swept over that empty seat, and her brows immediately furrowed.

When the second math class started, that seat was still empty.

Her face darkened completely, and her chest heaved with anger.

There wasn't a single day with perfect attendance in this class!

Either someone has something to do, or someone else is on leave!

What's most infuriating is that people like Li Yunjing don't even have a leave slip; they just vanish into thin air!

Does he still look like a student?

I'm a senior in high school now!

The situation is extremely urgent!

No, we can't let this go on any longer!

We need to have a proper conversation with the parents!