Chapter 2: Winning 30 Million
179 days until doomsday arrives.
Recently, there has been constant gloomy rain, with dark and overcast weather.
The rainfall in April and May accounted for 47% of the annual precipitation.
As the rain continued to patter down, Li Yu stood outside the train station, inhaling the slightly cool, fresh air brought by the rain.
His tense muscles relaxed a little.
Li Yu noticed a lottery ticket booth just outside the train station and ran over in the rain.
Getting straight to the point, Li Yu said to the lottery ticket seller: "Hello, I'd like to buy a Double Color Ball ticket, triple the bet. For the red balls, 12 15 20 26 30 33, and for the blue ball, 16. Also, keep the red balls the same, but play each number from 1 to 15 for the blue ball."
The seller quickly punched in the numbers Li Yu had specified.
Li Yu paid 36 yuan directly by scanning the QR code. After double-checking the numbers on his lottery ticket, he carefully placed it in the bottom pocket of his backpack. Then he turned and left the lottery center.
It was still drizzling outside, so Li Yu bought an umbrella next to the lottery center.
He hailed a taxi and went straight home. There were usually fixed buses in the county town with cheap fares. Compared to the 30 yuan taxi fare, the 5 yuan bus fare was indeed much cheaper.
But Li Yu was eager to get home, so he didn't care about that.
Rain drops hit the car window as Li Yu lowered it slightly, allowing some of the misty rain to splash on his face.
Looking out the window, he could see that early rice planting had already begun, with greenery everywhere.
A thought struck Li Yu - he would definitely need to reserve a plot of land in the base for growing rice. Given the current timing, they would probably only be able to plant late rice.
Time passed quickly. After getting off the national highway, Li Yu saw a three-and-a-half-story house less than 30 meters away.
Feeling nervous about returning home, Li Yu opened his umbrella and slowly walked towards the house, pulling his suitcase and carrying his backpack.
Li Yu pushed open the door and habitually called out to his parents. The power of bodily habit was undoubtedly very strong.
There are many kinds of loneliness in this world, but when you return home each time and habitually call out to your parents, only to find that your calls are no longer answered - that is a kind of heart-wrenching loneliness.
Hearing his mother's familiar response, Li Yu then saw her walk out of the kitchen wearing an apron.
Seeing his mother's familiar face, Li Yu's eyes reddened and he could no longer hold back his tears.
Liu Fanghua looked at her tearful son, her heart aching. She took some tissues to help wipe his tears, saying, "What's the matter? Oh dear, it looks like you've been wronged."
Li Yu wiped away his tears awkwardly, then stepped forward and hugged his mother tightly.
Liu Fanghua looked at this child who hadn't hugged her since growing up, feeling deeply moved.
At the dinner table, Li Yu's father Li Hongyuan looked at his eldest son and after much consideration, asked:
"You're not going out again after coming back this time?"
Li Yu replied: "Yes, I have some things to do this time, and I'll be developing at home later."
Considering that both his parents had their own social circles, and there were many neighbors nearby, he still felt it was better not to say anything.
Moreover, having returned from the apocalypse, he was very clear that there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests - this saying was absolutely fucking right.
Not telling his parents was also for their own good. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, but the matter was of great importance, and he was afraid that if it slipped out, it would cause trouble. After all, for them, this kind of thing was still very hard to believe.
Li Yu weighed things in his mind and decided that anyway, there would be some signs before the apocalypse arrived. At that time, he could use the opportunity to brainwash them.
Having made up his mind, Li Yu silently firmed his resolve.
Li Yu's father looked at his 22-year-old son and after some thought, still said: "You've grown up and have your own ideas. So what do you plan to do at home?"
Hearing this question, Li Yu told his parents the excuse he had prepared before coming back: "My work was originally done online anyway, so I can do it at home. And I probably have some other arrangements later. Anyway, don't worry about it."
Li Yu had studied Chinese literature and worked in copywriting after graduation, which his parents were somewhat aware of.
Hearing his son's answer, Li Hongyuan didn't say much more.
This eldest son had always been independent since childhood, living in school dormitories since primary school. When it came time to apply for university, he refused to go to the school his parents wanted him to attend, insisting on going far away to study.
In a fit of anger, Li Yu's father had said he wouldn't pay for Li Yu's tuition and living expenses.
Unexpectedly, Li Yu proved himself capable. During the summer vacation of his senior year in high school, he worked two jobs and managed to scrape together enough money for tuition and living expenses. During his years in university, Li Yu continued to work part-time while studying.
Li Yu's father later secretly regretted it. He had only meant to discourage Li Yu, but who could have imagined that this kid would actually solve all the problems on his own.
Li Yu's father had a rather strong personality, but he was completely helpless when it came to this son. Sometimes elders do indeed consider issues more thoroughly and think more long-term, but they also have certain limitations.
But if one can earn money on their own and solve problems independently, all complications are easily resolved.
The economic base determines the superstructure - this saying is not without reason. At least for Li Yu, it allowed him to strive for partial freedom.
Hearing his son's response, Li Yu's father didn't say much more, thinking that if this kid had any problems later, he could help find him a job, after all, he did have some connections in their hometown after many years.
Li Yu didn't go out in the afternoon. Having sat on a train all night yesterday, he rested at home.
The next day, Li Yu set out from home to visit his grandmother. It had been a long time since he had seen her, which was one aspect. Another aspect involved the most important factor in Li Yu's base construction: land.
Li Yu's family was a large clan, with three uncles and one aunt. Including the younger generation of children, the entire family had over twenty people. But except for the youngest uncle, basically everyone else was developing outside, mostly working away from home, only returning for family gatherings during holidays and festivals.
His grandparents had been at home all these years. Although they were getting on in years, they still couldn't sit idle. They had been allocated quite a lot of land back in the day.
In addition, in recent years, Li Yu's father had also contracted a mountain pond in the village, as well as two mountains that originally belonged to their family. Now they were all planted with orange trees.
Li Yu's grandmother's house wasn't far, only about a 10-minute walk. From the national highway, a cement road led straight there.
It must be said that living in a rural village in a small southern city has its advantages - beautiful mountains and clear waters, fresh air. Li Yu's grandmother's house was even more like a small hermitage hidden in the forest, in the midst of vast deep woods.
If not for passing through the cement road, it would be difficult to discover their home.
Moreover, it was only a 20-minute drive from the county town. So in Li Yu's mind, this place was simply perfect.
Firstly: There were mountains, water, and plains. Good conditions for cultivation and sustainable development.
Secondly: Convenient transportation, secluded but not remote. If people came out from the city, it would actually be difficult to notice this country road.
Thirdly: Grandmother's family already had dozens of mu of land, as well as several small ponds. And the largest plot of over ten mu was right next to the mountain his father had contracted.
When Li Yu arrived at his grandmother's house, he found she wasn't home, so he went straight to the fields to find her.
Grandmother was very happy to see Li Yu. With her silver-gray hair, at 65 years old, she was still very strong and healthy.
Grandmother picked a cucumber from the field and told Li Yu to wash it clean and eat it himself.
Seeing his grandmother still so healthy and cheerful, Li Yu felt infinitely happy.
So he said to his grandmother: "Grandma, I'm not going out again after coming back this time. I'm planning to start an eco-tourism farm at home."
Grandmother looked at her eldest grandson puzzled and asked, "What's an eco-tourism farm?"
Li Yu didn't say much, just told his grandmother that he wanted their family's land to start a business at home.
Grandmother was very happy to hear this and said: "When we gave land to your uncles back then, they all said they didn't want it and insisted on going out to live in the city. My eldest grandson is still the best. Alright, I'll let your uncles know later."
With the land issue resolved, the biggest problem now was construction.
Time flew by.
I am a dividing line
May 28th, 177 days until doomsday arrives. 0 days until the lottery draw.
Li Yu checked the lottery results on his phone and found that his butterfly effect had not affected the winning numbers.
According to the lottery ticket he bought, the first prize was 11 million, tripled to 33 million, plus the second prize of 400,000, 15 draws, totaling 39 million yuan. After deducting 20% tax, the total was 31.2 million yuan.
Early the next morning, Li Yu took a taxi to the provincial capital to claim the prize money.
In a hurry, Li Yu didn't do much to disguise himself, just wore a mask and bought a hat and sunglasses from a roadside stall.
When claiming the prize, the staff hinted several times for Li Yu to make a donation. Originally, Li Yu didn't want to donate. Who knows where the donated money would end up.
But after repeated persuasion from several staff members:
"Sir, you see, winning this prize is a kind of blessing. So many winners choose to make donations~" said a 30-year-old man with a pointed chin and monkey-like features, wearing a small suit, trying to look respectable but with a bit of a receding hairline.
A person who seemed to be a leader also chimed in: "We're also thinking of your best interests. Donating some money helps welfare causes, don't you agree, Mr. Li?"
Li Yu's eyes narrowed. What did this mean? If he didn't donate, they would leak his information??
Li Yu was not afraid at all and stared hard at this leader. These eyes had been tempered by killing countless people in the apocalypse.
Ice cold to the bone.
The lottery center leader was startled and dared not meet Li Yu's gaze.
But!
There were many people around, and the atmosphere was heated. By the looks of it, it would be difficult to leave without making a donation.
He wasn't afraid of trouble, but he was too lazy to deal with trivial matters.
Building the base was important!
He was truly unwilling in his heart and extremely impatient, so he symbolically donated 50,000 yuan. The staff seemed to find this amount a bit too low and wanted to persist further.
Li Yu said harshly: "If you keep pestering me, I won't donate a single cent."
After saying this, Li Yu pushed aside the surrounding staff members, and no one dared to stop him anymore.
Li Yu took the transfer check and went straight to the designated bank 2 kilometers away by taxi. Looking at the 31.15 million yuan credited to his account, Li Yu felt a surge of excitement in his heart.
It's settled!
Brothers, let's charge forward!
(End of chapter)