Shen Jiaojiao understood perfectly. She had seen this kind of lottery in her previous life—it was especially popular in the 1990s. Usually held in stadiums or public squares, the stage would display several top-prize sedans, along with motorcycles, washing machines, and other prizes. People would buy tickets on the spot and draw immediately, attracting countless participants.
These events were typically held during the Lunar New Year period, so she was surprised to find one taking place during summer vacation. Intrigued, Shen Jiaojiao decided to take Xiao Yueyue along to join in the excitement.
The stadium was quite far, so Shen Jiaojiao hailed a taxi. When the driver heard she was going to the lottery, he enthusiastically chatted about the big prize drawn the day before.
“It was a six-year-old kid who drew it. That child must be the God of Wealth reincarnated—his whole family is getting rich thanks to him.”
The driver was extremely envious, wishing he had such a lucky son.
“Kids have good luck. Let your child do the drawing,” the driver suggested sincerely.
“Thank you for your kind words.”
Shen Jiaojiao smiled. She wasn’t particularly interested in winning a prize; she just wanted to see the spectacle.
Even before reaching the stadium, they could hear the energetic song blaring: “Spicy girls aren’t afraid of spice from a young age, spicy girls grow up unafraid of spice, spicy girls fear a marriage without spice, hanging a string of chili peppers to touch their lips…”
The driver parked the car and said with a smile, “Good luck winning the big prize!”
“Thank you!”
Shen Jiaojiao smiled. The fare was originally 15 yuan, but she handed over twenty and said, “Keep the change.”
The driver’s flattering words had put her in a good mood, so a five-yuan tip felt appropriate.
“Come take my taxi again if you win the big prize, haha!”
The driver grinned from ear to ear, showering her with more auspicious words before turning the car around and driving off.
The stadium was packed with people, all sweating profusely and undeterred by the scorching sun. The crowd was buzzing with excitement as they lined up to buy lottery tickets. Shen Jiaojiao held Xiao Yueyue’s hand and found a shady spot, in no hurry to make a purchase.
The scene before her was almost identical to the lottery events she remembered from her past life. On the stage stood seven Santana 2000 sedans, each adorned with a large red ribbon. There were eight top prizes in total, and since one had already been claimed, seven remained.
Dozens of motorcycles, washing machines, color TVs, and other prizes were also displayed on the stage, tantalizing the crowd below. Nearly everyone’s eyes were gleaming with greed as they pulled out all their money to buy lottery tickets.
Lotteries in the 1990s
“Damn it! Another ‘Thank You for Your Patronage’! I’ve spent two hundred yuan already and only won three packs of laundry detergent. What lousy luck!”
“Another bag of laundry detergent. At least my family won’t need to buy detergent this year.”
“I’m going home to fetch my son to draw. Kids have better luck—maybe he’ll win me a sedan.”
“I’m going to get my kid too. I’ve already spent half a month’s salary, and all I got was ‘Thank You for Your Patronage’!”
Several men walked over, looking dejected. One of them carried a small bag of laundry detergent, grumbling as he went. Each of them had spent at least a hundred yuan, only to walk away empty-handed.
Countless lottery buyers were just like these men. Almost the entire city had gathered at the stadium, hoping to strike it rich overnight. However, the vast majority only drew “Thank You for Your Patronage” or the lowest prize—laundry detergent.
The prizes remained on display
“Good news, good news! Congratulations to Ms. Feng for winning the third prize—a Changhong color TV! Comrades, there are still many prizes left. Keep trying your luck!”The blaring music from the speakers stopped, replaced by a woman’s impassioned voice. The lottery buyers, who had been somewhat disheartened, immediately perked up as if injected with adrenaline.
Some who hadn’t won any prizes had already left the stadium, but upon hearing this exciting announcement, they turned back immediately. They were ready to try their luck again—maybe buying one more ticket would land them the grand prize.
“Ice pops for sale! White sugar, mung bean, red bean, and cream ice cream pops available!”
A man pushed a bicycle, calling out his wares. A foam box was tied to the back seat, wrapped in a cotton quilt, and he shouted toward Shen Jiaojiao and her daughter.
“Two mung bean ice pops, please.”
Shen Jiaojiao called out. Mung bean ice pops cost five jiao for two. The man took out two mung bean pops and handed them to Xiao Yueyue, smiling as he said, “Kids have good luck when it comes to drawing prizes. Yesterday, a little boy won a small car—worth a hundred thousand yuan!”
“The lottery is just for fun. Winning is great, but it’s fine if you don’t—it’s all about enjoying the moment.”
Shen Jiaojiao’s tone was calm. She had just realized that Xiao Yueyue was much more sensitive than ordinary children. Her casual conversations with others might put pressure on the little girl.
If the child didn’t win the grand prize, she might think she was incompetent. Shen Jiaojiao’s current task was to help Xiao Yueyue release negative energy, not create more of it.
“You’re right. Out of so many people buying tickets, only a few win. Not winning is the norm.” The ice pop seller changed his tune and pushed his bicycle away to hawk his goods elsewhere.
Xiao Yueyue, licking her ice pop, visibly relaxed. The ice pop in her mouth suddenly tasted sweeter. She had been really afraid that if she didn’t win the grand prize, Mother wouldn’t like her anymore.
Sensing this, Shen Jiaojiao gently patted the little girl’s head and said with a smile, “Let’s go try our luck. If we win, we’ll go eat something delicious. If we don’t, we’ll just go home and sleep.”
“Okay!”
Xiao Yueyue nodded vigorously and eagerly ran ahead, urging Shen Jiaojiao to walk faster.
Nowadays, the little girl had gained some of the liveliness typical of children—she could be noisy, playful, and occasionally even act a little spoiled. She had become much sunnier. Watching the little girl bounce along happily, Shen Jiaojiao felt a great sense of accomplishment.
She really wasn’t too bad at raising a child after all!
The lottery was now conducted on-site, with several rows of tables set up. Each table had a large box filled with lottery tickets, priced at two yuan each, to be scratched off right there.
Shen Jiaojiao gave Xiao Yueyue ten yuan to buy tickets at another table, while she herself chose an unoccupied one. Instead of hastily picking a ticket, she carefully observed the densely packed lottery tickets.
She had suddenly remembered an interview she’d seen in her previous life, featuring a very famous male celebrity. He had won several prizes in the 1990s and later shared his lottery-drawing tips in the interview.
The male celebrity said that lottery tickets for on-site scratching were printed on assembly lines. Tickets with messages like “Thank You for Your Patronage” were printed in the largest quantities, so their patterns were basically the same. In contrast, tickets for grand prizes or first prizes were printed separately, and their patterns would have slight differences.
When buying lottery tickets, this male celebrity would choose tickets with patterns that looked different, increasing his chances of winning.
As it turned out, this male celebrity did win several prizes, so his tips were indeed useful.
However, this method only worked for this type of lottery ticket and wasn’t applicable to computer-generated lottery tickets.Shen Jiaojiao grabbed a large handful of lottery tickets, trying to pick out a few with different patterns. But what the male celebrity had said sounded simple—actually doing it was quite difficult. It really tested one’s eyesight, and before long, her vision was already blurry.
“Comrade, are you buying or not?”
The staff member grew impatient, her tone sharp.
“What’s the rush? I’m carefully selecting them—maybe I’ll win the big prize.”
Shen Jiaojiao retorted unhurriedly. The staff member snorted softly. Everyone wanted to win the big prize—she did too.
But the big prize wasn’t something you could just win casually. A whole day had passed, and only one big prize had been claimed. For everyone else, it was basically “thank you for your patronage.”
Moreover, the staff member suspected that her box might be full of “thank you for your patronage” tickets. Because all the lottery tickets bought from her table so far had turned out to be “thank you for your patronage,” which was why her table was so deserted.