Chapter 961

“Thud!” Ma Xiaotong slammed the slip of paper onto the desk, excitedly saying: “Yuyue, we won! We won! It’s the first prize!”

Jiang Yuyue snatched up the slip instantly, checking each digit one by one, then lifted her head—her expression shifting from disbelief to delight, then to excitement.

“We bought so many together and only won a rice cooker. Xiaoju bought just one bottle and hit the first prize—what kind of divine luck is that?”

“Hahaha…”

Ma Xiaotong burst into loud laughter: “Quick, call Xiaoju and tell her the good news!”

“Just try our luck.”

Jiang Yuyue checked the time, grabbed the phone on her desk, and dialed the village committee office where Yang Xiaoju lived.

Usually, no one was at the village committee unless there was something important.

Even if someone was on duty, it was only in the morning—after noon, the office was always empty.

If villagers had urgent matters, they went straight to the cadres’ homes.

After graduation, Jiang Yuyue had called Yang Xiaoju several times, and only once had she gotten through in the morning.

This time, luck was with them—the call connected after just two rings.

“Hello, my name is Jiang Yuyue, a classmate of Yang Xiaoju. Could you please notify her to take the call?”

The other party, hearing it was Yang Xiaoju’s classmate, responded politely: “Hello, hello, I’ll go notify Xiaoju right away. Call back in half an hour.”

“Alright!” Jiang Yuyue hung up.

The reason for waiting half an hour was that Yang Xiaoju was at school.

The school was halfway up the mountain, and it took half an hour to travel back and forth between the committee office and the school.

Ma Xiaotong hadn’t calmed down yet, pacing back and forth in the office.

“I think Xiaoju will sell the car for the cash.”

Jiang Yuyue nodded: “If she turns the car into cash, she can do a lot with it.”

Ma Xiaotong suddenly stopped, gripping the edge of the desk, her eyes fixed intently on Jiang Yuyue.

“Yuyue, what if we buy the car from her?”

Jiang Yuyue froze, then felt her heart stir. To be honest, the company had made plenty of money since its founding.

But it was still in its growth phase—signing singers, buying copyrights, recording songs—all of it cost too much.

She’d always hesitated about setting up her own recording studio, so the company still didn’t own a single car.

Seeing Jiang Yuyue tempted, Ma Xiaotong pressed on: “We can pay her market price. If she sells it to someone else, she’ll get far less.”

Jiang Yuyue didn’t agree, but didn’t refuse either: “Let’s wait and ask Xiaoju first. What if she doesn’t want to sell it—what if she’s keeping it as her dowry?”

Ma Xiaotong chuckled: “If that’s the case, we won’t push it—we’ll just go buy a car at Damao.”

“Ding…”

The phone rang suddenly—Jiang Yuyue picked it up; it was Guan Li.

After graduation, Guan Li had stayed in Jingcheng and joined the Xinwen Bureau.

“Yuyue!” Guan Li’s voice burst through the line: “Did you win anything?”

Jiang Yuyue asked back: “Did you win?”

Guan Li exclaimed excitedly: “I won! A refrigerator!”

“…”

Jiang Yuyue wanted to hang up: “You called me just to rub salt in my wound?”

“Huh?” Guan Li was momentarily confused, then exclaimed in surprise: “You didn’t win anything at all?”

Jiang Yuyue sighed: “I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

“Hahaha…” Guan Li laughed loudly: “The event isn’t over yet—keep trying!”

Jiang Yuyue asked: “You won a refrigerator—aren’t you thrilled?”

“Of course!” Guan Li said proudly: “I was planning to buy one anyway—now I don’t have to, saving me half a year’s salary.”

“Let me tell you,” Jiang Yuyue said, “Xiaoju won too.”

“Really?” Guan Li was surprised: “What did she win? Not another refrigerator, right? She only bought one bottle and still won—what great luck.”

Jiang Yuyue’s lips curled into a smile: “Xiaoju won the first prize—a sedan!”

“Don’t joke!” Guan Li didn’t believe it for a second.

“Why would I lie to you?” Jiang Yuyue’s smile grew brighter. “I just called the village committee where Xiaoju lives to tell her the good news.”

“Really?” Guan Li still sounded doubtful.

“Ask Xiaotong—she’s right here beside me.” Jiang Yuyue handed the phone to Ma Xiaotong.

Ma Xiaotong took the phone: “It’s true. You know I copied down the number inside Xiaoju’s cap. After I checked it, I couldn’t believe it—I checked it again and again.”

“Ah!” Guan Li shrieked—not with envy, but pure joy: “Really? Xiaoju’s luck is unbelievable!”

“Exactly,” Ma Xiaotong grinned. “So stop bragging about your stupid refrigerator.”

“Alright, alright—compared to Xiaoju, my luck is terrible. But…”

Guan Li chuckled: “But my luck’s better than both of yours, right?”

Ma Xiaotong’s face darkened: “I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

“Don’t hang up!” Guan Li laughed again: “After you call Xiaoju, tell her not to leave—half an hour later, I’ll call her myself.”

“Alright!” Ma Xiaotong hung up, then sighed: “Our luck really sucks, huh.”

After speaking, the little woman looked around left and right, like a thief, leaning forward with her upper body: “Yue, why don’t you tell Brother-in-law we should buy a few more bottles, give him the numbers, so when the next drawing comes…”

Saying this, Ma Xiaotong kept winking at Jiang Yuyue: “You get it, right?”

Jiang Yuyue blinked, pretending to think deeply: “Your idea might work—I’ll go see him these next few days.”

These two women hatched wild, unrealistic plans for how to win the prize, and time passed quickly.

Jiang Yuyue picked up the phone and dialed, and soon a cheerful voice came through the receiver.

“Yue!”

Jiang Yuyue smiled: “When we graduated, we bought Fei Chang Ke Le together—you bought a bottle too; you still have the cap, right?”

“I still have it!”

Yang Xiaoju was surprised—why would Jiang Yuyue call just to ask about this? She didn’t believe she’d ever win; the odds were too slim.

She kept the cap, even cherished it, because it was from their final group outing before graduation, after which everyone would go their separate ways and likely never meet again.

Especially since she lived in a remote mountain village—years might pass, and they could easily lose touch. Keeping the cap was a small token of memory.

“You called me just to ask about this—did you actually win something?”

In an instant, Yang Xiaoju realized the implication, and her heart skipped a beat or two.

If it were a small prize—like a rice cooker or a bicycle—Jiang Yuyue would never have bothered calling her specifically.

Because the distance was too great, transportation was inconvenient, and she couldn’t possibly go claim it.

Not only would it waste time, but the cost of round-trip travel and meals could buy the same item locally.

So she guessed it must be something big—like a TV or a refrigerator.