Chapter 997: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 997: Wang Zhanggen Also Started Buying Numbers?

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Li Xiulan said "take," not "steal," because she felt a bottle of oil wasn't worth much money; Yang Xiaocai took it and used it, so he used it — no need to quibble over so much.

The current her, her mindset was vastly different from before.

In the past, when she was most destitute, she also nitpicked over every penny; even riding a motorcycle home, she was unwilling to pay a few extra yuan in bus fare.

Now that life had become more comfortable, her mindset had also relaxed.

Not bothering to quibble over these trivial trifles!

Yang Xiaocai took Li Xiulan's oil and salt back home, immediately cooked a meal, and then stir-fried a water spinach.

He ate with great relish.

Because this was already the best he had eaten in the past several days.

At that moment he swore an oath: he would never gamble on the Liucun again; if he ever played again, he would not be human, he would be a beast!

This Liucun thing harms people, it left him without even money to buy oil and salt!

If the matter of him stealing oil from Li Xiulan's house got out, wouldn't he become a huge laughingstock in Shangou Village?

Who in this day and age would still steal these things?

Although he, Yang Xiaocai, was a bit like a hoodlum, he also cared about face!

So he made up his mind to quit the Liucun cold turkey.

But just as he had made his resolve, at this moment, a villager walked over:

"Lao Yang, look what I got hold of?"

Yang Xiaocai looked up and saw, shockingly, a Hong Kong Mark Six code report.

This thing is quite rare, and it's said to be much more accurate than the likes of "White Lady" or "Sixth Granduncle"!

Yang Xiaocai's eyes immediately lit up:

"Let me see! Let's study it together; tomorrow night's draw, we're sure to hit the numbers!"

That villager laughed heartily and also said:

"I also feel that tomorrow night's draw, we have a great chance of hitting the numbers! There are a few characters here I don't recognize; you have a Xinhua Dictionary, hurry up and look up what they mean!"

"Sure sure, I'll look them up for you right now!"

Yang Xiaocai immediately took out the Xinhua Dictionary to look up characters.

As for the resolve he had just made, the poisonous oath he had sworn, he had already tossed them to the back of his mind.

Anyway, the oath he swore wasn't spoken aloud; it was only thought in his heart.

An unspoken oath naturally doesn't count.

Wang Zhanggen notified the whole village: on the twenty-third of the lunar month, housewarming. On the way back, he discovered Zhong Jianguo sitting at the Health Station entrance, wearing a pair of old flower glasses, also holding a code report and studying it.

Wang Zhanggen was immediately surprised:

"Doctor Zhong, how come you're playing this too?"

Zhong Jianguo laughed cheerfully:

"Just looking, just playing casually!"

Wang Zhanggen gave a dry laugh, kindly reminding him:

"Doctor Zhong, better not get addicted; this thing harms people no small amount!"

Zhong Jianguo laughed cheerfully:

"No matter, just treating it as pastime; speaking of which, yesterday I even hit two yuan!"

Wang Zhanggen half-believed, half-doubted:

"For real or fake?"

"Of course it's real; hit two yuan, got eighty yuan; this eighty yuan is enough for me to buy forty draws; if I finish buying forty draws and still don't hit, then I'll stop playing."

Zhong Jianguo spoke thus, then added another sentence:

"Mainly it's that evenings are too boring, need to find something to do, otherwise my heart feels uneasy."

Zhong Jianguo was speaking the truth; he played the Liucun purely for amusement, to kill time.

For left-behind elderly like him, days are too hard to endure; they must find something to do, otherwise it's easy to have wild thoughts.

"I'm just afraid that as you play, you'll get sucked in." Wang Zhanggen kindly reminded.

Zhong Jianguo said with a smile:

"Rest assured, won't happen; I won't be like Yang Xiaocai, who for the sake of buying numbers, does nothing at all, even lets his fields go fallow!"

Zhong Jianguo at this time said to Wang Zhanggen:

"Why don't you play a couple rounds too? Anyway it's just one or two yuan, have some fun, it's not gambling big."

Wang Zhanggen waved his hand:

"Better not; I don't understand those things!"

Wang Zhanggen returned home, feeling very inconceivable.

What magic does the Liucun ultimately have, that it could even lure Zhong Jianguo into playing this thing?

The old television inside the house was playing; every night it was the same tune: either watching Anti-Japanese Divine Dramas, or watching Foreign Daughter-in-law Local Son-in-law, as well as Pearl River News.

Wang Zhanggen suddenly realized, watching TV every night to kill time, was indeed boring enough.

Especially watching together with Li Xiulan.

Li Xiulan didn't say a word, just kept staring at the TV until she felt sleepy, then went into the room to sleep.

He didn't say a word either, also just staring at the TV until bedtime.

Although the two were husband and wife, they had long since passed the age of having nothing left unsaid.

"I'm going out for a walk."

That evening, Wang Changgen watched TV for half the time, then stood up wanting to go out for a stroll.

Because watching TV at home was simply too boring.

Additionally, tonight was the day the numbers were drawn.

Zhong Jianguo's words from before had already aroused his curiosity.

He wanted to go to the baldy's house in the neighboring village to take a look, to see what magic the Liucun had, that it could even attract Zhong Jianguo to go play!

When Wang Changgen arrived at the baldy's house, he saw many people gathered together.

In these times, rural people had decreased a lot; it was hard to see such a lively scene again.

So when he saw the lively and bustling atmosphere here, he was instantly attracted by the atmosphere here.

"Isn't this Changgen? What? You also came to buy numbers?"

A villager saw Wang Changgen and greeted him with a laugh.

"Just came to take a look, I don't play that stuff! That stuff is a scam!"

Wang Changgen laughed heartily, the words he spoke were firm and convincing.

He indeed felt that stuff was a scam.

Because that stuff had already been defined by the country as illegal.

Wang Changgen saw Zhong Jianguo was also here, and he was in the crowd, looking radiant and full of vitality, as if he had become ten years younger.

Tonight Zhong Jianguo bought number 25, and also only placed a bet of two yuan.

But now his state of mind was completely different from the first time he bought numbers before.

Before, he just bought a random bet, not expecting to win at all.

Yet tonight after he finished buying numbers, his heart actually held no small expectation.

Expecting to be able to win again.

"Changgen, you came too?"

Zhong Jianguo saw Wang Changgen and also came over to greet him.

"Just came to take a look, too bored at home." Wang Changgen said so, then also reminded Zhong Jianguo: "Doctor Zhong, you mustn't get addicted, this thing harms people deeply!"

Zhong Jianguo still had a face full of cheerful smiles:

"I'm just playing casually, spending a few yuan for entertainment, won't place a big bet!"

Zhong Jianguo said to Wang Changgen:

"Why don't you play too, one or two yuan can be played, as long as you don't buy that big, nothing will happen!"

Wang Changgen was persuaded until his heart felt a bit itchy.

The main thing was, the people gathered here, everyone was buying numbers.

And each and every one looked like they were in high spirits.

Even Yang Xiaocai was like he'd been injected with chicken blood.

Wang Changgen was very curious, this Liucun thing, what magic did it ultimately have?

So in the end he made a decision:

"Alright then, I'll buy two yuan to try, you say which number should I buy?"