Chapter 2: Winning 30 Million

There are 179 days left until the apocalypse.

It has been raining incessantly lately, and the weather is gloomy.

The rainfall in April and May accounts for 47% of the annual total.

With the rain pattering down without stop, Li Yu stood outside the station, smelling the slightly cold, fresh air brought by the rain.

His muscles, which had been tense for so long, relaxed slightly.

Li Yu noticed a lottery outlet right outside the train station and braved the rain to run over to it.

Getting straight to the point, Li Yu said to the lottery clerk: "Hello, I'd like to buy the Double Color Ball, three times. Red balls: 12, 15, 20, 26, 30, 33; Blue ball: 16. Also, keep the red balls the same, and for the blue ball, play one of each from 1 to 15."

*Click-clack.* The clerk performed a series of operations and immediately printed out the numbers Li Yu had requested.

Li Yu scanned the code to pay 36 yuan. He checked the lottery ticket in his hand once more, and seeing that everything was correct, he cautiously placed it in the bottom pocket of his backpack. He turned and walked out of the lottery center.

It was still drizzling outside, so Li Yu bought an umbrella next to the lottery center.

He hailed a taxi and headed straight home. Originally, there were fixed buses in the county, and the fare wasn't expensive; compared to the 30-yuan taxi ride, the five-yuan bus fare was truly cheap.

But Li Yu was eager to get home, so he didn't care about that.

Rain streaks hit the glass window outside. Li Yu rolled the window down just a little, letting a small amount of mist spray onto his face.

Looking out the window, he saw that the early rice had already been planted, filling his vision with green.

His heart stirred. Li Yu thought that when the time came, he must reserve a plot of land in his base to grow rice. Judging by the current time, he 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 from the road.

The closer one gets to home, the more nervous one feels.

Li Yu opened his umbrella, dragged his suitcase, and carried his backpack, walking slowly.

Li Yu pushed open the door and habitually called out for his parents. The body's muscle memory is undoubtedly very powerful.

There are many kinds of loneliness in the world, but when you return home and habitually call out for your parents, only to realize that your calls no longer receive a response—that is a truly heart-wrenching loneliness.

Hearing his mother's familiar response, he then saw her walk out of the kitchen wearing an apron.

Li Yu saw his mother's familiar face, and his reddened eyes could no longer hold back, letting two lines of tears fall.

Liu Fanghua looked at her weeping son, her heart aching terribly. She took a tissue to wipe his tears while saying, "What's wrong? Oh my, it looks like you've been wronged."

Li Yu embarrassedly wiped away his tears, then stepped forward and gave his mother a fierce hug.

Liu Fanghua looked at this child, whom she hadn't hugged since he grew up, and felt a thousand emotions in her heart.

At the dinner table, his father, Li Hongyuan, looked at his eldest son and, after much deliberation, asked

"Are you not going back out after coming home this time?"

Li Yu said: "Yes, I have some things to do this time, and I plan to develop my career at home from now on."

Considering that his parents had their own social circles and there were many neighbors nearby, he felt it was best not to say anything.

Moreover, having returned from the apocalypse, he knew very well that the saying "there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests" was damn 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 a slip of the tongue would cause trouble. After all, for them, such things were very hard to believe.

Li Yu weighed it in his mind, thinking that there would be signs before the apocalypse arrived anyway, and he could take the opportunity to "brainwash" them then.

Having made up his mind, Li Yu secretly firmed up his resolve.

Father Li looked at his 22-year-old son and, after thinking for a moment, said: "You're grown up now 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 returning: "My job is online-based, so I can just do it at home. Besides, I expect to have other arrangements later. Anyway, don't you worry."

Li Yu had majored in Chinese literature and worked in copywriting after graduation, which his parents were aware of.

Hearing his son's answer, Li Hongyuan didn't say much more.

This eldest son had always been independent since he was a child, living at school since elementary school. When he was asked to apply for a certain school, he refused and insisted on going to a university far away from home.

In a fit of anger, Father Li declared that he wouldn't provide Li Yu with tuition or living expenses.

Unexpectedly, Li Yu was quite determined. During the summer break of his senior year of high school, he worked two jobs and managed to scrape together his tuition and living expenses. During his years at university, Li Yu worked while studying.

Father Li later secretly regretted it; he had only wanted to make Li Yu back down, but who would have thought the kid would solve all the problems himself.

Father Li had a rather strong personality, but he was helpless in front of this son. Sometimes elders do consider things more thoroughly and think further ahead, but they also have certain limitations.

But if you can earn money and solve problems yourself, all conflicts are easily resolved.

Economic base determines the superstructure—this saying isn't without merit. At the very least, for Li Yu, it meant he could secure a degree of freedom.

Father Li didn't say anything more after hearing his son's answer, thinking that if the kid ran into any trouble later, he could help him find a job; after all, he had some connections after living in his hometown for so many years.

Li Yu didn't go out in the afternoon. Having spent the whole night on the train yesterday, he lay at home to rest.

The next day, Li Yu set off from home to go to his grandmother's house. Not having seen her for a long time was one reason, but another involved the most important part of Li Yu's base construction: land.

Li Yu's family is a large one, with three uncles and one aunt. Including the younger generation, the whole family has over twenty people. But except for his youngest uncle, everyone else is developing their careers outside, mostly working as laborers, and only returning for reunions during the New Year and holidays.

His grandparents have been at home all these years, and although they are old, they still can't stay idle. They were allocated quite a lot of land back in the day.

On top of that, in the last two years, Li Yu's father contracted a mountain pond in the village, as well as two mountains that belonged to their family. Now, they are all planted with orange trees.

Li Yu's grandmother's house is not far, just a 10-minute walk. You can reach it by going straight through a concrete road from the national highway.

One has to admit the benefits of living in a rural area of a small southern city: beautiful mountains and clear waters, with fresh air. His grandmother's house is even more like a hermit hidden in the woods, located in a vast forest.

If you didn't pass by the concrete road, it would be hard to discover their house.

And it's only a twenty-minute drive from the county town. So, in Li Yu's mind, this place couldn't be better.

First: It has mountains, water, and plains. Good planting conditions, sustainable development.

Second: Convenient transportation, hidden but not remote. If someone were to come out of the city, it would actually be hard to notice this country road.

Third: His grandmother's house has dozens of acres of land and several small ponds. And the largest plot of over ten acres is right next to the mountain his father contracted.

After arriving at his grandmother's house, Li Yu found she wasn't home, so he went straight to the fields to find her.

His grandmother was very happy to see Li Yu. With silver-gray hair and at 65 years old, her body was still very sturdy.

She picked a cucumber from the field and told Li Yu to wash it himself and eat it.

Seeing his grandmother still so healthy and cheerful, Li Yu felt infinite joy in his heart.

So he said to her: "Grandma, I'm not going back out after coming home this time. I plan to start a tourist ecological farm at home."

His grandmother looked at her eldest grandson in confusion and asked: "What's a tourist ecological farm?"

Li Yu didn't say much, just told her that he wanted to use the family's land to start a business at home.

His grandmother was very happy to hear this and said: "When I offered the land to your uncles and the others, they all said they didn't want it and insisted on going outside to live in the city. My eldest grandson is the best. Fine, I'll tell your uncles and the others when the time comes."

With the land issue resolved, the biggest problem left was construction.

Time flew by.

I am a dividing line.

May 28th, 177 days left until the apocalypse. 0 days left until the lottery draw.

Li Yu checked the information after the lottery draw on his phone. He discovered that he, this butterfly, had not affected the winning numbers.

According to the lottery ticket he bought, the first prize was 11 million; three times that is 33 million. Adding the 400,000 from the second prize (15 shares), it totaled 39 million. After deducting 20% in taxes, it came to 31.2 million yuan.

Early the next morning, Li Yu took a taxi to the provincial capital to collect the prize.

Time was tight, so Li Yu didn't do much to disguise himself; he just wore a mask, a hat he bought on the side of the road, and a pair of sunglasses.

When collecting the prize, the staff hinted several times that Li Yu should make a donation. Originally, Li Yu didn't want to donate. Who knows where that donation money would end up?

But after repeated persuasion from several staff members

"Sir, look, winning this prize is a blessing. So, many winners choose to donate~" The person speaking was a 30-year-old man with a sharp-featured, monkey-like face, wearing a small suit. He looked like a human, but he was a bit balding.

A person next to him, who looked like a leader, also spoke up: "We are doing this for your own good. Donate some money to help with welfare causes~, don't you agree, Mr. Li?"

Li Yu's eyes narrowed. What did that mean? If he didn't donate, would they leak his information?

Li Yu was fearless, staring fixedly at the leader. This gaze had been honed by killing countless people in the apocalypse.

It was cold and bone-chilling.

The lottery center leader was startled and didn't dare to meet Li Yu's eyes.

But!

There were many people around, and the atmosphere was heated. Looking at the situation, it would be hard to leave without donating.

He wasn't afraid of trouble, but he was too lazy to deal with annoying nonsense.

Building the base was more important!

He was truly unwilling and impatient, so he symbolically donated 50,000 yuan. The staff seemed a bit dissatisfied that the amount was too low and wanted to pester him further.

Li Yu said fiercely: "If you pester me again, I won't donate a single cent."

After saying that, Li Yu pushed the surrounding staff aside, and no one dared to stop him anymore.

Li Yu took the transfer check and went straight to the designated bank 2 kilometers away. Watching the 31.15 million yuan arrive in his account, Li Yu felt a faint sense of excitement.

It's settled!

Brothers, charge!

(End of chapter)