Chapter 1 — Leaving That Dinner Table, I Had 70 Million Yuan

Daletou lottery draw, I won 70 million yuan, took the ticket and ran straight home, but before I could even sit down, my mother made a "pop" and slammed four red books on the table.

"I'll make it clear, everything will be transferred to your brother's name."

Four houses, totaling more than 9.6 million yuan, but not one of them belongs to me. I tightened the ticket in my pocket, stood up, my voice cold and calm.

"Okay, then my brother will take care of everything for my mother's old age."

Mom paused for three seconds, then burst out laughing, her eyes full of disdain.

“Are you leaving this house and planning to go out and enjoy the Northwest breeze?”

I didn't turn my head, I just felt the 70 million yuan ticket close to my thigh, so hot it hurt. On August 10 at 10 a.m., I did the thing with the highest profit margin in my life, spending 20 yuan to buy a Daletou ticket. Don't ask why, just passing by the ticket counter under the company building, my hand itched so I bought one. At lunch time, I conveniently looked up the results and didn't notice the piece of meat I was picking up on my chopsticks fall down. The seven numbers matched exactly, without any error, the first prize before tax of 70 million yuan appeared clearly on the screen. I stared at the phone for three minutes, my hands shaking so much I could barely hold them, my heart beating so fast it felt like it was about to burst. Then I locked the screen, took a deep breath and returned to my seat, but couldn't do anything all afternoon, my mind was buzzing like there were tens of thousands of bees flying around. After work, I stuffed the ticket into my shirt pocket, pressing it close to my heart. It was a thin piece of paper but made me feel like everyone was looking at me. I didn't go to the reward center, but went home first, not because I wanted to tell anyone, but because I wanted to know something. This family, in the end, still considers me human or not. When I pushed the door in, the living room was brightly lit, my mother sat in the middle of the sofa, on the tea table in front of her were neatly placed four red books. Lam Vien Hang's brother sat on the left, his legs crossed, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the armrest, while his sister-in-law Chu Le sat on the right, her fingernails lightly brushing the rim of the teacup, the corners of her lips carrying a faint smile. Seeing me enter, the three people's eyes swept over at the same time, not in the "you're home" way, but in the "right time, enough people" way. I changed my shoes and walked over to stand in front of the tea table, but no one asked me to sit.

“Vien Chu.”

Mom gently cleared her throat, placed her hand on four red notebooks, her eyes looking at me without wavering.

“If you call me home today, there is something that needs to be clarified.”

She pushed four red books to the middle of the table, her tone firm.

“Two houses in the east, one house in the south, one house in the old quarter, a total of 9.6 million yuan.”

She paused for a moment, then continued.

"Everything is transferred to your brother's name."

The living room was silent for two seconds. I looked at the four neatly stacked red books without saying a word. Mom continued, her voice full of reason.

"Your brother got married early, the children are grown, studying and doing business all require money, and I am alone, I don't have much to eat, I don't spend much, I don't need these things."

Sister-in-law Chu Le spoke up, her tone as if she was calculating for me.

"Vien Chu, I only earn 5,000 yuan a month. Even if I had a house for myself, I wouldn't be able to afford it. Management fees, electricity and water bills are all a burden. It's better for my brothers to keep it, so in the future the whole family can rely on each other."

My brother didn't say anything, just looked at me with a calm expression as if this has nothing to do with me. But the movement of pulling the four red books towards me was very fast. Mom added another sentence, her voice not wavering at all.

"If you think it's unfair, I have no choice. I only have so much wealth. Who can take care of this house? It's clear in my heart."

The ticket in my pocket was pressed against my chest, the 70 million yuan was now less than two centimeters away from my heart, but I still didn't say anything. I lowered my head to look at the four red books, then looked up at my mother, her eyes were still as certain as they had been for the past twenty-eight years, everything of course belonged to my brother. When I was little, it was chicken thighs, later it was money for school, then money to buy a house, and now there are four houses. As for me, I will always be the one who must yield, must wait, must not be in a hurry. Same today. I had 70 million yuan in my pocket, but I suddenly didn't want to take it out anymore. Not out of regret. I want to see, if I really had nothing, how this house would treat me. The answer was right on the tea table, four red books, not one book had my name on it. I stood up. My mother froze for a moment, her eyes flashed with confusion.

“What did you just say?”

“I say okay, all four senses are for him.”

Sister-in-law Chu Le's eyes lit up, the corners of her lips curled up, her smile was barely hidden. My brother breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back on the sofa, a relieved look on his face. I conveniently took the jacket from the back of the chair and put it on, moving very slowly but decisively.

“But there is one condition.”

The eyes of three people stopped on me at the same time, the atmosphere in the room seemed to be tense.

"In the future, he will take care of everything for his mother's old age, from food and living to illness and hospitalization, everything will be taken care of by him."

I zipped up my shirt, my voice calm and cold.

“And I don't participate anymore.”

The living room fell silent again, but this time the silence carried a different feeling, heavy and cold. My mother opened her mouth and then closed it, as if not knowing what to say, and finally burst out laughing. It wasn't a happy smile, but the kind of smile as if listening to a ridiculous story.

“You only earn 5,000 yuan a month. When you leave this house, what do you live on? Drinking the Northwest wind?”

I didn't turn around, just walked to the door and sat down to change my shoes. The sister-in-law's voice rang out from behind, carrying a soft, sarcastic laugh.

"Go, go, once your wings harden, fly away. When you can't stand outside, don't come back crying."

I finished tying my shoelaces, stood up straight, and didn't say another word. The moment the door closed, I heard my mother say a very light sentence to my brother.

“Leave it alone, watch it dance for a few days.”

The door closes. The hallway is so quiet that you can clearly hear your own footsteps. I put my hand in my shirt pocket, touched the lottery ticket, the corner of the paper was slightly bent, warmed by the body's warmth. 70 million yuan. I clenched my fist, but didn't squeeze that ticket. The sensor light in the stairs flashed once and then turned off, I walked down each step in the dark. Twenty-eight years. It's time to leave. The next morning, I took half a day off. I went to the provincial lottery center to claim my prize. The process was more complicated than I thought but also simpler than I thought. The complexity lies in the procedures, from verifying identity, linking bank accounts, tax deduction, signature, fingerprinting and photo taking. Simply in the results. After tax deduction, I received 56 million yuan, money transferred directly to my account. I stood in the lobby of the lottery center, staring at the balance in the banking app for ten seconds, the number was so long that I had to count it twice. 56,000,000.00 yuan. The staff asked me if I wanted to receive the reward anonymously, I answered immediately. My voice was calm, but my palms were sweaty. Leaving the lottery center, the August sunlight poured down on the asphalt, the heat rising. I stood on the side of the road, suddenly not knowing where I should go. Before, my life was very simple, just revolving around the company and the rented room, sometimes when I came home and heard my mother keep saying "go see your brother", then quietly finished eating and left. And now, I have 56 million yuan in my card, but no one knows, not a single person. I called a car and went to see the house. I didn't choose the most expensive apartment in the center, but bought an apartment in the western part of the city, a new apartment, three rooms, two halls, balcony, south direction, area 138 square meters, total price 3.8 million yuan. Full payment. When signing the contract, the girl in the sales department's hands shook a little, not because 3.8 million was a large amount of money, but because I didn't look like a buyer who paid in full at once. The gray T-shirt was frayed, and the pant legs were still stained with a bit of mud and water from the morning in front of the lottery center gate. She probably thought I was just someone sent to do the procedure instead. Until I swiped my card. Enter password, confirm successfully, balance changes.