Chapter 46: Winning the Lottery
While Chu Feng enjoyed his carefree life in another world, chaos erupted in the Chu household. True to expectations, his eldest aunt spread the news of his lottery win. In just one day, the entire village knew.
Though many in the village bought lottery tickets, Chu Feng was the first to actually win big. With prize money of 300,000 yuan, it became a hot topic among the villagers.
At Chu Linsheng’s house:
“Anzhi, did you hear that Chu Feng won the lottery?” Gu Jia asked.
Chu Anzhi was surprised. “Mom, how do you know?”
“Zhao Hong told me. So it’s true?”
Anzhi frowned. “Why would Brother Feng tell Zhao Hong? I tried so hard to keep it a secret…”
Their parents had been constantly worrying about Chu Feng’s debts. Anzhi had worked hard to keep the prize a secret, and it hadn’t been easy.
“Actually, not just your aunt—others are talking too,” Gu Jia said.
Anzhi blinked. “So… everyone knows?”
“It’s spread everywhere,” Gu Jia sighed. She’d been asked multiple times that day about Chu Feng’s win.
At first, she thought the villagers were joking—until she realized it was real. Now the whole village knew, while the family had been left in the dark. It was awkward.
Anzhi let out a long breath, feeling like a weight had finally lifted. Since the secret was out, he no longer had to keep hiding it. What a relief—it had been suffocating.
“So that means… everyone knows Brother Feng won a million?”
Gu Jia frowned, her expression suspicious. “One million? Wasn’t it three hundred thousand?”
Chu Anzhi jumped. “People are saying it’s three hundred thousand?”
“So, Xiao Feng told you it was one million?” Gu Jia pressed.
Chu Anzhi gave an awkward laugh. “I… I don’t really remember.”
Gu Jia rolled her eyes. “You can’t tell the difference between one million and three hundred thousand? What kind of memory do you have?”
Chu Anzhi chuckled nervously. “Yeah, my memory’s not that great. Aunt said it was three hundred thousand?”
Gu Jia nodded. “That’s right. Three hundred thousand is already a lot. I ran into your aunt this afternoon—she had a lot of snide things to say.”
She shook her head. Yan Ping must have thought she already knew but kept it from her to avoid being asked to borrow money.
Chu Anzhi sighed in relief, thinking: Thank goodness Aunt only knows about the 300k, not the million. If she found out the truth, she’d flip.
Gu Jia looked at him. “Did Chu Feng buy you that phone?”
Anzhi nodded. He had a new phone, and his mom had asked about it repeatedly. He told her he got it from a claw machine for 10 yuan.
He puffed up his cheeks. “Cousin gave it to me to keep quiet.”
“You two…” Gu Jia had always thought it was strange that a claw machine could give out a brand-new Apple phone—now it made sense.
Anzhi smiled sheepishly. “It was Brother Feng’s idea.”
“I’ve been trying to call Xiao Feng, but it never connects.”
Anzhi thought to himself: It’s been like that lately. Maybe he’s ignoring calls on purpose to avoid hassle. “Brother Feng is an adult. He probably wants his own private life now. Maybe he’s off somewhere with a girlfriend and doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
“Are you sure he really won a million?” Gu Jia asked skeptically. Even though inflation kept rising, a million yuan was still a huge sum to most villagers—and to her as well.
Anzhi nodded. “Pretty sure.”
—
At Chu Hongzhi’s house:
“I was wondering why Chu Feng suddenly bought a car—turns out he won the lottery,” Yan Ping said angrily.
Chu Hongzhi said sourly, “Three hundred thousand is no small amount.”
“He kept it a complete secret from us, but told the Lin family? Who is he trying to guard against?” Yan Ping grumbled.
Hongzhi frowned. “Xiao Feng has always had a mind of his own. He doesn’t say anything, but I bet he still holds a grudge against us.”
Yan Ping muttered guiltily, “What grudge? We were the ones who handled his parents’ funeral. He was just a kid back then—what did he know?”
Chu Jinhui frowned. “After taxes, 300k becomes 240k. That’s probably what he used to buy the car.”
Yan Ping muttered, “Still, 240k isn’t a small amount. How did such luck fall on him? No wonder he quit his job.”
Chu Hongzhi shook his head. “Now he’s never home. Who knows where he ran off to?”
Yan Ping scowled. “Anzhi must know something. He went with Chu Feng to buy the car—he definitely knew it was paid in full. That boy must’ve known about the lottery win all along. So the second branch of the family knew and kept it from us?”
Chu Zhihong frowned. “Anzhi is a decent guy. When I saw him a few days ago, he said it was hard for Xiao Feng to repay loans. Maybe even he didn’t know.”
Yan Ping rolled her eyes. “Who knows if that’s genuine or an act? That iPhone Anzhi has was probably a gift from Chu Feng. Just look how winning changed him—now he gives out iPhones like candy.”
Chu Jinhui sat silently nearby, face dark.
“Jinhui, have you tried calling Chu Feng?” Yan Ping asked.
“I have. He didn’t pick up.”
Yan Ping’s face darkened. “Is he ignoring us on purpose?”
Jinhui said gloomily, “Mom, forget about borrowing money from him. He’s just some loser who let money go to his head. Bought a car? Probably spent it all already.”
Jinhui had graduated from a prestigious university—he was considered a top student. But these days, top students were everywhere. Though he got into a big-name company, the salary wasn’t high.
As a new employee, he barely made 100k a year and had to watch his boss’s mood every day. Hearing that Chu Feng won big made him feel bitter all over.
—
A flash of light—Chu Feng returned to his villa.
He opened a box and placed the wood carvings to one side.
This time, he had brought over more than a hundred carvings, most made by the half-elves of Crescent Village.
Elves were naturally more delicate and skilled than beastkin, especially in wood carving.
Chu Feng pulled out two ground roots from another bundle.
Looking at them, he hesitated, unsure how to handle them. After a moment, he just tossed them into the fridge.
Hands on his hips, he thought: If these roots are really ginseng, they might be worth millions.
But putting them in the fridge felt like a waste. Then again, no one valued them that highly in that world, so maybe wasting them didn’t matter.
He had been gone a few days, and now the phones in his villa were all dead.
After charging one, he saw dozens of missed calls—mostly from Chu Anzhi, and a few from Lin Zhihao.
Guessing that Anzhi’s calls were probably about the big aunt again, Chu Feng couldn’t be bothered to deal with it and went straight to the mall to meet Lin Zhihao.
“Cousin!” Zhihao cried, looking like he’d found a savior.
Chu Feng looked at him. “How’s it going?”
Lin Zhihao stammered, “I don’t really know much about renovations, I just followed your instructions.”
Chu Feng patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. It’s okay even if it doesn’t turn out great.”
After all, opening the shop was just something he did out of boredom—if it failed, it wasn’t a big deal.
Lin Zhihao looked at Chu Feng helplessly. “Cousin, how can you be… so calm about this?”
Chu Feng blinked, thinking: Because I’m rich—I’m not afraid of losing money. “Xiao Hao, let me tell you a secret. I didn’t win three hundred thousand—I won thirty million.”
Lin Zhihao stared at him blankly. Chu Feng patted him on the shoulder again. “So this shop? It’s mine. And I’m not short on money.”
Zhihao’s eyes widened as he reached out to feel Chu Feng’s forehead. “Cousin… you must be dreaming.”
Chu Feng: “…” Say a lie enough times and no one believes you.
Lin Zhihao lowered his voice. “Cousin, did you… join some kind of gang or get involved in… money laundering?”
Chu Feng: “…” What the hell? First Anzhi thought he joined a pyramid scheme, and now Zhihao thinks he’s laundering money. Do I really look like someone destined to go off the rails?
Chu Feng changed the subject. “So, when will this place be done?”
“Another ten days or so.” Lin Zhihao frowned. “Business is tough these days. A lot of store owners can barely afford rent. Cousin, opening this shop…”
He had been working there a few days and got to know some neighboring shop owners. Many of them complained that their profits barely covered rent, and they couldn’t even pay their employees. But if they closed now, the franchise fees, renovation costs, and prepaid rent couldn’t be refunded—so they had to grit their teeth and keep going. One of them even said, “Everyone says being the boss is great—only after becoming one do you realize how tough it is.”
Zhihao hadn’t paid much attention at first, but now that he knew the shop was Chu Feng’s, he started to worry more.
Chu Feng smiled. “Relax. Our store definitely won’t lose money.”
Zhihao frowned. “Are you sure, Cousin?”
Chu Feng clapped him on the shoulder again. “I’ve been really lucky lately. The business will absolutely succeed.”
“Have you decided what to sell?”
Chu Feng nodded confidently. “I’ve already decided. Once renovations are done, we can open right away.”
Zhihao nodded. “Then we’d better get the signage ordered.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Go ahead and arrange it. Let’s call the shop Crescent Moon Wood Carving Studio.”
“Wood carvings?” Zhihao asked skeptically.
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah. I’ve already secured a supply.”
Zhihao nodded slowly, still hesitant. “Wood carvings… aren’t easy to sell, right?”
Chu Feng thought: There are definitely people who like wood carvings. But in a small town like this, maybe not so many with that kind of artistic taste. Still, good stuff doesn’t fear being hidden away—there’ll always be someone who appreciates it. And if no one buys them… well, they’ll just sit in storage.
Chu Feng added, “We can open an online store too. You’ve got some experience with that, right?”
Zhihao blushed. “I’ll try my best.”
He did like running online stores, but his past attempts hadn’t gone well—nothing sold.
