0p0 Chapter 54 The Grand Prize of 12,000
Chapter 54 The Grand Prize of 12,000
Chapter 54 The Grand Prize of Ten Thousand Taels (Part 3)
"Number 34! The last number is 34!" Wang Wenzhou shouted, holding up the lottery drawer's hand.
Ma Deyun's face immediately darkened. He had already memorized the numbers on the five tax receipts in his hand, but there was no number 34, so he hadn't won the grand prize.
"I won! I won!" Geng San shouted excitedly.
Although Geng San already knew that the tax stamp in his hand was bound to win the lottery, he was still very excited when the moment arrived. He waved the tax stamp in his hand and ran over.
Wang Wenzhou took the tax invoice, looked at it, handed it to Old Cheng, and said, "Mr. Cheng, this is something you will have to decide."
Old Cheng nodded, took the tax stamp, and placed it together with the ticket stub, examining it carefully for a while. After confirming that everything was correct, he held up the tax stamp and announced loudly, "Upon verification, this tax stamp matches the winning numbers. I hereby officially announce that Geng San and Young Master Geng are this month's grand prize winners!"
Wang Wenzhou cupped his hands in greeting and said with a smile, "Congratulations!"
"Thank you, sir!" Geng San bowed and thanked him. How could he not thank him? If it weren't for Lord Wang, he would have already lost so much money that he would have stripped naked and jumped into the river to commit suicide.
Wang Wenzhou waved his hand, and several yamen runners carried the silver box over.
"Everyone, take a good look. This is 12,140 taels of silver, the prize money for this grand prize. Please have Brother Geng count it in front of everyone." Wang Wenzhou opened the box to show it to everyone.
The four scholars watched helplessly as Geng San and his men counted the silver, their hearts aching. How could these poor bastards be so lucky? They had collected twice as many tax receipts as Geng San, yet Geng San had won the grand prize. The more they thought about it, the more upset they became.
"Brother Ma, you're here too!"
The man who spoke was Ma Peng, Geng San's partner. He had deliberately come to annoy the Four Talented Scholars; Geng San had told him beforehand. After winning the lottery, he was to come and provoke the Four Talented Scholars so they would continue scrambling to collect tax invoices. Lord Wang had ordered that the tax invoices must be collected, even if it meant losing money.
"Who did I think it was? Isn't this Xiao Peng?" Ma Deyun turned around and saw Ma Peng. His face immediately turned ashen. They were distant relatives, and Ma Peng was also a scholar. However, due to a conflict between their families, their relationship wasn't good.
Ma Peng laughed and said, "Wow, we've been so lucky lately. I never expected we'd win such a big prize. At first, I thought it would be a four-figure prize. But it turns out we're the ones who won."
"We didn't take it seriously, we were just playing around." Yang Shan took a deep breath; he was furious. "You bastards, you just won the lottery, and now you've forgotten who you are and are acting all high and mighty."
"Just spending a little money to have some fun. I can't compare to you. I heard you bet your property the other day. Why are you gambling so hard? If you guys don't win the lottery this time, you'll be homeless." Sun Feng mocked.
Ma Peng and Geng San didn't have much money. They were desperate to collect tax receipts a while back and were completely broke. So, they gritted their teeth and staked all their savings, borrowing money everywhere. The Four Great Talents knew about this, and they brought it up to mock Ma Peng.
Ma Peng waved his hand, stared at Ma Deyun, and said with a half-smile, "Tsk tsk, there's nothing we can do. We're just lucky. We won the grand prize, and each of the twelve of us will get a thousand taels of silver. The four of you are wealthy enough to look down on this amount, but for me, it's a huge sum."
Ten thousand taels of silver was a huge sum for Ma Deyun and his three companions. How could they not be angry at Ma Peng's behavior? But what could they do? They weren't the ones who won the lottery.
"It's only a thousand taels of silver. Every time we go to Qunfanglou in Hezhou, we spend at least a hundred or eighty taels," Yang Shan could only put on a brave face to save face. In fact, this month, the four great scholars spent more than six thousand taels of silver on tax receipts. This money was all their savings. These past few days, they not only had no extra money to go to Hezhou, but they also lost the will to go. They stayed in Hanshan, waiting for the lottery results.
"The four of you are quite a coincidence. I'd like to invite you to dinner at Zuihualou today."
After Wang Feng booked the Drunken Flower Pavilion, it ceased operations to the public. Later, Wang Wenzhou converted it into a private club. While not open to the public, businessmen associated with Wang Wenzhou could dine there, accompanied by policewomen. However, the prices were extremely high. The Four Great Talents, who were at odds with Wang Wenzhou, had heard of it but had never been inside.
"No, we have some things to do. Let's get together another day!" With that, Ma Deyun turned and left.
Yang Shan and the others didn't bother with pleasantries with Ma Peng and followed him in a few steps.
Yang Shan clenched his fists tightly and said fiercely, "Brother Ma, you've infuriated me! That brat Ma Peng just came here to show off!"
“Exactly! Look at how smug he is! It’s infuriating!” Sun Feng chimed in.
Lin Qing thought for a moment and said, "Next month, should we pool together more money to collect tax invoices? I don't believe that these poor bastards will always be so lucky! With their financial resources, how dare they compare to us? At most, we'll lose some money, but if they don't win the lottery, they'll immediately become penniless."
“Hanshan County has a growing population, and the prize money will increase accordingly. Actually, losing this little bit of money this month isn't a big deal. If we win the grand prize next month, we'll make back all the money we lost immediately.” Ma Deyun nodded.
The three men thought about it and agreed that Ma Deyun's statement was indeed true. They discussed it and decided to take another sum of money from their homes to collect tax receipts. As the saying goes, you have to get up from where you fall. However, the four talented men had no idea that this was a trap set by Wang Wenzhou; no matter how many tax receipts they collected, they would never win the grand prize.
……
"This month's grand prize winner, Geng San, is honorable to pay taxes. Paying taxes upon entering the city is beneficial to the country and the people, and everyone has a responsibility to do so."
Geng San, adorned with a large red flower, rode on his horse. A yamen runner led the horse, followed by four others carrying a silver chest. Two rows of yamen runners with single swords at their waists stood guard on either side, occasionally shouting slogans.
This is performance art by Wang Wenzhou, mainly to show the public that winning the grand prize isn't out of reach. Anyone can win by collecting tax receipts. This will encourage people to participate in collecting tax receipts, allowing the high-welfare system based on the city entry tax to continue.
Geng San rode on his horse, waving to the crowds along the roadside from time to time. He was very excited; this was the first time in his life he had attracted so much attention. He felt as if he had passed the imperial examination with top honors, parading through the streets on horseback, a sense of pride welling up inside him.
The crowd on the roadside stared intently at Geng San, their eyes filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment. Many thought, "Geng San can win the lottery. Why can't I? He only won because he collected a little more tax. Geng San used to sell vegetables on the street; he didn't have much money. I'm much richer than him. Next month, I'll be collecting tax invoices too. Maybe this lottery prize will be mine."