The First Pot of Gold (Seeking Collection)

On the evening of November 20th at eight o'clock, witnessed by reporters from dozens of newspapers and staff from the Berlin Notary Office, the German Welfare Lottery Company drew the first Double Color Ball winning numbers.

The six red balls were 02, 09, 14, 17, 18, and 31, while the blue ball number was 08.

Karl von Jonath, as General Manager of the German Welfare Lottery Company, announced publicly that the company's staff would immediately begin verifying all purchased ticket numbers, aiming to complete the preliminary check by tomorrow afternoon. If anyone won the first prize, the newspapers would be notified at once.

The entire German lottery industry, and even society at large, was closely watching the Double Color Ball drawing. Everyone wanted to know if there would be a lucky first-prize winner. Five million Marks—even after taxes, a hefty sum remained. This was a true overnight fortune!

"Your Highness, we've succeeded. Preliminary statistics show that over ten million tickets were sold this round!" Karl said, brimming with excitement.

Each ticket cost two Marks, already a steep price. Yet plenty of people could still afford to buy them, giving their lottery a massive market.

"Mm, once the winning results are tallied, we'll know how much profit we've made." Oscar was equally expectant.

To tally the winning tickets, the German Welfare Lottery Company had specially recruited a professional counting team of over two hundred people. Though the payroll for these counters was no small expense, it was nothing compared to the enormous profits they stood to gain. In an era without computers or networks, everything had to be done by hand—there was no helping it.

"Your Highness, even if one first prize is claimed, our profit will still exceed two million Marks." Karl was brimming with confidence. He had invested one million Marks in the company. If this round's profit topped two million, his share of the profit split would net him two hundred thousand Marks. In just five rounds, he could recoup his entire investment.

Oscar nodded. If they made two million in profit, he could pocket one million. That would mean over ten million in monthly revenue. Fulfilling his promise to build a Battleship for the German Navy would be no problem at all.

"Have our people speed up the counting. Once a big prize emerges, notify all the newspapers immediately to start the second wave of promotion. We need more people buying our tickets!" Oscar said.

Even though over ten million tickets had been sold in the first round, he wasn't satisfied yet. The entire German lottery market should be even bigger than this. With the Double Color Ball's various advantages, they ought to be able to expand the market further and rake in even more profit.

Karl nodded. He knew just how terrifyingly lucrative the Double Color Ball could be. Of course, that was nothing but good for them. Who would ever complain about making too much money?

Karl then left to personally oversee the review team as they checked the tickets, striving to finish the tally as quickly as possible and calculate the profit.

The prizes for Oscar's Double Color Ball were all fixed: Five million Marks for first prize, one hundred thousand for second, three thousand for third, two hundred for fourth, ten for fifth, and five for sixth.

If, after deducting all costs and prizes, they could save two million Marks in profit this round, Oscar would be more than satisfied. After all, the Double Color Ball ran three rounds a week, and their ticket sales had only just begun. Once things got on track, even more lottery players would buy in. Their profits would grow right along with it.

Early the next morning, Karl reported the tally results to Oscar with dark circles under his eyes.

"Your Highness, the results are in. There's one first prize and eighteen second prizes. Including the lower-tier prizes, the total prize payout is about twelve million. After taxes and various costs, our profit is two hundred and twelve thousand Marks." Karl was beaming.

"Well done—this is a fantastic start! Send the prize money to those betting stations right away so the winners can claim their prizes. Also, have all the newspapers we're working with cover this story extensively." Oscar said excitedly.

"Understood, Your Highness. Sales for our second round start today. We prepared fifteen million tickets—I'm not sure if that'll be enough."

"There's no time to have the printers run more now. But for the next round, we can prepare twenty million tickets. If sales stay hot, we'll increase it further."

As long as sales kept booming, they could steadily expand step by step until the market was completely saturated. That way, their profits would be maximized. The next step would be to consider expanding into other countries.

In Düsseldorf, a coal mine shift ended, and a flood of miners poured out of the factory gates. They were covered in coal dust, their bodies pitch-black.

Though Germany's industry was highly developed, the lives of the working class remained harsh.

Hans was one of those coal miners.

"Hans, how about a drink tonight?" a burly miner said.

"No, Lina and the kids are waiting for me at home." Hans shook his head.

On his way home, he passed a lottery betting station and paused, pulling a crumpled, wrinkled ticket from his bag.

He had bought it on a whim when the Double Color Ball launched. Even though two Marks was steep for Hans, he still hoped God might take pity on him.

After a moment's hesitation, Hans walked into the betting station with his ticket.

The place was busy with people either buying tickets or cashing in.

"Excuse me, did this ticket win anything?" Hans asked.

The staff member, a young, pretty woman, frowned at his grimy appearance. But professionalism kept a smile on her face as she took the ticket.

When she saw the numbers on the ticket, her eyes went wide.

"God! Headquarters was right—the big prize was sold at this station."

"Sir, congratulations. You've won the first prize in the last Double Color Ball round. You'll receive five million Marks before taxes." The staffer's voice was trembling with excitement, as if she had won it herself.

"What? He won first prize?"

"God! What incredible luck!"

The whole betting station erupted.