Page 12

The old man setting up the Chinese chess board raised an eyebrow. "You're just a little kid with no hair on your chin. You know how to play Chinese chess?"

"At least at a professional level!" Huo Jiu dusted the stone bench with his hand and sat down across from the board. Clapping his hands, he replied with utter confidence.

Huo Jiu was not bragging. In his previous life, he had played Chinese chess with the old man for seven or eight years, regardless of heat, cold, day, or night. Old people slept little, and he had no desire to hole up in the kitchen honing his cooking skills, so he could only find every possible way to slack off and sneak away.

A handsome, unruly young man sat before an old chessboard, boldly talking tough to a group of retired old men. The unusual sight immediately drew booming laughter from the elderly men around him.

Even the aunties taking a mid-dance break after getting tired gathered around, egging them on. "Well, isn't this something! If your chess skills are as fierce as your big talk, then I dare say none of these old men will be a match for you. You'll rule Lakeside Park!"

"Come, come, come! Let's play a round, you and me!" The old man arranging the pieces beckoned to him. It was not that he believed Huo Jiu's chess skills were truly that good. At their age, though, they simply enjoyed talking and interacting with young people.

Unfortunately, their children and grandchildren all had work or studies to keep them busy. Even when they had time, they preferred going out with people their own age to have fun and maintain their relationships. They did not like having heart-to-heart talks with old fossils like them.

Under such circumstances, they had actually run into a little kid like Huo Jiu, who had come to the park bright and early demanding to play Chinese chess with them. Although Huo Jiu's grandiose claims were not particularly likable, in the old folks' eyes, they made him seem exceptionally lively and adorable.

Having unwittingly shown some care for empty-nest seniors, Huo Jiu sat before the board, pondering deeply and advancing step by step. In one sweep, he won more than a hundred yuan from the old men in the park. He was unstoppable, crushing everything in his path until there was no holding him back.

"You really do have some skills, kid!" The defeated players whom Huo Jiu had wiped out surrounded the chessboard, clicking their tongues in amazement. None of them had expected someone as young as Huo Jiu to be so proficient at Chinese chess.

"Whose child are you? Does someone at home teach you how to play?"

At that, Huo Jiu's expression dimmed slightly. Rather than answer, he stood up and said, "It's getting late. I need to go buy lottery tickets. When I hit the jackpot, I'll treat you all to a big meal."

The old men all cried out in unison, then chimed in one after another. "Oh? So you've got such lofty ambitions?"

"You're young, but you're already taking a pretty crooked path!"

"If you want to get rich by buying lottery tickets, you'd be better off coming here every day to play Chinese chess with us. Win thirty or forty games a day, and you could still earn over ten thousand a month."

"What are you talking about? The kid has to go to school! How could he come keep these old bones company every day?"

The familiar atmosphere put Huo Jiu in a rare good mood. He waved the money in his hand and said confidently, "Just wait and see!"

He had cheats enabled, after all!

The old men and women rarely encountered something this interesting. They no longer rushed to dance or play chess, instead crowding around Huo Jiu as they went to a lottery shop near the park. Following the numbers he had memorized, Huo Jiu placed bets on several lottery types.

The old folks gathered behind Huo Jiu, pointing and commenting. "Your bets are way too scattered. There's no way you'll win. Even if you do, one or two tickets won't get you much money."

To get his first pot of gold as soon as possible, Huo Jiu bought instant-draw lottery tickets. He won over two thousand yuan on the spot. Then, using that two thousand-plus yuan as capital, he placed several hundred bets using the jackpot numbers he had memorized.

After patiently waiting for all the lottery draws to finish, Huo Jiu regretfully discovered that he had mixed up the order and digits of the jackpot numbers for two of the lottery types. As a result, he failed to claim the top prizes for those two lotteries.

In the end, he only won eighty-eight million yuan across all the lottery types. Even while collecting his prize, Huo Jiu felt somewhat regretful. If not for the time limitation on Reload and the restriction that he could only grind dungeons locally, he could have made tens of billions a month just by buying lottery tickets around the world!

"A person can't be too greedy. Making seventy million in half a month is enough spending money for me." Huo Jiu sighed and reluctantly consoled himself.

Chairman Su and Lu Manzhen listened to Huo Jiu's regretful remarks and suddenly found that even the lavish dinner before them no longer seemed appetizing.

Aunt Zhao was bringing the last soup dish to the table. Hearing Huo Jiu's words, she could not help curling her lip. She privately grumbled that this little burden had somehow stepped in dog shit and gotten lucky.

"...Come to think of it, our Xiao Zhuo is lucky too. When he was born, the Chairman's company was facing operational difficulties. The hospital had barely delivered the good news when the Chairman got a call from a business partner. In the end, he signed a major contract and safely weathered the crisis. Then, when Xiao Zhuo turned eleven, the group happened to be bidding for a plot of land. The other two companies bidding alongside us were both powerful foreign-funded Hong Kong firms, and Su Corporation had the lowest chance of winning. But no one expected Su Corporation to ultimately secure the development rights to that land."

Chairman Su was delighted upon hearing this. Smiling broadly, he said, "Xiao Zhuo is my lucky star. Ever since he was born, my luck has improved."

Lu Manzhen smiled as she served Chairman Su a bowl of soup, naturally shifting the topic back to Su Zhuo. Smiling at Huo Jiu, she said, "That's why I said you should visit Xiao Zhuo at the hospital when you have time. The two of you are close in age, and you're both so lucky. You'll definitely have plenty in common."

"...Sit together and discuss how to undergo rehabilitation after a bone marrow transplant?" Huo Jiu served himself a bowl of soup and asked as he drank.

There was too much pepper in it. To let the peppery flavor dissipate, the soup had been simmered a little too long, and a ladle of water had been added. Huo Jiu frowned, then quietly set down his bowl.

Lu Manzhen's expression stiffened slightly. She shot Huo Jiu a resentful glare.

Why was this child's tongue so sharp? Who had taught him to speak like that?

Su Shiyuan smiled and asked Huo Jiu, "You won seventy million from the lottery. How do you plan to spend it? Would you like me to introduce you to a financial advisor?"