At the dinner table, William Brooks also saw his father. Mr. Brooks was a cadre in the town, but of course, he didn’t hold any official position—after a lifetime of work, he was just an ordinary staff member.

“Don’t go buying lottery tickets so much lately. The town has issued a directive; we need to cooperate with the police station to crack down on gambling.”

Hearing his father say this to his mother, William Brooks looked up and realized things were starting to go underground—it wasn’t as open and aboveboard as before.

“How could I not buy? There have already been eighteen consecutive odd draws; it’s definitely going to be even next. I’m even planning to bet on an all-even draw.” Mrs. Brooks replied, unwilling to give up.

“Eighteen consecutive odd draws? Mom, what was the last draw?”

“33’s dragon.” Mrs. Brooks answered without thinking much.

“Kids should focus on their studies. Why are you concerned about this?” Mr. Brooks glared at William Brooks and said sternly.

Ignoring his father’s criticism, a glint flashed in William Brooks’s eyes. At this moment, he finally figured out how to earn his first pot of gold in life.

He didn’t remember much about the lottery, but there was one draw he remembered very clearly. Before that draw, there had already been nineteen consecutive odd draws. His mom started betting on even from the sixteenth draw, and it wasn’t until the twentieth that even finally came up.

But William Brooks didn’t plan to bet on the twentieth draw, because he knew very well that after the twentieth draw, many bookies would run off. The reason was simple: everyone knew it was bound to be even, and to make money, most people would keep doubling their bets. With so many people doubling down, the bookies simply wouldn’t have enough money to pay out.

Lotteries in the mainland were completely illegal. The so-called bookies were just some bosses putting up money to run the operation. If they wanted to disappear, they could, and those who placed bets wouldn’t even be able to find anyone.

William Brooks’s plan to make money was on the nineteenth draw, because that one was still odd, and over ninety percent of people were betting on even. The bookies would be making a killing that round and definitely wouldn’t run off.

“The nineteenth draw was 23’s tiger. After so many rounds, the bookies have made plenty. As long as the payout is under a hundred thousand, they won’t run off—they’ll definitely pay, because they’re still waiting to make more on the twentieth draw.”

The opportunity to make money was in that nineteenth draw.

Looking at his parents, William Brooks hesitated—should he tell them? But for the sake of his own safety, William Brooks decided not to say anything for now.

The reason was simple: if he discussed the lottery with his mom, he’d definitely get a beating from his dad. What kind of student pays attention to the lottery instead of studying?

And even if he did say something, his mom probably wouldn’t believe him. Even if he begged her, she’d probably just bet a token amount, maybe a few dozen yuan, and in the end, he wouldn’t even see that money.

“I’ll try to figure something out myself. If I can’t come up with a plan by tomorrow night, I’ll have my mom place a small bet. Even a little is better than nothing.”

William Brooks made up his mind, then focused on eating. After dinner, he didn’t watch TV but went straight back to his room to continue the underground work he hadn’t finished that afternoon. He only went to bed when his mom urged him.

The first day after being reborn passed so quietly, without any waves—a dreamless night.

……

Meanwhile, in a villa in the county seat.

“Dad, did you mortgage our assets again to get a loan for stock trading?”

Mary Foster came home and went straight into her father’s study. Seeing the room filled with smoke, she wrinkled her delicate nose and asked.

“Manman, what are you talking about? Hurry out, it’s smoky in here.”

When Charles Foster saw his precious daughter come in, he was stunned for a moment, then quickly stubbed out his cigarette and got up to usher her out of the study.

“Dad, you mortgaged all our assets to get a loan for stocks. But what if the market keeps falling? What will we do then?” Mary Foster pressed, her face tense.

“Manman, how could stocks keep falling? Dad believes the market will go up, that’s why I’m buying at the bottom now. When the stocks soar, our family won’t just be the richest in the county—we’ll be the richest in the whole city.”

Charles Foster doted on his daughter and never lost his temper with her. On the contrary, if his daughter looked stern, he would immediately try to appease her with a smile and an apology.

“Dad, this is gambling. There’s no such thing as a sure bet. You’re not leaving yourself any way out. If the market keeps falling, what will happen to me, Mom, and my little brother?”

Charles Foster was taken aback. He hadn’t expected his daughter to be so firm. Following her line of thought, he considered the consequences if the market kept dropping, and a chill ran down his spine.

As a businessman, Charles Foster had thought about these things, but he’d subconsciously chosen to ignore them, convinced he couldn’t be wrong. After all, the authorities had started cutting interest rates, and many experts were saying it was a sign the government would rescue the market—the index was bound to rebound.

But now, hearing his precious daughter say it out loud, he sobered up a bit and felt a little scared.

“Dad, we don’t really care how much money you make. As long as our family can live happily together, that’s enough. It’s not like we’re short on money—there’s no need to take such big risks just to make more.”