Chapter 23: Money from the Lottery Ticket

An untimely, shrill voice pierced directly into the ears of the three of them.

Ruan Tang frowned and looked over. As expected, it was Mother Huo, holding Huo Qian’s hand with a face full of malice. Mother Huo was over fifty, yet she acted like a child, completely lacking in foresight. Ruan Tang held back her impulse and turned to look at Huo Yanxiu. She was afraid she might lose her temper and resort to physical action; she preferred to let Huo Yanxiu handle these verbal attacks.

Huo Yanxiu, holding Huo Qingqing, knitted his brows as he looked at Mother Huo by the door. "Mother, those things outside are clearly just rumors. Wang Binghuan and Ruan Tang have absolutely nothing to do with each other."

In truth, his heart was still aching. After all, Mother Huo was his mother. Hearing her speak this way about him and his wife, that suffocating sense of helplessness felt like a fishbone stuck in his throat, a sharp, intermittent pain that sometimes spread through his limbs.

Mother Huo looked at them with utter disdain. "Impossible! Your older brother was cheated into detention by the two of them working together! With your salary of only thirty a month, how could you possibly afford a watch worth one hundred and eighty?"

That would require not eating or drinking for half a year, but how could that be possible? Mother Huo curled her lip, lifting her chin and glaring at them with a look full of resentment.

Huo Yanxiu seemed to be reminded of this. He turned to look at Ruan Tang. Ruan Tang also realized the oversight belatedly; she pursed her lips, her mind racing to find a solution. Damn it, she had been so focused on spending the money that she had forgotten to provide a legitimate source for it. Ruan Tang felt a twinge of annoyance and, after weighing her options, decided to pin it on the lottery. Lottery fever was currently trending; doing this would be perfectly reasonable.

Huo Yanxiu frowned and whispered to Ruan Tang, "A watch worth one hundred and eighty? Where did you get the money to buy that?" He had only left her fifty when he went away. This one hundred and eighty... could it be that Ruan Tang had borrowed it? At this thought, he felt a mix of worry and disappointment. He worried that Ruan Tang had been deceived by his father, and he was disappointed because he had hoped Ruan Tang was different from his father.

Ruan Tang quickly grabbed Huo Yanxiu’s hand to explain, feeling the bitterness of being unable to speak her mind. "Listen to me, I didn’t mean to keep it from you—"

Huo Yanxiu, assuming Ruan Tang had indeed borrowed the money, forced himself to calm down. His tone became a bit colder: "Tell me, how much is it?" Regardless of the amount, he would pay it back for her, if only for the sake of how hard she had worked for the family. But from now on, he would not give Ruan Tang another chance.

Ruan Tang thought he understood what she meant and felt a sense of relief. She scratched her head, embarrassed, "It’s not much—"

Mother Huo, witnessing this, seemed to understand something. She arched her brows and added fuel to the fire with a sarcastic, mocking tone: "Could it be a huge sum? Or perhaps it’s the hard-earned money you made in bed—"

Huo Yanxiu’s expression darkened. "Enough! Mother, how can you say such things? She is your daughter-in-law, not your enemy!" Initially, he had accepted his fate because he was never favored by Mother Huo, but Ruan Tang should not have been dragged into this. Even if Ruan Tang had made a mistake, she deserved a chance to turn over a new leaf, unlike his older brother, whose actions meant that even if he had the heart to repent, he could only do so in a detention center. He looked at Mother Huo with disappointment. "Mother, you should go home. My house is too small to accommodate you."

Mother Huo had not expected the fire to burn her, and she grew anxious. "Your wife has done such shameful things, and you won’t divorce her? Huo Yanxiu! Do you have a tortoise shell on your head?" She desperately wanted Huo Yanxiu and Ruan Tang to divorce, and in her urgency, she spoke without thinking.

It was precisely this comment that hardened Huo Yanxiu’s resolve to drive Mother Huo away. He said nothing, simply set Huo Qingqing down, and walked toward his mother. Mother Huo jumped back in fright, fearing he might hit her, and kept shouting warnings: "I’m warning you, Huo Yanxiu! Hitting your mother will land you in a detention center!" Huo Qian was also scared, trembling as he hid behind Mother Huo’s legs.

Huo Yanxiu said nothing, his face cold and indifferent as he slammed the door shut. Outside, Mother Huo let out a sigh of relief, but her face turned dark, and she couldn't help but pound on the door, spewing nonsense and filth. "I advise you to divorce that slut Ruan Tang immediately! Cheating and borrowing money through fraud! Even before the Public Security Bureau, we would be in the right!"

The sound of the pounding was deafening, and all the neighbors heard it, especially Wang Binghuan. When Wang Binghuan heard the commotion, he couldn't help but come out to check, and Mother Wang, having learned the full story, also couldn't resist peeking out to watch the show. A passing neighbor auntie laughed and said, "Your second son really knows how to pick a wife. Bringing back such a piece of work, you’re in for a rough time."

The irony and schadenfreude in her words were clear to anyone. Mother Huo felt a surge of rage and pounded on the door even harder.

Huo Yanxiu rubbed his temples, ignored Mother Huo, and turned to look at the wide-eyed Ruan Tang. He spoke calmly, "Let’s go inside and talk." Ruan Tang took a deep breath, and without another word, she took Huo Qingqing inside.

Once inside, the two sat face to face. Ruan Tang was the first to explain: "I didn’t borrow the money. I used the money you left behind to buy a lottery ticket, and I won ten thousand yuan."

Huo Yanxiu, who had just sat down, was stunned by this earth-shattering news and was momentarily speechless. Looking at Ruan Tang’s sincere and clear eyes, a sense of shame welled up in Huo Yanxiu’s heart. So that was it—he had misunderstood Ruan Tang.

Huo Yanxiu pursed his lips, touched the back of his head with some unease, and was also shocked by Ruan Tang’s good fortune. He couldn't help but ask, "When did this happen? Where is the ticket?"

Ruan Tang scratched her head, feeling a bit embarrassed: "Not long after you left. Ruan Datong came to argue with me, and the ticket was torn to pieces, but luckily I had already cashed it in."

Hearing this, Huo Yanxiu felt a bit disappointed, but he was more concerned by the mention of Ruan Datong visiting. It seemed that was around the time Ruan Tang severed ties with Ruan Datong. Ruan Datong must have demanded an exorbitant amount, or he wouldn't have torn up the ticket.

Huo Yanxiu felt his heart ease slightly, his peach-blossom eyes brightening. "Then how much do you have left?"

Ruan Tang raised her brows: "I spent a portion of the money to buy some land, and after expenses, I still have over six thousand."

Huo Yanxiu gasped. Overnight, the family had become wealthy. The impact was no less than suddenly landing a great job without having done anything. This was pure good fortune falling from the sky! Huo Yanxiu didn't know how to express his feelings—a mix of surprise and emotion.

Ruan Tang smiled lightly: "I wanted to tell you these past few days, and it’s not too late now. Qingqing is starting elementary school, and I plan to buy a house in the city so that Qingqing can attend the city’s First Primary School."

Huo Yanxiu agreed: "The City First Primary is good, but before that, let her study at the town elementary school for two years."

Ruan Tang was surprised: "Why?"

Huo Yanxiu shook his head: "There are major changes coming in the city. It’s best we don’t get involved for these two years. I’m afraid of inviting trouble." This was information he had received from his superiors—they were clearing out remnants of political factions to ensure there would be no future trouble. Their money had come too quickly; if they were caught in the crossfire, the loss would outweigh the gain.