Chapter 38: Winning a Big Prize at the Supermarket, Half a Side of Pork

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Winning a Big Prize at the Supermarket, Half a Side of Pork

Yun Zhen couldn’t dissuade her. Dragged to the lottery area by Li Mei, she watched her friend pay twenty yuan and tell the staff, "We’ll draw one each."

The staff member pointed to a box. "Which of you ladies would like to go first? Please reach into the box and draw a ball."

"I’ll go first." Li Mei couldn’t wait to reach into the box. She rummaged around blindly and pulled out a red ball. "My luck has never been great, but I hope I win something this time. If I can’t win first prize, a participation prize so I can take a plush toy home would be fine too. Ancestors, bless me." She handed the small ball to the staff member.

The staff member smiled, opened the ball, and checked the slip of paper inside. "It’s blank. Unfortunately, you didn’t win anything, ma’am!"

"Ah!" Li Mei let out a shriek and clapped a hand to her forehead. Sighing heavily, she lamented, "I really don’t have the luck for this!"

Ten yuan was gone just like that. Yun Zhen felt a pang of pity for her.

"Yun Zhen, your turn." Li Mei pulled her to the front.

Yun Zhen said softly, "Maybe we should just forget it. Let’s ask for a refund. I definitely won’t win anything either."

The staff member looked helpless. "I’m sorry, ma’am, but lottery payments are non-refundable."

Li Mei smiled and urged her on. "See, no refunds. Hurry up and draw a ball."

Yun Zhen took a deep breath, let it out, and reached into the box with the grim determination of someone marching to her doom. She prayed silently for at least a participation prize so the ten yuan wouldn’t go to waste.

"Here you go." She handed the drawn ball to the staff member.

The staff member opened it routinely, but his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Second prize!"

"Ah!" Li Mei lost her composure. She snatched the paper to look and screamed in pleasant surprise, "You won! You won the second prize! It’s the thousand-yuan tier second prize! Yun Zhen, you have such great luck!"

"I won?" Yun Zhen was in a daze.

She had actually won. And it was the second prize!

The staff member smiled and said, "Congratulations, ma’am. You’ve won the second prize. You can choose one of the following: a thousand-yuan premium nut gift box, a Cheetah brand electric razor, or two hundred catties of farm-raised pork!"

Pork! Two hundred catties? Yun Zhen’s heart began to race. She desperately wanted the pork, but Li Mei had paid for this draw.

Yun Zhen looked at Li Mei. "You paid for this. You should take the prize."

Li Mei refused, already hatching a plan of her own. "No, no, no! Yun Zhen, I’ll pay another ten yuan and you can draw for me. While your luck is still hot, you’ll definitely win something. Even if you don’t, it’s fine."

"Huh?" Yun Zhen was caught off guard. She wants to draw again? She reminded her friend, "If I don’t win this time, you’ll lose another ten yuan. It’s the same if you just take the prize I just won."

In reality, Yun Zhen was making her own calculations. Her luck really did seem quite good lately. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stumbled upon the incredible fortune of finding that magical wooden bracelet. If Li Mei took this second prize, and Yun Zhen spent her own ten yuan to draw again, would a second second prize appear?

Li Mei waved it off nonchalantly. "It’s only ten yuan. Didn’t I just lose ten yuan on my own draw anyway? Yun Zhen, just promise me. Draw once for me, and it doesn’t matter if you win or lose." She looked at Yun Zhen pleadingly.

Beside them, Lele chimed in with her sweet, childish voice, "Auntie, please help Mommy."

Yun Zhen couldn’t bring herself to refuse the little girl. "I’ll give it a try."

Li Mei smiled. "Exactly, just give it a try. The worst that happens is I lose another ten yuan."

Yun Zhen turned to the staff member. "I’ll choose the prize from earlier later. I want to draw one more time."

After collecting Li Mei’s money, the staff member nodded. "Certainly, ma’am."

In one vigorous motion, Yun Zhen reached into the box and pulled out a blue ball.

The staff member opened the ball and took out the slip of paper. Suddenly, his face froze.

"Did she win or not?" Li Mei asked anxiously.

It took a long moment for the staff member to find his voice. "Congratulations, ma’am. You’ve won the third prize this time. The third prize options are a Nine Heavens soy milk maker, an A-brand hair dryer, and a smart wristband worth nine hundred yuan."

Yun Zhen was speechless.

Li Mei was speechless.

The staff member was speechless.

Even the onlookers were rendered entirely mute. How could anyone’s luck be this good?! To draw twice and win both times, snapping up a second and third prize no less! Envious gazes shot toward them from all directions.

Li Mei’s cheeks flushed with sheer excitement. "Oh my god, Yun Zhen, you’re literally my lucky star!

"The second prize goes to you. Pick whichever prize you want.

"The third prize goes to me. I want the Nine Heavens soy milk maker! I love drinking soy milk, and I’ve been wanting to buy this brand’s machine for ages. I just couldn’t bear to spend the money. I never imagined I’d get it for ten yuan today!"

Li Mei had made her decision, and Yun Zhen could see that she truly loved that soy milk maker. Thus, Yun Zhen chose the two hundred catties of pork.

This was pork! Something she had always wanted to buy but could never bear to spend the money on. If she brought it back to the village, it would be enough for everyone to enjoy hearty braised pork and bone broth for half a month! Two hundred catties of pork for ten yuan! How was that any different from getting it for free?

A few staff members worked together to carry over half a slaughtered pig. It was clear that the head, tail, and internal organs had been removed, and the carcass had been split right down the middle. If just one half weighed two hundred catties, how heavy must the whole pig have been?

Li Mei tutted in amazement. "How do you even raise a pig this heavy? Was your boss a pig farmer before opening this supermarket?"

"Our boss’s brother-in-law runs a breeding farm," the staff member explained. "Pork prices have plummeted recently, so he simply gave twenty pigs to our boss. Since the boss just opened this supermarket, he had the pigs slaughtered to use as grand opening prizes."

Seeing Li Mei hugging the soy milk maker, delirious with joy, Yun Zhen offered, "I’ll split half the pork with you."

Li Mei waved her hands in refusal. "No, no, no. My husband, kid, and I all prefer beef and mutton. Pork is too greasy, and farm-raised pork is even fattier. Our whole family wouldn’t even know where to bite into it. But there are people who love farm-raised pork. Have the staff use their machines to cut it into smaller pieces and separate the meat from the bones. You could definitely sell it for a good price."

Yun Zhen debated whether or not to sell it. It was half a pig, two hundred catties of meat. Should she sell all of it, or take it back to improve the village’s meals?

The staff member chimed in, "Farm-raised pork is going for seventeen yuan a catty these days. Pork bones are about the same price. Neither can fetch more than twenty yuan. It’s dropped quite a bit from before. Young people nowadays complain that farm-raised pork is too fatty and prefer lean meat, while the elderly are afraid of high blood pressure and can’t eat greasy food. Pork is actually pretty hard to sell right now."

After some consideration, Yun Zhen said, "Please help me cut the meat into pieces and separate the bones." She planned to sell a portion of the meat and take the bones back to brew soup for the villagers.

Holding a large cleaver, the staff member sized up the meat according to her request. "It’ll take at least half an hour."

Holding her daughter with one hand, Li Mei took Yun Zhen’s hand with the other. "Let’s go browse around first."

Both had won grand prizes, and bright smiles adorned their faces.

Li Mei sighed contentedly. "Yun Zhen, I need to spend more time around you in the future to wash away my bad luck."

Yun Zhen smiled at that.

"What do you want to buy?" Li Mei asked. "Everything in the supermarket is on discount today."

Yun Zhen thought about how she absolutely needed to buy more cotton. She calculated her day’s earnings: eighty-two yuan from scrap collection, fifty yuan from the restaurant, seven hundred and twenty yuan from the crocheted dolls, and sixty yuan from washing vegetables.

That made a grand total of nine hundred and twelve yuan!

If she could sell the pork for a few hundred more, she could not only buy a hundred catties of cotton, but also a few heating stoves to take back. However, the stoves weren’t urgent. Right now, food and clothing were the absolute priorities.