Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

In the original timeline, in 2002, there were 278 jackpot winners nationwide for the top lottery prize, each receiving 142,847 yuan.

In this timeline, with Xu Qingfan’s ten additional entries, the prize money dropped to 137,887 yuan.

After Xu’s parents went to cash in the lottery ticket, they were shocked to see a check for 1.1 million yuan post-tax!

Including the income from selling crayfish and their savings over the years, the Xu family’s total assets successfully exceeded 1.5 million yuan!

Two months after his rebirth, Xu Qingfan successfully led his family into the middle class!

However, the trouble with happiness soon arrived, as his parents began to argue about what business to invest the money in.

"I think contracting a fish pond and raising fish would be fine. We can build a pig farm next to it, and feed the fish directly with the pig manure!" Xu’s father argued with reason.

"It’s dirty and tiring. If you go raise pigs, don’t even think about getting into my bed!"

"You are being irrational!"

"Ah, if I had known, I would have bought ten more entries back then." Still in bed, Xu Qingfan covered his head with the blanket, turned over, and continued to sleep.

In the end, it’s unclear how they negotiated, but Xu’s father spent over a hundred thousand yuan on a Hyundai car and a few thousand on a taxi license.

Xu’s mother spent over a hundred thousand yuan to buy an 80-plus square meter shop on the commercial street and, on Uncle Xia’s suggestion, spent an additional ten thousand to join Meiyijia, totaling 260,000 yuan including renovations and stock.

Their parents’ decisions pleased him greatly. The taxi business would remain a sunrise industry until 2014, offering easy work with good earnings.

As for the shop his mother bought, there was no need to mention it. In the original timeline, a convenience store operated there very successfully. Having Yao Jinping buy it early not only saved rent but also eliminated trial-and-error costs.

His parents also took out 50,000 yuan to renovate his grandparents’ house. Originally, they planned to add two more floors, but his grandfather found it too ostentatious and disagreed. Instead, they just fortified the kitchen’s outer wall, installed air conditioners in both the room and the living room, placed a fridge in the kitchen, fitted a water heater in the bathroom, and installed a washing machine on the balcony.

They didn’t neglect their own home either. Xu Qingfan, who had longed for air conditioning, finally got it and, after much soft pleading and firm persuasion, also bought a blocky desktop computer.

This spree consumed another fifty thousand yuan.

It must be said that money from that era really was valuable. After all the spending, their bankbook still showed just over a million yuan.

Xu Qingfan urged them to buy a few more shops, which were priced at just over two thousand yuan per square meter—an unmatchable deal, ensuring wealth for three generations!

However, as experts and newspapers declared the property prices inflated, Xu’s parents, being honest and simple, naturally didn’t listen to him.

The remaining money was managed as follows: 800,000 yuan in a three-year fixed deposit with an annual interest rate of 2.8%; 200,000 yuan in a demand deposit just in case.

Upon learning that depositing the money in the bank could yield an interest of 20,000 yuan per year, Xu’s mother happily signed the contract.

Similarly, on learning that his mother had only secured an annual interest rate of 2.8%, Xu Qingfan’s missing front tooth began to ache subtly.

Dammit, even Yu’E Bao offers a higher annual interest rate than 2.8!

Having lived two lives, he quickly came to terms with the fact that the decisions made by his parents were the best they could do given their circumstances. It was unfair of him, with his godlike perspective, to criticize them.

...

The clock moved to July 20th.

Today was the day the results of the entrance exam for Experimental Primary School were announced. Xu’s father’s freshly painted small car was parked early at the entrance of the compound, waiting for everyone to come downstairs.

He leaned against the car in a rather flashy manner, left hand in his pocket, right hand with a cigarette.

He exchanged greetings with the passing neighbors, greatly satisfying his vanity.

Noticing his wife coming out, Xu Aiguo quickly flicked away the cigarette butt, rinsed his mouth a few times, huffed and sniffed to make sure there was no smell, and then returned to the driver’s seat.

After over two months of nationwide catching, crayfish officially became an endangered species in the county and township. Still having the contacts who previously ordered crayfish, Xia Guofu saw an opportunity and made calls one by one. After not resting for a few days, he tirelessly traveled to other provinces to wholesale crayfish.

The Xu’s taxi was just right—a five-seater, and with Xia Dad missing, it was a perfect fit for the two families.

"Our Xiao Fan is really impressive—house and car, all sorted in one go," Lin Jing joked as she ruffled Xu Qingfan’s hair.

"Jingjing, don’t praise him too much. This brat deserves a spanking. He’s learning to gamble at such a young age, what will become of him when he grows up!" Xu Mom turned and scolded her friend, though the laugh that she could not suppress seemed completely out of place.

"You can’t do this next time, okay?" She agreed with Yao Jinping’s method of teaching. It wasn’t about buying the lottery tickets per se, but the fear was that it might instill the wrong values in him.

Many people who ended up penniless had started with just a tiny bit of easy profit.

However, Xu Qingfan’s case was exceptional this time. The profit was so huge it could crush him.

Many parents would take their children to Macau on their eighteenth birthday, exchange a few thousand bucks for chips and let the kids play until they lost it all—then teach them that gambling leads nowhere!

If the lottery ticket Xu Qingfan had that day hadn’t won, maybe Xu Mom would have let it go, but winning big meant a definite spanking was needed!

Time to smack this brat awake!

"I get it, I get it," Xu Qingfan complained as he looked out the window at the passing scenery.

No one understands his pain! [Crooked mouth singing.jpg]

When the car reached near Experimental Primary School, progress became extremely slow. Xu Dad parked the car far away, and the family squeezed into the crowd hand in hand.

A few minutes later, they had made it to the front.

Xu Qingfan, who had good eyesight, spotted his and Xia Xiaoxiao’s names from afar.

Both of their names were in about the thirteenth position, but both were in first place, with perfect scores!

The person ranked first had the last name Chen. Xu Qingfan guessed that in a tie, the order was by the first letter of the last name.

He counted carefully, wow, eighteen perfect scores!

Xu Qingfan was ranked thirteenth and Xia Xiaoxiao fourteenth. When he checked Xia Xiaoxiao’s rank, his eyes inadvertently caught the name in the fifteenth position, Xiao Ruanwen.

[Why does that name sound familiar?]

"Full marks! Xiao Xiao and Xiao Fan both scored full marks!" Lin Jing was the first to spot their names and shouted excitedly, drawing the attention of surrounding parents.

"Really? Mom, I want to see too!" Xia Xiaoxiao jumped excitedly, and Lin Jing lifted her daughter up immediately.

With the adults blocking the view now out of the way, Xia Xiaoxiao could finally see her and the little rascal’s rankings clearly: "Chinese 100, Mathematics 100, Total 200, Rank 1!"

Yao Jinping did the same as she lifted Xu Qingfan and he quickly found Lin Wanning’s name at rank 223 as he started from the middle: Chinese 93, Mathematics 69, Total 162!

As everyone was leaving the crowd, they ran into Lin Wanning’s parents and him who had come to check results as well.

"No need to check anymore, Uncle. Wanning’s total is 162, Chinese 93, Mathematics 69, rank 223!"

"Yay!" Lin Wanning jumped up happily.

"Who got first place, Xiao Fan or Xiao Xiao?" Wen Wanqing pulled her daughter close to her side to prevent her from jumping into the road, while Wanning kept hopping around in place.

"Both of them, both scored full marks!" Lin Jing said proudly.

"That’s amazing!"

Lin Qiaoshan immediately pulled out his phone and started calling his contacts, quickly arranging for all three kids to be in the same class.

"Yay! I get to be desk-mates with Brother Qing Fan in primary school!"

Xia Xiaoxiao: ???