Chapter 737 — Winning the Grand Prize

"Yes, thank you," Tang Zhi said to Fatty Lai.

"Thank me for what? It was no trouble at all. Besides, if it weren't for you two, I wouldn't have made that extra two hundred and fifty thousand!" Fatty Lai shook his head with a laugh. "I'd say Auntie's luck is running strong — who knows, she might even draw the grand prize!"

Even as he spoke, Mother Tang had already reached the draw table. She picked a card first and glanced at it: an electric water heater. Mother Tang was overjoyed on the spot. An electric water heater cost one or two thousand yuan, and she had just drawn one for free — that really was something!

"Congratulations to Ms. Wang on winning an electric water heater!" The emcee tossed the card back into the draw box, handed Mother Tang a claim slip, and loudly offered his congratulations.

The draw cards were recycled, not a limited stock — meaning everyone had a chance at the grand prize or first prize! Only, there was more than one card for the electric water heater, while there was only a single card each for the grand prize and the first prize.

Even so, it whipped the homebuyers into a frenzy. Everyone had a chance; it wasn't a case of once it's drawn, it's gone forever. So many customers who had already bought their apartments were rubbing their hands together there, waiting for the god of fortune to descend.

Mother Tang drew another card. It said induction cooker. It wasn't worth much — a thing of one or two hundred yuan at most — but Mother Tang wasn't discouraged in the least and remained perfectly happy. Who ever complains about getting something for nothing?

Mother Tang drew again and again, and no one found it suspicious. After all, some people had bought several apartments at once, plus garages and parking spaces, and every one of those came with a draw chance.

The emcee congratulated Mother Tang once more and handed her another claim ticket.

On the last draw chance, Mother Tang felt a little anxious. Once her hand went in, she was almost afraid to pull it out. Truth be told, she was hoping for a grand prize or a first prize. She knew the odds were slim, but who doesn't dream of winning the grand prize?

And besides, if she won the grand prize, the renovation money and the extra costs would all be covered. That was no small sum — at the very least, over a hundred thousand yuan!

But there were still people behind her waiting their turn. She couldn't just stand there forever without drawing, could she? At that thought, Mother Tang gritted her teeth and pulled out a ticket. She was a little afraid to look, and stole a glance out of the corner of her eye: an electric kettle!

Mother Tang's heart sank in an instant, and her expression shifted. So close, and yet so far!

But before she could lift the ticket and hand it to the emcee, Manager Wang snatched it from beside her. He took one look and exclaimed in astonishment, "Good heavens, good heavens — the grand prize! The first grand prize of the day has been won! Congratulations, Ms. Wang!"

With that, Manager Wang tossed the ticket back into the draw box, then deliberately gave the box a shake — as if afraid someone else might find it!

Mother Tang's head reeled with a great boom. The grand prize? How could that be? She had clearly seen the three characters for "electric kettle" on it — that had nothing at all to do with the grand prize!

How had it become the grand prize? Had she misread it? But surely Manager Wang hadn't misread it too? He hadn't even let her confirm it before throwing the ticket back into the box. What on earth was going on?

Mother Tang stood frozen on the stage, dumb as a wooden chicken — which, in fact, looked exactly like the reaction of someone who had just won the grand prize. None of the customers below suspected a thing; they all thought Mother Tang's luck was simply too good. Just like that, she had won the grand prize?

The emcee was briefly taken aback as well, but since Manager Wang had announced it himself, he naturally said nothing more and offered his happy congratulations: "Congratulations to you! You've given us all a good omen by winning the first grand prize! We've already had first and second prizes today, but the grand prize hadn't appeared yet — and who would have thought the winner would be you!"

Mother Tang was a little at a loss, but deep down she had no wish to call it out. Think of how much money this had just saved her! So though bewildered, she nodded along: "I never imagined it — I could actually win? I'm so lucky!"

"Haha, Ms. Wang, here is your claim ticket. Keep it safe. In a little while, just go and complete the renovation paperwork — tell our renovation company what you have in mind, and the work can begin!" the emcee said with a smile.

"All right, all right!" Mother Tang took the claim ticket happily.

Manager Wang then accompanied Mother Tang to collect her prize, and no one found it odd — after all, the earlier first- and second-prize winners had also been personally escorted through the process by Manager Wang.

Of course, the first- and second-prize winners were genuine. This grand prize, however, was fake!

But since there was no limit on the number of grand prizes, no one would suspect the sales office of rigging anything! And even if they had rigged it, so what? There was still a chance to win the grand prize.

Tang Zhi, watching from the audience, was taken aback herself. Her mother had won the grand prize? Real or fake? She studied her mother's expression, and doubt crept in. Others might not know her mother, but she certainly did. Was that the face of a prize winner? It was unmistakably the face of someone who had lost!

Of course, some people, upon winning a prize, could be so overjoyed they simply sat there dumbstruck. But Tang Zhi knew her mother would never be one of them. She recalled how her face had beamed with delight yesterday when she received three million, and Tang Zhi was certain — her mother had not won a thing!

So this grand prize... Tang Zhi couldn't help but glance toward Fatty Lai, only to find him sitting there as though he knew nothing at all, deep in conversation with Wei Zhao about the pharmaceutical company. Tang Zhi sighed inwardly. Poor Wei Zhao, going to all this trouble to help her family, all just so she wouldn't feel embarrassed...

She was truly useless. If only she were like Gu Mengyao and the rest, Wei Zhao would never have had to go to such lengths... By that logic, Wei Zhao and the young lady were quite a well-matched pair after all. Perhaps her own appearance was nothing but a mistake...

But this mistake had already happened. Tang Zhi felt she had sunk in too deep to pull herself free. She didn't want to leave Wei Zhao, but what was she supposed to do?

While Tang Zhi was still lost in thought, her mother had already returned. This time she was beaming from ear to ear: "Yun'er, your old mom won too — the grand prize!"

Fatty Lai gave Manager Wang an approving nod. It seemed this Manager Wang did have a keen eye for such matters.

Manager Wang caught Fatty Lai's approving gaze and immediately broke into a wide grin. It appeared he hadn't blundered after all!

As for the renovation, Mother Tang had no particular demands. She knew nothing about such matters to begin with — their house had no interior decoration whatsoever — so she could hardly offer any suggestions either. She simply entrusted Manager Wang with full authority, asking only that the style be somewhat modern.