EBE Chapter 78 Lottery Draw
Chapter 78 Lottery Draw
Chapter 78 Lottery Announcement
On March 15th, the day of the lottery draw, the entire Hanshan County was bustling with activity from early morning, even more so than at a temple fair.
The South Gate remained the location for the grand prize draw, and on this particular day, someone had even invited an opera troupe to perform for free. Perhaps because of this, the place was packed with people, making it impossible to even squeeze in.
"Please make way!" Wang Qiang and several constables escorted Wang Wenzhou as he struggled to push through the crowded people.
"Lord Wang is here! Everyone, quickly make way for him!" someone said.
The crowd quickly made way for them.
Cheng Benqing saw Wang Wenzhou from afar and quickly came down from the high platform to greet him.
"You've arrived, sir! Please come in!" Cheng Benqing said, bowing respectfully.
Wang Wenzhou stepped onto the high platform and announced loudly, "Greetings, fellow villagers of Hanshan! I hereby announce the official draw for this month's city entry tax prize. Now, please welcome Mr. Cheng."
Cheng Benqing waved the ledger in his hand and said, "The total amount of city entry tax this month is 46,864 taels. Half of it will be added to the prize pool, and the total amount of the grand prize will be 23,432 taels of silver. There will be one first prize winner, who will receive half of the grand prize amount, 11716 taels. The number of second prize winners is unknown, and they will share the other half of the prize money equally."
"Because the prize money is quite large, in order to ensure fairness, we will randomly select a few people to come up on stage to verify the accounts." After Cheng Benqing finished speaking, he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Wang Wenzhou.
Wang Wenzhou began by saying, "Now we will randomly select ten tax receipts. The holders of the tax receipts can come up on stage to verify their accounts. Please make sure there are no mistakes. The lottery will only begin after the accounts have been verified."
After Wang Wenzhou finished speaking, he walked to the box and began to draw tax stamps.
Soon, seven tax stamps were drawn, and four people in total went up to the platform.
Geng San smiled; he hadn't expected to be chosen this time.
Geng San took the lead in looking through the accounts. He couldn't read before, but since he "made his fortune" last month, he hired a tutor to teach him to read, so now he can barely understand the accounts.
"I've finished looking at it, there are no problems. You two take a look." Geng San handed the ledger to the two people.
The four people who went up to audit the accounts confirmed that the accounts were clear and there were no problems.
Wang Wenzhou began, "Alright, the ledger verification is complete. Now, the grand prize draw for this month will officially begin. All future draws will follow the same procedure: the person who verified the ledger will be the drawer. Who would like to go first?"
"Let me go first, sir. I have two tax stamps in my hand. Can I draw two numbers?" Geng San asked.
Wang Wenzhou nodded and said, "Yes, that's right. The four of you have a total of seven tax invoices. Each invoice is a lottery entry, and you can draw one number."
Geng San reached into the wooden bucket, took out a wooden ball, looked down at it, and shouted, "The first number is 12!"
In the crowd, Wei Shilin tightly gripped the hundreds of tax stamps in his hand, his heart pounding wildly.
The tax stamps in Wei Shilin's hand were all saved up by himself. Wei Shilin's family was considered well-off, and he didn't care about the dozen or so coins he earned from selling tax stamps each day. His family members went in and out of the city gates four times a day, and they saved up all the tax stamps.
Wei Shilin quickly picked out the tax stamps with the number "12," but there was only one. Wei Shilin immediately hung his head. Hundreds of tax stamps, and only one with "12"—what bad luck!
"Number 7!" Geng San pulled out the second wooden ball.
"Haha!" Wei Shilin laughed excitedly, the tax stamp in his hand had a number 7 on it!
Not only was Wei Shilin so excited, but everyone present who held tax receipts was also extremely excited. The first prize was 10,000 taels of silver, and the second prize was at least 1,000 taels. As long as they won the lottery, their lives would be completely changed, and they would immediately become rich people who had no worries about food and drink.
"Hurry up! Look carefully, don't make a mistake!" Ma Deyun scolded his servants.
Several servants frantically searched for tax receipts.
The four talented scholars still invested four thousand taels this month to buy tax receipts. Although they knew that buying tax receipts was like gambling, they couldn't resist the temptation of ten thousand taels of silver.
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Wang Wenhua looked at the excited crowd and nodded repeatedly in admiration for his silly little Wu. The city entrance tax was truly ingenious! How could his silly little Wu have come up with such a brilliant idea!
"The second to last number is 18!" Cheng Benqing announced. "Now, please invite the winners to come up on stage to witness the drawing of the final number!"
All six numbers are correct. There are a total of ten tax receipts. Geng San has three, the Four Great Talents have two, and Wei Shilin has one.
Wei Shilin excitedly walked onto the platform, his heart pounding in his chest. Even if he didn't win the first prize, this tax receipt would at least guarantee him a second prize of over a thousand taels of silver.
The last person to draw a prize reached their hand into the wooden box.
"Wait a moment!"
At this moment, Wang Wenzhou ran out again.
"Phew..." Wei Shilin took a deep breath. Lord Wang, why do you appear at such a crucial moment again!
Wang Wenzhou cupped his hands in greeting and said with a smile, "I have a few words to say. After I finish, I will draw the last wooden ball. As you have all seen, the stadium, labor camp, and school outside the city are nearing completion. I occasionally stroll around the streets and have noticed many beautiful young women, quite a sight to behold. Many of them must be here to participate in the Flower Queen Contest."
"Lord Wang, when will the Flower Queen Contest be held?"
"Let's start with a prize draw!"
How exactly is the courtesan chosen?
The crowd started to jeer.
Wang Wenzhou waved his hand, and the crowd gradually quieted down. He then said, "After the stadium is completed, the Flower Queen Competition will begin next month. It will be held for seven consecutive days, every night. The specific competition rules will be announced by the government. Everyone is welcome to participate."
"I'll definitely go!"
"Sir, how much is a ticket?"
"I heard that Liu Rushi from Suzhou has also come to Hanshan to participate in the Flower Queen Competition!"
The crowd erupted in commotion again.
"Alright, let's start the lottery now!" Wang Wenzhou waved to the person drawing the prize.
"Number 28!" the person drawing the lottery shouted, holding up the wooden ball in their hand.
"I won! I won!" Wei Shilin shouted excitedly.
Geng San frowned. Although he already knew that Lord Wang wouldn't cheat this time, he still couldn't understand why he wouldn't. That was over ten thousand taels of silver!
"Sigh!" Ma Deyun sighed dejectedly. He hadn't won the jackpot again. His two tax receipts had won second prize, which would amount to three thousand taels of silver. The loss wasn't too great, considering he'd come so close to the grand prize. At this rate, even if he only won the grand prize once every ten months, he could earn back the money he'd lost in the meantime.
"Please present your tax receipts, winners. After I verify them, you may claim your prizes," Cheng Benqing said.
With trembling hands, Wei Shilin handed over the tax stamp.
Cheng Benqing took out the ticket stub, carefully compared it, held up the tax stamp, and said, "I hereby announce that the first prize has been verified! Please come and collect your prize money shortly."