Not waiting for Old Ma to return with the lottery tickets, Yang Jian, after showering and wearing only shorts with his upper body bare, lay on the bed and fell asleep, exhausted.
The temperature outside was thirty-seven to thirty-eight degrees Celsius. There was no air conditioning in the room, and the fan was on its highest setting. Even so, Yang Jian was still sweating profusely as he lay on the bed.
"Oh my god, who are you? How did you get into my house to sleep?"
A girl's scream woke Yang Jian. He sat up abruptly, ready to react, but then he saw a girl in her early twenties looking at him in terror.
The girl was about 1.65 meters tall, wearing a white t-shirt on her upper body and a white skirt with green flowers on her lower body. She was slightly plump, with a round face, fair skin, and a pair of large, bright, and expressive eyes. Her entire face had a somewhat clumsy and cute look, not particularly delicate, but she could be considered beautiful, though not as much as Lu Yao.
"Who are you? How did you get in?"
Yang Jian was still a bit groggy from sleep but clearly remembered that the door was locked.
The girl raised the key in her hand. "This is my home. I used my key to get in. You're asking who I am? I want to ask who you are, sleeping in my house and not even dressed! Speak quickly, or I'll call for help."
Yang Jian rubbed his face with both hands, waking up completely. "Your home? You're Uncle Ma's daughter, aren't you?"
"You know my dad?"
The girl lowered her guard.
"Oh, I'm your dad's work partner. Because I lost my ID, your dad let me stay here temporarily."
"Your dad's partner? You're so young to be doing manual labor with my dad?"
The girl clearly didn't believe him. Yang Jian looked about her age, fair-skinned, and handsome, not at all like a manual laborer.
Feeling it was improper to talk to a girl while wearing only shorts, Yang Jian said as he put on his clothes, "I just arrived in Dongjiang when a thief stole my ID and wallet. I had no choice but to do manual labor at the labor market. I happened to work with your dad, and he took me in when he saw I had nowhere to stay."
"Oh, so that's what happened. Then where is my dad?"
"Your dad went to buy some 'Ma'," he said, "and he said it wasn't a horse to ride. I've been wondering what kind of horse can't be ridden. Why buy a horse that can't be ridden?"
As soon as Yang Jian finished speaking, the girl burst into laughter, her body shaking with mirth.
"What are you laughing at?"
"What horse can't be ridden, haha, you're so funny."
The girl laughed so hard she almost dropped the watermelon in her hands.
Yang Jian looked at her inexplicably, not understanding why she was laughing. Just then, Old Ma appeared at the doorway.
"Oh, Lanlan, you're back! Why are you here on a Thursday?"
Old Ma looked at his daughter's surprised face and came in, taking the watermelon from her.
"We just finished our exams, and we have no classes for the next few days. The weather is too hot, and I was afraid you'd get heatstroke while working, so I came to see you."
"It's fine. These past two days, working with Xiao Yang, he's done most of the heavy lifting. We earned over five hundred yuan in two days. Oh, this is Xiao Yang. He's three years older than you. Call him Brother Yang."
Old Ma finally remembered to introduce Yang Jian. He actually didn't know Yang Jian's full name.
"Hello, Brother Yang. I'm Ma Lan. I'm a senior in the Law Department at Dongjiang University. You can call me Lanlan too."
Ma Lan might have had the potential to be a lawyer, as she spoke concisely and elegantly, with very standard Mandarin.
"Hello, Lanlan. A top student from Dongjiang University! That's impressive. No wonder Uncle Ma works so hard; he has such an excellent daughter to be proud of."
"You're quite the talker. What's your educational background? How did you lose your ID while working here?"
"I'm ashamed to say, I didn't get into university after high school. I used to work on construction sites, but I found it boring, so I decided to try my luck here. As soon as I got off the train, I was robbed. Fortunately, Uncle Ma took me in; otherwise, I'd be sleeping on the streets."
"Come, come, eat some watermelon to cool down."
Old Ma had already cut the watermelon and placed it on the table, inviting them to sit.
Yang Jian got up and looked out the window. The sun was still fierce, probably around four or five in the afternoon. He had slept for three to four hours.
"Uncle Ma, what about the horse you bought?"
After eating a piece of watermelon, Yang Jian felt much more comfortable and finally remembered the matter of buying the horse.
Ma Lan couldn't help but laugh again. "Brother Yang, don't be funny. My dad didn't buy a horse to ride. He's gambling. I've advised him countless times, but he won't change."
"Gambling? How does that work?"
"It's buying lottery tickets. Can that stuff even be played? The odds are so low. No matter how much money you have, you'll lose it all. But these people are like they've been bewitched, spending all day analyzing lottery guides and reports, throwing their hard-earned money into it, hoping for a sudden fortune. I haven't seen anyone get rich, but the bookies are all making a fortune. Isn't that foolish?"
"So, it's buying lottery tickets. Then buying a few yuan's worth isn't a big deal. It's just for entertainment, adding a bit of hope."
Yang Jian suddenly understood. He had heard of "Liuhe Cai" (Six-character lottery), which was similar to the current welfare and sports lotteries. However, it was issued in Hong Kong, and buying Liuhe Cai in mainland China was likely illegal.
"What do you mean entertainment? That's gambling. Even if you don't win with welfare or sports lotteries, you're contributing to the country's sports and civil affairs.
But buying Liuhe Cai is purely gambling. My dad is such a poor man, yet he buys a hundred yuan's worth every time, twice a week. That's at least eight hundred yuan a month. He's been doing this for years, and the most he's ever won was four hundred yuan twice.
In the past few years, he's spent tens of thousands of yuan on Liuhe Cai, losing all his hard-earned money. Otherwise, my mom wouldn't have divorced him."
Ma Lan became emotional as she spoke, and the information she revealed was different from what Old Ma had said. His wife wasn't dead; she had divorced him, and the reason for the divorce was his gambling.
Old Ma was actually a gambler, which surprised Yang Jian. From their interactions over the past two days, he had noticed that Old Ma was very thrifty. His clothes and shoes were old, and there was no meat in the second-hand refrigerator; he ate very poorly.
He lived frugally, yet he didn't hesitate to spend money on gambling. This fit an old saying from his hometown in Xinhe: "Save on food and drink, save money for gambling."
Facing his daughter's reproaches, Old Ma didn't seem to care. "Heh heh, Xiao Yang, don't listen to her. I'm not capable. I'll never get rich in this life, so I can only place my hopes on buying tickets. If I win, I won't have to work so hard in my later years."
Yang Jian was somewhat speechless. This was probably the thought process of all gamblers; they all wished for unearned wealth and sudden riches. But in reality, he hadn't seen any gambler truly get rich. Even he, a casino owner, had to flee for his life. Relying on gambling to change one's destiny was truly a fantasy.
"It's always the same excuse, and I've heard it until my ears are calloused. I've told you a million times that buying tickets is a bottomless pit, but you just won't listen. Little Brother is grown up now; don't you plan to save some money for him to build a house and get married? He'll hate you then."
Ma Lan was clearly angry, feeling a sense of disappointment in her father.