Rebirth and making money first

Knowing their mother was leaving, the siblings and their children had been gathering together for the past two days. They discussed what more items they needed to buy for their mother to take with her. They hoped to let her do some more shopping before her departure. But the old lady waved her hands repeatedly, saying that everything she needed was already bought and she didn't want to travel any further.

At this time, Zhang Jing made a suggestion: why not go to the trade fair and buy some tea and silk scarves to take with you? Because these things are both affordable and space-saving, and they can also make people look good as gifts.

Zhang Zhi immediately responded, "You don't have to buy tea. My husband brought home a lot before, so we'll give it all to Mom. But we can buy a few more scarves. I'll buy them tomorrow when I'm off."

Upon hearing this, the sister-in-law quickly said she wanted to go too, and begged her mother-in-law and Zhang Jing to help look after the child. It turned out that she had seen a piece of clothing at the previous trade show but didn't buy it. She had been thinking about buying it for herself.

This time, she took this opportunity to buy it. In addition, she also wanted to go back to her hometown to tidy up her house so that she could move here smoothly in the future.

Zhang Jing patiently advised her sister-in-law not to rush into action, but to wait until she was settled here for about six months before making any plans. She could then return home for the Lunar New Year and transfer her household registration here. This would also make it easier for the children to attend school.

After careful consideration, the sister-in-law agreed to Zhang Jing's suggestion and agreed. Zhang Zhi, who had originally wanted to take Zhang Jing to the trade fair, had no choice but to agree to go with her sister-in-law.

My mother took out 200 yuan with a smile on her face, handed it to my sister-in-law, and said earnestly, "My child, here's 100 yuan. It's a small gift from me. You can use it to buy something you like. Whatever you want! And as for the other 100 yuan, please run an errand for me and buy 10 silk scarves, those 10-yuan silk scarves."

"Mom is going to take these scarves back and give them away. Your aunts are all in the yangko troupe. They like bright and colorful scarves, so you have to choose the best ones. Oh, and buy a few more plain and elegant ones too, so that we have different styles. I'll also give one to your cousin's wife and cousin each."

After hearing this, my sister-in-law tightly grasped the money handed to her by her mother and said with a solemn vow: "Mom, you can rest assured! I will take care of this little thing for you. I promise to do it properly!"

Seeing her sister-in-law so forthright and confident, the old lady nodded in satisfaction, her eyes full of approval. Then, turning her gaze to the Zhang Jing sisters standing nearby, she deliberately teased, "Hey, look at you! My sister-in-law is so proactive in helping out. Are you two, as the elder sisters-in-law, just going to watch and do nothing about it?"

Hearing this, Zhang Zhi was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but burst into laughter. She quickly responded, "Okay, okay, Mom, how could I not show my appreciation? Look at you, it's like we're so stingy." She quickly pulled 300 yuan from her wallet and handed it to her sister-in-law without hesitation, adding with a smile, "I wasn't very considerate before, but there's still time to make up for it now. Take this 300 yuan first. If it's not enough, I'll give you a little more when I get my salary next month."

The sister-in-law took the money and said happily: "Thank you, second sister! I love you so much! When I buy a scarf, I will definitely choose a beautiful gift for you!" For a moment, the house was filled with laughter, and the happy atmosphere of the family made people feel extremely warm.

Zhang Zhi said, "That's not necessary. I, your sister, don't need anything! If I really need something, you can't afford it!"

Zhang Jing also took out a red envelope and gave it to her sister-in-law: "You should save money when you live at home. Also, buy some things for your parents to use for the New Year." The sister-in-law took the red envelope with a smile. At this time, Zhang Zhi came forward curiously and asked: "Wow, how much did you give? You even gave her a special red envelope. Open it and let us see it!" As soon as she finished speaking, she was severely reprimanded by her mother: "Kid, why do you have to get involved in everything? You are indispensable everywhere!" Hearing her mother's rebuke, Zhang Zhi stuck out her tongue and dared not say another word.

Zhang Jing, who was standing by, quickly winked at her sister-in-law, signaling her to put the red envelope away, and then slowly said: "How much can I give? It's all according to the old rules. It's almost the same as what you gave!" As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere on the scene finally eased a little.

Just then, Zhang Zhi suddenly seemed to remember something. She clapped her hands and said excitedly, "Oh, there's one more thing I almost forgot to tell you. When they celebrated their 50th day, you gave them some lottery tickets in return. And guess what? Someone at my brother-in-law's workplace actually won 200 yuan! He was so happy. Later, I made a special effort to ask around, but I found out that no one else won, not even my own. But I heard that a waiter at that restaurant won yuan. I'm really jealous! It seems like he has such good luck!"

Zhang Zhi's words instantly drew everyone's attention back to the topic of the lottery. Her sister-in-law chimed in, "That's right! There are four of us in our family, and we only won five yuan combined. Our luck is terrible."

"Oh, how great it would be if we could really win 500 million one day! Then each family would get 100 million, and the remaining 100 million would be left for our mother to live on in her old age. What a wonderful life those would be! It's a pity that we don't have that luck..." As she said this, my sister-in-law sighed softly, with a look of regret on her face.

After hearing the words of filial piety from her sister-in-law, my mother's face really showed a bright smile, and she said with great joy: "Oh, you have such filial piety, my heart is really sweeter than eating honey! All right, tomorrow morning, you can send the child here, and I will take care of it. You two, go out for a walk happily!"

At this time, Zhang Zhi, who was standing nearby, came up to her mother and asked curiously, "Mom, have you claimed your lottery ticket yet? And sister, you only have a few tickets left when you bought them? Hurry up and claim them. You might win the five million jackpot! If you do that, Mom won't have to go home and can just return the ticket!"

Who knew that these words would make the old lady a little unhappy. She frowned slightly and responded with a little anger: "Hmph, even if you won 10 million, I still have to go out! I don't know where I put my lottery ticket. I have to look for it carefully." After that, she turned and walked towards the room.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhi hurriedly said, "Mom, let me help you find it!" But the old lady refused without even turning her head, "No need for your help! You girl always likes to mess around with my things. I'll find it myself."

In this way, the mother and daughter, while bickering with each other, went back and forth to the mother's room. Zhang Jing, standing there, shook her head helplessly and said to her sister-in-law with a wry smile: "Don't worry about them, just let them make trouble!"

Not long after, the old lady came out of the room, followed closely by Zhang Zhi. Zhang Zhi said dejectedly, "Mom remembered that she gave her lottery ticket to my daughter! I was wondering why there was an extra red envelope containing a lottery ticket at home. I thought it was you who deliberately gave one to my daughter!"

My mom said, "Winning the lottery every day is crazy! Isn't it more reliable to be down-to-earth and do your job well than to win the lottery?"

"Oh, Mom, you don't understand! By the way, did you win any of the remaining lottery tickets?"

"Winning a ton of money! Does your sister look like she'd won 500 million?" Zhang Jing countered, shutting down her question. "Most of the remaining lottery tickets were distributed to the other waiters. I have a few left, and the numbers all match, but unfortunately, they're not in the same ticket! I didn't even win 5 yuan, and it's embarrassing to say it. I don't even want to mention it, and don't ask anyone else. If I did win, who would tell you? Would they wait for you to share it?"

Zhang Zhi was immediately deflated by Zhang Jing's words. "That's true." Then she turned around and said, "No, I'll go buy a few more tickets!"

My sister-in-law also said, "Sister, call me and I will go buy it too."

Zhang Jing shook her head: "Why are you so addicted? Don't invest too much!"

Zhang Zhi disagreed and explained that her husband had almost won 6400 million Hong Kong dollars a few days ago. Seeing that everyone was interested, she started to talk:

"My husband said that many people in Hong Kong use the birthdays of their entire family to form a set of numbers. They buy the same set of numbers for a long time. I heard that some people keep their eyes on it for two or three years, and finally, after winning countless small prizes, they hit the big one!"

"My husband combined the birthdays of our family of three, as well as his father, mother, two younger brothers, and his eldest son. He came up with a set of numbers and had been buying lottery tickets for two months. He went to buy again that day, but there were too many people waiting to buy lottery tickets, so he couldn't squeeze in. He decided to go eat first and buy a ticket after dinner."

Seeing everyone was engrossed, Zhang Zhi deliberately kept the conversation a secret until everyone pressed her. "Guess what? The lottery was drawn tonight, and the number my kid bought every day matched all the numbers. He was so happy, but when he went to look for his lottery ticket in his bag, he remembered he hadn't bought any after dinner! He had completely forgotten about it! He was so upset that he couldn't sleep for several days."

Zhang Zhi said, "Oh my god! I was so sick when I heard that! He turned out to be even more depressed than me, so I had to find a way to comfort him. I told him that his fortune hadn't arrived yet, and the God of Wealth was just letting him take a peek at his wealth. He's sure he'll have good fortune in the future! Only then did he feel relieved."

"If we win 6400 million Hong Kong dollars, how much would that be in RMB? We can't say that everyone will become rich, but at least everyone's life will be much better, right?" Zhang Zhi said with infinite yearning.

"Finally, I asked my husband to continue buying the same set of numbers. He refused, saying it was fate. He said he didn't win because someone in the lottery must have been unlucky. He wanted to change a few numbers. Now, that idiot is back to buying lottery tickets every draw. I even encouraged him, saying that my future depends on him!"

Zhang Jing looked at Zhang Zhi and thought to herself, "Isn't this just like someone who buys lottery tickets? They're just unlucky. They can even blame others for this. Is it really possible to share the winnings with others?" But Zhang Jing didn't intend to say anything, letting them mess around.

But the sister-in-law believed it and said to Zhang Zhi, "Sister, if that's the case, I'll write down the birthdays of my whole family and you can help me choose a group. We'll buy it every time, and it's only 2 yuan anyway. I'll keep doing it for 5 years and see if I win."

Zhang Zhi was indeed excited and asked Zhang Jing to find her some paper and pen. Zhang Jing opened the cabinet in her room and found the lottery red envelope inside. After a moment's thought, she remained calm, took the paper and pen, closed the cabinet door, and walked out to hand them to them.