Good thing she brought sunglasses.
Su Ning thought gratefully as she got out of the car. Technology wasn't advanced in this era, and cameras emitted a blinding flash when taking photos, harsh on the eyes.
And especially when so many were going off at once.
If she wasn't careful,
she could actually go temporarily blind!
Even with sunglasses on, she could feel a twinge of discomfort in her eyes. She admired the celebrities of her past life—how they managed to overcome that physical reaction, staring into the flashes without blinking, all while keeping their expressions perfectly composed.
Unfortunately, she couldn't do that.
So Su Ning stepped out of the car without pausing, ignored everyone, and walked straight in.
That kind of behavior,
in anyone else's eyes, would be seen as extremely arrogant. The journalists had already started drafting their stories—well, they couldn't write anything too blunt for fear of retaliation.
But a little insinuation wouldn't hurt.
The other big shots felt a flicker of dissatisfaction, but it quickly dissipated—
It began.
…………
Surprisingly,
Su Ning didn't drag things out or keep everyone in suspense. She simply announced the start of the lottery draw.
Using the most popular method of the time: the lottery machine.
"For the sake of fairness, I'll trouble the esteemed guests here to take turns spinning the machine. My own people won't interfere—I don't want rumors of a rigged draw floating around. That would be tiresome."
Su Ning said coolly.
Below,
more than a few faces wore awkward expressions.
After much polite deferral, ten people were chosen—all respected figures whose status commanded authority. They varied in height, build, and even nationality.
Maximizing the guarantee of fairness.
The first person cranked the wooden lever vigorously, and every number ball that popped out drew a stir.
"Seven! The first digit is seven! Hahahaha, I've got a batch starting with seven!"
"Write it down fast—don't miss a single number. I'll compare as soon as I get back."
"How can it be zero?"
"There it is—the last number is out."
The atmosphere was as heated as boiling water. No one in the middle of it could stay calm: sleeves rolled up, sweat wiped away, necks craned to get a better look.
All kinds of scenes.
Then the first winning combination was fully drawn, and an incredible roar erupted.
The big shots urged their underlings to verify the numbers.
The lackeys wished they'd been born with extra legs as they scrambled to rush out and report back for cross-checking. Zhao Chang felt another puzzle piece click into place.
No wonder they all brought so many men.
With ten sets of numbers,
to get results as fast as possible, you'd need at least ten people rushing back to check.
The only calm one was Su Ning.
She even had leisure to chat with the System. "See? No one can resist a lottery draw." These people knew penicillin was about to hit the market soon, yet here they were, obsessed over winning numbers.
As for ordinary folks,
that went without saying.
During this period,
any newspaper that guessed a winning number saw its sales skyrocket. Everywhere on the streets, people were clutching papers, arguing red-faced over the numbers.
Even Su Ning hadn't expected it to work this well.
It's just that—
back in the modern world, she always fantasized about winning five million in the lottery, quitting her cubicle-dwelling corporate life for good, and lying flat. She'd planned it all out: how she'd disguise herself when claiming the prize, how to pay taxes, how much to shave off, how much she'd actually take home.
Whether to buy a house first or a car first—she had it all figured out.
But she'd never actually bought a ticket…
Well, she had bought scratch-offs—the ten-buck ones.
Anything over ten bucks felt like too much.
Because—
she never won anything.
Remembering that hollow disappointment that seeped from the depths of her soul, Su Ning began to anticipate how many rewards she'd get from non-main-character figures once the numbers were announced.
Greed started rising.
"If it works as well as I expect, System, what do you say I run this a few more times? Penicillin's out of the question, but I can swap in other stuff—or just cash. I'll spread a few rumors, like I secretly rigged the results or picked the winners. The rewards would come rolling in for sure!"
And the lottery money would go straight into her own coffers.
Killing two birds with one stone!
System: ……
Listlessly, it said, "Host, please be a decent human being. Getting yourself killed this way is too easy, you know."
"Really? No way at all?"
She was still a bit reluctant to let it go.
"No!", System said earnestly, weary as could be. "Trust me, Host. You're already brilliant—unprecedented and unmatched. You don't need to rush collecting rewards. Let's just keep steady and steady, one step at a time, okay?"
All that shameless flattery actually worked.
"Fine."
Su Ning nodded reluctantly, then asked with fake humility: "Am I really that amazing? That sounds like way too much—I'm just doing the missions normally. You know my nature doesn't match the whole 'wealthy philanthropist' persona. I was worried at first you'd be disappointed in me, System."
System: "……"
Pinching its nose as if to stifle a grimace, it muttered a few more compliments.
Only then did the girl finally shut up with satisfaction. Best to quit while ahead, before the System caught on.
The lottery thing,
of course, couldn't become a habit.
The real issue was trust. It was mainly thanks to her previous hard work, plus carrying a penicillin draw attached, that people went along with it. If she'd actually asked them to pay real money for it, the result would probably have flopped.
Onstage, the ten winning numbers finally came out in full.
The excitement hit its peak.
Su Ning was about to leave. One of the ten who'd spun the machine approached her, smiling pleasantly, and spoke in a sincere, raised voice: "Please, don't rush off. This grand occasion—everyone was discussing getting together for dinner afterward. We can't have the host absent."
"No need."
In front of everyone,
Su Ning refused without the slightest grace, saying flatly, "And let me warn you: the penicillin technology isn't stable yet. Don't go using it right away. If you die by accident, don't blame me…"
She noticed the dismissive looks on some faces—even faint sneers.
She didn't get angry.
Just raised an eyebrow. "Seems I was meddling."
Then she turned and walked away.
Her disappearing figure drained the journalists' remaining film. Zhao Chang packed up his camera, lost in thought, an uneasy feeling gnawing at him that he couldn't quite shake.
…………
He hurried back to the newspaper office to turn in his photos.
Then dove into writing the story, revising, proofreading—until the final copy was sent off to the printing presses without a moment's pause. He let out a breath. Exhausting.
When Zhao Chang got home, he skipped dinner entirely.
Collapsed into bed and slept.
His dreams were bizarre, all tangled up with penicillin and Su Ning. Finally, he was jolted awake by the sound of firecrackers, followed by gongs and drums.
Then voices—talking, shouting, laughing, words of congratulation.
The heat was stifling, so he threw on a shirt over his bare chest and crawled out of bed. Outside, the ground was littered with red firecracker papers. A crowd had gathered, chatting about something, and his mother was right in the middle of it.
She spotted him and waved him over.
"Come quick—congratulate your Uncle Li! He won! He hit the jackpot!"
