The First Bucket of Gold, Easy and Pleasant

A familiar middle-aged woman gave Cao Cheng's arm a slap, her face full of irritation. "You little brat, sneaking up on me like that—you scared me half to death!"

"Yeah, Xiao Cao, when did you get here?"

Cao Cheng, holding a thermos cup, grinned. "Just got here a minute ago. But I heard everything you were saying. Go on, don’t stop on my account!"

"……"

"……"

The group of women fell into awkward silence.

Though everyone knew their little "village gossip club" loved talking behind people’s backs, being caught red-handed by the subject of their chatter was downright embarrassing.

After all, their specialty was backhanded remarks—who ever said anything to someone’s face?

Manners mattered, didn’t they?

"Aunt Wang."

"Y-yes?" Aunt Wang forced an awkward smile.

Cao Cheng smiled warmly. "Your youngest just finished the college entrance exam, right?"

"Ah, yes, yes! Just yesterday."

The exam schedule had changed in recent years—it used to be in July, but now it was held in June.

Fresh out of the oven.

"How’d he do?"

"Oh, decent, decent."

"Really? I heard he guessed wrong on some key topics, and his performance was just average. Probably won’t even make it into a decent college, huh? Planning to retake the exam next year, or just settle for vocational school?"

"……" Aunt Wang’s face darkened.

Why did he have to bring that up?

Cao Cheng chuckled. "Don’t worry, times have changed. It’s not like people starve so easily these days. Even begging on the streets is an option."

[Ding~ Negative emotion +1]

"Hey, you—watch your mouth!" Aunt Wang snapped.

Cao Cheng waved a hand. "Auntie, don’t misunderstand. I’m not cursing you. I’m just saying, make sure your kid knows failing the exam isn’t the end of the world. Life’s full of setbacks—this is just the beginning. But no matter what, even if he ends up begging, at least he shouldn’t turn to crime."

"You—!"

[Ding~ +1]

"But Aunt Wang, with your son doing so poorly, how do you even have the energy to meddle in other people’s business? Must be nice having all that free time."

"……"

Aunt Wang’s face twitched. She grabbed her stool, stood up, and stormed off.

The other women started shuffling away too.

This was beyond awkward!

And this kid’s mouth was downright vicious.

Always poking at sore spots, slapping people right across the face.

No sense of honor at all.

Better run for it.

But Cao Cheng called out, "Hold on, ladies! I’ve got some juicy gossip to share."

The women, curiosity piqued, obediently sat back down, eyes glued to him.

Cao Cheng smirked. "I heard Aunt Wang’s son was dating someone—that’s why he bombed the exam…"

"Really?!"

"Wow, Xiao Cao, spill the details!"

"When did this happen?"

"No wonder he flunked—puppy love, huh?"

"……"

Aunt Wang, who hadn’t gone far, caught snippets of the conversation. A vein pulsed on her forehead.

So the first one to leave gets targeted, huh?

She felt her entire gossip empire crumbling.

That little bastard. Just you wait.

I’ll make you regret this.

[Ding~ Negative emotion +1]

[Ding~ Negative emotion +1]

[Ding~ Negative emotion +1]

[Ding…]

Cao Cheng was thoroughly pleased.

This neighborhood used to be a cotton mill’s residential compound, so everyone knew each other.

Compared to the cold, detached society decades later, there was still a hint of warmth here—at least people knew their neighbors’ names.

But this incident got Cao Cheng thinking.

Seems like someone really was digging into Old Cao’s past.

And keeping tabs on him too.

Probably those daughters of Aunt Ren, no doubt.

Or maybe one of Aunt Ren’s suitors.

She was, after all, a wealthy woman—and quite the looker. Plenty of men must’ve had their eyes on her, only for Old Cao to swoop in.

Cao Cheng could already picture it: Old Cao’s life was about to get rough.

Why even bother?

Didn’t he know how hard it was to thrive outside your hometown?

Back in Sanjiang City, he’d been living the high life. What was the rush to chase after some "Shanghai auntie"? In ten years, they’d be everywhere.

Could’ve just waited and indulged then!

Not that Cao Cheng was worried. Old Cao was slick—if things got dangerous, he’d bolt faster than you could say "bucket list."

……

Two days later.

The money-making opportunity he’d been waiting for arrived.

June 10th, early morning.

The World Cup kicked off in Germany.

The opening match ended with Germany crushing Costa Rica 4-2. The moment the final whistle blew, Cao Cheng knew—he was set.

His future was secured!

Even without the system, becoming a billionaire would be child’s play.

A century’s worth of memories was his greatest treasure.

Every detail from his dreams matched reality.

Thank god this was sports betting and not the lottery. If he’d tried to use his knowledge of lottery numbers, the officials would’ve probably rigged it against him.

Time travelers didn’t stand a chance against the lottery commission.

Luckily, Young Master Cao was a football fan. Even if he didn’t catch every World Cup match live, he never missed the highlights.

So he remembered the outcomes down to the second.

……

From that day on,

Young Master Cao donned the mantle of the "Gambling God"!

Back then, sports betting was simpler—none of the complex options of the future, just basic football lottery games.

Like "Four Correct Scores," "Six Half-Full," or "Eight Correct Results."

Limited choices,

but the jackpot still capped at five million.

That was all Cao Cheng needed. He wasn’t greedy—just enough seed money to ride the coming stock market boom straight to the top.

On June 11th, Cao Cheng placed a combo bet (multiple selections), spending 1,152 yuan. When the results came in, he won 74,825!

A staggering 6,200% return.

That day,

the lottery shop owner hadn’t yet grasped the gravity of the situation. He just congratulated the lucky young man, marveling at his incredible streak.

June 13th.

Another 1,152 yuan bet, another win—53,794!

Return rate: over 4,400%.

This time,

the shop owner started sensing something was off.

June 15th.

Cao Cheng upped the ante, splurging 1,728 yuan on another combo ticket.

The owner couldn’t hold back. "Young man, you’re not just lucky—you’re a pro, aren’t you?"

Cao Cheng, still masked, just smiled. "Beginner’s luck. Why not join me, boss?"

The owner shook his head at the nearly 2,000-yuan ticket. "I’d never dare gamble that much."

Two grand was serious money back then.

Cao Cheng already knew the exact scores. Technically, he could’ve won with a 2-yuan bet, but he deliberately went for the combo.

First, to deter copycats—today’s prize pool was huge, so a bigger investment scared off freeloaders.

Second, to avoid suspicion. Winning tens of thousands off a 2-yuan bet once or twice was plausible, but doing it repeatedly? That’d raise eyebrows.

This time, his winnings hit 818,264!

Return rate: 47,000%!

When the shop owner saw the results the next morning, he skipped breakfast in frustration, pounding his chest in regret.

Why hadn’t he followed the kid’s lead?

Regret!

Sheer agony!

Angry as he was, he still had to make a congratulatory banner for the 800,000-yuan jackpot... Early in the morning, he set off firecrackers outside his shop, waiting for the young man to arrive.

Many veteran lottery enthusiasts came after hearing the news.

The shop owner greeted them with a forced smile, enthusiastically hyping up Cao Cheng’s achievements before he even showed up, turning him into a local legend.

But no one could tell that the shop owner’s heart was bleeding with regret.

The more he thought about it, the more he regretted it.

Why hadn’t he bought a ticket yesterday? The young man had even invited him, but he thought it was too expensive and was afraid of losing.

Besides, he felt that after winning twice in a row, the young man was bound to lose eventually—statistically speaking.

But instead...

Not only did he not lose, he doubled down and won 800,000 yuan.

800,000 yuan!

That was enough to buy three apartments in downtown Sanjiang City.

Even in Beijing, it could get him a 100-square-meter flat.

Damn it.

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to slap himself.

He swore that next time, he’d definitely follow the young man’s bet!

This wave of resentment earned Cao Cheng 38 points of negative emotions.

Not a one-time burst, but a steady stream of bitterness.

Probably because the shop owner kept stewing over it, growing angrier and more regretful.

It was the first time Cao Cheng had seen something like this.

And he could guess the reason.

But Cao Cheng didn’t return to the lottery shop. Instead, he wore a mask and went to the sports lottery center to claim his prize—after taxes, of course.

The next day, Cao Cheng still didn’t go back to that shop.

He switched to a different district, a different lottery vendor.

In these times,

wealth should stay hidden.

It hadn’t been long since gun control laws were enforced, and many people still kept illegal firearms.

Cao Cheng had lived a hundred years, after all. Even if he had some means of self-defense now, he wasn’t foolish enough to take unnecessary risks.

There was no point!

And it wasn’t the right time yet.

Did he really think he was the chosen one?

There weren’t even any retired old men showing up in the square—this was a risk he couldn’t afford to take!

...

June 17th.

Investment: 2,592 yuan. Winnings: 357,142 yuan!

He switched shops again.

June 19th.

Investment: 2,592 yuan. No win.

June 21st.

Investment: 2,592 yuan. No win.

June 23rd.

Investment: 2,592 yuan. No win.

He deliberately lost three times in a row, losing several thousand yuan.

Then came the final round of the group stage.

Cao Cheng invested 2,592 yuan. Winnings: 5,000,000 yuan!

Time to cash out!

Cao Cheng wisely called it quits.

In total,

over just two weeks, he spent 16,992 yuan.

Total winnings: 6,304,025 yuan.

Taxes paid: 1,260,805 yuan.

Final profit: 5,043,220 yuan.

Return on investment: 29,480%!

...

In just over two weeks, Cao Cheng had already achieved his initial goal.

And the World Cup wasn’t even halfway over.

With this five million in hand, when the stock market boom arrived in a few months, he’d ride the wave to new heights.

A net worth of over 100 million wasn’t just a dream.

In 2006, having over 100 million in liquid assets...

The thought alone was staggering.

During this lottery spree, Cao Cheng hadn’t been idle. He continued living an ordinary life as usual.

Mornings were for chess, afternoons for card games, evenings for gossip, and nights spent at home practicing stance training and refining his physique—balancing internal and external cultivation.

His strength improved by leaps and bounds every day!

And his emotional value had also reached 200 points that day.

But Cao Cheng wasn’t in a hurry to use it for draws.

The guaranteed "quality item" from his first draw was gone. Now he needed to save up 1,000 points for a ten-draw.

That way, he’d have a better chance at landing a gold chest—or even the legendary diamond chest.