Who Stole My Million?

"Congratulations, you've won 1 million!" Lottery station owner Old Wang's voice was loud, buzzing in Grandpa Li's ears. The rows of red numbers on the scratch-off ticket in Grandpa Li's hand seemed to be dancing, flashing dazzling light.

Grandpa Li was a retired teacher who had dedicated his life to teaching and educating people, accustomed to a life of modest means. One million? He never thought he would have anything to do with such a large number in his life. He trembled as he held the lottery ticket, his palms drenched in sweat.

Old Wang grinned from ear to ear, his yellow teeth flashing: "Grandpa, you're the first million-dollar winner of the year in our area! You've got great luck!" He swiftly took out his mobile phone and snapped a series of photos of Grandpa Li and the lottery ticket, saying he wanted to post them on WeChat Moments for publicity.

Grandpa Li was a little overwhelmed and quickly waved his hand: "No, don't take pictures, I'm a low-key person."

"Oh, Grandpa, what's there to be low-key about? This is a joyous occasion, everyone should share in your good fortune!" As Old Wang spoke, he took the lottery ticket, saying he would help him verify the prize information.

Grandpa Li didn't think much of it and happily watched Old Wang operate. Old Wang's fingers flew across the keyboard, muttering non-stop: "These days, good people get good rewards. Grandpa, you're a good man!"

After a few minutes, Old Wang's face suddenly changed, his smile frozen on his face. "Oh dear, Grandpa, there's a problem. This lottery ticket...this lottery ticket seems a bit off."

Grandpa Li's heart skipped a beat: "Off? What's off?"

"You see, the serial number of this lottery ticket is a bit different from what's registered in our station. Maybe...maybe your ticket is fake." Old Wang's voice became low, and his eyes darted around.

Grandpa Li was stunned, took the lottery ticket, looked at it carefully, but couldn't see anything wrong. "Fake? That's impossible, I just bought it!"

"How about this, Grandpa, you sit down for a while, and I'll call the lottery center to ask." After Old Wang finished speaking, he took the lottery ticket and went into the back room.

Grandpa Li sat on the plastic stool in the lottery station, his heart filled with anxiety. Fake? How could that be? He recalled the process of buying the lottery ticket, remembering every detail clearly.

About ten minutes later, Old Wang came out, his face even more grim. "Grandpa, the lottery center said...said there is indeed a problem with this lottery ticket. They don't have the registration information for this lottery ticket in their system. And they suspect...they suspect this lottery ticket came from our station."

Grandpa Li was completely dumbfounded: "What...what should I do? I spent twenty yuan to buy it!"

"How about this, Grandpa, don't worry. Leave this lottery ticket with me, and I'll check it carefully. Maybe the lottery center made a mistake. Come back tomorrow, and I'll give you a definite answer." As Old Wang spoke, he put the lottery ticket into the drawer and locked it.

Grandpa Li hesitated for a moment, but he had no other choice, so he could only nod: "Well...okay, I'll come back tomorrow."

The next day, Grandpa Li arrived at the lottery station early in the morning. Old Wang was wiping the table. When he saw Grandpa Li, he squeezed out a smile: "Grandpa, you're here."

"How is it? Have you checked it out?" Grandpa Li asked impatiently.

Old Wang sighed: "Grandpa, I'm really sorry, I checked it, and this lottery ticket is indeed fake. It may be a problem with the printing and it leaked into the market."

Grandpa Li's hopes were completely dashed. He shook his head with a bitter smile: "Oh, it seems I'm not destined to get rich in this life."

"Grandpa, don't be discouraged. How about this, I'll take the lead and give you a twenty-yuan red envelope as a consolation." Old Wang took out a red envelope from the drawer and handed it to Grandpa Li.

Grandpa Li took the red envelope, his heart filled with mixed feelings. Twenty yuan wasn't even enough to buy a lottery ticket. He silently left the lottery station.

Back home, Grandpa Li felt more and more uneasy. He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He took out his mobile phone and searched for news about "lottery winnings being taken back by lottery stations," and a large number of similar cases popped up.

He suddenly remembered Old Wang taking pictures yesterday. Old Wang's WeChat Moments!

Grandpa Li quickly asked his son to help him find Old Wang's WeChat Moments. Sure enough, Old Wang posted a WeChat Moments yesterday, with a picture of Grandpa Li and the "winning" lottery ticket.

But what shocked Grandpa Li was that the caption of the WeChat Moments wasn't "Congratulations to the lottery station for winning a million-dollar prize," but: "Thank you, President Wang, for your support! One million has been credited to the account!"

Grandpa Li understood instantly. His hands trembled, and he called the police.

Three days later, the police found 998,000 yuan under Old Wang's bed. Old Wang confessed that he had long been eyeing Grandpa Li's lottery ticket and came up with a scheme to switch the real lottery ticket with a fake one, and then pocketed the prize money. The twenty-yuan red envelope was just to humiliate Grandpa Li.

Grandpa Li got back the prize money that belonged to him, but he wasn't happy at all. He suddenly felt that this million was burning hot.

A few days later, the lottery center issued an announcement, announcing the permanent revocation of Old Wang's lottery station's operating license.

The last line of small print in the announcement read: "To thank Mr. Li for his contribution to the lottery industry, Mr. Li is specially appointed as a supervisor of the lottery center, responsible for supervising the issuance and sale of lottery tickets."

Grandpa Li looked at the announcement and gave a wry smile. He knew that he couldn't get rid of the lottery in his life. It's just that this joke of fate was too big.