4: Chapter 4: I'm Not Happy About This Award at All

"Sir, do you have any other questions?" The Staff Member cast a puzzled look at him.

Chen Sheng smiled awkwardly. "Isn't it said that for prize redemption you have to go to the second floor, and there's something about donations..."

"Sir, it's like this. Only large prize redemptions need to be handled by the manager on the second floor. As for donations, we operate on a voluntary basis." The Staff Member pointed to the counter opposite and continued, "Sir, the donation counter is over there. If you have any interest in donating, you can go to that counter, and the Staff Member there will explain the details of the donation process to you."

Alright! Chen Sheng understood now. To summarize it in one sentence: "You aren't qualified enough!"

Not qualified to go to the second floor for redemption.

Not qualified for the welfare agency to personally inquire about donations.

So, the unqualified Chen Sheng decisively and obediently tucked his documents into his wallet, stuffed the wallet into his pocket, and walked out of the redemption center.

Just as he returned to his car, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

【China Construction Bank: Your UnionPay savings account ending in 8677 received a deposit of 160,000.00 Yuan on June 27th at 14:34. The balance is 160,721.32 Yuan.】

"It arrived so fast!" With 160,000 actually in his account, Chen Sheng felt like he was dreaming.

Looking at the bank balance, which had only exceeded five digits on payday since he got married, Chen Sheng couldn't help but grin foolishly. However, the moment he thought of the words "not qualified," his smile vanished instantly.

Just then, a man wearing a peaked cap knocked on the car window. Chen Sheng determined that the man didn't look like a villain, and with security cameras everywhere in the parking lot, he didn't think much of it. He rolled down the window and asked, "Hello! Is there something you need?"

The man offered Chen Sheng a cigarette, looked around, then leaned in and whispered, "Brother, here to redeem a prize?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Chen Sheng's eyes became alert. His hand subconsciously rested on the car door handle. If he judged that the man was about to make a dangerous move, he would immediately push the door open with force, which would definitely send the man stumbling in his surprise.

This trick had been tested and was always effective.

Seeing the change in Chen Sheng's expression, the man quickly explained with a smile, "Brother, don't misunderstand. I saw you sitting in the car for a long time and just wanted to ask if you were here to redeem a prize. If you are, I'll redeem it at face value with you, no service fees."

Chen Sheng understood. He had encountered one of those so-called ticket scalpers.

However...

"Why the hell didn't you show up earlier?" Chen Sheng wished he could slap himself and the other guy right now.

If he had shown up earlier, he wouldn't have lost forty thousand big ones.

"Small prize, just went inside and redeemed it." Chen Sheng looked at the man, his teeth grinding together.

"Sigh! You sure are eager, brother." Seeing there was no profit to be made, the man muttered and walked away.

Chen Sheng: "..." He suddenly felt that winning this prize wasn't as happy as he had imagined.

Chen Sheng rolled up the window again, opened his banking app, found his wife An Xiaonuan's card number, and transferred 150,000 over immediately.

There was no help for it! He couldn't climb the mountains of Shu City, and the women of Shu City were even more not to be trifled with.

As for the remaining 10,000, it would naturally go toward padding his own secret stash.

Just a couple of days ago, Old Yu was showing off his new "wife" in the Fishing Buddies group—a 1,888 Yuan lure fishing rod. Before, he couldn't bear to buy it, but now with the system, getting one wasn't impossible. Heck, in the future, maybe he could even get an off-road vehicle to conquer all kinds of waters without damage.

"Tsk tsk!" Chen Sheng couldn't help but smack his lips.

At this moment, his phone rang. The caller ID was labeled "Wife."

He answered the phone, and the opening was, as always, a high-decibel scream after receiving a surprise, "Ah~~"

After the scream, the volume dropped sharply, and she whispered like a mosquito, "Hubby, why did you suddenly transfer 150,000 to me? Did you strike it rich?"

"Hehe~ I passed by a lottery shop during lunch and gave it a small try. I easily landed a second-prize win. What do you say to that?" Chen Sheng thought for a moment and didn't tell An Xiaonuan about losing his job.

"Awesome! Simply awesome! Mwah~ Mwah~ Mwah~ Hubby, you're the best... Hubby, I won't talk to you for now. Look at my performance when I get home tonight..."

Beep, beep, beep...

Listening to the busy tone, a smile appeared on Chen Sheng's face involuntarily.

He knew for a fact that An Xiaonuan must have snuck off to the bathroom to make that call. Just imagining her making a scene in a crowded public restroom and the strange looks people must have been giving her, "Tsk tsk~"

Chen Sheng shook his head. Just as he was about to put his phone in his pocket, he remembered the second piece of intelligence provided by the system today. "No way! This grudge must be avenged."

However, how exactly to get revenge? Chen Sheng hadn't figured it out yet. Anyway, this piece of intelligence was valid for two days, so there was no rush. He planned to plan it out carefully.

Having figured this out, Chen Sheng started the car and drove home. On the way, he stopped by an accessory shop to buy a peaked cap—just in case he got more intelligence like this in the future.

Then he went to the wet market to buy chicken wings, planning to make the Cola Chicken Wings that An Xiaonuan loved to celebrate his win tonight.

As for himself, he'd just whip up some scrambled eggs with chives or oysters to make do.

An hour and a half later, Chen Sheng returned to their rented two-bedroom apartment carrying several bags. He put the ingredients in the kitchen. Since there was still some time before An Xiaonuan got off work, Chen Sheng dug out the router and power strip he had swiped from the company that morning. He tested them one by one to ensure they were working, wiped off the dust with a rag, and then took photos and priced them based on the second-hand market value of the same products.

After finishing the inventory, in order to turn the items into cash quickly, Chen Sheng prepared a two-pronged approach: he listed the items on a second-hand platform and also posted the information in the residents' flea market group.

By the time he finished all this, the time had reached 5:30 PM. Chen Sheng tied on the pink apron that An Xiaonuan had personally selected, walked naturally into the kitchen, and started preparing tonight's celebratory dinner.

Chen Sheng timed it perfectly. Just as the second-to-last dish was finished, a clicking sound came from the door, and immediately, An Xiaonuan's voice, always filled with joy, broke into his ears, "Ta-da! I'm home!"

Before Chen Sheng could speak, after a series of rapid pattering footsteps, a dainty figure burst into the kitchen, lunged forward, and hung directly onto Chen Sheng.

Also not giving Chen Sheng any time to react, the figure used her slender fingers to fix Chen Sheng's cheeks in place, and her cherry-like little mouth planted bold kisses all over his face. "Mwah~ Mwah~ Mwah~ Hubby, you're so amazing."

Still holding the spatula, Chen Sheng helplessly used his other hand to support An Xiaonuan's bottom to keep her from falling. Only after she had kissed him enough did he say, with a mix of helplessness and indulgence, "Alright, alright, I know you're excited, but please calm down for a second. Go wash your hands first. The food will be ready soon. It won't be too late to be excited after we eat."

"Mwah~" An Xiaonuan bossily forced one more kiss on Chen Sheng before haughtily sliding down from his body. "I won't. I want to kiss you."

"Are you sure? If you keep doing that, I'm not cooking these dishes." Chen Sheng made a move to put down the spatula.

"In your dreams." An Xiaonuan cast him a pretty roll of her eyes and slipped out of the kitchen slickly.