The atmosphere was tense to the extreme. The entire venue, packed with a sea of people, was eerily silent.
Everyone was waiting for the final result.
Under this intense scrutiny, Qin Chuan slowly unfolded the slip of paper in his hand. His expression immediately turned speechless. The other party had only managed to win a fifth prize, which was a mere one yuan.
"Even if it's bad, you should at least get a fourth prize. One yuan is basically slapping my face, isn't it?"
"Are they intentionally trying to tarnish my meticulously planned sales strategy?"
However, this did not stump him. Qin Chuan had already made thorough preparations from the very beginning.
Using his arm to block the view of the crowd below, Qin Chuan's right hand deftly slipped two fingers into his left sleeve. When they emerged, a similar slip of paper was now held between his fingers.
The paper was small and easily concealed, making the entire operation undetectable.
With a swift "狸猫换太子" (a trick to substitute one thing for another), Qin Chuan held up the winning slip and boomed.
"Everyone, guess what prize this lady has won?"
He didn't announce the result immediately, choosing instead to keep the crowd on the edge of their seats.
"I guess it's a third prize!"
"Second prize!"
"First prize!"
The crowd below erupted in excited shouts, filled with anticipation.
"Nonsense! I think the most it could be is a fourth or fifth prize. Merchants aren't philanthropists, giving away first or second prizes so easily! Wouldn't they go bankrupt?"
Some were more pragmatic, shouting.
"Hurry up, stop delaying and announce the result!"
"We're all waiting!"
Seeing that the atmosphere was perfectly primed, Qin Chuan no longer played coy. He directly opened the winning slip in his hand and revealed it to the crowd below.
"It's a second prize!!!"
"Congratulations to this beautiful lady, you will receive a fifty yuan cash reward!"
The young woman was stunned, then her face lit up with excitement. Even her freckles seemed to dance: "I... I really won second prize?"
She felt as though she were dreaming. She had paid fifteen yuan for a white shirt, only to win fifty yuan as a second prize. While it wasn't the first prize, the deal was incredibly lucrative!
She had made dozens of yuan out of thin air, as if she were a lucky charm.
"Wow, this woman's luck is incredible! Just one draw and she wins a second prize, making dozens of yuan for free!"
"Exactly, it's so enviable!"
"No way, I want to buy one too!"
"It's only ten yuan. Even if I don't win first or second prize, a third prize is good enough. It's like getting a free shirt!"
The crowd below was in a frenzy, their eyes gleaming with desire, itching to try their luck at the lottery.
On the stage, Qin Chuan had the staff bring out fifty yuan and hand it directly to the young woman.
The young woman, still somewhat dazed, took the fifty yuan. Her mind was fuzzy, and she began to step off the stage.
In her understanding, the entire process was over.
"Miss, please wait!"
Just then, Qin Chuan stopped the young woman.
"What do you want? Let me tell you, this fifty yuan is non-refundable!"
Hearing the interruption, the young woman finally regained her senses. She immediately became wary, clutching the fifty yuan tightly with both hands, afraid it would be snatched away.
Noticing her nervousness, Qin Chuan smiled faintly: "Miss, you misunderstand. Since we have already given you fifty yuan, there is absolutely no reason to take it back!"
"What I wanted to say is, you actually made a small mistake!"
"What? I made a mistake?"
The young woman was completely bewildered, her face a picture of confusion. The crowd below was equally puzzled.
"It's like this, ladies and gentlemen!"
Qin Chuan explained into the microphone: "This beautiful lady spent fifteen yuan on a white shirt, right? Her mistake lies here!"
"Because our rule is that for every ten yuan spent, you get one draw. If this lady had spent another five yuan, making it twenty yuan, she could have had two draws!"
"What? It can be like that?"
The young woman was stunned, and the crowd below was equally so. Their eyes widened, and they strained their ears to listen carefully.
"Yes, that's our rule, one draw for every ten yuan spent!"
Qin Chuan explained patiently.
"Then, can I buy another five yuan worth of items now and have another draw?"
The young woman asked nervously.
Qin Chuan shook his head regretfully: "No, you can't. Once the transaction is complete, even if you spent nineteen yuan and were just one yuan short, you wouldn't get a second draw!"
"To get a draw, you have to make another purchase!"
"This is our strict rule, and there's no room for negotiation."
At this moment, Li Ya, who had been standing behind, stepped forward, took the microphone from Qin Chuan, and announced loudly: "Ladies and gentlemen, please remember the mistake this lady made just now!"
"When you buy things, try to spend in multiples of ten yuan to maximize your benefits! That way, you can get more draws!"
The crowd below began to buzz with discussion, whispering to each other.
"Then... then I'll go buy another shirt!"
Suddenly, at this moment, the young woman, unwilling to let her five yuan go to waste, shouted loudly.
"Of course, you're welcome! Miss, pick any shirt you like, and then come back here for another draw!"
"Who knows, you might win a first prize next time. That would be a huge profit!"
The young woman nodded emphatically and went to choose another piece of clothing.
"Why is she the only one picking clothes? We want to go in too!"
"Yeah, we want to draw too!"
Seeing the young woman go to pick clothes again, the crowd below became restless. The grand prizes were certainly limited, and each one taken meant one less. If they went too late, they might not even get a drop of soup.
"Welcome, everyone, to select your items. Please enter in an orderly fashion!"
Li Ya said. Instantly, the people who had been waiting for a long time began to pour into the clothing stall, causing the staff from Butterfly Clothing Factory to quickly maintain order.
"I want to buy this one! This one! And this one too!"
"Me too, I want to spend thirty yuan!"
"I want to spend fifty yuan and get five draws, aiming for a first prize!"
Shouts rose and fell. In just a few minutes, the entire clothing stall was bustling with activity, even more popular than the free grain and oil distributions of the previous two days. It had completely exploded.
Seeing this scene, Qin Chuan smiled with satisfaction. Li Ya, standing beside him, also breathed a sigh of relief and quietly gave Qin Chuan a thumbs-up: "Impressive! I'm amazed!!"
Qin Chuan smirked: "It's alright, these are just small tricks, nothing too grand!"
Li Ya subtly curled her lips. In her opinion, this was clearly the other party's deliberate modesty.
"Qin Chuan, with your abilities, what are your ambitions?"
Suddenly, Li Ya asked.
"My ambitions?"
At this moment, Qin Chuan's gaze became incredibly profound. He looked up at the sky, his voice ethereal, as if echoing from the distant future.
"My ambition is to be a trailblazer in this world, to lead the era, and to make everyone know my name, Qin Chuan!"
Li Ya was completely stunned. Her fair, pretty face was etched with astonishment...
The two engaged in conversation did not notice that not far from the clothing stall, in a familiar corner, someone stood with a sinister gaze, staring intently at the scene.
"Damn it! Damn it!!"
"Can someone tell me, what the hell is going on here?"
"We've already cut off that slut's supply of grain and oil, so why is business still so booming?"