Permutations and Combinations 11

Early in the morning, encountering such a blessing, A Xiu couldn’t hold back her tears as she looked at A Bi peacefully asleep. A Wang offered a few comforting words before heading out. Before leaving, he specifically told A Xiu that he wouldn't be driving the car today; the whole family would rest for a day. After saying that, he hurried off.

A Wang was brimming with energy, so much so that even the neighbors noticed a marked difference in his complexion and eagerly greeted him. He only responded with a slight smile.

By nearly noon, A Wang returned home, carrying two large bags of pork belly and vegetables in his hands, with half a freshly slaughtered lamb slung over his shoulder. Usually, he would carry such loads for customers, but now he was carrying them for himself. The feeling was a mix of exhaustion and happiness. This was money he had painstakingly saved from his fuel expenses over more than half a year, money he usually hesitated to spend. But today was a day worth celebrating for the entire family—it was almost like a New Year’s feast.

Once home, the usually empty refrigerator, which was barely opened except on rare occasions, was now filled to the brim. A Wang embraced his wife and child, gazing at the abundance before them like a farmer admiring a bountiful wheat field. The family planned to feast the entire day, making up for the hardships of the past decade.

Because A Wang came home late, there was no time to prepare lunch. A Bi fussed about being hungry, so they quickly boiled a pot of noodles and sliced some freshly bought pig’s head meat to make a simple meal for the time being.

That evening, A Wang’s culinary skills were on full display: braised eggplant, sweet-and-sour pork, crispy fried tenderloin, roasted flower duck, pine-flower-styled pork belly, assorted cold dishes, marinated delicacies, rabbit breast, silverfish, stewed duck kidneys, shredded duck salad, braised eel, fermented bean catfish, slow-cooked soft-shell turtle, stir-fried paired shrimp…

A Wang had almost mastered every recipe he could find on his phone and even borrowed several tables from neighbors to accommodate the feast.

By the time they sat down to eat, it was already past eight o’clock. Their son had drunk a few bottles of soda and was full, while A Wang and A Xiu looked at the spread. A Xiu wanted to invite the neighbors over, especially since they had borrowed tables for the occasion, but A Wang stopped her.

Looking at the food before him, A Wang’s eyes gleamed like a wild wolf starved through the winter, shining with a vivid green light—the same look of a greedy python ready to swallow an elephant whole. A Xiu knew her husband well; at that moment, he seemed like a giant baby possessed by desire.

A Wang devoured plate after plate with ravenous hunger, his face flushed with a rosy smile. At first, A Xiu felt happiness and sweetness watching her “hungry” husband. But as the meal went on, unease crept in.

A Wang maintained a relentless pace, eating as if possessed by a starving ghost—no, as if the repressed years had twisted him into a ravenous demon! He wasn’t simply eating; he was exacting revenge! Yet his face remained flushed and smiling, unchanged.

A Xiu wanted to stop him but was intimidated by his fierce, protective glare. Lost and fearful, she didn’t know what to do. Thankfully, there wasn’t much food left.

Meanwhile, A Ren immediately set his plan in motion. With the lottery drawing the next day, he had just over twenty hours to prepare, including placing bets. Though he had only recently learned the computational method, after several practice runs he had become proficient. He spent the entire night compiling the numbers to bet on, ending up with 120,000 combinations requiring a 240,000-yuan lottery stake.

Without hesitation, A Ren returned home to collect the savings he had painstakingly amassed—over a hundred thousand yuan—plus an additional twenty thousand he had earned from Old Ma. He was still short of 100,000 yuan. With a lucrative deal offering 500,000 yuan in return for 240,000 yuan, A Ren pressured himself to inquire everywhere about anyone interested in taking over his auto repair shop. Due to the tight timeframe, he only listed it at 120,000 yuan.

Time was money for A Ren, and he couldn’t afford to wait. He lowered the price by 20,000 yuan and, by past two in the morning, finally received a call from a friend willing to pay 100,000 yuan. Hastily, A Ren drove to meet his friend, handing over the keys to the repair shop and the five-year lease contract, promising to complete the formalities later. After securing the 100,000 yuan, he headed straight to the city’s lottery center.

Under A Ren’s repeated urging, the lottery clerk began the focused task of inputting numbers. The crisp tapping of keys punctuated the quiet room as she periodically checked the time.

Racing against the clock, A Ren remained calm at first. But when the clerk used a specialized scanner—only available at the city lottery station—she finished entering all 120,000 bets in under an hour. Now, it was A Ren’s turn to wait and witness a miracle.

Hours passed, unlike the previous ones. A Ren’s mind tormented him with wild thoughts—he had staked everything he owned on this gamble. If anything went wrong, it might cost him his very life.

His auto repair shop, the family’s entire savings he had borrowed from his wife—how would he live in the future?

“I’m about to win five million yuan,” he told himself, “Though after taxes it’s less than three million, this is total victory. With this algorithm, one win means there will be a second, third, and fourth… I can enjoy endless wealth and luxury…”

These two opposing thoughts battled within him, leaving A Ren restless. Half an hour before the draw, he was near madness, feeling as if thousands of ants gnawed at his bones. He had to call A Wang—just hearing his voice would calm him.

A few rings later, the call connected to A Wang’s home, but it was A Xiu who answered. Before A Ren could speak, he was stunned. On the other end, A Xiu’s voice was filled with unbearable sorrow—A Wang had died earlier that very morning. The autopsy report stated that A Wang had overeaten the previous night and died from it, passing away around two a.m. A Xiu had just returned from the hospital after handling the formalities.

The news left A Ren stunned, but then he steeled himself—dead is dead, what’s it to me? The lottery was about to be drawn! Damn bad luck! He cursed inwardly but deep down, his confidence waned.

Years later, A Xiu took A Bi back to their rural hometown to visit relatives. Passing through a village, they stopped briefly and entered a house near the east exit to ask for a bowl of water. The cool, sweet well water refreshed them. An elderly woman in her seventies hosted them. In a corner of the yard, a man squatted—his age hard to place, a bit wild and disheveled. After resting briefly, A Xiu prepared to leave with A Bi. As she glanced at the man, she found him strangely familiar. In his hand was a piece of paper and a pen; looking closely, she saw the words “permutation and combination” written on the paper.