Chapter 31: Take a Chance—From Bicycle to Motorcycle (Bonus Chapter for Wu Nai Xun Yu’s Generous Reward)

After explaining all the causes and effects, Boss Han decided not to bother with business anymore. He told his wife to watch the store and hurriedly prepared to drive Sumu to the city, determined to cash the lottery ticket into real money as soon as possible.

Sumu wasn't worried that Boss Han might covet his winnings. Han was acquainted with his father and ran a thriving business; he was a well-known millionaire in Chinatown, nearly monopolizing the convenience store trade with sixteen shops. The one where Sumu worked was the largest, with daily revenue in the thousands of dollars. Sumu needed an adult companion to redeem the ticket, fearing trouble if he went alone, so he nodded in agreement.

Boss Han had been buying lottery tickets for years, losing tens of thousands of dollars, and the most he’d ever won was two hundred. The reason he insisted on driving Sumu himself was to share in the luck and maybe buy a few tickets for himself, while also keeping an eye out for Sumu.

The gambling industry was a mixed bag; while William Hill, a major betting company, had a solid reputation, the people who frequented such places came from all walks of life. If someone decided to target them, things could get ugly—six or seven thousand dollars was enough to tempt many into risk.

A Toyota SUV was parked in front of the convenience store. After Boss Han got in, Sumu took the passenger seat, catching a faint smell of fish. In his hand, he carried a paper bag with two bottles of milk and two sandwiches, their lunch for the road.

Once they had fastened their seatbelts, Boss Han asked, “Should we call your father? It's not far, just a turn up ahead and we’ll reach your house. You really lucked out with this ticket—the timing was perfect. Three days before the games, all the odds drop. The bookies are shrewd; they never lose money, calculating odds better than anyone.”

“Lucky no one bet on our Chinese team to win, otherwise there’s no way they’d set such high odds. Later, help me pick which ones to bet on. Seems like outsiders like you have better chances of winning—same as the stock market, us half-baked investors always lose out.”

With the prospect of claiming his winnings, Sumu was excited. If he hadn’t considered that the news he overheard might have come from the future, he would have obediently handed the money to his parents. Now, knowing that once his parents got the money he wouldn’t see any of it again, he hoped to keep some for investment.

Such thoughts weren’t unusual. Brought up in American society, children matured early and thought independently. Though he wasn’t yet certain if his plan was right, the chance to make a bold move was right in front of him—Sumu didn’t want to miss it. He was a clever boy, always thinking of ways to benefit himself.

He shook his head and said, “They’re all busy, probably not home right now. I’ll tell them about this tonight when I get back.”

Boss Han didn’t think much of it, nodding as he replied, “Alright, I’ll drop you near your house. Once you’ve got the ticket, come with me. You’re too young to carry so much cash; it’s best to hand it to your parents…”

...

People working didn’t go home at noon, so they missed the rush hour, and traffic was smooth. Sumu had taken out the ticket several times to check, thinking constantly about the radio broadcast. The more he thought, the more something felt off. Boss Han wasn’t talkative, eating his sandwich as he drove, and as a typical “road rage” driver, he complained several times about jaywalking pedestrians.

The scenery became familiar as they neared the William Hill betting office. Sumu’s mind was occupied; seven thousand dollars was enough to fill his head. He was also pondering the news he’d heard on the radio—that Xu Haifeng won first place in the shooting competition, and that China’s total gold medal count ranked fourth. As they approached the betting company, he quietly made up his mind, taking his first major decision in life alone.

This prize would certainly go to his parents; Boss Han already knew, and if his parents heard from him, it would be hard to explain otherwise. For the Su family, this was no small sum, but Sumu also had a stash of savings from childhood—his mother knew he was saving, but not how much. His elders respected his privacy, never rummaging through his things when cleaning his room.

The three thousand nine hundred dollars he’d saved was entirely at his disposal, and he’d just received a thousand-dollar paycheck last week. This was why he hesitated on the road, debating whether to take a gamble and use his money to make more.

Kids from poor families learn responsibility early. With a simple calculation, Sumu realized that if he won at forty times odds, he wouldn’t have to worry about tuition or living expenses through high school and college, and his parents and grandfather could relax and enjoy life.

If he lost, it was only three thousand dollars—hardly enough to do much, and he was confident he could earn it back during vacations. Weighing the pros and cons in his mind, the scales gradually tipped toward taking the risk.

A former tenant at the Su family house loved gambling and often said, “Take a chance, and a bicycle turns into a motorcycle; gamble again, and a motorcycle turns into a jeep.” Sure, sometimes you’d lose even the bicycle, but given the current financial situation, Sumu felt it was worth the risk.

Mr. David, the manager of the William Hill betting office, was overjoyed when he spotted Sumu in the crowd. He put aside his work, approached, and embraced Sumu, cheerfully exclaiming, “Look! The lucky Chinese boy. You’re here to claim your prize, right?”

“OK! Let me help you with that. This must be your father.”

“Sir, your child was very brave last time. I admire that quality—he’ll surely grow up to be someone extraordinary!”

Boss Han glanced at David, suspecting he might be out of his mind—how could anyone be so happy about paying out? Then he realized that such a small sum was insignificant to a billion-dollar company, so he followed along, saying, “Yes, sir, I agree…my son is remarkable. We brought the ticket; can you help us redeem it now?”

Sumu had accepted the silent loss; he felt bad for his real father, but didn’t say anything, handing the ticket to Mr. David.

David remembered this transaction; he’d personally given the ticket to Sumu days before, so he wasn’t worried about fraud and didn’t even bother checking the details, saying directly, "Of course. We have enough reserves; no matter how large the winnings, we can pay out. Please follow me."

Intent on getting rid of Boss Han, Sumu noticed him glancing repeatedly at the betting area, deeply drawn by the thrill of gambling. Sumu came up with a clever idea and told him, "This time there are many strong sports nations. Our athletes from China are numerous, with silver and bronze medals counted in the tally. I think there’s a chance we could squeeze into the top three in the overall medal ranking, or maybe fourth. On the way here you said you wanted to keep betting—these two options should be good. When I helped you bet last time, I noticed the odds were very high."

For those addicted to gambling, the urge was strong. Boss Han’s hands were itching, but he had business to attend to, so he replied, "Let me accompany you to get the money first. I’ll place my bet after."

Sumu, plotting, didn’t want him to tag along and continued, "It’s fine, you go ahead. Once we're done we can leave. The line is long—it’ll take a while…"