Uncovering the Tricks

"Well, I know that. Whatever the outcome of the lottery, I'll accept it," said Wang Qiang's mother with a firm nod.

"Okay, then Xiaoqiang can go over and smoke!"

Wang Qiang walked over and approached the box, simultaneously glancing at Zhao Weilong beside him.

When Zhao Weilong saw Wang Qiang approaching, he revealed a faint, slightly mocking smile and then said, "You're a child, so I'll let you go first."

Wang Qiang didn't waste words. He directly reached into the box and felt around for a while before taking his hand out.

At this moment, no one in the crowd was making a sound, all of them were watching the two draw lots with serious faces.

Seeing that Wang Qiang had finished smoking, the village chief urged him to open the paper ball, and the village director also gave a push.

"Open the slip of paper and see what you've drawn!"

"Let's see what we've drawn!"

Zhao Weilong, who had reached into the box beside him to grab a paper ball, turned his head at this moment and watched Wang Qiang's actions.

Wang Qiang held the paper ball and smiled without saying a word, remaining motionless as if he hadn't heard a thing. However, if someone had observed carefully, they would have noticed that his hands were trembling slightly.

"Open it!"

"Unpack the paper ball!"

"Quickly check what the result is!"

At this moment, the people around Wang Qiang noticed his dazed expression and began to urge him.

No one noticed that the village chief's hand, which was behind his back, had already clenched into a fist, and his knuckles were slightly white from exerting too much force.

Wang Qiang smiled slightly and looked at Zhao Weilong, his hands still motionless.

When their eyes met, Zhao Weilong suddenly felt his heart beginning to race.

"Has he found out something?" came the thought to Zhao Weilong's mind.

Instantly, his forehead was covered with sweat.

Upon seeing Wang Qiang's expression, the village chief's heart skipped a beat, and his hand holding the box trembled slightly.

"He hasn't even finished smoking, why should I open the note first! If we're going to open it, we should do it together!" Wang Qiang said loudly.

"Go ahead and smoke!"

"It's been 2 minutes already, why hasn't he finished smoking?"

"What are you messing around for?"

"Zhao Weilong, hurry up and smoke!"

After Wang Qiang's remark, everyone began to urge Zhao Weilong again.

"Why are you wasting time here opening the note?" The village chief no longer had the carefree expression he usually had, and instead became slightly impatient as he urged Wang Qiang.

"He will demolish first, and then I will demolish after him. If he doesn't demolish, I won't either!" Wang Qiang replied firmly after suppressing his inner nervousness.

Zhao Weilong, who was standing nearby, had already taken out the paper ball under the urging of everyone. Strangely, his face turned a bit livid.

"Wei Long, then hurry up and open it!" Seeing that his urging had no effect on Wang Qiang, the village chief turned his gaze to Zhao Wei Long and said.

"Hurry up and dismantle it!" Seeing Zhao Weilong's hesitant expression, the village chief was so anxious that he was almost jumping up and down.

Zhao Weilong wiped the sweat from his forehead and slowly opened the paper ball with great reluctance. The word "Zhan" was written on the paper ball.

Upon seeing this, the village chief quickly approached, extending his right hand and suddenly grabbing Wang Qiang's hand that was holding the paper ball, as if afraid that the paper ball in Wang Qiang's hand would fall to the ground. At the same time, he snatched the slip of paper from Zhao Weilong's hand with his left hand, then raised the slip of paper high and shouted, "Zhao Weilong drew the character 'Zhan'. If we need to occupy land for road construction this time, it will be his family's land."

Wang Qiang's hand, which was holding the paper ball, was tightly clenched and could not be unclenched at the moment.

After the village chief announced the final result, he almost like a robber, snatched the unopened paper ball from Wang Qiang's hand.

Upon hearing the announcement of the results, Wang Qiang's mother was so excited that she even cried.

Zhao Weilong, on the other hand, had a face ashen with anger.

At this moment, Wang Qiang glanced at Zhao Weilong and noticed that he was looking at him with a resentful expression.

Wang Qiang simply ignored him.

Then, as he turned to look at the village chief who had already approached the construction workers to arrange things, the village chief seemed to sense something and glanced back at him, followed by a slightly embarrassed smile.

The matter regarding the lottery for land occupation for road construction finally came to an end.

Except for Wang Qiang, the village chief, the village director, and Zhao Weilong, no one knew what had really happened.

Everyone felt that this was a fair draw.

Finally, during the road widening process, nearly 200 square meters of Zhao Weilong's land was occupied. When he saw his land along the road being bulldozed, he was so distressed that he trembled.

After returning from the fields, Wang Qiang boarded a van heading to the city at around 4 pm to return to school.

Perhaps it's because he's about to graduate and leave No. 3 Middle School, where he has been for almost three years. Since the end of the Chinese New Year, every time Wang Qiang returns to his rented house from home, he would reminisce about his experiences during his years at No. 3 Middle School.

Today was no different. After entering the door and putting down the bag of flour he had carried from home, he immediately lay down on the bed to rest, breathing heavily. His thoughts were racing, and in an instant, he felt transported back to two years ago.

That was during the second semester of my first year in high school.

Having just moved out of school and not knowing how to cook, he went to his classmate's house next door to watch him mix, knead, and roll dough. Then, he tried to cook on his own. After eating two meals of bitter noodles because he put too much alkali, he successfully learned how to cook.

The tenant on the left is a classmate from Class 1 of the same grade. His name is Liu Hu, and he is about 1.65 meters tall with relatively dark skin. When Wang Qiang first met him, he felt that this classmate should be a very down-to-earth person, and he should also be very diligent and hardworking in his studies.

Liu Hu's family background is not very good. Later, Wang Qiang found out that he would cook cabbage and noodles for every meal, and the bland dishes barely contained any meat or sausage. He usually wore cloth shoes made at home. It should be noted that many rural students who come to the city to study would soon replace their home-made cloth shoes with bought shoes.

Living on the right side of the rented house is Zhao Jie, a classmate of Wang Qiang. He is a very nice person. On Wang Qiang's first day of living there, Zhao Jie took the initiative to say hello. Within a day, they became quite familiar. Later, through contact, Wang Qiang learned that he is a person with a romantic streak, often indulging in writing and expressing his feelings.

Three months swiftly passed in a blur, and it was soon time for the monthly exam. That evening, after dinner, Wang Qiang climbed the ladder to the rooftop and sat down on the concrete beam, gazing blankly at the distant sun. Soon, Liu Hu and Zhao Jie joined him.

"Brother Qiang, what are you thinking about?" Liu Hu asked with a smile.

"Nothing to do after dinner? Come up and sit for a while. Haven't you been out for a walk?"

"Let's go somewhere else. Since we came to Longcheng, my friends and I have explored the whole city. There's nothing interesting here except for shopping malls and squares!" Zhao Jie said in exasperation.

"The monthly exam is coming up soon, and Brother Qiang remains as calm as ever. In math, physics, and chemistry, you're the clear leader in our senior grade. If it weren't for your weakness in English, I think you'd be taking the top spot in our grade," said Zhao Jie in a teasing tone.