Zhou Wang fished out a lottery ticket marked "Already Claimed" from his bag and pushed it across the coffee table to his parents.
People like Mr. Zhou, from the older generation, lived through the lottery marketing craze. For a few years, Zhou Dajun was even a regular customer at one of the lottery shops, so with just a glance, Zhou Dajun recognized it as a Lotto ticket.
A winning first-prize lottery ticket wouldn’t specify the amount won, so at first glance, nothing seemed obvious. But with the earlier mention of a Mercedes G63, the three older people present all instantly realized what it meant.
"You won the jackpot?"
Mr. Zhou immediately asked, his eyes fixated on his son.
"Technically, it’s a supplementary first prize, after taxes it’s thirteen million."
Zhou Wang smiled as he spoke.
Even though they had braced themselves somewhat, his parents collectively gasped, and Jiang Jiaxing was also dumbfounded.
Over ten million!
In cash, no less.
For any ordinary person, that was an unimaginable fortune.
"Wangwang, when did this happen?"
Zhao Guihua snapped out of it and asked, "Did you go to claim the prize alone? Why didn’t you tell us, kid... So how much do you have left now... Even with ten million, you shouldn’t spend three million on a car; you should buy a house first..."
Zhao Guihua spoke hastily and somewhat incoherently, clearly overwhelmed by the staggering amount.
In her subconscious, as long as Zhou Wang wasn’t married, he was still a "child." And now he had secretly won such a big prize without telling them, naturally making Zhao Guihua anxious and worried, fearing that Zhou Wang would squander the money.
"It’s been a while."
The date and numbers on the surviving lottery ticket had become somewhat blurred from Zhou Wang’s deliberate wear and tear, so he spoke before his father could even open his mouth.
"Dad, Mom, this ticket is just a beginning; don’t worry. Let me finish."
Hearing this, Zhou Dajun took a deep breath, ready to say something, and grabbed Zhao Guihua’s arm to signal for her to calm down.
"After winning, I wondered whether to tell you right away, but I knew all too well if I told you, you would probably want me to save it, or use the money to help me buy a house or a car..."
As Zhou Dajun nodded instinctively, Zhou Wang continued, "So I made another choice, using this money... to invest."
"Invest?" Jiang Jiaxing interjected, unable to resist, "Zhou Wang, investment carries risks, and there are a lot of scams out there now; you have to be careful to discern them and not rush into decisions!"
Jiang Jiaxing spoke gently, but it was clear he was concerned that Zhou Wang might not handle such vast wealth well and could end up losing it.
Zhao Guihua’s face also showed signs of unease. Zhou Dajun was relatively composed, but his expression became more serious.
As he himself had experienced significant losses in so-called "investments..."
"I can only say the results have been quite good so far."
Zhou Wang smiled, "I invested in some short-term financial markets and some industries. Up to now, my assets have increased more than ten times."
"Ten times?"
Jiang Jiaxing was taken aback, "You mean ten times..."
"Dad, ten times ten million."
Jiang Qingkui then softly spoke up, "I can vouch for Zhou Wang; his current fixed assets and liquid cash have reached billions."
Among those present, only Jiang Qingkui knew Zhou Wang’s fortune was due to his rapid rise. However, she never pried into Zhou Wang’s secrets, so no matter how Zhou Wang explained things to his parents, she would only go along with it.
"Yeah, Qingkui is right." Zhou Wang said with a smile, "Dad, Mom, I’m laying it out for you; your son is now a billionaire!"
The living room fell silent.
Zhou Dajun and Zhao Guihua were dumbstruck, their minds dizzy from the sudden rush of blood.
Ten million was a lot, but it didn’t stretch the bounds of normal imagination.
But a billion...
No exaggeration, most people joke about such a number, but truly have no concept of what it really means.
Simply put, it’s a fortune an ordinary person would need twenty lifetimes of earnings, without spending, to accumulate.
If you calculated it as earning 100,000 a year, to reach a billion by 2024, you’d have to start working from the year 1024 AD...
Even Zhao Guihua, who had just been contemplating managing money for her son, now found herself bewildered.
For even if she were handed a billion, she wouldn’t know how to spend it, or might become so anxious and worried she couldn’t eat or sleep well...
Zhou Wang had considered revealing his wealth to his parents gradually, but with the rapid expansion of his wealth, which defied conventional reasoning, he decided it was better to make a high-profile reveal from the start. Once his parents processed this fact, it would be much easier for them to accept everything else down the line...
Jiang Jiaxing, as an observer, was the first to snap back, but then his suspicions arose.
"Qingkui, how do you know so much?"
He had already harbored doubts about Zhou Wang and Jiang Qingkui coming home together, and now seeing his daughter’s assured demeanor, indicating she had thorough knowledge of Zhou Wang’s situation, caused a "thud" in Jiang Jiaxing’s heart.
Previously, he had only guessed Zhou Wang was pursuing his daughter, but now it seemed like he had already succeeded...
The more he thought about it, the more Jiang Jiaxing felt something was off.
He suddenly remembered certain details he had missed earlier due to the Mercedes G-Class discussion.