Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Mei Fang’s Ambition

After slapping his father, Mei Fang regained much of his composure. Urged by his father, Mei Lijun, he rummaged through a children’s picture book and found the hidden lottery ticket. Mei Lijun carefully checked the betting information on the ticket.

“Samba, Debong, the street chicken, and the corn… You actually guessed the rankings right… You’re truly the lucky star of our family. Calling you dad today isn’t too much!” Despite being slapped by his filial son, Mei Lijun didn’t blame him but instead hugged and kissed him fiercely. Mei Fang, feeling repulsed, pushed him away.

“Father, calm down. This is like Fan Jin passing the imperial exam. I can’t handle this.”

“Fan Jin passing the imperial exam? Did you learn about this in kindergarten?”

Hearing this, Mei Fang immediately imitated a coquettish tone to play dumb.

“It’s just… that story our teacher told us, about an ancient tale teaching us not to panic when faced with problems and to stay calm to avoid tragedy.”

“Good son, give me the ticket. I’ll go claim the prize for you tomorrow.”

Overjoyed, Mei Lijun didn’t notice his son’s sudden series of idioms. He rubbed his hands, eager to take the ticket from Mei Fang, who held it tightly.

“I will give it to you, Father, but you must promise me a few conditions first.”

“Okay, tell me! Are you asking for toys? Where do you want to go? I’ll take you there tomorrow!”

“Not that.”

Mei Fang said solemnly, “I want you to promise that you won’t tell anyone outside the family. If they find out, they might come asking for money.”

“You little rascal, thinking so far ahead? But yes… many people lose everything after winning. Don’t worry; this kind of guess prize isn’t much. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Second, the thing I want you to buy… is a home computer.”

“A computer? Why do you need one at your age?” Mei Lijun was puzzled.

“Teacher Li said the 21st century is the era of computers. I’m very interested in them. I can’t fall behind,” Mei Fang said seriously.

“Hahaha, okay, I’ll take you to buy a computer tomorrow.”

Mei Lijun didn’t think much of it. He guessed the kid probably saw other kids playing games on computers and wanted one too. “Good boy, give me the ticket first.”

“Buy the computer first, then I’ll give you the ticket.”

“You little brat! How can you trust your own father so little?”

“You still have to convince Mom, right?”

When Xiang Xiaoxia learned her son had won the lottery, she first wanted to beat up her husband for leading their son astray. However, despite the beating, she felt extremely happy about the unexpected windfall. Hearing her son wanted a computer for studying, she agreed without hesitation, regardless of whether he was talking nonsense.

After reserving a computer, the three of them went to the lottery store to confirm the prize amount for the current issue.

The single ticket prize was a bit over 140,000 yuan, and after tax, they estimated they would get a bit over 500,000 yuan.

Even in 2002, several hundred thousand yuan couldn’t significantly improve Mei Fang’s family’s social status, and to him, it was just a small start.

He never imagined how much this money would change his life.

Currently, Mei Fang couldn’t directly persuade his parents to use this money to buy a house in Pingshan City, thousands of miles away. However, they might consider buying a house in Jiangcheng City. It would be appropriate to bring it up at some point.

Prizes over 10,000 yuan needed to be claimed at the provincial center. After confirming the prize amount at the lottery store, the family slowly walked back home.

After closing the door, Mei Fang’s parents began to celebrate loudly, kissing him repeatedly until his face was smeared with lipstick.

Actually, Mei Fang could barely save tens of thousands of yuan in 2022. Logically, he should be very excited about winning the lottery, but the frenzy of his parents made him force himself to stay calm.

“This rebirth hasn’t even started yet. I can’t mess it up…”

“Please calm down. Fifty thousand isn’t a lot. Xia Yuan said her villa costs a million. You must listen to me and not tell anyone. I’ve seen on TV…”

“Got it, got it… We’re adults. We wouldn’t be immature enough to brag everywhere.”

Xiang Xiaoxia pinched her son’s cheek. “Speaking of which, since we’re going to Jiangcheng to claim the prize, why don’t we take a vacation there after Mei Fang graduates?”

“Great idea. We haven’t been to Jiangcheng in a long time… The last time was when we were dating…”

“Who knew so many years have passed… Xiaoxia, you’ve worked hard these years.”

Seeing his parents being affectionate, Mei Fang felt uncomfortable and suggested trying the newly installed computer at home.

In Bai Mei County in 2002, home computers were still rare. Even Xia Yuan’s wealthy family hadn’t considered getting one. Mei Fang was clearly ahead of his time.

This home computer had a 17-inch screen, a trackball mouse, 256MB of memory, a 40GB hard drive, and a GF400MX graphics card with 64MB of VRAM.

Such a configuration was considered high-end in 2002, costing Mei Lijun 4,000 yuan.

Mei Fang specifically asked the shop owner to install the latest XP system rather than the outdated 98 system, which he knew nothing about.

The reason he chose the computer over saving money was his ambition. This ties back to his previous position.

In his previous life, he was the executive chief planner at a game company.

The most basic roles in game development were programmers, planners, and artists. Planners were often criticized the most by players, and the chief planner was akin to a project manager.

However, although he was called a chief planner, he was essentially a super tool person for the team.

He had to configure, pull numbers, request art, design interfaces, and handle almost all troublesome tasks.

But in reality, he had no decision-making power over gameplay because the producer was his boss. He had to do things he didn’t want to, such as boring pay-to-win mechanics.

By 2022, during the internet winter, the team cut many people, and more work fell on his shoulders.

To finish all tasks within the scheduled period, he worked day and night, eventually achieving this rebirth.

But Mei Fang always loved the gaming industry.

In his past life, he never had the chance to make his favorite game. In this life, he wouldn’t have to be a slave to his boss. He could freely create the games he wanted.

So, unlike other reincarnators, he wasn’t overly concerned about making a hit game or profiting greatly from the industry.

After all, having reincarnated early, he had too many opportunities.

He could easily jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon, predict World Cup results, and invest in stocks like MaoTai and NingDe.

In short, getting a home computer as soon as possible was better. With a network connection, he could do more things more conveniently.

After all, what influence could a five-year-old have?

Why can’t the comment section open? I feel like I’m writing a standalone game! I drew suitable illustrations for each chapter using AI. I really want to share them! If anyone is reading my book, please give me more recommendation votes or leave comments! I can see them in the backend, really!