Chapter 40: The Bittersweet Life of Wang Erdan

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"If you don’t get rid of all this stuff for me, we’re getting a divorce—there’s no way to go on like this!" Amid a flurry of quarrelling, a man was driven out of his home in utter disarray. Blood streaked his forehead, as if he’d been struck by something.

"Er Dan, kicked out by your wife again, eh?" The surrounding neighbors burst out in laughter.

"Get lost! Who’s been kicked out? I’m just giving in to her, see? I feel bad for my little wife, you understand?" Wang Er Dan retorted, cursing under his breath as the crowd dispersed, still chuckling. Yet Wang Er Dan felt nothing but misery inside.

"Life really is unbearable now," he thought, gingerly touching the wound on his forehead.

In truth, Wang Er Dan’s life had been passable enough—at least he had a roof over his head, he wouldn’t starve or freeze, and could just about muddle through each day. And though Wang Er Dan enjoyed smoking, drinking, and perming his hair, he didn’t gamble, which made him a decent man by many standards.

Unfortunately, this decent man had stumbled upon blind boxes, and the past month his life had taken a sharp turn for the worse.

It all started when Wang Er Dan went to the market to buy a gift for his wife and spotted a blind box stall. His hands itched with curiosity, and he couldn’t resist buying one.

He didn’t draw a pair of leather shoes, but he did get a pink purse—a women’s purse, clearly, and just what he needed.

Wang Er Dan was delighted. He’d only bought one blind box and was heading home in high spirits, clutching the purse. After all, he’d saved up two months’ pocket money, setting aside 200 yuan for a gift for his wife, and now he’d settled it for just ten.

When he got home, his wife was indeed overjoyed. The pink purse was beautiful, perfectly suited to a woman’s taste, and women can rarely resist such unexpected surprises.

That night, Wang Er Dan experienced a happiness he could scarcely believe—his wife not only cooked him a sumptuous meal, lavished him with tender affection, but even bit him for over ten minutes that night, drawing blood in her passion. Wang Er Dan felt as if his very soul soared.

The next day, after work, he found himself unable to resist returning to the blind box stall, hoping to draw a pair of pink shoes. A pair of pink shoes, after all, could mean another ten minutes of bliss!

He still had 190 yuan left—surely enough to draw a pair of shoes.

As it happened, Wang Er Dan’s luck held for a while: he spent just 40 yuan and managed to draw a pair of shoes, though they were men’s shoes.

No matter—he could wear men’s shoes himself. So he kept drawing. By the time he’d blown through the remaining 190 yuan, he’d only managed to get another pair of shoes, but they were white.

Unfortunately, his wife hated white more than anything, so that wouldn’t do.

So all those purses and shoes became useless. With no other choice, Wang Er Dan brought them home. When his wife asked what was going on, he told her a friend had given them to him to pay off a debt.

She didn’t suspect anything, since he was bringing things into the house, not taking them out.

Still, she was annoyed. With so many purses and shoes as ‘payment’ for a debt, who knew how long it would take to use them up? But this was only the beginning of the nightmare. Wang Er Dan felt a sense of dissatisfaction—he was determined to draw a pair of shoes for his wife.

So he decided to use his secret stash—300 yuan in total—to try again for a pair of women’s shoes.

He spent every last coin, and did draw shoes, but all were men’s styles. The women’s shoes were rare, but luck was still with him in a way, for one pair turned out to be a limited edition by Master KK, the legendary craftsman whose shoes could fetch 5,000 yuan a pair.

Wang Er Dan, testing his luck, listed the shoes for consignment at 500 yuan. The next day, he checked and saw the shoes had been snapped up, with more than a dozen people vying to buy them.

He was overjoyed, taking the 500 yuan and his pile of purses and shoes home, then told his wife the whole story: he’d spent only 300 yuan, made 500, and had all these shoes and purses left over for free.

At first she didn’t believe him, but after visiting the stall herself and confirming it, she was convinced—and Wang Er Dan enjoyed another wonderful night.

But the next day, his wife gave him a tongue-lashing. It turned out she’d boasted of her husband’s good fortune at work, only for an irritating colleague to burst out laughing and, with a mocking tone, inform her that the KK master’s shoes weren’t worth just 500 yuan, but 1,000.

Master KK’s story had even been reported on SY TV. His shoes were works of art, imbued with soul, of such superb quality they were practically indestructible—people bought them to display as art pieces at home. On the market, a pair of Master KK’s shoes now fetched at least 1,000 yuan, and Wang Er Dan had sold them for 500, letting the buyer instantly profit by 500.

When his wife returned home, she naturally berated Wang Er Dan harshly.

Stung by her words, Wang Er Dan vowed to regain his dignity by drawing another pair of the master’s shoes. Thus he fell into a bottomless pit—spending at least 200 yuan every day for two weeks, even dipping into the family’s savings. He amassed a mountain of purses and shoes, but never again drew a limited edition pair. Rumor had it the price of Master KK’s shoes had gone up another 100 yuan, and there was no supply to meet the demand—countless people scrambled to buy the master’s shoes.

In the end, Wang Er Dan spent nearly 3,000 yuan. His home was piled high with purses and shoes, yet he never again drew a master’s pair. His wife finally snapped and threw him out, declaring that if he didn’t find a way to turn those purses and shoes into cash, she’d divorce him—she couldn’t go on like this.

"Damn it, it’s all that blind box’s fault! I’ll make them give me my money back!" Wang Er Dan, fuming, snatched a broken mop handle from the roadside and marched off to confront the blind box stall.

But when he reached the stall, he found an unimaginably huge crowd gathered—rows upon rows of people completely surrounded the stand.

He was stunned; even when he’d first started playing blind boxes, it had never been this popular.

After struggling and squeezing his way through the crowd, Wang Er Dan finally reached the stall and saw the notice board. His whole body shuddered, then a wild joy spread across his face. He turned and dashed straight home.