Chapter 58

Bear Soup is Now My Pleasure 58

058 Today is the Day to Buy the Lottery / 1996, Apple Was Different

In the original history, the average first prize for the lottery was $40 million.

The first prize for the 'First World Ball' was $25.57 million.

Considering that this is about 27 years ago and it's the first draw, it's an enormous amount.

Since it's a lottery purchased worldwide, it was also marked in dollars, not just Russian rubles.

-1 game: $2.

-Probability of winning: 1 in 292.2 million.

It's a probability where every Russian from age 1 to 100 would have to buy two tickets to possibly have a winner.

-5 numbers between 1 and 69.

-1 'World Ball' number between 1 and 26 must be matched to win the first prize.

At 9 PM on Wednesday, the 'First World Ball' draw was conducted live on TV, with President Zahar drawing the numbers.

"The lottery funds will all be used to build apartments. Since this is a project to solve the housing problem for the citizens, I ask for your participation."

After the President finished speaking, the host pointed to a round container and said,

"Then, the President will draw a ball to select one of the audience members. You can draw a ball while wearing this blindfold."

The process for the World Ball was as follows:

1. Audience members sitting in chairs numbered 1 to 200.

2. A container with small balls numbered 1 to 200.

3. The guest of the day (the President) wearing a blindfold turns their head and draws a ball from the container.

4. The audience member sitting in the chair that matches the number of the drawn ball comes out and draws the first ball from 1 to 69, in the same way as the guest.

5. The person who drew the first ball then draws another audience ball.

6. The selected audience member draws the second ball (no one can draw multiple balls). This continues until the last ball is drawn.

7. The final numbers are verified by five inspectors and entered into the computer (website).

8. They are automatically entered into the machines at all sales points nationwide.

9. It is automatically checked which sales point had a winner.

This very primitive method was used to draw the final numbers.

This method was devised by Nikolai to prevent people from suspecting manipulation.

To assist the host, 20 men and women who won in the [First Unicorn Miss and Mister Contest] were also on stage.

Nikolai and Sasha were on site, watching the drawing process.

"What benefit do you get from building a lot of apartments with the lottery funds?"

"Why not? We will build all those apartments with our Unicorn Construction."

It's a method of making a profit by selling a lot at a low price, not by selling a few at a high price.

It's similar to the '1,000 nyang department store' or 'Daiso' in Korea.

A construction company needs continuous contracts to operate, and with a huge volume of work waiting, the company will continue to make a profit.

"If we build good apartments domestically, it will have a huge advertising effect, right? Then we can build them abroad too. That's where the money comes from."

After all the proceedings were over, the host gave a congratulatory speech.

"Congratulations. I ask for your continued participation and will see you again at 9 PM on Saturday."

* * *

No first prize winner was announced for the 'First World Ball'.

The $25.57 million first prize was rolled over to the second draw on Saturday.

People were disappointed that they didn't win, but on the other hand, the increased amount due to the rollover raised their expectations.

"Will it double next time?"

"It might be even more since it's rolled over."

"Ah, it would be nice if it rolls over for a few dozen draws and I hit the jackpot in one go."

"Snap out of it."

"Is the first prize too much? Maybe I'll aim for the second prize?"

"Man, the probability of winning the second prize isn't easy either."

"What's the probability of the second prize?"

"1 in 11,688,053. More than the population of Moscow."

Despite such odds, 35 people won the second prize, which was $1.36 million.

Russia - 7. Kazakhstan - 2.

Moldova - 1. Ukraine - 1.

China - 4. USA - 2. UK - 2.

Germany - 2. Korea - 2. France - 1.

India - 1. Japan - 1. Canada - 1. Mongolia - 1.

Australia - 1. Italy - 1. Spain - 1.

Finland - 1. Brazil - 1.

South Africa - 1.

$1.36 million in 1996 was a huge amount, so the winners felt like they had a life-changing experience.

One Russian who won the second prize was so excited that he briefly lost consciousness.

And the first thing the two winners from Korea did was buy a house in Gangnam.

At that time, a 35-pyeong apartment in Apgujeong Hyundai was around 190 million won, so even after taxes, they could buy about three.

* * *

Nikolai, reviewing the final plan for the 'Black Hole Shopping Mall' at the Black Hole Department Store office, asked Ilya,

"Will it be done by the end of this year?"

"I think we can wrap it up by November. I'm sorry it's taking longer than expected."

"It's fine. You were busy with other things."

In the original history, Amazon appeared on May 15, 1997.

If the Black Hole is launched in November 1996, it will be ahead of Amazon.

The problem is,

"How will we handle delivery?"

"I've thought about it a lot with the staff, but realistically, Russia's vast territory will be a big issue. There are also significant cost problems."

Using a plane, it's possible to deliver from Moscow to Vladivostok, which are almost at opposite ends, within two days.

But by train, it takes over 10 days.

The main issue is cost.

"If you were Ilya, which would you choose: a faster delivery that costs a bit more, or a slower one that takes over a week but costs less?"

"I would choose the faster one."

If the delivery fees don't differ much, not just the two of us but others would likely choose the faster option too.

Now, transportation options are not as diverse and prices are higher than in the era Nikolai lived in, so careful selection is needed before starting.

However, Nikolai's dilemma didn't last long.

"I think the same. Let's offer two options."

"How so?"

"Express and standard. People who want to receive their items faster can choose express (by air) for a slightly higher fee, while those who aren't in a hurry can choose standard (by train)."

"Letting customers choose sounds like a good method."

Sending a large volume at once can reduce the unit cost.

As time goes on, more airlines will offer air freight, further reducing costs.

"Understood. But initially, it will take a lot of time to manually process the stores that want to join the mall."

"For now, the staff will have to work hard. Once it becomes known, stores will join on their own."

At that moment, some employees were seen gathered around something, talking loudly.

"What are they doing?"

"Oh, that...?"

Ilya, looking embarrassed, stood up.

"They said they do it briefly during lunch, and today seems to be the day. It's better if you see it yourself..."

When they got there, Sonya was picking balls from a container.

"Only one left."

"If you draw all of them, you get 500 rubles, right?"

"Sure, here, take it in advance."

A man placed a 500-ruble bill on her small hand.

Sonya, blushing, smiled and drew the last ball.

Nikolai approached Sonya, who was drawing paper slips from a box made to draw 'World Ball' numbers.

"Our Sonya is a 500-ruble killer. What will you do if you win the first prize?"

"I'll buy stocks in IT companies!"

"Never forget that spirit. Got it?"

"Yes! I'll buy Apple stocks with the money I saved in my bear piggy bank for Christmas!"

"Sure."

It wasn't just Apple stocks; he was thinking of acquiring Apple itself.

'At $1.20 per share now...'

Nikolai had seen news in his previous life that Apple's market cap was nearly $3 trillion.

But now, due to years of poor business performance, its market cap is less than $1 billion.

In the first half of this year, the company had a net loss of over $700 million, leading to a reduction of one-third of its workforce, almost reaching the brink of bankruptcy.

In the original history, Apple was synonymous with Steve Jobs, but now Jobs has been ousted from the company and started an IT company called 'NeXT'.

'Less than $1 billion...'

Even though it's less than $1 billion, it's still a huge amount, so Nikolai was thinking about how to secure the funds.

'Maybe take a loan from a bank...'

It didn't have to be a Russian bank.

'If successful, it could be the most astonishing acquisition in history.'

After acquiring it, he planned to bring Steve Jobs back and make him CEO.

* * *

Nikolai called Dennis in the UK.

"Bro, I need to go to the US."

-Where in the US?

"To Apple. Set up a meeting for me. I'll go soon."

-Aren't you busy? You have to organize the Miss and Mister contest, right?

"I'll go after that."

-You're not thinking of buying Apple stocks, are you?

"Exactly."

-They've been on the brink of bankruptcy since being outpaced by Microsoft in the PC market. Are you thinking of high risk, high return?

"Something like that."

-Since you've made the decision, I'll follow. I'll call you when I arrive at Apple in the US.

Nikolai picked three things he must secure in the future business.

First, semiconductors.

Second, mobile phones.

Third, cars.

He was determined to secure these three areas no matter what.

That's why he planned to acquire Apple now, when its stock price was at its lowest.

* * *

[Second Unicorn Miss and Mister Contest]

This time, citizens from independent countries could also participate, making it even more successful.

It was broadcast live, and recordings were planned to be aired in each country.

"Sasha, watch carefully. Your match might be here."

"Why are you always embarrassing me?"

"You're already 30.