Staring eagerly at the time on his phone as it hit midnight, Jiang Tao couldn't wait to open the intelligence system to check today's report.
[Today's Intelligence]: Yesterday, you had contact with your landlord, Lü Qian, and obtained related intelligence—72-year-old Lü Qian appears optimistic and cheerful on the outside, but deep down, he has always been lonely, often lying awake at night. He longs to find true love in his remaining years but has yet to meet the right person. According to the system's analysis, Ma Dongmei, who sells roasted sweet potatoes outside the Hongxing Secondhand Furniture Wholesale Market, has a 98% compatibility match with Lü Qian! Successfully matchmaking the two for marriage will earn you an 88,888 yuan reward from Lü Qian and a permanent rent exemption.
Seeing the intelligence that popped up today, Jiang Tao's eyes lit up.
"The old landlord sure is young at heart! Over 70 and still believing in love…"
"But an 88,888 yuan red envelope? That's a generous move!"
"I'm definitely helping the old man out with this one!"
After carefully reading the intelligence twice, Jiang Tao felt this task of matchmaking the landlord shouldn't be too difficult. It was just about playing "matchmaker" to connect the old landlord with this Ma-something-Mei lady! Plus, the system indicated their compatibility was a whopping 98%, just 2 points shy of a perfect match. These two were practically made for each other! With such a high compatibility, it shouldn't be hard to bring them together.
It was like tossing a lit firestick into a pile of dry wood—bound to catch fire instantly!
"There seem to be three people selling roasted sweet potatoes at the wholesale market. If I can find time today, I'll go check which one is Ma Dongmei and get a feel for her. If I'm too busy, I'll wait a bit. No rush on this."
"It's getting late. Time to sleep. Tomorrow, when the timing's right, I still need to go out and sell tangerines."
"Today's the 18th of the lunar twelfth month. Just ten more days until I head home for the New Year. Gotta make more money and have a good year!"
Thinking about the serious business awaiting tomorrow, Jiang Tao plugged in his phone to charge, turned off the light, and slipped into bed.
Lying on his pillow, Jiang Tao's mind was still mulling over what "the right timing" could mean. He'd just checked the weather forecast on his phone. For the next ten days or so, Beijing would have mostly cloudy or sunny weather, with nothing special except for a couple of blue warnings for strong winds and cooling temperatures.
"Forget it. If the system says there'll be a price surge, there'll be a price surge. I'll find out why tomorrow."
Unable to figure it out, Jiang Tao stopped thinking about it, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.
Ring ring ring, ring ring ring—
At 6 a.m., the alarm on his phone went off. Jiang Tao reached out from under the covers to turn it off, planning to snooze for a few more minutes.
But things didn't go as planned. No sooner had he silenced the alarm than his phone rang again.
Ring ring ring, ring ring ring—
Squinting one eye at the screen, he saw the caller's name: "Xiao Liu."
"Hey, Xiao Liu, why're you up so early?"
"The wholesale price went up? By how much?"
Hearing Liu Zhiyuan's unusually excited voice on the phone, Jiang Tao instantly snapped awake and sat up in bed.
"5.45 yuan per pound?"
"Haha, told you! You guys believe in your brother's business instincts now, don't you?"
"Meet at Old Guo's shop as usual. Breakfast's on me today. Eat up, drink up, and let's get to work!"
After a quick word on the phone, Jiang Tao hung up, walked to the window, and glanced outside.
At 6 a.m., Beijing hadn't fully woken up yet, the sky still dim. Last night, Jiang Tao had dreamed of snow, but outside looked just like it did yesterday—no extreme weather like the big snowstorm he'd imagined.
He opened the weather app on his phone. It showed clear skies today, with temperatures ranging from -3°C to 5°C. This year's Beijing was several degrees warmer than last year—a true warm winter.
"Forget it, who cares why! The price is up, and this money's ours to make!"
Unable to figure out why tangerine prices were surging so much, Jiang Tao didn't bother dwelling on it. He washed his hands and face with water from a thermos, applied a bit of Dabao cream, threw on his usual black padded jacket for deliveries, and headed out.
In the time it took to smoke a cigarette, Jiang Tao arrived at "Old Guo's shop." Liu Zhiyuan, Shan Yufei, and Zhang Chao were already there, chatting and laughing about something.
"Our Jiang Zhuge has arrived!"
"Brother Jiang, you're like a prophet! How'd you know there'd be a big snowstorm in G Province, and tangerines wouldn't be able to get out?"
"The fruit wholesale group chat's going crazy looking for tangerines! Even if we sell to those vendors, we're gonna make a fortune!"
When Zhang Chao and the others saw Jiang Tao, they were buzzing with excitement, quickly spilling the reason behind the tangerine price surge.
"Heh, it's mainly thanks to my friend. If anyone's a prophet, it's him," Jiang Tao said calmly as he sat at the table, though inside he was just as thrilled. This tangerine project was mostly his investment, and he was about to count money until his hands went soft!
"If I'd known it was this solid, I would've pulled out my 100,000 yuan fixed deposit!"
"No kidding! It's too late to say anything now. The whole city's looking for tangerines."
"In just this short time, the group chat price jumped another 50 cents—it's at 5.91 yuan per pound now!"
Liu Zhiyuan and Shan Yufei were kicking themselves for not going all-in like Jiang Tao. They'd only put in 50,000 yuan each for safety's sake. If they'd invested a hundred thousand or more like Jiang Tao… Well, it was too late for regrets now. The world didn't work on "what ifs." Some opportunities came and went, and if you didn't seize them, they were gone for good.
The one with the most regrets was definitely Zhang Chao. Watching his buddies, who he hung out with all the time, about to make a small fortune while he got nothing—it stung!
"Brother Jiang, next time there's a chance to make money like this, you gotta call us in!"
"Of course! We're brothers. If there's money to be made, we make it together. Order whatever you guys want, eat up, drink up, then we'll load the tangerines and get ready to roll!"
Liu Zhiyuan and the others didn't hold back, each ordering their favorite breakfast. After eating and drinking their fill, the four of them drove their four trucks to the small courtyard Jiang Tao had rented to start loading.
Today was the 18th of the lunar twelfth month, a Friday, which happened to be the day of the Shahe Market. The Shahe Market covered over 60,000 square meters, with a daily foot traffic of more than 60,000 people. Especially around the New Year, the market was packed with people shopping for holiday goods.
The market was bustling, with people brushing shoulders as they browsed the stalls for what they needed. Jiang Tao and his crew drove their trucks one after another to the fruit-selling area.
Normally, the fruit section of the Shahe Market had at least a dozen vendors selling tangerines. Today, Jiang Tao and his three friends became the "gods" controlling the tangerine market at Shahe.