**[Today's Intelligence 01]:**
While scrolling on your phone last night, you came across a second-hand Volkswagen Lavida that Tian Zhipeng is selling.
Inside the car's glove compartment, within the vehicle's manual, there is a winning lottery ticket worth 68,996 yuan.
**[Note]:** This lottery ticket will expire in two days, becoming void if not claimed.
…
"A winning lottery ticket? And it's worth over 68,000 yuan!"
"Who's the scatterbrain that forgot about a lottery ticket after buying it?"
"Isn't this the kind of thing only lottery center directors or their relatives win?"
Seeing the latest intelligence pop up, Jiang Tao instantly snapped out of his drowsiness.
"There's only two days left to claim it, which means I have two days to get my hands on it."
"No, wait! Only one day!"
Jiang Tao suddenly realized that today was the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, a Sunday!
The lottery center wasn't open today!
That meant he only had tomorrow—one day—to claim the prize!
Time was tight!
Clearly, getting that lottery ticket was a higher priority than selling tangerines, and far more urgent!
The tangerine market would stay hot for another ten days or so.
Jiang Tao and his crew's stock would probably sell out in four or five days at most, so it wasn't too pressing.
The tangerine-selling F4 could manage without him for a day.
When it came time to split the profits, he'd just give Liu Zhiyuan and the others an extra 1,000 yuan each.
That'd only cost him 3,000 yuan in total.
But if he could get his hands on that lottery ticket, that was nearly 70,000 yuan!
Even after a 20% tax, he'd still walk away with over 50,000 yuan!
Plus, Jiang Tao was already planning to head to the Hongxing Wholesale Market tomorrow to find Ma Dongmei.
The intelligence on Ma Dongmei was worth at least the 88,888 yuan red envelope from the landlord grandpa.
Tomorrow's tasks were worth over 100,000 yuan in total!
By that math, taking a day off tomorrow was non-negotiable.
"I never thought my first time winning a lottery would happen like *this*…"
After analyzing the intelligence and forming a plan for tomorrow, Jiang Tao climbed into bed and slipped under the covers to sleep.
The next morning, Jiang Tao got up as usual and noticed snowflakes drifting outside.
Checking his phone, he saw several weather-related news stories trending on Weibo.
Cold snap + heavy snow + fog!
Eight provinces across the country were experiencing moderate to heavy snow!
Seeing this news, Jiang Tao felt a spark of joy but quietly scolded himself.
*Wishing for cold weather just because it helps sell charcoal—this mindset isn't right!*
Thankfully, the weather in Beijing was just overcast these past couple of days, with no snow, so it wouldn't affect their sales.
That morning, Jiang Tao treated the crew to lamb soup as usual.
Over breakfast, he told them he had something to take care of today and couldn't join them to sell tangerines.
He also mentioned upfront that he'd pay Liu Zhiyuan and the other two an extra 1,000 yuan each for their work.
Liu Zhiyuan and the others initially refused the extra money, but in the end, they couldn't turn it down.
Jiang Tao's gesture made Liu Zhiyuan and the crew admire him even more.
After eating their fill, Liu Zhiyuan and the others drove off to load up the goods.
Jiang Tao, meanwhile, walked toward Tian Zhipeng's auto repair shop.
At 8 a.m., the repair shop was just opening for the day.
Tian Zhipeng was already working on a car that had been dropped off yesterday.
Jiang Tao arrived at the shop's entrance, his eyes scanning around, but he didn't spot the car Tian Zhipeng had posted about in his WeChat Moments last night.
At that moment, Jiang Tao's heart sank.
*The car couldn't have already been sold, could it?*
With that thought, Jiang Tao strode over to Tian Zhipeng and asked in as calm a tone as possible:
"Boss Tian, I saw in your WeChat Moments last night that you were selling a Lavida. Where's the car?"
"Master Jiang, you're interested in that car too? You should've said so earlier!"
"I posted it last night, and it sold within an hour."
Tian Zhipeng spoke casually while working on the car.
"Damn! Sold that fast?"
Jiang Tao couldn't help but let out a curse.
He'd been planning to use the excuse of checking the interior to sneak into the car and grab the lottery ticket without raising suspicion.
After all, he couldn't just buy the whole car for a lottery ticket!
But now, the car was already sold!
If he'd known, he would've messaged Boss Tian on WeChat last night to buy it!
"That car was in pretty good condition—six years old, less than 40,000 kilometers."
"No major repairs, no big accidents, just some minor bumps."
"For a newbie, spending 30,000 yuan on it to drive for four or five years, honing their skills, and then selling it wouldn't lose them much."
"Second-hand cars like that are a great deal, so they sell fast."
Tian Zhipeng explained while unscrewing parts of the car he was working on with an electric screwdriver.
"When… was it driven off?"
The thought of the lottery ticket worth nearly 70,000 yuan slipping away made Jiang Tao's heart ache with regret.
That winning ticket was only known to the heavens, the system, and himself.
The person who bought the car probably had no idea there was a lottery ticket tucked inside the manual!
Once tomorrow passed, that ticket worth nearly 70,000 yuan would be nothing more than a piece of paper too rough to even wipe with!
"What do you mean, when was it driven off?"
Tian Zhipeng didn't quite catch Jiang Tao's question, pausing his work to look at him.
"Oh, I mean, when was the Lavida you sold driven away?"
The thought of missing out on 70,000 yuan made Jiang Tao feel a pang of frustration.
"It hasn't been driven off yet. One of my guys took it to grab breakfast. Look, he's back."
Tian Zhipeng nodded toward something behind Jiang Tao.
Jiang Tao turned around and saw a white Lavida slowly pulling into an empty lot beside the repair shop.
The car door opened, and a young guy in the shop's uniform stepped out, holding two pancakes.
At that sight, Jiang Tao's heart, which had sunk into despair, reignited with hope.
This early morning rollercoaster of emotions—from high to low and back to high—was too damn thrilling!
Jiang Tao looked at Tian Zhipeng, barely containing his excitement, and asked:
"Uh, Boss Tian, could I check out the car's interior and feel the space? I'm thinking about getting a Lavida myself soon."
"Of course! Why not? Look all you want!"
"Xiao Liu, unlock the car door and let Master Jiang check it out."
Tian Zhipeng casually said to the apprentice walking up, not giving it a second thought.
"Got it, Brother Peng."
*Click!*
Xiao Liu, unfazed, pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the car.
"Thanks, Boss Tian!"
Jiang Tao politely thanked Tian Zhipeng, then quickly walked toward the second-hand Lavida.
In Jiang Tao's vision, through the car window, he saw a faint golden glow emanating from the glove compartment on the front passenger side.
"That's it!"
Jiang Tao reached the Lavida, circled halfway around, opened the passenger door, and slid inside.