After splitting the profits, Liu Zhiyuan and the others headed to Zhang Chao's place to play Fight the Landlord.
The three buddies had recently become obsessed with the card game.
Every night, they'd play until eleven or twelve o'clock.
Jiang Tao glanced at the time—it was already past 8 p.m.
He chatted briefly with the landlord grandpa on WeChat, confirming he was back.
Jiang Tao packed five jars of Nü'er hong wine into two bags and delivered them to the landlord's room downstairs.
"Little Jiang, thank you so much!"
"I heard from Xiao Mei that her niece already bought her a train ticket back to her hometown."
"If it weren't for you, the two of us might have missed each other in this lifetime!"
"Xiao Mei? Not bad, Brother Lü, you two are moving pretty fast! How far along are you?"
Hearing Lü Qian's affectionate nickname for Ma Dongmei, Jiang Tao's face lit up with a gossipy grin.
"We just had lunch and dinner together today, and we've made plans to visit the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City tomorrow."
"The day after, we're climbing the Great Wall, and the day after that, we're going to the zoo…"
Listening to Lü Qian and Ma Dongmei's week-long itinerary, Jiang Tao couldn't help but chuckle.
Their progress was faster than most youngsters!
*Ding-a-ling-ling—*
While Jiang Tao was chatting with Lü Qian, a video call from Xu Li came through.
"Brother Lü, I'll head back now. Have fun tomorrow!"
"Haha, thanks for the well-wishes!"
Jiang Tao gave Lü Qian a cheerful blessing, then left the room, answering Xu Li's video call as he stepped out.
"Honey, ta-da-da~"
The moment the video call connected, Xu Li appeared on the screen, dressed in a vibrant red dress.
The festive red dress hugged her figure, accentuating her stunning waist-to-hip ratio and graceful curves.
Over the dress, she wore a matching bright red jacket.
The soft fabric glowed warmly under the light, adding a touch of elegance and allure.
"Honey, what do you think of my New Year's battle armor?"
Xu Li propped her phone up and spun around to show Jiang Tao the full look.
Originally, Xu Li hadn't planned to buy new clothes, but after Jiang Tao sent her 200,000 yuan, she changed her mind!
Even if not for herself, she had to think of her husband, who'd been working hard all year, right?
Looking beautiful would also bring some emotional value to her husband.
"My wife is gorgeous! Stunning—this outfit suits you perfectly."
Seeing his beautifully dressed wife, Jiang Tao felt a surge of pride!
*My girl is just that beautiful!*
"But, isn't the neckline a bit low?"
Jiang Tao glanced at the exaggerated curve and glimpse of fair skin at his wife's chest, muttering under his breath.
"Silly~ This is the version for *you* to see. This is how I'll wear it when I go out!"
In the video, Xu Li playfully rolled her eyes at Jiang Tao, then tugged the neckline of her dress up slightly.
Sure enough, the glimpse of fair skin vanished instantly.
The sexiness of her New Year's battle armor dropped by over 90%!
Well, now Jiang Tao was practically hooked like a fish!
After some back-and-forth, Xu Li finally reverted her outfit to the "Jiang Tao exclusive" mode.
The outfit cost Xu Li over 1,000 yuan, but seeing how much Jiang Tao loved it, she felt it was worth every penny.
The couple video-chatted until 10:30 p.m.
Their daughter, Jiang Xue, got sleepy and started fussing about going to bed, so Xu Li hung up to give her a bath.
After the call ended, Jiang Tao washed up briefly and slipped into bed.
He scrolled through Douyin for a bit, then checked out Bilibili.
He'd intended to refine his aesthetic taste, but the results weren't great.
After scrolling through so many girls, he still thought his wife was the prettiest!
"Liu Tianxian is still so beautiful."
Just as Jiang Tao was about to end his "aesthetic training," he came across a Douyin video of Liu Tianxian attending a BVLGARI fashion event.
In the video, Liu Tianxian was decked out in haute couture, dripping with elegance and charm.
Around her neck was a globally limited-edition BVLGARI necklace worth over a million yuan.
Her bracelet was a new Year of the Snake BVLGARI piece, costing over 100,000 yuan.
Her dazzling gold evening gown, also haute couture, was likely far from cheap.
The only item on her that an ordinary person could afford was probably the Ultraman-shaped hair clip in her hair.
When Jiang Tao was younger, he'd been a big fan of the young Liu Tianxian.
Especially her spirited portrayal of Zhao Ling'er, which he adored to his core.
Even as an adult, Jiang Tao still liked Liu Tianxian.
She was the only female celebrity he'd consistently admired in the entertainment industry.
Of course, it was just pure admiration—he wasn't exactly a fanboy.
"A necklace worth over a million yuan… Someday, we'll get Xu Li one too. She'd be thrilled."
Seeing Liu Tianxian's dazzling, jewel-laden outfit, Jiang Tao's desire to make money grew even stronger!
His silly wife had endured so many hardships with him over the years.
Now that the tough times were over, it was time for her to taste the sweetness of life!
"Come on, System Bro, step it up! With a few days left before the New Year, let's make some more money! I want to go home for a great New Year."
With a thought, Jiang Tao opened the intelligence system, which was still upgrading, and checked its status.
Today was the twentieth of the twelfth lunar month, leaving just seven days until Jiang Tao's return home on the twenty-seventh.
"Tomorrow, I'll cash in the lottery ticket for over 60,000 yuan, and the tangerines should bring in at least 100,000. That's 160,000 already."
"System Bro's upgraded now, so it can provide two pieces of intelligence at once tomorrow. Hopefully, it'll be a banger!"
Jiang Tao scrolled on his phone a bit more. Around 11:30 p.m., System Bro finished upgrading from Level 1 to Level 2.
Soon, midnight arrived, and the intelligence refreshed.
**[Today's Intelligence 01]:** You bought a lottery ticket yesterday in Xiaoshahe City Village and obtained related intelligence—
The lottery shop owner, Liu Feng, urgently needs a winning lottery ticket worth around 70,000 yuan for social favors.
Selling your lottery ticket to Liu Feng can help you avoid taxes.
**[Today's Intelligence 02]:** You saw Liu Tianxian on Douyin yesterday and obtained related intelligence—
The Ultraman hair clip Liu Tianxian was wearing is about to go viral tomorrow, with sales skyrocketing. Stock up now!
Maximum: 10,000 units!
…
Seeing the two new pieces of intelligence, Jiang Tao's eyes lit up.
Both pieces of intelligence were about making money!
System Bro was delivering!
"The lottery ticket's prize is 68,996 yuan."
"If I claim it at the lottery center, the 20% income tax would be 13,799 yuan."
"Saving that is pure profit, no problem!"
"The second piece of intelligence—what's with Liu Tianxian's Ultraman hair clip?"
Jiang Tao rewatched the video of Liu Tianxian he'd seen earlier.
Sure enough, he noticed the Ultraman-shaped hair clip in her hair, looking kind of cute.
When he'd watched the video earlier, his eyes had only briefly passed over it.
Though he'd noticed the hair clip, he never imagined it would lead to a piece of intelligence today.