Full and satisfied from the meal.
It was already past 1 p.m. when Jiang Tao returned to his rental apartment.
During the meal, he had a few drinks with Lü Qian and Ma Dongmei.
At this moment, his head felt a bit dizzy, and he was too lazy to go out and wander aimlessly.
Jiang Tao only found out today that Ma Dongmei, who seemed quiet and refined, actually had a pretty good tolerance for alcohol!
It was rare for women to drink, and even rarer for someone like Ma Dongmei to have such a good capacity.
*Ding-a-ling-ling—*
Just as he was about to lie down for a nap, Jiang Tao's phone rang.
Picking up the phone, he saw the caller ID displayed the name "Third Sis."
"Hey, Third Sis…"
"Guess what? How old are we, still playing such childish games?"
"Get to the point. If you've got something to say, spit it out. If not, court's adjourned."
"Over 2,000 orders, but only sold a little over 70,000 yuan?"
"Oh, if you put it that way, that's not bad. You handle it."
"Find the people you need to find, ship what needs to be shipped. Got enough money? If not, I can transfer you some."
"Alright, alright, that's it then. You take care of it. Bye."
Jiang Tao was quite confident in his little sister's ability to handle things and wasn't worried she'd mess things up.
After a brief exchange over the phone, he hung up, climbed into bed, pulled the covers over, and started his nap.
He slept until around 3:30 p.m. when Liu Zhiyuan's call woke him up.
Liu Zhiyuan and the other two had sold out all their stockpiled tangerines, wrapping up the operation.
Around 4 p.m., Liu Zhiyuan, Shan Yifei, and Zhang Chao gathered at Jiang Tao's rental apartment again.
The final batch of tangerines sold for a total of just over 137,400 yuan.
Jiang Tao took a 71% share, pocketing 97,554 yuan.
Liu Zhiyuan and Shan Yifei each got 19,236 yuan.
The remaining 1,374 yuan was Zhang Chao's wage, which Jiang Tao topped up to 3,000 yuan.
Even though it was less than a full day's work, Jiang Tao still gave Liu Zhiyuan and Shan Yifei 1,000 yuan each as wages.
"The tangerines are sold out, and this operation has come to a perfect close. These past few days, you guys have been working hard, out early and back late."
"Tonight, after visiting Brother Wang at the hospital, pick any place you like, and we'll have a farewell dinner."
For this tangerine project, Jiang Tao invested 250,000 yuan and made a total of about 750,000 yuan, with a net profit of around 500,000 yuan.
In just five days, he earned 500,000 yuan!
Without the information provided by Brother System, it would've taken Jiang Tao at least seven or eight years to make 500,000 yuan.
And that's assuming he lived frugally.
If he kept living like he did now—eating out every day, smoking Huanghelou cigarettes—he probably wouldn't save up 500,000 yuan in a lifetime.
Besides the tangerines, Jiang Tao had also made 40,000 yuan from Z Pay in recent days, sold about 70,000 yuan worth of lottery tickets, and won 20,000 yuan from scratch-off tickets.
On top of that, his little sister Jiang Bing was selling Ultraman hair clips, and finishing that project would bring in another hefty sum.
Jiang Tao felt that with Brother System, life was getting more and more promising!
Liu Zhiyuan and the others didn't say anything sentimental.
This time, Jiang Tao had helped them earn over 100,000 yuan, and they kept that gratitude in their hearts.
The group hung out at Jiang Tao's place, chatting until around 4 p.m., before heading out together.
They stopped by Yudongdong Supermarket to buy milk, fruit, and other items.
Then, they went to Jishuitan Hospital to visit Wang Lianming and his wife, He Fang.
It had only been a few days, but Wang Lianming seemed to have aged a decade, his expression utterly haggard.
Seeing Jiang Tao, Liu Zhiyuan, and the others, Wang Lianming felt a surge of emotion, his eyes brimming with tears.
He Fang's condition was far from her previously glamorous self; she looked listless.
Due to daily chemotherapy, her hair loss was severe, and she had shaved it all off.
When Jiang Tao saw He Fang, the phrase "illness strikes like a landslide" instantly came to mind.
Seeing He Fang's poor condition, Jiang Tao and the others didn't stay long to avoid disturbing her.
They stayed in the ward for about forty minutes before saying their goodbyes.
Wang Lianming walked them out of the inpatient department.
Liu Zhiyuan and the other two left first, while Jiang Tao stayed behind to talk with Wang Lianming privately.
"Brother Wang, hasn't your wife's surgery been scheduled yet? Is it a money issue or something else? How much are you short? I can cover it."
Wang Lianming was like a mentor who brought Jiang Tao into the business. In Jiang Tao's toughest early days, he had helped him a lot.
Jiang Tao still remembered his first year in the business. He had to pay off a car loan, and Xu Li's difficult childbirth had cost a lot of money.
That year, around this time, with the New Year approaching, Jiang Tao had paid off that month's car loan and was left with less than 1,000 yuan.
Without hesitation, Wang Lianming gave him 10,000 yuan to go home and have a good New Year.
Jiang Tao would remember that kindness for a lifetime.
Now that Wang Lianming and He Fang were in trouble, Jiang Tao naturally wouldn't hesitate to lend a hand.
After splitting the final tangerine profits today, his account was close to breaking 400,000 yuan.
And after finishing the Ultraman hair clip project, he'd have another 100,000 yuan or so coming in.
Even if Wang Lianming asked to borrow 100,000 or 200,000 yuan, Jiang Tao would lend it to him without hesitation.
"Thanks, Jiang Tao, my good brother."
Wang Lianming's eyes reddened as he patted Jiang Tao's shoulder.
Jiang Tao was the first person, besides his and He Fang's parents, to proactively ask if he needed money and offer to lend it.
"Sigh! It's not about the money this time. We have enough money; we just can't schedule the surgery."
"A patient in the same ward has been waiting for over a month and still hasn't gotten a surgery slot."
"Sigh! For ordinary people like us, with no money or connections, everything is so damn hard!!"
As Wang Lianming spoke, cloudy tears streamed down his face.
These days, because of his wife's illness, this tough man had cried more than once.
"…"
Hearing Wang Lianming's words, Jiang Tao felt powerless to help.
Wealthy people could pay extra for priority services, spending several times more for the same surgery to get it scheduled quickly.
Those with connections could pull strings to jump the queue.
Ordinary people like Wang Lianming, with neither money nor connections, could only wait.
If they couldn't wait, their only option was to transfer to a hospital that could schedule the surgery.
"Your wife is blessed and will get through this. Everything will be fine."
Jiang Tao patted Wang Lianming's shoulder, comforting his old friend.
The two chatted a bit more before Wang Lianming went back upstairs to take care of He Fang.
Jiang Tao turned and joined Liu Zhiyuan and the other two outside.
The "Tangerine Team" had their final meal together, this time at a four-star hotel in Huilongguan.
It was a big step up from the Wangcai Restaurant in the urban village.
The meal cost Jiang Tao over 1,500 yuan.
After dinner, Zhang Chao insisted on treating everyone to a nearby KTV, where they sang for over three hours.
After singing, Liu Zhiyuan, Shan Yifei, and Zhang Chao went to an internet café to play games all night.
Jiang Tao, being a bit older, didn't join the youngsters' activities.
He took a taxi back to his rental in Xiaoshahe urban village, arriving just at midnight.
After entering and taking off his jacket, Jiang Tao, with a thought, opened the intelligence system to check today's information.