The time for Lü Qian and Jiang Tao's dinner meetup was set for exactly 7:00 PM.
It was only around 4:30 PM at the moment.
Jiang Tao had gone to Panjiayuan today to sell tea, spending nearly four hours riding the subway back and forth.
Though he hadn't done much, it was more exhausting than driving a full day's worth of deliveries.
With a little over two hours to spare, he didn't plan to do anything else and headed straight back to his rented apartment to rest.
He slept until 6:30 PM.
After getting up, Jiang Tao washed his face, shampooed his hair, shaved his beard, and changed into a clean set of clothes.
With a bit of sprucing up, Jiang Tao's entire demeanor transformed dramatically.
In an instant, he went from a scruffy, unkempt middle-aged man to a charismatic uncle.
Back in his school days, when Xu Li had pursued him, half the credit went to the face his parents gave him.
By the time he finished freshening up, it was already 6:50 PM.
When Jiang Tao went downstairs, he found He Jing already there, smiling and gesturing animatedly about something with Ma Dongmei.
"Hey, look at this guy all cleaned up! Pretty handsome, huh? Almost as good as I was in my prime!"
Lü Qian teased Jiang Tao with a grin upon seeing his polished appearance.
When Jiang Tao was working, driving and delivering goods, he usually looked rough and disheveled.
It was only when he went home that he'd clean up properly, presenting his best self to his wife and kids.
Having known each other for over six years, Lü Qian rarely saw Jiang Tao looking this sharp.
"Almost as good as I was in my prime" was his highest praise for Jiang Tao's looks.
"Haha, I can tell, I can tell! Back in the day, Old Lü must've been the idol of countless girls in Beijing, the face of the capital!"
Jiang Tao, eyeing Lü Qian who was once again channeling Xu Wenqiang, chuckled and returned the compliment.
"Brother Jiang, you're here!"
He Jing, spotting Jiang Tao, smiled warmly and greeted him proactively.
The Jiang Tao she saw today was different from the two times she'd met him before.
He was noticeably more handsome and exuded a stronger presence.
And there was something else…
For some reason, He Jing felt that the Jiang Tao standing before her was a completely different person from the one she'd first met when buying a watch.
His demeanor was now much more composed and confident.
His tone of voice felt brighter and more upbeat.
One Jiang Tao was burdened with debt, anxious and suffering from severe insomnia as the New Year approached, scrambling to earn money to pay it off.
The other Jiang Tao was debt-free, had made a fortune of several hundred thousand through the system, and was eating well, drinking well, and sleeping soundly every day.
Naturally, the two versions of Jiang Tao gave off entirely different vibes.
After some casual chatter, Lü Qian led the group toward the restaurant where he was treating them tonight.
Lü Qian had learned from Ma Dongmei that He Jing loved seafood.
So, he chose Fat Brother's Seafood BBQ in the urban village for tonight's dinner.
Despite being just a barbecue joint in an urban village, Fat Brother's Seafood BBQ was no small operation.
The three-story building along the street was lavishly decorated, and the per-person cost wasn't cheap.
The restaurant offered a wide variety of seafood: shellfish, shrimp, fish—you name it.
Fat Brother's Seafood BBQ was quite famous in the area.
Every day, customers from the city would drive long distances to dine there.
Lü Qian seemed to be a regular.
As soon as he led Jiang Tao and the others inside, a waiter escorted them to a private room on the second floor that Lü Qian had reserved in advance.
Once in the private room, Lü Qian only asked Jiang Tao and He Jing if they had any dietary restrictions.
After confirming, he started ordering without hesitation.
Oysters, clams, scallops, prawns, large shrimp, shrimp paste, saury, squid—a full spread of seafood was ordered.
He also added a bunch of skewered items.
"Tonight, we're drinking this~"
After ordering, Lü Qian proudly pulled out a jar of Daughter Red wine from a black tote bag—a jar he'd bought from Jiang Tao for 20,000 yuan.
Ma Dongmei's eyes lit up when she saw the Daughter Red jar.
Clearly, she'd tasted it before.
Jiang Tao had learned from chatting with Lü Qian that Ma Dongmei also enjoyed drinking and had a decent tolerance.
No wonder their compatibility was a whopping 97%—their hobbies were perfectly aligned.
Soon, the waiter brought out plates of various shellfish, fish, and shrimp.
As the host, Lü Qian gave a brief speech, expressing a warm welcome to He Jing, and then the meal officially began.
The Daughter Red that Jiang Tao sold to Lü Qian, aged nearly 20 years in the truest sense, was a rare find on the market.
Even He Jing, who typically didn't drink, was intrigued after Lü Qian's enthusiastic introduction and poured herself a small cup to taste.
The complex, rich aroma of the Daughter Red was so delightful that even He Jing praised its flavor.
The meal was a joyful affair, with the group growing less reserved and more familiar with each other.
The four of them polished off the two-jin jar of Daughter Red.
After eating and drinking their fill, Lü Qian went downstairs to settle the bill, which came to just over 2,400 yuan—about 600 yuan per person, not too extravagant.
But if you factored in the 20,000-yuan jar of Daughter Red, the per-person cost shot up to over 5,000 yuan, making it quite a feast!
By the time they returned to the front of Lü Qian's building, it was past 9:00 PM.
Jiang Tao still had to video call his wife and kids, so he said goodbye to the group and headed upstairs.
Back in his room, he washed up briefly and chugged a large glass of water to sober up.
Then, Jiang Tao pulled out his phone to video call Xu Li.
"Honey, am I just so stupid and useless…"
"I can't earn a single cent, and I even lost 30,000 yuan. I'm such a failure."
Xu Li still hadn't forgiven herself for losing a lottery ticket worth 30,000 yuan.
Her little face bore a pitiful, aggrieved expression, like a child who'd done something wrong.
Jiang Tao felt a bit helpless. He'd already comforted her as much as he could that morning.
He'd explicitly told her he didn't blame her at all and urged her to let it go.
But Xu Li was blaming herself, unable to forgive herself, and stuck in a rut. Jiang Tao was at a loss for what to do.
Suddenly, a spark of inspiration hit him, and he said:
"Sweetheart, there's something I was planning to tell you when I got home, snuggled up in bed.
But since you're not in the best mood today, I'll tell you now."
"What is it?"
Xu Li's curiosity was piqued, and she looked at him with interest.
"It's so surreal it's almost unbelievable, but don't worry, I have proof."
"A couple of days ago…"
Jiang Tao recounted a slightly altered version of how he'd found a second-prize-winning lottery ticket in a used car, sharing the story with Xu Li.
When Xu Li heard that someone else had lost a ticket worth even more than hers, and that her husband had found it!
One lost, one found—between them, they'd come out over 30,000 yuan ahead!
To convince Xu Li, Jiang Tao sent her the transaction record from the lottery shop owner.
Seeing the 68,996 yuan transaction, Xu Li had no choice but to believe it!
"I'd say this was all fated by the heavens."
"Maybe that ticket you lost wasn't really lost. Maybe the heavens felt they'd given us too much and took a portion back."
"Is that really how it works, honey?"
After Jiang Tao's round of comforting and reasoning, Xu Li's mood genuinely improved.
"Absolutely!"
Jiang Tao answered decisively, without a hint of hesitation.
The couple chatted until past midnight before ending the call.
After hanging up, Jiang Tao, with a thought, opened the panel of his intelligence system to check the latest updates.