After taking a relaxing hot shower, Jiang Tao stepped out of the bathroom, wiping his damp hair with a towel.
Noticing his phone screen lit up on the bed, he walked over, picked it up, and unlocked it.
Seeing a message from Zhang Bo, whom he had just met earlier that day, Jiang Tao's eyes lit up.
Could this guy have changed his mind and decided to buy his Meile Pearl?
He tapped to open the three messages, and Zhang Bo's voice came through the phone.
"Brother Jiang, have you sold that dragon pearl you showed me this morning?"
"This afternoon, I posted about your dragon pearl on my Moments, and a client took a liking to it."
"If you haven't sold it yet, come by tomorrow. I'll take it at the price you mentioned. If it's already sold, no worries."
After listening to Zhang Bo's three voice messages, Jiang Tao raised his eyebrows and couldn't help but let out a whistle!
Talk about things falling into place!
After wandering around the market all afternoon, Jiang Tao had thought he might not be able to sell the Meile Pearl before the New Year.
But before the day was even over, things had taken a turn for the better—tomorrow, he could exchange it for cash!
Taking a deep breath to calm his excitement, Jiang Tao replied to Zhang Bo on WeChat with an "OK" gesture.
It looked casual, but inside, he was thrilled beyond words!
This 120,000 yuan felt like it had just blown in with the wind—so easy!
If he were hauling goods for a living, it would take him a year and a half of hard work to earn this much.
*Ding-a-ling-ling—*
Just as Jiang Tao finished replying to Zhang Bo on WeChat, Zhang Bo called him directly via voice chat.
"Hey, Zhang Bo," Jiang Tao answered, keeping his tone calm as he greeted him.
"Brother Jiang! Urgent situation! The client booked a 10 p.m. flight to leave the country tonight. Where are you right now? Can we make the deal immediately?"
"I'm at the Hanting Hotel near Dawang Road."
"I know that place! It's not far from my house! Which room are you in? I'll come to you right now! You've got the goods, right?"
"Yup, I've got it."
"OK, OK! Wait for me, Brother Jiang. I'll be there in about 15 minutes!"
"Alright, drive safely."
"We'll talk when I get there! Hanging up now, I'm on my way."
Zhang Bo hurriedly said a few words before ending the call.
Jiang Tao quickly wiped his hair haphazardly, then put his clothes back on.
Just as he finished changing, the delivery guy arrived with the big plate of chicken noodles he had ordered before his shower.
Jiang Tao didn't have time to eat just yet. After waiting a bit longer, there was another knock on the door—Zhang Bo had arrived.
"Sorry, Brother Jiang! Hope I'm not disturbing you. Plans changed unexpectedly—the client has to go on a long business trip, so they want to get the dragon pearl tonight."
"No problem, come in. Thanks for making the trip."
Jiang Tao smiled and welcomed Zhang Bo inside.
With time being tight, the two didn't bother with small talk. Jiang Tao pulled out the jewelry box Zhang Bo had given him that morning from his jacket's inner pocket and handed it over.
Zhang Bo opened the box, carefully inspecting the dragon pearl's authenticity and quality.
After all, it was an item worth over 100,000 yuan—verifying it before the transaction was essential.
"No issues! I'll transfer the money to you, Brother Jiang. What's the most convenient way for you to receive it?"
After inspecting, Zhang Bo confirmed it was the same pearl Jiang Tao had brought to the shop that morning, and its quality was impeccable.
"ZFB is fine!"
"Got it!"
As always, Zhang Bo was straightforward. He pulled out his phone, opened the ZFB app, added Jiang Tao as a friend, and transferred exactly 120,000 yuan!
"All good, I've received the transfer. The Meile Pearl is yours. Pleasure doing business."
Seeing the transfer go through, Jiang Tao looked at Zhang Bo, smiled, and extended his right hand for a handshake.
"Pleasure doing business! I won't disturb your rest any longer, Brother Jiang. If you come across any more treasures, come to us first—we'll make sure the price satisfies you."
Zhang Bo packed away the Meile Pearl, stood up, and bid Jiang Tao farewell with a smile.
"Definitely, definitely."
Jiang Tao nodded with a smile, escorting Zhang Bo to the door and watching him disappear down the hallway.
After seeing Zhang Bo off, Jiang Tao returned to the room and locked the door behind him.
He walked over to the small table in the room and opened the ZFB app on his phone to check his current savings balance.
"573,681!!"
With the 120,000 yuan Zhang Bo had just transferred, Jiang Tao's ZFB account balance reached an all-time high!
If you included the over 80,000 yuan in debt he had cleared, the 200,000 yuan he had transferred to Xu Li, the 60,000 yuan he had given to his third brother, Jiang Bing, to stock up on Ultraman hair clips, and the 30,000-yuan lottery ticket Xu Li had won, Jiang Tao's total gains since acquiring the daily intelligence system were approaching 1 million yuan!
From being 80,000 yuan in debt to having nearly 600,000 yuan in savings in just a matter of days!
"Come on, System Bro, give me a little more juice!"
"If I can hit 1 million in savings before the New Year, that'd be the perfect way to cap off the year!"
Looking at the balance displayed on his phone, Jiang Tao felt absolutely exhilarated!
After basking in the moment, he started eating. The big plate of chicken noodles had nearly clumped together, but thankfully, it wasn't too cold.
*Slurp, slurp, slurp~~*
In less than 10 minutes, he polished off the entire portion.
Satisfied and full, Jiang Tao pulled a Huanghelou cigarette from the pack.
*Ding-a-ling-ling—*
As if by some telepathic connection, just as Jiang Tao was about to video-call Xu Li, her video call request came through first.
He swiped to accept, and Xu Li and Jiang Xue appeared on the screen.
"Daddy~ When are you coming back?"
"Mommy took me to the amusement park today, and she bought me lots of yummy snacks and toys, and colored paper…"
As soon as the call connected, Jiang Xue chattered away, sharing her day's joy with Jiang Tao. It seemed she hadn't gotten into any trouble today.
After Jiang Xue finished her excited ramble and went off to watch TV, the couple finally had a chance to talk.
"Hey, honey, where are you at?" Xu Li asked curiously, noticing right away that Jiang Tao wasn't at home.
"At a Hanting Hotel near Panjiayuan."
"By yourself?"
"Come on, who else would I be with? You think I'd find some other girl?"
"Tch~ Who knows! Why are you staying at a hotel for no reason?"
Xu Li's slightly jealous tone made Jiang Tao chuckle.
"Didn't I come to Panjiayuan to take care of some business today?"
"By the time I was done, it was already late, so I didn't feel like going back."
"Plus, staying at a hotel means I can take a shower. Speaking of which, I haven't bathed in like ten days—I was turning into a real stinky guy."
"Oh, right, honey! Did you sell that pearl? How much did you get for it?"
Xu Li immediately picked up on the key detail in Jiang Tao's words.
Forgetting her playful jealousy, her mood instantly became elated.
"Guess."
"If you got 100,000, I'd be thrilled!"
"Oh, right, exactly 100,000. As per our agreement, we split it 50-50 when I'm back, so I'll transfer 50,000 to you."
"No way! It's definitely more than 100,000! Come on, tell me, how much did you sell it for? Let me share the excitement!"
"Not too much, not too little—just 120,000. I've got the transfer record to prove it."
As he spoke, Jiang Tao sent Xu Li the screenshot of Zhang Bo's transfer.
"It's really 120,000! Honey, you're amazing! You made 120,000 in one day!!"
"When you get back, I'm gonna reward you big time! *Mwah mwah~*"
Seeing the transfer screenshot on her phone, Xu Li was overjoyed, grinning like a carefree, silly girl.
"Oh? What kind of reward are we talking about?"
Hearing Xu Li mention a reward, Jiang Tao's interest was piqued.
"You'll find out when you get back~"
Xu Li's flirty, teasing look sent a spark through Jiang Tao.
He almost wished he could hop on a plane right then and there to claim his reward.