At 10:43 a.m.
Jiang Tao got out of the car at the Yutong Second-Hand Car Wholesale Market near Nanhuan Dahongmen.
Upon entering the market, he quickly found a dealership named Old Li's Premium Second-Hand Car Wholesale.
After Jiang Tao walked in and mentioned Zhang Bo's name to a staff member, the staff immediately went to fetch their boss.
"Mr. Jiang, hello! I'm Li Ming. Zhang Bo already contacted me over the phone. Let me take you to see the car first."
Li Ming looked to be in his early thirties, not at all like an "Old Li." He was probably, like Zhang Bo, helping out with the family business.
Jiang Tao followed Li Ming to their parking lot.
The expansive parking lot was filled with hundreds of vehicles of varying quality and models.
There were sedans, SUVs, and even large pickup trucks.
Among them were some high-end models like BBA (BMW, Benz, Audi).
Prices ranged from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Jiang Tao even spotted a silver-gray Maserati Quattroporte!
If you took that thing to show off, it'd probably have guys within few-kilometer radius swooning like hooked fish!
Following Li Ming, Jiang Tao felt like Grandpa Jiang entering the Grand View Garden, looking left and right, his eyes overwhelmed by the sights.
It was clear that Li Ming's family had some serious clout to run such a large second-hand car dealership!
"That Audi was driven by the father of a buddy of mine and Zhang Bo's. It's in excellent condition."
"Mr. Jiang, you could drive it for another eight to ten years, no problem."
"Or, if you want to switch cars in a couple of years, just come back here and pick another one."
"We've got cars of all grades—high, medium, low—take your pick."
Li Ming led the way while enthusiastically chatting with Jiang Tao.
"Mr. Jiang, here it is. You can take it for a test drive and get a feel for it."
Li Ming brought Jiang Tao to a black Audi A6 with its license plates already removed, pulling a set of car keys from his pocket and handing them to Jiang Tao.
*Jingle jingle—*
"Mr. Jiang, go ahead and test drive it. I'll take a call."
After handing over the keys, Li Ming stepped aside to answer a phone call, seemingly about business.
Jiang Tao's gaze turned to the Audi's doors.
Sure enough, in his vision, all four doors of the old Audi were glowing with a faint golden light.
Who would've thought that hidden inside those doors were four gold bars!
For 120,000 yuan, he'd not only get an old Audi but also four gold bars worth over 270,000 yuan.
Once this deal was done, Jiang Tao would net 150,000 yuan in cash *plus* an old Audi!
Though he trusted Zhang Bo and Li Ming to some extent, this was still a 120,000-yuan purchase.
A test drive before the transaction was definitely necessary.
While Li Ming was on the phone, Jiang Tao got in and drove the old Audi around the lot four or five times.
Sure, it was an older model from over a decade ago, but it was still a high-end car.
The interior was spacious, the leather upholstery barely showed wear, and it drove quite comfortably!
"When I've got some money, I'm definitely getting a Mercedes!"
While test-driving the old Audi, Jiang Tao's mind wandered to his dream car, a Mercedes GLS!
It wasn't the most expensive model, but it was his favorite.
In the past, million-yuan luxury cars were something he could only dream about.
Given his circumstances, even sitting in one was a rare opportunity.
Among Jiang Tao and Xu Li's friends and relatives, Xu Li's cousin drove the priciest car—a 350,000-yuan Audi Q5L.
As for Mercedes? Not a single person they knew had one.
In the near future, imagine him driving a Mercedes GLS, taking Xu Li and their daughter to visit his in-laws—what a scene that would be!
What would his mother-in-law and sister-in-law, who often teased him, think then?
Just the thought of it made him feel exhilarated, a rush of satisfaction.
"Work hard and make money! Get that dream car as soon as possible!"
After a couple of test-drive laps, Jiang Tao parked the car next to Li Ming and got out.
"Mr. Jiang, how did it feel after a few laps? The car's in good shape, right?" Li Ming greeted him with a smile as he stepped out.
"No issues. I'll take this car. Let's sign the contract. When can we complete the transfer?"
Jiang Tao was straightforward. Even if the car had problems, he'd want it!
The two drove back to the office area.
After signing a few contracts, Jiang Tao followed Li Ming to the finance department to complete the payment.
In just over two hours, all the procedures were done, and Jiang Tao became the new owner of the old Audi A6.
The transfer paperwork would be sent to Ping County, Jiang Tao's hometown, where he'd need to visit the local vehicle administration office to finalize the process and officially register the car under his name in Ping County.
None of that mattered much—once the payment was made, Jiang Tao could drive the car away.
"Mr. Jiang, take care. If you need to buy or sell a car in the future, just come to me."
"Alright, see you."
Sitting in the Audi, Jiang Tao waved at Li Ming and drove off.
At a nearby gas station, he spent over 500 yuan to fill up with 95-octane fuel, then headed straight for Xiaoshahe, a village in the city between North 5th and 6th Ring Roads.
It took over an hour to get from the South 3rd Ring's second-hand car market to Xiaoshahe.
He parked the car right next to his truck at the village entrance.
Getting out, he grabbed a cross-head screwdriver from the toolbox in his truck's driver's cabin and got to work!
The Audi A6's doors were easy to remove, with just two cross-head screws securing the door panels.
After unscrewing them and giving the panel a few firm upward slaps with his palm, the door panel came off, revealing a few wires inside.
Holding the removed panel with both hands, Jiang Tao scanned the door's interior and quickly spotted his target!
It was a China Gold bar, about the size of a chocolate bar, still in its plastic packaging!
Freeing one hand and crouching slightly, Jiang Tao easily retrieved the first gold bar.
Next, he reattached the first door panel, then moved on to remove the second, third, and fourth panels!
In less than 20 minutes, he had all four 100g China Gold bars in hand!
Looking at the four gold bars, Jiang Tao could almost see red banknotes dancing in the air.
Last night, he'd already checked the current gold price.
China Gold's market price was 688.2 yuan per gram!
The intel indicated that these four gold bars were worth 275,280 yuan.
That matched perfectly with the 688.2 yuan/gram price!
Based on Jiang Tao's limited knowledge of the gold market, this price was definitely at a high point, and it probably wouldn't rise much further.
With the New Year approaching, consumer spending was strong, and gold was selling well.
After the New Year, when life returned to normal, the gold price might drop!
So, Jiang Tao planned to sell these four gold bars before heading home for the New Year, while gold prices were still high.
If the price dropped after the New Year, even a 10-yuan-per-gram loss would mean 4,000 yuan lost on 400 grams!