A long-awaited reunion.
The couple seemed to have endless things to talk about.
They chatted and chatted until midnight.
While Jiang Tao listened to Xu Li chattering excitedly about tomorrow's action plan, a thought struck him, and he opened the interface of his Daily Intelligence System.
The azure virtual interface in front of him was visible only to himself.
There was no need to worry about Xu Li noticing anything unusual.
**[Daily Intelligence 01]**
You had contact with Su Xiaoyu, the finance department manager of Wanxiang Plaza, yesterday, and obtained the following intelligence:
Su Xiaoyu has currently embezzled 2.08 million yuan of company funds to spend on male models at bars.
Remind Du Ennan to stop the losses in time to receive an 88,888 yuan New Year red envelope.
**[Daily Intelligence 02]**
You ran into Wang Xiaohong at KFC yesterday, and obtained the following intelligence:
Wang Xiaohong's sister, Wang Xiaobai, has come to Ping County with a sales task to sell 10,000 units of *Nezha: Demon Child Wreaks Havoc* merchandise—Flying Pig Popcorn Buckets.
The Flying Pig Popcorn Bucket is expected to surge in value by over 1,000% in the next week. It is recommended to buy all of Wang Xiaobai's stock (20 yuan per unit) and resell them at a high price later.
…
Upon seeing the first piece of intelligence that refreshed today, Jiang Tao couldn't help but gasp in shock.
Yesterday, he had met Su Xiaoyu, the woman mentioned in the intelligence.
Su Xiaoyu was in her fifties.
Her appearance was the kind that gave off an air of dignity at first glance, the type that made people think of a virtuous wife and loving mother.
Who could have guessed? Looks can be deceiving!
This woman had the audacity to embezzle over 2 million yuan of company funds to spend on male models!
This was already considered malicious misappropriation of company assets, and the amount was significant.
Moreover, the 2 million yuan that had already been spent was likely gone for good, impossible to recover.
Seeing this intelligence, Jiang Tao felt a pang of sympathy for Du Ennan.
That was over 2 million yuan!
A sum that many people couldn't earn in a lifetime, squandered just like that.
This matter wasn't as urgent as something concerning their child.
Plus, it was already late, and Xu Li was by his side, so Jiang Tao didn't rush to contact Du Ennan.
He'd find an opportunity to tell her about it tomorrow.
The 2 million yuan already lost was hard to recover, so he'd help her stop further losses!
After reviewing the first piece of intelligence, Jiang Tao flipped to the second one.
When he saw that the popcorn bucket mentioned in the intelligence was expected to surge by 1,000%, his heart raced with excitement.
This was even more lucrative than the Ultraman hairpin project!
The Ultraman hairpin had seen a surge in sales, but its price hadn't fluctuated much.
After all, it was just a small hairpin that became unexpectedly popular because of Liu Tianxian, with no additional value.
But the Flying Pig Popcorn Bucket mentioned in this intelligence was a piece of merchandise tied to *Nezha 2*, carrying the value of the IP.
Jiang Tao had naturally heard of this animated film, which had already gained massive fame domestically.
*Nezha 2* was set to release during the Spring Festival, and many professional institutions had used their big data models to predict its box office.
The lowest estimate was 3.7 billion yuan, and the highest was 6.5 billion!
The optimistic projections from big data models for *Nezha 2*'s box office left the film industry in awe.
If the highest estimate of 6.5 billion was accurate, *Nezha 2* would surpass *Changjin Lake*'s 5.775 billion yuan box office, becoming the first film in Chinese cinematic history to break 6 billion yuan!
Combined with its predecessor, *Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child*, which earned 5 billion, it would create a miracle in Chinese film history: "Two films grossing over 10 billion combined."
As the box office soared, the buzz around the movie would naturally grow.
The sales of related merchandise would skyrocket, with demand outstripping supply, making price hikes inevitable.
Still…
Seeing the system's intelligence mention a 1,000% increase, Jiang Tao found it a bit exaggerated.
1,000%!
A tenfold profit!
However, the system had never been wrong, and that was beyond doubt.
The Flying Pig Popcorn Bucket—this project had to be seized to make a fortune!
"Hey, honey, you're pinching me too hard."
In his excitement, Old Jiang's hands kneading the "dough" lost their gentleness, causing Xu Li to shoot him a playful, reproachful glance.
After reviewing the intelligence, Jiang Tao continued chatting with Xu Li.
In the end, they had a 25-minute "friendly match" before falling asleep in each other's arms.
The night passed quietly.
Jiang Tao slept until he woke naturally.
When he opened his eyes, Xu Li was nowhere to be seen.
From the kitchen came the sound of the range hood and the aroma of cooking.
On the nightstand, Xu Li had neatly laid out clean clothes for him.
The warmth of home was something even the fanciest hotels couldn't compare to.
Picking up the phone from the nightstand, he saw it was already 8:18 a.m.
After some thought, Jiang Tao composed a WeChat message and sent it to Du Ennan.
As for whether she believed the information, that was up to her.
After sending the message to Du Ennan, Jiang Tao got dressed and got out of bed.
"Honey, go wake up your daughter. Breakfast is almost ready," Xu Li called from the kitchen as soon as Jiang Tao stepped out.
"Got it~"
Jiang Tao headed to his daughter's room and, with the help of a Barbie doll, successfully coaxed his little "cotton-padded jacket" out of her warm blankets.
Breakfast was millet pumpkin porridge, a few slices of steamed buns coated in egg batter, and a plate of stir-fried cabbage.
Simple yet heartwarming.
After breakfast, Xu Li went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Jiang Xue, meanwhile, eagerly dragged Jiang Tao out the door, wanting to go for a drive.
As soon as they stepped outside, Jiang Tao saw a dozen or so young people from the village gathered outside, both guys and girls.
"Morning, Uncle Tao! Are you heading out?"
"Good morning, Uncle Tao."
"Tao Bro."
"Uncle Tao! Your car is so cool! We just took some photos, don't worry, we didn't touch your car!"
The group of young people greeted Jiang Tao with smiles and compliments.
"Take all the photos you want. I'll drive once you're done," Jiang Tao said with a chuckle, showing great patience toward the village kids. Who hadn't been young once?
"We're done, Uncle Tao. Go ahead and use your car."
"Alright, we're out. See you, Tao Bro."
The young folks were sensible and left promptly when they saw Jiang Tao needed to use the car.
"Daddy, do they also love our new car?" Jiang Xue asked, her little face beaming with pride, making Jiang Tao chuckle.
"Yeah, they love our car too. Let's go, hop in."
Jiang Tao grinned, holding his little "cotton-padded jacket's" hand as he opened the car door for her.
Jiang Xue climbed in with a kick of her little legs, excitedly touching everything on the soft, comfortable back seat.
Jiang Tao drove Jiang Xue around for about half an hour.
When they returned home, Xu Li had already changed and put on some light makeup.
After last night's "friendly matches," Xu Li looked radiant and charming, like a blooming rose.
She vividly embodied the phrase "more beautiful than a flower."
Pointing at Xu Li, Jiang Tao laughed and said, "Little Xue, look! A fairy just fell from the sky into our house~"
Jiang Xue's big, sparkling eyes lit up, and she clapped happily, saying, "Mommy's a fairy, so I'm a little fairy! Yay~ I'm a little fairy! I'm a little fairy~"
"Uh… no way, you're not a little fairy. You'll always be Daddy's cozy little cotton-padded jacket," Jiang Tao said, rubbing his forehead in mock exasperation.
The moment he heard the words "little fairy," a chill ran down his spine, as if he'd be "bursting with gold coins" at any moment.
Xu Li, watching the father and daughter playfully banter, couldn't help but giggle, her heart filled with happiness.