When Jiang Tao saw his sister-in-law Xu Sha, he wasn't particularly surprised.
After all, the lucrative tip about Wang Xiaobai had come through Xu Sha's "beauty buff," Wang Xiaohong.
A profit of 1000%, a tenfold return!
After completing this deal, Jiang Tao's gross profit would exceed 1.8 million yuan!
Even after deducting various costs, the net profit in his hands was conservatively estimated to be over 1 million yuan!
A chance encounter at KFC had led to a business opportunity worth millions.
Truly, life is full of surprises!
Looking at his sister-in-law now, Jiang Tao even found the girl somewhat endearing!
"Good morning, Mr. Jiang."
Though surprised, Wang Xiaobai quickly regained her composure and greeted Jiang Tao respectfully.
Xu Sha watched her admired "big sister" Wang Xiaobai acting so deferential in front of Jiang Tao, her expression complex.
At Keze Culture, Wang Xiaobai was just a junior salesperson.
But through her hard work and dedication, she consistently earned over 10,000 yuan a month.
Having graduated just over a year ago and already earning such a salary, Wang Xiaobai was considered outstanding among her peers.
In Shishi, many girls her age might appear to be white-collar workers in offices, dressed impeccably and looking glamorous.
But their monthly salaries were often only three or four thousand yuan!
Some shady companies in office buildings paid their interns less than the cleaning staff!
Xu Sha, studying at a vocational college in Shishi, was essentially just coasting to get a diploma.
Graduation meant unemployment, with no clear career path or advantages to speak of.
Among the senior students she knew, those earning over 5,000 yuan a few years after graduation were considered doing well.
Most were scraping by with three or four thousand yuan a month.
When things got tough, they'd start looking for a partner, get married, and settle down.
Xu Sha genuinely admired someone like Wang Xiaobai, who worked hard and succeeded, and had always looked up to her as a role model.
Yet now, her role model was acting so respectful in front of her brother-in-law, whom she had always looked down upon.
The scene didn't hit Xu Sha too hard, but it wasn't insignificant either.
"Good morning, Xiao Wang. Sha Sha and Xiaohong are here too."
"Let's have lunch together today. I'll have your sister cook your favorite dishes."
Jiang Tao stopped in front of the three, smiling as he greeted them.
Wang Xiaobai, flattered, responded, "Oh, that's too kind, Mr. Jiang…"
"No need to be shy. We're acquaintances now, and this collaboration went well. Who knows, there might be more opportunities in the future."
Jiang Tao smiled, thinking to himself, *You brought me over a million in profit this time. Inviting you for a meal at home is the least I can do.*
"Well… then thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Jiang!"
Wang Xiaobai, eager to build a connection with Jiang Tao, accepted after a brief, polite hesitation.
She reasoned clearly: if Mr. Jiang didn't mean to invite her, he wouldn't have said anything.
Refusing too much would seem ungrateful.
After agreeing to the lunch invitation, Wang Xiaobai glanced over and noticed a container truck turning into the village entrance. She turned to Jiang Tao and said, "Mr. Jiang, the truck's here. Shall I arrange for the workers to unload?"
"Sure, just unload it in my courtyard."
"Got it!"
As they spoke, the truck driver pulled up to the alley entrance.
Wang Xiaobai gave instructions to the driver and the two workers accompanying him, then led them to Jiang Tao's house to confirm the location.
Jiang Tao, meanwhile, led Wang Xiaohong, who was visibly nervous yet excited, and Xu Sha, whose expression remained complex, back to his home.
Along the way, Xu Sha was unusually quiet.
Her mind kept replaying the earlier scene, with Wang Xiaobai repeatedly addressing Jiang Tao as "Mr. Jiang, Mr. Jiang."
How had *Jiang Tao* become "Mr. Jiang"?
"Sha Sha, why do I feel like your brother-in-law is getting more handsome?" Wang Xiaohong whispered excitedly into Xu Sha's ear, sneaking glances at Jiang Tao, who walked ahead with a steady stride.
She suddenly found herself drawn to his mature, "uncle" vibe!
"Tch, handsome can…" Xu Sha started to retort with her usual jab about Jiang Tao but faltered.
*Handsome enough to put food on the table?*
*He earns so little each month, barely enough to support my sister and niece.*
In the past, she could rattle off these lines effortlessly.
But today, having seen a side of Jiang Tao she'd never witnessed before, Xu Sha felt that saying those things would be like lying to herself.
"I think your brother-in-law has a real air of confidence. He doesn't seem like the delivery driver you described—he feels more like a big boss!"
"Did he always keep a low profile at your place, playing the pig to eat the tiger?"
Wang Xiaohong stole another glance at Jiang Tao as she spoke. As the saying goes, money is a man's courage—the more money in his pocket, the straighter his back and the prouder his stance!
The phrase fit Jiang Tao perfectly now.
When he was driving trucks, working hard for a month earned him eight or nine thousand yuan.
After rent, food, and daily expenses for a family of three, he was lucky to have 4,000 yuan left.
Saving forty or fifty thousand a year was the best he could do.
With such a low income, he inevitably came off as frugal or even stingy, giving off a "petty" vibe.
Over time, that "shabby" aura grew stronger.
Every time Xu Sha saw Jiang Tao, the word "shabby" would flash in her mind!
He was genuinely poor, and the "shabby" label was accurate. Though Xu Sha could be a bit snobbish, her assessment of Jiang Tao was fair.
In a sense, for the past thirty years, Jiang Tao had been an unremarkable nobody, struggling at the bottom of society, still stuck there after three decades.
For most ordinary people, their struggle is like crawling through a dark, damp sewer, weighed down with no path upward.
Only a few lucky ones seize opportunities to leap to a higher class.
This time, returning home for the New Year, Jiang Tao drove a Mercedes GLS worth over a million yuan, owned gold bars valued at hundreds of thousands, and had hundreds of thousands in savings.
He was far from a tycoon, but he had undeniably escaped the ranks of the struggling masses, now soaring with the help of the "system."
And in the future, he would fly even higher and farther!
*A refined aura from knowledge, a straightened back from wealth.*
Enough money could indeed make a man stand tall, no longer bowed by the weight of life!
Xu Sha kept sneaking glances at Jiang Tao walking ahead.
She could clearly sense that the Jiang Tao who returned this time was vastly different from before!
He exuded confidence, ease, cheerfulness, and generosity—qualities Xu Sha had never associated with him.
"Make yourselves at home, no need to be polite."
"Your sister and Little Xue are out playing. I'll call her and let her know you're here."
Jiang Tao led Xu Sha and Wang Xiaohong into the living room, motioned for them to sit, and called Xu Li to inform her of Xu Sha's arrival, asking her to plan to return early to cook.
"You two rest here, watch some TV. I'm going to check on the goods."
Jiang Tao nodded to them and headed outside to inspect the delivery with Wang Xiaobai.
"Sha Sha, your brother-in-law is *so* handsome and charismatic! I'm seriously smitten—what do I do?" Wang Xiaohong exclaimed after Jiang Tao left, grabbing Xu Sha's arm with a fangirl expression.
Xu Sha rolled her eyes. "Save it. My sister's pinky toe is prettier than your whole self."
"Ugh, why do you have to be so mean!"
"It's the truth."
With Jiang Tao gone, Xu Sha and Wang Xiaohong relaxed, chatting animatedly.
Xu Sha's gaze, however, kept drifting toward Jiang Tao and Wang Xiaobai in the courtyard.
"I must've been corrupted by Wang Xiaohong. Why am I starting to think he's kind of handsome too?"