"Oh my God!!!"
"It's actually a signed card from Director Dumpling!!"
"Honey! Do you know how much this card is being hyped up for online?!"
"We've struck it rich, we're rich!!"
After Xu Li clearly saw the card in Jiang Tao's hand, she pounced on him, hugging him and rolling around on the sofa several times.
Seeing Xu Li's excited expression, Jiang Tao felt deeply gratified.
Making his wife happy was worth more than the card itself.
"What are you two getting rich off of now?"
Jiang Bing, who had just walked in chewing on a piece of sugarcane, saw her second brother and sister-in-law being all lovey-dovey and instantly felt stuffed with a mouthful of dog food.
"Little Bing, your brother just pulled a signed card from Director Dumpling out of a Doutian pack!"
Xu Li sat up from the sofa, excitedly sharing her joy with her sister-in-law.
"What? A signed card from Director Dumpling? *Cough cough cough*…"
Hearing her sister-in-law's words, Jiang Bing got so excited she nearly choked on the sugarcane in her mouth.
"Let me see it, quick, let me see!"
Jiang Bing eagerly rushed to her brother and sister-in-law's side, reaching out to take the cartoon Ao Bing BP card from Xu Li's hand.
Seeing Director Dumpling's distinctive signature at the bottom of the card, which looked like Ao Run's Void-Splitting Claw, Jiang Bing's breathing quickened.
"Second Brother! This card is already going for 50,000 online! Let me list it for sale on Little Red Potato! That's 50,000 yuan!"
Jiang Bing looked at her brother with joy, thrilled by his incredible luck.
This was a globally limited edition signed card, only 10 in existence!!
And her second brother had actually pulled one!
Xu Li chimed in excitedly, "Honey! Sell it! We'll split it fifty-fifty, finder's fee!"
Who would've thought that a tiny card like this could sell for over 50,000 yuan!
Neither Jiang Tao nor Xu Li were collectors of "grain" (merchandise), so they had no interest in keeping the card.
Xu Li preferred money!
"Wait, how much did you say? 50,000?"
Jiang Tao was about to joke that his little sister was trying to skim off him—Big Bro System had said the card was worth 98,000, and she was quoting him 50,000.
Where'd the other 48,000 go?
But before he could say anything, Jiang Tao realized something.
The price of this signed card probably hadn't reached its peak yet and still had room to grow.
It was like the 10,000 Flying Pig popcorn buckets he and his sister were hoarding.
With *Nezha 2*'s box office soaring in recent days, there were seven or eight trending topics related to the movie every day.
*Nezha 2* was showing signs of becoming a massive hit, and many related merchandise items, including the Flying Pig popcorn buckets, had become hot sellers.
In some places, like Ping County, the buckets were impossible to find.
In Ping County, Jiang Tao had monopolized the popcorn bucket supply, leaving people with no way to buy them!
"Mm-hmm! 50,000 yuan! Second Brother, your luck this year is unreal! This one card is worth more than half a year of my earnings!"
Jiang Bing looked at her brother with envy in her eyes!
If she had that kind of luck, she'd definitely go on a trip to reward herself!
"I think there's still a lot of room for the price to go up. Let's wait a bit, no rush to sell."
Jiang Tao ultimately decided to trust Big Bro System's judgment and wait until the price neared 98,000 before selling.
Jiang Bing tried to persuade him, "Come on, Second Brother, what are you thinking? Strike while the iron's hot, cash in now! If the movie's hype dies down, the price of this signed card will drop too!"
"Let's wait a bit. I think *Nezha 2*'s potential is far from what it's showing now."
"Let's hold off. I feel it'll go up more."
Jiang Tao's expression was calm, not anxious at all.
With the information provided by Big Bro System, he had more insight than Jiang Bing and the others, which made him more composed.
"Oh, it's your card, Second Brother, do what you want. By the way, when are we selling our Flying Pig buckets?"
"I saw on Little Red Potato they're already going for 99 each! Lots of netizens are begging to buy them."
Jiang Bing shifted the topic back to the Flying Pig popcorn buckets. She'd been keeping an eye on this market every day, ready to make a big move.
Jiang Tao thought for a moment and said, "It's not a bad time to start listing them, but the price can go even higher."
"Mm-hmm! Second Brother, how much should we sell them for?"
Jiang Bing's face lit up with excitement at the thought of listing the Flying Pig popcorn buckets.
Jiang Tao said calmly, "199 each."
"Second Brother, be serious. This is business! Tell me, how much are we selling them for?"
Jiang Bing thought her brother was teasing her, grabbing his arm and shaking it.
"Who's joking? That's the price, 199 each. We can list them today."
"At the same time, make it clear that we have stock ready to ship immediately. Set the inventory to 10,000."
"Once we sell all 10,000, we're done and can call it a day."
"Second Brother, are you okay? We bought those Flying Pigs for 20 yuan each, and you want to sell them for 200?"
Jiang Bing reached out to feel Jiang Tao's forehead, checking if he had a fever—what kind of pipe dream was this!
"Honey, stop teasing Little Third. Tell her the real price already."
Xu Li looked at her scheming husband with exasperation, thinking he was joking with her sister-in-law.
"I'm serious, why don't you two believe me?"
Jiang Tao gave a helpless smile and emphasized, "It's 199 each, ready stock, list it at that price."
Seeing Jiang Tao's serious expression, not at all like he was joking, Xu Li and Jiang Bing were completely baffled.
Was this how business was done?
Wasn't this… too much profit?!
"Really 199 each, Second Brother?"
Jiang Bing looked at her brother with concern, starting to worry about his mental state.
Just a popcorn bucket?
199 each?
Where was she supposed to find 10,000 suckers to buy them!
"Yes, just list them at that price. You'll see why in a few days."
Jiang Tao had strong confidence in Big Bro System's information.
Since Big Bro System said the buckets had a 1000% appreciation rate, he'd just follow through!
"Alright… fine!"
Though Jiang Bing wasn't optimistic, her brother insisted, so she didn't argue further.
After all, the money for this deal came from her brother and sister-in-law, so he had the final say on pricing.
She was only responsible for sales and shipping, so she'd do her part.
After discussing the Flying Pig popcorn buckets, Jiang Bing went to the small room she shared with Jiang Xue.
She opened her laptop and started working from home.
Though she could be wild when having fun, Jiang Bing was serious and responsible when it came to work.
After sending Little Third off to work, Jiang Tao told Xu Li to store the signed card from Director Dumpling carefully, waiting for the right time to sell.
"Honey, should we go to the hospital to check on Uncle and my brother?"
After putting away the card, Xu Li returned to the living room, sat next to Jiang Tao, and asked for his opinion.
"Let's go. We don't have anything else going on today."
Jiang Tao thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
The county hospital in Ping County wasn't as strict as hospitals in Beijing, with no set visiting hours.
So, Jiang Tao and Xu Li bought a carton of milk and a carton of walnut milk from the village supermarket and headed to the hospital.
Xu Li's cousin Xu Jiantao's condition had stabilized, and his life was no longer in danger.
But he was still in a coma and hadn't woken up.
Xu Li's uncle Xu Wenchao and aunt Gao Yunting looked utterly exhausted.
"Sigh… Lili, your big brother was really blind back then. How did he marry such a woman!"
"She's just awful, not even human."
"Your brother's in this state, and she hasn't even stayed one night here. Can you call her human?!"
Gao Yunting held Xu Li's hand, crying as she spoke.
Since her son was hospitalized, his wife Yanping hadn't stayed overnight once, always leaving with the excuse of taking care of the kids.
At most, she'd show up in the morning, stay for less than ten minutes, and leave.
It was as if her son's hospitalization had nothing to do with her.
The more Xu Wenchao and Gao Yunting thought about it, the angrier they got, feeling that their son's years of devotion to that family were wasted.
"Sigh!"
Uncle Xu Wenchao kept sighing beside them.
Dealing with such a shameless, unyielding daughter-in-law, the old couple was furious every day.
"What a family misfortune, a family misfortune!"
Thinking about their daughter-in-law's recent behavior, Xu Wenchao was also furious.
No matter what they said to her, it went in one ear and out the other. She didn't care and kept doing whatever she wanted.
What made the old couple even more heartbroken was that Xu Jiantao had been hospitalized for over two days, and their grandchildren hadn't even come to see their father!
The two grandkids weren't close to their grandparents, which was fine.
But their father was in a coma, and they didn't even visit—that was too much!
Listening to her uncle and aunt's complaints, what could Xu Li do? She could only offer comfort.
They stayed at the hospital until 9 p.m. before Jiang Tao and Xu Li left.
"Honey, Sister-in-law Yanping is too much. How can there be a wife like that?"
"My brother's in that state, and she acts like nothing's wrong."
"I saw her sharing food videos in her Moments today."
"I didn't dare tell Uncle and Aunt because I was afraid it'd upset them."
In front of her uncle and aunt, Xu Li didn't feel comfortable venting.
But alone with Jiang Tao, she couldn't hold back and felt indignant for her cousin.
"Sigh, they say you see true colors in tough times. Your sister-in-law is really something else."
Jiang Tao shook his head, feeling some sympathy for Xu Li's cousin.
At the same time, he quietly wondered what would happen if he were the one in a coma someday…
"Honey, when you're old and can't walk, even if you can't take care of yourself anymore, I'll always stay by your side, taking care of you for life."
"I'll carry your bedpan, ugh~"
Before Xu Li could finish, she seemed to picture some future scene and started gagging.
"Hahaha, you little goof, can I really count on you?"
Jiang Tao burst out laughing at his silly wife's antics, and the serious atmosphere in the car vanished.
"I-I'll get over it! I'll definitely manage when the time comes."
Xu Li playfully rolled her eyes, defending herself.
"And I'd do the same for you."
Jiang Tao looked at Xu Li's soft, curved profile, his smile radiating pure happiness.
It was past 10 p.m. when the couple got home. Jiang Bing had already taken Jiang Xue to bed.
After taking turns washing up, neither Jiang Tao nor Xu Li was in the mood for intimacy that night, so they took a break.
Xu Li had to take care of the kids at noon these days, not even getting a nap, and soon fell asleep hugging Jiang Tao's arm.
Though Jiang Tao was tired, he stayed up until midnight for the new intelligence update.
**[Today's Intelligence 01]:**
You visited your wife's cousin Xu Jiantao at Ping County Hospital yesterday, obtaining the following intelligence—
Xu Jiantao's wife, Yanping, is currently gambling at Room 1003, Building 12, Jindi Jiayuan Community.
Reporting gambling can earn you an 8,000 yuan reward!
**[Note 1]:** 3 hours and 19 minutes remain until the gambling activity ends.
**[Note 2]:** The light of justice can shine through darkness. Choosing to uphold righteousness by reporting a relative can earn you 10 times the reward! (Paid immediately.)
…
"This woman is really…"
Seeing the first piece of intelligence was about Xu Li's sister-in-law, Jiang Tao was both surprised and angry.
Xu Li's brother was in a coma, and this woman was out gambling?
Was she just carefree, or did she not care about Xu Li's brother at all?
What a terrible wife to end up with.
What to do?
Seeing the two notes under the intelligence, Jiang Tao didn't hesitate to choose to be the "light of justice" and shine on Xu Li's sister-in-law!
"Ten times the reward, that's 80,000 yuan! And it's paid immediately!"
"Not earning this money would be a waste!"
"Sorry, Sister-in-law, I'm doing this for your own good, to help you kick your gambling habit."
If it were a sister-in-law he got along with, Jiang Tao might've hesitated about turning her in.
But with someone like Yanping, hesitating for even a second felt like betraying that 80,000 yuan reward!
Reporting Yanping's gambling gave him no psychological burden.
Big Bro System said he was the light of justice, sworn to fight gambling and drugs!
With his mind made up, Jiang Tao flipped to the second piece of intelligence.
**[Daily Intelligence 02]:**
You bought scratch-off tickets at Tian Mingrong's lottery shop on Ping County's North Street yesterday, obtaining the following intelligence—
One of Tian Mingrong's regular customers has a lottery ticket worth 18,480 yuan that they want to sell below market price.
The ticket can yield a 106,880 yuan prize after the draw. It's recommended to buy it and wait for the draw!
**[Note]:** The customer's expected price is 8,480 yuan!
…
Seeing the second piece of intelligence, Jiang Tao's eyes lit up.
Spend 8,480 yuan on a ticket worth 18,480 yuan, and win 106,880 yuan!
This deal was like spending 8,480 yuan to win 106,880!
Even after taxes, he'd still net 70,000 to 80,000 yuan!
This was a good deal too!
The two pieces of intelligence today were worth about 150,000 to 160,000 yuan in total.
While not as valuable as yesterday's bezoar, it was still decent.
After analyzing the intelligence, Jiang Tao gently pulled his arm out from under Xu Li's head, got out of bed quietly, and grabbed the blue fuzzy cotton pajamas hanging on the rack, along with his charging phone from the nightstand.
Jiang Tao softly opened the door and headed to the bathroom in the southwest corner of the courtyard.
*Click~*
Inside the bathroom, he turned on the light, lit a cigarette, and dialed 110 on his phone.
*Beep beep beep—*
The call rang for a while before connecting, and a female operator's voice came through.
"Hello, how can I assist you?"
"Hello, is there a reward for reporting gambling?"
Jiang Tao got straight to the point.
"Yes, according to the law, reporting illegal gambling can earn a reward based on a percentage of the seized gambling funds. The amount varies depending on the funds seized."
"Can I report anonymously?"
Jiang Tao asked, wanting to be the light of justice without attracting trouble.
"Yes, if you prefer not to report with your real name, we can give you a special code."
"Once the case is closed, you can use that code to claim your reward at our station."
"Great, thank you. I'd like to report anonymously."
It wasn't that Jiang Tao was scared; he just hated dealing with trouble.
The operator gave Jiang Tao a unique code, and he provided detailed information about Yanping's gambling location.
Based on the reward amount mentioned by Big Bro System, Yanping and her group were likely gambling with at least 100,000 yuan!
*Ding—*
Just after hanging up, Jiang Tao's phone pinged with a transaction notification.
**[Your ICBC savings account ending in 0066 has received 80,000 yuan. Current balance: 81,388 yuan!]**
Seeing the transaction, Jiang Tao's heart leaped with joy, and he quickly deleted the message.
This secret stash had to be hidden to replenish his emptied personal savings.
After reporting and receiving the reward, Jiang Tao took a quick bathroom break and headed back to the main house, feeling great.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll swing by the lottery shop to buy that ticket. That's another tens of thousands."
"The draw's not until after the New Year, so I'll have to wait a bit, but no rush."
"10.000 a day, that's 300.000 a month, 3,600,000 a year!"
"At this rate, becoming a multimillionaire doesn't seem far off!"
Dreaming of a bright future, Jiang Tao quietly slipped back into the master bedroom and onto the bed.
Having "done a good deed," Jiang Tao slept soundly.
Meanwhile, Ping County Police sprang into action.
Four police cars carrying eight officers discreetly headed to Jindi Jiayuan Community.
Following Jiang Tao's tip, they successfully arrested six gamblers, including Yanping.
They seized gambling funds totaling about 800,000 yuan, including cash and mobile transfer records!
Though they didn't know who the anonymous "good Samaritan" was, for Ping County Police, seizing such a large amount was a major case, a significant achievement!