"Hey, Zhang Bo."
"You're at the village entrance already? That was quick!"
"There are too many people and prying eyes at the entrance. Drive a bit further in, and I'll come meet you."
"White Audi A4, right? Got it."
After a brief chat on the phone, Jiang Tao hung up and got ready to head out.
"Honey~ Who were you just talking to? A guy or a girl?" Xu Li asked playfully, wrapping her arms around Jiang Tao's as he ended the call.
"A guy. Our family's little money-bringer has arrived. Come on, let's go meet him together," Jiang Tao replied.
"Money-bringer? You mean…" Xu Li's eyes lit up, her breathing quickening with excitement.
"Yup." Jiang Tao gave her a knowing look.
"Then let's go! What are you waiting for?" Xu Li, instantly understanding his glance, grabbed his arm and practically dragged him out the door.
"Whoa, slow down, you silly goose. What's the rush?" Jiang Tao teased.
"The guy's practically delivering money to our doorstep. How can I not be in a hurry?" Xu Li retorted.
The couple bickered quietly as they left Jiang Tao's parents' house and stepped onto the main street.
Zhang Bo's white Beijing-plated Audi A4 stood out in the village. Jiang Tao spotted it immediately.
Zhang Bo also noticed Jiang Tao and Xu Li, pulling the car over slowly before getting out.
"Happy New Year, Brother Jiang! This must be Sister-in-law, right? Happy New Year!" Zhang Bo greeted them with a cheerful smile.
Though he was struck by Xu Li's beauty and stunning figure, he kept his gaze respectful, avoiding any inappropriate stares.
"Thanks for coming all this way, Zhang Bo. This is my wife, Xu Li," Jiang Tao introduced.
"Xu Li, this is Zhang Bo. We've crossed paths a few times in Beijing. He's a good friend worth keeping."
"Hi, Zhang Bo. Nice to meet you," Xu Li said warmly.
"Nice to meet you too, Sister-in-law. It's an honor," Zhang Bo replied.
"Let's head home. The street's too crowded to talk business," Jiang Tao said, leading the way as they walked toward his house.
When Zhang Bo saw the imposing black Mercedes GLS parked at Jiang Tao's doorstep, he couldn't help but think to himself, *Brother Jiang is no ordinary guy!*
"Huh, why's the door open…?" Jiang Tao noticed a small gap in the front door as they approached, slightly surprised.
Xu Li chimed in, "Probably Mom and Shasha came back early. I gave them the keys."
"Oh." Jiang Tao didn't think much of it and led Zhang Bo into the courtyard.
Sure enough, Xu Li's mother and younger sister, who had finished dinner at Jiang Tao's parents' place, were in the living room playing with Jiang Xue, Jiang Tao's daughter.
Du Yongmei and Xu Shasha were curious about the stranger Jiang Tao and Xu Li brought home but didn't ask questions.
After greeting the two, Jiang Tao took Zhang Bo to the storage room where he kept his collection of old silver coins.
Xu Li was tempted to follow and witness the deal firsthand but decided to stay outside with her mom and sister.
Inside the storage room, Jiang Tao pulled a small box containing a *niuhuang* (bezoar) from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Bo.
"The *niuhuang* is in there. Take a look."
"Alright, Brother Jiang." Zhang Bo took a deep breath, visibly excited as he accepted the box.
He carefully opened it, revealing the brownish-yellow *niuhuang* inside. After inspecting it closely, sniffing it, and even making a video call to his father, Zhang Long, for a remote verification, Zhang Bo confirmed its authenticity.
Zhang Long asked a few questions, made his assessment, and finally said, "It's legit. You can take it."
Next, Zhang Bo pulled out a palm-sized, high-precision mini jewelry scale, resembling a flip phone.
*Professional people always have professional gear!* Jiang Tao thought. Rumor had it this scale was so precise it could weigh a feather, accurate to 0.01 grams.
Zhang Bo placed the *niuhuang* on the scale. The display read: **1000.01 grams**!
With the quality and weight verified, and the price already agreed upon, there was no need for haggling. Zhang Bo then meticulously inspected the 205 *Yuan Datou* silver coins Jiang Tao had placed in a box.
For small items worth a few thousand each, Zhang Bo didn't need his father's input—he could handle it himself. After confirming everything was in order, he promptly transferred the payment to Jiang Tao.
**[Alipay: 1.736 million yuan received!]**
Seeing his Alipay balance skyrocket from a few thousand to over a million, Jiang Tao couldn't help but feel a rush of exhilaration.
At the same time, the Alipay notification echoed from the storage room to the living room, where Xu Li, her mother, and sister were chatting on the sofa.
*Whoosh!* Three pairs of eyes snapped toward the storage room door.
Xu Li's face lit up with joy, while Du Yongmei and Xu Shasha were stunned.
*1.73 million!* Whether Jiang Tao was receiving or paying that amount, one thing was clear: Jiang Tao either currently had or once had 1.73 million in cash!
Du Yongmei, who managed the family finances, knew their savings amounted to just over 800,000 yuan—not even half of 1.73 million.
Recovering from the shock, Du Yongmei pulled Xu Li into the master bedroom.
"Lili, tell Mom, what's Jiang Tao up to with that guy?" Du Yongmei asked, her face full of worry, fearing Jiang Tao might be involved in something shady.
"Mom, what are you thinking? Is my husband that kind of person?" Xu Li, catching her mother's expression, burst out laughing.
Du Yongmei poked Xu Li's forehead. "You silly girl, still laughing? Don't be counting money for him when he's sold you off!"
"Tch, my husband wouldn't dream of selling me," Xu Li said, making a goofy face at her mom. She had absolute confidence in her relationship with Jiang Tao.
Of course, she also knew her mom's concern came from a place of care.
"A couple of years ago, my husband got his hands on a *niuhuang*. Its price has gone up recently, so he decided to sell it. That guy just came from Beijing to buy it," Xu Li explained, using the cover story she and Jiang Tao had agreed upon. It sounded plausible enough.
Du Yongmei frowned. "A *niuhuang*? Worth that much? How many pounds is it?"
"Not much, just about this big." Xu Li gestured with her thumb and middle finger to show the size.
"That tiny thing sold for 1.73 million?" Du Yongmei was floored. Even a solid gold bead that size wouldn't fetch that much!
Xu Li, unfazed, added, "It's not just the *niuhuang*. My husband also sold some old silver coins he'd collected. Those probably added up to two or three hundred thousand."
"What exactly does your husband do now?" Du Yongmei asked, reflecting on Jiang Tao's behavior since returning home this year. No matter how she thought about it, he didn't seem like a truck driver anymore. What truck driver comes home for the New Year in a million-yuan Mercedes, gifting his father-in-law Maotai and premium cigarettes, and casually dealing in transactions worth over a million?
"He's working with his mentor in the antiques business. I don't really understand the details, but basically, he's making good money now," Xu Li said.
"Making money is great, but men with too much money can be trouble. You need to keep an eye on him," Du Yongmei cautioned.
"Mom, don't worry. My husband's not like that," Xu Li reassured her.
"He wasn't before because he didn't have the means. Who knows what the future holds?" Du Yongmei pressed.
"Not even in the future. I know my husband better than you do," Xu Li said confidently.
"I hope so," Du Yongmei sighed.
While the mother and daughter whispered in the bedroom, Jiang Tao and Zhang Bo finalized the deal. Jiang Tao saw Zhang Bo off, watching his car disappear into the distance.
With the 80,000 yuan reward from the system the previous night, Jiang Tao's available cash had now surged to 1.81 million in a single day.
*Talk about striking it rich!*
Back home, Jiang Tao noticed his mother-in-law glancing at him from time to time. Unlike her usual dismissive looks, there was now a hint of… appreciation?
…
Around 6 p.m., Xu Li's mother, sister, and father left. Before they went, Jiang Tao loaded over 30 pounds of beef into his father-in-law's trunk.
The cow had yielded over 240 pounds of meat. Despite the large gathering, they hadn't eaten more than 30 pounds. Jiang Tao divided the rest among everyone, even giving three or four pounds to Liu Zhiyuan and his brothers as they left.
That evening, after everyone took turns washing up, the nanny, Jiang Bing, took Jiang Xue to sleep in the small room. Xu Li, the last to finish bathing, eagerly pulled Jiang Tao—who was lounging in pajamas on the sofa, scrolling through his phone—into their bedroom.
"Honey~" Xu Li's sugary voice sent a shiver down Jiang Tao's spine. He quickly said, "I'll give you 100. The rest I need for something else."
"Mm-hmm!" Xu Li nodded excitedly, her big eyes sparkling as she watched Jiang Tao handle the transfer, already thinking about how to "reward" him later.
**[Alipay: 100 yuan received!]**
Hearing the notification, Xu Li's affectionate gaze turned to confusion, then shock.
*Wait, when we said 100, didn't we mean 100 *wan* (1 million)? You're seriously giving me 100 yuan? Is this guy even my husband? No, he's my ex-husband now!*
"Hahaha!" Jiang Tao burst into laughter at Xu Li's shifting expressions—from joy to confusion to mock indignation—tears nearly streaming from his eyes.
"You bad husband! I'll drain you dry!" Xu Li huffed playfully, transforming into a little wildcat and pouncing on him.
An hour later…
The wildcat had turned into a docile kitten, her slender fingers tracing gently across Jiang Tao's chest, sending tingles like electric currents.
**[Alipay: 1 million yuan received!]**
While enjoying Xu Li's "massage," Jiang Tao transferred 1 million yuan to her account. He never hesitated to give her money—she wasn't the type to splurge recklessly. Whatever he gave her, she'd likely put into a fixed deposit the next day.
"Honey, why does this feel a bit unreal? Am I dreaming?" Xu Li murmured.
"Silly, what's unreal about it?" Jiang Tao chuckled.
"Before the New Year, I was still thinking about borrowing money from my mom to pay off our debts. I told you we could take our time repaying her, no pressure. But before I even asked, you cleared the debts and made hundreds of thousands. When did our family ever have this kind of money?" Xu Li said, still in disbelief.
"That's because I have a wife who brings me good fortune. With you by my side, our days will only get better," Jiang Tao said warmly.
"Honey, now that you have money, will you… change? Will you go after other women?" Xu Li asked, her voice soft.
"What do you think?" Jiang Tao teased.
"No way! My husband's not that kind of guy!" Xu Li answered her own question, her smile radiating sweetness and happiness.
After some tender moments, Xu Li fell asleep.
Jiang Tao stayed awake until midnight, when the system's intelligence updated.
**[Daily Intelligence 01]**
*You had contact with your brother-in-law, Tian Xiaoguang, yesterday, yielding related intelligence:*
Tian Jianming, Tian Xiaoguang's boss, intends to sell all the unslaughtered beef cattle in his ranch.
In one month, beef cattle prices will begin to rise, with a 55% increase (from 16 yuan to 24.8 yuan per pound).
*Recommendation:* Acquire all the beef cattle from Tian Jianming's ranch and sell them at the optimal time.
**[Note 1]:** Up to 300 head of cattle can be purchased. Exceeding this amount will cause random price fluctuations and uncertainty.
**[Note 2]:** Tian Jianming's psychological price is 13 yuan per pound.
**[Note 3]:** Share the wealth (invite up to 5 people to participate in this investment)—The host can earn additional profits equal to the number of investors multiplied by the total returns!
…
Jiang Tao's eyes scanned the system interface line by line. When he reached the final note, his body jolted with excitement.
*"An additional five times the project's total profits?"*
He quickly grabbed his phone and ran the numbers based on the system's data.
Tian Jianming's psychological price was 13 yuan per pound—his cost. Assuming 300 head of cattle, each roughly 600 pounds like the one Jiang Tao bought yesterday, that's 180,000 pounds total.
At 13 yuan per pound, the cost would be 2.34 million yuan.
At the system's projected selling price of 24.8 yuan per pound, 180,000 pounds would yield 4.464 million yuan.
Subtracting the cost (2.34 million) from the revenue (4.464 million) gave a gross profit of about 2.12 million yuan.
If Jiang Tao brought in five partners, he'd get his share of the profits *plus* five times the total profit.
"2.12 million times 5…" Jiang Tao stared at the number "1060" on his phone screen, his breathing growing heavy.
*10.6 million yuan!*
"System, you're the real MVP!" he thought. Earning tens of millions in a month—this project was too good to pass up!
After the excitement, Jiang Tao studied the intelligence details. The system specified that invited partners had to be recognized by the system—not just anyone would do. Additionally, each partner had to invest at least 200,000 yuan to count.
Though these conditions were a bit tricky, the potential rewards made it worth the effort.
Jiang Tao glanced down at Xu Li, sleeping soundly with her arms wrapped around his.
**[Xu Li: Cannot be invited.]**
Seeing the bold text above her head, Jiang Tao sighed helplessly. He could only hope that finding five eligible partners wouldn't be *too* difficult. Missing even one would cost him over 2 million in profits!
After analyzing the first piece of intelligence, Jiang Tao mentally flipped to the second one for the day.