Seeing today's first piece of intelligence, Jiang Tao couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement in his heart.
Finally, another high-value piece of intelligence had appeared.
A Patek Philippe Nautilus worth 2.18 million!
This intelligence system was even more exaggerated than the antique shop owned by Zhang Bo's family.
Not doing business for half a month, but when you do, it's enough to live off for a lifetime, right?
When Jiang Tao used to drive a truck for a living, he wouldn't have earned this much even by the time he retired at sixty!
Jiang Yi was truly his lucky star.
Jiang Tao picked up his phone again, opened WeChat, and looked through Jiang Yi's Moments post once more.
What a coincidence—the room she was renting out happened to be the master bedroom.
But there was a catch: it was strictly for female roommates only.
That wasn't a big problem, though. Jiang Tao had his ways.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll contact Jiang Yi and ask her to reserve that master bedroom for me."
"The previous owner of the house was quite a character, leaving a watch worth over 2 million on the ceiling—what kind of flashy move is that…"
"And you sold the house but didn't take the watch with you?"
"Forget it, no need to overthink it. That watch is mine now!"
Suppressing his excitement, Jiang Tao continued to check the next piece of intelligence.
**[Today's Intelligence 02]:**
While browsing KuaiDou yesterday, you came across Leibus's video press conference and obtained related intelligence—
Xiaomi's online store just launched a stainless steel paper cup this morning, which will sell out by 8 a.m. today.
The price of the stainless steel paper cup will increase by 100%!
It is recommended to stock up and resell at a higher price, with a stock limit of no more than 10,000 units!
…
"Stainless steel paper cup?"
When Jiang Tao saw the name of this cup, he paused, feeling a bit puzzled.
Was it made of stainless steel or paper?
He quickly downloaded the Xiaomi online store app on his phone.
After installing it and logging in, he typed "stainless steel paper cup" into the search bar.
A shiny yellow cup appeared on his phone screen.
Seeing the actual product, Jiang Tao finally understood what was going on.
It was a stainless steel cup shaped like a paper cup.
Aside from its flashy color, there didn't seem to be anything particularly special about it.
A cup like this was going to double in price? How?
Whatever, Jiang Tao didn't bother overthinking it.
Since the system provided this intelligence, the price would definitely rise. He could buy with his eyes closed!
The stainless steel paper cup was priced at 29.9 yuan for a set of two.
Jiang Tao directly increased the quantity to 10,000 and selected his hometown, Ping County, as the delivery address.
He successfully paid 299,000 yuan, and the transaction was complete!
"Not bad. After flipping these stainless steel paper cups, I'll make some pocket money."
"Both pieces of intelligence today are about making money. Looks like my luck is turning around!"
Jiang Tao touched the river stone bracelet on his wrist and continued to check the last piece of intelligence for the day.
**[Today's Intelligence 03]:**
You had contact with your landlord, Lü Qian, yesterday and obtained related intelligence—
An old pickle jar in Lü Qian's kitchen is a special unactivated item. Binding and activating it will grant special attribute bonuses.
It is recommended to acquire the pickle jar and activate it.
…
"Old pickle jar?"
Seeing this unactivated special item, Jiang Tao's eyes lit up again.
Previously, he had traded a pack of Huazi cigarettes with Diaomao for a wealth-attracting golden toad, which, after activation, granted the [Wealth from All Directions] attribute.
That single attribute brought him a steady income of 300,000 yuan a month, ensuring his family's financial security.
This time, the special item was a bit… overly special.
An old pickle jar…
But it was still a special item, and he couldn't look down on it just because it was a pickle jar.
He just didn't know what kind of attribute it could activate.
But it probably, maybe, possibly wouldn't be too bad, right?
"All three pieces of intelligence today are pretty good. This wave is going to make me another fortune!"
After reviewing the three pieces of intelligence, Jiang Tao glanced at the time—it was already 12:30 a.m.
He put down his phone, hugged his wife, and went to sleep!
---
The next morning, Jiang Tao was, once again, woken up by a burst of chatter.
"Wake up, Dad~"
"Dad, wake up~"
Old Jiang opened his eyes to see his little darling, dressed in a beautiful JK school uniform skirt, shaking his head with her tiny hands while calling out "Daddy, Daddy" nonstop.
In the past, it was always Jiang Tao who woke Jiang Xue up.
Since coming to Beijing, the roles had completely reversed.
Now Jiang Xue came to wake him up every day.
"My dear daughter, go outside first. Your dad will get up soon."
"No way! Waking you up is the task Mom gave me. I won't leave until it's done. Lazy Daddy, get up quick!"
The little one stood with her hands on her hips, looking like she wasn't going anywhere until he got up.
"Then give me a kiss, and I'll get up."
Old Jiang pointed to his face, continuing to play coy.
"No way! Mom said I can't just kiss boys~"
"Your mom's right, but she meant boys outside our family. You absolutely mustn't kiss other boys, got it? But kissing Dad is okay."
Seeing his little darling still wasn't falling for it, Old Jiang upped the ante:
"Give me a kiss, and I'll buy you Quanjude roast duck tonight."
"Really?!"
Sure enough, faced with roast duck, Jiang Xue instantly lost all resistance, practically drooling.
Old Jiang grinned smugly, "Of course it's real."
Jiang Xue's big eyes darted around slyly as she said, "One kiss for one roast duck?"
"Uh… wait, that's not…"
"Mwah~ Mwah~ Mwah~ Mwah~~"
"Four ducks! Four ducks!!!"
Just as Old Jiang sensed something was off, Jiang Xue had already kissed his face four times.
As she went for a fifth kiss, Old Jiang grabbed her little head with both hands, pinching her mouth into a little trumpet shape.
"Old man, four roast ducks—you can't back out! Teacher Jiang said people must keep their word, or it's bad luck."
"It's not bad luck—it's 'a person without trust cannot stand'~"
"Same thing~"
"You two, hurry up! The school bus is about to arrive downstairs."
Xu Li, wearing an apron, called out to the father and daughter with a cheerful laugh from the doorway.
After some playful banter with his little darling, Jiang Tao got up and changed into the clean clothes Xu Li had placed by the bedside.
The family of five sat around the dining table, not feeling cramped but rather adding a touch of warmth.
After breakfast, Xu Li took Jiang Xue downstairs to catch the school bus.
Jiang Wen and Tian Xiaomei didn't rush to head out today.
The way they looked at Jiang Tao seemed hesitant, their faces showing a mix of wanting to say something but holding back.
Jiang Tao could tell what was on his parents' minds and asked with a smile, "What's up, Mom and Dad? Is something on your mind?"
The two exchanged a glance, and it was his mom who spoke up as their spokesperson:
"Number Two, your dad and I have been in Beijing for a while now, and we've pretty much seen all there is to see."
"The New Year's over, and we're thinking it's time to head back home and get back to business."
"For ordinary folks like us, playing around all the time isn't sustainable, don't you think?"
Jiang Tao actually understood his parents' perspective.
After all, they weren't like the retirees in Beijing.
Those people got seven or eight thousand, even ten thousand yuan a month in pensions without doing anything, living carefree in their later years.
For his parents, sitting idle for a month meant zero income.
Besides, they were only in their fifties, not yet sixty, and not at the age to retire and live off savings.
They were still thinking about earning more money to support themselves in old age.
When they could no longer work, they wanted to avoid burdening their children as much as possible.
"Mom, Dad, if you ask me, you two should stay in Beijing a bit longer."
"You've worked hard for nearly sixty years. Just treat this as a well-deserved long vacation."
"How about this: when Qingming Festival comes, and Little Xue gets a break, I'll drive you all back together."
Jiang Tao's suggestion was actually a stalling tactic.
According to the intelligence from the system, Old Sun didn't have much time left.
He wanted his parents to spend more time with Old Sun, to be there for the rest of his remaining days.
But of course, he couldn't say that outright.
"Qingming Festival? That's over a month away!" his mom said, a bit exasperated when she heard the timeline.
"It's just a month—it'll pass in the blink of an eye."
"Here's the deal, Mom. I'll transfer some money to you. When you and Dad go out to have fun, don't worry about the cost."
"Just focus on eating well, drinking well, and having fun. Don't think about anything else."
"If you run out of money, just let me know, and I'll send more."
"You and Dad have worked hard your whole lives. It's time to enjoy yourselves a bit."
Jiang Tao said with a chuckle, pulling out his phone from his pocket and transferring 50,000 yuan to his mom's WeChat.
"No, no, why are you giving us money? Your dad and I have plenty! If you're short on cash, we can even lend you some."
"Fifty thousand?! Are you crazy? If Lili finds out…"
Tian Xiaomei gasped when she saw the money her son had transferred to her phone, glancing nervously toward the door.
Jiang Tao laughed nonchalantly, "It's fine. I'm the head of this household. Lili's not that petty."
"All these years, I haven't done much to show my filial piety to you and Dad. This is just a small gesture from your son."
"Didn't you give me 10,000 during the New Year? There's still plenty left."
"That's a separate matter—this is different."
"Number Two, after all these years, Mom didn't raise you in vain."
Tian Xiaomei looked at her son's sincere, genuine smile, tears welling up in her eyes.
Jiang Wen, sitting quietly to the side, hadn't said a word, but his thoughts were racing.
Look at his son—so filial, so accomplished!
Jiang Tianming would only be left to envy him from now on!
If the old folks in the village knew his son had given him and his wife 50,000 yuan for pocket money, they'd be green with envy.
"I should get going too. You two keep having fun, and I'll take you back home for Qingming."
With that, Jiang Tao turned to leave. He had a lot to take care of today.
His mom smiled with satisfaction, "Alright, go handle your business. Don't worry about us."
After Xu Li returned from dropping off Jiang Xue, Jiang Tao gave her a quick greeting and a loving hug before heading out, humming a little tune as he took the elevator downstairs.
With three high-value pieces of intelligence popping up today, Jiang Tao's mood was as bright and cheerful as a clear sky after rain.
As he rode the elevator down, he happened to run into the cold-faced guy from Room 1602.
Jiang Tao had been neighbors with this guy for over half a month and had seen him a few times while coming and going.
But the guy always had a stern, unapproachable expression.
Jiang Tao couldn't be bothered to go out of his way to greet him.
In a big city, it wasn't uncommon for neighbors to live decades without knowing each other.
Such pointless interactions didn't matter one way or the other.
Once downstairs, Jiang Tao got into his car but didn't start it right away.
He rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and pulled out his phone to call his third sibling.
*Beep beep beep—*
The call connected in less than five seconds, and Jiang Bing's weak, listless voice came through.
"Hey, Second Bro, calling so early in the morning—what's up? You better have something good, or you're in big trouble."
Jiang Tao teased with a laugh, "Old Three, why do you sound so weak?"
"Who's weak? You're weak! I'm doing great, full of energy—I could climb five flights of stairs without panting!"
Hearing Jiang Tao call her weak, Jiang Bing immediately got defensive, her voice growing louder.
"Alright, stop sleeping. It's late—the sun's practically burning your butt. I've got some real business to talk about."
"I bought 10,000 cups, and the delivery address is our house. Same old deal: you take 20%, I take 80%."
"What cups?"
"A new stainless steel paper cup that went up on Xiaomi's online store last night. I just checked, and it's already sold out."
"And I bet they won't restock anytime soon. We can take advantage of the timing and make some pocket money."
"Second Bro! You're my real brother!"
Jiang Bing instantly caught on after hearing Jiang Tao's explanation.
She was all too familiar with this kind of deal!
The Ultraman hair clip and the Flying Pig popcorn bucket projects followed the same playbook, didn't they?
Jiang Tao continued, "I bought them at 29.9. You can list them at 59.9. Put them up now—I bet the search volume will be huge today."
"Got it, Second Bro! Mission accepted! I'm getting up right now! Love you, Second Bro~ *Mwah*~"
"Gross!"
Jiang Tao mimicked Ge You's tone, hanging up the phone before Jiang Bing could unleash her roar.
"Second piece of intelligence handled~"
Jiang Tao mentally calculated.
With Leibus's stainless steel paper cup, the profit landing in his hands would be at least 200,000 yuan!
In the information age, information is value!
After wrapping up the call with his third sibling, Jiang Tao found Jiang Yi's WeChat contact and sent her a voice message.
"Teacher Jiang, I saw your post last night about looking for a roommate. My sister wants to come to Beijing. Can she rent with you?"
Jiang Tao's excuse was seamless—he even felt pretty clever about it.
For a Patek Philippe worth over 2 million, paying a bit of rent was nothing.
Less than five seconds after sending the message, Jiang Tao received a text reply from Jiang Yi, warmly welcoming the idea.
After asking about the apartment's location and rent, Jiang Tao promptly reserved the master bedroom.
The rent for the master bedroom was 2,000 yuan a month, with a one-month deposit and three months' rent upfront.
Jiang Tao transferred 6,000 yuan to Jiang Yi and mentioned he'd like to check out the apartment in person.
He also said he wanted to buy some daily necessities and bedding for his sister in advance.
Jiang Yi didn't suspect a thing and told him to meet her at the school to pick up the apartment key.
"Done!"
After easily handling Jiang Yi, Jiang Tao drove straight toward Aidi Kindergarten.
It took less than 15 minutes to reach the area near the kindergarten.
From a distance, he spotted Jiang Yi waiting there.
She wore a simple apricot-colored long-sleeve top paired with brown wide-leg pants.
The overall color scheme was soft, giving off a fresh and natural vibe.
As a breeze brushed past, a few strands of her hair playfully danced around.
Standing there quietly, she was a unique and beautiful sight in the world.
"What a stunner—she doesn't look thirty-four or thirty-five at all!"
Peering through the car window at Jiang Yi, Jiang Tao couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration.
Outside the car, watching the imposing Mercedes GLS approaching her and seeing her former student inside, Jiang Yi quietly marveled.
Her student was no ordinary person.
With no background or connections, just an ordinary rural young man, he had worked hard to drive a Mercedes and enroll his daughter in an elite school with 180,000 yuan in tuition.
Among the students Jiang Yi had taught, Jiang Tao was definitely one of the most outstanding.
She never imagined she'd reunite with a student in this way in her lifetime.
*Screech!*
The Mercedes GLS stopped in front of Jiang Yi. The door opened, and Jiang Tao stepped out, looking at her.
"Sorry, Teacher Jiang, for making you wait."
"No worries, I just came out a moment ago. If anything, I should thank you for helping share some of the rent."
As Jiang Yi spoke, she gently tucked a strand of windblown hair behind her ear, her every move exuding the charm of a mature woman.
"It's quite a coincidence. Last night, my sister called saying she wanted to come to Beijing, and I saw your rental post in my Moments."
Jiang Tao spoke without a hint of a blush and asked, "Are you okay with me checking out the place myself? If not, we can go together after you're off work."
"What's there to worry about? There's probably nothing in my place that'd catch your eye."
Jiang Yi let out a charming laugh, blooming like a flower.
"Here's the other key. Take it, no need to give it back."
As she spoke, Jiang Yi pulled out a key tied with a red string from the small bag on her arm and handed it to Jiang Tao.
"Longze Garden, Building 26, Apartment 1203. Just navigate there yourself. I have a meeting soon, so I won't go back with you."
"Oh, and I'll print the lease agreement tonight. You can sign it whenever you have time, or your sister can sign when she arrives."
"Alright, thanks for the trouble, Teacher Jiang. Please look after my sister when she comes."
Jiang Tao took the key, thinking to himself that his sister definitely wouldn't be coming.
"Okay."
Jiang Yi nodded with a smile, her response crisp and clear.
Then she glanced at the women's watch on her wrist and said apologetically to Jiang Tao, "I have to head back for the meeting, so I won't chat now."
Jiang Tao waved with a smile, "Go ahead and take care of business. We'll catch up another day."
"Bye-bye."
Jiang Yi gave a gentle wave, her tone soft, before turning and heading back toward the school.
After watching her walk a short distance, Jiang Tao got back into the car, started the navigation, and drove toward Longze Garden.
In less than 10 minutes, the Mercedes GLS entered Longze Garden through the west gate.
It took a while of circling the complex before he found Building 26, where Jiang Yi's apartment was.
He parked the car on a curb that wouldn't block anyone.
Jiang Tao got out, entered Building 26, and took the elevator straight to the 12th floor.
"Apartment 1203—should be this one."
Right as he stepped out of the elevator, he was facing Apartment 1203.
Jiang Tao took out the key Jiang Yi had given him and opened the door.
Upon entering, he saw a small shoe rack at the entrance.
It held only a pair of light purple, somewhat cute women's slippers.
It seemed Jiang Yi was currently living alone.
On the balcony straight ahead, there was a row of plump, adorable succulents.
The small living room was spotless and meticulously organized.
The sofa cover was perfectly smooth, without a single wrinkle.
It was clear Jiang Yi was someone who valued cleanliness and loved life.
After a quick glance at the apartment's layout, Jiang Tao headed straight to the master bedroom and pushed open the door.
The master bedroom was nearly empty except for an old-looking double bed, giving it a sparse feel.
The floor was spotless, clearly well-maintained.
Jiang Tao closed the door and immediately began scanning the ceiling.
In his vision, a spot about 20 centimeters from the window on the ceiling emitted a faint golden glow, pulsing like a breathing light.
"Behind the curtain box?"
Jiang Tao approached the window and looked up.
The room's decor was from over a decade ago.
The curtain box was separated from the ceiling's plasterboard by a roughly 20-centimeter piece of plywood.
If he could remove that plywood, he'd be able to see inside the ceiling.
"What kind of weirdo was the previous owner?"
"Who in their right mind puts a watch worth over 2 million up there?"
Muttering to himself, Jiang Tao started thinking about how to retrieve the watch from the ceiling.
There was no ladder or stool in the room, making it tricky to reach.
He was less than two meters away from a Patek Philippe Nautilus worth over 2 million, but all he could do was stare in frustration.
Checking the time on his phone, it was only 9:48 a.m.
He had plenty of time to act—not "commit a crime," but to take action.
Jiang Tao immediately took the elevator downstairs and found a hardware store near the complex, spending just over 100 yuan on a small stainless steel ladder.
To cover his tracks, he also spent 500 yuan at a curtain shop to buy a new set of curtains.
Back at Longze Garden, Building 26, Apartment 1203, Jiang Tao carried the ladder into the master bedroom and closed the door again.
He set the ladder by the window, climbed up, and positioned his head right at the curtain box.
*Click!*
With a gentle tug, he pried off the plywood separating the curtain box from the ceiling.
Swallowing hard with excitement, Jiang Tao peered into the ceiling.
Sure enough!
About 20 centimeters from the curtain box was a square box, roughly the size of a child's small rubber ball, seemingly made of rosewood.
"That's it!"
Jiang Tao reached out and grabbed the box, then climbed down from the ladder.
He used the old curtains hanging by the window to wipe off a layer of dust from the box.
The piano-lacquered surface of the box instantly regained its shine.
Jiang Tao felt the box alone was worth a good amount!
Carefully opening it, he found a rose gold watch inside, its dial encrusted with several diamonds.
Though Jiang Tao didn't know much about watches, the moment he saw it, he could feel its overwhelming sense of prestige and luxury!
"Who wears something worth over 2 million on their wrist?"
"With that kind of money, you could buy two houses outright in Ping County."
Jiang Tao muttered to himself.
He didn't understand watches or appreciate their finer points.
His sole purpose in opening the box was to confirm the watch was inside.
It was there, and that was enough to put him at ease.
He didn't even bother trying it on.
With a *click*, he closed the box.
As for wearing it, taking a photo, and posting it to Moments to show off?
If he were ten years younger, he might've done it.
Now? Nah, too pointless.
After closing the box, Jiang Tao went all in on keeping up appearances. He climbed back up the ladder, took down the old curtains, and hung the new ones he'd just bought.
Once the curtains were swapped, he wrapped the box in the old curtains and carried it downstairs, placing it in the trunk of his Mercedes GLS.