The meal came to an end.
By the time Jiang Tao's family of three returned to the underground parking lot, it was already past 10 p.m.
Jiang Tao and Du Taiming had polished off a jar of Nü'er hong wine, leaving their heads a bit dizzy and fuzzy.
Driving was definitely out of the question, so Xu Li took over.
Jiang Tao sat in the passenger seat, keeping her company and navigating.
"Honey, our family really met a benefactor this time. En Nan and Mr. Du were so good to us."
"For our first meeting, they gave us so many gifts."
While driving, Xu Li let out a heartfelt sigh.
She had chatted with Du Ennan for a couple of hours, and the two had grown much closer.
After all, both were women—one a mother, the other a mother-to-be—so they had endless topics to talk about.
Xu Li and Du Ennan exchanged phone numbers and added each other on WeChat, already becoming good friends.
"Yeah, it's a bit extravagant. Besides the 500,000 yuan prepaid card for our daughter, these two Green Water Ghost watches are worth nearly 200,000 yuan," Jiang Tao said from the passenger seat, putting one of the Green Water Ghost watches on his wrist while marveling.
The two Green Water Ghost watches they received this time weren't outrageously expensive.
Plus, since they were gifts, it wouldn't be appropriate to sell them second-hand.
So, Jiang Tao decided to keep them.
One for him and one for Xu Li.
"Pfft~"
Xu Li burst into laughter at Jiang Tao's words, playfully chiding, "When I said 'extravagant,' I didn't mean that kind of extravagant. Why do you always tie everything to money?"
"It's all the same. Try it on, honey. See if it looks good, if you like it."
"If you don't like the style, I'll get you another one."
"Let me try it later. I need to focus on driving," Xu Li said, shooting Jiang Tao a charmingly exasperated glance.
Her driving skills didn't allow for one-handed steering.
Her slender, fair fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly, not daring to relax for a moment.
Fortunately, there were far fewer cars on Beijing's roads at this hour compared to rush hour.
It took about an hour.
When Xu Li pulled into their neighborhood, she let out a long sigh of relief.
They were finally home safe!
Not all female drivers are road hazards, after all!
In the backseat, Jiang Xue, strapped into her child seat, had long since fallen asleep, her head tilted to one side.
Xu Li wanted to wake Jiang Xue to let her walk upstairs herself.
But a certain doting father couldn't bear to disturb his daughter. He scooped her out of the car and carried her toward the building entrance.
Following behind Jiang Tao, Xu Li watched his broad, sturdy back and the peacefully sleeping daughter on his shoulder.
The seed of happiness in her heart, long since sprouted, quickly bloomed and bore fruit.
Over the past month or so, their family had been inseparable.
Xu Li felt an unprecedented sense of fulfillment and joy.
By the time they took the elevator upstairs and got home, it was already past 11 p.m.
The main living room light was off, with only the warm yellow ambient lighting on.
Her parents were dozing on the living room sofa.
Seeing the family of three return, they felt relieved.
Her mom went to the kitchen to fetch a bowl of sobering soup for Jiang Tao before heading to bed.
After Jiang Tao and Xu Li took turns washing up, they returned to their room.
Though it was late, Xu Li wasn't sleepy at all—she had no urge to sleep.
"500,000 yuan, honey! Think of how many dresses we could buy for Xiao Xue with that."
Wearing a blue silk pajama set, Xu Li lay on the bed, holding the shiny Supreme VIP card Du Taiming had given them.
Her beautiful eyes sparkled, looking every bit like a little money-grubber.
"And this watch, it's worth over 100,000 yuan. I wouldn't have dared to dream of this before."
"How many loads would you have to haul to earn 600,000 yuan?"
Xu Li lifted her arm to admire the Green Water Ghost watch on her wrist.
Tonight's dinner felt like a dream to her.
"Silly wife, this is just the beginning. Our family's days will only get better from here," Jiang Tao said, wrapping his arms around Xu Li's waist from behind.
Having drunk that night, he wasn't in the mood for intimacy. They just cuddled and talked for a while until Xu Li fell asleep.
Though Jiang Tao was a bit tired, he held on until midnight for the intelligence refresh.
**[Today's Intelligence 01]:**
You had contact with Jiang Yi yesterday, obtaining related intelligence—
The secret recipe for Jiang Yi's family's Eight Treasures Pickles has significant commercial value!
…
"Eight Treasures Pickles recipe? Significant commercial value?"
Seeing the first piece of intelligence, Jiang Tao's eyes lit up.
His mind immediately flashed to the pickle jar still sitting in his car's trunk.
Eight Treasures Pickles and a pickle jar—what a perfect match!
It might be worth trying to get his hands on Jiang Yi's ancestral recipe.
After reading the first piece of intelligence, Jiang Tao mentally flipped to the next one.
**[Today's Intelligence 02]:**
You had contact with Jiang Yi yesterday, obtaining related intelligence—
Last night, while walking through the grove outside her neighborhood, Jiang Yi tripped over a small stone and twisted her ankle.
The small stone, which Jiang Yi threw 10 meters away after scolding it, is a Shoushan Tianhuang stone raw material, worth 190,000 yuan!
**[Note]:** There are 3 years, 5 months, and 8 days left until this Shoushan Tianhuang stone raw material is picked up by someone else.
…
"Shoushan Tianhuang stone raw material?"
Jiang Tao knew nothing about stones.
But seeing its value made him a little excited.
190,000 yuan!
A tiny stone like that could cover his daughter's tuition for a year!
"Jiang Yi is really a lucky star!"
"I need to interact with her more in the future!"
Yesterday's contact with Jiang Yi had earned him a Patek Philippe worth over 2 million yuan.
Today, two more pieces of intelligence related to her popped up.
Jiang Tao's regard for Jiang Yi instantly rose to a strategic level.
"It seems this Shoushan Tianhuang stone is pretty inconspicuous."
"There's still over three years until someone else picks it up."
"No need to rush over in the middle of the night. I'll pick it up tomorrow during the day."
With a thought, Jiang Tao moved on to the third piece of intelligence.
**[Today's Intelligence 03]:**
You had contact with Jiang Yi yesterday, obtaining related intelligence—
The Jinxin Quantitative Select Hybrid A/C Fund held by Jiang Yi will rise by 32% within the next month.
It is recommended to buy and hold, selling at the optimal time for profit.
**[Note 1]:** The host can invest up to 2 million yuan. Exceeding this amount may cause unpredictable fluctuations in the accuracy of this information.
**[Note 2]:** The best time to buy is February 28, 2025, and the best time to sell is March 30, 2025.
…
Seeing that the third piece of intelligence was also related to Jiang Yi, Jiang Tao was floored!
"A 32% increase! That's even crazier than gold!"
"2 million yuan, with a 32% increase…"
"Holding it for a month could earn me 640,000 yuan!"
Plus, the system had clearly marked the best times to buy and sell.
If he still couldn't figure out how to buy it, he might as well go home and raise pigs.
"Today's luck isn't as good as yesterday's, but it's still pretty great!"
"The value of the last two pieces of intelligence adds up to over 800,000 yuan."
Analyzing today's refreshed intelligence, Jiang Tao felt secretly thrilled but also a bit uneasy.
The system had been going all out these past two days. Could it be…
"Pfft, pfft, pfft! Don't jinx it! Keep it up, System Bro! Your potential is far greater than this!"
"Keep pushing! Keep grinding!"
After mentally cheering on the system, Jiang Tao put down his phone, hugged his wife, and went to sleep.
…
426 kilometers away from Jiang Tao's neighborhood, back in his hometown.
After Jiang Tao took the family to Beijing, Jiang Bing didn't rush back to the county.
She stayed at her second brother's house to work remotely and look after the place.
At 12:30 a.m.
After finishing the latest episode of the Korean drama she was hooked on, a sleepy-eyed Jiang Bing was about to shut down her computer and go to bed when a new order notification popped up in the background.
**[Someone ordered 10 sets of stainless steel paper cups from your shop, total order value 599 yuan. Please process promptly.]**
"Someone ordered the stainless steel paper cups!"
Seeing that the stainless steel paper cups, which had been listed for just a day, finally sold—and 10 sets at once—Jiang Bing's eyes lit up, and she instantly perked up!
"Second Brother was right! Someone actually bought them at this price!"
While processing the order on her computer, Jiang Bing happily did some mental math.
Ten sets of stainless steel paper cups cost her only 199 yuan.
This order alone brought in 400 yuan in profit!
Shipping fees would be, at most, 10 to 20 yuan.
Taking a 20% cut, she'd pocket 70 to 80 yuan from this single order!
It was like picking up money off the ground!
After processing the first order, Jiang Bing was about to shut down when another "ding-dong" signaled a new order.
This time, it was just one set of stainless steel paper cups.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong—
Jiang Bing had no idea why so many night owls were shopping online in the wee hours.
But seeing the flood of new orders and inquiries, her sleepiness vanished, and she dove back into work.
From 12:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.
In one night, the total sales from her online shop reached an astonishing 157,433 yuan!
Of that, stainless steel paper cups were the top seller.
2,366 sets sold for 141,723.4 yuan, making them the hottest product in her store!
"Second Brother should be up by now, right?"
Jiang Bing splashed her face with water in the bathroom, then eagerly grabbed her phone to call Jiang Tao.
Beep, beep, beep—
The call connected quickly, and Jiang Tao's voice came through.
"Hey, Third Sis, the sun must've risen in the west today. Up this early?"
Ignoring her brother's teasing, Jiang Bing excitedly said, "Second Brother! Our paper cups sold like crazy again! Guess how many we sold last night."
"Not guessing."
"Come on, Second Brother, guess!"
"All of them?"
"Ten?"
"Boring, you're not even trying. Fine, no more nonsense—last night we sold 2,366 sets, with total sales of just over 140,000 yuan."
Seeing her brother's lack of enthusiasm, Jiang Bing's excitement waned, and she reported the results half-heartedly.
"You didn't stay up all night, did you?"
"Wow, Mr. Jiang actually cares about people now."
"Alright, no teasing. You did great. Once these paper cups are sold out, I'll get you a gift—pick anything up to 30,000 yuan."
"Really, Second Brother?! You're the best! Having a brother like you in this lifetime…"
"Gross!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Jiang Tao! Explain who's gross!"
"Ugh, he hung up on me again! Next time I'm back, I'm gonna teach him a lesson!"
After ranting at the disconnected phone, Jiang Bing flopped onto her bed to catch up on sleep.
…
Beijing, Baigezhuang New Village neighborhood.
After hanging up with Jiang Bing, Jiang Tao drove straight toward Longzeyuan neighborhood.
His first task today was to retrieve the Shoushan Tianhuang stone that had tripped Jiang Yi last night.
Though there were still years before someone else would pick it up, getting it early would put his mind at ease.
Twenty-three minutes later, Jiang Tao pulled into Longzeyuan neighborhood.
Without a designated parking spot, he followed the example of other residents and parked along a curb that wouldn't block anyone.
After parking, he got out, and with a thought, a high-precision map, like a satellite image, appeared on his retina.
A red dot blinked steadily on the map.
The dot marked the location of the Shoushan Tianhuang stone mentioned in the second piece of intelligence.
Jiang Tao walked out of Longzeyuan's west gate, crossed the street, and entered a small grove.
The grove originally had no path, but frequent foot traffic had worn one into the ground.
Guided by the high-precision satellite map, Jiang Tao quickly found the small stone that had tripped Jiang Yi.
"So you're the Shoushan Tianhuang stone?"
Holding the fist-sized stone, its outer layer looking like a plain potato, Jiang Tao understood why it would take over three years for someone to pick it up.
No wonder Jiang Yi had picked it up and thrown it away last night.
It was just too ordinary, too unremarkable!
Unless someone knowledgeable about stones came along, most people would probably just kick it aside.
"There's a stone market in Panjiayuan. If I have time today, I'll check if anyone there recognizes its value."
Jiang Tao carefully tucked the stone into his jacket's inner pocket and walked back toward the neighborhood.
Returning to his parked car, he opened the trunk to place the stone inside, his gaze falling on the pickle jar he'd gotten from Old Lü yesterday.
**[Current environment risks observation by a third party, not meeting the conditions for activating special items. Please try again in a secure environment.]**
As expected, Jiang Tao's attempt to activate the pickle jar failed again!
Special items could only be activated in an environment where no one other than Jiang Tao could observe.
Neither Baigezhuang nor Longzeyuan met the activation conditions.
"What if I move it into the car?"
A sudden idea struck Jiang Tao, his eyes lighting up. It was worth a try!
So, he opened the back door of his Mercedes GLS, moved the pickle jar from the trunk to the car, and closed the door.
**[Current environment meets the conditions for activating special items!]**
Sure enough, moving the pickle jar into the car worked perfectly—it could be activated!
Without hesitation, Jiang Tao pricked his finger with a small pin from the armrest compartment and flicked a few drops of blood onto the pickle jar.
Buzz~
The pickle jar absorbed Jiang Tao's blood, flashed faintly, and began the activation process.
**[Item Name]:** Delicious Pickle Jar (Activated)
**[Item Description]:** Pickles made in this jar not only take significantly less time to ferment but also have greatly enhanced flavor.
**[Item Effects]:** Pickling Efficiency +3, Deliciousness +3
**[Capacity]:** Can pickle up to 500 jin (250 kg) of pickles at a time.
Seeing the activated pickle jar's attributes, Jiang Tao's eyes lit up.
"Efficiency +3, Deliciousness +3?"
"Pickles made in this jar must taste amazing!"
"And 500 jin at a time—that's no small amount."
Seeing the jar's attributes, Jiang Tao's mind returned to the first piece of intelligence about Jiang Yi's family's Eight Treasures Pickles recipe.
Just as he'd thought last night, if he could combine Jiang Yi's family recipe with this [Delicious Pickle Jar], wouldn't the resulting Eight Treasures Pickles taste even better?
Wouldn't that increase its commercial value?
High commercial value meant he could sell the pickles at a higher price for greater profit!
"It's definitely worth a try!"
"But how do I get the Eight Treasures Pickles recipe from Jiang Yi? Just buy it?"
Having profited over 2 million yuan from Jiang Yi-related intelligence these past two days, Jiang Tao didn't mind spending some money to buy the recipe.
"Since I'm here, I'll see if there's a chance."
As he spoke, Jiang Tao moved the pickle jar back to the trunk.
After closing the trunk, he drove to a nearby bedding store to buy a new set of bed linens, pillows, and blankets.
If you're going to play the part, play it fully.
Though his third sister wouldn't come to Beijing, he needed to make it look like she would.
Otherwise, Jiang Yi might think he rented her place with ulterior motives and see him as a creep.
After buying the bedding, Jiang Tao picked up women's slippers, a toothbrush, and a cup.
Finally, he stopped at a fruit shop outside the neighborhood and bought two boxes of strawberries, two boxes of blueberries, two boxes of cherries, and a large durian.
The total cost was just over 600 yuan.
You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb.
To get Jiang Yi's Eight Treasures Pickles recipe, he needed to invest a little and build a good relationship with her.
After buying the fruit, Jiang Tao carried his bags to the door of the apartment he was co-renting with Jiang Yi, Room 1203.
He pulled out the key, inserted it into the lock, and began opening the door.
Inside, at the dining table, Jiang Yi, wearing a light pink, thin pajama, was eating Eight Treasures Pickles with millet porridge. Hearing the door, she froze.
Then, she looked down at her chest, then at the door about to open.
Like a startled rabbit, Jiang Yi's face showed a hint of panic.
With a quick push from her perky hips, she shot up from the chair, trying to hop on one leg to her room.
But the more flustered she was, the more things went wrong.
"Ow!"
Her first step tripped over a table leg, and she face-planted onto the floor with a thud.
Click!
As Jiang Yi hit the ground, the door opened, and Jiang Tao walked in.
Seeing Jiang Yi sprawled on the floor in a disheveled state, Jiang Tao didn't think twice and rushed to help her up.
"Teacher Jiang, why are you on the floor? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, fine. I just tripped by accident," Jiang Yi stammered as Jiang Tao helped her up, her explanation faltering.
Her fair face flushed red, the blush spreading to her neck.
This was so embarrassing!
Being seen in such a mortifying state by a former student—how could she face him now?
At that moment, Jiang Yi wanted to bash her head on the table or crawl into a hole!
As Jiang Tao helped her up, he noticed something unusual.
Her thin pajamas were somewhat sheer, her flawless skin faintly visible underneath.
What made his pulse race was that she wasn't wearing anything underneath.
Her perfectly shaped assets were practically on display.
At that moment, Jiang Yi perfectly blended intellect and allure, exuding a unique charm.
"Uh, Teacher Jiang, is your foot okay?" Jiang Tao asked with concern, looking at her foot after helping her back to her seat.
"It's fine. I just twisted it a bit coming upstairs. It's no big deal. Thanks, Jiang Tao," Jiang Yi said, awkwardly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, her ears burning.
This was her body's reaction to lying.
She wasn't about to admit she'd tripped over a stone while walking—that would be too embarrassing.
"Good to know you're okay. No need to thank me. Actually, I should apologize to you."
"I thought you'd gone to work, so I came to drop off some stuff for my sister without telling you."
"I didn't expect you to be home resting. I hope I didn't disturb you."
Jiang Tao wasn't entirely lying.
Though he knew Jiang Yi had twisted her ankle last night, he didn't know how bad it was or if she'd taken the day off.
He'd brought the fruit today to try his luck.
Clearly, his luck was pretty good—he'd caught Jiang Yi in her "limited edition skin."
"By the way, Teacher Jiang, I got you some fruit on the way."
"When my sister moves in, please look after her and be patient with her."
"If she does anything wrong, let me know, and I'll set her straight."
As he spoke, Jiang Tao went to the door and brought the fruit to the dining table.
"No need to be so polite, Jiang Tao. I'll definitely take care of your sister when she moves in."
Jiang Yi looked at the boxes of fruit, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Blueberries, strawberries, cherries, and a durian—these weren't cheap.
The fruit must have cost at least four or five hundred yuan.
Jiang Yi usually stuck to affordable fruits like oranges, bananas, and apples.
Blueberries, strawberries, and durians were occasional treats.
Jiang Tao smiled. "I already bought them, Teacher Jiang. Don't be so polite."
"Consider it a thank you for all the care and attention you've given Xiao Xue at school."
Jiang Yi insisted, "Really, no need, Jiang Tao. You're too kind. Caring for Xiao Xue is just part of my job."
"Oh, Teacher Jiang, where did you get these pickles? They look tasty," Jiang Tao said, his gaze catching the small dish of Eight Treasures Pickles on the table.
He smoothly shifted the conversation from fruit to the pickles.