*Ding-a-ling-ling—*
Just as Jiang Tao and Jiang Jiaqi were about to leave, the phone in Jiang Tao's pocket suddenly rang.
He pulled out the phone and glanced at the screen. The caller ID showed "Li Ming."
Seeing Li Ming's name, a smile crept onto Jiang Tao's face. This guy was probably calling to hand over some money.
According to the information from the system, by reminding Li Ming about the car lot fire, Jiang Tao would receive a thank-you fee of 200,000 yuan.
This sum would perfectly cover his expenses for the day.
"Hey, Li Ming."
With a swipe of his finger, Jiang Tao answered the call and greeted Li Ming with a smile.
"Brother Jiang, where are you at? I'm over at Baigezhuang New Village to mooch a meal off you."
Li Ming's voice came through the phone.
Jiang Tao laughed heartily, "You little punk, showing up without a heads-up? What's with the surprise attack?"
"Haha, isn't it more fun to give you a surprise? So, are you surprised or what?"
"Cut the nonsense, kid. What if I had plans with someone else? You'd be left hanging. Where are you right now?"
"Just parked by the roadside at the entrance to the neighborhood."
"Alright, hang tight. I'll be home soon."
After a brief chat, Jiang Tao hung up and turned to Jiang Jiaqi, saying, "Let's go, Jiaqi. We'll have dinner together tonight to celebrate the founding of our company in advance."
Jiang Jiaqi looked a bit uneasy and said, "Uncle Tao, is it okay for me to show up empty-handed to meet Grandpa and Grandma?"
Jiang Tao chuckled, "What's there to worry about? Our relationship doesn't fuss over that kind of thing."
"It's just like visiting in the village. Do you bring gifts when you come to my place?"
"Hehe, alright then, I'll just bring my appetite and mooch a meal off you!"
Jiang Jiaqi giggled twice and followed Jiang Tao to the door, where they hopped into a Mercedes GLS.
In less than ten minutes, Jiang Tao drove back to Baigezhuang Neighborhood.
As soon as he entered, he spotted the black Mercedes G-Class parked by the roadside.
That was the car Li Ming had driven when they went out to eat yesterday.
Pulling up next to the G-Class, Jiang Tao parked, rolled down his window, and honked twice.
The window of the G-Class rolled down, and Li Ming greeted him with a grin, "Brother Jiang! You're finally back. I've been waiting so long the flowers are wilting."
"Haha, who told you to show up without giving me a heads-up?"
Jiang Tao let out a hearty laugh and waved at Li Ming, saying, "Come on, let's head to my place first so you know where it is. I booked a private room at the hotel nearby for 7 p.m., and we'll head over later."
"Sounds good! I'm all yours to arrange. The guest follows the host!"
"Let's go."
Jiang Tao waved at Li Ming, and the two cars drove one after the other to the base of Building 28.
Jiang Tao didn't have a parking spot in the rental complex.
But fortunately, the roads inside the neighborhood were wide enough, and parking on the side didn't obstruct traffic.
Many residents in the complex had multiple cars but only one parking space.
With limited spots, people parked on the roadside, and as long as it didn't block traffic, no one complained.
After getting out of the car, Li Ming opened the trunk of his G-Class and pulled out seven or eight bags of various sizes.
Jiang Tao glanced over and noticed cigarettes, alcohol, supplements, cosmetics, and more. Surprised, he said, "You didn't have to bring all this stuff, kid."
Li Ming grinned, "First time visiting your place, I can't show up empty-handed! That'd be too embarrassing!"
"..."
Hearing Li Ming's words, Jiang Jiaqi, who was standing beside Jiang Tao, suddenly looked a bit awkward!
If she didn't know Li Ming wasn't doing it on purpose, she'd have thought he was subtly shading her!
After all, wasn't she also visiting for the first time, and with empty hands no less?
"Haha, alright, alright! If a rich second-gen like you is offering, I won't let it go to waste!"
"You bought it already, so I won't be polite."
"Let's go, upstairs, upstairs."
While talking, Jiang Tao took a few bags from Li Ming to help carry the load.
"Jiaqi, this is Li Ming, a rich second-gen who runs a car dealership. If you need a car in the future, you can go to him."
"Li Ming, this is Jiaqi, a niece from my hometown, same clan."
As they headed upstairs, Jiang Tao introduced the two to each other.
"Hi."
"Nice to meet you."
Jiang Jiaqi and Li Ming exchanged simple nods and greetings.
It was their first meeting, so there wasn't much to talk about.
Jiang Jiaqi wasn't the type to throw herself at a guy just because he was rich.
And Li Ming's gaze toward Jiang Jiaqi was equally clear and respectful.
Sure, he liked to have fun and hit up nightclubs, but he wasn't the kind of guy who saw a pretty girl and immediately thought of getting her into bed.
*Ding~*
As they chatted, the elevator opened on the 16th floor.
Jiang Tao led the two out of the elevator and knocked on the door of unit 1601.
Soon, the sound of rapid footsteps came from inside.
The door clicked open, and Jiang Xue, dressed in a JK school uniform skirt, appeared at the entrance.
"Daddy~ Huh? We have guests today?"
Jiang Xue's big, grape-like eyes sparkled as she looked at the unfamiliar man and woman behind her father.
"Xiao Xue, this is Sister Jiaqi. Don't you remember her?"
Jiang Tao smiled and ruffled Jiang Xue's hair, introducing Jiang Jiaqi first.
After entering the house, Jiang Jiaqi crouched down, looked at Jiang Xue gently, and said with a smile, "Xiao Xue, don't you remember me? I bought you a sausage and candied hawthorn before."
"Oh! I remember now! Sister Jiaqi! You're in the capital too!"
The mention of food instantly jogged Jiang Xue's memory of Jiang Jiaqi.
"Little beauty, I'm your dad's friend. This is a gift for you. I hope you like it."
Li Ming said, handing Jiang Xue a pink shopping bag with a cartoon logo.
Jiang Xue didn't immediately take the gift. She glanced at Jiang Tao for approval.
Jiang Tao introduced, "Xiao Xue, this is Uncle Li Ming. Say thank you for the gift."
"Thank you, Uncle Li Ming~ What's this? Wow! It's an Elsa princess-themed watch! A bunch of kids in my class have this!"
After thanking Li Ming, Jiang Xue eagerly pulled out the box from the bag.
Seeing the children's watch logo on the box, she instantly recognized what it was.
This Little Genius x Frozen-themed children's watch retailed for nearly 4,000 yuan.
It was considered a high-end product among children's watches.
As they talked, Jiang Tao's parents and Xu Li came to greet them.
After Jiang Tao made introductions, Li Ming handed out the gifts he had prepared for everyone.
For Jiang Tao's father, he gave two bottles of Maotai and two packs of premium Zhonghua cigarettes.
For Jiang Tao's mother, he gifted a box of cordyceps supplements.
For Xu Li, he gave a set of Estée Lauder cosmetics, priced at around 4,000 to 5,000 yuan.
After distributing gifts to everyone, one bulging bag remained.
"Brother Jiang, this one's for you."
Li Ming smiled and handed the last bag to Jiang Tao.
"Whoa, you even got something for me? You're thorough, kid."
Jiang Tao didn't stand on ceremony and took the bag, feeling its hefty weight.
Curious about what was inside, he didn't open it in front of everyone.
They chatted at home until around 6:30 p.m., then took the elevator downstairs together.
They drove two cars to the nearby Wanlong Hotel.
Jiang Tao had already booked a private room and ordered food via his phone.
The group entered, and after speaking to the receptionist, a waiter led them upstairs.
Once seated at the table, dishes started arriving within ten minutes.
A total of 18 dishes, both meat and vegetarian, filled the table to the brim.
"First, let's welcome Li Ming for coming all this way to visit us."
"And second, let's celebrate the founding of our company in advance and welcome our new employee, Jiaqi."
Once the dishes were served, Jiang Tao raised his glass and said with a smile to the group.
Li Ming raised his glass in congratulations, "To Brother Jiang's booming business~ Oh, and don't forget to give me some of your Eight-Treasure Pickles when I leave."
Jiang Tao laughed heartily, "Haha, for sure, for sure. If they're good, help me spread the word to more customers."
"Absolutely, no need to ask, Brother Jiang. It's a given!"
After last night's incident, Li Ming now saw Jiang Tao as a trustworthy big brother.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought so many gifts to express his gratitude today.
"Brother Jiang, let me borrow your wine to toast you. If it weren't for your heads-up last night, I'd have been working for nothing for years."
Li Ming's words confused everyone at the table except Jiang Tao, who knew what he was referring to.
Jiang Tao said, "No big deal, we're brothers. No major losses, right?"
"Three cars got burned, about 500,000 to 600,000 in losses. That's still manageable."
"But if a few more had gone up in flames, my dad would've skinned me alive."
Li Ming's face showed immense relief, his eyes full of gratitude toward Jiang Tao.
Jiang Tao said, "From this experience, your car lot needs to pay more attention to safety going forward."
"Absolutely, Brother Jiang. Today, we made a lot of adjustments and held training at the lot. This kind of thing can't happen again."
Li Ming's expression was serious yet relieved.
This lesson had cost him over 500,000 yuan. If he didn't learn from it, he'd be too careless.
Xu Li and the others, listening to Jiang Tao and Li Ming's conversation, roughly pieced together what had happened and looked at Li Ming with sympathy.
Five or six hundred thousand yuan could buy a decent house in Ping County. That was no small loss!
After discussing the car lot incident, the conversation shifted to starting the company and setting up a factory.
Strictly speaking, this was Jiang Tao's first entrepreneurial venture.
But with the optimized Eight-Treasure Pickle recipe and the [Delicious Pickle Jar] as his trump cards, both enhanced by the system, Jiang Tao was brimming with confidence.
His parents had tasted the Eight-Treasure Pickles and were equally confident in their son.
Xu Li supported Jiang Tao unconditionally, believing in him no matter what he did.
Dinner lasted from around 7 p.m. until about 9 p.m.
Jiang Tao arranged a designated driver for Li Ming and a private car for Jiang Jiaqi.
Xu Li drove the family back to the neighborhood, and they took the elevator upstairs.
Back home, Jiang Tao's parents played with Jiang Xue and her toys in the living room.
Xu Li sidled up to Jiang Tao, looking surprised, and said, "Honey, I just checked. The cosmetics set Li Ming gave me costs over 5,000 yuan!"
"Accepting such an expensive gift on our first meeting—doesn't that seem a bit much?"
"It's not that expensive. No need to be polite with that kid. He's a proper Beijing rich second-gen."
Jiang Tao smiled, "Gifts like this are nothing to him."
"Oh… by the way, honey, what did Li Ming give you?"
Xu Li's gaze shifted to the shopping bag Jiang Tao had casually placed on the coffee table earlier.
"Go check it out yourself."
Jiang Tao sat on the sofa, looking as steady as a mountain.
When he'd taken the bag from Li Ming, he'd felt its weight.
Combined with the system's intel, he had a rough idea of what was inside.
But he played it cool, pretending not to know.
Letting Xu Li "open the blind box" would give her a little shock and delight.
"Lazy bones."
Xu Li gave Jiang Tao a playful, flirty glance, walked to the coffee table, and picked up the bag.
In front of Jiang Tao, she pulled out a tightly taped package.
The package was wrapped in white cardstock, hiding its contents.
"It's wrapped up tight."
Xu Li commented as she opened a drawer in the coffee table, took out a small pair of scissors, and began "opening the blind box."
After cutting the tape on one side and tearing open the cardstock, a stack of bright red banknotes appeared.
"This is…"
Seeing the cash, Xu Li's eyes lit up, and her breathing quickened.
When she tore the package open further and pulled out a neatly bundled stack of bills, she was stunned.
"Money? No way, is this whole thing filled with cash?!"
Xu Li's exclamation drew the attention of Jiang Tao's parents.
Their eyes turned to Jiang Tao and Xu Li, then to the stack of cash in her hands.
The elderly couple's faces showed shock as well.
*Rip, rip, rip~~*
In a few swift moves, Xu Li fully opened the package, revealing twenty neatly stacked bundles of red hundred-yuan bills.
Looking at the pile of cash on the coffee table, everyone except Jiang Tao was dumbfounded.
"Honey, what's Li Ming's deal with this?"
Snapping out of her shock, Xu Li looked at Jiang Tao with a mix of excitement, confusion, and worry.
"What else could it be? It's to thank me."
Jiang Tao lounged on the sofa, legs crossed, looking relaxed and carefree.
During dinner at the hotel, everyone had heard about his conversation with Li Ming.
Thanks to Jiang Tao's early morning call, Li Ming's car lot had avoided a major loss.
Li Ming had come today with gifts for the family to express his gratitude.
It was that simple, nothing complicated.
"But, honey, this is 200,000 yuan!"
Xu Li scooted closer to Jiang Tao, clutching his arm with a mix of excitement.
Though she'd had up to a million in her account at one point, this was her first time seeing so much cash.
It was still a bit shocking!
Jiang Tao smiled, "Take this money and use it as pocket money."
"Oh, that's not what I meant. I'm just saying, is it okay for us to accept this much money from Li Ming?"
Xu Li pouted playfully, hugging Jiang Tao's arm even tighter.
"What's wrong with it? We didn't steal or rob. Someone's offering money—why not take it?"
Jiang Tao patted Xu Li's back with a smile and said, "Keep it with peace of mind. The money's clean, no issues."
"Mm-hmm! Then I'll keep it! Hehe~ Another 200,000 in the bag! We're one step closer to buying a villa!"
Hearing Jiang Tao's reassurance, Xu Li stopped worrying.
She quickly gathered the scattered bills on the coffee table and stuffed them back into the shopping bag.
"Daddy, Mommy, I want to go to the zoo tomorrow. Can we go to the zoo?"
Jiang Xue suddenly ran up to Jiang Tao and Xu Li, looking at them expectantly.
Tomorrow was the weekend, and Jiang Xue didn't have school.
Jiang Tao had originally planned to take her to "move" some Jellycat toys.
He'd already obtained the lucky star tag from the Jellycat Bonnie Bunny that Du Ennan had given her.
The reason he hadn't rushed to claim the prize was to give Jiang Xue a surprise on the weekend.
"Honey, do you have time?"
Xu Li didn't immediately agree to Jiang Xue's request and instead looked at Jiang Tao.
She knew Jiang Tao had been busy preparing for the company and making Eight-Treasure Pickles.
If he didn't have time, she could take Jiang Xue out to play by herself.
Jiang Tao looked at his daughter and smiled, "Xiao Xue, tomorrow Daddy will take you to an even more fun place. It's definitely more exciting than the zoo."
"What place? Daddy, tell me now! I want to know!"
Hearing Jiang Tao mention a place more fun than the zoo, Jiang Xue's interest was piqued.
She hugged Jiang Tao's other arm and started acting cute.
Her little cotton-padded jacket had clearly inherited her mom's knack for being adorable.
"If I tell you, it won't be a surprise anymore. You'll find out tomorrow."
"I promise it'll be way more fun and interesting than the zoo."
"If you really want to go to the zoo, we can go on Sunday too."
Jiang Tao held firm against his daughter's cute offensive, refusing to spill any details.
"Yay!"
Hearing there'd be a surprise and it wouldn't affect her zoo trip, Jiang Xue happily spun in circles on the floor.
"Honey, what's the surprise? Can you tell me?"
Xu Li was also curious about the surprise Jiang Tao had planned for their daughter and asked softly.
"Nope, you'll find out tomorrow."
Jiang Tao grinned, resolute in his "you can't squeeze it out of me" stance.
"Hmph, fine, keep it to yourself. Whoever spills is a puppy."
Xu Li let out a playful huff, grabbed the shopping bag with the 200,000 yuan, and headed to the bedroom to stash it.
Jiang Tao chatted with his parents about the Eight-Treasure Pickles for a while.
Around 10 p.m., the family took turns washing up and returned to their rooms to rest.
"Daddy, are you sure tomorrow's surprise will be a surprise and not a scare?"
After climbing into bed, Jiang Xue blinked at her dad, who'd just finished telling her a bedtime story, her face full of anticipation.
"Haha, where'd you learn all this nonsense? Of course it's a surprise, not a scare."
Jiang Tao laughed at his little cotton-padded jacket's words and said, "Daddy promises you'll love it, and you'll be the envy of your whole class."
"The envy of my whole class? I'm so excited!"
"Goodnight, Daddy. I'm going to sleep early so tomorrow comes faster!"
Jiang Xue closed her eyes, her little mouth curved into an unstoppable smile.
"Sweet dreams."
Jiang Tao gently stroked Jiang Xue's forehead, smiling as he got up from her bedside and headed to the door.
He turned off her room's light and quietly closed the door.
Back in the master bedroom, Xu Li was sitting at the vanity, blow-drying her hair.
Jiang Tao, ever attentive, took the hairdryer from her to help.
At first, he dutifully lifted her hair to dry it.
Halfway through, his hands started wandering.
Before her hair was fully dry, Xu Li was already breathless from his teasing and turned to wrap her arms around his neck.
Half an hour later…
The two quietly slipped out to wash up again before returning to bed.
Tonight, an exhausted Xu Li fell asleep first.
Jiang Tao stayed up until midnight, waiting for the system's intel refresh.
**[Today's Intel 01]:**
You had contact with Jiang Jiaqi yesterday, triggering related intel—
The payroll card (already canceled) that Jiang Jiaqi lost last night is a special item.
Activating it will grant a random attribute!
**[Note:]** There are 5 hours and 44 minutes left until the card is cleared by sanitation workers!
…
"Payroll card? Another special item!"
Seeing the first piece of intel for the day, Jiang Tao's heart leaped with joy.
He already had two special items in his possession.
The [Lucky Golden Toad] brought him a passive income of 10,000 yuan daily.
The [Delicious Pickle Jar] produced Eight-Treasure Pickles with enhanced flavor, its value immeasurable.
Now, a third special item, the "payroll card," had appeared.
Based on past patterns, this card's attributes were bound to be impressive!
Jiang Tao wasn't about to miss out on it.
He had to get his hands on that payroll card.
As for its original owner, Jiang Jiaqi…
Well, let's just say they were fated to meet but not to keep it!
The special items revealed in the system's intel could only be activated with the system's assistance.
In other words, whether it was the Lucky Golden Toad, the Pickle Jar, or this payroll card, in anyone else's hands, they were just ordinary objects.
Only in Jiang Tao's hands could they unleash their true potential.
So…
When it came to picking up Jiang Jiaqi's discarded payroll card, Jiang Tao didn't feel the slightest bit guilty.
With over five hours left until the card was cleared away, there was no rush.
Jiang Tao moved on to the second piece of intel for the day.
**[Today's Intel 02]:**
You had contact with Li Ming yesterday, triggering related intel—
A Beiqi EU5 electric car for sale at Li Ming's car lot is a special item.
After obtaining ownership, it can be activated to gain special attributes.
…
"Another special item!"
"My luck's insane today!"
Seeing the second piece of intel also related to a special item, Jiang Tao's heart surged with excitement. He glanced at the river stone bracelet on his wrist.
Could it be the river stone working its magic again, bringing him such incredible luck?