Chapter 2: An iPhone 15 Inside a Bottle Cap!
Better to believe it exists than to dismiss it outright.
Checking a trash can for a bottle cap wouldn't cost him anything anyway.
At worst, he'd waste a few minutes.
But if it turned out to be real—that was an iPhone!
Worth at least several thousand yuan!
Jiang Tao immediately pushed open the car door and got out, strolling toward the trash cans by the West Gate.
"Huh? Someone beat me to it!"
From a distance, Jiang Tao spotted an elderly man in a green military coat standing beside a row of trash cans, rummaging through them.
His heart instantly tightened.
Don't let this old man snatch my "fated opportunity"!
He quickened his pace. When he got closer, he saw a pile of cardboard, plastic boards, and drink bottles stacked on the ground beside the old man.
Noticing Jiang Tao approach, the old man paused and looked at him warily.
"Haha, Grandpa, don't look at me like that. I'm not here to steal your business. Just offering a cigarette."
Jiang Tao laughed as he explained, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and handing it over.
One cigarette was all it took for the old man to lower his guard. The look in his eyes softened considerably.
"Go on, keep picking. I accidentally threw away my thermos when I dumped my trash earlier. I'm just trying to find it."
"If you can find it, great. If not, forget it," the old man replied indifferently.
Smoking as he spoke, Jiang Tao walked toward the third green trash can from the left.
He took a deep breath, braced himself mentally, and started digging.
Fortunately, the trash can was relatively clean—no kitchen waste, no foul smell.
Mostly dust, scrap cardboard, bits of wood, and bottles and cans.
"Iced Black Tea bottle caps…"
Jiang Tao rummaged through the trash for seven or eight minutes.
Anything recyclable that could be sold, he tossed straight at the old man's feet.
That alone earned him even more goodwill from the scavenger.
Over the entire search, Jiang Tao found three Iced Black Tea bottles.
Two were small bottles, one was a one-liter bottle.
He twisted off all three caps and slipped them into his pocket, tossing the empty bottles to the old man.
After about ten minutes, Jiang Tao had turned the third trash can completely upside down. Only after confirming there were no more bottles left did he stop.
And by sheer coincidence, he even found a discarded stainless-steel thermos inside.
"Found it! I'm heading off, Grandpa! You carry on—hope you get rich!"
Grinning, Jiang Tao waved goodbye to the old man and strode briskly back toward where he'd parked.
"Holy crap, Jiang Tao—what happened to your windshield?"
When Jiang Tao returned to his truck, a stocky man about 1.7 meters tall, roughly in his forties, was standing in front of it inspecting the damage.
His name was Wang Lianming, a fellow villager and the senior who had introduced Jiang Tao to this line of work.
"My luck's been absolute garbage. A car kicked up a rock and smashed it. I tried chasing it down just now but couldn't catch up."
Jiang Tao casually made something up. The Daily Intelligence System was obviously not something he could tell outsiders about.
"You've really been unlucky this year. Did you get the license plate?"
"It was going too fast—I didn't see it clearly."
"Then you're screwed. The cameras around this market are just for show—completely useless!"
"Damn it! Every bit of bad luck finds its way to me. Another day wasted!"
"Cheer up, brother. You know the saying—misfortune is where fortune hides. I've got a feeling your luck's about to turn!"
"Haha, thanks for the good words, Brother Wang! Hope this bad streak ends soon!"
Jiang Tao thought to himself—Brother Wang really nailed it.
Misfortune is where fortune hides!
Who would've thought that a Daily Intelligence System would fall from the sky and smash right into his truck?
Trading one windshield for a system—this deal was beyond worth it!
"Oh damn, it's snowing! Let's pack it up—getting late anyway, market's about to close!"
"See you tomorrow, Jiang Tao! I'm heading out!"
Wang Lianming jogged over to his own truck, started the engine, and drove off.
Jiang Tao looked up at the sky. After a gloomy day, the capital finally welcomed its first snowfall of the year.
"Auspicious snow foretells a good harvest. A great omen! Hopefully my financial luck starts turning from today!"
Chuckling to himself, Jiang Tao pulled out his phone and checked the time.
It was already 5:30 p.m., and night was about to fall.
At this hour, there usually wasn't any business left anyway.
"Head home first. Traffic's about to get bad."
Suppressing the urge to scan the bottle caps immediately, Jiang Tao strode back to his beloved truck, started it up, and drove off.
Though the windshield was shattered and his view slightly obstructed, he could still see the road clearly enough to drive.
He had driven the route from Hongxing Secondhand Furniture Wholesale Market to Xiao Shahe Urban Village thousands of times over the past five or six years—he knew it like the back of his hand.
Twenty minutes later, when he parked in an open lot near the entrance of Xiao Shahe Village, snow had already begun to accumulate on the ground.
The snowflakes falling from the sky grew larger and denser, turning the world into a vast expanse of white.
Pushing the door open, Jiang Tao stepped out and headed briskly into the village against the wind and snow.
His shoes crunched cheerfully against the snow, matching his current mood perfectly.
"Off work, Xiao Jiang~"
"Getting off work, Xiao Jiang~"
"Sister Wang, still not packing up? That's dedication!"
"It's snowing, Sister Li, and you're still rolling dough!"
Jiang Tao had been renting here in Xiao Shahe for over six years and was familiar with many of the street vendors. They often greeted each other when passing by.
He bought a flatbread from the steamed bun shop.
Then fifteen yuan worth of pig head meat and some cold side dishes from the deli.
At Pang Dongdong Supermarket, he picked up two packs of instant noodles, two packs of Hong Liqun cigarettes, a bottle of Bai Niuer liquor, and eight yuan worth of spiced peanuts.
After a round of "major shopping," Jiang Tao carried several plastic bags and navigated the maze-like alleys of the urban village for five minutes.
Finally, he arrived at an old-looking two-story corridor building.
He took out his access card, swiped it, and entered.
He lived on the second floor, Room 205, on the shaded side.
Rooms on the shaded side were dark and damp, rarely seeing sunlight year-round.
The only upside was that the rent was three hundred yuan cheaper per month than the sunny side.
Jiang Tao was rarely home during the day anyway—he spent most of his time waiting for work at the wholesale market.
The rental was just a place to sleep. He didn't care about yin or yang.
The three hundred yuan saved each month was enough to buy two cartons of cigarettes—enough to last him half a month.
He unlocked the door, stepped inside, and turned on the light.
The room was barely ten square meters.
Inside was a single bed, and a small secondhand wardrobe he'd bought from the used market.
There was also a computer desk given to him by a neighbor who'd moved back to their hometown—it now served as his dining table.
The furnishings were so simple they bordered on shabby.
He closed the door behind him and dumped all the plastic bags onto the table.
With a tense expression, Jiang Tao pulled out the three red tea bottle caps he'd fished out of the trash.
"If I can win an Apple phone, flipping it would still be worth something."
"Please let it be real. Heaven, bless me…"
He grabbed a soap case and went to the communal sink on the second floor, washing his hands thoroughly—and carefully rinsing the three bottle caps as well.
After washing up, he returned to his room and locked the door.
Time to scan.
Ding.
The first bottle cap—nothing.
Ding.
The second one—a voucher for a QQ Green Diamond subscription.
Only one left.
Jiang Tao's expression grew solemn.
"I bought the food, I bought the booze—I'm all set to celebrate. Please don't let this be a false alarm…"
His gaze fixed nervously on the final bottle cap.
He took a deep breath, then aimed his phone camera at the QR code inside and scanned.
Ding.
[Congratulations! You've won an iPhone 15!]
"I won! I WON! Holy f—!!!"
Seeing the winning screen, Jiang Tao shot up from his chair, pumping his fists into the air again and again in excitement.
From childhood to now, the biggest thing he'd ever won was ten yuan from a lottery ticket.
Nothing—ever—worth more than ten yuan.
And today, he'd scanned an iPhone 15 out of a bottle cap.
It felt like a dream.
Jiang Tao vigorously rubbed his face. After confirming he wasn't dreaming, he looked back at his phone screen.
The winning screen was still there.
It was all real.
Once the excitement settled, Jiang Tao followed the instructions on the page and filled in his name, phone number, and delivery address.
(End of Chapter)