Daily Intelligence System: Financial Independence-Chapter 32: The "Gods" Who Control Sugar Oranges!
Staring eagerly at the time on his phone as it hit midnight.
Jiang Tao couldn’t wait to open the Intelligence System to check today’s intel.
[Today’s Intel]: You had contact with your landlord, Lü Qian, yesterday and obtained related information—
Lü Qian, at 72, appears optimistic and cheerful on the outside, but inside he’s always felt lonely, often lying awake through the night.
He longs to experience a perfect romance in his lifetime, but has never found the right person.
System assessment shows: Ma Dongmei, who sells roasted sweet potatoes outside Red Star Second-hand Furniture Market, has a 98% compatibility rate with Lü Qian!
If you successfully match them and they get married, you’ll receive a reward red envelope of 88,888 yuan from Lü Qian, with lifetime rent exemption as well.
...
Seeing the intel refreshed for today, Jiang Tao’s eyes immediately lit up.
"The old landlord sure still has a youthful heart—over 70 and still a believer in love..."
"But wow, an 88,888 yuan red envelope? That’s one generous move!"
"I’m definitely helping with this!"
After going over the intel two more times, Jiang Tao felt that this matchmaking task for the landlord wouldn’t be too hard.
All he had to do was play matchmaker, introduce the landlord to this Ma-something-Mei lady!
And the system said their compatibility is as high as 98%, just 2 points from perfect.
That’s practically a match made in heaven!
With that kind of compatibility, this shouldn’t be difficult at all!
It’s like tossing a burning stick into a pile of dry kindling—bound to catch fire fast!
"I think there are three people selling roasted sweet potatoes at the wholesale market."
"If I have time today, I’ll go see which one is Ma Dongmei and get the lay of the land. If not, no rush, this can wait."
"It’s late, time for bed. Tomorrow, I’ve got to get up and drive the truck to sell tangerines."
"It’s already the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month—only ten days until returning home for the New Year. Let’s make more money and have a great holiday this year!"
Thinking about the serious business he has to do tomorrow, Jiang Tao plugged in his phone, switched off the light, and dove into bed.
Lying on his pillow, he was still wondering what exactly "the right time" would be.
He’d just checked the electric weather forecast on his phone.
For the past ten days or so, it’s been either cloudy or sunny in Beijing.
Aside from two blue alerts for wind and cold, nothing extraordinary in the weather.
"Forget it. If Brother Tongzi says the price will go up, it’ll go up. I’ll know the reason tomorrow."
Couldn’t figure it out, so Jiang Tao stopped thinking and closed his eyes to sleep.
Ring ring, ring ring—
At 6:00 AM, the alarm on his phone went off.
Jiang Tao reached out from under his blanket to turn off the alarm, planning to snooze for a few more minutes.
But things rarely go as planned. As soon as he turned off the alarm, his phone started ringing again.
Ring ring, ring ring—
He opened one eye and glanced at his phone—the caller name was "Xiao Liu."
"Hey Xiao Liu, it’s early, why aren’t you sleeping more?"
"Wholesale price went up? By how much?"
When he heard Liu Zhiyuan’s excited voice over the phone, Jiang Tao instantly woke up and shot up out of bed.
"Six yuan now?"
"Haha, see? Told you to trust your brother’s business sense this time!"
"Old Guo’s place as usual. Breakfast is on me today—let’s fill up and then get to work!"
"Hanging up now, see you in a bit!"
After a quick chat on the phone, Jiang Tao hung up and walked over to the window for a look outside.
Beijing at 6 am was still half-asleep, the sky still dim.
Jiang Tao had dreamed it would snow last night, but outside looked the same as usual.
No signs of the blizzard or any extreme weather he’d imagined.
Pulled up the weather app on his phone—it said today would be sunny again, temperature ranging from minus 3 to 5 degrees.
This year’s Beijing is several degrees warmer than last year at this time—a truly mild winter.
"Ah, whatever the reason! As long as the price goes up, this cash is ours to grab!"
Jiang Tao didn’t bother puzzling over why tangerine prices were so volatile.
He quickly washed his hands and face with water from the thermos, dabbed on some Dabao cream, threw on that heavy black coat he wore for driving days, and headed out.
With the time it took to smoke a cigarette, Jiang Tao walked from his rental to "Old Guo’s place."
Liu Zhiyuan, Shan Yufei, and Zhang Chao were already inside, laughing and chatting about something.
"Our Jiang Zhuge is here!"
"Brother Jiang, you really are a prophet! How’d you know G West would get hit by a blizzard and tangerines couldn’t get through?"
"Everyone in our fruit wholesaler chat is scrambling for tangerines! Even if we end up selling them to other vendors, we’ll still make a killing!"
The three of them were buzzing with excitement when they saw Jiang Tao, and in just a few sentences, they already explained the reason for the tangerine price surge.
"Hehe, the credit really goes to my buddy—if anyone’s a prophet, it’s him."
"Take good advice and you’ll never go hungry. The guy made millions while he’s still young; of course he’s got skills."
Jiang Tao sat calmly at the table, but inside he was just as psyched!
He invested the most in this tangerine venture—he’d really be counting cash until his hands went numb!
"If I knew it’d be such a sure deal, I would’ve taken out that 100k I had stashed in the bank!"
"Tell me about it! But it’s too late now—everyone in Beijing is hunting for tangerines."
"In just these few minutes, the price in the group chat went up another 0.5 yuan—it’s at 6.5 now!"
Liu Zhiyuan and Shan Yufei were truly regretting not going all-in like Jiang Tao.
The two of them played it safe and only invested 50k each.
If only they’d done ten or twenty grand, like Jiang Tao...
But now it was too late for regrets.
There aren’t that many "if"s in life.
Some opportunities flash by—if you grab them, you win. Miss them, and they’re gone for good.
Speaking of regrets, Zhang Chao had it worst.
Right in front of his eyes, all the guys he hung out with made a tidy sum—except him, not a dime!
"Brother Jiang, next time there’s a chance to make a killing, you’d better call us too!"
"Of course! We’re brothers here, we make money together. Just eat your fill, and after breakfast, let’s load up those tangerines and get ready to fight!"
Liu Zhiyuan and the guys weren’t shy around Jiang Tao; everyone ordered their favorite breakfast foods.
After a hearty meal, the four of them drove their trucks to the small yard Jiang Tao was renting and started loading up.
Today is the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, which happens to be Friday—the day of the big Sha River market.
The Sha River market covers 60,000 square meters, with over 60,000 visitors each day.
At the end of the year, even more people come to shop for New Year’s goods.
The market was bustling, people brushing past each other, picking out what they needed from the various stalls.
The four of them drove their trucks to the fruit area in a row.
Normally, there’d be at least 10 or so vendors selling tangerines at the Sha River market.
Today, the four of them had become the "gods" ruling tangerines at Sha River market.
