Daily Intelligence System: Financial Independence-Chapter 53: With Brother Tongzi, Life Is Full of Hope!
After eating and drinking their fill.
When Jiang Tao got back to his rental, it was already past one in the afternoon.
Over lunch, he’d had a few drinks with Lü Qian and Ma Dongmei.
Now his head was a bit fuzzy, and he was too lazy to go back out and wander around.
It was only today that Jiang Tao realized Ma Dongmei, who looks all quiet and gentle, actually handles her liquor pretty well!
It’s rare enough for women to drink, and it’s even rarer for someone like Ma Dongmei to hold her drinks that well.
Ring ring ring—
Just as he was about to lie down for a nap, Jiang Tao’s phone rang.
He picked up the phone and saw the caller ID: "Third Brother."
"Hey, Third Brother..."
"Come on, guess what? We’re too old for these childish games."
"All right, spit it out if you’ve got something to say, if not, let’s wrap it up."
"Just over two thousand orders, and you only sold a bit over seventy grand?"
"Oh, when you put it that way, that’s not bad. You go ahead and take care of it."
"Find whoever you need, ship the goods however you see fit—do you have enough cash on hand? If not, I can transfer you some."
"Okay, okay, let’s leave it at that. You handle it, bye."
Jiang Tao really trusts his little sister to get things done, and he’s not worried she’ll screw him over.
He gave her a few quick instructions over the phone, then hung up, got into bed, and started his afternoon nap.
He slept straight through until about three-thirty, when Liu Zhiyuan’s call woke him up.
Liu Zhiyuan and the other two had already sold all the stockpile of sugar tangerines—battle finished.
Around four in the afternoon, Liu Zhiyuan, Shan Yufei, and Zhang Chao gathered again at Jiang Tao’s rental.
The final batch of sugar tangerines sold for a total of 137,400-plus.
Jiang Tao took 71%—his share came to 97,554.
Liu Zhiyuan and Shan Yufei each pocketed 19,236.
The remaining 1,374 was Zhang Chao’s wage, and Jiang Tao pitched in to round it up to 3,000 for him.
Even though today’s work didn’t even last a full day, Jiang Tao still gave Liu Zhiyuan and Shan Yufei a thousand yuan each for their pay.
"The sugar tangerines are all sold, battle’s done and dusted. You guys have been busting your asses these last few days—early starts and late nights, thanks for the hustle."
"Tonight, after we visit Brother Wang at the hospital, pick any spot you want for dinner—it’s our breakup meal."
This sugar tangerine project, Jiang Tao invested 250,000 and made almost 750,000 total, with pure profit around 500,000.
Five days—made half a million!
If Brother Tongzi hadn’t tipped him off, Jiang Tao would have needed at least seven or eight years to make 500,000.
And even then, only if he lived super frugally.
If he lived like now, eating out every day, smoking Huanghe Lou, he’d probably never save up 500,000 in his life.
Besides the sugar tangerines, the last few days Jiang Tao also squeezed 40,000 out of ZPay, won about 70,000 on lottery tickets, and another 20,000 on scratch cards.
Plus, his little sister Jiang Bing is selling Ultraman hairpins—once that project wraps up, it’ll be another nice payday.
Jiang Tao felt that now that he’s got Brother Tongzi, life’s really looking up!
Liu Zhiyuan and the others didn’t say anything sentimental.
This time Jiang Tao helped them earn over ten grand each—the gratitude’s something they all tuck away in their hearts.
The crew hung out and chatted at Jiang Tao’s place until after four, then headed out together downstairs.
Stopped by Yu Dongdong Supermarket, bought milk and some fruit.
All together, they went over to Jishuitan Hospital to see Wang Lianming and He Fang.
A few days’ absence, and Wang Lianming looked like he’d aged more than ten years—exhausted and haggard.
Seeing Jiang Tao and the guys, Wang Lianming was deeply moved, tears brimming in his eyes.
He Fang didn’t look nearly as bright and lively as before either—her spirits were low.
With chemo every day lately, she was losing hair badly, so she shaved off all of it.
When Jiang Tao saw He Fang, the phrase "illness strikes like a mountain falling" popped into his head.
Noticing He Fang was in bad shape, Jiang Tao and the guys didn’t linger and disturb her.
After forty-some minutes in the hospital room, they said their goodbyes.
Wang Lianming personally walked them out of the inpatient ward.
Liu Zhiyuan and the other two headed off first, leaving Jiang Tao to have a quick private chat with Wang Lianming.
"Brother Wang, has your wife’s surgery been scheduled? Is it a money issue, or what? How much are you short—I’ll chip in."
Wang Lianming is basically Jiang Tao’s mentor—back when things were toughest for Jiang Tao, he helped him out a lot.
Jiang Tao still remembers—his first year in business, after buying a new car and paying off the loan, then with Xu Li’s difficult childbirth costing a bunch more—
That year, right around this time too, about to hit New Year, and after paying the monthly car loan, Jiang Tao didn’t even have a thousand yuan left.
Without hesitating, Wang Lianming handed him ten grand and told him to go home and celebrate New Year’s properly.
That favor, Jiang Tao will remember his whole life.
Now, Wang Lianming and He Fang are in trouble, and Jiang Tao will, of course, step up without a second thought.
After splitting the last bit from the sugar tangerine deal today, his account balance was almost 400,000.
And with the Ultraman hairpin project wrapped up soon, another hundred thousand or so coming in.
So even if Wang Lianming asked to borrow 100,000 or 200,000, Jiang Tao would hand it over without blinking.
"Thanks, Jiang Tao. You’re a true brother."
Tears rimmed Wang Lianming’s eyes as he patted Jiang Tao’s shoulder.
Jiang Tao was the first person—outside of Wang Lianming and He Fang’s parents—to ask if he needed money and actively offer to lend him any.
"Sigh! This time it’s not about money—they’re enough. We just can’t seem to schedule the surgery."
"One patient in our room has been waiting over a month still hasn’t got a date for surgery."
"Ah! Us regular folks, neither rich nor connected—every damn thing is so hard!"
As he spoke, Wang Lianming’s eyes overflowed with tears.
These days, ever since his wife’s illness, this tough guy has broken down more than once.
"..."
Hearing Wang Lianming, Jiang Tao felt helpless too.
If you’ve got money, you can buy VIP access—the same surgery just costs several times more but gets scheduled faster.
If you’ve got connections, you can pull some strings and jump the queue.
But for someone like Wang Lianming, not much money, no contacts, he can only wait.
If waiting gets too hard, the only option is switching to a hospital where they’ll schedule it quicker.
"Your wife’s got good fortune—she’ll pull through. Everything will be okay."
Jiang Tao patted Wang Lianming’s shoulder, trying to comfort his old brother.
The two chatted a bit longer, then Wang Lianming headed upstairs to take care of He Fang.
Jiang Tao turned and went outside to meet up with Liu Zhiyuan and the other two.
The "Sugar Tangerine Squad’s" last group dinner—they picked a four-star hotel up in Huilongguan.
A definite upgrade from the Wangcai Restaurant back in the urban village.
The meal cost Jiang Tao over 1,500 yuan.
After dinner, Zhang Chao organized everyone to hit a nearby KTV, where they sang for more than three hours.
Once the singing wraps up, Liu Zhiyuan, Shan Yufei, and Zhang Chao take off for the internet café to game together overnight.
Jiang Tao, not so young anymore, stopped joining these late-night activities with the kids.
He grabbed a cab back to his Xiaoshanhe Urban Village rental—it was midnight by the time he walked in.
Stepping inside and taking off his jacket, Jiang Tao got a sudden impulse and opened up the Intelligence System to check today’s report.
