Ding-a-ling—
At exactly 5 o'clock in the morning, the alarm on the phone rang.
Jiang Tao dozed for another five minutes, then, taking advantage of his brain not paying attention, he abruptly sat up from the bed.
After getting dressed, he simply washed his face, grabbed a powerful flashlight from home, and went out.
In the dead of winter, at 5 o'clock in the morning, there were still stars all over the sky.
A breakfast shop named "Guo's Shop" that Jiang Tao frequently visited had just opened.
The owner's surname was Guo, and the employee was his wife; the couple were also 'Beijing Drifters' who came from out of town to work in Beijing.
Jiang Tao stopped outside the breakfast shop and asked, "Boss Guo, are the steamed buns ready?"
"Another three minutes, Master Jiang, come inside and wait, come, come, have a cigarette first. After one cigarette, the buns will be ready, just in time to eat them hot."
The breakfast shop owner said with a smile as he greeted Jiang Tao, while taking out a pack of Yuxi cigarettes from his pocket and pulling one out to hand to Jiang Tao.
"Thanks, Boss. Then I'll wait. I still have heavy work to do later, and I won't have the energy on an empty stomach."
Jiang Tao didn't stand on ceremony with Boss Guo, smiled and reached out to take the cigarette, then lifted his leg and entered the shop.
It was only 5:12 in the morning at this time, so there was still time for breakfast.
After greeting Jiang Tao, Boss Guo went back to busily kneading dough, preparing for the next batch of steamed buns.
Don't underestimate the size of this breakfast shop; it's only a little over thirty square meters.
By the end of the morning, they could sell over 1,000 yuan worth.
The couple runs this shop, only doing breakfast and lunch; the afternoon and evening are their time for rest and sleep.
After a month of hard work, excluding expenses like water, electricity, gas, and rent, the net profit for a single month is around fifteen or sixteen thousand.
That's a lot more than what Jiang Tao earns by hauling goods outside.
But it is also truly hard work.
Jiang Tao felt miserable getting up at 5 o'clock, but the couple who run the breakfast shop start getting up at two or three in the morning to prepare for the morning's business.
"Master Jiang, the buns are ready, what filling do you want?"
Jiang Tao hadn't finished his cigarette yet when Boss Guo called out that the buns were ready.
"Give me a basket of pork and green onion! And a bowl of tofu pudding."
"Alright! Master Jiang, just a moment!"
After saying that, Boss Guo took down a basket of white, plump meat buns from the steaming cage.
He also scooped a large bowl of tofu pudding from the insulated bucket for Jiang Tao, adding the salty sauce.
Jiang Tao also added a little chili from the table to the tofu pudding.
One basket of buns, one bowl of tofu pudding, a total of 12 yuan, and he was full.
After eating and drinking his fill and paying the bill, Jiang Tao lit another cigarette, turned on his flashlight, and walked towards the village entrance.
As he walked, the flashlight beam swept across, and Jiang Tao saw a short fat man wearing a green army coat walking ahead.
The short fat man was about 1.7 meters tall, round-bodied, and wearing a Lei Feng hat on his head.
Jiang Tao quickened his steps and went up to pat the person's shoulder.
"Xiao Liu! Why so happy! Have your family already arranged a blind date for the New Year?"
"Yo! Jiang Ge! Why are you so early today!"
Xiao Liu's name is Liu Zhiyuan, from the village next to Jiang Tao's village. He is two years younger than Jiang Tao, single and unmarried.
Jiang Tao said with a smile, "Today I'm also going to the fruit wholesale market to haul some sugar tangerines for the boss of Pang Dongdong Supermarket."
"That's perfect, we're going the same way. And, coincidentally, I'm also planning to haul sugar tangerines to the big market in the Xiao Sha River area today!"
Liu Zhiyuan always smiled when he spoke, his two small eyes narrowing into slits, looking quite comical.
Jiang Tao didn't beat around the bush with Liu Zhiyuan and went straight to the point:
"Oh right, Xiao Liu, I just happened to run into you, I want to tell you something.
Tonight, I'll call Xiao Dan and Xiao Zhang, and you guys can come over to my place to sit for a bit.
I have a business opportunity to discuss with you guys."
"A business opportunity to get rich? Jiang Ge, tell me a little bit first."
Liu Zhiyuan's small eyes lit up. A business opportunity to get rich is naturally something no one would refuse.
"It's related to the fruit industry you guys are currently in. For the specifics, come to my place tonight. When everyone is here, I'll explain it all at once."
"7 o'clock tonight, be there or be square."
After speaking, Jiang Tao walked towards his truck not far away.
"Okay, Jiang Ge! I'll be there!"
After assuring Jiang Tao, Liu Zhiyuan also got into his own car.
The two cars drove towards the Huilongguan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market, one after the other.
Although both were there to wholesale sugar tangerines, they were buying from different wholesalers. After driving into the market, they went their separate ways.
Following the address Yu Dongdong gave him yesterday, Jiang Tao arrived at stall 245 in Zone D of the Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market.
Early in the morning, before dawn, there were already over a dozen trucks waiting in line to load goods.
Jiang Tao went to a temporary office inside the stall to connect, got the pickup slip, and then went outside to queue for pickup.
He waited for about an hour before it was his turn.
The sugar tangerines here were all in 10-jin blue plastic boxes. Jiang Tao was strong and could load 5 boxes at a time.
200 boxes only took about twenty minutes.
After loading the truck, he drove directly back to Xiao Shahe Village and unloaded them at the temporary warehouse behind Pang Dongdong Supermarket.
Jiang Tao finished unloading the truck at exactly 8 o'clock in the morning, not delaying him from hauling goods in the market during the day at all.
He went to the front to settle the bill with Yu Dongdong, and Jiang Tao drove the truck directly to the Hongxing Second-hand Wholesale Market to wait for work.
In one morning, he hauled three more loads, earning a whopping 240 yuan.
At noon, he found a roadside restaurant and ordered a plate of plain stir-fried pancakes. Jiang Tao took out his phone and checked his current savings.
"Damn it, if I had known about this information about sugar tangerines, I would have paid back the project arrears to a few bosses later!"
Seeing that his balance was only a pitiful 18,000, less than 20,000.
Jiang Tao suddenly felt he had repaid the external debt too early!
In the past few days, he had earned over a hundred thousand yuan relying on the intelligence system.
On one hand, he repaid the family's external debt, and on the other hand, he transferred over 50,000 yuan to his wife, Xu Li.
The money Jiang Tao had came quickly and went even faster, leaving not much behind in the end.
With the little money he had, he could at most buy a little over 500 boxes of 10-jin sugar tangerines, which wouldn't make much of a splash!
At most, he could earn some hard-earned money.
To make big money, he still needed a certain amount of capital investment!
"This intelligence about sugar tangerines is definitely a very rare opportunity."
"The price increase is as high as 100%. Even if I increase the price by 50%, I can still make a fortune."
"Heaven has already put the food in my mouth. If I don't dare to eat it now, I won't achieve much in the future!"
"Do I still have to wait for work here for a lifetime even with the intelligence system?"
"Caution is not cowardice. If you don't dare to act when you know a commodity will increase in price, then you are too cowardly!"
It had been some time since he bound the intelligence system, and Jiang Tao was still very confident in the information provided by the intelligence system.
The phone in the bottle cap, the hands and feet in the down jacket, the private money in the second-hand sofa, the lucky number banknotes in the ATM machine…
Every piece of intelligence was real and reliable.
After finishing a plate of plain stir-fried pancakes, Jiang Tao had made up his mind.
This wave of sugar tangerines before the New Year, he must go big!
Whether he can have a good New Year depends on this wave!