Chapter 24: Time for Something Big!

Ding-a-ling—

At exactly 5:00 AM, the alarm on the phone rang.

Jiang Tao lingered in a daze for another five minutes before, catching his brain off guard, he bolted upright from the bed.

After getting dressed and quickly splashing some water on his face, he grabbed a high-beam flashlight and headed out. In the dead of winter, the sky at 5:00 AM was still filled with stars.

"Old Guo's Shop," a breakfast spot Jiang Tao frequented, had just opened its doors. The owner was surnamed Guo, and the staff was his wife; both were migrants from out of town, struggling to make a life in the capital.

Jiang Tao stopped outside the shop and asked, "Boss Guo, are the steamed buns ready?"

"Three more minutes. Come on in, Master Jiang, and wait inside. Here, have a smoke first. By the time you're done, the buns will be ready, just in time to eat them nice and hot." As he greeted Jiang Tao with a grin, the owner fished a pack of Yuxi cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to him.

"Thanks, Boss. I'll wait then. I've got some heavy lifting to do later, and I won't have the energy if I'm hungry." Jiang Tao didn't stand on ceremony; he took the cigarette with a smile and stepped inside.

It was only 5:12 AM, so there was plenty of time for breakfast. After greeting Jiang Tao, Boss Guo went back to kneading dough, prepping for the next batch of buns.

Though the shop was only about thirty square meters, it could bring in over a thousand yuan in a single morning. The couple only ran it for breakfast and lunch, using the afternoons and evenings to rest and sleep. After expenses like utilities and rent, they cleared about fifteen or sixteen thousand yuan a month—more than Jiang Tao made hauling cargo.

But the work was undeniably grueling. Jiang Tao felt miserable waking up at 5:00 AM, yet the couple had been up since two or three in the morning just to prepare.

"Master Jiang, the buns are ready. What filling do you want?" Before Jiang Tao had even finished his cigarette, Boss Guo called out.

"Give me a steamer of pork and scallion, and a bowl of tofu pudding."

"Coming right up! Just a moment, Master Jiang!"

Boss Guo took a steamer of plump, white meat buns off the steaming pot and scooped a large bowl of tofu pudding from the insulated container, topping it with a savory sauce. Jiang Tao added a dash of chili from the table.

A steamer of buns and a bowl of tofu pudding—12 yuan in total—made for a perfectly filling meal.

***

After eating his fill and paying the bill, Jiang Tao lit another cigarette and clicked on his flashlight, heading toward the village entrance. As he walked, the beam of his light caught a stout young man in a green military-style overcoat walking ahead. The man was about 1.7 meters tall, round-bodied, and wearing a Lei Feng-style fur hat.

Jiang Tao quickened his pace and tapped the man on the shoulder.

"Little Liu! You look cheerful! Has the family already set up a blind date for the New Year?"

"Oh! Brother Jiang! How come you're out so early today?"

Liu Zhiyuan was from the village next over. He was two years younger than Jiang Tao and still single.

Jiang Tao smiled and said, "I'm heading to the fruit wholesale market today to haul some sugar mandarins for the boss of the Pang Dongdong Supermarket."

"What a coincidence, we're heading the same way! I'm actually going to pick up some mandarins to sell at the big market over in Shahe!" Liu Zhiyuan always had a beaming smile, his small eyes squinting into slits, which gave him a cheerful, likable appearance.

Not wanting to waste time, Jiang Tao got straight to the point: "By the way, Little Liu, since I ran into you, I’ve got something to say. Tonight, I’m gathering Little Dan and Little Zhang to come over to my place. I have a money-making venture I want to discuss with you boys."

"A money-making venture? Give me a hint, Brother Jiang." Liu Zhiyuan’s small eyes lit up; no one turns down a chance to make money.

"It’s related to the fruit business you guys are in. I’ll explain everything once everyone is gathered at my place tonight."

"7:00 PM. See you there."

With that, Jiang Tao walked toward his truck nearby. "You got it, Brother Jiang! I'll be there!" Liu Zhiyuan promised before climbing into his own vehicle.

The two trucks drove one after the other toward the Huilongguan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market. Although both were there for sugar mandarins, they were dealing with different wholesalers, so they parted ways once inside.

Following the address Yu Dongdong had given him yesterday, Jiang Tao arrived at Stall 245 in Zone D. Even though it was early and not yet light out, a dozen trucks were already lined up to load cargo. Jiang Tao went to a temporary office in the stall to finalize the paperwork, picked up his delivery slip, and joined the queue.

It took about an hour before it was his turn. The mandarins came in 10-jin blue plastic crates. Being a strong man, Jiang Tao could load five at a time, finishing the 200 crates in about twenty minutes.

***

After loading, he drove straight back to Little Shahe Village and dropped the cargo off at the temporary warehouse behind Pang Dongdong Supermarket. He finished unloading by 8:00 AM, just in time to start his regular hauling work for the day.

After settling the bill with Yu Dongdong out front, Jiang Tao drove his truck off to the Red Star Second-Hand Wholesale Market to look for jobs. He hauled three loads throughout the morning, netting a cool 240 yuan.

At noon, he stopped at a roadside diner for a serving of stir-fried pancakes and checked his bank balance on his phone.

"Dammit. If I had known about the sugar mandarin tip earlier, I would have waited to pay off those construction debts!"

Seeing only a pitiful 18,000 yuan left—not even 20,000—Jiang Tao felt like he had paid off his debts too soon. Over the last few days, he had made over a hundred thousand yuan thanks to his "Intelligence System." He had used the money to pay off family debts and transferred over 50,000 to his wife, Xu Li. The money had come in fast, but it had gone out even faster, leaving him with little.

With this amount, he could buy at most 500 crates of mandarins—hardly enough to make a splash. He’d just be earning a bit of "hard-earned money." To make real money, he needed significant capital.

"This mandarin tip is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"The price is set to jump by 100%. Even if I only mark it up by 50%, I’ll make a fortune."

"Heaven has already fed me, and if I’m too scared to take a bite, I won't amount to much in the future!"

"Am I really going to spend my whole life hauling cargo just because I have an intelligence system?"

"Prudence is not the same as cowardice. Knowing full well that a commodity is going to skyrocket in price and still not acting? That’s just weak."

He had been bound to the Intelligence System for a while now, and he had great confidence in the information it provided. Phone numbers inside bottle caps, keys hidden in down jackets, private savings tucked into second-hand sofas, lucky serial numbers on banknotes from ATMs... every piece of intelligence had been true and reliable.

After finishing his pancakes, Jiang Tao made up his mind. He had to go big on this batch of sugar mandarins before the New Year! Whether or not he would have a good holiday depended on this.