Chapter 38: The Refined and Handsome System Brother! (Please follow for updates!)

Ring-a-ling—

Just as they finished splitting the money, Jiang Tao’s phone rang. Glancing at the screen, he saw it was a video call from his wife, Xu Li.

"Brother Jiang, you go ahead and talk to your wife; we’re heading out."
"Come on, let’s go to my place and keep playing cards!"
"We’re off, Brother Jiang. Wouldn't want to interrupt your quality time with the missus!"

Liu Zhiyuan and his two companions were quite perceptive and rose one after another to take their leave.

"Alright, I won't see you out. Don't stay up too late; we’ve got work to do tomorrow morning."

As Jiang Tao stood up to bid them farewell, he swiped his finger to answer the call. The screen flashed, and Xu Li appeared, wearing a fuzzy, light pink pajama set.

"Honey, have you eaten yet? Tell me quickly, how much money did you guys actually make these past two days!"

Xu Li sounded impatient on the other end. For their small family, 200,000 was an absolute fortune!

"Didn't I borrow 50,000 from you a couple of days ago?"
"Mr. Jiang, let me correct you: it was 56,000!"
"Oh, right, 56,000. Didn't I say I’d pay you back double? That amount is already included in today’s 200,000."
"Oh! I get it! So, you already anticipated that the price of sugar tangerines would go up, which is why you borrowed money from me to hoard them?"
"Hey, look at that—my usually dazed wife has become quite sharp today!"
"Pfft, who says I’m dazed? I’m clever most of the time, thank you very much! It’s just that when we first got married, I was blinded by your handsome face."
"Haha, are you complimenting my looks in a roundabout way?"
"Not roundabout at all, I’m just praising you. My husband is the most handsome, great at making money, and takes care of the family... wait, oh no..."

As she spoke, Xu Li’s expression suddenly changed.

"What’s wrong?" Jiang Tao was bewildered by her reaction; why was she so jumpy today?
"Honey, do you know about the 'Impossible Triangle' for men?"
"What impossible triangle? You mean the three-legged variety?"
"Oh, heavens, not legs! I mean a triangle, a geometric shape!"
"What do you mean..." Jiang Tao looked down at his crotch—weren't they all the same thing?
"There’s a psychological theory that a man cannot simultaneously possess all three: being handsome, being wealthy, and being faithful. You’re so handsome, honey, and you’ve been making so much money lately—you’ve already got two covered. Are you going to go bad because you’re rich now?"
"What kind of nonsense is that? Are these few pennies we made even worth calling 'rich'? Your husband here only qualifies for the 'handsome' and 'faithful' parts."

Jiang Tao was amused by Xu Li’s "Impossible Triangle" theory. But then again, the two ideas—the "Impossible Triangle" and the saying that "men go bad when they get rich"—did seem to have a certain connection.

The couple chatted for another hour and a half. Because Jiang Xue was sleepy and needed a bath and bedtime, Xu Li finally hung up with reluctance.

After ending the video call, Jiang Tao picked up a small mirror from the table. He looked at the face staring back—no longer youthful, covered in dark stubble, and showing faint signs of weariness. Objectively speaking, he was indeed a bit handsome. This face was the greatest intangible wealth his parents back in the countryside had given him. Friends and family always praised him for his good fortune in marrying someone as beautiful as Xu Li, saying it was as if his ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke. But the truth was, it was Xu Li who had pursued him first. Of course, it was also a fact that she hadn't had to put in much effort to win him over.

Jiang Tao and Xu Li were likely a classic case of love at first sight. From school uniforms to the wedding dress, so many years had passed, and they only had eyes for each other and their little treasure. In the eyes of their friends and family, they had always been the model couple.

After admiring himself in the mirror for a moment, Jiang Tao set it down. He opened his payment app to check the balance: 245,897.66! He went through the process of paying back the 160,000 he had borrowed today, leaving a balance of 85,897.66. Added to the 200,000 he had already transferred to Xu Li, the couple now held over 300,000 in total! In just over ten days, their family assets had gone from a deficit of over 80,000 to over 300,000!

Relying on the various intelligence provided by his system, Jiang Tao had already made over 400,000, averaging over 40,000 a day. Plus, there was still about 200,000 worth of "Daughter's Red" wine under his bed that hadn't been cashed out yet—that was a significant amount of wealth!

"The System is truly powerful! Without it, I would’ve had to work myself to the bone for five or six years to earn this much! Now, it only took eleven days! I’ve saved five or six years of struggle!"

With this thought, Jiang Tao opened the main interface of the Daily Intelligence System.

【Host】: Jiang Tao (30 years old)
【System Level 1】: Unlocks 1 piece of intelligence daily.
【Attention! Ma Dongmei just managed to grab a train ticket for 4:00 AM on January 20th. Once she leaves the capital, she will not return!】

The more Jiang Tao looked at the system interface, the more pleasing it seemed.

*Whoosh!*

As if it were shy from being watched, the system interface suddenly closed itself.

Jiang Tao: "..."

"Right now, just one piece of intelligence a day is enough to make this much money in just over ten days. If I unlock two, or three... if I get several pieces of information refreshing at the same time, wouldn't the speed of making money be even faster?"

Looking at the fact that the system was still only Level 1, Jiang Tao felt a strong urge to upgrade it.

"Tomorrow, once the money from the sugar tangerines is split, I'll upgrade the system! Anyway, it has to be upgraded sooner or later. The family debts are paid off, and there’s no urgent need for money right now; the cash won't grow on its own. Spending 100,000 to upgrade the system in exchange for an extra piece of intelligence every day is a great deal!"

Even though he understood the logic, the thought of spending 100,000 all at once still made his heart ache a little.

"Also, I need to make time tomorrow to check on the landlord's love life at the Hongxing Wholesale Market. Can't let that 'love bird' actually board a train and never come back."

While viewing the system interface earlier, Jiang Tao had noted the notification regarding Ma Dongmei. Since she was leaving the capital the day after tomorrow, he only had tomorrow to act. Success or failure depended on this.

Planning his work for the next day, Jiang Tao washed up and crawled into bed. He didn't feel like listening to audiobooks today, so he opened the short-video app to refine his aesthetic tastes by watching beautiful women.

Once his "aesthetic training" was finished, he checked his social media feed. Jiang Tao had very few contacts, only about 150, all real-life friends and family. The first post was from his sister-in-law, Xu Sha, showing off her day at the mall. Below the caption were nine photos of her in a light gray wool coat, a creamy white base layer, and long boots. She looked quite stylish.

The second post was from Xu Li, showing a photo of Jiang Xue in new clothes. The third was from Wang Lianming, featuring his family of four at the hospital. The fourth was a second-hand car sale post from Master Tian, the owner of the auto repair shop where Jiang Tao used to work.

Jiang Tao scrolled to the very end of the feed before stopping. He then opened the family group chat to see what everyone was talking about. At the top was the photo Xu Li had posted of Jiang Xue. The grandparents, uncles, and aunts were all showering her with compliments, while his cousins were spamming the chat with emojis. The group was quite lively with the little ones around.

Time always felt like it flew by when playing on the phone. Soon, the clock struck midnight. Jiang Tao focused his mind, opened the intelligence system, and checked for the latest update.