Chapter 53: With Big Brother System, Life Gets More Hopeful Every Day!

With his stomach full and thoroughly satisfied, Jiang Tao returned to his rented apartment at a little past one in the afternoon.

Over lunch, he had shared a few drinks with Lü Qian and Ma Dongmei. Feeling slightly dizzy and lightheaded, he didn't feel like wandering around outside anymore.

It was only today that Jiang Tao discovered that despite her quiet and gentle appearance, Ma Dongmei actually had a rather impressive tolerance for alcohol! Women who drank were few and far between, and those with a good liquor capacity like Ma Dongmei were the absolute exception to the rule.

Jingle bell—

Just as he was about to lie down on the bed for a short afternoon nap, his phone rang.

Picking it up to take a look, he saw the caller ID was saved as "Third Brother."

"Hello, Third Brother..."

"Stop guessing, how old are you, still playing such childish games."

"Hurry up, speak if you have business, otherwise consider the court dismissed."

"Over 2,000 orders, and you only sold a little over 70,000?"

"Oh, if you put it that way, then it's not bad at all. Just handle it however you see fit."

"Find people where needed, ship the goods as required. Do you have enough money on hand? If not, I'll transfer some to you."

"Alright, alright, let's leave it at that then. You take care of it, bye-bye."

Jiang Tao had complete trust in his younger sister's capability, and he certainly didn't worry that she would try to pull one over on him. After giving a few brief instructions over the phone, he hung up, got into bed, pulled up the quilt, and started his afternoon nap.

Sleeping soundly until around three-thirty in the afternoon, Jiang Tao was awakened by a phone call from Liu Zhiyuan.

Liu Zhiyuan and the other two had completely sold off all the stockpiled sugar oranges, officially wrapping up the battle.

Around four in the afternoon, Liu Zhiyuan, Dan Yufei, and Zhang Chao gathered once again at Jiang Tao's rented apartment.

The final batch of sugar oranges today generated a total of slightly over 137,400 yuan.

Taking a 71% share, Jiang Tao's cut came out to 97,554 yuan.

Liu Zhiyuan and Dan Yufei each walked away with 19,236 yuan.

The remaining 1,374 yuan was Zhang Chao's wages, and Jiang Tao paid out of his own pocket to round it up to a flat 3,000 yuan.

Even though it hadn't even been a full day today, Jiang Tao still gave Liu Zhiyuan and Dan Yufei 1,000 yuan each as a daily bonus.

"The sugar oranges are all sold out, and this campaign has come to a perfect close. You guys have all been working hard, heading out early and returning late these past few days."

"Tonight, after we visit Brother Wang at the hospital, pick any place you like. We'll have a farewell dinner together."

For this sugar orange venture, Jiang Tao had invested 250,000 yuan and earned a total of nearly 750,000 yuan, leaving him with a net profit of around 500,000 yuan.

In just five short days, he had made half a million!

If it weren't for the intelligence provided by Brother System, it would have taken Jiang Tao at least seven or eight years to earn 500,000 yuan. Moreover, that would only be possible if he lived extremely frugally. If he kept living like this—eating out at restaurants every day and smoking Huanghelou cigarettes—he probably wouldn't save 500,000 yuan in a lifetime.

Aside from the sugar oranges, Jiang Tao had also reaped 40,000 yuan from Alipay over the past few days, made around 70,000 yuan from selling lottery tickets, and won another 20,000 yuan from scratch-offs.

Then there were the Ultraman hair clips that his younger sister Jiang Bing was currently selling; once that project concluded, he would rake in another massive profit.

Jiang Tao felt that with Brother System around, his life had more and more things to look forward to!

Liu Zhiyuan and the others didn't bother with overly sentimental words anymore. Jiang Tao had brought them along to make over a hundred thousand yuan, and they kept this deep gratitude firmly in their hearts.

The guys chatted idly at Jiang Tao's place until a little past four in the afternoon before heading out and going downstairs together.

They bought milk, fruit, and other items at the Yuxing Supermarket.

Together, the group headed over to Jishuitan Hospital to visit Wang Lianming and his wife, He Fang.

Having not seen him for a few days, Wang Lianming looked as though he had aged more than ten years overnight, his expression incomparably haggard.

Upon seeing Jiang Tao, Liu Zhiyuan, and the others, Wang Lianming was deeply moved, his eyes welling up with hot tears.

He Fang's condition was also far from her previous radiant and glamorous self, her demeanor looking rather listless. Due to undergoing daily chemotherapy over the past few days, her hair loss had become severe, prompting her to shave her head completely.

Seeing He Fang, the phrase "illness arrives like a landslide" instantly flashed through Jiang Tao's mind.

Noticing that He Fang was in poor condition, Jiang Tao and the others decided not to overstay their welcome or disturb her too much.

After lingering in the hospital room for a little over forty minutes, they offered their farewells.

Wang Lianming accompanied them all the way out of the inpatient building.

Liu Zhiyuan and the other two left first, while Jiang Tao stayed behind to chat privately with Wang Lianming for a moment.

"Brother Wang, has Sister-in-law's surgery been scheduled yet? Is it a matter of funds, or something else? How much is short? I can spot you some cash."

Wang Lianming was half a mentor who had brought Jiang Tao into the industry and had helped him out quite a bit during his earliest and most difficult days.

Jiang Tao still remembered his first year in the trade. Because he had bought a new car and needed to pay off the loan, coupled with the fact that Xu Li had experienced a difficult labor when giving birth, which also cost a substantial amount of money.

That year, right around this very time with the New Year fast approaching, Jiang Tao had paid off that month's car installment and didn't even have 1,000 yuan left in his hands.

Without a second word, Wang Lianming had handed him 10,000 yuan so he could go home and have a proper New Year.

That kindness from Wang Lianming was something Jiang Tao would remember for the rest of his life.

Now that Wang Lianming and He Fang had run into hardship, Jiang Tao naturally stepped forward to offer a helping hand without the slightest hesitation.

Today, after dividing up the final payout from the sugar oranges, the funds in his account were about to break the 400,000 yuan mark. Furthermore, once the Ultraman hair clip project wrapped up, another hundred thousand or so would be rolling in.

Even if Wang Lianming asked to borrow one or two hundred thousand yuan from him on the spot, he would lend it without a second thought.

"Thanks, Jiang Tao, my good brother."

With reddened eye sockets, Wang Lianming patted Jiang Tao on the shoulder.

Aside from himself and He Fang's parents, Jiang Tao was the very first person to proactively ask if he had enough money and offer to lend it to him.

"Sigh! This time it's not a money issue. We have enough cash; it's just that we can't get an appointment for the surgery."

"A patient in the same ward as us has reportedly been waiting for over a month and still hasn't secured a slot for the operation."

"Sigh! Ordinary folks like us have no money and no connections. Everything we try to do is just so damn hard!!"

As he spoke, cloudy tears finally burst from Wang Lianming's eyes.

Over these past few days, due to his wife's illness, this iron-willed man had shed tears more than once.

"..."

Hearing Wang Lianming's words, Jiang Tao felt powerless to help.

Wealthy people could opt for VIP special care services. For the exact same surgery, they would pay several times more, which allowed them to schedule operations in the shortest possible time.

Those with influence and connections could similarly skip the queue through pull and favors.

Ordinary people like Wang Lianming, who lacked both deep pockets and connections, had no choice but to wait. If they truly couldn't afford to wait, their only fallback was to transfer to another hospital capable of scheduling the operation sooner.

"Sister-in-law is blessed and will pull through. Everything is going to get better."

Jiang Tao reached out to pat Wang Lianming's shoulder, offering words of comfort to his older brother-figure.

After chatting a bit longer, Wang Lianming turned and headed back upstairs to look after He Fang.

Jiang Tao walked out to the entrance to reunite with Liu Zhiyuan and the other three.

For the final gathering of the "Sugar Orange Dream Team," they chose a four-star hotel located right here in Huilongguan.

The grade instantly elevated a few notches compared to the Wangcai Restaurant in the urban village.

The meal cost Jiang Tao over 1,500 yuan.

Afterward, Zhang Chao organized a trip to a nearby KTV to sing for more than three hours.

Once the singing wrapped up, Liu Zhiyuan, Dan Yufei, and Zhang Chao—the three musketeers—headed straight to an internet cafe to game and pull an all-nighter.

As a middle-aged peer, Jiang Tao no longer joined in on the young people's high-energy activities.

Taking a taxi back to his rented apartment in the Xiaoshahe urban village, it was exactly midnight when he stepped through the door.

Removing his coat, Jiang Tao let his mind stir and opened up the intelligence system to review today's intel.