[Today's Intelligence]:
You had a small gathering with Liu Zhiyuan, a fellow townsman, yesterday and obtained some intelligence—
There's a courtyard available for rent next to the tenement building where Liu Zhiyuan is renting.
Buried along the western wall of that courtyard are 10 jars of 20-year-old, high-quality Daughter Red Wine!
Note: This wine was stored by a deceased tenant and is valued at approximately 200,000!
...
"Daughter Red Wine valued at 200,000!"
Seeing the refreshed intel today, Jiang Tao couldn't help but brighten up.
Another piece of intel worth 200,000!
"It happens that I need a small courtyard to store sugar oranges this time, so I'll rent it tomorrow!"
"As for the 10 jars of Daughter Red wine buried there, I'll have to dig them out quietly in the dead of night!"
Knowing that the 10 jars of Daughter Red Wine were stored by a deceased tenant, Jiang Tao felt no burden about it.
After checking the intel, Jiang Tao finally nestled into bed to sleep.
He slept in until 6:45 the next morning.
Jiang Tao got up, quickly washed, dressed, and went downstairs.
Last night while drinking, he had arranged to have breakfast with Xiao Liu and the others at "Old Guo's shop" at 7 in the morning.
When Jiang Tao arrived, he saw that Liu Zhiyuan was already there.
The kid was smoking while constantly scrolling on his phone with one hand.
Feeling someone watching him, Liu Zhiyuan looked up to see Jiang Tao coming in from outside, and greeted him with a grin.
"Brother Jiang, you're here! Come, have a seat."
Jiang Tao sat down and asked with a smile, "What are you scrolling through that's making you so happy?"
Liu Zhiyuan chuckled, "Brother Jiang, don't you know? Lately, a lot of foreign girls have appeared on Little Sweet Potato, so we can enjoy some exotic sights. Look at this, they're much prettier than the uniform, pointed-face internet celebrities in our country!"
"You rascal, just looking doesn't count as enjoying!"
Liu Zhiyuan's words made Jiang Tao burst out laughing.
Liu Zhiyuan, unbothered, chuckled,
"Just admiring! This is my only hobby! Not like you, Brother Jiang, marrying such a beautiful wife—you're living the dream, man!"
Jiang Tao laughed and encouraged, "You better put in some effort too. Meet more people over the New Year, cast a wide net to catch a fish."
"With my condition, I'm not hoping to get married. Living on my own is more comfortable!"
"I earn for myself, spend for myself, and can save a few grand a year. When I'm old, I'll just move into a nursing home."
Liu Zhiyuan smiled awkwardly, his hopes for marriage having been dashed by repeated failed matchmaking experiences.
Despite his hard work earning seventy to eighty thousand a year.
But against the rising bride prices and outrageous requirements back home, his income just wasn't enough.
An 18,800-basket bride price is doable if he clenches his teeth.
A car over 150,000 is also affordable.
But adding a fully paid 100-square-meter house in Ping County.
That's simply beyond what a rural young man like Liu Zhiyuan can bear!
In Jiang Tao's hometown of Ping County, the basic salary doesn't even reach 3,000, and there's no reputable large enterprise.
Yet the housing prices are absurdly high.
Even the old, shabby, small second-hand houses average over 4,000 per square meter.
And those under 10-year-old high-rise apartments go for as much as 7,000 a square meter!
The fact that Jiang Tao could marry Xu Li despite having no car or house back then was truly a stroke of good fortune.
Every year during the New Year, he would frequently hear his mother-in-law's veiled remarks about finding a hidden treasure in her daughter.
"You're young, there will be plenty of opportunities later on."
Jiang Tao patted Liu Zhiyuan on the shoulder with a smile, marriage was something he couldn't advise on.
Marriage or not, it's a personal choice—just different attitudes toward life, neither right nor wrong.
Shifting gears, Jiang Tao asked, "Xiao Liu, have you thought about what I talked to you about last night? Want to join in? If this works out, we might make a little profit."
"Brother Jiang, I thought about it, and I feel there's some risk in it."
"So... I can only invest a maximum of 50,000, any more would exceed my risk tolerance."
Liu Zhiyuan responded frankly, knowing that 50,000 was a significant investment for him.
"Alright, 50,000 it is, invest as much as you're comfortable with."
Jiang Tao wasn't concerned about others' investment amounts.
He just wanted to get everyone on board, so they'd help him sell the sugar oranges.
A solo effort wouldn't be enough to sell 250,000 yuan worth of sugar oranges in a week.
The intelligence system suggested the market trend would last for only a week at most.
After a week, prices would fall, reducing profits.
Therefore, a quick turnaround was necessary to maximize returns within a week.
Eating meat himself, his brothers would at least get to sip some soup.
Otherwise, they might feel unbalanced and wouldn't work effectively.
After chatting with Liu Zhiyuan for a bit, Shan Yufei and Zhang Chao arrived, and everyone was present.
They ordered four steamer baskets of dumplings, along with tofu pudding and wonton soup congee.
The four of them chatted while eating, Shan Yufei, like Liu Zhiyuan, also planned to invest 50,000 yuan.
Zhang Chao said he didn't have any spare cash but was willing to help sell the sugar oranges.
So, Jiang Tao personally contributed 250,000, Liu Zhiyuan and Shan Yufei 50,000 each, totaling 350,000.
Jiang Tao held a 71% share, while Liu Zhiyuan and Shan Yufei each held 14%.
The remaining 1% would cover food and fuel expenses.
If the project succeeded, they'd definitely have a grand meal to celebrate.
After eating their fill, Jiang Tao and the others drove four trucks to the fruit wholesale market they visited yesterday.
Liu Zhiyuan and the others were regulars here, knowing many of the bosses.
They ultimately decided to work with a boss named Liu.
The boss's name was Liu Yue, 35 years old, around 160 cm tall, with fair skin and quite attractive.
Liu Yue had been running her business in the fruit wholesale market for over ten years, reputed for her good standing and strong capabilities.
To her, 350,000 worth of sugar oranges wasn't a big deal.
Finally, after some bargaining on Jiang Tao and the others' part, they managed to get an additional 2 yuan off each crate, finalizing the deal at 33 yuan per crate.
In total, that's 10,606 crates, saving over 20,000 yuan just in this purchasing stage.
Pooling resources for bulk buying has its perks.
To finish selling in 7 days, they'd need to sell at least about 1,500 crates daily.
No matter how capable, Jiang Tao couldn't manage it on his own.
With the four of them selling, the difficulty is reduced fourfold.
If each of them could sell 378 crates a day, they'd reach the goal.
Liu Yue had 3,000 crates in stock ready today, with the remaining 7,606 ready for delivery the next day.
According to the intel, the prices for sugar oranges should start surging by the day after tomorrow.
So a next-day delivery would be no problem.
With four trucks loaded to full capacity, each took 300 crates back to Xiaoshanhe Village.
Jiang Tao successfully rented the courtyard next to Liu Zhiyuan's, with a short-term monthly rent of 2,300.
The standalone courtyard was spacious, with a yard about seventy to eighty square meters perfect for storing sugar oranges.
After securing the courtyard, they unloaded the oranges into the yard, then went back and forth a few times bringing them from the market.
After three trips, they had managed to transport all 3,000 crates that day.
All the sugar oranges were neatly stacked in the courtyard and covered with a large tarp.