Daily Intelligence System: Financial Independence-Chapter 29: The Finest of the Finest
The Xiaoshanhe Urban Village gathered tens of thousands of migrant workers from the north.
Within the urban village, there was a mix of various people, with all kinds of professions.
There were small bosses of wholesale markets earning millions a year, and there were also lowly workers making four to five thousand a month.
And then there were people like Jiang Tao and Zhang Chao who bought a truck to haul goods around, or freight drivers selling fruit.
Zhang Chao was introduced into the business by his classmate Liu Zhiyuan three years ago, starting to sell fruit at the surrounding markets, with an annual income of around eighty to ninety thousand.
Compared to many factory workers screwing bolts or those engaged in the service industry, his income was not bad.
Moreover, relatively speaking, the work was much more flexible.
However, he had a liking for foot massage, spending quite a bit of money in that area every year.
Same job, about the same income.
Liu Zhiyuan and Shan Yufei could save sixty to seventy thousand a year, but he couldn’t even save thirty thousand.
This time, when Jiang Tao invited a few buddies to pool funds for a joint project, Liu Zhiyuan and Shan Yufei could each contribute fifty thousand.
Only Zhang Chao couldn’t contribute money and could only help out with manpower.
Last night, Zhang Chao got lucky, playing three-card brag with Liu Zhiyuan and Shan Yufei until past eleven at night, winning over seven hundred yuan, so he decided to reward himself a bit.
He was received by a woman around forty, with heavy makeup on her face and a slightly out-of-shape figure.
Just as Zhang Chao was about to go into a small room with the woman, the phone suddenly rang.
Seeing the caller ID as "Brother Jiang," Zhang Chao was momentarily stunned.
It was already past midnight, and he really couldn’t think of why Jiang Tao would call him.
However, curious though he was, Zhang Chao gestured to the woman to keep quiet and pressed the button to answer the call.
"Hello, Zhang Chao, someone just mentioned in our small hauling group that they saw the anti-vice squad coming to Xiaoshanhe for a raid."
"I know you love to mess around, so I’m giving you a heads-up, don’t get caught."
"Huh? I, I, I’m at home, let them raid, it has nothing to do with me."
Zhang Chao said it wasn’t his business, but his heart was pounding with nervousness.
This kind of raid, better to believe it might happen than not!
Although Zhang Chao liked to play around, he didn’t want to get caught for it.
If he got caught because of this, and the news spread back to the village, his reputation would be completely ruined for life.
Especially for someone like him who’s unmarried, future matchmaking would be heavily affected.
"Alright, as long as you’re at home, then no problem, hanging up now."
Once Jiang Tao fulfilled his duty to remind, he hung up the phone.
After ending the call with Jiang Tao, Zhang Chao’s heart was pounding fast, his expression turning tense.
Hesitating for three seconds, reason eventually triumphed over desire.
"Hey sis, my buddy said there might be a situation around here tonight, I’m gonna leave first, you be careful too!"
Before leaving, Zhang Chao reminded the woman who received him, then quickly trotted out of the massage parlor without looking back.
As expected.
The moment Zhang Chao had walked out less than 200 meters, he saw a team of police officers in uniforms with flashlights walking towards him.
Seeing this, sweat broke out on Zhang Chao again, filled with hindsight fear.
If it weren’t for Jiang Tao’s call just now.
He might have already been trading with that woman, and possibly caught red-handed!
One of the officers glanced at Zhang Chao and advised:
"Young man, it’s late at night, you should head home early."
"Ah, okay, okay, I just got off from a night shift, heading home now."
Zhang Chao let out a sheepish laugh, quickly speeding up in the direction of his home.
Meanwhile, he silently noted down his debt of gratitude to Jiang Tao, planning to treat him to a meal someday.
...
The next morning at 6 o’clock. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
Jiang Tao, Liu Zhiyuan, Shan Yufei, and Zhang Chao had breakfast at "Old Guo’s Store."
Four trucks were then heading mightily toward the Huilongguan Fruit Market.
They started hauling goods from the morning, each having a Jianbing Guozi by noon and continuing to work.
They were busy until after 4 o’clock in the afternoon, finishing loading 10,606 boxes of tangerines ordered from Liu Yue.
All were placed in the yard rented for yesterday and today.
After unloading, Jiang Tao took his buddies to a small restaurant in the urban village for a meal.
After eating and drinking to their fill, it was just after 5 o’clock in the afternoon.
Liu Zhiyuan called on Shan Yufei and Zhang Chao to come to his house to play Dou Dizhu.
Jiang Tao didn’t go; he was still thinking about the 10 jars of Daughter Red Wine he unearthed yesterday.
The wine in his hand was just wine; selling it meant money!
Returning home, it was just half-past five, still not very late.
However, Jiang Tao rented a place on the shady side, and it was already dim inside.
After entering, he turned on the light in the room, squatted down, and pulled one jar out from under the bed.
"Before selling, let’s check the quality first!"
"If it’s really good, maybe keep two jars for the New Year, gifting one to dad and one to the father-in-law."
Jiang Tao thought to himself as he placed the jar of wine on the floor of the rented room.
He started trying to remove the sealing mud on the jar using the method he found online.
Now, the family’s external debts were cleared, and he was debt-free.
In addition, the tangerine project in the coming week would bring tens of thousands of profits to Jiang Tao.
Rewarding himself with a few bottles of fine Daughter Red Wine wasn’t a big deal.
Besides, all this wine was dug out by him from the ground, not bought with money.
Thinking this way, Jiang Tao even more decided to keep a few jars to treat himself!
Working hard outside for a year, didn’t he deserve to enjoy a good bottle of wine?
Crack, crack, crack——
Jiang Tao quickly knocked off the sealing mud on the jar with a little wooden hammer.
The moment he opened the lid, a rich aroma of wine wafted out from the jar.
"Smells great!"
Jiang Tao sniffed, breathing in the intoxicating aroma, his eyes lit up.
The scent of this Daughter Red Wine differed from the clean and sauce aromas of regular white spirits.
It was a composite aroma, composed of multiple components like esters, alcohols, aldehydes, acids, carbonyl compounds, and acids.
This aroma wasn’t singular, but a blend of many elements.
There was the sweet scent of glutinous rice and longan, accompanied by a nutty aroma, along with a subtle fruity and floral fragrance.
It seemed as if it incorporated the tenderness of Jiangnan water towns and the precipitation of years.
The Daughter Red Wine in Jiang Tao’s hand, aged over 20 years, was exceptionally rich and full-bodied in aroma, certainly top-notch among top-notch!
Picking up the jar, he poured half a basin into his usual enamel bowl for eating with a glug-glug sound.
The original yellow wine had turned into a deep red color, resembling red wine, looking like Jade Dew.
Jiang Tao lifted the enamel bowl and took a small sip, his eyes lighting up instantly.
Upon entrance, the mellow wine instantly blossomed in the mouth.
Unlike the thinness of white spirits, it possessed a rich, soft texture.
It was like a carefully crafted milkshake, rich yet not lacking in delicacy.
Every sip allowed one to feel the perfect fusion of wine in the mouth, bringing an ultimate comfortable experience.
That smooth feeling was like a fine silk gently gliding across the skin.
No roughness or irritation, only extreme delicacy and gentleness.
Though Jiang Tao wasn’t a wine expert, he could tell this was unquestionably a rare good wine!
Aged 20-year-old wine, selling for 20,000 a jar, shouldn’t be too pricey, right?
Drinking such wine, it wasn’t just about the drink, but tasting the flavor of history!
