Ring, ring, ring——
Jiang Tao was awakened by the 7 a.m. alarm.
Today, no money-making intel was refreshed.
So, he had to continue heading to the second-hand furniture market to hustle.
Fortunately, the 80,000 yuan debt he owed at home was already paid off.
He still had tens of thousands of yuan in savings, enough for a good New Year.
So, even though he's still hustling, Jiang Tao's mood at the moment is completely different from before.
No debt pressing down, no anxiety at all, his mood is exceptionally good.
He went out and had a simple breakfast of small steamed buns and wonton soup at a snack shop in the village.
After eating and drinking his fill, he returned to his old line of work.
He earned 800 yuan a day, whether it was 8,000 yuan an hour or 800 a day.
Jiang Tao has a good attitude and doesn't feel unbalanced by the huge income fluctuations.
He started work at 8 a.m. and was busy until 5:30 p.m.
By the end of the day, he earned a total of 625 yuan, not much different than usual.
After work, he parked the car at the entrance of Xiaoshanhe Village.
On the way home, Jiang Tao stopped by Pang Dongdong Supermarket to buy a pound of fresh noodles, two tomatoes, and a tray of eggs.
Tonight he planned to make tomato and egg noodles.
"Master Jiang, how about trying your luck with another bottle of Qinghualang?"
Every time Yu Dongdong saw Jiang Tao, he had to ask if he wanted to buy Qinghualang, which made Jiang Tao a bit PTSD about Qinghualang.
"Not feeling lucky today, is Boss Yu now a liquor salesperson? Every time I come, you push alcohol on me."
Jiang Tao waved his hand with a smile, jokingly refusing Yu Dongdong.
"Haha, just teasing. Don't mind me, Master Jiang, honestly, the winning rate for this stuff isn't high."
"Aside from the three first prizes you won that day, Master Jiang, we sold six or seven boxes in the past two days, and the biggest prize was only second place."
Yu Dongdong is straightforward, saying what's on his mind, not risking offending an old customer like Jiang Tao just to sell liquor.
Jiang Tao, although frugal, spent over 10,000 yuan at his small supermarket over the past year.
Yu Dongdong shifted the topic, asking, "By the way, Master Jiang, I have a small job tomorrow, do you want to do it?"
Jiang Tao smiled, "Sure! What's the job? How much?"
Yu Dongdong said, "Tomorrow morning, Master Jiang helps me haul back 200 boxes of sugar oranges from the Huilongguan Fruit Market, including loading and unloading for 600 yuan."
Generally, those sugar orange boxes are about 10 kilograms each, 200 boxes are about 1 ton,
Jiang Tao calculated that he could do the job and readily agreed, "Okay, I'll take the job! What time do we leave?"
Yu Dongdong said, "5:30."
"Okay!"
To make money, Jiang Tao can overcome getting up early.
"We have a deal, 5:30 in the morning, we leave here on time."
"Alright! Boss Yu, is there anything else to explain?"
"This is the address for loading and the driver's phone number, just go directly in the morning and mention my name."
Yu Dongdong said while writing down the unloading address and driver's phone number with a carbon pen from the counter and handing it to Jiang Tao.
"Alright! I'll head back, have dinner, and go to bed early."
After getting the address, Jiang Tao didn't chat further with Yu Dongdong, turned around, holding the eggs and noodles, and walked out.
Having secured the work for tomorrow, he locked in the 600 yuan income early.
Jiang Tao felt even happier, humming a tune on his way home.
First, he used the rice cooker to stir-fry tomato and egg sauce, then refilled it with water to boil the noodles.
In a short time, a big bowl of steaming hot tomato and egg noodles was ready.
After filling his stomach, Jiang Tao made a video call with his wife Xu Li.
The couple chatted casually, ending the call only after 9 p.m.
Since he had to get up early the next morning, Jiang Tao decided not to listen to novels tonight.
After washing up, he set the alarm for midnight and lay down for a nap.
Ring, ring, ring——
At midnight sharp, Jiang Tao was awakened by his phone alarm.
He rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed.
Jiang Tao had a thought and checked today's intel.
[Today's intel]: Yesterday you reached a cooperation intention with Yu Dongdong, obtaining relevant intel——
Because of weather conditions, a sugar orange price surge is expected in three days.
The increase will exceed 100%, lasting a week, so it's advised to stockpile appropriately.
...
"More than 100% increase?"
Seeing the refreshed information today, Jiang Tao looked surprised!
Isn't that crazy!
Boss Yu at Pang Dongdong Supermarket did have foresight, buying 200 sugar oranges at once.
However, he likely didn't anticipate that the sugar orange price would soar 100% in three days!
If he had known, never mind 200, he probably would have dared to buy 2000!
This time of winter, sugar oranges are flooding the market.
You can see sugar oranges selling well in large and small supermarkets and markets all over Beijing.
Jiang Tao also has a few old acquaintances doing small fruit wholesale businesses in Pingchang District.
They also rent and live in the Xiaoshanhe Urban Village.
Every morning, they go to the wholesale market to get a truckload of fruits, selling them at nearby early markets and fairs.
When business is good, they can make six to seven hundred yuan a day, although it's exhausting rising early and pushing late.
And they have to dodge urban management, which is mentally exhausting.
Although Jiang Tao's relationship with those old acquaintances isn't as good as with Wang Lianming, it's still decent.
Just a few days ago, Wang Lianming was thinking of gathering everyone for a drink at his place.
They're all from Linbang Village, around the same age.
Being migrant workers in Beijing, they feel a sense of familiarity when they see each other.
Jiang Tao never buys fruit, but his household never runs out, thanks to the several acquaintances who gift them.
They are solo small businesses, naturally without cold storage facilities.
They take home any leftovers for themselves.
If they can't finish, they share it with nearby acquaintances like Jiang Tao and Wang Lianming.
Seeing today's refreshed intel, Jiang Tao first thought of cooperating with those acquaintances.
If it weren't for those fruit-selling acquaintances, even knowing about the price surge, he, a complete outsider, could only watch helplessly!
Knowing a price hike is one thing, but selling the stock to profit is another!
As an outsider, going solo might not sell much in a day.
"According to Boss Yu, the current wholesale price for sugar oranges is 3.5 yuan per kilogram, retailing at 5 yuan, with a profit of 1.5 yuan per kilogram."
"If it increases 100%, won't it sell for 10 yuan?"
"Earning 6.5 yuan per kilogram! The profit multiplies several times!"
Of course, that would be if Jiang Tao gets the sugar oranges before the price hike to maximize profit.
Otherwise, with retail prices doubling, the fruit wholesalers wouldn't foolishly continue selling at the old wholesale price!
"65 yuan for 10 kilograms, 650 for 100 kilograms, 6500 yuan profit for 1000 kilograms..."
"Exorbitant, exorbitant!"
Jiang Tao had previously chatted about fruit sales while dining with the acquaintances.
They claimed business is good, selling around 1000 kilograms of sugar oranges a day.
Of course, they don't sell with such exorbitant profit as Jiang Tao calculated.
Even selling 1000 kilograms a day, they might earn around 1000 yuan at most.
"There's still time to prepare before the price surge in three days."
"Tomorrow morning, when picking up Boss Yu's order at the market, I'll inquire about the price."
"In the evening, I'll get Xiao Liu, Xiao Dan, and Xiao Zhang together to discuss."
Jiang Tao simply planned in his mind, looked at the time on his phone, and realized half an hour had passed unknowingly.
Hurriedly, he closed his phone and the intelligence system interface, lay down, and went back to sleep.