Daily Intelligence System: Financial Independence

He wasn’t worried about getting pricked or getting hurt at all.

With his current superior constitution, those thorns might not easily pierce his skin.

He simply didn’t want to dirty or ruin the outfit Xu Li bought for him.

"Things are better now. If it were back in the days when I drove cargo trucks, forget something worth 12 million."

"Even if it was something worth 1200 yuan, I would charge down without hesitation."

Noticing the change in his mindset now, Jiang Tao shook his head and chuckled before leaping off the rock onto the mountain path to take action.

"Second Uncle? Is it really you!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed from the mountain path.

Jiang Tao turned his head and saw a few boys aged fifteen or sixteen coming down the mountain path from the back.

Among them was his little nephew, Jiang Shaojie.

The boy had dark skin, a slim physique, and darting eyes full of cleverness.

"Shaojie? What are you doing here, kid?"

Seeing this little nephew he hadn’t seen for a while, Jiang Tao felt a deep sense of familiarity, after all, he was blood of the Jiang Family.

"Hehe, it’s just that there’s nothing to do at home, so I came with my classmates to hike and exercise!"

Jiang Shaojie scratched his head with a silly grin.

This "troublemaker" who often got summoned at school was like a well-behaved baby in front of his second uncle, Jiang Tao.

"Whoa! It’s really God Jiang!"

"Oh my god! It’s God Jiang, in the flesh!"

"God Jiang! Can... can we take a picture with you?"

Jiang Shaojie’s three companions instantly flushed with excitement upon seeing Jiang Tao.

They were all at a loss, their eyes filled with frenzy and admiration, speaking with a quiver in their voices.

It’s no wonder they’re so excited.

Jiang Tao, known on the fast-talk platform, was about to break the ten million fans mark, undoubtedly the number one influencer in Ping County.

He was even considered a legendary figure in the entire region!

His various feats had long been passed around online and by word of mouth, making him a legendary figure among the youth of Ping County, particularly for kids like Jiang Shaojie.

What Jiang Tao didn’t know was that a lot of middle and high school students in Ping County now viewed him as their lifelong idol and spiritual leader!

Jiang Shaojie chuckled at the side and said, "Second Uncle, show them some mercy. I can testify; these three are your die-hard fans. Their rooms are plastered with your posters."

"I have posters too?"

Jiang Tao pointed to his face, barely able to contain his laughter.

"Of course! We printed them ourselves! God Jiang, I want to follow your lead and carve my path on the internet!"

"Yes, yes! God Jiang, do you take apprentices? I want to learn from you!"

"God Jiang, I want to learn from you too!"

The boys all looked at Jiang Tao with eager faces, as if they were ready to kneel and take him as their master right there.

Jiang Tao laughed and scolded, "You little brats, don’t think about all this nonsense. You’re still young, so your current task is to study well and not think about what’s unnecessary."

"Taking photos is fine, but mentoring is out of the question. I’m too lazy to play around with fast-talk, let alone teach apprentices."

"Okay then!"

"Yay! This is awesome!"

Though they couldn’t become apprentices, they could still show off at school with a picture alongside God Jiang!

The three boys eagerly surrounded Jiang Tao.

They scrambled to take pictures with him.

Jiang Tao cooperated well, sometimes draping his arm around their shoulders, sometimes making simple gestures, fulfilling all their requests.

The boys held up their phones, looking at the photos with "God Jiang" in them, each one excited as if they had won the lottery. Their vanity satisfied greatly, they all promised to post these on their social media to flaunt.

Looking at these silly boys, an idea suddenly occurred to Jiang Tao.

He pointed down to the slope covered in thorns and said to Jiang Shaojie and his friends:

"Shaojie, do you guys want to earn some pocket money?"

"Pocket money?"

Upon hearing the word ’money,’ Jiang Shaojie’s eyes started to sparkle.

The other three boys immediately pricked up their ears expectantly.

Jiang Tao casually said:

"It’s nothing much, just that I spotted a black stone down there which looks quite unique. I’d like to take it back and put it on my desk as a decoration."

"But there are too many thorns down there, and I don’t feel like going."

"You boys are nimble; help your Second Uncle fetch that stone."

"I won’t let you work for nothing; 1,000 yuan each. How does that sound?"

1,000 yuan each?!

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shaojie and his three classmates’ eyes widened, and their breathing quickened!

They were very familiar with this slope!

Every year when September and October came, they would come to pick sour dates, sell them to herb buyers, and earn money for cigarettes, game skins and equipment.

Picking sour dates was neither easy nor painless, but they might earn tens of yuan after a full hard day’s work.

Now, just fetching a stone could easily earn 1,000 yuan!

This money was too easy to earn!

For a few local village boys, the temptation of 1,000 yuan was quite substantial!

"I’m in! Let’s do it!"

"Rest assured, God Jiang! Leave it to us!"

"We’re very familiar with this area! We guarantee to bring you that stone unharmed!"

Jiang Shaojie’s three friends beat their chests and agreed swiftly, afraid Jiang Tao might change his mind.

"Okay, let me first pay you. Open your payment codes."

Jiang Tao wasn’t going to cheat the kids, and he immediately took out his phone to transfer 1,000 yuan each to Jiang Shaojie’s three classmates.

Watching his three friends get paid 1,000 yuan each, Jiang Shaojie was enviously fuming.

However, he was too embarrassed to ask his Second Uncle to transfer money to him.

Suddenly, Jiang Shaojie’s phone buzzed from his pocket, followed by a payment notification.

[WeChat receipt 10,000 yuan!]

On hearing the notification tone, Jiang Shaojie quickly fished the phone out of his pocket.

Indeed!

His WeChat had just received a 10,000 yuan transfer from his Second Uncle!

Seeing the transfer amount "10,000.00" on the screen, Jiang Shaojie was dumbfound, then erupted in joy:

"10... 10 thousand?!"

"Second Uncle! You’re my real uncle! From now on, I, Jiang Shaojie, am at your service, no matter what! You tell me to go east, I will never go west!"

"Hahaha, you rascal, I am your real Second Uncle!"

Jiang Tao laughed and lightly slapped his nephew’s head, this kid was all about being candid.

Jiang Shaojie’s three friends eyed enviously but understood that Jiang Shaojie is Jiang Tao’s real nephew, so he could be given any amount as pleased.

After the joking around, business took priority.

With the "big bucks" received, Jiang Shaojie was full of vigor, becoming the commander of the little team.

"Brothers, let’s get to work! We’ll get that stone up for my Second Uncle, even if it’s Lady Shi Ji!"

With a wave, Jiang Shaojie led his pals down the mountain path and onto the slope.

The four boys agile like monkeys, chose a spot with lesser thorns and approached the direction indicated by Jiang Tao nimbly.

They were evidently very familiar with the terrain, knowing where to step and where to avoid dense thorns. Though their actions seemed risky, they were quite methodical.

Jiang Tao, meanwhile, stood on the path overlooking the area.

He assessed the situation and guided Jiang Shaojie and his friends with some visual cues.

"A bit to the left! Yes! About twenty meters forward!"

"Watch your step; the rocks are loose around there!"

"See that big bluestone? Move around it to the pile of rocks behind!"

To guide them more accurately, Jiang Tao even turned on WeChat for a video call with Jiang Shaojie.

Through his phone’s camera, he could see the area and the stone glowing faintly by the system’s marker more clearly.