Chapter 146: He Jing’s Unexpected Encounter And Long-held Desires!
Beep, beep, beep—
Jiang Tao dialed the number displayed on the information panel, and it was quickly connected.
“Hello, who is this?”
A man’s voice answered on the other end of the phone.
Jiang Tao didn’t waste words with Xu Xinlei and directly said:
“Are you Mr. Xu? A friend introduced me, saying you have a batch of blueberry potted plants for sale. I’d like to buy a shipment.”
“Yes, it’s me. Yes, our company currently has a batch of blueberry potted plants for sale.”
“When would it be convenient for you to come and take a look? We can discuss the details in person.”
Upon hearing that Jiang Tao was interested in buying blueberry potted plants, and in bulk, Xu Xinlei’s attitude on the phone immediately became much more enthusiastic.
Jiang Tao chuckled, “I’m already at the entrance of Cui Village.”
“You’re already at the village entrance? Please wait a moment, I’ll send someone to pick you up immediately.”
“I’m currently dealing with some matters in the industrial park and will be back in a while.”
“You can go to our company’s greenhouse to see the actual products first.”
“Okay.”
They chatted idly on the phone for a few minutes.
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Tao sent Xu Xinlei the car he was driving and its license plate number.
To facilitate his use of the car in the Capital City, Jiang Tao’s Mercedes-Benz GLS still used the Beijing license plate from Du Ennan’s company.
Less than 5 minutes after hanging up with Xu Xinlei.
A girl with a pure appearance, wearing a long white down jacket, and of tall stature, stopped in front of Jiang Tao’s car.
The girl was wearing light gray shark pants on her lower body and a pair of striped crew socks and flat-nosed black leather shoes on her feet.
Her outfit looked fashionable and slimming, making her appear taller.
“Brother Jiang… Brother Jiang?”
Seeing Jiang Tao sitting in the car and browsing his phone through the windshield, He Jing’s expression was full of surprise.
After hearing someone speaking outside the car, Jiang Tao looked up towards the window. Seeing He Jing standing there gracefully, he was equally surprised.
“He Jing? What are you doing here? Are you here with classmates for fruit picking?”
Jiang Tao got out of the car, pushing the door open, and greeted He Jing with a smile.
He Jing smiled sweetly and explained, “No, Brother Jiang, I’m here to pick someone up.”
“Pick someone up?” Jiang Tao was confused.
He Jing smiled, “Brother Jiang, could you be the Mr. Jiang that my brother-in-law mentioned?”
“Your brother-in-law is Xu Xinlei?”
Jiang Tao also smiled.
He Jing had already said as much; if he still couldn’t figure out what was going on, he’d be quite foolish.
“Yes, yes! Then it’s confirmed! What a coincidence, Brother Jiang! I didn’t expect to meet you again in this way.”
He Jing was truly lively and loved to laugh. After just a few words with her, Jiang Tao’s mood became much brighter, influenced by her.
Jiang Tao also chuckled, “It is a bit of a coincidence. You have quite a few relatives in the Capital City.”
“Yes, besides my aunt, there’s my paternal aunt, an older female cousin, and a younger male cousin and a younger cousin.”
Upon hearing Jiang Tao’s words, He Jing earnestly counted her relatives in the Capital City.
Jiang Tao laughed, “Your whole family could fill a car when you go home for the Spring Festival.”
“Yes! Every time we go home for the Spring Festival, we all go together. By the way, Brother Jiang, is there something you need from my brother-in-law?”
After a bit of idle chat, He Jing curiously inquired.
Jiang Tao smiled, “Yes, I came to buy some blueberry potted plants from your brother-in-law.”
“Oh! Then Brother Jiang, I’ll take you to the office first. My brother-in-law might be back in a while, and my sister is in the office.”
As He Jing spoke, she turned and made a gesture for Jiang Tao to follow: “Brother Jiang, this way please.”
“Haha, you’re being too polite with me.”
Jiang Tao laughed it off and followed He Jing towards her older female cousin’s office.
“Are you helping your older female cousin here?”
“No, it’s the weekend, so I came to visit and shoot some content.”
“Although I’m just a small fry on the Kuaidou platform with just over 70,000 fans, any extra promotion is good.”
“No way, you only have a little over 70,000 fans? I thought you were at least a big streamer with hundreds of thousands of fans.”
Jiang Tao was greatly surprised to hear that He Jing only had a little over 70,000 fans.
Given He Jing’s pure and beautiful appearance, along with her slender figure of over 1.7 meters.
She would score at least an 8 out of 10.
“Brother Jiang, are you praising me or teasing me? I can’t quite tell for a moment.”
“Of course, I’m praising you.”
“Is that how you praise someone?”
“Haha, seriously He Jing, with your qualifications, you’ll reach a fan base of seven or eight hundred thousand sooner or later, possibly even a million.”
“In my opinion, those internet celebrities with millions of fans on Kuaidou are far behind you.”
“Hehe, Brother Jiang, if you say so, then I love to hear it. Say more in the future! And I’ll take your good wishes!”
As they walked and talked, the conversation quickly shifted from Kuaidou to Xu Xinlei’s agriculture company.
Xu Xinlei, He Jing’s older female cousin’s husband, had leased 26 greenhouses in Cui Village.
Among the many growers, his scale was only considered medium.
Of these, 6 greenhouses were used for cultivating blueberry potted plants, but their profitability had been mediocre for years.
It was even less profitable than growing strawberries, which was the common choice.
Therefore, Xu Xinlei planned to sell off all the blueberry potted plants in the 6 greenhouses at a low price and return to growing strawberries diligently.
Strawberry cultivation in Cui Village had already formed a cluster effect, and on weekends, tourists flocked here for fruit picking.
Besides tourist picking and supplying some supermarkets, the rest went to fruit vendors.
The strawberries produced in the greenhouses in Cui Village supplied nearly half of the Capital City; there was no shortage of buyers.
Compared to the popular strawberries, blueberries were much more niche.
After about a 5-minute walk.
He Jing first led Jiang Tao into a greenhouse cultivating blueberry potted plants.
The ground and shelves inside the greenhouse were packed with blueberry potted plants in plastic pots.
“This variety is called Sweet Honey, medium-sized fruit, very sweet.”
“This one is called Misty.”
“This is Rylex.”
“This is Emerald…”
He Jing had clearly helped her older female cousin many times and knew all the blueberry varieties by heart.
As she showed Jiang Tao around, she introduced them to him.
In reality, Jiang Tao was not very interested in these.
To put it bluntly, he was just a “middleman,” only interested in making a price difference.
After touring the blueberry greenhouse for about half an hour.
He Jing then took Jiang Tao to a small red house in the greenhouse area and met her older female cousin, Liu Yuan.
“Sister, Brother Jiang is also a fellow villager from Ping County.”
“Brother Jiang, this is my older female cousin, Liu Yuan.”
After entering the room, He Jing happily introduced Jiang Tao and Liu Yuan to each other.
“Is that so? What a coincidence! Welcome, Mr. Jiang, to our Xinlei Agriculture Co., Ltd.”
Hearing her cousin introduce Jiang Tao as a fellow villager from Ping County, Liu Yuan’s smile became more friendly.
Although there were many fellow villagers from Ping County working in the Capital City, opportunities for cooperation were rare.
“Good morning, Manager Liu.”
Jiang Tao also smiled and nodded at Liu Yuan.
Liu Yuan humbly smiled, “Mr. Jiang, you’re too kind. I’m just a farmer, what kind of manager am I? Just call me Liu Yuan.”
“You’re too modest, Manager Liu. According to He Jing, your company has leased dozens of greenhouses, which is already very impressive.”
“You flatter me. We just earn some hard-earned money. Please have a seat, Mr. Jiang.”
Liu Yuan exchanged pleasantries with Jiang Tao with a smile, then went to the water dispenser to prepare a cup of black tea for Jiang Tao with a disposable paper cup.
“Oh my, Brother Jiang, Sister, stop praising each other and being humble. Just be natural~”
He Jing, listening to their polite exchange, couldn’t help but laugh.
With He Jing, the lively and laughter-loving intermediary, the atmosphere in the room instantly became less serious and more lively.
After a brief exchange of greetings, the three of them sat by the coffee table against the office wall.
Jiang Tao and He Jing sat on the long double sofa, while Liu Yuan sat alone on the single sofa beside them.
Seeing that the time was right, Liu Yuan directly asked:
“Mr. Jiang, how many blueberry potted plants are you planning to purchase this time?”
He Jing, drinking water, looked at Jiang Tao with her bright, watery eyes, appearing very curious.
Jiang Tao put down the disposable water cup in his hand and revealed directly, “100,000 pots.”
“Pfft~~~”
He Jing, sitting next to Jiang Tao, heard Jiang Tao’s words and instantly spat out a mouthful of water, splashing it all over Jiang Tao’s face.
The air in the room suddenly went quiet.
Liu Yuan looked at Jiang Tao and He Jing with a blank stare, completely taken aback by the scene.
He Jing’s mouthful of water had completely washed Jiang Tao’s face, and she was stunned.
Awkwardness, capitalized awkwardness!
At this moment, He Jing felt as if the words “awkwardness” had filled the entire office.
It had even burst through the office walls!
Oh my heavens!
How could someone cause such a big problem!
“…”
Jiang Tao wiped the water from his face, turned to look at He Jing, and couldn’t help but ask:
“Is there something dirty on my face?”
Although he hadn’t expected He Jing to spray water.
It wasn’t enough of a small matter to blame her for it.
Jiang Tao’s words instantly dissolved the awkwardness in the room.
“Kukukuku…”
He Jing was so amused by Jiang Tao’s question “Is there something dirty on my face?” that she burst into tears of laughter.
“I’m sorry, Brother Jiang, kukukuku, I really didn’t do it on purpose. I swear, it wasn’t aimed at you, hahaha…”
He Jing apologized to Jiang Tao while pulling a tissue from the tissue box on the table to wipe his face, laughing until her stomach hurt.
Liu Yuan, standing beside them, was also amused by her lively cousin’s antics.
Fortunately, Jiang Tao wasn’t the type to be petty.
Otherwise, who knows how this situation would have ended!
He Jing hadn’t thought that far ahead initially, just thinking about taking responsibility for the mess she made.
When she realized that her body was pressed close to Jiang Tao’s and she could clearly feel each other’s body heat.
He Jing suddenly realized that her current posture with Jiang Tao was somewhat intimate, and her pretty, pure face began to blush.
“I’ll do it myself.”
Although Jiang Tao was also enjoying He Jing’s gentle touch on his face, with an outsider present, he couldn’t show his enjoyment.
Saying this with a smile, he reached out and pulled two tissues from the tissue box, haphazardly wiping the water stains from his face.
“Ahem, I’m really sorry, Brother Jiang, I really didn’t mean to…”
He Jing’s face was as red as an apple. After apologizing again, she explained once more.
Jiang Tao jokingly said, “Even if you did it on purpose, it’s okay.”
“Ahem, I really didn’t! I was just… just too surprised.”
Hearing Jiang Tao’s teasing words, He Jing felt shy and so embarrassed that her toes curled up.
Today’s incident was too awkward, too embarrassing!
He Jing had never experienced such an embarrassing situation in her life!
“Alright, it was just a small interlude, let’s consider it as livening up the atmosphere. Let’s get back to business.”
Jiang Tao waved his hand with a smile, indicating that the matter was over, and turned his gaze to Liu Yuan, bringing the conversation back on track.
He had a lot to do today.
After dealing with the blueberry potted plants in the morning, he still needed to go to the real estate agency in the afternoon to see if he could rent the villa next to Li Ziyue’s family’s place.
“Mr. Jiang, are you looking to purchase 100,000 pots?”
Liu Yuan, afraid she had misheard, confirmed the quantity with Jiang Tao again.
100,000 pots was not a small amount.
Not only was He Jing surprised, but Liu Yuan was equally astonished!
The company had been in business for over ten years, and they had never received such a large order!
“Yes, if the price is right, I plan to buy 100,000 pots at once.”
Jiang Tao repeated his earlier statement with a smile.
This time, however, he emphasized the words “if the price is right.”
Liu Yuan tentatively asked, “Mr. Jiang, what is your target price?”
“That depends on your sincerity.”
Jiang Tao smiled and kicked the ball back to Liu Yuan.
“Please wait a moment, Mr. Jiang. I need to step away briefly. Jingjing, please entertain Mr. Jiang here.”
Liu Yuan instructed He Jing before standing up from her seat and taking her phone to make a call.
For business of this scale, she couldn’t make the decision alone and had to consult her husband, Xu Xinlei.
“Hello, honey…”
Liu Yuan called Xu Xinlei and relayed the results of her conversation with Jiang Tao.
Xu Xinlei was equally shocked when he heard about Jiang Tao’s procurement quantity.
100,000 plants was almost all of their blueberry potted plants!
Time is money.
If Xu Xinlei relied on their current sales channels to sell these 100,000 blueberry potted plants, it would take at least half a year to sell them all.
In that time, they could have grown several crops of strawberries!
“8 yuan each. We can earn a little less; it doesn’t matter, time is money.”
Xu Xinlei pondered for a long time on the other end of the phone before finally stating his target price.
The cost price of that batch of blueberry potted plants was nearly 7 yuan, so selling them for 8 yuan each would only yield a profit of a little over 1 yuan.
Currently, Xu Xinlei and his team sold them to distributors at a wholesale price of 10 yuan, and their retail price online was 18 yuan.
Directly lowering the price to 8 yuan this time showed their sincerity!
“Okay, I’ll go back and tell him.”
Liu Yuan knew that this was likely the lowest price. After hanging up the phone, she returned to the office and sat opposite Jiang Tao.
“Mr. Jiang, I just consulted my husband, and we can offer you the lowest price of 8 yuan per pot.”
“At this price, even nationwide, it’s an absolutely super low price. You won’t be cheated or fooled.”
Liu Yuan was a straightforward person. She didn’t intend to bargain further with Jiang Tao and immediately offered her bottom line.
“Agreed!”
Jiang Tao also liked doing business with straightforward people like Liu Yuan.
Having obtained the lowest price indicated by System Brother, he knew when to stop and didn’t continue to haggle.
This action earned him significant goodwill from both Liu Yuan and He Jing.
“When would you be available to sign the contract, Mr. Jiang?”
After the price was settled, Liu Yuan wanted to sign the contract as soon as possible to avoid any further complications.
Jiang Tao smiled, “We can do it now. Manager Liu, please get the contract.”
“Okay, please wait a moment. I’ll go print the contract. Jingjing, please keep Mr. Jiang company.”
Liu Yuan instructed He Jing again, then got up and went out to print the contract.
“…”
He Jing had already accompanied Jiang Tao twice in this short period.
The topics they could discuss had almost run out.
After receiving her cousin’s task, she began racking her brain for topics, engaging in awkward small talk with Jiang Tao.
After about ten minutes of conversation, Liu Yuan arrived late, holding two freshly printed contracts.
Jiang Tao and Liu Yuan signed the contract as the Party B and Party A respectively, and Jiang Tao immediately transferred 50% of the payment for goods, 400,000 yuan, to Liu Yuan on the spot.
The remaining half would be paid in full after Xinlei Agriculture Co., Ltd. completed the delivery.
Additionally, Jiang Tao leased one of Xinlei Agriculture’s greenhouses for one month to store the 100,000 blueberry potted plants he had purchased.
Of course, the rental fee for the greenhouse was separate, costing 10,000 yuan per month, with utilities charged separately.
“Mr. Jiang, I wish us a happy cooperation!”
“Manager Liu, cooperation is a pleasure! You can arrange for people to move the blueberry potted plants to the greenhouse I leased as soon as possible.”
After signing the contract and making the payment, Jiang Tao and Liu Yuan shook hands, both with smiles of accomplishment.
“Okay, Mr. Jiang, I’ll arrange it shortly. It will definitely be moved by tomorrow.”
Liu Yuan agreed with a smile, without any suspicion.
“Then I’ll trouble you, Manager Liu. I have some matters to attend to this afternoon, so I won’t disturb you further.”
Jiang Tao said, stood up from his seat, and prepared to leave.
“Mr. Jiang, safe travels.”
“Brother Jiang, safe travels, please visit often~”
Liu Yuan and He Jing escorted Jiang Tao to the door.
After watching Jiang Tao walk away, Liu Yuan suddenly turned around and burst into laughter, tears streaming down her face.
“Jingjing, you were really… Hahahaha…”
Without the “victim” present, Liu Yuan laughed for more than three minutes.
He Jing, the instigator, was so embarrassed that she almost wore through the soles of her shoes.
She suspected that she would never live down the incident of spraying Jiang Tao with water today!
…
“First piece of intelligence acquired~”
“A few days later, when Xu Xinlei and the others see the blueberry potted plants explode in popularity, will they regret selling them to me?”
Thinking about the scene of the blueberry potted plants becoming a hit a few days later, Jiang Tao chuckled with a hint of schadenfreude.
However, business is business, and he felt no guilt; he didn’t owe Xu Xinlei and the others anything.
Understanding market price trends and the timing of product sales were basic business skills; profit or loss depended on individual ability.
In 20 minutes, the Mercedes-Benz GLS pulled up in front of a real estate agency in Huilongguan.
Jiang Tao got out of the car, and as soon as he entered, a female professional in a black suit and white shirt approached to greet him.
“Hello, sir! How can I help you?”
The female salesperson appeared to be in her mid-thirties, had a voluptuous figure, wore exquisite makeup, and had her hair tied back, looking very capable.
Jiang Tao glanced at the name tag on her chest, which read Liu Yue.
“I’d like to rent a villa in the Walden Lake Villa Area. Do you have any listings?”
Jiang Tao looked into Liu Yue’s eyes and stated his needs directly.
“Yes, sir! May I have your surname? We have over a dozen listings in the Walden Lake Villa Area.”
“What size are you looking to rent? Do you have any requirements for location, layout, or renovation?”
Upon hearing that Jiang Tao wanted to rent a villa, Liu Yue’s smile became even more radiant and enthusiastic.
The Walden Lake Villa Area was considered a decent villa district in Pingchang District.
The rent for any villa there was no less than 20,000 yuan per month.
The commission for renting out a villa was also quite substantial.
“My surname is Jiang. Could you take me to see some properties in person?”
The reason Jiang Tao wanted to rent a villa was naturally for the gold in the study of a particular villa mentioned in the intelligence report; living there was secondary.
Therefore, he needed to see them in person to determine which villa it was.
“Of course, Mr. Jiang!”
Liu Yue was an experienced real estate agent. From the tone of Jiang Tao’s voice, she could tell he had confidence and was a quality client sincerely looking to rent!
“I drove here. Let’s take my car.”
“Okay!”
Liu Yue followed Jiang Tao out and, seeing the brand-new Mercedes-Benz GLS parked outside, confirmed Jiang Tao’s financial strength once again.
Seeing Liu Yue about to open the front passenger door, Jiang Tao smiled and reminded her:
“Miss Liu, please sit in the back. I’ll drive you there.”
“Uh, okay.”
Liu Yue gave a sheepish smile, slightly embarrassed, withdrew her hand that was about to open the front passenger door, and then opened the rear door and sat in the back.
Jiang Tao opened the driver’s side door, got in, and skillfully drove Liu Yue towards the Walden Lake Villa Area.
In less than ten minutes, the Mercedes-Benz GLS arrived at the main entrance of the Walden Lake Villa Area.
The main gate stood tall, a five-meter-high European-style gilded carved iron gate.
The pillars on either side were constructed from a single block of imported Italian marble, inlaid with copper relief patterns.
A gilded “VALDEN LAKE VILLA” artistic font nameplate hung from the crossbeam above the gate, shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight.
A thirty-meter-wide circular landscape driveway extended from the front of the gate, featuring a three-tiered cascading fountain in the center, surrounded by year-round green Chinese banyan bonsai at its base.
The gatehouses on both sides featured full glass curtain walls, equipped with intelligent license plate recognition systems and security personnel in custom uniforms.
The access control gates were inlaid with LED flowing light strips, harmonizing with the star-patterned ground lights embedded in the pavement.
The entire entrance area was enclosed by a five-meter-high row of cedar hedges.
The tree wall was adorned with luminous glazed stones that glowed at night, exuding a subtly luxurious manor ambiance.
Looking at the luxurious decoration of the villa area’s entrance, Jiang Tao couldn’t help but sigh.
Six or seven years ago, when he first came to the Capital City to work, he had worked as a security guard here for three months.
Later, when he was driving a truck for deliveries, he couldn’t help but glance over every time he passed by.
In the past, he could only dream of becoming rich.
Then, he would spend a huge sum of money to buy a villa in the Walden Lake Villa Area and live the life everyone envied.
Returning to this place today, the long-suppressed desire in Jiang Tao’s heart intensified infinitely.
He felt an urge to buy a villa here in this lifetime.
