Chapter 147: Gold Received, 3.66 Million Deposited!
Liu Yue spoke a few words with the security guard at the booth and was allowed to pass.
The moment the Mercedes-Benz GLS drove into the villa area.
A security guard, standing tall and straight at his post, saw Jiang Tao through the car window and a hint of shock flashed in his eyes.
“What’s wrong, Captain? Stunned by the agent, Sister Yue? That figure, tsk tsk~”
A younger security guard jokingly said to the one with a slightly shocked expression on his face.
“That person just now… felt kind of familiar? Like I’ve seen them somewhere before.”
Tian Gang ignored his junior colleague’s teasing and frowned in thought.
The young security guard asked, “A former owner?”
Tian Gang shook his head and said, “No, it seems like a former colleague?”
“Ah? No way! Your former colleague drives a Mercedes now and can still come to the villa area to look at houses?”
The young security guard looked disbelieving when he heard Tian Gang’s words.
“Yes! I remember now! That person seems to have worked here before!”
Tian Gang suddenly recalled some information related to Jiang Tao.
He instantly remembered Jiang Tao too!
Speaking of Jiang Tao’s experience as a security guard in the Walden Lake Villa Area back then, it was quite legendary!
After only a month, he was fancied by a divorced, single female homeowner.
The female homeowner would visit the guard booth every day, showing concern and eagerly offering good cigarettes, fine wine, and tea.
But Jiang Tao was already married at the time, and Xu Li was at home awaiting childbirth.
Facing the temptation of the rich woman, Jiang Tao held onto his principles and didn’t even take the easy money offered to him.
It made Tian Gang and his group incredibly envious!
Working as a security guard in a luxury villa area, who didn’t have a dream of being supported by a rich woman!
What Tian Gang and the others couldn’t get, Jiang Tao remained unmoved by.
On the surface, everyone praised him as a good husband and a real man.
Behind his back, they all called him foolish!
How could a wife from humble beginnings be as appealing as a rich woman from the Capital City!
As long as you were willing to let her in, you wouldn’t have to strive for the rest of your life; eating, drinking, and having fun would be your daily work.
To avoid suspicion, Jiang Tao resigned after working in the villa area for three months.
Later, under the guidance of Wang Lianming, he entered the driver profession and started hauling goods at the Hongxing Secondhand Wholesale Market.
Jiang Tao never regretted his decision back then; if given another ten chances, he would make the same choice.
“Damn, that guy is a role model for our generation!”
“When will a rich older sister take a liking to me!”
The young security guard was incredibly envious after hearing Tian Gang’s account of Jiang Tao’s past deeds!
“Your looks are far from what his were back then.”
“His facial features, his physique, just standing there made him look different from us.”
“So many female homeowners who came and went would secretly look at him.”
Tian Gang smacked his lips. Honestly, he was quite jealous!
If he had had the opportunity Jiang Tao had back then, he really would have abandoned his wife and child!
Unfortunately, he didn’t!
……
The Mercedes-Benz GLS entered the villa area.
Jiang Tao, using the excuse of familiarizing himself with the overall villa environment, drove Liu Yue around.
The 10-meter wide sightseeing road wound like silk, and the car felt no bumps as it drove on it.
The red yew hedges trimmed into various shapes on both sides of the road added a touch of vitality to the early spring season.
The detached villas scattered on the slopes all had exterior walls built with natural stone.
The floor-to-ceiling windows reflected the crape myrtle bushes trimmed into geometric patterns in the courtyard.
The vehicles coming and going within the villas were mostly luxury cars like BBA, costing hundreds of thousands to millions.
Occasionally, a sports car with a cool exterior would roar past.
Driving through the villas, looking at each villa, each luxury car.
The pedestrians walking within the residential area, their clothing, style, and demeanor also gave a very elegant impression.
This place was completely two different worlds from ordinary residential areas outside.
Jiang Tao’s impulse to buy a villa became even stronger.
After driving for about 5 minutes along the internal roads within the villa area.
A villa emitting a dark golden light suddenly appeared in Jiang Tao’s field of vision.
“Found you!”
The villa emitting a dark golden light in Jiang Tao’s field of vision overlapped with the villa marked on the 5D map on his retina.
That was the villa mentioned in the intelligence, the one hiding gold bars!
“Mr. Jiang, what do you think of the location of that villa?”
“That villa’s location is quite good within the entire villa area.”
“From the balcony on the third floor, you can see the artificial lake to the left and enjoy the scenery while resting.”
Liu Yue saw Jiang Tao’s gaze fixed on villa 128 and introduced it to him with a gentle smile.
Coincidentally, the agency Liu Yue worked for actually had this villa listed.
“Really? I also think its location is quite good!”
Jiang Tao echoed with a smile, turned the steering wheel, and parked the car in front of the villa with a sudden brake.
Liu Yue seized the opportunity and asked, “Mr. Jiang, would you like to go in and take a look? I’ll call the property manager to open the door for us.”
“Yes, let’s go in and take a look!”
Jiang Tao said, unbuckled his seatbelt, and got out of the car with a click.
He had come for this villa today.
Liu Yue also got out of the car and found the property manager’s phone number on her mobile to make the call.
After waiting for less than five minutes, a young male property manager, wearing a suit with a black down jacket over it, arrived in a small electric commuting vehicle for the internal roads.
Liu Yue briefly spoke to the manager, who entered a code on the villa’s main door and led them into the villa’s courtyard.
After passing through a small courtyard of about fifty to sixty square meters, the three of them arrived at the entrance door.
The manager entered another code on the entrance door, which opened with a click, and after leading them into the villa, he exited.
Tap, tap, tap—
Liu Yue’s high heels made crisp sounds as they stepped on the solid wood floor inside the villa.
As Liu Yue showed Jiang Tao around the villa, she professionally introduced its various advantages and features.
“This villa has 3 floors above ground and 1 basement level, with a total area of 688 square meters and a layout of 8 bedrooms, 3 living rooms, and 6 bathrooms.”
“It has a large space, is well-ventilated from north to south, has ample sunlight, a good orientation, a separate dining room and living room, and a flat design for high space utilization.”
“Of the 8 bedrooms, 5 face the sun, providing excellent natural light.”
“The location of this villa is also prime within the entire villa area.”
“The owner of the house moved abroad a long time ago, and the house has hardly been lived in.”
“The owner has a professional cleaning service come in for deep cleaning once a month, and everything is well-maintained.”
“This is the driver’s room and nanny’s room on the first floor…”
“This is the laundry room.”
“This is the study.”
While touring the study, in Jiang Tao’s field of vision, the area in the northwest corner of the study emitted a dim light.
Clearly, the gold bars mentioned in the intelligence were likely there.
“Not bad, I really like this large study.”
Jiang Tao retracted his gaze and nodded with a smile in agreement.
Afterward, Liu Yue took Jiang Tao to tour the guest rooms and master bedroom upstairs.
Jiang Tao was naturally very satisfied with the place.
“Mr. Jiang, are you satisfied with this place?”
After showing him around, Liu Yue looked at him expectantly.
Jiang Tao nodded expressionlessly and said, “It’s okay, what’s the rent?”
Liu Yue asked excitedly, “How long are you planning to rent it for?”
Jiang Tao thought for a moment and said, “One year for now.”
“For an annual rent, the rent is 312,000, and the deposit is 26,000.”
Liu Yue suppressed her excitement and gave the quoted price.
She truly hadn’t expected Jiang Tao to rent for a whole year right away!
If this contract could be finalized, the agent would receive a commission of 13% of the total amount, which was about 40,000!
Liu Yue was already at A9 level in the company, and she would personally receive 60% of this commission, which was 24,000!
If she could secure this deal with Jiang Tao, her performance pressure for the month would be greatly reduced!
“Okay.”
Jiang Tao readily agreed.
Compared to the 3.66 million in gold, this rent was less than a tenth.
The reason for renting for a year was that Jiang Tao wanted his parents to move in with him and adapt to the villa area environment beforehand.
When the lease expired after a year, if they were accustomed to it, they could directly buy the villa, saving them the trouble of moving again.
“So, Mr. Jiang, when do you have time to sign the contract?”
Liu Yue looked at Jiang Tao expectantly, her eyes sparkling.
Although Jiang Tao had verbally agreed to rent for a year.
Before the contract was signed, this commission was like a piece of meat dangling near Liu Yue’s mouth, not yet eaten.
While speaking, Liu Yue glanced in the direction of the bedroom and said:
“Mr. Jiang, why don’t I show you the bedrooms again?”
“No need, let’s go back and sign the contract.”
Jiang Tao naturally understood Liu Yue’s implied meaning, but he genuinely had no such intentions and was not that casual a person.
“Okay!”
While happy about securing the commission, Liu Yue also felt a slight sense of disappointment.
Honestly, she wouldn’t have minded something happening with Jiang Tao.
Among the clients she had encountered, Jiang Tao’s appearance ranked in the top 3, and his physique and demeanor were also good.
She was ready to give it away for free, but he didn’t want it, which left Liu Yue feeling a bit disappointed.
Did he not like her?
With their own thoughts, they returned to the agency and signed a lease agreement.
Jiang Tao paid the rent and deposit of 338,000 on the spot and, with the landlord’s assistance, changed the passwords for the villa’s two electronic door locks.
After all the fuss, it was past 3 PM.
Jiang Tao had a late lunch at a restaurant in Huilongguan before driving back to the Walden Lake Villa Area.
As he passed the villa’s main entrance, Jiang Tao looked at the security guard who seemed familiar and hesitated to speak, and asked with a smile:
“Have we met before?”
Jiang Tao didn’t mind people knowing he had been a security guard, nor did he feel it was a shameful thing.
If you don’t steal or rob and earn money honestly, why would it be shameful?
“Uh, you must have a lot on your mind and probably forgot me, but I remember you.”
Tian Gang, seeing Jiang Tao speaking to him proactively, responded with a flattering smile.
At this moment, Tian Gang’s feelings were very complex.
A few years ago, they were all security guards.
Now, he was still a security guard, while the other person was driving a luxury car worth millions and was about to move into a villa area!
The gap, this was the gap!
Hearing Tian Gang’s words, Jiang Tao vaguely remembered him but they didn’t have any deep connection.
“Let’s get together sometime, I’m going in first.”
After Jiang Tao finished speaking, he stepped on the accelerator and drove into the villa area.
He and Tian Gang were just acquaintances who met by chance; they knew each other but had no deep friendship.
A greeting was enough; there was no need to chat further, as they didn’t have many common topics.
“He’s really Brother Tian’s colleague! Too awesome! I’ll probably never be able to afford a Benz in this lifetime.”
The young security guard watched the Mercedes-Benz GLS disappear into the distance, his eyes filled with envy.
By the time Jiang Tao returned to the entrance of villa 128, it was already 4 PM.
After entering the code, he opened the electronic lock and entered the courtyard, then opened the entrance door’s electronic lock and entered the villa, heading straight for the study.
Click~
Jiang Tao pushed open the study door and entered the room.
In his field of vision, the floor in the northwest corner emitted a dark golden glow.
With a thought from Jiang Tao, a line of information appeared on his retina:
【Are there any other observers nearby? Spend 10086 yuan to retrieve the items under the floor? 】
When Liu Yue was present earlier, the system kept indicating there were other observers, so this function could not be activated.
Now that only Jiang Tao was left, he could spend some money to retrieve the items under the floor.
It was similar to when he was in his hometown, extracting ox gallstones from the bullfrog.
“Damn it, why don’t they just rob me!”
Seeing that it would cost over 10,000 yuan this time, Jiang Tao was speechless.
Last time, extracting the ox gallstone and disposing of it properly only cost 1000 yuan, but this time it was over 10,000 yuan!
However…
If he didn’t spend the money, he would need to remove the study floor first and then restore it to its original state.
According to Liu Yue, the floor was solid teak, which was not cheap.
If he damaged it, the compensation would likely be a considerable amount, and it would also waste time.
“Forget it! 10,000 it is! Extract it for me!”
After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Tao finally decided not to bother with the effort and just pay to get it done.
【Deducting payment, please wait… 】
【Payment successful, starting to retrieve items… 】
Jiang Tao’s vision blurred, and the floor that had been emitting a dark golden glow returned to normal.
At the same time, a pile of gold bars, neatly stacked in a pyramid shape, appeared on the floor!
Furthermore, above the gold bars, there was a sealed bag containing what appeared to be the certificate for this batch of gold!
“So many!”
Jiang Tao swallowed excitedly, squatted down, and picked up a gold bar from the pyramid.
It was an ICBC 200-gram investment gold bar.
“One, two, three…”
Jiang Tao counted them. Exactly 20 bars, for a total weight of 4000 grams!
The sealed bag also contained the certificates and purchase invoices for these gold bars!
“Done!”
Looking at the pile of golden bars on the floor, Jiang Tao’s upturned lips were harder to suppress than an AK!
At the current market price of over 900 yuan per gram, 4000 grams of gold would indeed be over 3.6 million!
“Keep it or sell it?”
He lit a cigarette and calmed himself down.
Jiang Tao ultimately decided to sell the gold bars while the price was high.
He didn’t have enough money yet to not need to hoard gold.
From his conversation with Liu Yue, he learned that the asking price for this villa was as high as 35 million.
His entire net worth combined wouldn’t even be enough for a down payment at this point.
To live in a large villa, he still had to work hard!
4000 grams of gold, only a little over 8 pounds.
It sounded like a lot, but it wasn’t that much.
Jiang Tao went back to the car to get a shopping bag and took it all away.
It was just past 4 PM, not too late.
Jiang Tao drove directly to an ICBC branch in Huilongguan and successfully exchanged it for 3,660,088 yuan!
The money he received was only 88 yuan more than the 3.66 million mentioned in the intelligence.
Even after deducting over 300,000 for the rent, he still had over 3.3 million left!
It hadn’t been many days since the Mercedes-Benz GLS incident where he received triple compensation, and now another big windfall came in with his daily income!
As he walked out of the ICBC branch, Jiang Tao almost couldn’t resist doing a dance like Star-Lord!
An experience of earning over 3 million in a day, how could it not be exhilarating!
Ring ring, ring ring—
Just as Jiang Tao reached his car, his mobile phone rang.
He took out his phone and saw the caller ID was “Third Sister.”
Jiang Tao swiped to answer the call.
“Hello, Second Brother, I’m almost at your complex entrance, can you come and pick me up?”
After the call connected, Jiang Bing’s voice came from the other end.
Jiang Tao asked, “Where are you now?”
“Driver, where is this? Oh, Huilongguan, I’ve arrived in Huilongguan.”
Jiang Bing came to the Capital City this time by carpooling from her hometown in Ping County. For a bit extra, she could be dropped off directly at the complex entrance, which was much more convenient than taking a train.
After hearing the conversation between his third sister and the driver, Jiang Tao said:
“Then have the driver drop you off at the ICBC branch on Longhua Street. I happen to be in Huilongguan too.”
“Okay! Driver, take me to the ICBC branch on what’s-its-name street.”
“I’m by the roadside, you can see me when you get here. Bye.”
Jiang Tao hung up the phone and lit a cigarette from his pocket, waiting for his third sister.
Less than three minutes after hanging up, a white Volkswagen Lavida sedan with a license plate from Ping County stopped in front of Jiang Tao.
“Second Brother! Did you come specifically to pick me up!”
Jiang Bing got out of the car, excitedly hugged Jiang Tao’s arm, with a grinning expression on her face.
Jiang Tao laughed, “Stop flattering yourself, I just happened to be handling some business here.”
Upon hearing her second brother’s words, Jiang Bing immediately stopped grinning, turned around, got back into the car.
“Driver! Take me back to Ping County, I’ll pay you double.”
“Hahaha…”
The carpool driver was amused by the siblings’ conversation.
He knew it was just playful banter between the siblings and didn’t take it seriously.
The driver got out of the car and smiled as he greeted Jiang Tao:
“Jiang Tao, long time no see. What’s new, making a fortune?”
The driver’s name was Wang Hong, and he was in his forties.
He worked at a food factory in Pingchang District and was a minor leader.
Wang Hong had a large family to take care of back home, with elders above and children below.
He drove back home twice a month and always gave a ride to a few people to help cover the toll and gas expenses.
Jiang Tao had often taken Wang Hong’s car home before, and they got to know each other over time.
Jiang Tao had contacted Wang Hong this time to ask him to give Jiang Bing a ride.
He had also transferred the fare to Wang Hong via WeChat.
“I recently opened a small company and started a small factory, just busy with random things.”
Jiang Tao greeted Wang Hong with a smile and then took out a cigarette case and offered him a cigarette.
“That’s great! You’re a boss now, doing your own business. Much better than an old brother like me!”
Wang Hong accepted the cigarette Jiang Tao offered and exclaimed:
“My life is probably set. I’ll work at the factory for another twenty or thirty years, retire, and then go back to my hometown to live out my days.”
Jiang Tao humbly smiled, “Brother Wang is too modest. Reaching the position of manager at your food factory is already very impressive; most people don’t have that ability.”
“It’s you young people who dare to dream and dare to act! My life is meant for working for others.”
Wang Hong chuckled sheepishly. He truly admired Jiang Tao’s courage to start a business in the Capital City; it wasn’t just politeness.
As they smoked and chatted, Jiang Tao opened the car door, pulled Third Sister out, and asked Wang Hong to open the trunk to move things.
When Wang Hong saw Jiang Tao open the trunk of the Mercedes-Benz GLS parked nearby, he looked at Jiang Tao with utter disbelief.
You kid are already driving a Mercedes, and you’re still being humble with me for no reason!
“Thanks for your trouble, Brother Wang. Let’s get together sometime.”
After moving the items from Jiang Bing’s trunk, Jiang Tao said goodbye to Wang Hong and drove away with Jiang Bing.
“Hey Second Brother, what’s that on your hand?”
Jiang Bing, in the front passenger seat, noticed the Green Water Ghost watch on Jiang Tao’s wrist, and her eyes instantly lit up green!
“What else could it be, fingers.”
Jiang Tao feigned ignorance and playfully replied with a smile.
“I know my hand has fingers! I’m talking about the one on your wrist.”
“You don’t know? This thing is called a watch.”
“Jiang Tao! Can we have a normal conversation? I know it’s a watch! Are you treating me like a country bumpkin!”
Jiang Bing glared at her teasing second brother, wishing she could pounce on him and bite him.
“Hahaha, do you like it? If you like it, I’ll give it to you as a welcome gift.”
As the traffic light turned red at the intersection, Jiang Tao braked the car and turned to look at his third sister in the passenger seat.
“I like it! I want it!”
Third Sister didn’t stand on ceremony with Jiang Tao at all and immediately reached out to take it!
“What are you rushing for, you old man? I’ll take it off for you, must you snatch it!”
“I’m afraid you’ll go back on your word!”
“Am I that untrustworthy a person!”
“Yes!”
Jiang Bing had been tricked by her second brother numerous times as a child and, without a second thought, took the Green Water Ghost off Jiang Tao’s wrist and put it on her own.
“Second Brother, is this real? You didn’t buy it on Pinduoduo, did you?”
While excitedly examining her new watch, Jiang Bing asked with some concern.
Jiang Tao couldn’t help but laugh, “You guessed right, I did buy it on Pinduoduo. It cost me 28 yuan.”
“That puts my mind at ease! I knew you wouldn’t tell the truth in one sentence~”
Jiang Bing confirmed the authenticity of the Green Water Ghost in reverse and chuckled, then continued to study the watch.
The light at the intersection turned green, Jiang Tao started the car and continued driving towards Long Ze Yuan.
Jiang Tao temporarily decided not to tell his family about renting the villa in Walden Lake Villa Area; it would be too troublesome to explain.
It wouldn’t be too late to reveal it when a suitable opportunity arose.
