Chapter 152: Body-strengthening Treadmill!
Sent Du Jun and his group away.
Jiang Tao also left work with his third sister.
By the time they drove back to the Bai Ge Zhuang Residential Area and parked downstairs, it was just past 4 PM, not yet 5 PM.
After getting out of the car, Jiang Bing jogged around the front of the car to Jiang Tao’s side, reaching out her hand to him:
“Second Brother, it’s still early. I want to go check out our factory. I’ve never been there before.”
“Go ahead. Turn left out of here, keep going straight until you see the Industrial Park sign, then turn in.”
“If you can’t find it, just call Mom and Dad.”
Jiang Tao casually tossed the car keys to his third sister and turned towards the entrance of the building.
When he went upstairs and returned home, Xu Li was about to go out, holding a reusable shopping bag.
“Husband, why are you home from work so early today? Want to go shopping at the supermarket with me?”
Seeing Jiang Tao back from work, Xu Li’s face lit up with a bright smile, and she excitedly stepped forward to hug his arm.
During this period, nurtured by love and affection, Xu Li radiated a renewed glow, appearing incredibly charming.
Jiang Tao naturally didn’t feel at ease letting such a beautiful wife go out alone.
Besides, seeing how enthusiastic Xu Li was, he didn’t want to dampen her spirits.
“Alrighty! Let’s go!”
Jiang Tao had no choice but to put aside his treadmill for now and turned to accompany Xu Li downstairs again.
Along the way, Xu Li, holding Jiang Tao’s arm, chattered away, telling him about some of the things that had happened that day.
Her mother-in-law had called saying she won over 3000 yuan playing mahjong last night.
Her younger sister’s internship job lasted only half a day before she quit.
Her father-in-law, nearing retirement, had actually received another promotion and a raise. They were chatting about everyday family matters.
As they walked and talked, they soon arrived at the Jingkelong Supermarket outside the residential complex.
Jiang Tao pushed a shopping cart, with Xu Li arm in arm with him, and they entered the supermarket as a couple.
“Wow, why are there so many people today?”
Upon entering and seeing the bustling crowd in the supermarket, Jiang Tao was also a bit surprised.
Xu Li explained with a smile, “Today is March 4th, and Jingkelong Supermarket is holding its 15th-anniversary celebration event.”
“All sorts of goods in the supermarket have various discounts, and furthermore, for every 188 yuan spent shopping, you can participate in the supermarket’s lucky draw event once.”
“Shopping lucky draw?”
Jiang Tao’s eyes lit up at this.
The Mercedes-Benz GLS he was currently driving was won in a lucky draw during a year-end sale at Du Ennan’s family’s mall.
“Mmm-hmm, they were handing out flyers at the supermarket today, I saw.”
“The first prize is a Jingkelong Supermarket shopping card worth 4999 yuan.”
“The second prize is an electric scooter worth 3000 yuan.”
“We happen to be short of one at home, so if we could win one, we wouldn’t have to buy it.”
“The third prize is probably a Xiaomi mobile phone worth over 2000 yuan, the fourth prize is a vacuum cleaner, and I forget the rest.”
Xu Li chattered on, introducing Jiang Tao to what she knew.
“No wonder there are so many people. If they could maintain this customer flow every day, they would make a lot of money.”
Looking at the dense crowd of shoppers in the supermarket.
Jiang Tao thought of the supermarket he had acquired for 350,000 yuan from Xu Li’s cousin, Xu Jiantao.
After acquiring the supermarket, he had entrusted its management to his elder brother, Jiang He, and his sister-in-law, Zhang Xiaoyan.
Before recouping the 350,000 yuan investment, he would receive 50% of the net profit as a stake.
Once the 350,000 yuan investment cost was recouped, his stake would be reduced to 10%.
After 10 years, he would completely withdraw from profit sharing.
His elder brother was not very articulate, but recently his sister-in-law, Zhang Xiaoyan, had called Jiang Tao a few times.
The supermarket was stable and improving, essentially returning to the profitability level it was at before Xu Jiantao’s incident.
The daily net profit was around 2500 yuan, almost as much as she used to earn in a full day selling Jianbing.
Conservatively estimated, that supermarket would yield around 70,000 yuan in profit.
His elder brother and sister-in-law would take home over 30,000 yuan, much better than their previous lives of working themselves to death for money.
“The poor should cultivate themselves, the rich should help the world.”
Although Jiang Tao wasn’t rich enough to help the world yet, he could certainly help his own elder brother.
He had felt uneasy when he saw his elder brother and sister-in-law practically risking their lives to make money during the Spring Festival.
Besides parents, spouses, and siblings, there was no closer relationship in the world.
If he didn’t help his own biological brother, who would?
Pushing the shopping cart with Xu Li between the supermarket shelves, Jiang Tao’s thoughts drifted far away.
“Husband, let’s buy some walnuts to help our daughter’s brain development.”
“Her little brain is always focused on playing, and she’s far behind her classmates in academic performance.”
Xu Li’s words pulled Jiang Tao’s thoughts back from the supermarket in his hometown.
Hearing Xu Li casually mention their daughter’s grades, Jiang Tao seized the opportunity to suggest:
“By the way, wife, do you think we should find a tutor for Xiao Xue?”
“What a coincidence, husband! I was just about to discuss that with you too.”
“Although our Xiao Xue’s brain is quite smart, her foundation is too weak.”
“She’s supposed to start first grade this year, so I’ve also been considering whether to find her a tutor to strengthen her basics.”
“I think Teacher Jiang is quite good, and she’s very caring towards our Xiao Xue.”
“And Xiao Xue likes her so much too.”
“It would be perfect if we could have her tutor Xiao Xue.”
Jiang Tao chuckled after hearing Xu Li’s words.
On the way home today, he had been thinking about how to bring up the matter of hiring Jiang Yi as their daughter’s tutor to Xu Li.
Now, it was great. He had only initiated the conversation, and Xu Li had said everything else for him!
Jiang Tao nodded with a smile and said, “Yes, I also think Teacher Jiang is very suitable. Why don’t you ask her later?”
“Okay, I’ll call Teacher Jiang when we get home later.”
“It doesn’t matter in kindergarten, the most important thing is to be happy. But once she starts primary school, we need to focus.”
Xu Li nodded, she also attached great importance to her daughter’s studies and didn’t want her to be at the bottom of the class.
Compared to the children in Aidi Kindergarten who received elite education from the toddler classes.
Jiang Xue, transferring from a rural kindergarten, had too many shortcomings.
These were objective problems.
The earlier they were resolved, the better the results.
While chatting, the couple bought various fruits and vegetables in the supermarket.
They also bought some meat, eggs, milk, and high-quality protein like fish and seafood.
And then some daily necessities.
At checkout, the total consumption was 795.8 yuan, entitling them to 4 draws (2 draws per person).
“Husband, do you think we can win a big prize today?”
While waiting in line for the draw, Xu Li rubbed her hands, her face filled with joyful anticipation.
“Should we have a competition to see whose luck is better?”
Jiang Tao smiled and showed off the beaded bracelet with a Heluo Stone hanging from it on his wrist in front of Xu Li.
“Okay! Let’s compete! Women who smile often have good luck, hehehe~”
Xu Li said this while shaking her head and giggling foolishly in front of Jiang Tao, her naive and sweet nature fully exposed.
She also wore the Heluo Stone Jiang Tao had given her close to her chest.
“Speechless, 5 draws and all were seventh prizes! This winning rate is too low.”
“If I didn’t know my neighbor Liu Dajie won a phone, I would suspect there was something fishy about this lucky draw.”
“I’ve seen people win third and fourth prizes, we’re just unlucky.”
While queuing, people in the prize-claiming area were complaining and grumbling from time to time.
“Dear uncles and aunties, please rest assured, a supermarket like ours wouldn’t ruin its reputation for such small prizes.”
“Today, we’ve already drawn two first prizes, three second prizes, and several third and fourth prizes.”
“These prizes are real, and there’s absolutely no trickery involved.”
A female supermarket employee holding a megaphone, hearing the discussions, explained and guaranteed again.
Today was the first day of the lucky draw event, and many customers who won seventh prizes questioned the authenticity of the event.
The seventh prize was actually a consolation prize, just a bag of salt.
Compared to the grand prizes earlier, it was insignificant.
The staff patiently explained over and over again to appease the customers’ emotions.
Customers who didn’t win big prizes were just casually complaining, and after hearing the staff’s explanation, they all fell silent.
“Wow! Third prize! I won third prize!”
As soon as the staff finished speaking, an auntie who was drawing a prize let out a shout that instantly drew everyone’s attention.
“Third prize! Third prize, girl, I won third prize!”
The auntie, holding her prize ticket, excitedly walked to the prize redemption area to claim her prize from the staff.
The staff scanned the prize redemption code on the ticket with their equipment.
After confirming it was valid, they directly redeemed a brand-new, unopened mobile phone for the auntie.
With a living example right before their eyes, the customers holding bags of salt had nothing more to say.
Xu Li nudged Jiang Tao’s arm and whispered:
“Husband, do you think we’ll end up with 4 bags of salt too?”
“Pah, pah, pah, don’t jinx it! Can’t you say something good? My goal is the first prize!”
“Isn’t everyone’s goal the same? Everyone’s goal is the same.”
Jiang Tao and Xu Li chatted quietly, and after about five minutes of waiting, it was their turn to draw.
After having their shopping receipt checked by the staff responsible for the lucky draw, they exchanged it for 4 chances to draw.
The couple walked to the drawing area, Xu Li took a deep breath, and first pulled out a prize ticket the size of a bank card from the lucky draw box.
Scratching off the film, she saw the character “Third” at the beginning, and Xu Li’s beautiful eyes instantly lit up.
“Third prize! Husband, I also won third prize!!”
After her draw, Xu Li, full of joy, grabbed Jiang Tao’s arm, her pretty face flushed with excitement.
“Let me see.”
Jiang Tao took the prize ticket from Xu Li’s hand and scratched off the remaining film, confirming it was indeed a third prize ticket.
“This luck is too good!”
“Another third prize! You can’t say the lucky draw is rigged now, can you! It’s purely our bad luck!”
“That cart full of items is probably worth less than that mobile phone. These two young people struck it rich today!”
A few elderly onlookers who were watching the scene looked at Jiang Tao and Xu Li with envy.
They had spent just over 700 yuan, less than 800 yuan, on their shopping and immediately won a mobile phone worth over 2000 yuan.
Not only did they break even, but they also profited over 1000 yuan from the supermarket!
After looking at Xu Li’s prize ticket, Jiang Tao casually handed it to the female supermarket employee responsible for the lucky draw.
After confirming it was valid, the employee respectfully handed a mobile phone to Xu Li with both hands:
“Miss, you are very lucky. Your third prize is our 6th third prize today. Thank you for your support of our Jingkelong Supermarket.”
“Thank you, okay, okay. We will visit frequently in the future.”
Xu Li cheerfully accepted her “trophy” and drew again.
Her second draw was not as lucky as the first; it was also a seventh prize, a bag of salt.
“Husband, the remaining two are yours. It’s up to you, go for it!”
After Xu Li finished her two draws, she placed her hopes for a grand prize on Jiang Tao.
This time, no information related to the supermarket lucky draw was triggered, so Jiang Tao didn’t know if the ticket was a grand prize.
He could only rely on the luck brought by the Heluo Stone.
Reaching into the lucky draw box, Jiang Tao stirred the tickets around randomly and drew one, then began to scratch it.
When he saw the number “7” revealed under the scratch-off film, Jiang Tao’s heart sank.
Well, another bag of salt it was!
“Don’t be discouraged, husband, you have one more chance. Go for it~”
Xu Li did not gloat, but encouraged Jiang Tao with a smile.
This time, Jiang Tao was too lazy to stir the tickets further. He casually drew one, took it out, and immediately began scratching.
When he saw the bright number “2” revealed under the scratch-off film, Jiang Tao’s lips curved into a smile.
“Second prize! Husband, you’re amazing! Your luck is incredible!”
Seeing the “2,” Xu Li’s beautiful eyes brightened instantly, and she hugged Jiang Tao’s arm, cheering with joy.
“Another second prize? No way, this couple’s luck is just too good!”
“One second prize and one third prize, worth several thousand yuan. They’ve made a fortune!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, look at their luck!”
An elder gentleman carrying 10 bags of salt in his shopping bag looked at Jiang Tao and Xu Li with immense envy!
“Congratulations, sir! You have won our supermarket’s second prize, this Yadea electric scooter worth 3500 yuan!”
The staff member in charge of the lucky draw checked Jiang Tao’s prize ticket and, finding no anomalies, promptly redeemed the prize for him.
They also handed over all the scooter’s documents, manuals, and warranty cards to Jiang Tao.
“Thank you.”
Amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, Jiang Tao and Xu Li pushed the electric scooter out of the supermarket.
According to the staff member in charge of the lucky draw, this electric scooter had 5 large batteries and was very powerful.
After leaving the supermarket, Jiang Tao placed the bags and packages in the front of the electric scooter, while Xu Li sat on the back.
“Husband, you’re too amazing, you actually won it! We’ve saved over 3000 yuan this time!”
Xu Li, sitting in the back seat of the electric scooter, smiled the whole way, unable to close her mouth from happiness.
They went out for a supermarket trip, bought less than 800 yuan worth of items, and won over 5000 yuan in prizes.
Their luck with money today was truly extraordinary!
Jiang Tao, while riding, teased with a smile:
“I remember we said we had a competition, right? To see who has better luck and wins a bigger prize.”
“Did we? I don’t remember.”
Xu Li tilted her head, her innocent big eyes blinking, feigning ignorance.
Jiang Tao laughed, “You can’t handle losing, can you.”
“Who can’t handle losing? I, I was just kidding with you! Alright, I admit defeat. What do you want me to do?”
Xu Li was easily provoked by a challenge, and Jiang Tao’s words got to her.
“We’ll talk about it when we sleep tonight.”
Hearing Jiang Tao’s words, Xu Li’s pretty face blushed.
She knew her husband well and figured he would probably make some strange requests again.
They arrived back downstairs at the residential complex and put the electric scooter in the bike shed. By the time they carried their bags and packages home, it was past 6 PM.
Mom and Dad and the third sister had all returned, and Jiang Xue had also finished school.
“Mom and Dad, my husband and I were at the supermarket just now…”
As soon as she entered, Xu Li shared the story of the lucky draw at the supermarket with her parents-in-law and her sister-in-law.
“You two are truly blessed with good luck this year! How incredibly fortunate!”
“Amazing! I’m a prize-drawing insulator; I’ve never won anything worth more than 10 yuan!”
“You two essentially got a pile of things for free, and even made several thousand yuan!”
The three of them listened to Xu Li’s story with looks of disbelief.
“Oh, Mom, my husband just replaced my phone for me during the Spring Festival. Here, you can use this one, don’t mind if it’s cheap.”
As she spoke, Xu Li directly gave the Xiaomi mobile phone she had won to her mother-in-law, Tian Xiaomei.
“Lili, this…”
Tian Xiaomei looked at her beautiful, gentle, and sensible daughter-in-law, deeply moved.
Jiang Tao smiled from the side, “Mom, Lili is showing her filial piety. Just take it if she gives it to you.”
“Alright, then Mom will use it. My phone has been lagging badly and needs replacing. Thank you, Lili.”
Seeing her son and daughter-in-law being so filial, Tian Xiaomei happily accepted the phone from Xu Li.
Xu Li smiled, “Mom, you say that, but we’re family, why thank us? It’s only right that my husband and I show filial piety to you and Dad.”
Tian Xiaomei said emotionally, “Good children, you and Xiaotao are both good children. Your father and I are blessed to have you.”
“This is just the beginning. You two will have many more years of blessings, but… could you please start cooking first? I’m hungry.”
Jiang Tao’s remark made everyone laugh.
Mom and Dad and Xu Li went to the kitchen to cook, chatting and laughing, while Jiang Bing went to Jiang Xue’s room to play with her dolls.
Jiang Bing not only liked Jellycat dolls but was also extremely fond of them herself. She had bought over a dozen herself.
But compared to the collection of dolls in her niece’s room, it was no comparison at all!
At such a young age, she had already achieved Jellycat doll freedom; her aunt was incredibly envious!
The living room, which had been lively moments ago, was now empty except for Jiang Tao.
He got up from the sofa and walked a few steps to the treadmill by the window.
【This treadmill is a special item. Bind immediately?】
As Jiang Tao approached within one meter of the treadmill, a bright blue virtual screen suddenly popped up in the void in front of him.
A prompt appeared on the screen.
“Yes! Bind!”
Without any hesitation, Jiang Tao directly chose to bind.
【Binding Successful! Activate immediately?】
Seeing the prompt on the virtual screen, Jiang Tao skillfully took out his phone, and from its case, he took out a needle and pricked his finger.
A drop of crimson blood oozed from his fingertip, which Jiang Tao casually flicked onto the treadmill.
The moment the blood touched the treadmill, it transformed into a light red energy shield that enveloped the treadmill.
【Treadmill Activated…】
【Item Name】: Body-Strengthening Treadmill!
【Item Attributes】: For every hour of running, there is a chance to gain 1 Physique attribute point.
【Note 1】: Maximum of 1 reward per day.
【Note 2】: The Host has no upper limit. For anyone other than the Host using the treadmill, the maximum increase in Physique attribute is 30 points.
【Note 3】: Your current Physique is 49 points （Weak）, below normal levels.
“Run for an hour, and there’s a chance to gain 1 Physique attribute point?”
Seeing the attributes after activating the treadmill, Jiang Tao’s eyes lit up.
But when he saw that his Physique attribute was only 49 points, his vision darkened again.
It couldn’t be!
He was at least an “hour warrior,” so how could his Physique be only 49 points, not even up to normal levels?
If he could level up his Physique to 100 points…
Jiang Tao looked down at his gradually expanding belly and realized he really needed to exercise!
Although this treadmill couldn’t make money, it could increase Physique, and the attributes were quite good!
Currently, Jiang Tao had plenty of channels for making money.
However, equipment like the 【Body-Strengthening Treadmill】 that could increase Physique and benefit health was unique.
“After dinner, I’ll start training tonight!”
“Later, I’ll have Xu Li and Mom and Dad run on it too.”
“Although their maximum Physique bonus is only 30 points, every little bit counts!”
Jiang Tao’s gaze passed through the kitchen window towards his mother, who was washing vegetables and chatting with Xu Li.
【Character Name】: Tian Xiaomei
【Physique】: 29 points. （Weak）
Seeing that his mother’s Physique was only 29 points, Jiang Tao realized how valuable the 30 points of Physique that the treadmill could increase was!
【Character Name】: Xu Li
【Physique】: 39 points. （Weak）
Xu Li’s Physique was slightly better than her mother’s, but equally weak.
Jiang Tao then looked at his father, Jiang Wen; his Physique was also only 41 points, and he was also weak.
Looking at Jiang Bing, who emerged from Jiang Xue’s room with a dejected expression, her Physique was 35 points, weak!
“Second Brother! You control your daughter, she won’t even give me one of her many dolls.”
Jiang Bing walked up to Jiang Tao and started complaining about Jiang Xue.
Jiang Tao was speechless, “You’re so old, how can you bring yourself to ask a child for toys?”
Jiang Bing gave her second brother a glare, “Other than her chest, what else is big about her? Who doesn’t have a girlish heart?”
“I have never seen such a shameless person!”
Jiang Tao looked at his third sister’s figure, which would make a bathhouse attendant unable to distinguish front from back, and was speechless.
“Hey! Jiang Tao, what do you mean by that look! Explain yourself.”
Jiang Bing, seeing her second brother’s disdainful look, felt deeply insulted and stopped calling him “Second Brother.”
“You figure it out yourself.”
After speaking, Jiang Tao turned and sat down on the sofa in the living room.
“Sister-in-law~ My second brother insulted my character! Please control him!”
“If he doesn’t apologize to me today, I’m cutting off our sibling relationship!”
“I’ll make him lose a world-class sister! Make him regret it!”
Jiang Bing huffed and puffed past Jiang Tao, chasing into the kitchen to complain to Xu Li about Jiang Tao.
The bickering between the brother and sister had almost become a family tradition, so naturally, no one paid any attention.
