Chapter 167: Feeding Jiang Yi, Affection Increases!
Jiang Jiaqi’s parents both did odd jobs; they weren’t even considered temporary workers.
The bosses they worked for at most provided over 100 yuan in accidental injury insurance annually.
In case of any accident, there would be some coverage.
They had never even heard of the Five Insurances and One Fund.
To put it bluntly, the older generation in the countryside traded their time and health for money.
Every cent they earned was hard-earned money.
Only when they got old and were no longer needed were they forced to retire.
Jiang Tao had heard his mother say before that among those who did odd jobs with them back then, there were elderly ladies over 80 years old.
The elderly people in the countryside without the Five Insurances and One Fund and the retired elderly people in the city with the Five Insurances and One Fund were completely like people living in two different worlds.
Jiang Tao’s offered salary wasn’t low, and crucially, it included the Five Insurances and One Fund.
Moreover, because a formal company was registered, they could go through social security in the Capital City.
Based on a net salary of 5,000 yuan per month, the gross salary would be at least 7,000 yuan or more!
If parents could have a job with such good welfare and protection, when they retired in their old age, they could also receive a considerable pension and live out their retirement years peacefully.
They wouldn’t have to live a difficult life relying on the low-income subsidy of just over a hundred yuan a month from the state, like the old men and women in the village.
“Thank you, Uncle Tao, for giving my parents such a good opportunity.”
“After work, I’ll ask them, and I’ll reply to you on my mobile phone tonight, would that be okay?”
Jiang Jiaqi looked at Jiang Tao with eyes full of gratitude.
How could she not hear that Uncle Tao wanted to help out her parents?
Jiang Tao nodded and smiled, “Okay, you ask them. It’s best if they can come, but there’s no pressure if they don’t want to.”
Jiang Jiaqi quickly said, “Such a good job, such good treatment, I’m sure they’ll come!”
“How are you doing here? Do you have any opinions or suggestions.”
Jiang Tao chatted with Jiang Jiaqi casually as he walked towards the door.
“No opinions, everything is great! Working with Uncle Tao feels amazing!”
Jiang Jiaqi’s statement wasn’t just flattery towards Jiang Tao.
Every word was the honest truth from her heart.
Currently, only she, Jiang Tao’s parents, and Jiang Tao himself were at Jiang’s Food Factory.
Jiang Jiaqi’s family had a lower generational status in the village, so she had to call Jiang Tao’s parents Grandpa and Grandma.
Jiang’s Dad and Mom also took good care of this young granddaughter from the same village, never treating her like an outsider.
They would bring her some of whatever delicious food or drink they had.
Fruits that were bought too much at home and couldn’t be finished were also brought to the company to share with Jiang Jiaqi during work, and they’d constantly feed her.
Yesterday, they even brought her over 5 jin of braised beef from their hometown.
At market prices, this over 5 jin of braised beef was worth two to three hundred yuan.
Working at the food factory, Jiang Jiaqi felt like she had found her community, coming to work happily every day and leaving work joyfully.
After working for almost a year since graduation, she felt the joy of work for the first time.
It was also the first time she genuinely loved a job.
She felt she could do this job at Jiang’s Food Factory for a lifetime!
She also wanted to treat it as a lifelong career.
At least, that was how it felt up to this point.
As Jiang Tao and Jiang Jiaqi chatted idly, they walked out of the production room together and returned to the food factory’s office.
The food factory’s office area currently had only three small offices.
One was the General Manager’s office reserved for Jiang Tao, the General Manager.
It was furnished with a desk, chairs, and a desktop office computer.
The adjacent office was for Jiang Bing, the Vice President.
The last office was for Jiang’s Dad, Jiang’s Mom, and Jiang Jiaqi.
“Alright, Xiao Qi, you go and do your work. Don’t worry about me; I’ll stay in the office for a while.”
“Okay, Uncle Tao. If you need anything, just call me.”
After showing Jiang Tao around, Jiang Jiaqi turned and left for her own office to continue working.
Jiang Tao watched Jiang Jiaqi leave, then sat down in the boss’s chair behind the desk.
He then took out his phone from his pocket and found over a dozen messages on Xianyu.
There were people trying to negotiate prices, and some asking him to give things away for free to their students; there were all sorts of strange people.
Only one person seemed genuinely interested in buying, asking if they could get a small discount, which Jiang Tao directly refused.
He wasn’t in a hurry to sell this stuff; if the price wasn’t right, he’d wait.
After browsing Xianyu for a while, Jiang Tao scrolled through his Moments feed again.
Then he browsed today’s trending news for a while.
After that, he chatted in the small group chat for the Tian Family Village Cattle Farm with his uncle and Liu Zhiyuan about the progress of the cattle farm’s work.
As international trade tensions have increasingly tightened in recent days, beef prices have been steadily improving.
Live cattle prices have remained stable at around 25 yuan with no significant changes.
The work of selling cattle at the farm is still ongoing.
This morning, over 40 head were sold, with total sales exceeding 700,000 yuan.
The situation is extremely favorable.
Based on the current sales situation, all cattle will be sold within another week at most, and the project will conclude successfully.
By then, it will be almost time for the Qingming Festival holiday.
Both his parents will return to their hometown for ancestral worship.
Jiang Tao also plans to take Xu Li, Jiang Xue, and his third sister for a holiday and return to their hometown together.
At that time, they can also gather the shareholders to distribute the money in the public account.
Unknowingly, time quickly passed to 5:30 PM.
It was time to get off work at Jiang’s Food Factory.
Seeing this, Jiang Tao put away his phone, got up, and went to the next room to call Jiang Jiaqi to leave work together.
“Uncle Tao, this afternoon I spoke with my dad and mom about the job openings here.”
“When they heard the treatment you offered, they both said they want to come! They asked me when you can expect them.”
Jiang Jiaqi looked at Jiang Tao with a beaming smile, almost flying with joy, and a touch of admiration in her eyes.
For her to find such a well-paying, clean, and leisurely job for her parents, she, as their daughter, felt a great sense of accomplishment.
Jiang Tao smiled, “They can come anytime once they’ve settled things at home. Oh, and tell them to keep their bus tickets, and I’ll reimburse them when they get here.”
“Okay, okay! Thank you, Uncle Tao! I thank you on behalf of my parents, Uncle Tao!”
“You still know to call me Uncle? You don’t need to be so formal with your uncle from now on.”
“Hehe, this isn’t about being formal with Uncle Tao; one must know how to repay kindness!”
“Uncle Tao has helped our family so much. If I didn’t even say thank you, wouldn’t I be an ungrateful wretch?”
“Haha, you’re quite conscientious.”
“Of course! From now on, I will resolutely follow Uncle Tao. If you tell me to go east, I will never go west; if you tell me to chase a dog, I will never chase a chicken.”
“Hahaha, where did you learn these sayings, girl?”
Jiang Tao was amused by Jiang Jiaqi’s string of sayings.
“These aren’t sayings; they are my true feelings for Uncle Tao.”
The two chatted and laughed as they walked.
After walking out the main gate, Jiang Jiaqi locked the large iron door first.
Then she continued to walk with Jiang Tao towards the bus stop near the food factory.
They took the same bus route home, but in opposite directions.
Jiang Tao’s bus arrived first; he scanned his card to board, waved goodbye to Jiang Jiaqi through the car window, and the bus pulled away from the stop.
【 Ding! Jiang Jiaqi’s favorability towards you has increased to 70 points, and your friendship has reached 70 points! 】
“Huh…”
Seeing the virtual interface pop up unexpectedly in front of everyone, Jiang Tao wasn’t alarmed, just a little surprised.
He hadn’t really considered Jiang Jiaqi as a friend before.
He had always seen her as a junior.
“This is also an unexpected gain.”
Jiang Tao closed the system interface with a thought, his gaze returning to the scenery rapidly receding outside the window.
Speaking of which, ever since he won the Mercedes-Benz GLS in the lucky draw, he hadn’t taken a bus for a while.
Taking one occasionally to reminisce about his past life brought about many reflections.
After more than six years of being a Beijing Drifter, he had finally settled down in the Capital City this year.
He now owned a house that was completely his own.
And not just one, but three, all fully paid!
From a Beijing Drifter renting a dormitory building in an urban village, he transformed into a landlord.
From a laborer struggling in society, he directly became a middle-class person with considerable wealth.
This step directly bridged two social classes.
Jiang Tao was getting closer and closer to achieving his grand wish of financial freedom.
With good luck, perhaps a piece of intelligence could make it happen!
At 6 PM, the No. 463 bus stopped at the Bai Ge Zhuang New Village residential complex station.
After scanning his card to alight, Jiang Tao walked towards the main entrance of the complex.
Ring ring ring—
Not long after Jiang Tao had walked a few steps, his phone rang.
He took out his phone and saw the caller ID displayed as “Wife.”
“Hello, wife.”
“I’m almost at the complex entrance.”
“Okay, I’ll come find you.”
“Alright, bye-bye.”
After a brief conversation on the phone, Jiang Tao turned, crossed the road, and walked towards the Jingkelong supermarket opposite the complex.
He met Xu Li and Du Ennan at the supermarket’s fresh food section.
“Jiang Tao, I’m here to freeload dinner at your place again.”
Du Ennan greeted Jiang Tao with a laugh upon seeing him, making a self-deprecating joke.
“Haha, you are our distinguished guest; you are welcome even if you come every day.”
Jiang Tao truly didn’t mind Du Ennan coming over for meals at all, nor did he dislike it.
Du Ennan’s father, Du Taiming, had a net worth similar to Zhang Chao’s father, Wang Minglong, estimated to be at least two to three billion yuan.
Moreover, Du Taiming was not like Wang Minglong, a philanderer who flitted from one woman to another.
He and his wife had stayed together for a lifetime and had only one daughter, Du Ennan.
To put it bluntly, after he passed away, his entire fortune would belong to Du Ennan.
Therefore, Du Ennan was undoubtedly a beautiful and wealthy woman, a little heiress.
Many people wished they could befriend her but had no way to do so.
The three pushed a shopping cart and did a big shop in the supermarket.
They bought various vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, milk, and other items, filling the cart to the brim.
At checkout, Xu Li used the stored value shopping card worth 4999 yuan that Jiang Tao had drawn earlier to pay for over 1200 yuan worth of groceries.
As the three were leaving the supermarket, “Old Third” had just finished work and drove her car directly to the supermarket entrance.
The four of them drove back to the residential complex. Jiang Tao, Xu Li, and Jiang Bing were carrying the bags and packages they had just finished buying.
As for Du Ennan, she was a pregnant woman nearing her due date, so naturally, she couldn’t be allowed to carry anything.
Not long after the four arrived home, their parents also returned from work.
Upon seeing Du Ennan visiting, the elders were also very welcoming and performed as expected, preparing a table full of delicious dishes.
This was Du Ennan’s third visit to their home, and she had already become very familiar with everyone in the Jiang family.
Three women make a lively scene, and with four women, it was even more so.
Xu Li, Du Ennan, Old Mother, and Old Third, the four women chatted enthusiastically, with one topic seamlessly leading to the next.
Jiang Tao and his father opened a bottle of Moutai and chatted while drinking together.
Everyone talked amongst themselves, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.
The meal, which started around 7 PM, didn’t conclude until after 8 PM.
After eating and drinking their fill, Xu Li, Du Ennan, and Jiang Bing spontaneously decided to go to a high-end beauty salon called “Zhu Yan Women’s High-end Clubhouse” in Huilongguan for beauty treatments.
Du Ennan was a high-level member of that establishment, and Xu Li and Jiang Bing could share the balance on her membership card.
She mentioned that since she became pregnant, she had gone less often, and there was still over 300,000 yuan on the card.
Old Mother was not interested in beauty treatments and went downstairs with Old Father to go dancing.
The elderly couple had become obsessed with dancing and went every day.
It allowed them to exercise and also lift their spirits; Jiang Tao and Xu Li both supported their hobby.
After dinner, Jiang Tao rested for over half an hour, then changed into his sports wear and got on the treadmill to continue his daily workout!
【 Running on the Body-Strengthening Treadmill for one hour has a high chance of increasing Physique by 1 point.
His Physique had recovered from its initial weakness to normal during this period, and the effect was quite noticeable.
After steadying himself on the belt, Jiang Tao took a deep breath and pressed the start button.
The belt began to rotate at a uniform speed, from slow to fast. He adjusted his breathing rhythm, swung his arms naturally, and gradually increased his pace.
After a period of running exercise, his running skill also improved significantly.
The treadmill’s speed has been increased from the initial 4-something to over 8, more than doubling it.
Swish, swish, swish, swish—
The sound of the tread belt turning, the hum of the engine, the patter of footsteps, the sound of slight panting.
Music with a cadence of 180 steps per minute was playing in his Bluetooth earphones.
Sweat quickly soaked through his athletic tank top, trickled down his neck, and splashed tiny droplets onto the treadmill’s metal pedals.
Jiang Tao’s calf muscles were taut like bowstrings, and each push-off caused the anti-slip texture on his soles to friction with the tread belt, producing a faint sound.
1 minute, 2 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes…
Time quickly passed until one hour.
The mileage on the treadmill also reached the 10-kilometer mark.
From a novice runner to now completing 10 kilometers in 1 hour.
It’s related to Jiang Tao’s persistence during this recent period.
It’s also related to the physique bonus provided by the 【 body-strengthening treadmill 】.
Suddenly, Jiang Tao felt a burning sensation spread from his chest to his limbs.
It felt like countless tiny currents were flowing through his blood vessels.
He was very familiar with this feeling; it was the reward settlement feeling after obtaining physique!
His legs, which had already felt a bit heavy, suddenly felt lighter.
The burning sensation in his lungs transformed into a refreshing torrent of oxygen.
Even the world in front of him became exceptionally clear.
【 You exercised for 1 hour on the body-strengthening treadmill, congratulations on gaining 1 physique point! 】
【 Your current physique is 62 points （ normal ）】
A light blue virtual interface suddenly appeared, displaying two notification messages.
Seeing the reward settlement screen.
Jiang Tao reached out and pressed the “STOP” button on the treadmill panel, ending his workout for the day.
“Phew~”
He picked up the towel draped over the treadmill, wiped his sweat, and looked down at his stomach.
Although he hadn’t intentionally trained his abs and only ran on the 【 body-strengthening treadmill 】 every day.
With the increase in his physique, the fat on his stomach had noticeably reduced, and the outline of abs was faintly visible.
Watching his physique continuously increase and his stamina improve day by day.
This feeling of effort yielding rewards, of receiving immediate positive feedback after each workout, was truly addictive.
“I wonder what will happen if I grind my physique to 100? Or 1000 points?”
As he walked towards the bathroom, Jiang Tao’s mind was filled with various thoughts.
Others could only increase their physique by a maximum of 30 points using the 【 body-strengthening treadmill 】.
He himself had no such restrictions, no upper limit.
Theoretically, his physique could be ground to 1000 points, or even 10000 points!
Judging by System Brother’s description of “physique” and its harsh evaluation criteria.
The human physique limit was likely around 100 points.
Moreover, it was absolutely impossible for ordinary people to reach 100 points.
But Jiang Tao could break through human limitations and reach higher values through the 【 body-strengthening treadmill 】.
Of course, those were things for the future.
Jiang Tao only had 62 points now, and System Brother’s evaluation was merely “normal.”
To reach the extreme of 100 points, there was still a long way to go.
Ring ring ring—
Before Jiang Tao could reach the bathroom door, his phone on the coffee table in the living room rang.
He walked over, picked up the phone, and saw it was Xu Li calling.
“Hello, wife.”
“Oh, okay, I just finished running, I’ll come over after I shower.”
“Mhm, good, you guys take your time, no need to rush, bye.”
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Tao put it back on the coffee table and walked into the bathroom.
He took a hot shower that lasted fifteen minutes.
Then, he found a clean set of new clothes from the wardrobe in the bedroom and changed.
Jiang Tao picked up the car key for the BAIC EU5 hanging in the entrance hall and went downstairs.
Exiting the building, Jiang Tao quickly found the BAIC EU5 parked on the roadside by his father.
The gold coins displayed on the car roof had reached 10,000, and with a thought, Jiang Tao collected them.
Rustle, rustle—
Countless gold coins surged towards him, which he exchanged for 10,000 yuan in cash in his bank card.
Around 9:30 PM.
The BAIC EU5 was parked downstairs Building 26 of Long Ze Yuan.
After getting out of the car, Jiang Tao took a few shopping bags from the trunk, entered the stairwell entrance, and took the elevator to the door of 1203 on the 12th floor.
Before even entering, Jiang Tao could hear Jiang Xue’s crisp laughter from inside.
Nowadays, after school every day, Jiang Yi would bring Jiang Xue home to tutor her and cook various delicious meals for her.
The two spent time together day and night, their relationship growing closer, and they were often mistaken for mother and daughter when walking on the street.
Knock, knock, knock—
Jiang Tao knocked on the room door with his free left hand.
“Teacher Jiang, my mom is here! I’ll go open the door~”
Click~
The room door opened, and Jiang Xue, wearing a small-sized yoga outfit, looked surprised to see Jiang Tao standing at the door.
“Dad! Why are you picking me up today, why isn’t my mom here?”
“Your mom went to get beauty treatments with your godmother. What, you don’t welcome Dad?”
Jiang Tao smiled, ruffled his little cotton jacket’s head, and stepped into the room.
Upon entering, Jiang Tao saw Jiang Yi, wearing a revealing yoga outfit, quickly getting up from a blue yoga mat in the living room with a slightly flustered expression.
Jiang Yi was wearing a white sports bra on her upper body, exposing a large portion of her neck and her slightly bulging stomach.
Her lower body was a lake blue tight-fitting yoga pants, outlining her perfect hip and leg shape.
Her dark hair was tied into a high ponytail behind her head.
Her pretty face, flushed red, was dotted with fine beads of sweat, indicating she had likely just been doing yoga exercises.
“Ahem, Jiang, Jiang Tao, you’re picking up Xiao Xue today.”
Jiang Yi stood up from the yoga mat and, barefoot, stepped onto it, slightly embarrassed as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
At this moment, feeling Jiang Tao’s subtle gaze on her, Jiang Yi wished she could disappear into a crack in the earth!
She truly hadn’t expected Jiang Tao to visit so suddenly tonight, catching her completely off guard.
“Her mom had something to do with a friend, so I came. Did I disturb you? Sorry, Teacher Jiang.”
Jiang Tao said, taking a few steps forward and placing the shopping bags he was carrying onto the coffee table in the middle of the living room.
“Thank you for taking care of our Xiao Xue during this time, Teacher Jiang. I bought you some fruit from the supermarket outside our residential area.”
“Yay! More fruit to eat~ Wow, there are cherries too! Dad, hurry up and wash some, I want to eat them.”
The little foodie Jiang Xue’s attention was instantly captured by the fruit on the coffee table.
Her little hands quickly took out a box of tempting cherries from the shopping bag and handed it to Jiang Tao to wash.
Jiang Tao chuckled helplessly, “This is for your teacher. I’ll wash some for you when we get home.”
“No, I want to eat them now. We are the best, best friends, Teacher Jiang and I. We share everything, right, Teacher Jiang?”
Jiang Xue looked at Jiang Yi with a hint of proudness, acting like a little hostess at Jiang Yi’s place, never treating herself as a guest.
“Of course, we are the best of friends.”
Jiang Yi smiled at Jiang Xue’s innocent and childlike words, her charm momentarily stunning Jiang Tao.
“However, your dad is a guest visiting the teacher’s home, so we shouldn’t let the guest do the work.”
Jiang Yi gently instructed Jiang Xue and then smiled at Jiang Tao, saying:
“Thank you for the fruit, Jiang Tao. I’ll accept it this time, but please don’t be so formal in the future.”
【 Jiang Yi’s favorability towards you increased by 1 point, her current favorability is 74 points （ good friend ）】
【 Your friendship with Jiang Yi has deepened, reaching 74 points. 】
As soon as Jiang Yi finished speaking, a light blue virtual panel instantly appeared before Jiang Tao, displaying two notification messages.
“It really works!”
Seeing that the system notification indicated an increase in favorability by 1 point, Jiang Tao’s heart rejoiced, wishing he could come to feed her every day.
As long as he could grind the favorability to 90, he would receive a reward of 1 million and a 【 Friendship Boat 】 that could be exchanged for a yacht.
Who would be foolish enough not to do something so beneficial!
“Okay, I won’t be so formal with you in the future.”
Jiang Tao said with a smile, secretly adding in his mind, “Not likely.”
