Chapter 220: The 5 Million Value Special Strawberry Is Here!
Upon learning that the first Health Run in Ping County was only 15 kilometers long.
Jiang Tao’s confidence surged.
He felt that this task was already in the bag!
Within 15 kilometers, he could maintain a pace of under 2 minutes and 50 seconds per kilometer without slowing down, thanks to the acceleration effect of his 【cool sunglasses】.
At this pace, completing the entire distance would take approximately 42 to 43 minutes.
This result could even challenge the 15-kilometer world record!
Currently, the standard for a national second-class athlete in China for 15 kilometers is around 1 hour.
In other words, Jiang Tao’s current level far surpasses that of a national second-class athlete.
He has already reached a world-class standard!
The winner of a small-scale competition like the one held in Ping County, a small county town, only receives 5,000 yuan.
Such a small bonus would not typically attract any top-tier experts.
At most, a few full-time marathon runners looking for a bargain, like “bounty hunters,” would show up.
Jiang Tao is in a very advantageous situation this time.
If nothing unexpected happens.
He can already secure the championship in advance.
Of course, celebrating prematurely is out of the question.
Even in a favorable situation, he will give his all.
After all, the task reward for 【bringing glory to the team】 is too generous to allow for any mistakes.
“Then I’ll leave the matter of the entry quota to Sister Bai. You’ve been a great help to me again this time.”
After finalizing the registration details, Jiang Tao felt relieved and thanked Bai Yulan with a smile.
“Heh, it’s nothing. We’re thrilled to have a master like you join us.”
“Remember to bring your ID card when you come to my place this morning; I’ll have someone register you into the system.”
“Alright! See you this morning. I need to turn up ahead. How about you, Sister Bai?”
After chatting with Bai Yulan, Jiang Tao looked up and saw a large sign with a big arrow painted on it, standing by the roadside a few hundred meters ahead.
The direction indicated by the arrow was his destination for the day: “Old Soldier Farm.”
Bai Yulan looked at Jiang Tao and asked, “You’re going to Old Soldier Farm? We’re heading towards Wanshou Temple. Aren’t you coming with us?”
Jiang Tao replied, “I have something to do at Old Soldier Farm, so I won’t be joining you today. Perhaps another time.”
Bai Yulan smiled, “Alright then. Run well in the race the day after tomorrow. Let me see your strength.”
Jiang Tao said, “Okay, Sister Bai, just watch. My goal this time is the championship.”
Bai Yulan chuckled, “If you win the championship this time, I’ll apply for you to be one of Ping County’s Top Ten Youths this year.”
“Haha, alright, then Sister Bai, I’ll await your anticipation.”
Jiang Tao’s confident demeanor exuded a captivating aura, stirring something within Bai Yulan.
“Jiang Tao~ Is that really you! Look at the camera~ Look over here.”
“Good morning, Brother Jiang~”
As Jiang Tao and Bai Yulan ran and chatted, they soon caught up with He Jing and Liu Yuan, the sisters who had deliberately slowed their pace.
Although Jiang Tao was wearing sunglasses, the two had already recognized him and greeted him with smiles.
Beside them, runners in the running group saw that the three beautiful women in their group were all actively greeting Jiang Tao.
They were all so envious, wishing they could be in his place!
“He Jing, Liu Yuan, you’re here too, what a coincidence!”
“You didn’t go back to the Capital City yesterday.”
Seeing He Jing and Liu Yuan, Jiang Tao was also surprised and greeted them with a smile.
Liu Yuan laughed, “I’m unemployed right now, so it doesn’t matter when I go back. I’ll just play around with my hometown folks for a few more days.”
He Jing also smiled, “I’m in my third year and doing an internship. I don’t have any classes at school anymore.”
“Besides, I’ve registered for Ping County’s Health Run and plan to head back to the Capital after the race.”
“Oh, I see. That’s great. You can take this opportunity to have a short break.”
“Xiao Liu, Xiao He, you know Jiang Tao too?”
Bai Yulan was also surprised to see Jiang Tao and the He sisters chatting so warmly.
“Yes, Sister Bai, we met Brother Jiang in the Capital City.”
Liu Yuan explained with a smile.
The reason she agreed to help with the aerial photography today was out of respect for Bai Yulan.
“That’s quite a coincidence.”
“Mhm.”
“Sister Bai, He Jing, Liu Yuan, I need to turn here. Let’s chat again another day if we have time.”
As he spoke, Jiang Tao had already reached the intersection. He waved goodbye to Bai Yulan and the others and turned directly towards Old Soldier Farm.
“Hey, hey, hey, don’t just stare at the handsome guy, Jingjing!”
“Watch the road, watch the road, don’t lead me into a ditch.”
“Ahem, I wasn’t.”
He Jing’s expression became slightly embarrassed as she heard her older cousin’s teasing and withdrew her gaze from Jiang Tao’s retreating back.
But honestly, Brother Jiang is indeed very handsome, and even more so when he’s running, practically the “Da Po Jie Fen Jie” of Ping County!
“Who was that handsome guy just now? Sister Bai and them seemed quite familiar with him.”
“I don’t know, but anyone who can chat with Sister Bai must be someone extraordinary.”
“He’s handsome and runs fast. If I had a running buddy like him, I’d be willing to run 30 kilometers every day!”
“You can tell he’s a master, and his running posture is so cool!”
Although Jiang Tao had left, the topic of conversation among the members of the Ping County Running Group remained focused on him.
His appearance, though brief, left a deep impression on everyone.
It also became the focal point of the group’s morning run.
Patter, patter—
After parting ways with Bai Yulan and the others, Jiang Tao quickly sprinted to the entrance of Old Soldier Farm.
He raised his hand to check the sports data displayed on the sports watch on his wrist.
The distance was exactly 4 kilometers, taking 20 minutes.
This was even with some time wasted chatting with Bai Yulan and the others.
If he were sprinting at full speed, he could have completed it in under 12 minutes.
It was only 6:28 AM, and there was still more than half an hour before the strawberry was picked by a farm worker.
Seeing that the farm gate was open, Jiang Tao walked straight in.
“Hey, young man, what are you here for?”
A middle-aged man in work clothes, with a receding hairline, came out of the guardhouse at the farm entrance.
“Boss, don’t you recognize me? I was here picking fruits in your orchard yesterday.”
Jiang Tao greeted the bald boss with a smile.
It was normal for the boss, who hosted dozens or hundreds of visitors for picking each day, not to remember him.
However, Jiang Tao had a clear impression of the farm owner with the receding hairline, who looked a bit like the “Fire Cloud Evil God.”
“Oh~~ I remember! You’re that Boss Jiang from yesterday!!”
Yu Shuai looked at Jiang Tao more and more, finding him familiar, and soon recognized him as the boss who had spent several hundred yuan in the orchard yesterday and drove a Mercedes-Benz G-wagon.
Jiang Tao humbly replied with a smile, “I’m not a boss. I’m just unemployed, just messing around every day.”
“Haha, Boss Jiang, you’re too modest. If you’re not a boss, then we’re all beggars.”
Yu Shuai didn’t believe Jiang Tao was unemployed. What unemployed person could marry such a beautiful wife and afford a G-wagon!
“Boss, I was running past your place this morning and suddenly got a craving. Can I pick some strawberries inside to satisfy my craving?”
“How much do you charge here? My wife bought a group deal yesterday, so I’m not quite sure of the exact price.”
After a brief chat, Jiang Tao stopped wasting time with the boss and got to the point.
Yu Shuai enthusiastically explained:
“Our farm charges 66 yuan per person for picking. As long as you don’t waste them, you can eat as much as you want.
When you leave, we’ll also give you a pound.”
“Okay.”
Without a word, Jiang Tao took out his mobile phone and paid 66 yuan via scan code. Then, he looked at Yu Shuai and said:
“Take me to the strawberry area to pick some.”
“Alright! Liu Mei, take Boss Jiang to the strawberry area to pick strawberries.”
“Okay boss, please follow me.”
The person Yu Shuai called Liu Mei was a woman in her fifties or sixties.
Liu Mei looked at Jiang Tao, respectfully greeted him, and then turned to lead the way.
Jiang Tao waved goodbye to the boss and followed Liu Mei towards the strawberry greenhouse.
“Boss, the strawberries in this greenhouse are growing the best. You can pick them from inside this one.”
Liu Mei led Jiang Tao to Greenhouse No. 2 and said to him respectfully.
At this moment, on Jiang Tao’s retina, the shining green dot was still more than 50 meters away from Greenhouse No. 2.
In other words, the strawberry with the mutated strawberry seed was not in Greenhouse No. 2.
“Excuse me, Big Sister, I don’t like the number 2. Can I pick from a greenhouse of my own choice?”
“I’m just picking for fun, the quality doesn’t matter.”
Jiang Tao looked at Liu Mei and asked her with a smile.
“Of course, you can go to any greenhouse you like.”
Liu Mei heard Jiang Tao say he didn’t like “2” and didn’t want to pick in Greenhouse No. 2.
Although she found it a bit strange, she didn’t think too much about it.
Having worked in the orchard for a long time, she had seen all sorts of people, and there were quite a few like Jiang Tao who were sensitive to numbers.
Out of the eight strawberry greenhouses, more tourists chose to pick in Greenhouse No. 6 and No. 8 than in other greenhouses.
“Thank you, Big Sister.”
Jiang Tao politely thanked Liu Mei with a smile and continued walking forward, finally stopping outside Greenhouse No. 5.
According to the map on his retina, Jiang Tao was now in a direct line with the strawberry.
“This one.”
Jiang Tao pointed at the door of Greenhouse No. 5 and made his final decision.
“Okay, I’ll take the boss inside.”
Liu Mei didn’t think much of it. After taking Jiang Tao inside, she took a small bamboo basket from a big box by the door for him.
Jiang Tao took the small bamboo basket and walked towards the strawberry patch inside the greenhouse.
Along the way, he picked one that looked good, eating as he picked.
Soon, Jiang Tao arrived at the location marked by the Daily Intelligence System.
A large, egg-sized strawberry hanging on the plant emitted a dark golden glow.
Clearly, this was the strawberry mentioned in the System Brother’s intelligence!
“It’s you!”
Jiang Tao said, reaching out and plucking the dark golden glowing strawberry from the plant.
Who would have thought that such a small strawberry could be worth 5 million in market value!
If he hadn’t received the intelligence from System Brother, it would have ended up in someone’s stomach today.
Having obtained the target strawberry, Jiang Tao picked a few more to put in the basket as a cover and then turned to leave.
When weighing at the entrance, Jiang Tao paid another 30 yuan, then left with the strawberries packed in a box by the boss.
Exiting the farm, Jiang Tao began to jog slowly in the direction of his home.
He arrived home just after 7:00 AM.
Xu Li had already woken up and was sweeping the courtyard with a broom.
“Huh, husband, did you go for a run? The sun must have risen in the west today.”
Xu Li looked up and saw Jiang Tao’s attire, and teased him with a smile, glancing at the western sky.
Jiang Tao smiled, “After returning to the Capital, Dan Yang and I will start a sports account on Douyin. I’m just practicing first.”
“Are those strawberries in your hand? Where did you get them?”
“I met a beautiful woman while running, and she insisted on giving them to me.”
“Oh, my husband is quite charming!”
“Don’t you think I am?”
“You’d better be talking about charm!”
“Haha, what else would I be talking about? What’s on your mind all day!”
Jiang Tao smiled, stepped forward, and stroked Xu Li’s head with a doting expression.
“Stop joking around, my handsome husband. Go take a shower and change your clothes.”
“Mom said breakfast is ready. She made your favorite scallion pancakes.”
Xu Li didn’t pry further into where Jiang Tao got the strawberries from, urging him to wash up quickly, and continued sweeping.
Jiang Tao took the strawberries inside and casually placed them on the coffee table.
He had already taken out the special strawberry and stored it safely.
After taking off his slightly sweat-dampened sports clothing, Jiang Tao took a shower to rinse off the sweat and then returned to the bedroom, bare and swinging his hips.
In the bedroom, while he was showering, Xu Li had already thoughtfully found a set of clothes and laid them out.
Everything from underwear to socks was provided.
After changing, Jiang Tao went to Jiang Xue’s room to wake her up.
The father and daughter played in the room for a while before Xu Li, who had finished sweeping, came in with clothes to help Jiang Xue change.
At 7:30 AM, the family of three left for their parents’ home to eat, chatting and laughing.
“Oh, by the way, Mom and Dad, Lily, I have something to tell you.”
“This morning when I went for a run, I ran into Sister Bai and her running group doing their usual run by Qisan Reservoir, and then…”
Jiang Tao briefly recounted his morning encounter with Bai Yulan to Xu Li and his parents.
He used the excuse that Bai Yulan had enthusiastically invited him to participate in the Ping County Health Run.
He did not mention the content of the system task 【bringing glory to the team】 at all.
“That’s great, husband. We all support you. We’ll cheer for you at the event!”
When Xu Li heard that Jiang Tao was going to participate in a sports competition, she was naturally very supportive.
“You kid are like your third sibling, always sleeping in. When did you start running? How come I didn’t know?”
Tian Xiaomei was suddenly very surprised to hear that her second son was going to participate in a sports competition.
In her impression, her second son was like her third, both being lazybones.
As children, on holidays, this brother and sister could sleep until the sun was high in the sky.
“Hehe, after three days apart, one should look at others with new eyes.”
“Mom, don’t compare me to my third sibling anymore. We are no longer of the same kind.”
“The third sibling is still the same as before, but I am not the same as I was.”
“In the future, your son will become even more disciplined and outstanding.”
Jiang Tao deliberately provoked her by saying this towards the third sibling’s bedroom.
“Heh heh, yes, our second child is very different from before, he has achieved great success.”
Tian Xiaomei recalled the tremendous changes that had taken place in the family in the past few months, and it was all thanks to her second child.
