Chapter 35: A 20% Subsidy from Alipay—Shearing Jack Ma’s Sheep! (Please Keep Reading!)

After paying off his debt to Old Ma on his phone, Jiang Tao washed up and crawled into bed to listen to an audiobook.

His life in the capital, drifting as a newcomer, was monotonous but far from boring. Past the age of wanting to play around, Jiang Tao was now only interested in making money.

As the clock struck midnight, Jiang Tao put his phone away and eagerly opened his Intelligence System to check the new information refreshed for the day.

[Today’s Intelligence]: Based on your use of the Alipay collection and repayment functions yesterday, you have obtained the following intelligence—

Between 14:30 and 14:35 this afternoon, any consumer spending via Alipay will receive a 20% subsidy reduction. This includes, but is not limited to, online and offline payments, transfers, and debt repayments! The transaction cap is 200,000 yuan!

[Note]: This intelligence may not be shared with anyone in any way, or it will become invalid.

...

"A 20% subsidy on any spending? My god, that’s a massive incentive..."

"Does Old Ma know the New Year is approaching and is he giving out bonuses to everyone?"

"But why only five minutes?"

"And why is there no news coverage for such a huge event?"

Seeing the intelligence refreshed for the day, Jiang Tao couldn't help but mutter to himself. If this information hadn't come from the Intelligence System, he certainly wouldn't have believed it. A 20% subsidy—even on transfers? Was Alipay out of its mind? Was this some kind of charity?

Simply put, if he transferred 200,000 yuan to his wife, Alipay would directly subsidize him 40,000 yuan?

"Doesn't this mean I'm earning 40,000 yuan for free? Won't Old Ma's heart ache..."

Although he had great confidence in the intelligence provided by the system, Jiang Tao was still puzzled. He couldn't wrap his head around the reason for Alipay doing this. He could understand subsidies for online or offline shopping, but for the system to include transfers and repayments was incomprehensible.

"Is this some incomprehensible high-level business strategy? Or some sort of grey-box testing?"

"Forget it, I won't overthink it. Regardless of the motive, I'll just shear some of Old Ma's wool when the time comes tomorrow."

"The cap is 200,000... I don't have that much in my account. I might have to borrow some more from Old Ma."

"But using Old Ma's money to shear Old Ma's wool—isn't that a bit dishonorable?"

"Damn, it’s as if I’m actually close with him. 40,000 yuan is less than a drop in the ocean for a guy like him."

"Since they dare to offer this subsidy, they must have the confidence to back it up. I shouldn't worry about it."

"The annoying part is that this intelligence can't be shared, and it only lasts for a mere five minutes. I wonder if my silly wife will notice this subsidy."

After analyzing the intelligence, Jiang Tao was about to go to sleep when the system suddenly popped up a bright blue virtual interface.

[Attention! Ma Dongmei has just snatched a train ticket for 4:00 AM on January 20th. Once she leaves the capital, she will not return!]

"Oh, this lady has quite some energy! Not sleeping at this hour and still fighting for a train ticket!"

"January 20th, that is..."

Seeing the alert on the virtual screen, Jiang Tao quickly grabbed his phone to check. Today was the 19th day of the twelfth lunar month, January 18th on the solar calendar.

This meant Ma Dongmei was leaving the capital by train the day after tomorrow, and she wouldn't be coming back! Her departure would take away not only the landlord's love but also his 88,888 yuan!

"For the sake of 80,000... no, for the sake of the landlord's love."

"I must find time tomorrow to see what's going on with that Ms. Ma. I need to try and make contact quickly!"

"Now, I need to get some sleep!"

Thinking of the landlord's romance and his 88,888 yuan, it took Jiang Tao a while to drift off.

The next morning, Jiang Tao treated his friends to mutton soup. The four of them spent over 200 yuan, ate their fill, and headed to the courtyard to load the goods. During the meal, Zhang Chao gleefully shared some "good news." The provinces south of the capital had seen heavy snowfall the previous night. As a result, the supply of fruits and vegetables in the city had tightened, and prices had gone up. For Jiang Tao, this was indeed "good news."

At 7:30 AM, four trucks loaded with sugar mandarin oranges left the depot, headed for the Baigezhuang market. The sales were just as Liu Zhiyuan had predicted. By noon, each of them had sold a truckload; the demand was explosive. After finishing a load, they rushed back to restock. They grabbed some pancakes wrapped with pig head meat for lunch while loading.

"Sugar mandarin oranges, big and sweet, authentic Guangxi sugar mandarin oranges! 10 yuan per jin, 10 yuan per jin!"

The catchy sound of the loudspeaker repeated constantly, and soon it was 14:25!

By mid-afternoon, Jiang Tao had collected over 40,000 yuan in payments via Alipay. The intelligence limit was 200,000 yuan, leaving a 160,000 yuan gap. During a break, he borrowed 160,000 yuan on Alipay to reach the 200,000 mark.

"Does borrowing from Xu Li count as 'sharing'?"

"Forget it, better not take the risk. If that counts as sharing and the subsidy is canceled, I'd waste the chance to shear Old Ma."

Jiang Tao spent the day pondering the intelligence rules. The system stated that sharing with anyone in any way would invalidate the intelligence. The two "any"s covered a lot of ground. Jiang Tao decided to keep his mouth shut. That was the safest bet.

After selling two more boxes of oranges, the time finally hit 14:30!

"Sir..."

"Pick whichever one you like. There's a payment code there, exactly 100 yuan per box! That's the lowest price."

Jiang Tao couldn't be bothered with customers anymore. He quickly dismissed one and pulled up Xu Li's contact interface. He clicked transfer and entered 200,000.

Sure enough! Below the 200,000 transfer amount appeared a bright red, eye-catching "-40,000!"

"It actually works!"

Jiang Tao swallowed hard in excitement and quickly completed the transfer. After sending 200,000 yuan from his balance, he was left with over 40,000 yuan. These 40,000 yuan were the wool he had successfully sheared from Old Ma! In less than a minute, just by tapping his fingers, he had earned 40,000 yuan.

"What is going on? Could this be some kind of bug in Alipay?"

"Will this money be clawed back?"

After successfully receiving the 40,000 yuan discount on the 200,000 transfer, Jiang Tao wasn't as excited as he thought he would be; instead, he began to worry. The method of the subsidy felt too absurd.

"Huh? Why did it suddenly drop by 20 yuan?" a customer who just paid Jiang Tao asked in surprise, noticing they had only paid 80 yuan.