Chapter 6: Deal Sealed, Eight Thousand in Hand!

Jiang Tao did not hesitate and quickly walked toward the girl. As he got closer, he finally saw clearly—this girl was truly beautiful! Delicate features, fair and tender skin, tall and slender figure, and a good sense of style. She wore a white long down coat on top, paired with tight dark blue jeans and a pair of black combat boots. Even though it was the dead of winter and she was dressed warmly, her long legs still looked slim and graceful. Her outfit was simple yet very fashionable.

However, no matter how beautiful she was, she had nothing to do with him—he was already a married man in his middle years.

“Hello, are you He Jing?” Jiang Tao stopped in front of her, looking her straight in the eyes politely as he asked. At his age, he was past the stage of being tongue-tied by a pretty face.

“Yes, that’s me. Are you Mr. Jiang Tao?” He Jing had already noticed Jiang Tao approaching and greeted him with a bright, sweet voice.

“That’s right. I brought the watch with me; please take a look.” Jiang Tao didn’t waste time with small talk. He reached into the inner pocket of his down coat and handed over the small watch with the red strap.

“Okay, let me see...” He Jing extended a slender, graceful hand and took the watch from him. She first examined the dial carefully, turning it at different angles for quite a while. Then she flipped it over to inspect the numbers engraved on the back—model and production date. Finally, she checked the strap thoroughly.

Watching He Jing examine the watch, Jiang Tao felt like a schoolboy nervously awaiting a teacher’s grading, afraid she might find some flaw. If there was any defect and the deal fell through...

“No way! The intelligence system says this watch is worth over thirteen thousand; there won’t be any problem!” Jiang Tao pushed aside his anxious thoughts and patiently waited for her verdict.

“Mr. Jiang, this watch looks quite new and well preserved. Why are you selling it?” While inspecting, He Jing casually probed, clearly fond of the watch, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

“It was a Christmas gift for my girlfriend this year. We broke up, and she returned it to me, so I thought I’d sell it to recover some cash.” Jiang Tao had already prepared his answer on the way over; it flowed smoothly without a hitch.

“Do you have the purchase receipt?”

“I bought it with cash at the store and used the invoice for reimbursement.”

“Oh...” He Jing only asked a few tentative questions and didn’t press further.

She judged from his honest, straightforward demeanor that he wasn’t some petty thief or con artist. After thorough inspection without finding a single flaw, He Jing smiled at Jiang Tao and said, “The watch is in excellent condition, and the quality is solid. I’ll take it.”

“Pleasure doing business with you!” Jiang Tao’s face appeared calm, but his heart was bursting with excitement! Eight thousand yuan was about a month’s salary for him.

They didn’t linger; after briefly discussing maintenance and return policies, they added each other as contacts on WeChat.

“Oh? Mr. Jiang, you’re from Ping County too?” He Jing noticed the background image on Jiang Tao’s WeChat profile—a large stone engraved with the two bold red characters for “Ping County.”

She was pleasantly surprised.

Jiang Tao noticed she said “too” and asked, curious, “Miss He, are you from Ping County as well?”

“Yeah! Didn’t expect to meet a fellow townsman here!” The shared hometown immediately made He Jing feel closer to Jiang Tao and more at ease with the transaction.

“Well then, since we know each other now, don’t call me Miss He. Call me Xiao He, and I’ll call you Brother Jiang.”

“Alright, alright. If you ever need anything, just let me know,” Jiang Tao replied cheerfully, though inwardly wondering if this pretty girl was just trying to get friendly to bargain with him.

“No way, Brother Jiang! I just transferred the money!” He Jing wasn’t interested in haggling and promptly sent 8,000 yuan via WeChat.

“Got it.” Jiang Tao didn’t bother with formalities and confirmed receipt immediately.

“Okay, Brother Jiang, I’m meeting friends for shopping now, so I’ll head off.” After the deal was done, He Jing pointed toward the subway exit, signaling she was leaving.

“Alright, take care. I won’t see you off.”

“Bye, Brother Jiang,” she smiled, waved, and disappeared into the crowd streaming out of the subway gate.

“Made eight thousand yuan and met a lovely fellow townswoman. Not bad at all; this trip was worth it!” Jiang Tao glanced happily at the payment record on his phone and pocketed it.

He then flipped back into the subway station to transfer onto the train heading back to Zhuxinzhuang.

At 11 a.m., Jiang Tao exited the Zhuxinzhuang subway station. Outside, he waited about ten minutes before a bus bound for his rented home in Xiaoshahe Village arrived.

He reached Xiaoshahe just in time for noon.

Having earned 8,000 yuan from selling the watch, Jiang Tao treated himself to a slightly better lunch at a small local restaurant. He ordered two dishes—a chicken stew with mushrooms and spicy boiled pork slices—served with a large bowl of rice.

That meal was incredibly satisfying.

His truck was still being repaired at the auto shop and wouldn’t be ready until around four or five in the afternoon, so Jiang Tao decided not to work today.

After eating his fill, he headed straight home for a nap.

He slept soundly until after 4 p.m., when his phone, casually placed by his bedside, buzzed loudly and woke him.

Looking at the caller ID, it showed “SF Express.”

“Hello?”

“Yes, this is he.”

“Okay! Wait for me at the XX supermarket. I’m on my way!”

After a brief exchange, Jiang Tao hung up, quickly put on his coat, and rushed out.

Within five minutes, Jiang Tao arrived breathlessly at the entrance of the XX supermarket, where he had arranged to meet the courier.

Sure enough, a young man in SF Express uniform was waiting there.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Jiang Tao. You called earlier about a package for me.”

Jiang Tao greeted him with a smile.

“Hello, Mr. Jiang. Here’s your package. Please sign for it.”

The courier didn’t waste time and pulled a parcel out of his delivery van, handing it to Jiang Tao.

Jiang Tao took the package, signed his name on the receipt, and after thanking the courier, turned toward his rented block.

Back home, Jiang Tao eagerly tore open the parcel.

Just as expected!

Inside was the iPhone 15 he had scanned the night before.

Opening the box and seeing the actual phone, Jiang Tao felt relieved.

He powered it on to check, found nothing wrong, and carefully placed it back into the box.

At first, when he stumbled upon this phone, his initial thought was to sell it for cash.

However...

After finding a more valuable watch through the intelligence system, he changed his mind.

Giving this phone to his wife as a New Year’s gift seemed like a much better idea!