He parked the Mercedes GLS next to the cargo truck he used to drive.
Pushing open the door and getting out, Jiang Tao stood in front of the two vehicles.
Looking at his former "comrade in arms" and his current "ride," he couldnât help but feel moved.
In less than two months, he went from being a small delivery truck driver with seventy or eighty thousand in debt to a millionaire driving an upscale Benz.
Everything that happened felt just like a dream!
But, all of it was realâabsolutely not a dream.
And definitely not, as the netizens joked, some "loserâs dying fantasy."
"From now on, things will only get better! Work hardâfight for it!"
Giving himself a boost, Jiang Tao spun around and strode confidently toward Old LĂŒâs apartment block.
After a round of hustle, Jiang Tao and his parents hauled all the ingredients they bought today to the upstairs room.
"This place is way too small, and the conditions suck."
"Mom, Dadâthis afternoon can you go to the market again and rent a stall?"
"From now on, weâll prep and pickle everything right thereâno more running back and forth."
After moving all the ingredients, Jiang Tao shut the door and couldnât help but sigh.
Any problem he could solve with money simply wasnât a problem for him anymore.
"Alright, your mom and I will listen to youâwhatever you say, weâll do."
Jiang Wen nodded, faithfully following Jiang Taoâs plan with zero objections.
"Now, itâs finally time to witness a miracle."
Jiang Tao grinned, walked over in a few steps to where the sat against the wall.
Jiang Wen and Tian Xiaomeiâs eyes followed their son, finally landing on that pickle jar.
Honestly, the two of them were even more curious than Jiang Tao to find out what was so special about pickles made from the secret recipeâhow good would it taste?
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Tao started peeling off the cling film covering the .
A rich, indescribably savory aroma blasted him straight in the face.
The sourness of vinegar, the umami of soy sauce, the sweetness of sugar, the salty notesâall melding together.
Mixed in were the sharpness of garlic, the zing of ginger, and the spicy fragrance from the spice packâthings like Sichuan peppercorns and star anise.
The overall scent was robust and mellow, lingering long afterâjust the smell was enough to make your mouth water.
"Wait... so these are the Eight Treasure Pickles we pickled? That smells way too good!"
"Just the aroma alone beats the stuff sold in the shops by a country mile!"
"This secret recipeâs insaneâif just the smellâs this mouthwatering, the taste canât be bad either!"
Jiang Wen and Tian Xiaomei were instantly entranced by the fragrance of the Eight Treasure Pickles in the jar.
Their confidence in their own product grew a hundredfold!
"Mom, Dadâcome over and have a taste, see how it turned out."
Jiang Tao ripped open a pair of disposable chopsticks, grabbed some Eight Treasure Pickles from the to share with his parents.
Crunch crunch crunchââ
The three of them, each with a pair of chopsticks, started sampling their own homemade Eight Treasure Picklesâno one said a word as they ate.
"Deliciousâthese Eight Treasure Pickles are just too good!"
"This is the tastiest Eight Treasure Pickles Iâve ever had! Thereâs no way these wonât sell!"
After tasting the pickles for themselves, both parents broke into huge, excited smiles.
Rarely did people describe Eight Treasure Pickles as "a feast for the senses."
But Jiang Taoâs batch absolutely nailed all threeâlook, smell, and taste.
Smells amazing. Tastes even crunchierâeven more fragrant!
One bite just makes you want another!
"Crunch crunch crunch..."
Jiang Tao chewed on his pickles, eyes narrowed, savoring every note.
The unique flavor and texture caught even him by surprise once they soaked up all the seasoning.
Initially, Jiang Tao thought renting a shop and pricing them at double the market rate already showed how much he valued his Eight Treasure Pickles.
But now, after tasting those made with the secret system recipe and the added boost from the â
Jiang Tao realized heâd underestimated their true value by a ridiculous margin!
Too cautiousâhe was being way too cautious!
With this texture and flavor, they could easily go head to head with Beijing Liubijuâs century-old Eight Treasure Pickles!
In the past few days, Jiang Tao had been digging around online for info about Eight Treasure Pickles.
At Beijing Liubijuâs Qianmen flagship store, loose Eight Treasure Pickles go for ninety yuan per jin!
Liubijuâs pickles were priced at triple Jiang Taoâs initial estimate of thirty yuan a jin!
If he priced them to match Liubijuâs Eight Treasure Picklesâ
The could churn out about five hundred jin of pickles per batchâthatâs forty-five thousand yuan for one jar!
Pickling one full jar, from prepping ingredients to finishing the batch, took maybe two days tops.
Fifteen jars in a month was totally doableâwithout breaking a sweat!
One jar brings in forty-five thousand, fifteen jars is over six hundred seventy thousand!
At first, Jiang Tao thought making a monthly profit of a hundred grand would already be decent.
Turns out, pulling in six hundred grand a month wasnât even pushing it!
Finishing his mouthful of pickles, Jiang Tao already had a new plan forming.
With the strength to take on Liubiju head-to-headâwhy not?
Left hand holding Brother Tongziâs optimized recipe, right hand clutching the â
Got both jokers in my hand, but not even daring to challenge Liubiju head-on? That would be way too timid!
If I donât even have that much ambition, whatâs the point of doing business? Might as well go home and raise pigs!
Of course, before aiming for Liubijuâs level, Jiang Tao had one super important thing left to do.
Before, not knowing how good these pickles were, he hadnât cared much about branding and such.
But now, after truly understanding the value in Brother Tongziâs Eight Treasure Pickle secret recipeâ
Jiang Tao felt it was absolutely necessary to set up a company and register a matching brand trademark!
If youâre just fooling around, whatever. But if growth is the goal, you gotta do things right from day one.