With this proportion, if she exchanged all her over 40,000 points for supplies and sold them, she would get about 100,000 yuan in cash.
Decades later, 100,000 yuan might not seem like much.
But in an era where having ten thousand yuan made you a top-tier existence, one hundred thousand yuan was enough to dazzle everyone.
However, Su Xiaotian was not short-sighted.
She deeply understood that selling supplies was not cost-effective; the best way to get rich was to open a restaurant.
Su Xiaotian opened the system mall panel and carefully examined each item.
"These are all top-notch items! Once our restaurant opens, we're definitely on the path to getting rich."
Su Xiaotian murmured to herself, her eyes shining with starlight.
She lay on the bed, thinking about how to bring this up with her grandparents.
Would they think her idea of opening a restaurant was a wild fantasy?
Unbeknownst to Su Xiaotian, Grandfather Su and Grandmother Su were also discussing this matter at that very moment.
More than half of the Su family were now in the capital. The elderly couple felt it was improper to keep imposing on Du Tonghe's family.
With over a dozen people, they needed their own place to call home; this was Grandmother Su's deeply ingrained belief.
"Old man, what do you think about us buying our own house?"
Grandmother Su had been contemplating this since arriving in the capital.
After seeing the Siheyuan at the Du family's house, she had fallen deeply in love with such residences.
A Siheyuan like the Du family's was truly excellent – spacious, well-laid out, with many rooms, even better than their old house in Hongxin Brigade.
"What kind of house do you want to buy?" Grandfather Su asked casually.
He hadn't been idle these past few days; he had inquired about many things.
First, the price of gold. The bank's purchase price was thirty yuan per gram.
When the elderly couple arrived, they brought two gold bars.
These two gold bars weighed a total of four liang, which would convert to six thousand yuan.
In addition, they had brought two pieces of jewelry. The bank did not accept these, so they would have to find other ways to sell them.
Therefore, Grandfather Su temporarily set aside the idea of selling the jewelry and planned to sell the gold first.
"I like houses like the Du family's. I wonder how much such a house would cost." Grandmother Su's heart yearned for it.
Grandfather Su was clearly taken aback by her words.
He glared at Grandmother Su, looking at her in disbelief.
This old woman truly dared to dream! Did she think this was like buying a house in the county town?
With their family's meager savings, they dared to think about buying a Siheyuan?
"Why are you glaring at me? Don't I think this house is just like our house in Hongxin Brigade?"
She truly loved large houses with courtyards.
She heard that people in the city were now fond of living in apartment buildings, but she disliked them entirely.
They were so cramped, with no space for growing vegetables.
Moreover, a large courtyard like this, with many rooms, would allow the entire family to live together if the sons came to visit in the future.
"You truly dare to dream."
Grandfather Su said this lightly.
"Isn't what we sold enough?" Grandmother Su asked in a low voice.
Grandfather Su shook his head.
"Not enough. I've inquired. The bank doesn't accept jewelry; we need to find other channels. Those two pieces are four liang in total, which can be exchanged for six thousand yuan."
Upon hearing that the two gold bars were not enough to buy this courtyard, Grandmother Su stared at Grandfather Su in disbelief.
"Old man, is this house that valuable?"
The courtyard in the county town had only cost a few hundred yuan!
This courtyard was a bit larger than that one; it should be around one or two thousand, right?
"This is the capital, the emperor's feet, the imperial city. Let alone a house like the Du family's, even a smaller one wouldn't be secured for less than ten thousand yuan."
This was also something Grandfather Su had learned from chatting with people these past few days.
Hearing this, Grandmother Su dared not speak.
Ten thousand yuan, my goodness, it was truly an astronomical figure.
Their entire family might not earn that much in a lifetime.
Spending ten thousand yuan to buy a courtyard, she wasn't foolish!
After a long pause, Grandmother Su said, "Then let's forget it! We can rent a shop and open a breakfast stall."
At night, they could push the tables together to use as beds, which would save money.
Grandfather Su glanced at the enthusiastic Grandmother Su and finally spoke to dampen her spirits.
"I estimate that renting a shop will be difficult."
If they hadn't come to the capital, they wouldn't have known how poor they truly were.
"Don't we have six thousand?" Grandmother Su asked.
Why couldn't six thousand yuan rent a shop?
"We have this whole family. If we rent, we can't just rent one shop; we'd have to rent one with a courtyard," Grandfather Su said.
Indeed, the two elders could use tables as beds, but what about so many children?
"Then let's rent one with a courtyard. It's just renting, not buying," Grandmother Su said.
"I heard that courtyards with shop fronts are very expensive. Moreover, you have to pay a year's rent and a deposit upfront."
"If it's just expensive, that's fine, but they are also very hard to find. We're unfamiliar with the place, so finding such a shop is too difficult."
As Grandfather Su said this, his mood was also heavy. He had initially thought things were simpler.
He had originally thought that with two gold bars, they could live comfortably in the capital, no matter what.
Now he realized it wasn't easy!
Grandmother Su fell silent.
The old lady suddenly regretted whether they should have come to the capital.
Why was living in the capital so difficult?
If they couldn't afford to buy a house, they couldn't even afford to rent a shop.
Did they have to set up stalls on the street?
She didn't fear waking up early and working late, but setting up stalls was indeed hard work.
"Don't worry about this matter. We've just arrived; we need to adapt first."
Grandfather Su saw Grandmother Su's dejection and comforted her.
"Let me be sad for a while!"
Grandmother Su was indeed very dejected. She had never expected that after coming to the capital with such enthusiasm, without doing anything, she would discover that their family was truly penniless.
Grandmother Su had always been someone who could quickly adjust her mindset and revive with full strength.
However, after more than ten minutes, Grandmother Su smiled.
"Let's rent a small courtyard to live in. I'll push a cart out every morning to sell breakfast. As long as the breakfast sells well, after a while, we might be able to buy our own house."
Grandfather Su did not expect Grandmother Su to figure it out so quickly.
"Old woman, this will be hard on you!" Grandfather Su said with concern.
The old woman had followed him for decades and had never enjoyed any comfort. Now, in her old age, she still had to go out to earn money.
"What's so hard about it? Is it harder than digging for food in the fields?" Grandmother Su said with a calm demeanor.
Selling breakfast from a stall, although hard work, only took a few hours each day. Compared to working in the fields under the scorching sun, it was much better.
Early the next morning, Grandfather Su told Chen Zi'an that they planned to rent a small courtyard to live in.
Du Tonghe absolutely refused.
He repeatedly said that with so much space in their house, how could they not fit their entire family?
Grandfather Su smiled and said, "We know your intentions, but it's not right for our whole family to live here; we feel embarrassed."
"It's not our whole family. The elder sons are in college and usually don't come back. If the younger ones get into the Seventh Middle School, they'll have to live at school too," Du Tonghe said.
Grandfather Su and Grandmother Su clearly did not expect that the younger children would also have to live at school.
The two of them were stunned.
Since the children were all going to live at school, what was the point of them coming to the capital?
The two looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Liang Xiu was also stunned. She had never expected that the children would all have to live at school.
"Dad, Mom, why don't we go back?" Liang Xiu tentatively asked.
Their original intention was to take care of the children, but now that the children were all going to live at school, there was no point in them staying.
"Third sister-in-law, didn't you quit your job? What's the point of going back now?" Su Manxiu asked.
Liang Xiu also regretted it. If she had known this, she would have asked for a few days off, and then she would have had a fallback.
But she had directly given her position to a relative of Director Li and even accepted a transfer fee of two hundred yuan.
She lost the big picture for the sake of the small!
However, it was too late to regret it now!
"Liang Xiu, even though Xiaotian and the others will live at school, they will still come home on weekends," Yu Ruiyuan said, holding Liang Xiu's hand.
Grandmother Su's face lit up with a smile. "That's right! We forgot about such an important matter. They still come home on weekends. We must stay in the capital, and we still need to rent a house."
This was the good thing about the old lady; she could always make up her mind quickly and make the most beneficial decision.
Yu Ruiyuan quickly said, "We must stay, but don't rent a house. Just live in our home. Please don't be polite; our two families are like one family."
Just as Grandmother Su was about to say something, Du Tonghe spoke again.
"When we two were in Hongxin Brigade, your family took care of us for several years. Now that we are repaying you, how can you not even give us this opportunity to repay your kindness?"
Grandfather Su and Grandmother Su fell silent.
"Grandpa Du, my grandparents definitely want to do something in the capital. We can't just live here for free and waste time," Su Xiaotian said with a smile.
Grandfather Su and Grandmother Su immediately smiled.
Grandmother Su said happily, "My darling is the one who understands me best! Of course, I plan to start setting up a breakfast stall in a couple of days."
This statement made Su Xiaotian freeze. It was not what she had expected.
Why would Grandma want to set up a stall?
"Grandma, why set up a stall? Isn't it better to open a restaurant?"
After asking this, Su Xiaotian suddenly understood.
The family had no money. The money in her grandparents' hands, altogether, was only a few hundred yuan.
Opening a restaurant, no matter how simple, would cost several thousand yuan.
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Grandfather Su's face, and he gave Su Xiaotian a reproachful look.
This child, who had seemed quite intelligent before, why was she suddenly acting foolish?
But he could only reply, "It's just that we haven't found a suitable shop. Your Grandma and I were thinking of setting up stalls first and then slowly looking for a suitable shop."
This was originally a dismissive remark, but it was heard differently by Du Tonghe.
Du Tonghe burst into laughter. After laughing, he said, "That's where you're wrong."
Grandfather Su did not understand Du Tonghe's meaning.
"You've just arrived; how long will it take you to find a shop by relying on your own inquiries?"
Du Tonghe clearly believed Grandfather Su's explanation and thought that the Su family was just unable to find a suitable shop.
Grandfather Su quickly said, "There's no rush for this matter. We'll try setting up stalls first!"
Du Tonghe laughed, "How can that be the same? You should listen to me on this matter; it's not wrong."
"Yes, our family ancestors were also merchants, and Old Du was a skilled businessman in his youth!" Yu Ruiyuan also chimed in to persuade them.
At this point, Grandfather Su and Grandmother Su had nothing more to say.
"We'll go see shops this afternoon and guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Du Tonghe said this without explicitly mentioning that he owned several properties, including shop fronts and residences, and quite a few of them.
He estimated that if he said the shops were his, the Su family would surely refuse.
Yu Ruiyuan did not understand why Du Tonghe did not directly say that the shops were their family's, allowing the Su family to choose freely.
But she understood Du Tonghe; there must be a reason for him to say it this way.
Grandfather Su hesitated for a moment before asking, "Old Du, can you help us find a suitable shop to open a restaurant?"
"Of course. In the capital, there's nowhere I don't know," Du Tonghe said with great confidence, almost patting his chest to guarantee it.
As expected, after lunch, Du Tonghe busied himself taking the Su family to look at shops.
Chen Zi'an had something to do, so except for the Su family's male children who stayed behind to study, everyone else followed to look at shops.
Su Xiaotian attached great importance to this shop, so she said she had already finished her studies and wanted to go along.
Everyone knew that Su Xiaotian was the smartest and studied the best, so they let her go along.
"This shop belongs to an old friend of mine. He's gone back to his hometown for a while and asked me to help him look for a suitable tenant. It just so happens that you're looking for a shop. Isn't this a coincidence?"
The shop they were looking at was a two-story establishment, not very large, with a total area of about 140 to 150 square meters across both floors.
However, the location was excellent, with a lot of foot traffic around. Su Xiaotian felt that opening a restaurant here would indeed be good.
However, houses in such a location should not have very cheap rent.
She wondered how much money her grandparents had.
She had money, but how to take it out to subsidize her grandparents was a problem.
Su Xiaotian even considered secretly telling Grandpa Du to charge less rent, and she would make up the difference.
But then she thought that doing so was not appropriate.
Grandpa Du did not know that she could make money. It would be better to give the money directly to Grandma.
After all, over the years, Grandma had firmly believed that she was a child favored by heaven.
She also believed that the Dragon King would indeed send her money and goods at the right time.
Although private kitchens like Ding family's kitchen received few customers daily, they earned a lot, but that was because they had the reputation of having imperial chefs' descendants to support them.
Grandmother Su's cooking skills were good, but as an unknown grassroots person, she still needed to find a shop in a prosperous area to attract customers.
"A house like this, the rent shouldn't be cheap, right?" Grandfather Su looked at this two-story building; he was indeed very satisfied.
The first floor could be used as a restaurant, and the second floor could be used for living, which suited their family's current situation.
But if the rent was too expensive, they might lose money.
They were people from a small place. Although Grandma's cooking skills were good, this was the capital!
In the capital, at the emperor's feet, what good things hadn't people seen? Could they eat food from a small place?
If the restaurant opened and no one came, the initial investment would be lost, which would be a huge loss.
Their Su family had a thin foundation; they couldn't afford to lose!
"Not expensive, not expensive. This two-story building, with both floors combined, the monthly rent is only forty yuan!"
Du Tonghe stated the price after considering it.
He had originally wanted to say ten yuan, but he was afraid that Grandfather Su and Grandmother Su would not believe him.
Although these two came from the countryside, they were not foolish. If the price was too low, it would easily be discovered.
But Du Tonghe did not know that even though he had considered this, a monthly rent of forty yuan still aroused suspicion from Grandfather Su and Grandmother Su.
The elderly couple exchanged glances and shook their heads slightly in doubt, indicating disbelief.
"Old Du, how is that possible? Even in our small county town, it costs twenty to thirty!"
Grandfather Su looked at Du Tonghe doubtfully, wondering if Old Du had remembered the price incorrectly.
Or perhaps Old Du had been away from the capital for years and didn't know that rents had increased?
Du Tonghe was startled, but he showed no outward reaction and spoke with a serious expression.
"That's right, it's this price. My old friend said so when he left."
Du Tonghe said this with a firm tone, looking as if he were not lying at all.
Hmph, the house was originally his. It was fine to charge forty yuan a month, or even not charge any rent.
Grandfather Su was still somewhat suspicious, but seeing Du Tonghe speak so solemnly, he began to believe him with some doubt.
"I heard it clearly too; it's forty yuan a month!" Yu Ruiyuan now understood her husband's intentions and said with a smile.
"At that time, Old Wang also said that he didn't know when he would return, so if it could be rented out, he would rent it out to earn some money. If not, it could just sit there, as he wasn't lacking this rent!"
"The biggest advantage here is that it's close to the Seventh Middle School, making it convenient for the children to come home."
Yu Ruiyuan's words made Du Tonghe want to give her a thumbs-up.
He hadn't even had time to express his thoughts; he had actually been worried that Yu Ruiyuan wouldn't understand and would say the wrong thing.
Who knew that Yu Ruiyuan's words would hit the mark with Grandfather Su and Grandmother Su?
The couple exchanged glances, their faces full of smiles.
Su Xiaotian happened to see this scene, and she frowned in thought.
Was there really such a coincidence?
It was too coincidental, wasn't it?
Du Tonghe had not been back in the capital for long, so how could someone have entrusted him with this task?
Suddenly, Su Xiaotian thought of a possibility, but she did not voice it at the moment.
She glanced at Du Tonghe, who seemed as familiar with the shop as if it were his own, and her suspicion grew stronger.
Never mind, she would talk about it when they got back tonight.
Liang Xiu also felt that the rent for this shop was too low and couldn't help but suspect if there was any problem.
But after carefully examining it, she found no issues. Coupled with Du Tonghe and his wife saying it was an old friend's house, she felt relieved.
"Uncle Du, how many months' rent do we have to pay for this shop at once?"
"One month at a time is fine. It's due before the tenth of each month," Du Tonghe said, not daring to be careless this time.
These people from the Su family were extremely clever. If they were careless again and were found out, it would be difficult to explain.
Liang Xiu was still surprised to hear Du Tonghe say this, "But I heard that you have to pay for at least six months, and many require a year!"
"For people I don't know, aren't they afraid of problems? I know who you are; can you run away?" Du Tonghe said as if it were a matter of course.
Su Xiaotian stepped forward, affectionately hugged Du Tonghe's arm, and said with a smile, "Grandpa, thank you! Without your matchmaking, where would we find such a good shop!"
Dry Grandpa was planning to repay their kindness.
If they didn't agree, she didn't know how many more ways Dry Grandpa would think of to persuade Grandpa to agree.
Du Tonghe indeed laughed, "Xiaotian is right; this is fate!"
The matter was settled that day.
With Su Xiaotian's help in advocating, Grandfather Su, Grandmother Su, and Liang Xiu all believed it.
When they returned to their room to rest that night, Du Tonghe and his wife talked about it and couldn't help but laugh.
They had discussed this small building earlier and planned to give it to the Su family as a way to repay their kindness over the years in Hongxin Brigade.
At that time, they had also thought that with the rent from this small building, the Su family could live more comfortably in the capital.
They hadn't expected that the Su family would decide to open a shop before they could even give it to them.
Therefore, he decided to let the Su family use the small building on a rental basis, and after they made money, they would collect a small amount of money and sell the shop to the Su family.
"This child Xiaotian must have seen through it!" Yu Ruiyuan said with a smile.
"Even if she saw through it, it's fine. Didn't this child persuade her grandparents to accept it?"
She saw through it, and she accepted their kindness. This child was finally getting closer to them.
"Old man, what do you think we should prepare as a gift for Xiaotian? Xiaotian has been here for some time, and we haven't given her a gift yet!"
Yu Ruiyuan felt a bit embarrassed that after acknowledging a granddaughter, they hadn't given her anything.
They wished they could give Su Xiaotian the best of everything, but they understood Su Xiaotian's personality, and she probably wouldn't accept it.
"There's no rush for this matter. I've thought about it; I'll give her that Siheyuan on East Street."
Yu Ruiyuan smiled, "This child probably won't accept it."
"We don't need to tell her specifically. The child needs to study, and registration is the day after tomorrow. We'll have all the household registration documents with us then, and it will be a good opportunity to transfer the ownership," Du Tonghe had already planned.
Thus, the Siheyuan that Su Xiaotian had been longing to buy, without her knowledge, was now hers.
[Author's Note]
Babies, today's update is finished. Don't forget your votes!