"Second Brother." Tang Mingli abruptly stood up, glaring at Tang Zhengde, "I treat you as my second brother, but do you really see me as your younger brother?"
"Even the villagers around here borrowing money from one another doesn’t involve mortgaging houses. Why, in Second Brother’s heart, am I such a person?" Tang Mingli’s expression was clearly displeased.
In his heart, his eldest brother was like a father, their father passed away early, and it was their mother who raised the brothers.
"It’s not like that." Seeing Tang Mingli becoming agitated, Tang Zhengde didn’t say much else, only adding, "Alright, alright, I won’t talk about the house anymore, but Mingli, I will definitely pay you back as soon as possible."
"That’s more like it." Tang Mingli then sat back down and reminded, "Right, Second Brother, make sure you don’t tell anyone you borrowed the money from me, otherwise, it would be difficult to explain to our eldest brother and even mother might get upset."
"Okay." Tang Zhengde thought deeply for a moment and then understood Tang Mingli’s point.
Tang Mingli and Tang Zhengyuan had never seen eye to eye. Previously, due to Tang Mingli not being in a relationship with the elder brother’s sister-in-law, the brothers had a big fight over it.
Now that Tang Zhengyuan was injured, it was already quite generous of Tang Mingli to provide the money.
That very night, brothers Tang Mingli and Tang Zhengde began to discuss the shop’s renovation, how many bowls to buy and how many pots, even discussing the pricing and cost of these breakfast and meal services.
They continued discussing until eleven or twelve at night before the brothers went to sleep.
The next day, early in the morning, Tang Yue came over from school. Hearing that Tang Zhengde agreed to rent the storefront, she was immediately delighted and said, "Dad, this is really great! This is the money Uncle gave me, I’ve saved it all without spending any, it can be put to good use."
Tang Yue took out all of the US$ 100 she had saved, giving all of it to Tang Zhengde except for her pocket money, she said, "Dad, I know it’s not much, but it should be enough to buy a table or add some items."
"Xiao Yue, this is not a small amount at all, US$ 100 is quite substantial, how could your uncle give you so much money?" Before Tang Zhengde could finish speaking, Tang Yue interrupted, "Dad, every time he gets supplies, uncle gives me a little spending money, it accumulated over time, Dad, I’m also a part of this family."
Tang Yue flashed a sweet smile.
Tang Zhengde didn’t argue further, with the money brought by Tang Yue and the rent borrowed from Tang Mingli, opening a breakfast shop seemed entirely feasible.
Tang Yue first used the address left by Zhang Tingyu to find Zhang Tingyu. She met Mrs. Zhang, who maintained herself well, appeared youthful, was also quite stylish, wearing quite fashionable clothes. Though slightly old-fashioned compared to future trends, it was still quite commendable for the time.
"Hello Aunt Zhang, I’m Tang Yue, I’m here to see Zhang Tingyu." Tang Yue greeted with a light, refreshing smile, her demeanor neither influenced by the fact that they lived in a two-story house nor showing any different expressions, impressing Mrs. Zhang with her natural grace.
"Tingyu, your classmate is here." Mrs. Zhang warmly invited her in.
Zhang Tingyu already popped her head out from upstairs, happily saying, "Xiao Yue, wait a moment."
Soon after, Zhang Tingyu came downstairs in a change of clothes, joyfully holding Tang Yue’s hand and asked, "Xiao Yue, are you here to rent the store?"
"Yes." Tang Yue briefly explained her purpose, then added, "My dad and uncle are there waiting, do you think Aunt Zhang has time now?"
"Yes." Mrs. Zhang was impressed by Tang Yue, who gave off a clean and pure vibe. Her daughter being friends with Tang Yue made Mrs. Zhang quite happy, not to mention Tang Yue also had good grades.
Twenty minutes later, Tang Zhengde and Tang Mingli started assessing the shop.
The storefront is roughly fifteen square meters and has a door at the back, leading to a courtyard. Beyond the courtyard, there’s an old bungalow with two rooms, a kitchen, and a storage warehouse.
The house has beds, a sofa, and wooden cabinets, so if they move in, they just need to bring their own quilts.
"This storefront used to be our storage space. We cleaned it up a while ago and thought if someone wanted to rent it, we’d rent it out," Mrs. Zhang explained, her price was higher than others, and so were her requirements.
Once the rental advertisement was released, many people came to rent, but Mrs. Zhang hadn’t found anyone she liked.
They had lived in this house for just over a year, but even so, Mrs. Zhang didn’t want the house to get ruined.
Tang Zhengde gave Mrs. Zhang US$ 95 and also got the keys to the house from her.
Tang Yue suggested drafting a rental agreement, such as securing the right to lease before others in the future; if they weren’t short on money, she really would have liked to rent for several years.
After Mrs. Zhang left, Tang Mingli went back to his stall, while Tang Zhengde and Tang Yue started to clean the house simply. Even though Mrs. Zhang cleaned the house occasionally, it still needed a thorough cleaning for someone to live in.
"Dad, you’ve also got the keys; you should go back early today. Come to the county with mom tomorrow, oh and Dad, about the decoration of the storefront, I have some ideas, please don’t rush to hire decorators just yet."
Tang Yue reminded him.
"Alright." Tang Zhengde was in good spirits, but a little nervous, while also feeling hopeful about the future. From now on, this place would be their store, their temporary home.
In the future, as Tang Yue mentioned, they might even buy a house in Wangjiang County.
That afternoon, Tang Zhengde went back to the village and immediately resigned from his job at the forest farm.
The job at the forest farm was coveted by many, so when Tang Zhengde quit, the village head made a token effort to retain him but then let him go.
Granny Tang heard the news after dinner, and upon hearing it, she immediately became agitated and rushed next door.
"Zhengde, have we really rented a house? Are we going to start a business?" Zhang Hualian was shocked by the news brought by Tang Zhengde after dinner.
It felt like a dream to her.
It was only a weekend, how could they have already rented a storefront and were about to start a business.
"Yes, in the future, we can have Xiao Yue come home to stay every day," Tang Zhengde cheerfully said, although he had resigned from the forest farm and the villagers didn’t understand his actions, he felt a strong urge to do something big.
In the future, he would work hard to make breakfast food, then to cook well, and earn more money to provide a good life for Hualian and their two children.
While they were daydreaming about the future, Granny Tang stormed in angrily.