Daily Intelligence System: Financial Independence

Chapter 609 - 290: Fulfilling Decades of Parental Dreams

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—

At 6:30 in the morning, Tian Xiaomei was stir-frying a portion of shredded potatoes in the kitchen.

She was also pondering over the matter her son mentioned a couple of days ago, about partnering with friends to open a restaurant.

Opening a restaurant was something she and her husband Jiang Wen had dreamed of for decades but never realized.

Back when they first got married, they wanted to open a small family restaurant.

But at that time, Jiang Tao’s grandparents had no savings and couldn’t help.

The couple was unwilling to borrow money, so they went out to work to earn a living.

Just as they saved enough money to open a restaurant, Tian Xiaomei became pregnant with their eldest, Jiang He, and the restaurant plan had to be postponed.

They figured they would open it once their eldest entered kindergarten at two or three years old.

But then they had their second child, and then the third...

Finally, when their third child, Jiang Bing, also entered kindergarten, Jiang Tao’s grandparents both fell ill and passed away.

Jiang Wen, being an only child, had no siblings to help him.

Paying for his parents’ medical expenses and funeral not only drained all family savings but also incurred considerable debt.

By the time they paid off the debts, their old house was so run-down and dilapidated it was practically unlivable.

So, they tore down the old house and began to build a new one.

As a result, they were once again heavily in debt.

By the time the house construction debts were cleared, Jiang He, Jiang Tao, and Jiang Bing were gradually entering junior high and high school, the most financially demanding age.

The couple was repaying debts while supporting three children through school.

Despite working tirelessly from the start to the end of each year, they barely earned anything.

Whenever the New Year approached, Jiang Wen and his wife would fret over buying new clothes for the kids.

Other families slaughtered pigs for the holiday; Jiang Wen and his wife could at most buy thirty pounds of meat.

They scrimped on firecrackers, buying only a few.

Finally, they managed to get all three children through school, build a house for their eldest Jiang He, and help him marry.

After the eldest married, the second followed suit.

Jiang Wen and Tian Xiaomei spent over forty years mired in this cycle of earning, borrowing, and repaying.

Never wealthy, never having savings over 100,000 yuan in their entire lives.

Their dream of opening a restaurant was shattered again and again.

Faced with the choice between making ends meet and pursuing dreams, they bowed to the necessity of earning just to survive.

At least working was a stable choice; you earned for every day you labored.

The biggest risk was the boss running away with the funds.

Jiang Wen and Tian Xiaomei preferred stability, even if it meant earning less, they only worked for people they knew.

That way, they didn’t have to worry about bosses disappearing.

Opening a restaurant meant incurring costs for rent, equipment, and materials.

Whether it could succeed was entirely uncertain.

Every year, many new restaurants opened, and just as many closed down.

Who could guarantee their business would be prosperous?

And not the one forced to close due to poor sales?

Jiang Wen and Tian Xiaomei spent most of their lives in poverty, cautious at every step.

They lacked the ability to resist any risks.

So, while they dreamed of opening a restaurant, it remained a topic for idle conversation.

Never acted upon, with no chance to do so.

Their mundane and busy lives epitomized the reality for most ordinary people.

Working was the main theme for a lifetime for the average person.

Running a business, even a small store, was exceptional.

The elderly couple never imagined that in their old age, they’d see such blessed days.

They worked at Jiang’s Food Factory, where Jiang Tao arranged social security for them in Beijing.

After deducting the stipulations, the couple received over 30,000 yuan monthly!

Their daily work was simple: formulating the secret recipe for the Eight Treasure Pickles.

The workload was such that they could finish in about an hour, leaving the rest of the time to themselves.

Life now was something they couldn’t have dreamed of before.

But having worked tirelessly all their lives, when given leisure, they found it hard to adjust.

After mixing the recipe at the factory, the couple would go to the workshop, joining ordinary workers in labor.

Both Jiang Tao and Jiang Bing advised them to take it easy and rest more, but it didn’t help.

Though they earned well and had leisure at the factory, they didn’t really enjoy it.

Deep down, the couple still wanted to open a restaurant.

Opening a restaurant had become their obsession.

Upon hearing Jiang Tao talk about partnering to start a restaurant a few days ago, the couple’s long-faded hopes suddenly reignited.

But...

They hadn’t yet figured out how to tell Jiang Tao.

Crunch—

The shredded potatoes were fried to a slight golden brown, and Tian Xiaomei turned off the gas stove, skillfully using a spoon to scoop the potatoes onto a plate.

"Mom, you’ve worked hard. Let me take it." Xu Li entered the kitchen, smiling, and spoke to her mother-in-law, taking the plate toward the dining room.

"Is Xiao Tao up yet? You spoil him, he’s in his thirties, yet sleeps in every day, even later than Xiao Xue." Tian Xiaomei said with a laugh while removing her apron.

Of course, she was just speaking offhandedly.

Seeing her daughter-in-law treating her son so well, with harmony in their marriage, she couldn’t be happier.