Setting Sail

The Bentley had to be picked up from a designated Bentley dealership in Magic City.

Although he wished he could get his hands on the car immediately, all he could do for now was force himself to rein in his excitement.

"It's only a few days. I can wait," Zhang Yang thought.

Now that he had a Bentley, the Porsche Cayenne didn't seem quite so appealing. But it didn't matter. He could keep it if he felt like it, or sell it or let his dad drive it.

After the excitement wore off, it was almost one in the morning. Zhang Yang hurried to bed and fell into a deep sleep while he still had time.

Early the next morning, the family of three headed out together to settle the matter of opening a restaurant.

On the outskirts of a newly completed residential complex in northeastern Yinghai City.

Zhang Yang drove the Porsche, taking his parents along, and parked outside a row of street-front shops.

"Son, what do you think of this place?" Zhang Zhaohai got out of the car and straightened his clothes.

Zhang Yang looked around. On the way there, he'd already seen several construction sites, with construction vehicles constantly coming and going. Even now, workers in hard hats could be spotted along the road, and little carts selling boxed meals and breakfast were dotted along the roadside.

"Dad, which shop did you look at ahead of time?" Zhang Yang asked, turning his gaze back to him.

"That one up ahead." Zhang Zhaohai pointed to an empty storefront.

"Your dad's been here to look it over a few times. He's absolutely delighted with it," Song Wenqin said with a smile. "He's already got a plan in mind for where to put the tables and how to set up the kitchen."

Zhang Yang and his parents took a look at the shop together.

The walls had been plastered, and the utilities were all in place. Once they brought in the kitchen equipment, set up the tables and chairs, and hung a sign over the entrance, they could open the little restaurant right away.

The landlord stood nearby. Seeing the brand-new Porsche Cayenne not far away, he didn't dare look down on them and enthusiastically showed them around.

The shop had two floors. They could put tables downstairs for walk-in customers, and set up a few private dining rooms upstairs for small groups.

There wasn't much else to inspect, and the rent was the going rate.

There was no reason to hesitate.

"Let's take it, Dad," Zhang Yang said, making the decision for Zhang Zhaohai.

There was nothing wrong with focusing on home-style stir-fries, and business here should be pretty good. After all, food, clothing, housing, and transportation were necessities for everyone.

There were so many people working at the construction sites nearby, and the shop was right next to a residential complex that had just begun handing over units. Its future potential was no small thing.

"Then we'll take it!" Zhang Zhaohai said decisively.

With his son backing him up, what was there to hesitate about?

Right there and then, Zhang Zhaohai signed a lease with the landlord, renting the shop for two years.

"We'll call it Haiqin Snack Bar." Zhang Zhaohai put an arm around his wife and named the shop after one character from each of their names. Though it was only a little eatery, his eyes were full of ambition.

"Later, you can call it Haiqin Restaurant. After that, it can become the Haiqin Grand Hotel," Zhang Yang added. "Eventually, you can skip straight to the end and call it the Haiqin Banquet Center, offering a one-stop service for wedding receptions."

"You've got quite a long-term vision, kid!" Zhang Zhaohai laughed, his heart full and his spirits soaring.

Song Wenqin couldn't help smiling, either.

Neither of them took Zhang Yang's words seriously. But from the oldest grandparents to the youngest children, who didn't have a dream? At least for now, the grand restaurant of their future had set sail in their hearts.

Zhang Yang watched his parents beaming with joy, a smile appearing on his own face.

When he was little, his parents had been the sky above him. Now, he finally had the means to help them fulfill a dream of their own.

Zhang Yang transferred five hundred thousand yuan to Zhang Zhaohai as start-up capital for the shop.

Of course, a little restaurant wouldn't need anywhere near that much. The rest was a gift from Zhang Yang to his parents, so they could spend it on food, clothing, and whatever else they needed without having to pinch every penny.

At noon, Zhang Yang took his parents to Haidilao.

The restaurant was packed at lunchtime.

The three of them sat at a table and ordered a clear-oil spicy broth and a tomato broth, along with a heap of sliced fatty lamb, beef tripe, duck intestines, chicken gizzards, and other hot pot ingredients.

Zhang Zhaohai sipped his sour plum drink as he watched the bustling Haidilao, and sighed. "To make it this far in the food business—you could say they've reached the pinnacle."

A server passing by noticed that Zhang Zhaohai had drunk more than half his sour plum drink and immediately stopped to top it up.

"Oh, thank you, thank you." Zhang Zhaohai felt almost too embarrassed to drink it too quickly. The Haidilao staff were so enthusiastic that he, a middle-aged man accustomed to doing things for himself, didn't quite know how to handle it.

Beside him, Song Wenqin dipped beef tripe into the broth, counting out the seconds under her breath.

Both of them were quick to adapt. When money was tight, they saved where they could. Even when they could afford more, they still avoided waste, but they wouldn't spend the whole hot pot meal fretting that they were squandering money.

That would be both old-fashioned and a real mood killer.

So sometimes, you just had to eat and drink and enjoy yourselves together as a family.

Every year during the May Day holiday, the family gathered at Grandma's house, and this year was no exception.

Besides their family, Song Wenqin's two older sisters and their families would be there. And, of course, her younger brother, Song Wenbo, and his family were never absent.

"Mom, Dad, once we finish eating, let's get you some new outfits," Zhang Yang said, setting down the tomato, celery, and beef soup that the young waitress had just made for him herself.

At every family gathering in the past, their family had been the most plainly dressed, while his uncle's family had been the most self-satisfied.

But today, it was their turn to shine, wasn't it?

It wasn't as if they were deliberately showing off. People only lived once, and sometimes life was about winning those little things. No one was immune.

"We're going to your grandma's. Isn't what I'm wearing good enough?" Song Wenqin asked, looking down at her outfit in surprise. She didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

She thought she was dressed quite appropriately.

"Why are you overthinking it?" Zhang Zhaohai said with a smile. "If our son wants to buy it, we'll wear it. What's so complicated?"

That afternoon, Zhang Yang took his parents around the mall.

His eye for style and ability to put outfits together were already on a whole different level. After spending over ten thousand yuan, his parents were transformed from head to toe, looking like a well-off couple.

Song Wenqin especially. She wore a bracelet worth over a hundred thousand yuan on her wrist.

Her whole bearing seemed to rise several notches.

Zhang Yang looked at Zhang Zhaohai's bare wrist and thought that for his dad's next birthday, he'd have to get him a nice watch.

As evening approached, the family prepared to head to Grandma's house.

Before getting in the car, Zhang Zhaohai especially took a pack of Sky Leaf with him, ready to hand some out.

"Dad, one cigarette might not satisfy Uncle," Zhang Yang said quietly to his father, watching his mother walk ahead.

"One won't satisfy him? Does he want a whole pack?" Zhang Zhaohai's eyes widened.

A pack cost over a thousand yuan. Was he crazy, handing an entire pack to Song Wenbo?