"Director Dong, hello!" Professor Huo, a seasoned individual, approached with great respect, despite knowing the person before him was a high-ranking official.
Dong Yuanzhong was an elder who had made significant contributions to the nation, having risked his life on the battlefield for the country. He was a figure worthy of respect and admiration.
Huo Sinian was thrilled to have the opportunity to meet him today.
"It's commendable that you can be a teacher at the university at such a young age. Please, sit down. We've been waiting for you all to arrive before we start the meal!" Dong Yuanzhong said in a kind tone.
"You children, we heard you'd be back soon, but you kept us waiting for so long."
Fan Shufang chimed in, following Dong Yuanzhong's words, her tone a mix of playful complaint and affection.
Although Dong Yuanzhong's tone was friendly, his status and position still imposed a certain pressure.
Fan Shufang, on the other hand, had an approachable demeanor that easily won people over.
The children of the Su family were not the type to sit around waiting for meals. They were already busy serving dishes and rice.
Liang Xiu, concerned for the children, quickly said, "You all sit down, I'll serve the food!"
"Mom, it's okay, we're making money, we're not tired!" Su Xiaotian replied with a smile.
Hearing Su Xiaotian's words, Dong Yuanzhong surprisingly joined the conversation.
"I can see you're making money. Come, tell your second grandfather, how much did you earn today!"
Dong Yuanzhong said with great interest.
Everyone was quite surprised. Why would Dong Yuanzhong know they were making money?
"I visited your Rongfa Business today."
Dong Yuanzhong's statement made everyone, including Su Xiaotian, even more astonished.
Director Dong had visited their shop?
How come none of them saw him?
"Your second grandfather and I just went in for a quick look and retreated without going inside!" Fan Shufang said with a smile.
Fan Shufang sighed, "We originally intended to go in and take a look, but there were too many people inside, and the guards wouldn't let us in. So, we came here to wait for you."
The couple had a rare half-day off, but they couldn't even visit the newly opened shop and had to stay at Yiming Pavilion. It was quite frustrating.
However, what the guards said was also correct; it was for the director's safety, and their words made sense. The couple were not unreasonable people.
Perhaps seeing that no one was speaking about their day's earnings, Dong Yuanzhong's smile grew even brighter.
It wasn't that he wanted to pry into the children's secrets, but rather that for the country to develop, economic growth could not lag behind. While one business might not tell the whole story, it could be indicative of larger trends.
After visiting Rongfa Business today, he learned from chatting with Grandma Su and others at Yiming Pavilion that these children were so adept at making money, far more capable than he was!
It seemed that indeed, each generation surpasses the last, and the young people of this generation were already beginning to shine.
The mealtime had long passed, and the customers at Yiming Pavilion had all left. Su Xiaotian had no intention of hiding anything from her family.
After all, besides Dong Yuanzhong and his wife, everyone else present was a participant.
And Dong Yuanzhong, though not a participant, was undoubtedly their patron.
"The gross profit today is five thousand nine hundred forty-two yuan and thirty-five cents."
As for the net profit, that involved trade secrets, and Su Xiaotian had no intention of revealing it just yet.
"You said how much? Xiaotian!"
Fan Shufang was incredibly shocked. She thought perhaps Xiaotian, being so young, had misspoken the numbers.
Five thousand nine hundred forty-two yuan and thirty-five cents. When the average worker's salary was around forty yuan a month, their daily income was this much?
If the daily turnover was this high, what about a month? A year?
She could hardly imagine!
"Yes, second grandmother, that's the number." Su Xiaotian replied with a smile.
Let alone Fan Shufang, even she herself had doubted if she had calculated it correctly when she first arrived at this figure.
"Good, well done! My children are all exceptional!" Dong Yuanzhong exclaimed, laughing heartily after a moment of surprise.
The bodyguard beside him: "..."
Director, are you sure these are really your family's children?
Dong Yuanzhong wasn't just happy for the children.
He was also happy for the country's development, seeing such progress in just a few years.
Such turnover would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.
Naturally, it was also unimaginable back then that private citizens could open a business.
Dong Yuanzhong was very pleased and ate a few more pieces of braised pork, which earned him a scolding from Fan Shufang.
"The venison your elder brothers sent was good, but it's all gone now. Can't I have a couple of pieces of braised pork to satisfy my craving?"
Dong Yuanzhong looked as if it were perfectly reasonable, finding so many excuses to eat a piece of braised pork.
Alas, going out was inconvenient, and even eating a piece of meat was not free!
"You can't eat any more meat tomorrow!" Fan Shufang said.
Her body had only just started to recover. How could she be so careless?
"Second grandmother, second grandfather's health has recovered well. Eating a few pieces of braised pork occasionally is fine."
Under Su Xiaotian's medicinal pills, Dong Yuanzhong was now very healthy.
As long as he didn't eat rich food every day, he would be fine and could definitely live a long life.
However, people's conditions were generally poor now, and even someone of Dong Yuanzhong's status could not guarantee eating meat every day.
Hearing Su Xiaotian's words, Fan Shufang was somewhat relieved.
She now had immense faith in Su Xiaotian's medical skills. If Xiaotian said it was okay to eat, then it was fine.
Thinking of this, Fan Shufang said, "Xiaotian, if anyone else in the compound wants you to diagnose them, would you go?"
Su Xiaotian was not a formal doctor, so such a request was indeed a bit unreasonable.
However, Su Xiaotian's abilities were truly great.
Su Xiaotian was momentarily speechless.
Anyone Fan Shufang would ask this question about was no ordinary person.
But she had no prior connection with those people, nor with the Dong family. Even if she did prescribe medicine, would others dare to take it?
If anything went wrong, could she bear the responsibility?
The atmosphere fell silent.
Not only Fan Shufang but even Dong Yuanzhong was looking at Su Xiaotian with anticipation.
"Second grandmother, I need to think about this," Su Xiaotian did not agree immediately. This was a matter of great importance and required careful consideration.
Fan Shufang was already very happy that Su Xiaotian didn't outright refuse.
As long as there was no refusal, there was still hope.
"He was an old comrade of your second grandfather's, with a life-and-death friendship. In the past two years, his old illness has recurred, and his health has deteriorated day by day!" Fan Shufang said with emotion.
The people of that generation had sacrificed so much for this country. Not to mention those who had passed away, how many of the living were in good health?
These words touched a chord of emotion within Su Xiaotian.
"They are willing to trust a child like me?"
This was Su Xiaotian's biggest concern.