Sixty percent of the shares? Do you even deserve them?

Hearing this, Grandpa’s eyes grew slightly moist. His hand, holding the tobacco pipe, trembled as he muttered "good" several times.

"Alright, we'll listen to you. The city it is, we'll go wherever you go."

Grandpa and Grandma began simply packing their luggage.

Lin Qianfan woke up at the crack of dawn and headed to the high school near the town, stopping by the milk tea shop right outside the school gates. He hadn't been back here once since starting university.

As soon as he reached the entrance, he heard the chattering voices of the students inside.

"Xiao Li, how is business?" Lin Qianfan asked the moment he stepped through the door.

The clerk, Xiao Li, immediately put down what he was holding and greeted him with a smile, "Boss, sales are ten percent higher than last month."

"Especially our newly launched smoothie series—the students love them!"

Lin Qianfan nodded, walked over to the cash register to check the recent bills, and then inspected the store's cleanliness and equipment.

"Not bad. Keep it up."

Xiao Li nodded in acknowledgement, "Don't you worry, we'll take good care of the shop!"

Lin Qianfan gave Xiao Li's shoulder a satisfied pat, gave a few more instructions, and then turned to leave the milk tea shop.

Since Lin Qianfan wasn't home today, Grandpa went out to tell the villagers about him buying a house.

When the villagers heard that the Lin family's grandson had bought a house, they rushed over to inquire.

"Old Lin, I heard your grandson bought a place in the city?"

Grandpa sat on the threshold, his face beaming with pride. "That's right. Qianfan is capable, he bought it all on his own."

"Tsk tsk, that boy has so much drive, way better than those lazybones in our family."

"Old Lin, you'll have to let your grandson come back more often and teach our boy how to make money."

Hearing these words, Grandpa puffed out his chest, an irrepressible smile spreading across his face.

The villagers chimed in with endless praises for Lin Qianfan, leaving both Grandpa and Grandma grinning from ear to ear.

Soon, only two days of the National Day holiday remained.

Grandpa sat nearby, watching, but couldn't help muttering, "Are we really going? What about this place?"

Grandma turned back and glared at him. "What's there to worry about at home? Aren't the neighbors still here to keep an eye on things?"

Grandpa fell silent, simply lowering his head to take a puff of his dry tobacco.

Seeing this, Lin Qianfan walked over and patted his shoulder. "Grandpa, don't worry. The neighbors will look after the house, everything will be fine."

Grandpa sighed and nodded.

***

Lin Qianfan brought Grandpa and Grandma to the rented apartment.

As soon as they stepped inside, Grandma looked at the interior arrangement and nodded repeatedly. "This place is really nice, clean and spacious."

Lin Qianfan smiled and said, "Grandma, once we move into the new house later on, you'll be even more comfortable."

"Good, good, good!" Grandma nodded repeatedly.

Though Grandpa didn't say much, it was easy to see from his satisfied gaze that he was happy inside as well.

"Just let me know if anything is missing, and I'll go buy it tomorrow." Lin Qianfan helped them put away their luggage.

"Nothing's missing, everything is great." Grandpa sat on the sofa and patted the armrest. "This place feels solid to live in."

Lin Qianfan nodded. Seeing the smiles on the two elderly faces, his own heart felt settled too.

On the last day of the holiday, Lin Qianfan took Grandpa and Grandma around to familiarize themselves with the neighborhood, just in case they went out while he was away and couldn't find their way back.

In the afternoon, on the way back, he bought some daily necessities and groceries, stuffing the refrigerator to the brim.

Before leaving, he instructed, "Grandma, keep the meals simple, don't stress too much, and just call me if you need anything."

Grandma repeatedly agreed, "Alright, alright, hurry back to school now, don't let it interfere with your studies."

Lin Qianfan nodded and left with peace of mind.

Early the next morning, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains and spilled into the dormitory. Lin Qianfan was packing his textbooks, preparing to head to his morning classes.

Inside the classroom, students sat scattered about, most of them still lingering in the lingering warmth of the National Day holiday.

Lin Qianfan opened his book and had barely read a few pages when he suddenly sensed a figure standing beside him.

A voice carried a hint of unquestionable certainty, "Lin Qianfan, let's talk."

Lin Qianfan looked up. It was Lin Xihe, wearing a crisp, ironed white shirt, standing there as if afraid the world wouldn't notice he had just transferred here.

"Something the matter?" Lin Qianfan closed his book, his tone flat.

"I heard you're running some kind of milk tea shop and delivery platform?" Lin Xihe got straight to the point.

"I just transferred over, and I've been studying some startup milk tea ventures at home lately. Your project isn't large in scale, but it's somewhat interesting."

"And?" Lin Qianfan asked indifferently.

"How about this," Lin Xihe sat down next to Lin Qianfan, adopting what he thought was an egalitarian tone.

"My family has money, and I'm not afraid to tell you. If we cooperate, I can invest a sum of capital into it."

"You handle the operations, I'll handle the investment. If we join forces, we can definitely grow this business."

Lin Qianfan didn't speak, just quietly listening.

***

"However," Lin Xihe paused, flashing a "benevolent" smile.

"Since I'm providing the capital, the equity distribution should be reasonable. I'll take sixty percent, and you take forty percent. How does that sound?"

The classroom was somewhat quiet, with only a few students chatting in low voices.

Lin Qianfan stared at the younger brother before him, truly looking at him closely for the first time.

"Sixty percent?" Lin Qianfan softly repeated.

Lin Xihe nodded, "That's right, don't think it's too much."

"You know as well as I do that this kind of small-scale tinkering you're doing now can never last."

"Once the holidays arrive and the students all go home, what kind of business will you even have left?"

"Besides, my family has abundant resources. Just mobilizing a tiny fraction of them can save you so much in costs. Do you understand?"

"Do you think I need your money right now?" Lin Qianfan countered.

"Isn't that obvious?" Lin Xihe raised an eyebrow, a trace of smugness in his tone.

"You're just a student, how long can you hold out? Even if you're making a little pocket money now, it's just a drop in the bucket. Stop trying to act tough, accept my investment, and it's a win-win for everyone."

Hearing this, the corners of Lin Qianfan's mouth curved slightly upward, but he didn't respond.

"What, you're not willing?" Seeing no reaction from him, Lin Xihe's tone turned somewhat impatient.

"Lin Qianfan, don't be so stubborn. If you refuse me now, when the students go on holiday later and both the milk tea shop and the delivery service have no business, you'll be crying too late."

The murmurs in the classroom gradually subsided as a few more people began to notice the situation on their side.

Because the students had all left the school during the National Day holiday, the business of the milk tea shop and the delivery platform had indeed plummeted accordingly.

Some people who had always been envious of Lin Qianfan seized this very opportunity to fan the flames behind his back.

"Lin Qianfan, just agree to Xihe's offer. He's kindly trying to help you, don't be ungrateful!"

"Exactly, Xihe is doing this out of kindness. Otherwise, once the holidays hit and your business gets even worse, what are you going to live on, thin air?"

"You better think carefully. This is a rare opportunity, once you miss it, it's gone!"

Yet Lin Qianfan remained completely unhurried as he looked at him, his tone still calm. "What if I say no?"

Lin Xihe sneered, "Then just wait and see. Without my investment, you won't last long."