Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

"So where are you staying now?"

Zhou Tianxuan asked a question, her tone carrying the delicate touch characteristic of an older sister.

"In Shanxi."

Zhou Tianyang answered naturally.

"Business over there is relatively stable, and we won't be moving locations for the time being."

"Shanxi?"

Zhou Tianyu's brows furrowed even more.

"Isn't there a war going on over there?"

Zhou Tianyang nodded, his face showing no emotion.

"There is a war going on, but business still needs to be done."

"There are ways to survive even in chaotic times; you won't die."

Zhou Kui sat at the head of the table without saying a word.

He simply picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then changed the subject.

"Let's eat first, we can talk about these things later."

The dinner table became lively again.

Zhou Tianyang's mother, Wang Lan, kept putting food on his plate.

Zhou Tianqing gradually became less shy and would occasionally steal a glance at her third brother, whom she hadn't seen for many years.

Zhou Tianxuan sat next to her and asked about the local customs and culture of Shanxi.

Zhou Tianyang casually responded to whatever he could say.

Halfway through the meal, Zhou Tianyu spoke again, his tone a few degrees more subdued than before.

"Tianyang, don't think I'm being too talkative."

He put down his chopsticks, looked at Zhou Tianyang, and his eyes were serious.

"I have no problem with you running your business outside, but you need to let your family know where you are."

"For the past eight years, my mother has just sat at the doorway watching the street during holidays..."

"Tianyu".

His mother, Wang Lan, interrupted him, her voice not loud, but carrying a hint of restraint.

"Why are you saying all this?"

Zhou Tianyu opened his mouth, as if to say something.

But seeing his mother's expression, he swallowed his words.

He picked up his glass, took a sip, and didn't continue.

Zhou Tianyang sat there, holding a wine glass in his hand, without saying a word.

He knew in his heart that his elder brother was standing up for his mother, and those eight years were real.

He didn't mean to blame his older brother; he just couldn't respond to those words.

He raised his glass to Zhou Tianyu and then drank it all in one gulp.

Zhou Tianyu looked at him and also picked up his cup and drank it down.

The subtle distance between the two was temporarily dissolved in that glass of wine.

After the meal, the mother took Zhou Tianqing to clear the dishes.

Zhou Tianxuan sat in the main room and chatted with Zhou Tianyang for a while.

She asked him some questions about his business, and Zhou Tianyang answered a few of the questions he could, so she didn't ask any more.

She was a smart woman and could tell that her brother was unwilling to talk about certain things or delve into them.

Zhou Tianyu leaned back in his chair, crossed his hands on his stomach, and casually mentioned it.

"Third brother, when are you leaving?"

"I'm leaving tonight."

Zhou Tianyang answered very decisively.

Zhou Tianyu glanced at him but did not try to stop him.

"Then I'll see you off later."

Zhou Kui glanced at Zhou Tianyang.

"Tianyang, come here for a second."

Zhou Tianyang stood up and followed his father into the study.

Zhou Kui walked back behind his desk and sat down, and Zhou Tianyang sat down opposite him.

Zhou Kui didn't rush to speak, but instead took out a box from under the table and placed it on the table.

He opened the box, inside was a stack of silver notes.

He pushed the box in front of Zhou Tianyang.

"Take it."

Zhou Tianyang glanced at the stack of silver notes, then looked up at his father, but did not reach out to take them.

"Father, this is..."

"Three hundred thousand silver dollars."

Zhou Kui's tone was very calm.

"The banknotes are universally accepted; they can be exchanged at any major money exchange."

Zhou Tianyang remained silent for a moment.

"Father, I can't take this money."

Zhou Kui looked at him calmly.

"This is not for you, it is for those who fought alongside you."

Zhou Tianyang was stunned.

He looked at his father, unsure of what to say next.

Zhou Kui picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.

Then he put it down, his tone still calm, as if he were discussing a routine deal with a business partner.

"Take it."

"Buy more food and ammunition so that the people who fight alongside you will suffer less."

Zhou Tianyang's eyes stung a little.

He sat there, remaining silent for a long time.

Then he reached out and took the box.

"Dad, thank you."

Zhou Kui waved his hand and said nothing more.

He stood up and walked to the window.

She stood with her back to Zhou Tianyang for a while, then turned around.

"During the meal, you asked me to handle those fixed assets. Could you explain in detail what you said?"

Zhou Tianyang put the box away and sat down again.

"Dad, I'm serious."

"Those shops, houses, and farmland should be sold off as soon as possible if possible."

His tone returned to its calm and confident rhythm, as if he had returned to the state of making tactical deployments on the battlefield.

"The Japanese have been entrenched in Suzhou for more than a year or two. Sooner or later they will set their sights on established brands like the Zhou family's."

"If you don't cooperate with them, they will find ways to deal with you."

"If we keep these fixed assets, they will only end up in the hands of the Japanese."

Zhou Kui stood by the window for a while.

"you're right."

He spoke, his voice a few decibels lower than before.

"Last winter, I heard that the Li family on the next street had their house ransacked by the Japanese on charges of colluding with the enemy, and all their shops and farmland were confiscated."

"The Li family and our Zhou family have been neighbors for decades, and the two families have been on good terms for generations."

"I later asked around and found out that the Japanese had their eyes on the Li family's street-front shops in the east of the city."

"They wanted to buy it at a low price, but the Li family wouldn't sell, so they just found a pretext to arrest Old Li and put him in the military police station."

"The person hasn't been released yet."

Zhou Tianyang listened without saying a word.

He had read about these things in historical records in his previous life.

But when those things came out of his father's mouth, they were a different story altogether.

"You're right, we can't keep these things."

Zhou Kui turned around, walked back to his desk, and sat down.

"But dealing with this won't be a matter of just a day or two; we need to find someone to take over."

"In these years of war and chaos, not many people have the money to buy shops and land, and we can't let people know that it is the Zhou family that is in a hurry to make a move."

"If the Japanese find out, it will only make things worse."

There's no rush.

Zhou Tianyang's tone softened slightly.

"Take your time finding buyers, and process as many as you can find."

"If you really can't handle it, don't force it; safety first."

Zhou Kui nodded and did not continue the topic.

He sat behind his desk in silence for a long time.

Afterwards, the father and son had a private conversation in the study for nearly an hour.

They discussed everything from dealing with the shops to the Zhou family's escape route.

From the current state of Japanese control over Suzhou to the possibility of an even worse situation in the future.

Zhou Tianyang did not reveal much specific information about the future battle situation.

But those words carried a calm analysis, and as Zhou Kui listened, his expression gradually changed.

He could tell that his son wasn't just talking nonsense; his words contained the kind of judgment that only a worldly person would have.

"I will handle things at home."

Zhou Kui said this last sentence.

He stood up, walked up to Zhou Tianyang, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Just take care of yourself."