That winter was tough, and the events that followed our arrival in Dorvan made my father regret returning to the village. He said, “We can’t stay here; we’ll keep our land, but we’ll go to Barghan and do business there.” One day, he took a cart, and we set off again, just my father and me. In Barghan, there was a man named Seyyed Esmaeil, who had both a caravanserai and a coffeehouse. We stayed in the coffeehouse, where we ate our meals and slept. One night, my father offered a partnership to Seyyed Esmaeil, but he refused, saying, “Go and partner with Mash-Reza!”
Mash-Reza, his son, also had a caravanserai and a coffeehouse, but he wasn’t very active, and his business was not thriving. That very night, we went to see Mash-Reza, and my father talked to him. Mash-Reza accepted the offer because he was an elderly man and couldn’t work much himself. Arrangements were made, and we started working together. During that time, grain trading was booming in some areas, and the government had imposed a monopoly on grain purchases, known as “Tasbit-e Ghal’eh,” which meant the government had control over grain purchases. Farmers from regions like Eshtehard, Qazvin, Zanjan, and Taleqan brought their wheat to Borghan to sell. People from other areas also came there to buy wheat. As a result, Borghan had become a hub for grain trading. In no time, our business flourished, and there were times when fifty donkeys or camels lined up to unload their cargo. My father’s situation improved significantly, and he even got remarried that year.