After our business flourished, my father and I became partners around 1954. We wrote a contract stating that, aside from the existing capital, any profit would be divided two to one: two for my father and one for me, since the capital and the shop were his. Our withdrawals were arranged accordingly; for instance, he would take ten tomans a day, and I would take five. We started our work mainly buying wheat from Qazvin and surrounding villages, having it milled into flour, and eventually selling it to bakeries. I got deeply involved in the business and also got married during this period.
After three years, we bought the shops on either side of ours and expanded our single shop into three; we were quite active. After a while, I noticed my father was no longer contributing; he had become more of a figurehead, sitting around giving orders. My siblings were too young to help, and I saw no point in continuing alone, bearing the heavy burden. I was running around day and night; I told my father I wanted to separate. He refused for six months, during which I stopped working. Realizing it was futile, he said, “If you want to leave, go! Take whatever I gave you and go! Contract no contract.” I said, “But we have a contract.” He replied, “Go file a complaint!” It didn’t seem right to sue my father, so after six months of back-and-forth, I accepted his offer; he tore up the contract and threw it in the brazier, giving me five thousand tomans and saying, “Take this and go, or file a complaint!” I took the money and said, “Father, I’m satisfied with this amount, but if you’re not, keep it for yourself. I’m young and energetic; I’ll earn my way.” He said, “This five thousand tomans is yours (more rightful) to you than your mother’s milk.” He cried a little, kissed me, and we parted on good terms. At that time, I was married with a child; we had nothing. Our home was rented, costing us five tomans a day in rent, but that very day, I made a deal that netted four thousand tomans in profit. Someone asked if I was interested in a certain place; I said yes. It was priced at eight thousand tomans; I paid the five thousand tomans I had and made a promissory agreement. The following week, I sold it for sixteen thousand tomans. This blessing was due to my father’s satisfaction. Parental satisfaction is important; he didn’t think I would be content with five thousand tomans. He had added two shops to his assets, and five thousand tomans wasn’t much money to him. In short, I started trading with the remainder of that deal; I bought a property in Hasanabad for seven thousand tomans with that money, investing two tomans as capital. My entire life’s journey began from there.