In "In the Time of Butterflies", I think that the father owns the store because __

The father owns the store because he is a generous person and would open his store for a wandering peasant to give them something for free.

Explanation:

'In the time of Butterflies' is a historical fiction written by Ju-lia Alva-rez. The novel is about four Mirabal sisters during the dictatorship of Trujillo. Trujillo appointed himself as a dictator of the Dominican Republic in 1930.

In the novel, Mirabal's sister's father was a wealthy and rich man yet he owned a store. The father owns the store to give something for free to those peasant who wanders around. The father of Mirabal sister is generous and kind. This act of generosity was opposed by De-de in the novel yet father continued to help wandering peasant.