The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 120 Get Out of Yanguan Town

After Tong Huaqiong led everyone to a hearty meal at Fenglelou Restaurant, the moon was already high in the sky.

"This is the first time today. From now on, we'll come to Fenglelou for a meal every month. Everyone should go home and rest early so as not to be late for work tomorrow," Tong Huaqiong said.

Today's meal took a bit long, so Tong Huaqiong will have to get up and prepare at 3 AM tomorrow.

Making snacks and catering is more tiring than usual because the ingredients need to be prepared in advance, otherwise customers will have to wait in vain if the time is missed.

That would really disrupt business.

"It's too late today, why don't we just make do in the shop for the night?" Gu Taohua said.

She really didn't want to go back to Qinghewan. The thought of having to get up early to travel the next day gave her a headache.

“Okay.” Tong Huaqiong didn’t want to go back to Qinghe Bay either, so she readily agreed after hearing what Gu Taohua said.

It's newly opened, and the two warehouses don't have much stuff; you can sleep on the floor there.

People can also live in the shop.

However, not everyone is suited to living in a shop.

Besides, there aren't that many bedding sets in the shop.

Tong Huaqiong felt it was better for her family to live in the shop, since they had to get up early.

The others didn't need to stay in the shop, especially Gu Xiaocao. If she didn't go back, Gu Guangkui and his wife would worry and sneak into the shop to look for her.

Tong Huaqiong then explained to everyone the arrangement of who would stay at the shop and who would go back to work at dawn, and no one objected.

"Don't worry, shopkeeper. Qingyou and I will definitely take Gu Xiaocao home and watch her go inside before we go back to our house," Liu Qiaoyun said, knowing that Tong Huaqiong must be worried about Gu Xiaocao.

"Alright. You two can come together again tomorrow morning." Tong Huaqiong trusted Liu Qiaoyun and her husband with everything they did.

“Aunt Tong, we’ll come first thing tomorrow morning,” said Madam Hu.

Not everyone from the Gu family stayed behind. Gu Dahan was worried about the wheat in the field, so he insisted on going back and coming back early the next morning.

After all, the wheat harvest was almost here, and he was worried about who might steal it at night, so he had to keep an eye on things himself to feel at ease.

Tong Huaqiong did not stop her.

After Gu Dahan and the others returned to Qinghe Bay, Tong Huaqiong and the other members of the Gu family also planned to rest.

"Who's at the door? You scared the hell out of me!" Gu Taohua was splashing water after washing her face when she saw a drunken man squatting at the door, which startled her.

Gu Dashu was in charge of security at Taohua Desserts. As soon as he heard Gu Taohua's call, he rushed out with a fork in hand.

"Where is he? Is he a petty thief?" Gu Dashu shouted, fueled by alcohol.

Upon closer inspection by the moonlight, it was clear that the person squatting against the wall was none other than Manager Feng, the former manager of Su Shi Yuan.

"Well, I've been on guard all day and haven't seen you, but you show up now."

Gu Dashu was furious. He had been watching the crowd all day, fearing that Manager Feng would do something bad.

Everything went smoothly throughout the day, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Unexpectedly, Manager Feng appeared outside Peach Blossom Dessert Shop late at night.

Fortunately, we didn't go back to Qinghe Bay today. Otherwise, if Manager Feng had sabotaged the shop, such as by setting it on fire, all of my mother's hard work would have been wasted.

Thinking of this, Gu Dashu kicked Manager Feng.

Upon hearing the news, Gu Jingzhe and Gu Dashu rushed out, pinned down Manager Feng, gagged him, tied him up, and dragged him to the courtyard.

Just as Tong Huaqiong was about to go to sleep, she heard a noise and got up to go to the courtyard. When she saw Manager Feng, she remembered that Feng Chuan was still locked in the woodshed.

Oh no, I've been so busy all day, I forgot about Feng Chuan in the woodshed.

Gu Jingzhe said to Tong Huaqiong, "Don't worry, Mother, Feng Chuan is fine."

Gu Jingzhe is still the most reliable.

While smiling at the older women, Gu Jingzhe also took the time to feed Feng Chuan water and food.

He knew that Tong Huaqiong had locked up Feng Chuan to threaten Manager Feng, aiming to ensure the smooth opening of Peach Blossom Dessert Shop, not to take Feng Chuan's life.

So even during such a busy and hectic time for the opening, he didn't forget Feng Chuan, who was locked in the woodshed.

"You still haven't given up? You still want to oppose me?" Tong Huaqiong said to Manager Feng with a sneer.

Manager Feng was whimpering in Gu Dashu's arms. He had been looking dejected, but his eyes suddenly lit up when he heard that Feng Chuan was alright.

Tong Huaqiong caught that glimmer of light.

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, "Manager Feng treats Feng Chuan much better than I treat those few bad bamboos."

No wonder Manager Feng thought he could threaten her by controlling Gu Dashu's life. He was projecting his own experience onto others, assuming everyone would risk their lives for their son.

Tong Huaqiong ordered Gu Dashu to tear the rag out of Manager Feng's mouth.

Manager Feng felt a sudden ease in his breathing and hurriedly asked, "Where is Feng Chuan?"

Tong Huaqiong sighed. In just two short days, Manager Feng had gone from a respectable owner of the pastry shop to a destitute unemployed person.

"Manager Feng, Feng Chuan owes me money." Tong Huaqiong carried Feng Chuan's IOU with her. Chen Sufeng stood aside with a lantern. Tong Huaqiong unfolded the IOU so that Manager Feng could see it clearly.

"Didn't he mortgage the Su Shi Yuan shop to you?" Manager Feng asked.

Widow Tong is truly heartless; she mortgaged her shop but still kept the IOU.

Tong Huaqiong laughed and said, "Manager Feng, are you naive or am I stupid? That Su Shi Yuan shop belongs to the Ma family, not the Feng family. Feng Chuan mortgaged the shop to me, do you think I would accept it?"

"So I had to do a good deed and give Ma Ming the land deed and seal of Su Shi Yuan. Ma Ming still owes me a favor."

Manager Feng found Tong Huaqiong's smile creepy.

He understood that the reason why his boss, Ma Ming, knew about Feng Chuan's actions was because Tong Huaqiong had tipped him off, and the condition for that was for him to leave the Su Shi Yuan restaurant.

In the end, he lost this round.

Manager Feng was then horrified to discover that he had lost everything.

Feng Chuan owes Tong Huaqiong a thousand taels of gambling debt, but he can't even come up with ten taels of silver now. Will Tong Huaqiong let Feng Chuan go?

“Feng Chuan owes you a thousand taels of silver, which I cannot repay for the time being. Please grant me some more time, Manager Tong.” Manager Feng gritted his teeth and changed his address to Tong Huaqiong from “Widow Tong” to Manager Tong.

Despite his reluctance, Manager Feng still bowed his head to Tong Huaqiong.

If he didn't back down, he couldn't guarantee that Tong Huaqiong wouldn't chop off Feng Chuan's hand. After all, this widow didn't even care about her own son, so how could she possibly care about her nephew's hand?

"Manager Feng, now is not the time for you to haggle with me." Tong Huaqiong looked down at Manager Feng condescendingly.

Is it that when people are in a position of power for too long, they even act superior when asking others for favors?

Tong Huaqiong disliked Manager Feng's attitude.

“I can release Feng Chuan,” Tong Huaqiong said, “on the condition that you take him and get out of Yanguan Town. If you show up in Yanguan Town again, don’t blame me for being impolite.”

Tong Huaqiong waved the IOU.

She didn't intend to push Feng Chuan to the brink; who knows what a gambling addict might do if driven to such a desperate situation?

Now, she's facing a gambling addict and a mad dog, and she doesn't want to get involved with either of them.

The best outcome would be to send this cheap father and son out of Yanguan Town.

After all, her goal wasn't a thousand taels of silver, but rather to run a business peacefully.

Tong Huaqiong ordered Gu Dashu to bring Feng Chuan out of the woodshed.

Feng Chuan was terrified for the past three days.

No one hit him or tortured him; they just locked him up and didn't let him sleep. He felt like he had walked on the line between life and death.

At this moment, Feng Chuan only wanted to sleep and leave the woodshed.

"Father." When Feng Chuan saw Manager Feng, he changed his address from Second Uncle back to Father.

"Get out of Yanguan Town and get as far away as you can."

Tong Huaqiong smiled gently at Manager Feng, tossing the IOU in her hand.

Manager Feng gritted his teeth, helped the limp Feng Chuan, who was as weak as a crab without legs, and limped away from Peach Blossom Dessert Shop.

"Mother, are we just going to let them go like this?" Gu Dashu asked unwillingly.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Otherwise, are we supposed to kill them? Even if you want them dead, it's not our place to do it."

"Will Manager Feng retaliate against us?" Chen Sufeng asked anxiously.

Tong Huaqiong smiled and said, "No."

She wasn't the only one who didn't want Manager Feng to appear in Yanguan Town or even Pingchuan County; Ma Ming was too.

Compared to Tong Huaqiong, Manager Feng's biggest enemy now is his former employer. Manager Feng has done a lot of dirty work to make Su Shi Yuan the only pastry shop in Yan Guan Town. It's hard to say that Ma Ming didn't imply anything about it.

Ma Ming would definitely not let Manager Feng get away with it. Manager Feng was already exhausted from trying to avoid Ma Ming, so how could she have the energy to deal with Peach Blossom Desserts?

Besides, once Manager Feng leaves Su Shi Yuan, how could he possibly handle Peach Blossom Desserts?

(End of this chapter)