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

Chapter 124 When something goes wrong, there must be a monster

After Gu Baishuang left, Gu Dahan told Tong Huaqiong the reason why his older sister had come to find him.

Besides discussing with him the time for his parents' reburial, another thing was to lend the Gu family a donkey cart and a driver to help Gu Dahan haul wheat.

Tong Huaqiong was pleased with the outcome.

In those days, relying solely on manpower was too arduous. Having a donkey cart to haul wheat made things easier and allowed them to get through the wheat harvest season sooner.

Whether Gu Baishuang's actions were for her brother Gu Dahan or to expedite the burial of her parents, lending the donkey cart was a timely help. Tong Huaqiong then asked Gu Dahan to deliver some pastries to Gu Baishuang's home.

"My sister and I discussed it, and we've decided to bury my mother and father together after the Dragon Boat Festival." Gu Dahan knew that Tong Huaqiong genuinely didn't care about his parents being buried together, but out of respect, he still had to tell his stepmother.

Putting everything else aside, people from the clan will be coming on that day, and Chen Sufeng, as the daughter-in-law, will have to attend. He wouldn't dare ask Tong Huaqiong to offer incense to his mother, but Gu Dashu and the others would have to pay their respects to his mother's memorial tablet.

Tong Huaqiong waved her hand and said, "It's fine as long as you've decided on it."

Gu Dahan felt embarrassed to bring up the issue of having Gu Dashu and the others pay their respects to his mother's memorial tablet to Tong Huaqiong.

He didn't dare mention it to his half-siblings in person. Gu Dashu was holding a grudge because his stepmother refused to be buried in the ancestral grave, and he would explode if the topic was brought up.

"What do you want to say?" Tong Huaqiong asked, seeing that her stepson was trying to say something but wasn't being direct.

"Mother, on the day my parents are buried together, will my second and third brothers pay their respects to my mother's memorial tablet?" Gu Dahan asked through gritted teeth.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Don't ask me. They're all so grown up, I can't interfere. As the eldest brother, you should discuss it with them yourself."

Tong Huaqiong decided that as long as her brothers didn't commit any serious offenses, she would not interfere with their relationships within the family.

She wouldn't bow to Gu Dahan's biological mother, nor could she interfere with whether Gu Dashu and Gu Jingzhe bowed to her.

Similarly, even after she died, she didn't demand that Gu Dahan be a dutiful son.

During the wheat harvest season, the store was short-staffed, and everyone was a bit flustered at first, but everything got back on track in a couple of days.

Tong Huaqiong secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Despite the fact that the surrounding villages were busy harvesting wheat and the number of customers was much lower than usual, Taohua Desserts still received several orders for pastries for banquets.

Two of them were located far away in Pingchuan County, and were introduced to them by Master Huang.

Tong Huaqiong was naturally willing to accept orders that could expand her reputation and influence.

Chen Sufeng went back to Qinghewan to harvest wheat. Tong Huaqiong and Hu Shi stayed at the shop, roasting the oven until it was sparking. Gu Taohua also came to the oven room to help. Finally, they successfully completed several of the most important orders.

Everything in the store is operating normally.

Especially after Hong Xiaoxi came to the store, he proved to be even more capable than Tong Huaqiong had imagined.

After finishing her last major order in the past few days, Tong Huaqiong, who hadn't been back to Qinghewan for several days, planned to take Gu Taohua and Gu Jingzhe home for a visit.

After all, food is the foundation of survival, and Tong Huaqiong needed to see the harvest of her family's wheat to feel at ease.

She also plans to acquire some fertile land for her family.

In any era, land is the foundation of human survival. Although Tong Huaqiong is ambitious in business, she will not slack off in becoming a landlord.

It was too hot, and walking back to the village would likely cause heatstroke, so Tong Huaqiong asked Gu Jingzhe to hire a horse-drawn carriage.

Now that she's become the owner and manager, she can't be too hard on herself; she should enjoy herself when she should.

Tong Huaqiong plans to buy a horse-drawn carriage for her family in a while, so that she can use it as a personal carriage to deliver pastries.

The cart that Peach Blossom Desserts uses to deliver pastries to wealthy families is a donkey cart that the Liu family kindly lent them. As their in-law, she couldn't possibly keep using it indefinitely.

Before setting off, Tong Huaqiong bought meat and vegetables for her family.

Harvesting wheat is physically demanding, so Gu Dahan and the others must be well-fed to have the energy to work.

Tong Huaqiong was directing Gu Jingzhe and Hong Xiaoxi to load things onto the carriage when Boss Qian from Fenglelou came over and stuffed chicken, duck, fish, meat, bird's nest, and other tonics onto Tong Huaqiong's carriage. "Boss Qian, what are you doing? You're too kind," Tong Huaqiong said, looking surprised.

She had noticed these past few days that Mr. Qian from Fenglelou was always heading to Peach Blossom Dessert Shop whenever he had free time.

Just two days ago, he even asked Tong Huaqiong if she needed help during the wheat harvest, saying he could lend her some.

They were being ridiculously enthusiastic.

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself that although Fenglelou's pastries were now all ordered from Taohua Dessert Shop, which was a normal business cooperation, Boss Qian, as the client, had no need to fawn over Taohua Dessert Shop.

Given the nature of their relationship, it's unlikely they'd go so far as to exchange bird's nest as a gift.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

It's impossible for Fenglelou to compete with Peach Blossom Dessert, because there's no competition between the two.

Moreover, even without the filter, Tong Huaqiong felt that Boss Qian was quite generous. He had good relationships with other restaurant owners in Yanguan Town and was even friendly to some food stalls.

Unlike Su Shi Yuan, which readily resorts to threats and violence and does not tolerate the existence of competitors.

Why is Mr. Qian being so enthusiastic towards her?

"Manager Tong, I've noticed that Peach Blossom has lost weight these days. These tonics will help her recover," Boss Qian said with a cheerful smile.

Tong Huaqiong couldn't help but look at Gu Taohua, her brows furrowing.

Gu Taohua smiled innocently, grinning broadly, and piled the bird's nest into the carriage, saying to Boss Qian, "Thank you, Boss Qian."

Could it be that Boss Qian has taken a fancy to Gu Taohua?
Given that she had misunderstood Ma Huateng before, she observed carefully and felt that she had not misunderstood this time.

Gu Taohua was at the perfect age for marriage in this era. Although she was plumper than the average girl, she was enthusiastic, lively, and beautiful.

It's not surprising that Mr. Qian, an old widower with half his body buried in the ground, would fall for a beautiful young girl.

However, Tong Huaqiong felt disgusted. She would never allow any old man to have designs on Gu Taohua, not even the wealthiest man in Yanguan Town.

Even the entire Fengle Building as a bride price is not acceptable.

Thinking of this, Tong Huaqiong unloaded all of Boss Qian's chickens, ducks, fish, and bird's nest from the carriage and said to Boss Qian with a long face, "We can't accept such a generous gift without having done anything right. Boss Qian, let's talk business. If you think my pastries are good, then place an order. If you have other plans, then you should give up on that idea."

Tong Huaqiong is not afraid of offending Boss Qian.

Mr. Qian blushed slightly at Tong Huaqiong's explanation and said, "I...I didn't mean anything by it."

If you're not in the mood, why are you blushing?
Tong Huaqiong glared at Boss Qian and said, "You'd better not have any ulterior motives."

This old widower is even older than me, how dare he try to claim kinship with my mother-in-law?

Mr. Qian stood awkwardly in front of a pile of chicken, duck, fish, meat, and bird's nest, his embarrassment tinged with a hint of disappointment.

Tong Huaqiong didn't even glance at those things, and after missing Boss Qian, she turned and got into the carriage.

That figure and that fierce demeanor made Boss Qian's heart flutter.

For some reason, Mr. Qian couldn't forget Tong Huaqiong's fiery and straightforward personality when she was still running a stall at Su Shi Yuan. Now that she was the owner of Tao Hua Dessert Shop, he was even more tempted by her as he watched her busy in the shop every day.

Tong Huaqiong was naturally unaware that Boss Qian didn't see her as his mother-in-law at all, but rather as his confidante. She was still cursing Boss Qian as an old geezer while sitting in the carriage.

"Peach Blossom, stay away from Boss Qian in the future. He's not a good person," Tong Huaqiong warned Gu Taohua.

Gu Taohua said casually, "I think he's a good guy. He told me to call him Uncle Qian."

Gu Jingzhe looked at his mother with a complicated expression, hesitant to speak, but in the end he said nothing.

At this point, Gu Jingzhe also loathed Boss Qian.

(End of this chapter)