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

Chapter 155 Establishing a Pig Farm

Two days later, the whole village was abuzz with the news that Xu Zaohua was going to marry into a wealthy family in Pingchuan County.

When the news reached Tong Huaqiong's ears, she was surprised but also somewhat relieved.

Whether Xu Zaohua marries Fan Tong or a wealthy family in Pingchuan County, Tong Huaqiong has no objection as long as she doesn't bother Gu Jingzhe.

However, Xu Jin is quite capable; he managed to ingratiate himself with a wealthy family in Pingchuan County.

Tong Huaqiong's sigh quickly turned into sympathy.

"Mother, do you know who Xu Zaohua is going to marry?"

Liu Yue'e took a stroll around the village, eager to share a lot of gossip with her mother-in-law.

"Who will you marry?" Tong Huaqiong was also very curious.

"The eldest son of the Zheng family." Liu Yue'e was a little excited, and afraid that Tong Huaqiong would forget, she reminded her, "It's the Zheng family, the Zheng family of the wealthy scholar, that you took us to break off the engagement last time. Xu Zaohua is going to marry the eldest son of the Zheng family."

Zheng Jiatong Huaqiong is certainly no stranger to her.

"They said the deal would be finalized tomorrow. Judging from the way the eldest son of the Zheng family is about to step into his coffin, I reckon Xu Zaohua will be carried to the Zheng family's house once the deal is done. Xu Jin and his wife usually dote on their daughter, but they're so ruthless this time," Liu Yue'e sighed repeatedly.

Tong Huaqiong concealed the surprise on her face. Xu Zaohua was actually going to marry the eldest son of the Zheng family in this lifetime.

The plot took a bit of an unexpected turn.

But there are clues to follow.

The Xu family fell from power in Qinghe Bay. Xu Jin was a shrewd and calculating man, so it's not surprising that he was able to climb up to the Zheng family.

Xu Kun and Xu Yong were only flogged and not imprisoned, probably because of Xu Jin's connection with the Zheng family.

It's not surprising that Xu Jin would sacrifice his own daughter as part of a deal.

After all, in this era, daughters were considered less valuable, and it was perfectly normal for them to pave the way for their families and sons.

Tong Huaqiong was no saint, and she didn't sympathize with Xu Zaohua, but she told herself that she would never use Tao Huaman'er or the other girls in her family as a bargaining chip.

Soon, as Tong Huaqiong walked through the village, she could hear whispers everywhere about Xu Zaohua marrying into the Zheng family in Pingchuan County.

Some sighed at the illness of the Zheng family's young master, while others envied Xu Zaohua for being able to live a good life.

Tong Huaqiong didn't care about any of this anymore; she only hoped that Xu Zaohua would have no further involvement with her or Gu Jingzhe.

After the wheat was harvested and stored in the granary, and the corn was put into the pit, Tong Huaqiong first sent Gu Taohua, Gu Jingzhe, and Gu Dashu and their husbands to oversee the harvest.

Chen Sufeng was also sent there; she was to prepare the pastries that Tong Huaqiong had just taught her to make.

Man'er naturally went along too, as she needed to move things out of her spatial storage.

The ingredients needed for the new pastry can't be bought in town.

Lu Zhaozhao and Liu Yanhong went to the shop. After visiting the shop, they were going to return to Pingchuan County. Magistrate Liu had already sent someone to pick them up in the town.

She still has important things to do in Qinghe Bay.

Liu Qiaoyun and Gu Xiaocao would return from the shop every evening and set off from the village to the town every morning.

The two of them would give Tong Huaqiong a brief overview of the shop's situation that evening.

She's been at home these past few days, and everything at the shop is going smoothly, which makes Tong Huaqiong very pleased.

Ma Huateng came once in between, and I reported the shop's accounts for the past few days to her.

Originally, Tong Huaqiong had planned to have Gu Xiaocao and Liu Qiaoyun bring the account books to her for review when they returned to Qinghewan that evening, but Ma Huateng firmly disagreed. He felt that only Tong Huaqiong, besides him, could touch the account books in the shop.

Tong Huaqiong expressed her appreciation for Ma Huateng's approach.

What was the most important thing Tong Huaqiong did while staying in Qinghewan?

She has already planned out the layout of the pigsty at home.

Now the family has twenty-three pigs: twenty given by Lu Zhaoyang, one from their own household, and two brought from Granny Yan's house to pay off debts.

Nineteen of the pigs were castrated, especially the one that had been inflated so much that it looked incredibly delicious.

The two pigs at Granny Yan's house, one male and one female, were too big to be castrated.

Tong Huaqiong didn't feel it was a pity; she could keep them for breeding.

These twenty-three pigs are currently crammed into the pigpen; if they grow any fatter, they won't be able to fit in anymore.

The Gu family's original pigsty was built very large by Old Man Gu, with half used for raising chickens, ducks and geese and the other half for raising pigs. Now it is not enough and needs to be expanded to twice its size.

Tong Huaqiong plans to develop the pig farming industry.

Keeping too many pigs in your yard would create an unbearable stench. Besides, there isn't enough space in your yard to expand into a pigsty unless you kick the people out.

Tong Huaqiong was thinking of getting a piece of land in the village to build a pig farm.

First, the land cannot be located in a village residential area; second, it cannot be surrounded by farmland; and third, it cannot be near a water source.

Although the concept of environmental protection does not exist in this era, Tong Huaqiong herself has decided to abide by the principles of environmental protection.

After all, she's raising pigs, not courting death.

Her pig farm has polluted the village's farmland and water sources, which not only affects her personally, but could also wipe out the entire village, including the pigs, if an epidemic breaks out.

"Mom, there's a place I think is pretty good, but I don't know if it's suitable for raising pigs," Gu Dahan said.

Gu Dahan is very enthusiastic about raising pigs.

Gu Dahan doesn't like doing business. He's clearly not very relaxed working in the shop, but he's full of energy when he's doing farm work in the village, mixing pig feed.

Tong Huaqiong has made it clear that Gu Dahan will be responsible for farming and raising pigs at home from now on.

"Where?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

“The temple outside the village,” Gu Dahan said.

Tong Huaqiong's eyes lit up.

Why didn't she think of that perfect spot?

There is a temple two kilometers away from Qinghewan Village, which belongs to Qinghewan in terms of its geographical location.

No one knows which deity was enshrined in that temple. One year during a war, the rebel army tied up villagers from various villages around Qinghewan and shot them dead in the temple. From then on, the villagers never went to the temple to burn incense again.

The villagers of Qinghewan have a very pragmatic mindset. Since the gods they worship can't protect everyone, they've decided to stop burning incense altogether.

Over time, the temple fell into disrepair.

Later, rumors of ghost stories even surfaced.

It is said that the vengeful spirits inside are restless, and anyone who gets close to them may be taken by these spirits.

Therefore, the villagers turned pale at the mention of the temple, and almost no one dared to approach it.

When Tong Huaqiong transmigrated into Tong Dajiao's body, she inevitably began to believe in some forces beyond science, but that didn't mean she believed in the idea of ​​vengeful spirits seeking revenge.

Since vengeful spirits can claim lives, they should go after the murderous rebels; there's no need to ask her for a life.

“This temple is suitable for raising pigs,” Tong Huaqiong said with a smile. “I’ll go talk to the village chief and see if we should buy or rent the temple.”

After Tong Huaqiong finished speaking, she went to Liu Tielian.

Liu Tielian was not at home; he was busy on the riverbank.

Liu Tielian has done a very good job in the area of ​​grain taxation, and has now been officially promoted from acting village chief to village chief.

Liu, who has been officially appointed as the village chief, is leading the village's young people in planning to clean up the canals.

The past two days have been overcast, and it's clear that a heavy rain is brewing. Liu Tielian is worried that the village's irrigation canals won't be able to withstand the impact of the downpour.

Liu Tielian also divided the village's able-bodied men into groups to patrol and inspect the fields during heavy rains to prevent the crops from being washed away.

Village Chief Liu can be said to have done his job with great passion.

Tong Huaqiong reached the riverbank and saw Liu Tielian digging a ditch barefoot.

"Sister-in-law Tong, you've arrived."

Liu Tielian put away his shovel and was very polite to Tong Huaqiong.

If Tong Huaqiong hadn't risked everything, he wouldn't have become the village chief.

"Brother, I need to talk to you about something, it's about that dilapidated temple behind the village."

Without exchanging pleasantries, Tong Huaqiong revealed her plan to raise pigs in a dilapidated temple.

"Anyway, that temple is just sitting there abandoned, so if you're not afraid, Sister-in-law Tong, feel free to use it." Liu Tielian said readily.

But that place is so creepy, can you really raise pigs there?
Liu Tielian expressed his doubts.

With Liu Tielian's assurance, Tong Huaqiong felt relieved.

The pig farm has finally found a suitable location.

(End of this chapter)