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

Tong Huaqiong gritted her teeth and expressed her true thoughts.

In this era, Mr. Qian is considered a highly eligible bachelor.

In most people's eyes, it was as if Mr. Qian's good fortune to take a liking to her, a widow who was already a grandmother, was incredibly lucky, but Tong Huaqiong didn't like him.

Tong Huaqiong's soul is still that of the female graduate student from her previous life. At the tender age of twenty, she naturally prefers young and handsome men.

Mr. Qian had anticipated Tong Huaqiong's rejection, but hearing her words still broke his heart.

This was the first time he had ever been attracted to a woman since becoming a widower, and his dream was shattered in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Anyone could stand that.

"Manager Tong, you single-handedly raised several children and quickly built a shop from a small stall in just a few months, and then established yourself firmly in Rouge Lane. I admire you very much. My feelings for you are not something that arose on a whim, but rather something that naturally developed after so much time together." Boss Qian told Tong Huaqiong about his feelings.

Tong Huaqiong didn't really want to hear Boss Qian's confession; it was too awkward.

Her children were waiting for her not far away.

She then waved her hand and said, "Mr. Qian, I understand. I'm a grandmother now, so please keep your thoughts to yourself. We'll continue to see each other as before."

After saying that, she fled into the carriage under Boss Qian's burning gaze.

As Boss Qian watched the carriage drive away, he mentally reviewed Tong Huaqiong's reaction after he confessed his feelings.

The more I review it, the more I admire it.

Manager Tong is indeed a heroine; she didn't hesitate at all after knowing his thoughts.

"Manager Tong must be embarrassed," Boss Qian concluded.

Mr. Qian felt that Tong Huaqiong's rejection of him was not because she was not interested in him, but because she was embarrassed or had not yet seen how good he was.

Come to think of it, it's not uncommon for widows to remarry in this era, but most of them don't have a good reputation.

Besides, Manager Tong is a widow who runs a shop and takes care of her home. She must have put in several times more effort than the average person.

He rashly confessed his feelings to Manager Tong; anyone who didn't know better would think he was eyeing Manager Tong's shop like Tong Fusheng.

Tong Huaqiong is rejecting him now because she didn't see his good qualities. It's not Tong Huaqiong's fault; it must be because she didn't do enough. Otherwise, why would Tong Huaqiong think he liked Gu Taohua instead of her?

Mr. Qian slowly began to mentally prepare himself.

Just now, when Tong Huaqiong flew onto the carriage, he seemed to see Gu Jingzhe shooting him an unfriendly look.

As for the thoughts of Tong Huaqiong's children, he didn't care. As the saying goes, if it's going to rain, it's going to rain; if it's going to be a mother, it's going to be a man. If Tong Huaqiong wanted to be with him, who could stop her?
"Mother, what did Manager Qian want with you just now?" Gu Taohua asked.

Tong Huaqiong changed the subject, saying, "I'm planning to find a new manager for our shop. I'll ask Manager Qian if he has any suitable candidates."

The conversation then shifted away from Boss Qian.

Peach Blossom Dessert Shop definitely needs a new manager.

Tong Huaqiong had mentioned hiring a new manager some time ago. Peach Blossom Dessert currently only has one shop, but there will be branches in the future.

Furthermore, Tong Huaqiong plans to pursue other businesses in the future.

We need to cultivate our own "professional managers".

Finding a good manager is not easy.

On the one hand, one must be loyal; on the other hand, one must be capable.

Tong Huaqiong has now trained Gu Taohua and Gu Dashu to read the accounts. She plans to have Gu Taohua manage the pastry shop in the future, and let Gu Dashu participate in other businesses.

As the carriage passed by the Su Shi Yuan (a type of pastry shop), Tong Huaqiong saw two employees closing the door.

Who would have thought that Su Shi Yuan, which was so popular just a few months ago, would decline so quickly?

Once a shop falls into decline, it's very difficult to recover it.

Unless a wildly popular product emerges, which is clearly not the case for Su Shi Yuan at present.

As autumn approached, business at Su Shi Yuan (酥食园) declined further.

While Tong Huaqiong was busy that day, Ma Ming, the owner of Su Shi Yuan, came to her door.

Since Manager Feng left Yanguan Town, Su Shi Yuan has had three different managers, none of whom could recapture its former glory. Recently, it has been completely overwhelmed by Peach Blossom Desserts.

As soon as Ma Ming stepped into Peach Blossom Dessert Shop, Tong Huaqiong guessed the purpose of his visit.

Just as Tong Huaqiong had guessed, Ma Ming planned to withdraw Su Shi Yuan from Yan Guan Town. If this continued, it would affect Su Shi Yuan's business in other places.

He thought that instead of doing that, he should take advantage of the fact that Su Shi Yuan still had a place in people's hearts and sell it at a good price.

Who is the best customer for Su Shi Yuan?

He thought of Tong Huaqiong.

As a competitor, he disliked Tong Huaqiong and secretly resented that Peach Blossom Dessert had stolen Su Shi Yuan's business.

He can't beat Peach Blossom Desserts in direct competition.

He had reservations about using privacy-related methods.

When Manager Feng and Feng Chuan betrayed Su Shi Yuan, Tong Huaqiong did not take the opportunity to seize the shop for herself, but instead presented the seal and contract to him.

He couldn't forget this kindness.

If he betrays loyalty and friendship, he can forget about ever making it in the business world again.

After all, he had heard a little about Tong's methods, and he was afraid that if he used private means today, Tong Huaqiong would expose it to the whole world tomorrow.

He doesn't rely solely on the Su Shi Yuan shop in Yan Guan Town to make money; it would be too much of a loss to lose his entire business for the sake of just one shop.

Ma Ming is a businessman who knows how to weigh the pros and cons.

Since Ma Ming was willing to transfer the shop to her, Tong Huaqiong couldn't be happier.

The two exchanged pleasantries at first, but when it came to the price, they started haggling fiercely. After a round of back-and-forth negotiations, Tong Huaqiong finally completed the nominal "acquisition" of Su Shi Yuan.

After a verbal agreement, Tong Huaqiong, accompanied by Gu Jingzhe, completed the handover procedures for the shop with Ma Ming the next day.

"Mr. Ma, do you have any suitable managers? Could you recommend one to me?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

Ma Ming smiled wryly.

He did have a manager, but for some reason, the perfectly good manager couldn't adapt to the environment once he came to Su Shi Yuan.

He fired all three managers who replaced Manager Feng in a fit of anger.

Ma Ming said to Tong Huaqiong, "If I had a manager who could revitalize the Su Shi Yuan, I would keep it for myself."

Tong Huaqiong neither confirmed nor denied the statement.

Some people just look at who uses him.

Perhaps some managers who are not good at managing things under Ma Ming can be good at managing things under Tong Huaqiong.

As a competitor, she wouldn't mind poaching Ma Ming's employees.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Mr. Ma, you are underestimating yourself too much."

Seeing how earnest Tong Huaqiong was, Ma Ming really thought of someone.

He just couldn't get along with this person, so he didn't recruit him.

When he said his name, Tong Huaqiong hesitated for a moment.

This person was an old acquaintance of Tong Huaqiong, and Tong Huaqiong had three unpleasant encounters with him.

Ma Ming said, "He used to be the manager of my cousin's shop in the prefectural city, and he ran my cousin's shop very well in the prefectural city. He only returned to Pingchuan County to be the housekeeper because his wife was sick."

The person recommended by Ma Ming was Steward He from Zheng Ju's family.

Having heard that Steward He had run a shop in the prefectural city and was very good to his wife, Tong Huaqiong's opinion of him changed somewhat.

So he said, "If you can't dig him up, how can I?"

Ma Ming said, "I heard he offended my cousin's eldest daughter-in-law and was kicked out. I really want to use him now, but I'm hesitant because of my cousin." (End of Chapter)