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

Hong glanced at He Chao, put the pill in her mouth, and took a big gulp of water from the water bottle He Chao handed her to swallow the pill.

Seeing that Madam Hong had taken the medicine, Tong Huaqiong knew that she would fall asleep soon.

The side effect of this medicine is that it makes people sleepy.

Tong Huaqiong then said to Madam Hong, "After you finish taking your medicine, lie down and rest."

Hong lay down again, staring intently at He Chao with her eyes wide open. He Chao, with red eyes, held Hong's hand.

It was like a scene of life and death.

The couple's open display of emotion exceeded Tong Huaqiong's imagination of how people in this era viewed relationships.

What's this called?
That's called dog abuse.

Tong Huaqiong sighed deeply, wanting to say, "It's unnecessary, really unnecessary."

If nothing unexpected happens, after Mrs. Hong wakes up from her nap, her cough will lessen and her fever will subside. After taking the medicine for a while longer, and with increased exercise and nutrition, she might just transform from a sickly person into a stunning beauty like Lin Daiyu uprooting a willow tree.

If Mrs. Hong can truly recover, He Chao will not have to experience the pain of losing his wife in his previous life.

He would be grateful to Tong Huaqiong for this and would help her expand her business.

Despite trying her best to keep her eyes open, Ms. Hong fell asleep before she had even completed half the journey.

He Chao asked Tong Huaqiong somewhat nervously, "Master, is my wife alright?"

Tong Huaqiong said confidently, "Don't worry, she's just sleepy."

He Chao started repeating himself, asking questions one after another. At first, Tong Huaqiong answered patiently, but eventually she got annoyed and glared at him, saying, "You need to rest because of your illness. You keep buzzing around like a mosquito. Aren't you annoying?"

How could He Chao forget Tong Huaqiong's fiery temper? He only shut up after being constantly rebuked by Tong Huaqiong.

Even though He Chao was keeping quiet, he was still busy, sometimes checking the pulse on Hong's wrist, sometimes tucking her in, and sometimes checking her breathing.

Because there was a sick person on the donkey cart, Gu Dashu drove the cart slower than he had come.

When Tong Huaqiong and her group arrived in Yanguan Town, the sun was already setting.

The donkey cart traveled through the streets and alleys and arrived at the entrance of Peach Blossom Dessert Shop.

The peach blossom dessert shop has just seen off its last group of customers.

An argument could be heard coming from inside the shop.

“Second sister-in-law, you shouldn’t have accepted this order. The bakery is already overwhelmed. If we can’t deliver the cakes by tomorrow, it will damage our reputation. The manager said that we must complete every order with guaranteed quality and quantity. We already have several cakes due tomorrow. Now you’ve accepted another order, and the client is asking for something complicated. How can your bakery possibly finish it by tomorrow? If we can’t deliver the desired result, it will give people the impression that Peach Blossom Desserts doesn’t keep its promises. It would have been better not to accept the order.”

This is the voice of Gu Taohua.

The shopkeeper that Gu Taohua was referring to was naturally Tong Huaqiong.

The workplace titles at Peach Blossom Dessert Shop are well-established. In the shop, Tong Huaqiong has shed the titles of "mother" and "grandmother" and is simply the shopkeeper.

Liu Yue'e argued, "Didn't the shopkeeper say that we can't give up any orders and must serve every customer well? If we don't take this order, the customer will be angry and never come back, wouldn't that be our loss? The shopkeeper also said that word-of-mouth is built from a single opening. What if this customer spreads rumors that our Peach Blossom Desserts are not good at serving customers, and someone with ulterior motives takes advantage of it? Wouldn't our losses be even greater?"

Gu Taohua said, "Since Second Sister-in-law says so, let's wait for the shopkeeper to come back and judge the matter."

Liu Yue'e retorted, not to be outdone, "Alright then, we'll wait."

Tong Huaqiong, who hadn't yet gotten off the donkey cart, couldn't help but shake her head at He Chao.

Even such a small matter in the shop requires her, the owner, to make the decision.

If she doesn't come back today, won't we just have to wait around?
Ultimately, the store needs someone to oversee the overall operations, and it would be best to train a few key personnel instead of having the owner make all the decisions.

He Chao understood what Tong Huaqiong meant and said, "Boss, it's normal for the shop assistants to have disagreements. It's nothing serious."

The noise woke up Madam Hong. When she opened her eyes, she found that it was already late and the carriage had stopped in front of a shop.

She knew she had arrived in Yanguan Town.

Seeing that Madam Hong had woken up, Tong Huaqiong asked first, "Sister Hong, how are you feeling?" Madam Hong felt more relaxed than ever before. Her fever had subsided, her breathing was smooth, and the throat that always felt like it was blocked with phlegm was no longer so blocked.

That medicine really works.

Hong said to Tong Huaqiong, "Master, the medicine you gave me is really effective. I feel much better and I'm even starting to feel hungry now."

Tong Huaqiong nodded, it seemed the medicine was effective.

Hunger means you have energy.

He Chao touched Hong's forehead and found that her fever had subsided. What surprised him even more was that Hong was not coughing much when she spoke.

He Chao couldn't help but say to Tong Huaqiong, "Boss, thank you so much for your medicine. It's the right medicine for my symptoms. Do you have any more? Or could you give me a prescription so I can prepare it myself?"

He Chao looked excited.

I've seen so many doctors and taken so much medicine, but none of it compares to a few pills from Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong wanted to roll her eyes at He Chao.

Give him a prescription to prepare himself, you make it sound so easy, but that's antibiotics.

If he could actually be matched with someone, he would be worshipped by any ruler of this era.

Tong Huaqiong said, "This is a secret recipe of mine, how can I just give it to anyone?"

He Chao slapped his forehead, realizing he had been incredibly reckless.

Who would willingly share their secret recipe?

"Boss, please don't misunderstand. I didn't want your secret recipe. I was just too impatient," He Chao explained.

Tong Huaqiong knew that He Chao's intention was not for the secret recipe, but to help his wife recover from her illness.

Tong Huaqiong smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will give you the medicine until Hongmei recovers."

Hong and He Chao were extremely grateful upon hearing this.

"We've arrived, let's get off the bus."

Tong Huaqiong was the first to jump off the donkey cart.

Her sixth sense told her that someone was watching her. She turned her head and her eyes caught the eye of Mr. Qian, the owner of Fenglelou Restaurant.

Ever since Mr. Qian was rejected by Tong Huaqiong after confessing his feelings, he has not only not disappeared from Peach Blossom Dessert Shop, but has also been coming to Peach Blossom Dessert Shop to order pastries from time to time.

Of course, he always managed to escape from Tong Huaqiong's cold gaze.

As a customer, Tong Huaqiong surely wouldn't forbid him from entering Peach Blossom Dessert Shop.

Mr. Qian visited Peach Blossom Dessert Shop three times today but did not "bump into" Tong Huaqiong. He learned from Gu Taohua that Tong Huaqiong had gone to Pingchuan County.

They then began their eager anticipation of seeing Fenglelou from the entrance.

Finally, when he saw Tong Huaqiong jump off the donkey cart, Boss Qian smiled.

Manager Tong is truly unique; even her way of getting off the cart is different from that of a typical young lady. She doesn't hesitate at all and jumps directly off the donkey cart.

So cool, so charismatic.

Boss Qian clicked his tongue in disapproval, only to be met with a piercing glare from Tong Huaqiong.

Most people would have backed down long ago under that kind of gaze.

Boss Qian didn't see the coldness of "keep away" in her eyes, but instead interpreted it as a positive signal that "at least she looked at me."

Fortunately, Tong Huaqiong couldn't read minds; if she could, she would have already charged at her with her eight-foot-long cleaver. (End of Chapter)