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

Chapter 21 Fear of being scammed
"Isn't this my home?"

In her dream, Tong Huaqiong walked into a space.

She had seen this space in her dreams when she first became Widow Tong, but she never thought of pushing open the door to it.

This time, when I pushed open the portal, I found that the end of the portal led to my house from my previous life.

When Tong Huaqiong was admitted to graduate school, her parents used the compensation money from the demolition of their house to buy her a house in the city where she was studying. She lived in her own house instead of living on campus while studying for her master's degree.

Perhaps it was because she was thinking about it during the day that she dreamed about it at night; she was thinking about butter and all sorts of ingredients for making pastries, which is why she dreamed about her room.

Tong Huaqiong strode into her house and went straight to the kitchen without hesitation.

Opening the refrigerator door, I saw chunks of butter, packets of sugar, and a finished cream and fruit cake.

She remembered that her undergraduate roommate was having a birthday party, so she made a cake a day in advance and stored it in the refrigerator, planning to take it to her roommate's birthday party after finishing her experiment.

Before she could even step out of the laboratory, she became a heartless widow and a wicked mother-in-law with a large family.

These past few days, Tong Huaqiong has been working hard to earn money at the Gu family's home in Qinghewan, but there's nothing good to eat. She's been craving cakes so much that she's been thinking about getting one.

But the cake was firmly placed in the refrigerator, and no matter how she tried to move it, it wouldn't budge.

Tong Huaqiong tried a few times but gave up. She reached out to try and get butter, condensed milk, powdered sugar, lard, eggs, and milk. With these ingredients as her magic touch, wouldn't she be able to crush the pastry shops in town?

Just like a cake, no matter how hard Tong Huaqiong tried, the butter, condensed milk, powdered sugar, lard, eggs, and milk wouldn't budge, as if they were stuck to the refrigerator.

Tong Huaqiong angrily pounded on the refrigerator door.

A rooster's crow startled Tong Huaqiong awake.

What space, what house, what refrigerator, what cake, butter, condensed milk, powdered sugar, eggs...

When Tong Huaqiong woke up, she was still lying in the mud house of the Gu family, living as a widow and mother-in-law.

This is the first rooster crow. It's time to get up when the rooster crows for the third time!

Tong Huaqiong rolled over in the darkness, trying to catch up on some sleep.

Soon, the rooster crowed three times, and Tong Huaqiong got dressed, got out of bed, opened the door, and saw that Chen Sufen had already brought her water to wash her face.

Gu Taohua was still asleep, and Tong Huaqiong did not wake her up.

This chubby girl has been exhausted these past few days. Let her get some more sleep; we'll need her to keep things in order when we get to town.

Gu Dashu and Liu Yue'e, a married couple, hadn't slept much and were trying to find a way to borrow money.

The couple compiled a list of people who could lend them money at night, and got up at the third cockcrow, intending to swallow their pride and knock on each door.

After Tong Huaqiong finished washing up, Gu Taohua also got up. Chen Sufeng had already cooked the porridge. Knowing that Tong Huaqiong didn't like eating millet with the husk on, she reluctantly peeled the husk off the millet.

As soon as Gu Dashu stepped into the stove, he smelled the aroma. These past few days, his mother had been going out early and returning late, selling dried cakes and steamed buns. He wondered what she was selling this time and how much money she had made these past few days.

Even a mosquito's leg is meat; as long as this money can save Yaozu, it's worth taking.

"Mother, how's business these days?" Gu Dashu placed a bowl of thick porridge in front of Tong Huaqiong, looking ingratiating.

"Whether the business is doing well or not has nothing to do with you. Did you help with the cooking or the hawking?" Tong Huaqiong said calmly while drinking her porridge.

"Mother, could you give some of the money you earn to the Zheng family?"

"Also, Mother, do you have a recipe for making a lot of money?"

Gu Dashu recalled that Tong Huaqiong had given Steward He a five-day deadline. She, who was always fond of making a fuss, did not haggle and readily agreed.

Gu Dashu harbored a hope that perhaps his mother had some good idea.

Tong Huaqiong nodded and said, "There are ways to make money, but it takes time. So your son's matter still depends on you and Yue'e." Gu Dashu was in despair and shouted angrily, "You promised Steward He five days!"

Tong Huaqiong said, "Wasn't I just trying to get away quickly? Butler He clearly came prepared. If I didn't agree, who knows what might happen in the dark wilderness."

"Gu Dashu, what's with your attitude? You're yelling at your mother like this for your son? Where were you before? You're always lazy and greedy, always looking for a free moment. If you had just done something honest, you wouldn't be so stingy as to not even be able to come up with fifty taels of silver."

“I’m doing everything I can for the sake of my family. I’m even giving up my reputation to do business in public. What am I after? I work myself to the bone to earn a little money, and you want to take it all away? Let me tell you, Gu Dashu, even if your second branch of the family is childless, it’s because of what you and Liu Yue’e have done.”

"There are still two days left, aren't there? You know in your hearts whether you've tried your best to raise the money or not. You're just waiting for me to clean up your mess, aren't you?"

Tong Huaqiong scolded Gu Dashu, then slurped down the rice in her bowl and ignored Gu Dashu. She then started urging Chen Sufeng and Gu Taohua to prepare mung bean cakes and mung bean pastries.

Gu Dashu was so scolded that he became dejected.

At this time, Gu Dashu wanted to try his luck at the gambling den in town.

Gu Dashu was a skilled gambler, winning every time he went to the gambling den, and spending all his winnings on food and drink. He often lamented that the Gu family was too poor, as he had no capital and could only win a few taels or three or four ounces each time he had a few hundred coins to treat himself.

The people at the gambling den thought he was poor and had a troublesome old mother, so they dared not tempt him to gamble big or give him credit.

Gu Dashu sighed at this thought. He probably couldn't even get into the gambling den now because he didn't have any capital left.

His mother was angry, so he didn't dare to take it.

Tong Huaqiong coldly watched Gu Dashu, intending to test his temper over the next few days and let him experience what it's like to be in dire straits.

That way he can walk on the straight path.

Two large baskets were filled with mung bean cakes, mung bean pancakes, and dried biscuits.

Gu Taohua shouted loudly and steadily lifted the two large baskets.

Tong Huaqiong thought happily, "With Gu Taohua's strength, I might as well not make her lose weight."

"Peach Blossom, today we'll ride in Grandpa Xu's oxcart to town," Tong Huaqiong said.

Grandpa Xu's oxcart travels between Qinghewan and Yanguan Town every day, much like a modern bus.

Tong Huaqiong thought that walking to town would take too much time, and besides, even if Gu Taohua was strong, she couldn't use her strength to the point of exhaustion, so she decided to spend a little money to take a bus today.

Unexpectedly, when the two arrived at the parking spot at the village entrance, Grandpa Xu, who was wiping the cart shaft, looked at Tong Huaqiong and her daughter as if he had seen a ghost.

Before Tong Huaqiong could reply, Grandpa Xu ran off with his car.

Tong Huaqiong: "..."

"What's wrong with Grandpa Xu? Why did he run away as soon as he saw us?"

"Are the women of the Gu family man-eating tigers? Why are you so scared?"

"You old geezer, don't let me catch you."

Gu Taohua, looking displeased, launched into a tirade, firmly maintaining her past arrogance and meanness.

It's not Grandpa Xu's fault; it's just that Tong Dajiao has such a bad reputation. Not only is the image of a vicious stepmother and a vicious mother-in-law deeply ingrained in people's minds, but she also always has the upper hand when dealing with villagers, whether she's right or wrong.

Grandpa Xu was really afraid that Tong Huaqiong and her daughter would try to scam him by hitting his car, so he preferred not to make that money.

And then there's Gu Taohua, that big, chubby girl. She's worth three people. If she gets on the bus, how are the others supposed to sit? Wouldn't he be losing money on two seats?

If Widow Tong were to throw a tantrum on the bus, and the mother and daughter teamed up to bully him, Grandpa Xu thought he wouldn't be able to handle it.

It's better to pretend you didn't see it and drive away.

(End of this chapter)