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

Chapter 245 Eliminating Famine
"Mother, did I do something wrong?" Gu Dahan asked nervously.

This stepson usually treats Tong Huaqiong quite normally, but when he's alone with her, he acts like he's done something wrong.

It couldn't be changed overnight, and Tong Huaqiong let it go after saying it a few times.

Tong Huaqiong said to Gu Dahan, "Your sister sent Xiaofeng over today. I asked Xiaofeng about your sister's situation, but he was vague. Why don't you go see your sister tomorrow?"

Gu Baishuang and her stepmother didn't get along, but she and Gu Dahan had a deep sibling bond, and she would come to Qinghe Bay from time to time to visit Dahan and Man'er.

However, Tong Huaqiong rarely invites people to stay for meals.

It had been two months since she last visited Qinghe Bay. Based on the ambiguity in Nie Xiaofeng's words, Tong Huaqiong worried that Gu Baishuang had encountered some difficulties at the Nie family.

In early summer, at Old Mrs. Huang's birthday celebration, it was clear from Gu Baishuang's stepson and daughter-in-law that Gu Baishuang's life in the Nie family was not as comfortable as one might imagine.

Tong Huaqiong searched Tong Dajiao's mind for Gu Baishuang from her previous life.

Because Man'er was sent to the Zheng family, Gu Baishuang completely broke with the Gu family and never had any contact with them again.

After Gu Jingzhe became the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination, he took Tong Dajiao and others to live in the capital. When they passed through the town, they heard that Gu Baishuang's husband had passed away. This cunning man had been wary of Gu Baishuang all his life. Before he died, he left all his money to his two sons and left nothing to Gu Baishuang.

The two stepsons bribed the clan chief and forced Gu Baishuang to leave the Nie family in front of the mourning hall. Nie Xiaofeng protected his mother and was also expelled from the Nie family.

After Tong Dajiao arrived in the capital, she never heard from Gu Baishuang again.

Tong Huaqiong wanted to find out Gu Baishuang's current situation in the Nie family, just because Gu Baishuang had previously offered to lend money to redeem Yaozu.

Gu Dahan was quite happy when Tong Huaqiong asked him to visit his sister, as he felt it was a sign of his stepmother's concern for her.

If he and Chen Su-fen could become family with their stepmother, their sister will sooner or later.

So he agreed verbally and went to the Nie family early the next morning.

After having lunch at the Nie family's house, Gu Dahan returned and told Tong Huaqiong that Gu Baishuang was fine at the Nie family's house, and that she had just caught a cold but was almost recovered.

Tong Huaqiong was slightly relieved after hearing this.

However, thinking about Gu Baishuang's fate, Tong Huaqiong wished she could tell Gu Baishuang to be wary of the person next to her in bed.

However, given the current situation, Gu Baishuang may not be willing to believe her.

We need to find a way to expose the true nature of the Nie family.

There's no rush, after all, it's still several years before Gu Jingzhe becomes the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination.

Ever since the official plaque recognizing her was displayed on her front door, Tong Huaqiong has been walking with a swagger.

He felt refreshed and invigorated from the inside out.

Of course, there were also those who disagreed with Tong Huaqiong's recognition by the government for her meritorious service in solving the ear rot disease, which made her famous throughout Pingchuan County.

For example, Tian, ​​the wife of Xu Yong, the former village chief of Qinghewan, and Yan Pozi and Huang Pozi, who were at odds with Tong Dajiao, were so angry that they cursed Tong Huaqiong behind her back every day.

The person who hates Tong Huaqiong the most is Xu Zaohua, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zheng family.

She felt that all the glory Tong Huaqiong was now should belong to her, Xu Zaohua.

Xu Zaohua insists that Tong Dajiao deliberately gave the pesticide to her father to set a trap for her, thus causing her to lose face in the entire Pingchuan County.

As Tong Dajiao wished, she achieved her goal.

Xu Zaohua was unwilling to accept this.

When the official plaque praising Tong Huaqiong was hung on her door, Xu Zaohua almost ground her molars to powder.

Tong Huaqiong was naturally unaware of all of this.

At this moment, Tong Huaqiong looked at the corn stalks swaying in the wind in the village and felt gratified that she had made a small contribution to agriculture in this era.

Tong Dajiao's memory tells her that this year, the cornfields in the entire Yanguan Town were particularly severely affected by ear rot, and the corn harvest in several villages, including Qinghewan, was almost completely lost.

The Gu family was no exception.

Because the summer wheat was all sold to pay for Gu Jingzhe's studies in the prefectural city, the Gu family had no food at all.

Tong Dajiao was forced to lead her entire family up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables and strip tree bark. By winter, the wild vegetables were gone and the tree bark had been dug up, and many people in the village starved to death. When the Gu family was almost starving to death, the Lu family brought them food, and Tong Dajiao and the others escaped their fate.

Thanks to Tong Huaqiong's efforts, no one in Qinghewan will starve to death this autumn due to a lack of harvest.

The villagers were overjoyed to see the corn ears getting fuller every day, and felt grateful to Tong Huaqiong.

Most of the villagers in Qinghewan are very simple and honest. The way they express their gratitude is by giving Tong Huaqiong vegetables, eggs, and fruits. These days, Tong Huaqiong's house is piled high with things, and she can't push them away.

In addition, the villagers learned that someone was going to build a house on the wasteland behind the Gu family's courtyard where the wronged souls of those killed in the massacre were buried, and that the owner of Fenglelou was going to perform a ritual to release the souls of the wronged. So they boldly went to help.

Some timid people were afraid to go over, but some villagers said that the Gu family had lived here for so many years and no vengeful spirits had come to claim their lives. On the contrary, their lives had gotten better and better. This showed that even vengeful spirits knew the principle of not harming the innocent when seeking revenge.

With the help of many people, the villagers worked together to clear the large area of ​​wasteland.

After consulting with the entire village, village chief Liu Tielian carved out a burial plot in the sunny part of the village cemetery specifically to bury the wronged souls.

As agreed, Boss Qian chose an auspicious day and invited monks and Taoist priests to chant sutras for the deceased.

In addition, Tong Huaqiong discussed with the village chief and chose a burial site with good feng shui to bury Hong's parents and younger brother separately.

Hong's parents and younger brother were finally laid to rest, and Hong was finally relieved of a worry.

Meanwhile, the foundation work for Mr. Qian and Mr. He's house began.

There happened to be a large area of ​​unearthed wasteland, so Tong Huaqiong decided to expand her yard.

She had wanted to renovate her yard for a long time.

Renovating the yard is a big project, and where the whole family will live while the work is underway is a problem.

The clearing of the wasteland solved one of Tong Huaqiong's problems, which was to simply expand the area backward.

Anyway, now everyone in the village accepts that this wasteland where wronged souls were buried is part of Tong Huaqiong's yard, and if Tong Huaqiong expands it, no one will cause trouble.

Even if someone comes to cause trouble, I believe Village Chief Liu Tielian will not ignore it.

Tong Huaqiong's courtyard underwent a series of planning during its expansion.

In the future, when there is an abundance of grain, we must have enough space to store it.

Tong Huaqiong felt that in this era, turmoil could break out at any time, so storing more food was always a good idea.

The larger the storage room, the better. In addition to the storage room on the ground, we also need to dig underground.

The pens for chickens, ducks, and geese also need to be expanded.

We have a pig farm, and some of our chickens, ducks and geese have been moved there. In the future, when we find a suitable place, we will also set up a chicken farm and a duck farm.

The expanded chicken, duck, and goose pens are designed primarily for recreational purposes, allowing people to "raise chickens and grow vegetables when they have free time."

In addition to these, there is something even more important: people's dwellings.

The previous house was built when Lao Gu was alive. Although it was renovated in the middle, the roof was mostly thatched with only a small part of it and the walls were mostly mud walls with a small part of them made of blue bricks.

Tong Huaqiong figured that since the yard was going to be expanded anyway, and Liu Tielian had even allocated such a large piece of wasteland, she might as well rebuild the house on the wasteland.

The roof should be covered with tiles, and the eaves with glazed tiles; the walls and floor should be made of blue bricks.

More importantly, the walls need to be thick, and the room needs to have a heated floor.

She arrived in this era in spring, without experiencing winter, but judging from the distinct seasons, this place belongs to the north of the geographical dividing line between North and South in later generations.

Most families don't have underfloor heating, so they just have to tough it out in the winter.

For Tong Huaqiong, who started enjoying central heating in the north while attending university, winters without heating are unbearable.

She didn't want to spend the winter in Tong Dajiao's old house, hugging a hot water bottle, so she insisted on building a new house with thickened walls and underfloor heating.

Take advantage of this season to build it up, let it air out for a few months in late autumn, and then move it in during winter.

perfect!