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

Chapter 267 Fighting for a Way Out for His Daughter

Cao remained silent.

Tong Huaqiong then asked, "You came to me not just to borrow medicine, did you?"

Cao sighed inwardly, thinking that Aunt Tong was indeed the first person in the entire Qinghe Bay to go to town to do business, and that she was so perceptive.

However, she was too embarrassed to say it.

She became timid after entering Tong Huaqiong's house.

Cao changed the subject and asked, "Aunt Tong, you've seen a lot, do you think Fugui will change?"

Tong Huaqiong said directly, "He has hit Chunni and you more than once or twice. There is no such thing as zero times or countless times when it comes to domestic violence. You can't expect him to change."

Cao lowered her head and wept.

Every time Tian Fugui beat her, she would force herself to continue living her life as usual, which now seems like a joke in the village.

Seeing that Cao Shi still wouldn't talk, Tong Huaqiong didn't give up and changed her question, asking, "You used to be able to tolerate it, why can't you tolerate it now?"

Cao gritted her teeth and said, "Aunt Tong, I won't lie to you. If he only hit Chunni and me, I could tolerate it. But now, he and my mother-in-law have been talking to someone and have gone crazy these past few days. They want to send Chunni to be a child bride."

“Last night my mother-in-law said that Chunni stole meat from the house and that the family could no longer afford to support Chunni. She has her eye on someone else and will send Chunni away in the next few days. She said that Chunni has grown up, become wild and unruly, and if she is beaten to the point of jumping into a well, how will they get a dowry? It would be better to let Chunni become a child bride now and earn some money to help Chunwang get married.”

Tong Huaqiong's mind was buzzing like it had been hit by firecrackers.

She advised Granny Luo not to hit Chunni, lest she be damaged and unable to exchange for the bride price, but she never expected it to have the opposite effect.

Granny Luo wants Chunni to become a child bride right now.

Tong Huaqiong didn't even know how to comment on such a thought process.

This is comparable to Tong Dajiao in her previous life, who made Man'er marry into the Zheng family.

However, Tong Huaqiong was somewhat comforted by the fact that it was precisely because of Granny Luo's actions that Cao dared to bring Chunni to her for help.

If Cao is willing to defy her husband and mother-in-law for her daughter's sake, there is a chance for things to turn around.

"What kind of family is it?" Tong Huaqiong wondered what kind of family Granny Luo could find for Chunni.

With tears welling up in her eyes, Cao said, "They are from a family in Heilong Town. At first, my mother-in-law said they were a well-off family. The boy in the family was nine years old, two years older than Chunni, and Chunni would be able to enjoy a life of luxury there. Later, Chunwang let slip that the boy was born mentally challenged, and at nine years old he couldn't even speak properly and still wet the bed."

Sin!
Granny Luo is truly ruthless.

However, if Chunni doesn't become a child bride now, staying in the Tian family will only make her Chunwang's future burden.

In the future, she might be arranged by Granny Luo and Tian Fugui to marry a wealthy widower or a disabled son from a well-to-do family. If these two have connections to get Chunni to become a concubine in a wealthy family, they would not hesitate.

"Fugui agreed to that family in Heilongtan Town, right?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

“I agreed, saying they were willing to give thirty taels of silver. I can’t just watch Chunni jump into a fire pit. Chunwang is my son, and I love him very much. I’ll agree to give Chunwang the dowry when Chunni gets married in the future. But I’m a hundred times unwilling to let Chunni, who is so young, become a child bride in exchange for silver.”

“Yesterday I argued with my mother-in-law and Fugui about this, and Fugui beat me twice.”

"I only came to you, Aunt Tong, because I had no other choice."

Cao cried as she spoke.

Tong Huaqiong asked, "So how do you want me to help you?"

If they could use Magistrate Liu's influence to pressure Tian Fugui into not letting Chunni become a child bride, that would work, but Chunni would still have to live in the Tian family.

If Chunni can't leave the Tian family, she'll be sold by Granny Luo and Tian Fugui sooner or later.

It all depends on whether the Cao family has the resolve.

Cao said, "Aunt Tong, I was thinking... I was wondering if you could hire Chunni and me to work in your fields? They think Chunni is a money-loser. If Chunni and I can earn money, Fugui and my mother-in-law, for the sake of money, probably won't let Chunni become a child bride." Tong Huaqiong: "."

She had originally thought that Cao would propose a divorce, but unexpectedly, Cao had no intention of leaving Tian Fugui at all.

She couldn't say that Cao's idea was wrong.

Even though divorce is now a personal choice in later generations, some women still can't bring themselves to make a clean break, especially women from rural areas.

Not to mention women of this era.

If Cao gets a divorce, her family probably won't accept her. She has no house or land in the village, so where can she go?

Even Tong Huaqiong herself felt a sense of despair when she was brought into the Cao family.

Seeing that Tong Huaqiong remained silent, Chunni wiped away her tears and said, "Grandma Tong, I'm very capable. I can farm and cut pig feed."

Anyway, she has to do these chores at home.

Cao said, "I saw that you have hired a lot of villagers to farm the land on the west hill. The corn harvest is coming soon. Could you hire me and Chunni, or we could feed the pigs in the pigsty?"

Cao inquired and found out that Liu Qiaoyun and Gu Xiaocao from the village were both working in shops in town.

Even a young girl like Liu Xiuxiu works in the shop, and she does a pretty good job.

Cao didn't dare mention going to the shop. She would be satisfied if Tong Huaqiong was willing to let her work in the fields or take care of the pigs.

She is very capable; most male laborers in the village are not as capable as her.

If Tong Huaqiong agrees, she is willing to accept only half the salary of other hired workers.

Tong Huaqiong hesitated for a moment.

Her fifty acres of land definitely need manpower. The upcoming autumn harvest requires people to harvest corn and till the land. Expanding the pigsty will also require manpower, and her other business plans will also need additional support.

It wouldn't matter if there were one more Cao Shi and Chunni in the field.

But what Tong Huaqiong was worried about was whether Tian Fugui and Granny Luo would cause trouble.

Moreover, the thought that Cao Shi and Chun Ni's earnings would all be handed over to Tian Fugui and Granny Luo to support Chun Wang made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

Why should two women have to hand over the money they earn?

However, since Madam Cao came to her door, it means that she is still willing to fight for her daughter's survival. As a pure ancient woman, it is impossible for her to divorce, to become self-reliant, or to leave her husband's family in the short term.

“It’s not impossible for you to come to my house to work,” Tong Huaqiong said.

Upon hearing Tong Huaqiong's words, a hint of gratitude appeared on Cao's sorrowful face.

"What if Tian Fugui and your mother-in-law disagree? What if they call you away halfway through your work at my house?" Tong Huaqiong brought up the current practical problems.

"As long as you are still Tian family wives and daughters, you will always be controlled by Tian Fugui and Granny Luo."

Cao remained silent after hearing this.

She was only thinking about asking Tong Huaqiong for a job opportunity, and hadn't considered the problem Tong Huaqiong mentioned.

"What should we do then?" Cao muttered to herself.

"Do you want to leave the Tian family?" Even though she knew Cao's answer, Tong Huaqiong still asked, unwilling to give up.

“How can I leave? I married into the Tian family, and I can’t leave the fields unless Tian Fugui divorces me. If Tian Fugui really divorces me, I don’t want to live anymore, that would be so shameful. My Chunni, my sister and niece’s marriages will all be affected.” Cao Shi rejected the idea without even thinking.

Just as Tong Huaqiong had predicted, leaving the Tian family was not an option for her at all.