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

Chapter 270 Who Should Do the Work?
Cao cooked, and Chunni tended the fire; the mother and daughter quickly finished preparing dinner.

Tian Fugui and Granny Luo spent the afternoon playing cards and the other sewing shoe soles in a haystack at the village entrance. They figured they had arrived at the restaurant and went home together.

Cao and Chunni served the food to the table.

Tian Fugui's expression was very unpleasant. Cao Shi and Chunni tried their best to keep quiet, for fear of upsetting Tian Fugui.

Grandma Luo stirred the rice and said, "What kind of family are we? Why is the rice so thick today?"

Cao said with a smile, "I thought Mother had a long day, so I put in more rice."

Granny Luo scolded, "You spendthrift woman, how can our rice withstand such waste? You don't know the cost of firewood, rice, oil, and salt when you're not in charge of the household. You can't eat anything, but you've learned to be extravagant."

Cao was used to being scolded by Granny Luo, so she didn't argue back.

As she muttered to herself, Granny Luo divided the thick porridge in her bowl in half, giving one half to her grandson and the other half to her son. Then she added hot water and ate the thinner porridge herself.

Chunwang and Tian Fugui sat down as usual, eating thick rice porridge with large white steamed buns.

Grandma Luo walked to the pot with satisfaction and personally ladled out two bowls of thin porridge, so thin you could see your reflection in it, for her daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

Chunni wanted to ask why, but ultimately didn't dare. She sat by the pot with her bowl in hand and drank it expressionlessly.

"Mother, Chunni is injured. Give her a bowl of thick soup so she can recover and get back to work," Cao pleaded with a forced smile.

Granny Luo raised her eyebrows and said, "She's a rich young lady. She's lucky to have anything to eat now. She's living a much more comfortable life than I did when I was a child. I used to eat wild vegetables and tree bark, and I couldn't even get a bowl of porridge like this."

Chunni, fearing that it would put Cao Shi in a difficult position, said softly, "Mother, I'll just drink this bowl."

Fearing that saying too much would provoke the anger of her mother-in-law and husband, Cao did not dare to continue pleading. Instead, she turned her back and scooped the little rice from her bowl into Chunni's bowl.

However, Cao's actions could not be kept secret from her mother-in-law.

"You're just spoiling Chunni all you want," Granny Luo said disdainfully. "A good-for-nothing like her wants to drink thick wine? Doesn't she even know if she's got the right to do that?"

Cao remained silent.

Chunni paused in her porridge-drinking motion, a sudden surge of resentment rising within her. Why wasn't she destined to drink thick porridge?

Tian Fugui and Chunwang ate their steamed buns and drank their thick porridge, seemingly unconcerned about what was going on.

After the meal, Cao Shi still helped Chunni clear the dishes and clean the kitchen.

After finishing all this, Cao prepared water for her mother-in-law to wash her feet.

Granny Luo was reluctant to spend money on oil lamps, so she went to bed early every day and avoided lighting the lamps whenever possible.

Therefore, Cao would prepare foot bath water for her mother-in-law every morning.

"Chunni, bring the water to your grandma."

Cao poured out the foot-washing water and instructed Chunni to take it to the main room.

She wanted Chunni to be as sensible as possible in front of her mother-in-law and gain more favor.

Chunni stood still.

“Chunni, the worse your grandma and dad treat you, the more filial you should be. They might treat you better because of your filial piety,” Cao said.

Chunni felt that Cao was wrong, and she said softly, "I have always been obedient, and Grandma and Dad have not been good to me either."

Granny Luo called out from inside the house for foot-washing water. Cao Shi, not having time to lecture Chunni, quickly took the water to the main room.

Granny Luo sat in a chair, Chunwang nestled beside her eating pastries, and Tian Fugui leaned back in his chair with a gloomy face, smoking his pipe.

Cao knelt down to serve Granny Luo by washing her feet.

"This evening, someone from Heilongtan sent a message saying they wanted to look at a few more families. They're willing to pay thirty taels of silver, and now several families are vying to send their daughters to be child brides. If you hadn't stopped them yesterday, we would have sent Chunni to Heilongtan this morning, and those thirty taels would have been ours."

No wonder Tian Fugui had a dark expression as soon as he got home; it turns out that the matter of Chunni being raised as a child bride has taken a turn for the worse.

Granny Luo cursed, "You good-for-nothing!" She was seething with hatred; that was a whopping thirty taels of silver!

Mrs. Cao breathed a sigh of relief. Chunni could stay at home for a few more years.

Chunwang said in a muffled voice, "If I can't get money from these worthless goods, then I won't have any meat to eat."

Cao quickly seized the opportunity to say, "Yes, your mother and sister will earn money so you can eat meat every day."

Old Lady Luo took a look at Cao Shi in the moonlight and thought her daughter-in-law was dreaming.

Where can a woman like her earn money?

I thought it was Widow Tong.

Tian Fugui sat up straight and asked, "How could you and Chunni possibly have the ability to make money?"

Cao said, "I really am not lying to you and Mother. I begged Aunt Tong, and she agreed to let Chunni and me work for her and pay us wages."

Granny Luo's eyes darted around.

A while ago, Chunwang suffered a loss at the hands of Yaozu and the magistrate's son. Granny Luo inquired around the village and found out that Tong Huaqiong's shop was thriving, and Gu Xiaocao and Liu Qiaoyun from the village were helping out in the shop and making a lot of money.

Cao and Chunni went to work at the shop, which not only saved the family a lot of money, but also allowed them to bring money home.

Just as she was about to speak, she heard her son say, "You and Chunni can't go. It's not right for you to show your faces in town. Since Tong Dajiao is willing to let our family members do the work, I'll have to do it."

Tian Fugui and Granny Luo thought the same thing: Cao Shi and Chunni would go to work at Tong Huaqiong's pastry shop.

Qin Qingyou and Liu Yue'e's brother Liu Shan, both grown men in the village, helped out at the shop. One delivered pastries, and the other was in charge of purchasing. They could both work outside and earn extra money.

After more than half a year of training, the usually honest Qin Qingyou has developed the demeanor of a manager in his speech and actions.

Tian Fugui was very envious and wanted to work at Tong Huaqiong's shop.

He asked Qin Qingyou for help many times, but Qin Qingyou always made excuses, saying that the shop was not hiring at the moment, and even if it were, he couldn't make the decision, and told him to go to Tong Huaqiong.

He didn't want to go to Tong Huaqiong.

Firstly, the Tian family and the Gu family had no connection. Secondly, Tong Huaqiong was a female boss, and he couldn't bring himself to ask her to ask for work for women.

Now that his wife and daughter have asked for work opportunities, isn't it a good time to give them to him?

I doubt Tong Dajiao would say anything.

Cao said, "His father, you've misunderstood. He's not going to the shop; he's going to feed the pigs and do farm work."

Tian Fugui's face fell, and he said, "You're just asking to survive, why don't you ask for something easier? Why do you insist on working in the pigsty and in the fields?"

Cao said, "I was just trying not to delay our household chores."

At this moment, Granny Luo spoke up: "Working in the fields and feeding the pigs is fine too, better than burning charcoal at Xu Jin's coal mine. I heard that Widow Tong is very generous; she provides meals for hired workers, and there are often big white steamed buns, and meat during the busy farming season."

Upon hearing the large white steamed buns and meat, Chunwang exclaimed, "From now on, Mom and Chunni can bring home the steamed buns and meat they earn from their work for me to eat."

When Tian Fugui heard that there were big white steamed buns and meat, he became interested.

He can slaughter pigs.

Tong Huaqiong raises so many pigs to sell pork, so he needs a butcher, and he can go to the pig farm.

Slaughtering pigs is a lucrative job.

“We have so much work to do at home. If you go to work at Widow Tong’s house, it will interfere with the work at home. Since you asked for work at the pig farm, I will do it. I know how to slaughter pigs. As for Chunni, she can go work in Widow Tong’s fields. If she doesn’t earn thirty taels of silver, don’t blame me for being impolite.”

Cao hurriedly said, "I told Aunt Tong that Chunni and I would go to do the work. What's the point of you going? You know Aunt Tong's temper. What if she gets angry and doesn't want Chunni and me anymore? Wouldn't we lose our way to make money?"

Cao was not stupid. Through her conversation with Tong Huaqiong, she realized that Tong Huaqiong disliked Tian Fugui.

Granny Luo said, "Fugui is more capable of working. Anyone who can do the work, as long as Widow Tong can do the accounting, will ask Fugui to go to the pig farm."

“Wealth and status really won’t do.” Tong Huaqiong’s voice boomed from under the window of the Tian family’s house.