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

The next morning, Cao brought Chunni to Tong Huaqiong's house to work.

Tian Fugui and Granny Luo didn't dare to make things difficult for them.

Tong Huaqiong asked Gu Dahan to take Chunni and Cao to work at the pig farm in the temple outside the village.

She also went with them to the pig farm to check on the pigs' growth.

Originally, Tong Huaqiong thought that the corn in the field was ripe and wanted Cao to go and work in the field.

After thinking it over, I realized that the pig farm needed more manpower.

The manpower needed for pig farms is different from that needed for farm work. Farm work mainly requires physical strength, while pig farm work requires technical skills.

If Tong Huaqiong wants to expand her aquaculture business, she needs to train her own aquaculture technicians.

Now that Cao Shi and Chunni are here, why not train them?

The focus is on nurturing Chunni.

From the jade pendant incident, Tong Huaqiong saw Chunni's awakening and ruthlessness, which was exactly the kind of person she needed.

Chunni arrived at the pig farm and took the initiative to pick up a knife to cut pig feed.

Gu Dahan said, "Chunni, that knife is heavy. You put it there, I'll do it."

Chunni said, "Uncle Dahan, I'm just here to work at your house. This is what I should do."

Gu Dahan felt both sympathy and heartache for Chunni.

This reminded him of Man'er.

Chunni was only eight or nine years old when she became a hired worker.

As someone who dotes on his daughter, Gu Dahan despises Tian Fugui's behavior.

A grown man shouldn't be working properly, but instead should be making his daughter earn money.

“Chunni, this isn’t your job. Finish today and go home. This is your father’s job,” Gu Dahan said.

Tong Huaqiong felt a headache coming on when she heard this.

Gu Dahan sympathizes with Chunni, but that doesn't mean he should send her home and make Tian Fugui a hired worker.

Tong Huaqiong looked at Chunni, who looked uneasy and was clearly afraid of being kicked out.

“Dahan, I sent Chunni here. Don’t you know what kind of person Tian Fugui is? Chunni does the same work at home, even harder, and her father still beats her. At least no one beats her when she works at our house. Sending her back from our house is like pushing her into a fire pit,” Tong Huaqiong said to Gu Dahan.

Gu Dahan was so concerned about Chunni that he forgot about her situation. Upon hearing this, he cursed Tian Fugui.

“Alright, I’ll listen to you, Chunni will stay. If Tian Fugui comes here demanding her, he can’t come in as long as I’m here.” Gu Dahan decided to protect Chunni after thinking it through.

Tong Huaqiong nodded in satisfaction.

Cao picked up a bucket and began cleaning the pigsty.

She had heard people mention before that Tong Huaqiong's pigsty was different from others, as it was always kept very clean.

It is said that a clean pigsty makes pigs less likely to get sick.

When Tong Huaqiong arrived at the pigpen, she saw about twenty pigs huddled together eating by the trough, each one plump and healthy. She was extremely pleased with herself.

These pigs will be worth a fortune by the end of the year.

"You'll be provided with one meal a day if you work for us. You just have to finish the meal; you're not allowed to take it home. If I find out, you'll make Chunwang pay for the money and the jade pendant." Tong Huaqiong specifically instructed Cao before leaving.

Tong Huaqiong provided decent meals for her employees, and many of them would bring steamed buns to their own children to eat.

Tong Huaqiong turned a blind eye to this, as long as it didn't interfere with her work.

But Cao Shi and Chun Ni were out of the question; if they were taken back, they would end up in Chun Wang and Tian Fugui's stomachs. Tong Huaqiong would rather feed them to the dogs than give them to them.

Cao paused for a moment, then agreed, "I'll do whatever Aunt Tong says."

When she came to work in the morning, Tian Fugui and Granny Luo did mention to her that she and Chunni should save the food provided by Tong Huaqiong and take it home.

Cao felt sorry for her son Chunwang, so she agreed to her mother-in-law's request.

Now that Tong Huaqiong doesn't allow her to save food to take home, she feels regretful, but she still has to obey Tong Huaqiong.

She just wants to pay off the eighty taels of silver with her wages as soon as possible, and save all the money she earns in the future for Chunwang.

Tong Huaqiong gave a few more instructions and then left the pig farm.

The autumn morning was windy, the air was chilly, and the leaves began to turn yellow and fall.

But Tong Huaqiong didn't feel the autumn wind was bleak at all.

"Mother-in-law, where are you from?" Tong Huaqiong greeted Zhao, Liu Yue'e's mother, warmly when they met her on the road.

"You came from the pig farm, where are you going?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

Zhao smiled broadly and said, "You're confused. The corn is ripe. People have already started picking it these past few days. My family will start picking it today."

There were many villagers on the village road heading to the fields to pick corn.

They all greeted Tong Huaqiong.

"Tong Dajiao, thanks to your medicine, my corn harvest is bountiful this year."

"Corn has never been as good as this year. My family sold some and kept the rest for our own food. We won't have to worry about food this winter."

Tong Huaqiong perked up when she heard that someone wanted to sell corn.

Her pigs will be ready for market at the end of the year, and she plans to expand her pigsty and buy some more piglets.

This means that pigs consume a lot of resources, especially in winter when there is no grass and raising pigs requires a lot of corn.

The corn in our own field was enough for the pigs, but if we raised more, it wouldn't be enough. Besides, if we didn't buy more corn to store during a good harvest year, who knows when we might suffer a disaster?

She now needs corn for both humans and livestock, as well as for making peach blossom desserts, so she has to plan ahead and stock up on corn in advance.

Buying it elsewhere is the same as buying it in your own village; buying it in your own village saves on transportation costs.

So Tong Huaqiong said, "If you're going to sell your corn, don't sell it to anyone else, sell it to me. My pigs will eat it in the winter."

"Tsk tsk tsk, she really is Aunt Big Foot, she's willing to invest so much in raising pigs." The young and strong laborer who had a bumper corn harvest and was about to sell half of it sighed. "That's perfect, then I won't have to take it to town to sell."

"When the time comes, please put in a good word for me in the village. If anyone wants to sell corn, they can sell it to me," Tong Huaqiong said with a smile.

The able-bodied men readily agreed.

The villagers would definitely be willing to sell their corn to Tong Huaqiong.

Not only did Tong Huaqiong's pesticide formulation lead to a bumper corn harvest, but more importantly, she offered fair prices. Many of the ingredients needed for her peach blossom desserts, such as eggs and wheat flour, were purchased locally, and she never overcharged or excessively pressured for lower prices.

The villagers trusted Tong Huaqiong completely.

After instructing the able-bodied men, Tong Huaqiong said to Zhao Shi, "This autumn, Dashu and Yue'e won't be able to work for your family. The shop is also busy lately, and your daughter-in-law and granddaughter may not have time to come home to pick corn. You two, plus Liu Shan, probably won't have enough manpower. If you need help, I'll have my family hire workers to pick corn for you."

Zhao waved her hand and said, "We don't need Dashu and Yue'e's help. They're more helpful than we are. My family can finish this little bit of work. My eldest daughter and her family are planning to come and help for a few days."

Now that her second daughter and son-in-law have finally gotten on the right track, especially since her son-in-law has been sent by his mother to open a pesticide and seed shop in the prefectural city, Zhao dares not delay their time.

Seeing that Zhao had help, Tong Huaqiong stopped insisting.

The entire village was bustling with the autumn harvest, and it was time to harvest the corn from Tong Huaqiong's cornfield. (End of Chapter)