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

So the advertising slogan "The same meat-filled mooncake that Prefect Yao loves to eat" was written on the board.

Tong Huaqiong decided to place it in the most prominent position at Peach Blossom Dessert Shop when it opened.

"Mom, you're amazing! You even came up with this trick." Gu Dashu gave a heartfelt thumbs up.

"What's the big deal? Even if the emperor came to eat my pastries, I would still dare to put up a sign saying that the emperor loves them," Tong Huaqiong said.

Just like the later stories of Qianlong's cabbage and Cixi's steamed buns, it's all the same. Whether Qianlong and Cixi actually ate them is not important; what matters is using their names as a gimmick.

Evening arrived quickly.

Tong Huaqiong was exhausted after a day of carriage travel and a non-stop inspection of the shops.

Gu Dashu had already booked a hotel for Tong Huaqiong and the others. Seeing that his mother was looking tired, he advised Tong Huaqiong to go back to the hotel first.

He Chao originally wanted to invite Tong Huaqiong to dinner, but seeing that his employer was tired, he arranged the dinner for the next day.

The hotel is just across from Peach Blossom Dessert Shop, only a few steps away.

The prefectural city is indeed a prefectural city.

Even at night, the liveliness remains undiminished.

Especially with the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, the scene of fireworks and lights illuminating the night sky is even more spectacular.

As night falls, lanterns are hung in every shop, and the whole street is bathed in bright light.

Tong Huaqiong stood at the entrance of the inn and looked back, seeing the row of red lanterns hanging from her shop, which made the peach blossom desserts look exceptionally clear.

It will open the day after tomorrow.

She finally opened her shop in the prefectural city.

Tong Huaqiong felt a surge of pride for herself.

"Mother, what are you looking at?" Gu Taohua asked.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Look at the four characters 'Peach Blossom Dessert.' Peach blossom, look, aren't those four characters 'Peach Blossom Dessert' exceptionally beautiful?"

Gu Taohua looked over, a surge of excitement rising in her heart.

"It's beautiful, so beautiful."

Peach Blossom Dessert Shop is a pastry shop named after her.

Starting the day after tomorrow, her name will travel from Qinghe Bay to Yanguan Town, and from Yanguan Town to Fucheng.

From then on, everyone in the Ningcheng area not only knew her mother, but also her famous name.

After arriving at the hotel, Tong Huaqiong was too tired to move, so she asked Gu Dashu to order food to eat in her room.

Gu Taohua, her two sisters-in-law, and her two nephews and nieces were not tired at all.

Liu Yue'e always loved joining in the fun, and seeing the lights outside, she couldn't wait to go out for snacks and browse the jewelry shops.

Yaozu and Man'er were even more insistent on going to see the circus, acrobatics, and delicious food.

Seeing that Tong Huaqiong was staying in the hotel, everyone felt embarrassed to go out and explore.

Tong Huaqiong waved her hand and said, "I'll go back to the hotel first. Dashu, you take your wife and sister-in-law out for a good stroll."

Liu Yue'e's eyes lit up, and she began to feel for the silver in her bosom; she wanted to buy jewelry.

Chen Sufeng said, "You all go ahead, I'll stay at the hotel with my mother."

Liu Yue'e almost rolled her eyes at Chen Sufen.

My sister-in-law is such a spoilsport; she only makes herself look like a dutiful daughter.

Tong Huaqiong sometimes gets a headache from Chen Sufen's excessive filial piety, and raises her voice to say, "You don't need to pay for it. Just go shopping when I tell you to."

Only then did Chen Sufen feel relieved enough to follow her brother-in-law and his wife, along with Gu Taohua, out.

"Second Uncle, I want to go see the acrobatic show."

"Dad, I want to see the fire-breathing thing."

Man'er and Yaozu chattered excitedly.

“Okay, I’ll take you to see the acrobatics,” Gu Dashu said.

Liu Yue'e disagreed. She said to Gu Dashu, "Dashu, why don't you take my sister-in-law and me to the cosmetics and silk shops? We can watch those variety shows anytime." Gu Dashu picked Yaozu up and said to Liu Yue'e, "I don't understand those women's things. Let Taohua go with you."

Liu Yue'e's face immediately turned ugly.

Unaware of anything amiss, Gu Dashu carried Yaozu in one hand and held Man'er's hand in the other as they left the house.

Tong Huaqiong knew that her second son's wife was angry, but she did not interfere in the young couple's conflict.

After everyone had left, Tong Huaqiong ate her meal, asked the hotel for hot water, washed up, and then quickly went to bed.

Tong Huaqiong had no idea when Gu Dashu, Gu Taohua, and the others returned. She slept until dawn, when she was awakened by the hawking sounds outside her window.

As usual, Chen Sufeng, a dutiful daughter-in-law, brought hot water for Tong Huaqiong to wash her face.

Liu Yue'e then brought a scented soap with floral patterns to Tong Huaqiong's room to help her wash her face.

"Mother, can you guess which shop this scented soap comes from?" Liu Yue'e asked mysteriously.

"Could it be Lu Zhaozhao's shop?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

"You guessed perfectly!" Liu Yue'e exclaimed in amazement.

It's not hard to guess at all.

Tong Huaqiong knew from Tong Dajiao's memories that the Lu family had a cosmetics business. After Lu Zhaozhao married Gu Jingzhe, all the women in the Gu family had their cosmetics supplied by Lu Zhaozhao's shop.

However, in her previous life, Lu Zhaozhao did not personally manage the shop.

Tong Huaqiong guessed that Lu Zhaozhao had probably secured the trial operation rights for the shop.

If she were Grandpa Lu, and her granddaughter wanted to run a business, he would definitely not be willing to hand over the tea and porcelain businesses that dealt with men to Lu Zhaozhao at first. He would have chosen to let Lu Zhaozhao run shops that dealt with women.

That can only be the cosmetics business.

Tong Huaqiong asked, "Did you see Lu Zhaozhao last night?"

Chen Sufeng said, "We saw her. We went into the shop, and she was having several girls try on rouge. She was so happy to see us."

Liu Yue'e said, "She gave each of us a set of rouge, face powder, and soap. And you know what? The powder from Lu's shop is really good. It doesn't feel like you're crawling into a flour vat when you put it on your face. This soap is good too. I think it smells better than the ones in the shops in town."

As the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were talking, they heard a burst of charming laughter from outside.

Tong Huaqiong knew Lu Zhaozhao had arrived as soon as she heard the name.

Hearing the knock, Liu Yue'e opened the door, and there stood Lu Zhaozhao.

"Aunt Tong." A figure in green clothes flashed in.

"Why did Zhao Zhao arrive so early?" Tong Huaqiong asked with a smile.

Lu Zhaozhao sat on Tong Huaqiong's bed with an air of familiarity and said, "Aunt Tong, you don't know, last time I went home I asked Grandpa if I could manage the shop, but he disagreed. So I had a big fight with him, and then I brought up the bet I made with Taohua and asked my brother to help persuade him. Grandpa finally agreed to give me a rouge shop. Grandpa and my brother always think I'm just trying to spite Taohua, and they don't care at all how well I run the shop. But I just can't swallow this. I'm going to make my rouge shop the best in Ningcheng, so I come to the shop early every morning and stay up late every night to do the accounting."

As Lu Zhaozhao spoke, she wiped her dark circles under her eyes to show Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong patted Lu Zhaozhao's head. This little girl has really taken her first step into doing business.

Her radiant spirit showed that she wasn't just dabbling in business; she had truly dedicated herself to it.

Tong Huaqiong and Han's positive encouragement helped Lu Zhaozhao take the first step, while the fact that the Lu family grandfather and grandson regarded her doing business as childish behavior actually became a positive incentive.

All of these factors fueled her competitive spirit and gave her a goal.

Tong Huaqiong believes that Lu Zhaozhao will manage the shop very well.

Thinking about this, Tong Huaqiong even wanted to go to Lu Zhaozhao's shop to take a look herself.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Zhaozhao is very dedicated. You will definitely be able to make the rouge shop the best in Ningcheng."

Lu Zhaozhao said, "Just wait and see. I'm going to give Grandpa and my brother a real shock, so they'll never dare to underestimate me again. Once I've run the rouge shop well, I'll also get involved in the family's porcelain and silk businesses. I'll also go out of Ningcheng with Grandpa to do business in Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Shengjing."

Lu Zhaozhao spoke with complete confidence.

Tong Huaqiong said with a smile, "With your ambition, you can succeed at anything."

Lu Zhaozhao smiled; she really liked Aunt Tong.

Aunt Tong always encouraged her and believed in her. (End of Chapter)