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

Chapter 292 Country Bride

"Qianqian, men are all the same. I advise you not to get serious with Jin Fengxiang's second son. You're still young. I'm telling you to set traps for those scoundrels, not to fall into Chen's trap."

After Tong Huaqiong left, Mother Mo gave Qianqian earnest advice.

Qianqian smiled charmingly and said, "Mom, you're mistaken. If I really wanted to have a serious relationship with that second young master, I wouldn't tell the truth to Chief Tong."

Mother Mo glanced at Qianqian.

These days, she thought that Qianqian had almost reformed under the influence of Jin Fengxiang's second son.

If they could find a good family, she wouldn't object to the girls from Tianxiang Tower leaving the brothel to become respectable women. The problem was that they couldn't find one, and even their hard-earned money was swindled away.

She'd seen this kind of thing many times before.

There were also girls who successfully reformed and became concubines, but were controlled by the original wife. They had to observe the rules in front of the original wife every day, and the promises of the scoundrels gradually faded with the passing of their lust until they disappeared without a trace.

"Mom, I don't believe Young Master Chen at all."

Qianqian was sold to a brothel by her parents and brothers.

Parents and siblings are unreliable, let alone others.

She doesn't trust anyone!
Chen Er Gongzi consciously used the promise of redeeming her to bring her into the family, keeping her hanging on, and using her to compete in peach blossom desserts.

What benefits did Jin Fengxiang gain from winning the battle against Peach Blossom Desserts?
Even if she were allowed to become a concubine, she wouldn't be willing.

Since Young Master Chen is using her like this, she can use him in return.

Madam Mo said, "It's best if you think that way. Our business looks impressive, but who knows when it might collapse? I've always wanted to use Old Master Lu's connections to find business opportunities for the future of all the sisters at Tianxiang Tower, but I just can't get in touch with him. Old Master Lu looks down on us women of the pleasure quarters the most. Today, I'm doing a favor for Boss Tong, and maybe in the future, through Boss Tong, I can get in touch with Old Master Lu."

"See, we've already hit the jackpot, haven't we?"

Qianqian scoffed and said, "Mom, you just said that men are all unreliable, so why are you relying on Old Master Lu now? Have you gotten on board yet? No, you still have to give money to Widow Tong to participate in the sea voyage. If you want to find business opportunities through Old Master Lu, you might as well rely on Widow Tong. I think she's quite capable, having come all the way from the countryside to the prefectural city."

Qianqian walked to the window, opened it, and looked down.

She saw Gu Dashu lead Liu Yue'e into the jewelry shop.

Gu Dashu had a big smile on his face, his eyes filled with the country bumpkin woman beside him.

"Country wives are so rustic; they put so much powder on their faces that you could use it to make pancakes."

Qianqian's eyes hurt from looking at it, so she quickly raised her hand and closed the window.

"Who are you calling rustic? I think Tong Da Dangjia is quite pretty, how is she rustic?" When Mo's mother heard Qianqian say that the country wife was rustic, she thought she was talking about Tong Huaqiong.

With Tong Huaqiong's help, Mo's mother invested in the overseas business, thus forming an initial alliance with Tong Huaqiong.

Since we've formed an alliance, shouldn't we refrain from speaking ill of each other behind their backs?

"It's just rustic."

Qianqian snorted and turned away.

Mother Mo gritted her teeth in anger and said, "You've gone too far!"

After thinking for a moment, he shook his head.

Qianqian is so spoiled; it's all because I spoiled her.

The girl from Mantianxianglou dotes on Qianqian the most.

Because Qianqian always reminded her of her younger sister who was sold when she was little.

After leaving Tianxianglou, Tong Huaqiong headed towards Peach Blossom Dessert Shop.

As the most bustling street in Ningcheng, Pearl Lane couldn't possibly be the only place where Tong Huaqiong chose to open a pastry shop.

Gao Xiang Ji, Bai Li Xiang, Wei Hao Mei, and Jin Feng Xiang—these four major pastry shops all have locations in Pearl Lane.

Tong Huaqiong walked past Gaoxiangji and saw a long queue.

Jin Fengxiang's business has indeed become somewhat deserted.

As the former top pastry shop, it was naturally unwilling to accept being replaced by Gaoxiangji.

Lacking the confidence to snatch food from Gao Xiang Ji's mouth, if they want to regain their confidence, they can't just seize the opportunity to establish their authority against new competitors.

Peach blossom desserts are exactly what they're after. But I'm afraid Jin Fengxiang might miscalculate.

She passed by four pastry shops and came to Peach Blossom Dessert Shop, which was even more popular than when it opened yesterday.

Tong Huaqiong arrived at the shop and sat in the accounting room, looking through the account books.

"Boss, what brings you here at this hour?" He Chao asked.

Tong Huaqiong raised her head.

He Chao felt a little uneasy.

He knew that Tong Huaqiong respected him and gave him a share of the profits from Peach Blossom Desserts, because it was because he was capable and valuable.

He never forgot that Tong Huaqiong was a ruthless character; if he did anything to harm Peach Blossom Dessert, Tong Huaqiong would definitely kick him out.

The key point is that he didn't do anything to harm the peach blossom dessert.

Moreover, Peach Blossom Desserts has been quite impressive, both in terms of pre-opening promotion and post-opening performance.

Even at this very moment, the constant stream of customers outside shows the owner just how popular Peach Blossom Desserts are.

Tong Huaqiong slammed the ledger on the table, and He Chao's heart sank.

"Old He, if I hadn't come to the prefectural city, I wouldn't have known that our Peach Blossom Dessert Shop was almost set up," Tong Huaqiong said with a sneer.

He Chao was relieved to hear the word "us," which meant that his employer treated him as one of their own.

However, He Chao quickly frowned. What did it mean that Peach Blossom Desserts was almost tricked?
If that's really the case, then the biggest responsibility lies with the shopkeeper.

He Chao wiped his sweat and asked cautiously, "Boss, who is plotting against our Peach Blossom Dessert Shop?"

Tong Huaqiong said, "Jin Fengxiang."

"Jin Fengxiang?"

He Chao frowned.

He Chao and Tong Huaqiong had the same idea. Since arriving in Fucheng, he had been keeping a close eye on Gaoxiangji, but hadn't paid much attention to Jin Fengxiang.

Unexpectedly, Jin Fengxiang was the first to jump out and try to take advantage of Peach Blossom Dessert.

After observing He Chao for a while, Tong Huaqiong realized that He Chao knew nothing about this matter, and she believed that He Chao would not and dare not betray her.

If she doesn't even have this much skill, she shouldn't be doing business.

So Tong Huaqiong revealed to He Chao how Jin Fengxiang's second son had Tianxianglou seduce Gu Dashu.

"Fortunately, Da Shu is an upright person and didn't fall into the trap. However, the issue isn't whether Da Shu fell into the trap or not, but whether Jin Fengxiang wanted to use Da Shu to scheme against Peach Blossom Desserts. Even if they didn't scheme against Da Shu, they would have used other methods to do so."

"I just don't know if this was the idea of ​​Young Master Chen or the idea of ​​Jin Fengxiang's boss."

He Chao thought for a moment and said, "Boss, the boss of Jin Fengxiang has two sons. The eldest is from his first wife, and the second is from his second wife."

He Chao glanced at Tong Huaqiong.

She was afraid that her second wife would offend Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong waved her hand and said, "I understand! This stepmother is just as wicked as I am."

He Chao looked embarrassed.

That's not what he meant.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Now that both sons have grown up, started their own families, and established their own careers, the second wife is whispering in Chen Dongjia's ear, hoping that her son will take over the management of the shop. However, Chen Dongjia is not giving any leeway. He neither explicitly said that the eldest son would inherit the shop nor that the younger son would be the next owner. The second wife and the younger son are not content with the status quo, so they resort to such despicable means to scheme against Peach Blossom Dessert to show Chen Dongjia the younger son's abilities, so that he will pass the shop on to the younger son."

What a predictable plot! Tong Huaqiong could have guessed it right away.

Like He Chao, the situation of Jin Fengxiang's two sons fighting for power is probably seen by the world as a vicious second wife who is restless and has not educated her younger son well, thus giving rise to thoughts of competing with her elder son.

As for Chen Dongjia, the instigator who watched the two fight, he has conveniently disappeared.

He was like an emperor who held the world in his hands, and his two sons were just cats in his hands. He held a cat toy, pointing it east one moment and waving it west the next, letting the two of them run around. Only in this way could he show his authority!

No wonder Jin Fengxiang was able to be completely overshadowed by his apprentice's Gaoxiangji.