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

Chapter 372 Uninvited Guest

After hosting Gu Baishuang's family, Tong Huaqiong's family hardly had any further visits from relatives.

The shop's capable employees, such as Ma Huateng and Hong Xiaoxi, invited Tong Huaqiong to dinner and drinks, but Tong Huaqiong had He Chao and Gu Dashu do it for her.

This first month of the lunar calendar was pleasant and comfortable.

Chen Sufeng's belly was getting bigger and bigger. In those days there were no prenatal checkups, so Tong Huaqiong invited Cai, the midwife, into the house so that Cai could learn about Chen Sufeng's condition in advance.

After examining Chen Sufeng, Cai, the midwife, advised her to walk around the yard more often and avoid overeating and drinking, especially tonics, to prevent the fetus from growing too large and making delivery difficult.

Tong Huaqiong nodded to herself. It's true that Cai, the midwife, was able to summarize a set of scientific knowledge about pregnancy and childbirth based on her experience.

She planned to invite midwife Cai to her home every month to check on Chen Su-fen's pregnancy, so that midwife Cai would be well-informed during childbirth and Chen Su-fen would suffer less during the delivery process.

Midwife Cai brought news about Tong Pandi's ex-husband, the Wu family.

Wu Musheng had started arranging a marriage before the New Year. They had already agreed on a match and were about to finalize the engagement, but Wu Musheng went to a brothel to cause trouble during the first month of the lunar year, which was seen by the woman's family, and the marriage was called off.

After Wu Musheng's younger sister, Wu Na, had her marriage to Boss Qian's daughter-in-law's cousin fall through, she got so angry that she got into a fight with the daughter of the Wu family patriarch. Her face was scratched by the daughter of the Wu family patriarch, and now she cries at home every day.

Upon hearing this news, Tong Huaqiong and Tong Pandi said that this was just the beginning, and Wu Musheng's "good fortune" was yet to come.

After Cai the midwife left, she thought no one would ever come to her door again.

Tong Huaqiong made a mistake; the Tong family came to her door on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month.

Tong Huaqiong wasn't home that day. She took Gu Taohua and Manager He to Pingchuan County to sign a new shop agreement.

As usual, Hua'er was being watched over by Hong Shi, Duo'er was playing with Man'er, Xiaolong, and Yaozu, and Tong Pandi went to the pig farm to feed the pigs.

She was stirring the pig feed when she heard someone shout. She looked up and saw her friend Tong Zhaodi enter the pig farm.

Tong Pandi was very happy to see his younger sister.

Although she had severed ties with her family, she still cared deeply for her younger sister.

“Sister, I went to Aunt’s house to look for you, and they said you were here. Aunt is really something, not letting you do a decent and easy job at Peach Blossom Dessert Shop, but making you feed the pigs here.” Tong Zhaodi spoke up to “stand up for” Tong Pandi.

Tong Pandi was very unhappy with Zhaodi's words. She scolded, "Don't say that. If it weren't for your aunt, I wouldn't be able to leave the Wu family alive. I'm divorced now, and my family won't accept me. If it weren't for your aunt, I would have nowhere to go. I raise pigs here. I'm sheltered from the wind and rain, have a monthly allowance, food and drink, and no one makes me feel bad. This is much more comfortable than being in the Wu family."

Tong Zhaodi became angry when the topic of divorce came up.

She had been arranged to marry a merchant in Pingchuan County who owned two shops and lived a very comfortable life.

Although she was a second wife and would have to become the stepmother of two children as soon as she entered the family, her husband promised to buy her a maid to serve her.

Now that the merchant has heard she has a divorced sister, he's become cold towards her.

The matchmaker said directly a couple of days ago that he was afraid the marriage would not go through.

Tong Fusheng said that Tong Pandi is still willing to listen to Tong Zhaodi and asked Tong Zhaodi to persuade Tong Pandi to return to the Wu family. He went to town for drinks during the New Year and met the village head Wu Ren. Wu Ren said that if Tong Pandi changed her mind and was willing to return to the Wu family as a concubine, he would guarantee Tong Zhaodi a good marriage and would also support Tong Zhijie's studies.

Tong Fusheng didn't dare to come to Tong Pandi because he was afraid of Tong Huaqiong, so he chased after Tong Zhaodi instead.

Tong Pandi asked Tong Zhaodi, "Did you come to Aunt's house to see me? Did you want to come on your own, or did your parents send you?" Tong Zhaodi knew that her sister didn't like her parents, so she said, "Of course I wanted to come on my own. I came to see how you are doing."

To be honest, the moment Tong Zhaodi saw Tong Pandi, she knew that her older sister was having a good time at her aunt's house.

She wore a pearl-embroidered hairpin and old clothes because she was afraid of getting them dirty while feeding the pigs, but the old clothes looked to be made of good material. Moreover, a red jacket was visible under the old clothes, the same style that Tong Zhaodi had seen on the wealthy young ladies of Pingchuan County.

More importantly, Tong Pandi's face is even more radiant than when she was a young girl.

Tong Pandi was quite relieved to hear from Zhaodi that she had not been sent by her parents.

She said with a smile, "I'm doing very well. This is a better life than I've ever had in either the Tong or Wu families."

Seeing Tong Zhaodi looking at her coat, she said, "This new coat was a gift from Taohua."

Tong Zhaodi disagreed, saying, "You only look at the present. You are a divorced woman with two children. You'll know how difficult life will be in the future."

Tong Pandi didn't stop stirring the feed and said, "Even if things are bad, it's still better than being in the Wu family."

Tong Zhaodi said, "Sister, don't you think about Hua'er and Duo'er? They don't have the protection of the Wu family, and they have you as their divorced mother. Who will find them husbands in the future?"

Tong Pandi said, "Those who truly like them don't care whether they have a divorced mother or not."

These were all explanations her aunt gave her.

Of course, it's not her fault that Tong Zhaodi doesn't understand; no one in the Tong family had ever explained these principles to her.

Seeing Tong Pandi's indifferent attitude, Tong Zhaodi became angry.

She said angrily, "Sister, you make it sound so easy. Most men in the world care. Do you know that I could have married into Pingchuan County? But when they heard that I have a divorced sister, they refused to marry into our family."

Tong Pandi glanced at Tong Zhaodi with surprise, feeling a surge of anger, but still calmly reasoned with her.

“What does my divorce have to do with you? The man who dislikes that you have a divorced sister is not a good match for you. If he dislikes you for having a divorced sister today, do you believe he will dislike you for other reasons in the future, such as not being able to have a son?”

Tong Zhaodi dismissed this claim with disdain.

How could she not be able to have a son? Everyone says that her fleshy buttocks are a sign of a woman who is likely to have a son.

Tong Pandi cursed herself because she couldn't have a son.

Tong Zhaodi was very angry.

When people get angry, the things they say get even uglier.

"Just because my sister can't have a son doesn't mean I can't have one either? No wonder my sister got divorced, it turns out it's because she couldn't have a son. The Wu family is a prominent family in our Black Dragon Pool. You are lucky to have married into such a family, but you don't know how to cherish your good fortune. Since you can't have a son, you should be humble and subservient to your parents-in-law and brother-in-law, but you disobeyed them and went against them. Now you're divorced, you may be happy, but you don't know how much this affects our family. Now everyone in Black Dragon Pool is laughing at our family."

Tong Zhaodi was furious at the thought of not being able to marry into Pingchuan County.

Upon hearing this, Tong Pandi angrily threw down the wooden stick she was using to stir the pig feed and said, "Tong Zhaodi, do you think everything will be fine just because you gave birth to a son in the Wu family? The people of Black Dragon Pool are laughing at our family not because of my divorce, but because Father and Zhijie are incompetent. Father always acts like a scholar, but he knows nothing about farming and is lazy. He's over forty and still only a child student. Zhijie is a young boy who goes to brothels to drink and have fun. If Father and Zhijie had just lived a down-to-earth life, who would laugh at us?"

“Now you’re blaming me for ruining your marriage, Zhao Di, let me tell you, that marriage in Pingchuan County was never a good one. Don’t be fooled by what your parents say. Your father sold your aunt and me, and he’s selling us right now. You idiot, you still think being a stepmother is good.”