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

Chapter 449 Seeking a Job
"Fengnian's wife is a woman of principle and pragmatism. She said she would have Ruinian go to the county to find an accountant so he could earn money to support his studies. If the whole family had to support him, she would want to divide the family property, but Fengnian refused. The clan chief even had to go to the scene."

As they were talking about Gu Fengnian's wife, Wei, she knocked on Tong Huaqiong's door.

Chen Su-fen stopped there.

"Auntie, you're back."

As Wei stepped through the door in the moonlight, she first congratulated Gu Jingzhe on his engagement, and then explained the purpose of her visit.

"This is the two taels of silver I borrowed from the old lady last time."

Wei returned the two taels of silver to Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong accepted it.

Madam Wei touched her wrist and sighed, "Fortunately, my family gave me some jewelry as part of my dowry, and I pawned the bracelet on my wrist."

Before Tong Huaqiong could reply, Madam Wei continued, "I'm not here to complain to you, Auntie. Besides returning the money to you, I also want Yaojia to attend a private school."

Wei pawned her bracelet for five taels of silver, returned two taels to Tong Huaqiong, and had three taels left.

She didn't want to let Gu Ruinian get away with it, so she took the initiative to get Yao Jia into the private school.

Tong Huaqiong said, "It's fine for Yaojia to attend the private school, but we'll give him half of the tuition fee."

It must be said that Wei's timely repayment of the money brought Tong Huaqiong a wave of goodwill, but this goodwill only meant that Yao's tuition could be halved.

Ultimately, Wei is a member of the old family mansion, and in crucial moments, her interests align with those of the old mansion.

Madam Wei said gratefully, "Thank you very much, Auntie."

He paused, then continued, "I impulsively followed Fengnian to Qinghewan, thinking that farming would be enough to make ends meet, and we could try other things later. But I never imagined that our land would be so scarce, barely enough to feed ourselves. Ruinian doesn't work, and my father-in-law's business failed and he's been devastated ever since. Fengnian is incompetent, and we don't know how our family, young and old, will survive. I'm thinking of going to town to find a job in a while, but I don't know if I need a woman."

Wei was very clever.

They were just a bit too hasty.

Everyone in Qinghewan knew that Tong Huaqiong's shops and fields had no shortage of female workers. The reason Wei said this was simply to hope that Tong Huaqiong would take the initiative to ask her for a job.

She can work at either Peach Blossom Dessert Shop or a pig farm, but she'd be better off working as a waitress at Peach Blossom Dessert Shop.

She had served customers in the shop when she was at her parents' home, so she was very familiar with the process.

The old woman treated Yao's family and her differently from the others in the old house. Last time she lent money, the old woman was very generous. This gave her the illusion that Tong Huaqiong was easy to talk to, and she felt that she would definitely succeed in getting the job this time.

She came full of confidence.

Tong Huaqiong saw right through the Wei family.

It wasn't that Tong Huaqiong didn't want to help Wei Shi, but rather that she was afraid that giving Wei Shi a job too easily would cause unrest among the people in the old house.

Just two months ago, the people from the old house were trying to take over Tong Huaqiong's shop.

At that time, Wei did not say a single word of justice for her.

Now you want to work at Tong Huaqiong's house, but you don't say it directly. I hope Tong Huaqiong will take the initiative to ask.

This Wei family member is indeed quite shrewd.

Tong Huaqiong is neither a fool nor a saint.

After waiting for a long time without Tong Huaqiong speaking, Wei became anxious and said, "Auntie, do you think I should go out and find a job?"

Tong Huaqiong looked at Wei Shi and said, "It's good that you have this idea. If you look hard enough, you'll find one. I heard that some families in town need cooks or maids, and some need wet nurses. A maid would be more suitable for you. You can come and go as you please and go home every day."

This was different from what Wei had expected.

Wei forced a smile, gritted her teeth, and revealed her purpose, saying, "Auntie, do you need anyone at your shop? I'm willing to do anything."

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, "Why didn't you say so from the beginning if you wanted to ask for a job?"

Tong Huaqiong said, "No need."

They didn't exchange any pleasantries with the Wei family; they simply said it wasn't necessary.

Wei was stunned, then quickly asked anxiously, "Where's the pig farm?"

Tong Huaqiong replied decisively, "No need."

Only then did Wei realize that Tong Huaqiong didn't need people here, but rather people from the old house.

After leaving Tong Huaqiong's courtyard, Madam Wei felt a little dazed.

The old lady was quite decisive in her refusal. However, she didn't complain at all. She had only tried to be clever in front of Tong Huaqiong, so it was normal for her to be rejected.

Just like Tong Huaqiong's view of the Wei family, she is a pragmatic person.

Tong Huaqiong's rejection this time doesn't mean she will reject her next time.

Since she wanted to drink soup with the eldest son's family, she had to show sincerity in doing so.

Upon returning home, Wei expressed to Gu Fengnian her desire to separate the family property.

Wei brought this up many times, but Gu Fengnian always refused.

He is the eldest son of the second wife. If the family were to separate, what would outsiders think of him? He would be labeled as unfilial, and how would he ever be able to live in Qinghewan again?

He never considered separating from the family.

Wei said angrily, "What do outsiders think? Why do you care what outsiders think? They're not giving you any money to spend. Look at Auntie, don't outsiders say she's unfilial and that she's hindering her from making money? That she's hindering her from being granted the title of Lady of the Township by the Emperor? If we don't separate the family, we'll all end up working for Ruinian's benefit for nothing."

Gu Fengnian was most afraid of Wei mentioning Gu Ruinian.

Although Gu Fengnian was dissatisfied with Gu Ruinian's failure to pass the imperial examination, he still believed that the two were brothers who loved each other dearly and that he, as the older brother, should be tolerant of his younger brother.

Now that his own son is about to start school, he doesn't want to hear Wei speak ill of Gu Ruinian anymore.

"Don't say that. I'm not going to separate from the family. Besides, Ruinian is my younger brother. He always respects you. As his sister-in-law, don't always try to sow discord between us brothers."

After Gu Fengnian finished speaking, he went to Old Master Gu's room.

Wei felt a pain in her chest from holding it in.

She was devoted to her own family, but in the men's eyes, she became the one who sowed discord between the brothers.

Wei was extremely disappointed in Gu Fengnian.

During dinner that evening, Mr. Wei announced some major news at the table.

Her son, Gu Yaojia, is about to start attending a private school.

"How can you be so selfish? With the family's situation, how can we afford to send another person to school? Where will we get the money?" Jia said with dissatisfaction.

Wei smiled. She had already told her family that her Yao family member wanted to go to school, but they didn't take it seriously and thought she was just joking.

“Don’t worry about the money, I’ve pawned the bracelet on my wrist,” said Madam Wei.

Madam Jia and Old Madam Gu were very dissatisfied, as such an important matter was not discussed with the family.

Shouldn't the money be prioritized for Gu Ruinian first?

Grandma Gu said, "Yao's family is still young, it will take them many years to finish their studies, unlike Ruinian who is already a student of the first level of the imperial examination."

Wei said, "Some people take the exam their whole lives and still only get the lowest score, so our family can't put all our hopes on one person."

Gu Ruinian's hand trembled as he held the chopsticks; his sister-in-law was cursing him.

This woman is too selfish and short-sighted.

Gu Ruinian held back for a while, but couldn't help saying, "Sister-in-law, you don't have to say that. You'll see my exam results next year if you don't believe me."

Wei said, "You said the same thing this year."

Gu Ruinian was speechless with frustration.

He wished Gu Fengnian would divorce this woman.

In those days, schooling required tuition fees, as well as writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, which was a considerable expense for farming families. Yao's schooling meant that half of the resources the whole family had to support him would have to be allocated to Yao's family.

He was naturally furious.

Seeing the unrest at the dinner table, Old Master Gu swept his stern gaze across the room and said, "Since Yao's family is allowed to study, then let them study. We will continue to support Ruinian's education as before."

Wei wondered where the money came from.

Grandpa Gu sighed, took out a tael of silver and handed it to Gu Ruinian, saying, "Take this silver and buy books."

Gu Ruinian accepted it.

He didn't even ask Old Master Gu where the money came from.

This silver was naturally borrowed by Master Gu from Gu Dashu.