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

Chapter 452 The County Government Office Isn't My Family's Business

Tong Huaqiong said, "Laifu is indeed no longer the teacher. He filled in for a few months when there was no teacher in the village. Now that the teacher has come, he is no longer needed. Grandpa, you don't know, do you? Teacher Su will officially start teaching the children at our village private school tomorrow."

Grandpa Gu was filled with disappointment and hesitated to speak.

Why would Master Su abandon his private school in town and run to the village? Could it be that he has really taken a liking to his daughter-in-law?
Grandpa Gu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Master Su? Isn't it inappropriate for him to come to the village? Didn't you hear what they were saying outside?"

Tong Huaqiong assumed that Grandpa Gu was referring to the gossip about Master Su and Tong Pandi, and said nonchalantly, "You don't need to worry about that. Just treat those words as nonsense."

Grandpa Gu was furious. If he didn't take care of it, the grass on his son's grave would be green all year round.

With such a fortune, what did Master Su have to rely on?

“A private school with only one teacher will always be unable to cope. Why not let Ruinian and Master Su teach together? He can at least teach some new characters.”

Grandpa Gu originally wanted to say some harsh words, but he still wanted to try to stand up for Gu Ruinian, so he tried his best to keep his emotions in check.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Let me be frank, Ruinian is ambitious and not suitable to teach in the village. Isn't he going to take the imperial examination next year? Then he should focus on his studies and stop thinking about other things. It would be embarrassing if he failed again."

Grandpa Gu had thought about it too. It wasn't that the family couldn't afford to send him to school, but he wanted to find him an easy job so that he could earn some money without interfering with his studies.

Since the eldest son's wife rejected Gu Ruinian, Old Master Gu was not angry, as he still had matters to discuss with Gu Fengnian.

So he sighed and said, "You know that the second branch of the family is having a hard time right now. Since Ruinian can't go to the private school to teach, that's fine. But Fengnian, can you help him out?"

Tong Huaqiong then asked, "How can we help?"

This also comes with a buy-one-get-one-free offer.

Tong Huaqiong felt that Grandpa Gu's real purpose was not Gu Ruinian, but Gu Fengnian.

When Gu Fengnian's wife, Wei, came to ask for a job, Tong Huaqiong didn't respond. They didn't know, so they came again.

It's estimated that Tong Huaqiong treated the Wei family and the Yao family quite well, leading Old Master Gu to mistakenly believe that she was willing to help Gu Fengnian.

She wanted to hear how Grandpa Gu wanted her to help Gu Fengnian.

Old Master Gu said, "I heard that the county is recruiting yamen runners. Although they are not official government officials and the work is hard, they get rice and noodles every month. The requirements are not high; they just need to be literate and strong. Feng Nian is just right. You have a good relationship with Magistrate Liu. Could you help put in a good word for Feng Nian to become a yamen runner in the county?"

The so-called "yamen runners" mentioned by Grandpa Gu are equivalent to temporary workers in modern society.

Don't underestimate temporary workers; they're not easy to hire. Just the fact that someone can read eliminates a lot of applicants.

However, Tong Huaqiong was unwilling to help with this.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Since it's a recruitment process, it should be open and transparent. What would it look like if we used connections? My Jingzhe is going to pursue a career in government, and I can't afford to tarnish her reputation. If you think Fengnian is suitable, then just let Fengnian take the exam."

That's a rejection.

Grandpa Gu started repeating himself, saying, "Two Gus can't be written with the same stroke. Put aside any misunderstandings between you and your second brother, Fengnian has always respected you. Even if you don't care about the monk, please help your nephew out of respect. You can help Qin Qingyou and Gu Xiaocao in our village. Helping Fengnian is just a small matter for you."

Tong Huaqiong laughed in exasperation.

How dare she ask Gu Fengnian to help her?

Gu Fengnian did treat her with respect on the surface, calling her "Auntie" whenever they met, but when Gu Youtian tried to seize her shop, Gu Fengnian didn't say a word.

He probably hopes his father's plan will succeed so he can become the young master.

Now that the second wife's family is in trouble, Gu Fengnian has started to keep a low profile. When he was reaping the benefits, why didn't he think about his first wife, Tong Dajiao? Tong Huaqiong said, "I don't own the county government. I don't think Magistrate Liu will listen to everything I say. I don't have that much influence. Old Master, you should ask someone else for help with this matter."

To prevent similar incidents from happening again, Tong Huaqiong said, "Don't ask me for help with the second branch of the family in the future. I can't help you. Also, tell Gu Youtian that He Chao is the manager I invited. What right does he have to boss He Chao around? If he doesn't respect himself in the future, I will come knocking on his door."

These days, Gu Youtian has been making sarcastic remarks in the clan, saying that the shop belongs to the eldest son's family or He Chao's family.

Once these words got out, they took on a different meaning, implying that He Chao was overstepping his bounds and had absolute power at Peach Blossom Dessert Shop.
This led the villagers to believe that He Chao had grasped the key to the success of peach blossom desserts.

This caused He Chao to run up to her and confess that he had absolutely no ulterior motives.

What's even more despicable is that Gu Youtian even said this to Gu Dahan and Gu Taohua. Isn't that just sowing discord?
To his dismay, Gu Dahan and Gu Taohua were not fooled.

This behavior is disgusting.

Old Master Gu was so angry that his beard trembled after being rejected so decisively by Tong Huaqiong and then given a rude rebuke.

At this moment, he regretted not inviting Grandma Gu. At least Grandma Gu could have directly scolded her daughter-in-law.

It's not right for an old man to be scolding his daughter-in-law on the village road.

Grandpa Gu was full of confidence when he came to Tong Huaqiong to ask Gu Fengnian to work as a yamen runner in the county government.

He felt that Tong Huaqiong treated Wei Shi and Gu Yaojia quite well, which meant that the eldest daughter-in-law only had a problem with Gu Youtian, but not with Gu Fengnian.

In addition, since Wei had tried to get a job from Tong Huaqiong but failed, and was too ashamed to tell the people in the old house about it, Old Master Gu was unaware that Tong Huaqiong had already rejected Wei once.

Now Tong Huaqiong has shattered his expectations.

Grandpa Gu was so angry that he went back to bed. Grandma Gu could tell from this that she hadn't managed to get her grandson a job as a yamen runner.

"That vicious woman! What's it to her that Feng Nian went to work as a yamen runner? She won't even help with something as simple as just opening her mouth." Old Mrs. Gu scolded Tong Huaqiong behind her back.

Gu Fengnian was very upset when he learned that Tong Huaqiong refused to speak on his behalf to Magistrate Liu, and he complained a few times before going to bed.

Madam Wei said, "It's not your fault, Auntie. You should see what your father has done. As the saying goes, the sins of the father are visited upon the son, and the revenge for the father is taken on the son. If it were your father, would he have helped Gu Dashu?"

Gu Fengnian remained silent.

Madam Wei continued, "Auntie isn't someone who can't distinguish right from wrong. Look, she and Granny Huang don't get along, but Granny Huang's granddaughter, Gu Xiaocao, still works as a waitress at Peach Blossom Dessert Shop. Do you know why? It's because Gu Xiaocao's family and Granny Huang's family are separate households. If we could separate our households, maybe..."

Gu Fengnian interrupted Wei Shi again, saying, "Can you please stop mentioning the words 'separation of the family'? I'm sick of hearing it. Even if I don't become a yamen runner, I still can't separate the family."

Another Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon.

Tong Huaqiong's family was very happy this Dragon Boat Festival.

First, Grandpa Gu's ship returned from its voyage. Tong Huaqiong used all the money from the sale of the goods she brought to buy goods from Southeast Asia. She wanted to open a "general store" in Yanguan Town and Pingchuan County, similar to a supermarket in modern society, to display and sell those rare goods from Southeast Asia and the West.

Once Tong Huaqiong had a plan, she took action and quickly found two suitable shops in Yanguan Town and Pingchuan County.

The shop in Yanguan Town was provided by Gu Baishuang. She had secured it for Nie Xiaofeng from Nie Mingyuan. She was troubled because the space was too large and she couldn't rent it out. Now, Tong Huaqiong's supermarket could make good use of it.

Tong Huaqiong stated that she would not pay rent, but Gu Baishuang could use the rent as an investment.

Gu Baishuang was naturally willing. She now trusted her stepmother completely, and the money she made on Old Master Lu's ship through her stepmother's connections only strengthened her belief that following her stepmother would guarantee her success.

Tong Huaqiong's supermarket is scheduled to open after the Dragon Boat Festival.