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

Gu Youtian stormed home in a rage.

No matter how much Old Master Gu scolded, how much Old Madam Gu cursed, or how much Madam Jia pleaded, nothing could extinguish his anger.

The challenge to his fatherly dignity has crossed the line of Gu Youtian's tolerance towards Gu Ruinian.

Enraged by Gu Youtian's actions, Gu Ruinian was beaten again.

"Whether I live or die, you can only be my son, Gu Youtian's son. You can only dream of being someone else's son."

Gu Youtian threw the stick away, shattering Gu Ruinian's fantasy of being adopted by the eldest son's family and living a life of luxury while studying.

Jia wiped her eyes and said, "If he's not going to be adopted, then he's not going to be adopted. It's no use killing him."

She felt a sense of relief; her son was still her son.

Gu Youtian cursed, "He's still my son, even if you beat him to death."

As Gu Ruinian lay in bed, he fully experienced the horror of patriarchy in this era.

He missed his biological father from his previous life. At least his biological father in his previous life was more righteous than Gu Youtian. He said that if he could be chosen by a rich and beautiful woman and marry into her family, it would be fine. He could also accept that his grandson would take the woman's surname and inherit her family property instead of the Gu family name. At worst, the family name would be returned to the ancestral line after three generations.

When it came to Gu Youtian, the possibility of him being someone else's son was directly cut off.

Gu Ruinian was carried to the bed, and Wei felt a surge of joy. Gu Fengnian, fearing that his proud and arrogant younger brother might do something rash, sat by the bedside to keep him company.

Gu Fengnian said, "Ruinian, I didn't say anything to you a few days ago because you were in high spirits. But now I'll tell you the truth: it's wrong of you to be adopted by your aunt's family. The fact that Father didn't use the charge of filial impiety to open the ancestral hall and ask for a ritual is because he was lenient with you."

Gu Ruinian winced in pain.

He was always the one who reasoned with Gu Fengnian, but now that it was his brother's turn to reason with him, he was unhappy and stubbornly said, "Brother, you don't understand."

Gu Fengnian's face darkened as he said, "You think you know everything! I'm not trying to criticize you, but you always think you're smarter, more educated, and know more than anyone else in the family. But you've even gone astray in the most basic filial piety. Your mother has been very sad these past few days and has cried many times behind your back. You don't necessarily have to spend a lot of money to get an education. Master Su at our village private school is a very capable person. Jingzhe learned from him, didn't she? Wouldn't it be better for you to humbly acknowledge him as your teacher than to go through the adoption process?"

Gu Ruinian remained silent.

What does Gu Fengnian know?

No matter how capable Master Su was, he was just a village teacher with no connections whatsoever.

In his opinion, apart from Man'er and Xiaolong, none of the kids in the village school were talented. One was a useless girl, and the other was a wolf cub who always gave him a sour look and could never be coaxed. Letting him hang out with this group would be like dying before he even got started.

It's only proper to study at Wanliu Academy like Gu Jingzhe.

Seeing that Gu Ruinian wouldn't listen to him, Gu Fengnian said, "Second brother, think carefully about what I'm saying. You rest first, and drink this medicine."

Then he shook his head, walked out of Gu Jingzhe's house, and went to the main room.

Inside the main room, Old Master Gu sighed, "It's all because of poverty."

Gu Youtian sneered and said, "Ever since my business failed, my father has been lamenting that the family is poor all the time. He just thinks I have no ability to turn things around."

Grandpa Gu didn't respond to that question, but instead asked, "You've been looking for Wu Ren at Black Dragon Pool these past few days, have you found any way out?"

Gu Youtian and Wu Ren had arranged to open a shop in Pingchuan County and should have been returning home triumphantly, but Gu Ruinian disrupted their plans.

Thinking about it this way, she felt even more disgusted with her second son.

Gu Youtian said, "Wu Ren has a shop in Pingchuan County. He doesn't know anything about business, so he plans to hand it over to me to open a department store together."

This was good news, sweeping away the somber atmosphere that Gu Ruinian's adoption had brought to the whole family.

Grandpa Gu asked, "Is it a partnership, or are you Wu Ren's boss?"

Gu Youtian said smugly, "It's a partnership. He provides the shop and capital, and I provide the business acumen."

Grandpa Gu was relieved.

His own son was unwilling to run errands for others.

Otherwise, he would have stayed in the south and worked as a shopkeeper for someone else; there was no need for him to bring his whole family back to Qinghe Bay. Now that Wu Ren is willing to let his son be a partner, it's wonderful. With his son's abilities, he's sure to make the shop a great success.

Not only that, the son's energy and spirit will also be restored.

"You must do a good job this time and show Tong Dajiao that we can make a business successful without relying on her."

Grandma Gu wiped away her tears. After enduring so much pent-up frustration, her second son finally had a way out.

She'll have more leverage to pick a fight with her eldest son's wife in the future.

With her hands clasped together and tears glistening in her eyes, Jia said, "If things had been like this earlier, Ruinian wouldn't have had the idea of ​​being adopted by Tong Dajiao."

Grandma Gu glared at Jia, deliberately bringing up a sore spot.

Wei sighed inwardly, thinking that her mother-in-law had gone mad whenever it came to her brother-in-law.

However, it's good that he's gone mad; if he goes mad to a certain extent, his father-in-law will completely despise Gu Ruinian.

Gu Youtian sneered. He had almost forgotten about it. He didn't expect that little beast Gu Ruinian to bring glory to his ancestors.

He needs to save some money for his future business ventures; he can't invest all his money in his youngest son.

Furthermore, he has grandsons.

Gu Youtian's gaze fell on Yao Jia, who was standing next to Wei Shi. If the main account is ruined, then the smaller account can be practiced.

Gu Youtian said, "If Ruinian wants to study, he has to find his own way. He can forget about getting a single penny of the money I earn."

A hint of pleasure flashed in Wei's eyes.

Jia wanted to argue with Gu Youtian, but was stopped by a look from Old Madam Gu.

What kind of grudge could there be between a father and son that lasted overnight?

Is Ruinian his son?

He was still hoping that Ruinian would bring glory to his ancestors.

If we don't provide education for Ruinian, who will?

The second child is just saying things out of anger; he'll be fine in a few days.

Grandpa Gu shared the same sentiment and didn't take Gu Youtian's angry words to heart at all.

"You Tian, ​​I heard that your sister-in-law is also going to open a supermarket in Yanguan Town and Pingchuan County, which will also sell general merchandise. The market is like a battlefield. Who knows what methods she will use against you? Be careful."

Grandpa Gu then steered the conversation toward the news that Tong Huaqiong was going to open a supermarket.

Of course, it was Gu Ruinian who explained to him what a supermarket actually did. Once he understood, Grandpa Gu realized it was just a store that sold general merchandise and groceries.

He heard Ruinian say that Tao Hua came up with the idea for the new name of the entire supermarket. He thought it was just a silly idea from a young girl.

When the news came out that Tong Huaqiong was going to open a supermarket, Grandpa Gu was thinking of swallowing his pride and asking Gu Youtian for a manager.

Now there's no need to beg anymore; the son is the boss now.

Gu Youtian smiled faintly and said, "Tong Dajiao makes money by opening a pastry shop and raising pigs, so she's lucky. But opening a department store isn't something she can just do whenever she wants."

In Gu Youtian's conventional understanding, pastry shops rely on craftsmanship, and pig farming relies on working from dawn till dusk; neither has anything to do with management or business acumen.

Department stores not only need business acumen, but also high-quality sourcing channels; otherwise, they are destined to fail.

Especially high-quality supply channels—where would Tong Dajiao, a peasant woman from Qinghewan, have access to such channels?

Establishing a supply chain is not something that can be done overnight; he only figured it out after doing business in the south for so many years.

The success of a few pastry shops and pig farms made Tong Dajiao arrogant; she wanted to open a department store and make a fortune—dream on! (End of Chapter)