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

Chapter 469 She's Interested by This News

The adoption of Gu Ruinian began with great fanfare but ended quietly.

Gu Youtian stayed at home for one night before going to Heilongtan to discuss the department store with Wu Ren.

Since my sister-in-law is also going to enter the department store business, why not seize the day and compete against her on the opening day of her store?

We also want my sister-in-law to experience the taste of failure.

Otherwise, she, a widow from Qinghewan, would be incredibly arrogant.

Tong Huaqiong was in a great mood after tricking Gu Ruinian. She had come to this era and had become a mother without pain. Including the original owner's biological and stepchildren, she had a total of five children and really didn't want a sixth person to call her "mother".

She would only acknowledge a sixth child if the emperor asked her to become empress dowager.

Tong Huaqiong has been very busy lately. In addition to expanding her pig farm and taking care of her cotton fields, the most important thing she is doing is preparing for the opening of her supermarket.

The villagers didn't quite understand what a supermarket was, but they knew that Tong Huaqiong's supermarket needed manpower.

Everyone wanted their family's labor force to work for Tong Huaqiong, since Tong Huaqiong paid a good wage for both making peach blossom desserts and hiring workers in the fields.

If he could hook up with Tong Huaqiong's powerful backer, he wouldn't dare dream of a life of luxury and wealth, but at least he would have some financial security.

Tong Huaqiong's two supermarkets in Pingchuan County and Yanguan Town are quite large. She has hired a lot of employees, from sales staff to stockers to general helpers. She had already recruited a group of employees when the stores were finalized.

These men were mainly from the surrounding villages and towns of Yanguan Town.

Tong Huaqiong originally wanted to provide job opportunities for some girls in the village, but very few were willing to work as shop assistants in the supermarket.

Only two girls were recruited, and they were from the Gu family.

Firstly, the girls in the village are shy and unwilling to show their faces in public. Secondly, their families don't allow it, especially some girls who had already decided to come, but their parents forced them to come home to be replaced by their brothers.

Tong Huaqiong shook her head and sighed.

In this era, it's the mainstream in every household that they don't want their daughters to show their faces in public. People like Gu Xiaocao are forced into this situation.

Tong Huaqiong didn't blame the villagers; given the circumstances, she could only influence them little by little.

When the cotton harvest comes in autumn, a large number of weavers will be needed. It would be easier to get the girls in the village to work in the embroidery workshop then.

Tong Huaqiong selected some clever or honest young people from the village to work as shop assistants in the supermarket.

These people are now receiving pre-job training in Tong Huaqiong's courtyard.

Gu Honglian learned that Tong Huaqiong's shop needed shop assistants and that two Gu family girls had already been hired, so she also wanted to work as a shop assistant at the supermarket.

Despite her sister-in-law's cold attitude, she still wanted to give it a try.

Gu Honglian entered Tong Huaqiong's courtyard and saw the selected young people from the village practicing smiling in uniform, while her sister-in-law sat on the porch supervising.

Now the whole village knows that the workers that the eldest sister-in-law hired have strict training and assessments, and that if they don't pass the training, they will be fired.

She thought it was some kind of scolding, but it turned out to be laughter.

It's not difficult at all; she'll laugh.

Gu Honglian came to Tong Huaqiong's side, picked up the leg-massaging tool next to her, and was about to massage Tong Huaqiong's legs.

Unsolicited favors are never for anything good.

Tong Huaqiong enjoyed herself without asking Gu Honglian what was wrong.

Unable to hold back any longer, Gu Honglian spoke up, "Sister-in-law, I can laugh too, and I'd like to work as a shop assistant in your shop as well."

Tong Huaqiong said, "You're not suitable."

How could a pampered young lady possibly serve customers?

Gu Honglian said, "Sister-in-law, I heard that your shop in town is short of helpers. Why don't you let me work at your shop? I can serve tea and water, or clean, I can do a lot of chores."

"How about this, I won't take any wages for the first three months, you can observe my performance first."

Tong Huaqiong seized upon the information Gu Honglian revealed: she was going to the town. Tong Huaqiong was planning to open supermarkets in both Pingchuan County and Yanguan Town. Based on Tong Huaqiong's understanding of Gu Honglian, if she were to work as a shop assistant, she would prefer Pingchuan County. Why was she emphasizing Yanguan Town right away?

And they were very impatient.

There must be something hidden behind this.

Tong Huaqiong asked, "Honglian, why do you insist on going to town?"

Gu Honglian was someone who couldn't hide her feelings. When Tong Huaqiong asked her, she lowered her head, a suspicious blush appearing on her face.

Tong Huaqiong has never been in love but has witnessed the longing between young men and women. Her expression is very similar to Gu Jingzhe's longing for Lu Zhaozhao.

Tong Huaqiong asked directly, "Has my sister taken a fancy to someone?"

Gu Honglian's face turned even redder; she did indeed have someone in her heart.

That person was Fan Tong, the scholar.

She couldn't help but reveal it to Tong Huaqiong in exchange for a job opportunity in Yanguan Town, but the thought of Fan Tong's coldness towards her, while his eyes sparkled when he mentioned his niece Gu Taohua, made her angry.

My sister-in-law absolutely cannot find out. What if Gu Taohua also likes Fan Tong, and my sister-in-law and Gu Taohua team up to ruin her plans?

Gu Honglian protested, "No, no."

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, "You're lying."

His thoughts were written all over his face.

However, it doesn't matter to her who Gu Honglian likes or dislikes. If she gets married, she will give her a dowry out of consideration for their sister-in-law relationship. But before that, Gu Honglian must not be seduced by anyone in her shop.

Tong Huaqiong said, "I was just asking casually. My shop doesn't need any help. If you're bored, you can help the family with the farm work. Didn't your family just lease five acres of land from me to plant corn? Watering, fertilizing, weeding—everything requires manpower."

Gu Honglian looked unhappy.

She didn't want to farm. She was already dark-skinned, and the tan she got from working on the ground was so intense that even the darkest shade couldn't be salvaged.

Gu Honglian's eyes lit up. She thought of Gu Youtian's plan to open a shop and wondered if she could use this information to persuade her sister-in-law to let her work in the shop in town.

"Sister-in-law, do you want to know what my second brother is doing now?" Gu Honglian asked Tong Huaqiong with a smile.

Tong Huaqiong raised an eyebrow; Gu Honglian was trying to use information about Gu Youtian as a bargaining chip.

She didn't care at all what Gu Youtian was doing, and even if Gu Youtian wanted to deal with her, the information Gu Honglian provided was limited.

There was no other reason; it was simply that Gu Youtian felt Gu Honglian wasn't worth winning over.

Tong Huaqiong waved her hand and said, "What do you mean by 'second brother'? I'm not your second sister-in-law, you don't need to tell me."

Gu Honglian gritted her teeth; her sister-in-law was truly impervious to reason.

But now that she's brought it up, she'd rather suffocate than keep quiet.

Gu Honglian said, "My second brother and the village head of Heilongtan are planning to open a shop in Pingchuan County, just like the shop you're going to open, which will sell general merchandise. I heard that the shop will open on the same day as yours."

Oh, that's news that Tong Huaqiong is interested in.

Gu Youtian knew that her supermarket was about to open and wanted to compete with her.

But she wasn't afraid.

Anyway, if there's no grain, there's land; if there's no grain, there will be someone else.

Since you're in business, you're bound to have competitors.

Seeing that Tong Huaqiong was interested, Gu Honglian was eager to try her luck and asked to work at the supermarket that Tong Huaqiong was about to open in Yanguan Town. Of course, Tong Huaqiong rejected her again.

Gu Honglian was furious.

Sister-in-law, you really don't appreciate kindness. Well then, I wish you good luck in losing your business to your second brother this time.