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

Chapter 499 The smell of vinegar
Gu Taohua walked out with a gloomy face.

Seeing her second sister-in-law Liu Yue'e cracking melon seeds and fanning herself with two shop assistants in front of the ice basin at the shop, Gu Taohua's face darkened even more, and she went up to scold her second sister-in-law Liu Yue'e.

Seeing her sister-in-law's unpleasant expression, Liu Yue'e dared not speak.

Although she was the sister-in-law, her husband's younger sister was the second-in-command in the family, and she dared not offend her.

Moreover, she had indeed spent a long time by the ice basin.

"Sister-in-law Yue'e, Tao Hua is so fierce, she even dares to scold you." Li Hua, a girl from the Gu family who works as a supermarket clerk, stuck out her tongue. She knew Tao Hua was fierce, but there weren't many people who would publicly humiliate their sister-in-law like this.

“What do you know? This is work. She’s my boss at work, so it’s not right for her to scold me.” Even though Liu Yue’e was unhappy, she didn’t dare to complain in front of her sisters in the clan, otherwise it would seem like she was admitting that she was afraid of her sister-in-law.

“Peach Blossom isn’t usually like this. Did someone upset her? Is she taking it out on someone?” said Orchid, another girl from Qinghe Bay.

Although Gu Taohua usually maintained the demeanor of a second-in-command, she never lost her temper with the shop's employees.

As Liu Yue'e recalled the way Gu Taohua had stomped her feet earlier, a sudden inspiration struck her.

Today, Gu Taohua's scolding of Gu Dashu was nothing like a master scolding a servant; it was full of girlish sentimentality, just like when she herself was in her boudoir and saw Gu Dashu talking to other girls in the village. Back then, she and Gu Dashu hadn't yet made their relationship public, and if Gu Dashu talked to other girls, she had no right to argue with him; she could only go home and complain to her older brother and sister.

Could it be that my sister-in-law has fallen for some young man?

My sister-in-law hasn't had any contact with anyone other than her family and the supermarket staff since she came to Pingchuan.

Who could my sister-in-law possibly fall for?

Liu Yue'e mentally assessed the supermarket staff. The manager was too old and his eldest son was already married. The accountant was also married. Most of the other male staff were either married or engaged, and a few of the unmarried ones were quite good-looking.

Liu Yue'e slapped her thigh; she certainly didn't want her sister-in-law to fall for any of the shop assistants.

In her mind, there was no difference between a strong woman and a weak man, and marrying into the family. If the man married into the Gu family and had a bunch of children, wouldn't the majority of the family property be in Tao Hua's hands?

Liu Yue'e now hopes more than anyone that Gu Taohua will fall in love with a promising young man from a wealthy family. A young man from a wealthy family would certainly not marry into the family, nor would he steal Yaozu's family property, and he could even bring benefits to her own family.

Young girls in the throes of first love are easily aroused, and the younger sister-in-law absolutely cannot let the shop assistants in the shop stir up her passion.

They want to eat toad meat; let's see if Liu Yue'e will agree.

If she discovers that someone is flirting with another man, she will definitely find a reason to fire them.

Liu Yue'e perked up. As the head waiter, she was determined to get these single, young male waiters to spend their time with customers and keep them busy so they wouldn't be thinking about flirting.

So Liu Yue'e mobilized all the single male shop assistants in the shop.

Gu Taohua never expected that her expression would lead her second sister-in-law to so many assumptions.

She went to the backyard of the shop, and she was in a very bad mood.

Feeling frustrated and unable to vent her anger, even the slight coolness brought by the breeze blowing through the ice basin couldn't dispel the heat radiating from her body. All she could do was fan herself wildly at the ice basin.

It's probably because I'm too fat.

Actually, since the beginning of spring, Gu Taohua's body has grown taller and taller, and the fat on her body has dissipated. Although she is not slender, she has nothing to do with being fat.

She's in a bad mood all because of Su Chengmin.

He's a member of the Gu family, so why would he ask Nie Xiaofeng to keep an eye on Miss Lian? What's his ulterior motive?
It's not like his mother didn't think of it; why was he so eager to do it?

She felt uneasy ever since Su Chengmin instructed Nie Xiaofeng to keep a close eye on who the Second Miss Lian met and what she said.

"Peach Blossom, I've been looking everywhere for you, what are you doing here?"

After Su Chengmin left Tong Huaqiong's place, he turned around and found that Gu Taohua was gone. The summer heat was getting stronger and stronger, and Taohua was afraid of the heat, so he had bought some sour plum soup that morning, filled it with a porcelain jar, and put it in ice. He was going to take it out for Gu Taohua to drink.

After searching the entire supermarket for a long time, Su Chengmin finally spotted Gu Taohua in the backyard.

Gu Taohua was fanning herself frantically at the ice basin; she must be terribly hot.

When Gu Taohua saw Su Chengmin, her anger, which she had just suppressed, flared up again.

"What's wrong with you? Didn't we agree that you'd be staying in Pingchuan these days? Why are you going back to Qinghewan? What if people cause trouble at the supermarket if you go back?" Gu Taohua got angrier and angrier and lashed out at Su Chengmin.

“Xiaolong is my elder brother and sister-in-law’s son. How could my elder brother and sister-in-law mistreat him? You’re just being petty and judging others by your own standards.”

Gu Taohua gave Su Chengmin a good scolding.

These past few days, Su Chengmin has been accompanying Gu Taohua whenever she goes out. How can he just leave like that? Where does he leave his second boss?

Su Chengmin pondered, "Xiaolong was just pretending to be your elder brother and sister-in-law's child, so how did he end up having an affair?" He and Xiaolong were bound by fate. Although he knew that there were other people besides him who would secretly prevent Xiaolong from being harmed, he was still worried about not going back for a long time.

Su Chengmin said with a forced smile, "Taohua, how could you think of me like that? Think about how I've treated you and your family these past few days. Haven't I been doing whatever you say?"

Gu Taohua muttered, "Not so good."

Su Chengmin found Gu Taohua's angry expression rather cute. He hesitated to wipe the sweat from her forehead, but instead said, "I know you're afraid of the heat, so I'll give you some plum juice."

The phrase "I know you're worried about getting hot" angered Gu Taohua.

What do you mean?
Who is afraid of the heat?

The fact that fat people are afraid of the heat is a veiled insult to her being fat, isn't it?
Gu Taohua gritted her teeth in anger. Her mother told her not to care about other people's opinions, and that she didn't need to lose weight unless being overweight affected her health. She was exhausted and sweltering every day, surviving on dry food. Now, all her fat had turned into muscle, she had a better figure, and she looked better in clothes, but people still called her fat.

Can she tolerate this?
"You dare say I'm fat? I ate your rice, so what's it to you if I'm fat?" Gu Taohua roared in anger.

Su Chengmin was completely baffled; when had he ever said anything that made Gu Taohua look fat?

Besides, being fat is good! Gu Taohua's muscles are so impressive. She can endure more than others during times of war and famine, and she might even be able to crush the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.

Su Chengmin said, "Peach Blossom, did someone say that you're fat and it's bad, and you took it as me saying it? Let me tell you, you're fine the way you are, being a little chubby is good, really."

Su Chengmin remained silent until he spoke, which infuriated Gu Taohua to the point of rage.

He also said he didn't say that, which is clearly implying that he's gained weight.

Gu Taohua kicked the ice basin in anger.

"Even the Second Miss is so thin, no wonder you care about her so much."

Gu Taohua herself didn't know why she kept mentioning the Second Miss.

It made her seem extremely jealous of the Second Miss.

She absolutely didn't. She wasn't jealous of Lu Zhaozhao, who was so beautiful and thin, so why would she be jealous of the Second Miss?

Gu Taohua stomped her foot and left, not forgetting to snatch the plum juice from Su Chengmin's hand.

A faint smell of vinegar lingered in the air.

"How did this get involved with Miss Lian the Second?"

Su Chengmin scratched his head, puzzled.