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

Chapter 539 Disbandment
Wu Na's appearance plunged the hearts of Grandpa Gu and others into despair.

Today, the Xu family stormed in and smashed Wu Ji's place to pieces without asking any questions. I wonder how much they lost.

Wu Ren will absolutely not take responsibility himself; he will definitely make Gu Youtian share the burden.

The Gu family already owed the Xu family five hundred taels of silver, and now they're going to owe the Wu family even more—it's like adding insult to injury.

They came to Pingchuan to make a fortune, but instead of making money, they ended up with a mountain of debt.

Gu Youtian followed Wu Na out with a gloomy face.

If it's really as everyone thinks, and Takehito makes Tani Yuta bear the store's losses, that would be a pretty good outcome.

After all, he was only being asked to take on the debt and manage the shop. As long as he had the shop, he would eventually be able to turn his life around and make money.

As soon as Gu Youtian arrived at the shop, Wu Ren pointed at the smashed shelves and started cursing.

Previously, Wu Ren had many grievances against Gu Youtian, but because he still needed Gu Youtian to manage the shop, he pretended to be polite.

Now they don't even pretend anymore; they scold Gu Youtian like he's their grandson.

Gu Youtian was almost unable to lift his head from the scolding. In all his years, the only times he had ever been scolded were by his sister-in-law, Tong Dajiao, who was jumping up and down with her feet, and by Wu Ren.

"I plan to send Ruinian away and never let him come to Pingchuan again. Don't worry, these goods will be included in my profit share, I'll compensate you!" Gu Youtian apologized, swallowing his anger.

The Xu family smashed Wu Ji. At this moment, Gu Youtian was torn between hating Gu Ruinian for the trouble he had caused and hating the Xu family for smashing it without asking questions.

Upon hearing Gu Youtian's words, Wu Ren sneered and said, "You'll lose money. You make it sound so easy, even from your share of the profits. How much money have you made since you opened the shop? I was blind to believe your nonsense. How much capital have I lost since partnering with you? I've tallied up the worth of the damaged goods, and it's worth four hundred taels. Fine, I won't make you lose money. You can't afford it anyway."

"Alright then, I can't afford to hire someone as important as you for this shop. I'll run it myself from now on. You can take your whole family and leave tomorrow."

After finishing speaking, Wu Ren didn't even look at Gu Youtian, put the account book in his pocket, and went to the backyard.

He has been with the Shinobu family for a long time.

I've been looking for an opportunity to break up with Gu Youtian, and today I've finally found one.

Gu Youtian's business is not only bad here, but he also has to support his family's food and drink.

Now that Tong Zhaodi and Tong Zhijie have arrived, the siblings don't want wages, so they'll temporarily run errands for the shop, and the other two employees will be dismissed tomorrow.

Gu Youtian returned to the warehouse in a daze and told everyone that Wu Ren and he had broken up. Grandma Gu and Grandpa Gu looked flustered and sighed.

Their livelihood was cut off again.

Gu Youtian was so angry that he punched Gu Ruinian a few more times, but Jia Shi stood in front of him and took the blows.

“Let’s go back then. We won’t starve if we go back to the village to farm,” said Grandma Gu.

Pingchuan County is too awful. Her eldest daughter-in-law's booming business is making her miserable, and her grandson's messy affair with Xu Zaohua is making her miserable. She might as well go back to Qinghewan to find some peace and quiet.

Gu Ruinian's eyes flickered when he heard he was going home.

"What about the Xu family's money?" Jia asked.

Grandpa Gu was feeling a bit agitated and waved his hand, saying, "Let's talk about it when we get home."

There are still ten days left, aren't there?

They gradually persuaded the second son and his wife that as long as Xiaoxue could marry into their family, they wouldn't have to worry about anything else.

The next morning, Gu Honglian went to Tong Huaqiong's place again to have breakfast.

Gu Dashu had gone to the Lu family in Fucheng early in the morning to discuss stockpiling charcoal, and Gu Honglian was worried that Tong Huaqiong would not let him near the dining table if Gu Dashu was not there.

Tong Huaqiong handed them two large steamed buns. Gu Honglian understood immediately; her sister-in-law wanted her to reveal the follow-up to the Xu family's return yesterday.

From Gu Honglian, Tong Huaqiong learned that Gu Youtian's entire family had been kicked out of Wu Ji by Wu Ren, and they were going back to Qinghe Bay today.

Coincidentally, Tong Huaqiong is also going back to Qinghewan.

She heard from Gu Dahan that Gu Daqiao had figured out a loom. He originally wanted to bring it to Pingchuan for Tong Huaqiong to see, but he came in too much of a hurry yesterday and didn't have time to bring it.

Tong Huaqiong was about to go home and see for herself.

If the loom is successful, she will set up a rural textile factory.

With Gu Baishuang and the manager backing Jufulai up now, there won't be any trouble.

"The Xu family has their eye on Xiaoxue and wants her to marry Xu Dabao to pay off their debt. My father agreed, my mother neither agreed nor objected, my second brother and sister-in-law objected, Fengnian and his wife also disagreed, only that shameless beast Ruinian couldn't wait for Xiaoxue to marry Xu Dabao," Gu Honglian said.

Tong Huaqiong asked with a smile, "So, do you agree or disagree?"

Looking at her sister-in-law's ambiguous smile, Gu Honglian said, "Of course I object. My second brother even said that it would be better to let Ruinian marry Xu Xinghua, which I think is a good idea."

She declined to comment on Gu Youtian's suggestion that Gu Ruinian marry Xu Xinghua, but instead asked Gu Honglian, "Your second sister-in-law dotes on Ruinian so much, why is she unwilling to use Xiaoxue to pay off the debt this time?"

Without hesitation, Gu Honglian replied, "Of course, Xu Dabao indulges in all sorts of vices, and he wouldn't want Xiaoxue to suffer like that."

Gu Honglian cut her off.

Second Sister-in-law doesn't seem like that kind of person. She usually orders Xiaoxue around without any mercy, and she won't put any good things in Xiaoxue's mouth. Is Second Sister-in-law really unwilling to let Xiaoxue suffer?

Tong Huaqiong gave Gu Honglian a meaningful look.

Liu Yue'e said, "Auntie, Second Aunt thinks it's not worth it to let Xiaoxue pay off the debt. She wants to marry Xiaoxue off to a better family so that she can help Ruinian in the future. The Xu family hates Ruinian to death. Even if Xiaoxue marries into the Xu family, she will not become Ruinian's help."

Gu Honglian said, "I knew my second sister-in-law wasn't that kind-hearted."

Tong Huaqiong took a bite of her steamed bun and casually said, "If your second sister-in-law doesn't want Xiaoxue to marry into the Xu family, and the money can't be repaid, and Ruinian refuses to marry Xinghua, what do you think your second sister-in-law and Ruinian will do?"

Gu Honglian thought for a moment and then shook her head.

Then borrow money from loan sharks.

Gu Taohua said, "My silly aunt, if you were to marry Xu Dabao, it would not only pay off the Xu family's debts, but also prevent Ruinian from marrying Xu Xinghua and avoid delaying Xiaoxue's good marriage. What do you think your good second sister-in-law, good second brother, and good nephew Ruinian would do?"

"If even I can think of this, how could someone as cunning as Ruinian not think of it?"

Gu Honglian slammed her chopsticks on the table and said, "They wouldn't dare."

Gu Taohua said, "Whether you dare or not is not up to you."

Gu Honglian put down her bowl and was about to run over to confront Ruinian and Jia Shi when Tong Huaqiong stopped her.

"If you make a fuss about it without any evidence, you'll only be digging your own grave. Even a rabbit will jump over a wall when cornered. What if they secretly take you to the Xu family if you push them too far? Don't make a fuss for now. Keep an eye on Ruinian and your second sister-in-law. Wait until you have solid evidence before you make a fuss."

"Aren't you going back to the village right now? There are so many people in the Gu family there. If you seize on their weakness and cause trouble, the whole clan will have to step in to stop you. It's better than causing trouble now. Also, think about it. The Xu family doesn't want you. What would you do if they found out that Ruinian had ulterior motives and wanted to pair you up with Xu Dabao?"

Gu Honglian calmed down after being lectured by Tong Huaqiong.

If she makes a scene now without any leverage, her second sister-in-law and Ruinian might turn the tables on her, potentially causing her even more trouble.

Since they had this intention, she didn't believe that her second sister-in-law and Ruinian could hide it.

My sister-in-law is right. If we're going to make a scene, we should do it when everyone in the clan is in Qinghewan. We should wait until we find something to use against us.