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

Chapter 545 Improved Loom
Xiaoxue absolutely cannot marry Xu Dabao.

This is a consensus reached by Uncle Gu and Aunt Gu.

The two demanded a straight answer from Gu Youtian and Jia Shi. They didn't want to ruin Gu Xiaoxue, but they had no better options.

If we can scrape together five hundred taels, everything will be fine.

"Then let Ruinian marry Xu Xinghua. I'm sure Xu Yong would be happy with this marriage," said Aunt Gu.

Jia said, "No, Xinghua has a pockmarked face and a bad temper."

Aunt Gu sneered, "You think your Ruinian is a treasure? Isn't he a cripple? Doesn't pockmarked skin deserve a cripple? You look down on Xinghua, but Xinghua has pockmarks on her face, which doesn't stop her from having children. Can Ruinian earn money to support the family? Even if he wasn't crippled, let alone his leg, he wouldn't be able to earn money to support the family. Someone like him is lucky to even have a wife."

Gu Ruinian felt deeply insulted.

"My family's affairs are none of your concern, Second Grandfather and Second Grandmother," Gu Ruinian said, dismissing them.

Aunt Gu rolled her eyes and said, "Do you think we want to bother? It's all because of the trouble you caused that the whole clan has to lose face."

Gu Ruinian almost broke down, saying, "I will take responsibility for the trouble I caused. Second Grandfather and Second Grandmother just want to protect Xiaoxue, right? Don't worry, I, Ruinian, can protect Xiaoxue. My family's affairs really don't need your interference. Please leave."

Uncle Gu and Aunt Gu were so angry that their chests swelled. They left the "ungrateful wretch" behind and got up to leave.

Only Grandpa Gu and his family remained in the courtyard.

"Ruinian, how will you protect your sister?" Gu Fengnian couldn't help but ask.

Gu Ruinian smiled faintly and said, "Then you won't have to worry about it, brother."

Wei rolled her eyes. What's with the pretense? It's come to this already.

Seeing that everyone except Wei Shi, Gu Honglian, and Yao Jia were looking at him expectantly, Gu Ruinian said, "I have my own way, don't worry. I have a plan for the Xu family to come and pick them up in ten days."

Gu Youtian frowned; this son of his had always been unreliable.

No matter how eloquently he spoke, he was determined to go to Xu Yong's house to persuade Gu Ruinian to marry Xu Xinghua.

Seeing how confident Gu Ruinian spoke, Grandpa Gu and Grandma Gu, though a little uneasy, ultimately believed him to some extent.

Let's prepare for both possibilities. If that doesn't work out, then let our grandson marry Xu Xinghua.

Thinking of this, Grandma Gu sighed and directed everyone to tidy up the yard, gather up the usable items, use the broken fence and wooden door as firewood, and find two bags of grain in the cellar.

Fortunately, it was well hidden and Xu Jin didn't manage to dig it up.

Gu Fengnian carried Gu Ruinian into the house and placed him on the bed with three legs cut off.

"Honglian, go to the clan chief and ask for an excuse to cook the pot," said Old Madam Gu to Gu Honglian, who was idly watching her family work.

The sun had set, and every household in the village was preparing dinner. They had traveled all day and hadn't eaten yet; they needed a pot to cook rice.

"Okay!" Gu Honglian ran off in a flash.

Gu Ruinian sat on the bed, looking at Gu Honglian's cheerful figure through the window, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

Before borrowing the pot, Gu Honglian made a detour to Tong Huaqiong's house.

"Sister-in-law, do you know how badly our house was vandalized? They even smashed the bed, so now we have to sleep on the floor." Gu Honglian sat opposite Tong Huaqiong and told her about the situation at the old house.

"Then I'm sorry to trouble you." Tong Huaqiong smiled faintly.

Gu Honglian felt a pang of disappointment; she had thought her sister-in-law would offer to let her move into her sister-in-law's house.

"Sister-in-law, Xu Dabao's mother and my second sister-in-law got into a fight. Xu Dabao came to support his mother, saying he's getting married in ten days. My second uncle and aunt came to my house and disagreed with Xiaoxue going to the Xu family to pay off her debt. Ruinian said he had a way to prevent Xiaoxue from going to pay off her debt, but when asked what his method was, he just wouldn't say. Isn't that ridiculous?" Gu Honglian said.

Tong Huaqiong found this laughable. Gu Ruinian had a solution? What solution could he possibly have?

He could scrape together five hundred taels of silver, or he could marry in place of Xiaoxue.

Wait a minute, Tong Huaqiong looked at Gu Honglian, making Gu Honglian feel uneasy. Gu Honglian asked in a trembling voice, "Sister-in-law, what are you looking at? What's wrong with me?"

Tong Huaqiong said, "Do you still remember what I told you this morning?"

Gu Honglian thought for a moment, and she almost forgot that her sister-in-law had reminded her that morning to prevent Gu Ruinian from getting sick from holding it in, and to use her to exchange for Xiaoxue to pay off Xu Dabao's debt.

She forgot about the bumpy journey from the city to her home.

"Well, sister-in-law, I know, I still need to go borrow a pot." Gu Honglian said and ran off in a flash.

After two busy months in Pingchuan, Tong Huaqiong finally felt completely exhausted when she returned to Qinghewan and relaxed.

After dinner and a shower, I lay down on my familiar bed.

The summer night was peaceful, and moonlight streamed through the window, filling the room. Tong Huaqiong drifted off to sleep in this tranquil summer night.

I slept soundly until dawn.

Tong Huaqiong got out of bed, and her maid Xiaoxi brought her water to wash her face. Granny Yang set breakfast on the table.

After finishing her meal quickly, Tong Huaqiong put on a straw hat, picked up a basket, and went to the cotton field at the foot of Xishan Mountain.

The cotton is growing well, with emerald green stalks and yellow flowers swaying in the wind, and the cotton bolls have grown to the size of a baby's fist.

Gu Dahan and Su Chengmin, along with their hired workers, were harvesting excess cotton bolls in the cotton field.

This is what Tong Huaqiong told him: to plant scientifically, and not to be happy just because there are many cotton bolls. Too many cotton bolls will absorb excess nutrients, making the cotton quality worse.

Don't hesitate to pluck the small cotton bolls.

As Tong Huaqiong contemplated the bountiful autumn harvest, she arrived at the shed in front of the Gu Daqiao cotton field.

Gu Daqiao was eating a watermelon when he saw Tong Huaqiong arrive. He grinned and invited Tong Huaqiong to eat some watermelon.

"It's springy from the mountain spring, so sweet! Auntie, you should try some," Gu Daqiao said with a smile.

"It's very sweet." Tong Huaqiong took the melon, took a bite, and found it to be both sweet and icy.

These watermelons were planted by Gu Daqiao at the edge of the cotton field, and now they have been harvested in abundance. A few days ago, Su Chengmin went to Pingchuan and brought a cartload for the workers at Jufulai to eat.

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself that she had forgotten to intercrop watermelons in the cotton field when she planted cotton.

Otherwise, the cotton fields would not only yield a bumper cotton harvest, but also a bumper watermelon harvest, which could be sold at Jufulai and generate income.

"Auntie, look, this is the loom. I've got it set up." Gu Daqiao limped into the shed, moved aside the pile of straw in the corner, and revealed a loom.

Looms are not cheap.

If a family owns a loom, it's like a golden egg.

No household in the entire Qinghewan area owns a single loom.

Gu Daqiao spent several months working on a loom, which he secretly hid under a haystack. He didn't even dare let the hired workers in the fields find out, for fear that it would be stolen and would betray the money and effort that Tong Huaqiong had spent on the loom.

Tong Huaqiong first spent a high price to buy a loom mainly made of hemp cloth, and had Gu Daqiao disassemble it and experiment with it; then she asked Magistrate Liu to get the blueprints of a cotton spinning machine from Huating County; she also bought several hundred kilograms of cotton thread for Gu Daqiao to experiment with.

Gu Daqiao dared not slack off, spending all his time in the shed at the edge of the cotton field, even eating and sleeping there, and finally managed to build a loom.

"Well done."

Tong Huaqiong threw away the watermelon rind, quickly went to the loom, and rubbed her hands on the loom.

This is an improved waist loom, complete with a frame and pedals, which greatly improves weaving efficiency.

In an instant, the white cotton was transformed into white silver.