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

"What's wrong with me? Why don't you want me?"

Tong Huaqiong initially decided that only female workers would be needed for spinning, weaving, and cotton carding.

Of course, male workers were not excluded. Later on, male workers were needed for jobs such as running markets, driving carts, delivering goods, and collecting cotton. After all, these jobs required women to be out in the field, and given the security situation at that time, it was really dangerous for women to be out in the field.

However, Tong Huaqiong plans to select candidates for these positions gradually and does not intend to publicly recruit for them.

Therefore, all the women who applied for the weaving job were young women and wives. Suddenly, a male voice rang out, which surprised Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong looked up and saw a man with a pointed face and protruding ears standing in the middle of a group of young women and wives, questioning Gu Xiaoxue.

Tong Huaqiong knew this man; he was Yang Tieniu from Moon Bay.

Tong Huaqiong was familiar with him because Yang Tieniu was very famous in the Moon Bay and Qinghe Bay area. When Gu Dashu was young, he went to the casino with him to try his luck.

Moreover, Yang Tieniu tormented his first wife to death, and then remarried a woman who was just as tormented him.

Tong Huaqiong sneered. Was he deaf? They clearly said they were recruiting female workers, so why was he getting involved?

Yang Tieniu looked at Gu Xiaoxue with his eyes wide open, his thoughts obvious. He was just taking advantage of the fact that Gu Xiaoxue was a young girl and not someone he would easily cause trouble for.

Tong Huaqiong also wanted to see how Gu Xiaoxue would respond, so she remained silent.

Anyway, with Song Qiaoniang and Gu Taohua around, and a group of capable wives from Qinghewan by her side, they would never let Gu Xiaoxue suffer a loss.

Gu Xiaoxue raised her head and said calmly, "We are a weaving workshop, and we only hire female textile workers. Do you know how to spin yarn or weave cloth?"

Yang Tieniu could neither spin yarn nor weave cloth.

He had heard that Tong Huaqiong's weaving workshop was hiring, and many young women and wives from Moon Bay had applied. His wife wanted to come too, but he stopped her. He believed his wife could stay home and weave and spin; any opportunity to earn money outside should be hers to have.

Therefore, he came to Qinghewan to apply for the job.

He didn't want to apply for a job in spinning or weaving, as he couldn't handle such hard work. He thought that Gu Dashu, whom he used to look down on, was the second owner of the weaving workshop. He planned to sneak in first and then become a small manager through Gu Dashu's connections.

A weaving workshop is just a group of women, isn't it easy to manage them?
Unexpectedly, Gu Xiaoxue and Song Qiaoniang didn't even lift their eyelids and directly rejected him.

“Your weaving workshop can’t just be spinning yarn and weaving cloth, can it? These female workers need someone to manage them, right? The cloth you weave needs to be sold, right? These women can’t do it all; they need men to do it.” Yang Tieniu kept rambling on and on.

Song Qiaoniang said directly, "These tasks are already being done by others; there's no need to hire more people."

Gu Taohua couldn't take it anymore and directly chased her away, saying, "You have such a big face. I wouldn't want a man like you. Go back to where you came from."

The women around him who had applied for the job rolled up their sleeves and yelled at Yang Tieniu to get out.

They certainly didn't want someone like Yang Tieniu to come in as manager.

Yang Tieniu said coldly, "I've only ever heard of brothels only hiring women. Does your weaving workshop only hire women? Are you running a pimping business?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than Tong Huaqiong pierced Yang Tieniu's mouth with a hairpin.

When Yang Tieniu saw Tong Huaqiong, he wiped the blood from his mouth and said, "Aunt Tong, it's me, Tieniu, Dashu's brother."

"You piece of trash who only eats shit and not rice, no wonder you spew filth the moment you open your mouth. Just because you have an extra thing in your crotch, you think the whole world will open doors for you? What kind of thing are you, daring to run wild here?" Tong Huaqiong cursed angrily.

It would have been better if Yang Tieniu hadn't mentioned that they were brothers of Dashu. The more he talked, the angrier Tong Huaqiong became, and she continued to stab with a hairpin.

Yang Tieniu was forced to retreat repeatedly after being stabbed, and raised his hand to retaliate.

Su Chengmin grabbed his arm from behind and twisted it backward, causing Yang Tieniu to feel like he was about to be sent to heaven and his mind was about to leave his body in pain.

"I said we're only hiring female workers, what are you doing here? Are you trying to cut off your manhood or something?"

"If you're really that determined, then go to Shengjing and serve the empresses in the palace. It's a waste of your talents to come to our weaving workshop. We don't have that kind of luck to be used."

Yang Tieniu's foul language enraged the young women and wives who came to apply for the job. They were all honest and upright people; some of their families had already objected, feeling it was immoral for girls to work. But Yang Tieniu insisted on using their supposed innocence as an excuse. They felt his tongue should be cut out. The surrounding wives joined Tong Huaqiong in their cursing.

Two of the wives were scolding harshly, while the other wives couldn't help but chuckle behind their sleeves.

Taking advantage of Yang Tieniu being restrained by Su Chengmin, Liu Yue'e's mother, Zhao, came up and kicked him twice.

"Every Tom, Dick, and Harry tries to claim kinship with you. Who are you, brother? The maggots in the latrine are your brothers."

Zhao resented Yang Tieniu for trying to establish a relationship with her son-in-law.

Her son-in-law has a good heart; she can't let these lowlifes corrupt him.

"Throw him out. If you see him again, cut off his hands, feet, and tongue," Tong Huaqiong said to Su Chengmin in a deep voice.

Su Chengmin dragged Yang Tieniu away, and soon Yang Tieniu was hoarse from the pain.

Su Chengmin's secret guards and military skills were such that when he struck someone, the outside of the wound might still be intact, but the inside would be shattered.

Yang Tieniu's wrist was crushed.

Tong Huaqiong coldly watched Yang Tieniu's arm dangling and his eyes rolling back, knowing that Su Chengmin had used underhanded methods and Yang Tieniu's arm was probably ruined.

But he deserved it.

His hands are used for nothing but beating his wife; he doesn't do laundry, cook, work in the fields, or earn money. Disabling them is like ridding his wife of a menace.

"Fifteen cloth weavers, ten spinning girls, ten cotton carders, five cotton pickers, and five silk ironers. That's thirty people in total. Master, please take a look. If there are no problems, I will post their names on the list at the door and the village entrance."

After several days of assessment and interviews, Gu Xiaoxue and Song Qiaoniang selected suitable candidates, and Su Qing waited for Tong Huaqiong to make the final decision.

Tong Huaqiong glanced at the list and said, "I trust you. Since these people have been hired, post the list tomorrow morning."

Su Qing cut several sheets of bright red paper and wrote the names of those who had been accepted on them.

The next morning, under the thin autumn sunlight, recruitment notices were posted on the big willow tree at the village entrance and at the entrance of the weaving workshop.

Not only were they posted in Qinghewan, but Tong Huaqiong also sent Su Chengmin to post them early in the morning in Yue Liangwan and several surrounding villages.

Few people in the village were literate, and many who got up early to collect manure or work in the fields saw the red notice and thought it was some kind of official document or report from the imperial court. Some panicked and went to call the village chief.

The women and girls who had applied already knew that the results would be posted, and they all crowded around the list to look at them.

They were illiterate. When Er Gou's mother saw Gu Ruinian carrying a bucket of water, she called out to him, "Ruinian, can you help me see who your aunt's weaving workshop has hired?"

Gu Ruinian hadn't been in the village for a long time. These past few days, he was forced to appear in front of everyone by being chased by Old Mrs. Gu to fetch water.

He didn't want to talk to the villagers of Qinghewan at all, but Er Gou's mother grabbed him and dragged him to the front of the list.

Because Er Gou's mother was too strong, Gu Ruinian's right leg was dragged and was in great pain.

"Quickly read it aloud for everyone, they're all waiting."

Urged on by Er Gou's mother, Gu Ruinian read out the name on the table.

"Wang Erni, Li Mingxiu, Gu Qingmei"

The young woman and her husband, whose story was read by Gu Ruinian, wept with joy.

You got the job!

You got the job!

We can make money now! (End of Chapter)