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

Chapter 587 The Feeling of Getting Money Is Even More Wonderful
Early winter.

The first batch of cotton-padded coats that had been distributed has been brought back.

Tong Huaqiong had Wei bring along the village's clever and argumentative daughters-in-law and aunties to inspect the goods one by one.

After they finished their tests, Tong Huaqiong conducted random sampling for further examination.

Fortunately, the first batch of cotton-padded coats was of very good quality; except for one with crooked stitching, they all met the requirements.

Tong Huaqiong was very satisfied with this result.

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, "Indeed, a written contract is more binding than a verbal agreement."

"Su Qing." Tong Huaqiong turned and called out to Su Qing.

Su Qing was carrying a tray covered with a red cloth, on which were strings of copper coins.

The copper coin gleamed brightly in the early winter sun.

Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief

It seems Manager Tong is very satisfied with the goods and it's time to pay the workers.

Many young women and wives were earning money with their own hands for the first time. They glanced at the coins on the tray, their palms sweating, their hearts pounding.

Su Qing called out names, and another maid, Xiao Xi, was in charge of distributing the money.

Everyone whose name is called steps forward, signs their name on a piece of paper, and then receives their money.

Tong Huaqiong made sure to create a strong sense of ceremony.

Everyone was incredibly excited. Those whose names were called rushed forward, carefully wiping their hands after signing their names before collecting their money, afraid of getting the coins dirty.

Everyone who received the money thanked Tong Huaqiong with great joy.

"Waaaaah, it's so great to make money! Waaaaah!"

Suddenly, a girl squatted down on the ground and burst into tears.

This girl is fifteen years old this year. The family's money never passes through her hands, and she has never touched money before.

It's only when you hold money in your hand that you truly feel how good it is to earn money, and the feeling of touching money is even more wonderful.

Even if the money can only be warmed in her hands for a short while before she has to hand it over to her brother and sister-in-law to supplement their household expenses when she gets home, she is still happy at this moment.

"Girl, stop crying. It's a joyous day for receiving money, why are you crying?" An older woman from the village stepped forward to help the weeping girl up and comforted her.

Weeping at the entrance of the weaving workshop is such bad luck for a businessman.

She was afraid that Tong Huaqiong would get angry and stop assigning them work in the future.

Then he turned to Tong Huaqiong and explained, "Shopkeeper Tong, Xiaomei is crying tears of joy."

Tong Huaqiong nodded, not minding that the girl named Xiaomei was crying.

When a girl from the countryside earns money to buy flowers for the first time, she will naturally be so happy that she can't help but cry.

Not to mention this girl, even in later generations, she was incredibly excited when she earned money through part-time jobs while studying.

"Xiaomei, quickly wipe your tears. It's not good for others to see this with so many people coming and going."

"This is just the beginning. You'll earn more and more in the future. You won't cry every time, right?"

"Come on, let's go to town and buy some flowers to wear. I heard that the flowers sold at Manager Tong's Jufulai are quite unique, let's go and have a look."

Several girls who were close to Xiaomei tried to persuade her to get up and then tried to drag her to town.

Xiaomei wiped away her tears, and a smile returned to her face.

She wouldn't spend her money on herself, but she'd still be happy to go and look around without buying anything.

Amidst the joyful atmosphere, the payday event came to a close.

The cotton-fluffing workshops are working overtime to spin yarn and weave cloth. The second and third batches of materials have already been distributed, and they are just waiting for the new cotton-padded clothes to be collected.

Tong Huaqiong calculated that she could complete the plan within the stipulated time. As for who would receive the most wages, it would undoubtedly be the Wei family.

She was quick and skilled at needlework, so she could sew more cotton-padded clothes than others in the same amount of time.

Wei happily went to buy a chicken and a piece of pork belly, planning to stew the chicken and pork at home. Her poor Yao family hadn't eaten meat since the family split up.

Similarly, Gu Xiaoxue received her first paycheck.

Because she was a weaver, she earned more than Wei.

Gu Xiaoxue asked Gu Xiaocao to buy snowflake crisps and cream-filled snails at Peach Blossom Dessert Shop, and also bought her nephew a set of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, which they then carried home together.

When Wei saw the things in Gu Xiaoxue's hands, she said, "Why did you buy these? You just received your wages and you should save them for your dowry."

Gu Xiaoxue smiled but didn't say anything. She handed the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to Yaojia. Wei Shi smiled so much that her eyes narrowed.

The sister-in-law said she lived with them, but it was just that there was no precedent for a girl to separate from her family and live independently. Everything the sister-in-law ate and used was earned by herself.

Ultimately, it was she and Feng Nian who benefited.

Now that she has money, she immediately buys things for her nephew. Wei is very fond of this kind of sister-in-law.

Madam Wei said to Yao Jia, "You must be filial to your aunt from now on."

There's something else she didn't say: Don't end up like your uncle, a heartless ingrate.

Yao Jia said, "Thank you, Auntie. When I grow up, I will earn money for you to spend, and I will study hard to support you."

Gu Xiaoxue gave a perfunctory "okay".

She no longer takes such promises to heart. She had been brainwashed by Jia since childhood to devote herself wholeheartedly to Gu Ruinian, and she truly believed that Gu Ruinian would support her, only to find it was all a pipe dream. She could buy writing materials for the Yao family, but she wouldn't do more for her nephew; she needed to plan for herself.

Yao Jia felt that her aunt didn't believe her, so she rolled her big eyes and said, "Aunt, you have to believe me. I'm not Second Uncle. I mean what I say."

Yao's voice was loud, which stung Gu Ruinian, who was focused on making gunpowder in the yard.

Gu Ruinian raised his head and stared intently at Yao Jia. Yao Jia trembled, clenched his fists, and said with his head held high, "I mean what I say, hmph!"

After chopping the chicken, Wei went to the kitchen to stew it. When she saw Gu Ruinian giving her son an unfriendly look, she couldn't help but start cursing.

"You're such a grown man, yet you're not even as good as a child. What did my Yao family ever say wrong? Weren't you the one who wanted to sell your own sister? Weren't you the one who didn't earn a single penny from the family exams?"

After the family split, Wei was no longer as tolerant as she had been when she was the eldest sister-in-law; she could scold anyone she wanted.

After the Wei family and Old Master Gu and others separated their households, they still shared the same kitchen with them.

Gu Xiaoxue started the fire, and Wei's family stewed chicken and stir-fried vegetables. Soon, the aroma of meat wafted out.

Grandpa Gu shook his head as he smelled the aroma of the meat.

After preparing the meal, Madam Wei served a bowl to the main wife, ensuring that she received all the proper tributes. However, there was a principle to this tribute: the meat could only be eaten by the person to whom it was presented.

"This meat is for my grandparents, parents, and aunts," Wei said loudly as she placed the chicken in the center of the table.

After Wei left, Gu Ruinian picked up a piece of chicken leg meat with his chopsticks.

Normally, Tong Huaqiong would send her maid to deliver meat and vegetables to Grandma Gu and Grandpa Gu. The maid disliked Gu Ruinian and would stand in the house waiting for the meat and vegetables to be eaten before leaving.

As soon as Gu Ruinian picked up his chopsticks, she stepped forward and said that the meat dish was not a gift for him.

Gu Ruinian was helpless, treated like a piece of meat that had been cut into pieces.

This bowl of meat is a tribute to his parents, but his mother definitely won't eat it, so he'll eat it for her sake to save Gu Honglian the benefit.

This was the first time he had eaten meat since returning to Qinghewan from Pingchuan.

Gu Honglian slapped Gu Ruinian's meat away and said fiercely, "Didn't you hear Fengnian's wife say who this bowl of meat was for? How can you be so shameless? How can an elder brother and sister-in-law be so filial to their younger brother?"

Gu Ruinian angrily slammed down his chopsticks.

Grandma Gu fell even louder than Gu Ruinian.

“Your aunt is right, this bowl of meat isn’t for you. Why are you throwing your chopsticks? It makes you look bad. You can’t earn a single penny, and you’re already being treated well by eating three cornbreads every meal. How dare you try to steal meat from your aunt?”