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

Chapter 590 I'm not afraid of being busy, I'm afraid of having nothing to do.
The first snow of winter fell.

Tong Huaqiong watched the falling snowflakes, her heart filled with mixed emotions. Was the extreme cold weather about to arrive?

The family's storage room was filled with charcoal, enough for both the family and the weaving workshop.

I thought the extreme cold would come along with the snow.

After the snow stopped, the weather didn't get much colder.

The temperature was similar to the year Tong Huaqiong wore it.

Tong Huaqiong was already numb to the arrival of extremely cold weather; she had made all the necessary preparations anyway.

She focused all her energy on the weaving workshop, and now the cotton cloth woven by the workshop has begun to supply the market. However, she will have to rely on her real skills to win the favor of customers.

Just when I thought I could focus on promoting cotton cloth, news came from the prefectural city that there was a second batch of cotton clothing to be made for the border.

Just when Tong Huaqiong was worried about the lack of cotton, Prefect Yao transferred some cotton, so Tong Huaqiong only needed to weave and sew.

This saves a lot of trouble.

And so a new round of assignments began.

Originally, the villagers thought that such a skillful craft would not be available until next year after they finished sewing the first batch of cotton-padded clothes, and they felt a little regretful.

During such a long winter, staying at home costs money for food and supplies, but there's no way to make money. Just thinking about it is frustrating.

Unexpectedly, they received a new task, and everyone was all smiles.

Tong Huaqiong told the female workers in the weaving workshop that they would be busy throughout the twelfth lunar month and would work until the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The weaving workshop worker said with a smile, "I'm not afraid of being busy, I'm afraid of not having any work to do."

Now they've all tasted the sweetness of making money with Tong Huaqiong, and now they have a strong backbone at home. When they go home, either their mothers-in-law fawn over them or their husbands show them respect.

Besides, the weaving workshop is much warmer than home. At home, people only burn charcoal when it snows heavily and gets unbearably cold, but at the weaving workshop, Tong Huaqiong lights the charcoal brazier early as soon as winter begins. According to her, the most precious thing for the female workers in the weaving workshop is their hands, and they can't afford to get frostbite.

Not only that, but they also brought rose juice cream from the prefectural city, which was said to be used only by the imperial concubines of Shengjing, so that they could apply it after washing their hands.

“Boss, let me tell you, before my uncles were practically ready to sell me off, but now they’re clinging to me. It’s because they see I’m making money and want to take it from me. I’m not stupid, I keep them hanging on, and now they wish I could stay at home and never get married so they could keep all the money I earn.” Cotton carder Li Mingxiu told Tong Huaqiong about her family while she was relaxing.

Li Mingxiu was the girl whose parents had died and who was strong enough to be sold to a distant place by her uncle.

She's now the top cotton carder, and sometimes Tong Huaqiong even suspects she's tireless, like she's powered by an electric motor.

Fluffing cotton is hard work. Every time Tong Huaqiong saw Li Mingxiu fluffing cotton, it was like Lang Lang playing the piano in later generations, both relaxed and focused.

Tong Huaqiong said with a smile, "Then you should hold onto your money tightly, making them feel like they can get it, but also making sure they can't."

Li Mingxiu nodded and said, "Master, thank you for reminding me. I'll lie to them now and say that I won't get married and will stay in the weaving workshop to work and earn money. I'll hint that whichever nephew treats me well, I'll give him my money. Right now, my cousins ​​are fighting each other for money, trying to get their sons to treat me well."

Tong Huaqiong was delighted.

This girl is quite clever.

When the first snow melted, Tong Huaqiong braved the wind as she came out of the weaving workshop, rubbing her hands together; the weather was getting colder and colder.

The maids Xueqing and Xiaoxi draped Da Mao's clothes over Tong Huaqiong's shoulders, and the three of them walked home in the thinning sunset. A richly decorated carriage passed by.

“Master, this carriage is heading towards the old house,” Su Qing said.

Tong Huaqiong wondered if there were wealthy relatives in the old house that she didn't know about. But that was impossible; Tong Dajiao didn't remember any of them.

Could it be that someone from the Wei family has come?
She had heard that Wei's family in the south was quite wealthy.

After turning a corner, the old house came into view, and Tong Huaqiong saw a young man dressed in fur coat getting off the carriage.

The young man looked so familiar; Tong Huaqiong thought for a moment and realized he resembled the young master Zheng from her memories.

If Tong Huaqiong wasn't mistaken, this person should be the Second Young Master Zheng, and he came to the old house to find Gu Ruinian.

Young Master Zheng did indeed come to see Gu Ruinian.

Gu Ruinian was shivering with cold at home.

Considering it was the dead of winter, Tong Huaqiong had delivered charcoal to her parents-in-law a few days earlier.

Grandpa Gu and Grandma Gu were reluctant to burn charcoal, insisting on waiting until the New Year to do so, so the house was as cold as an ice cave.

This was the first time Gu Rui had ever experienced the cold in his two lifetimes combined, and the added hardship of chopping wood and carrying water caused him to develop frostbite on his hands.

When Gu Ruinian saw the Second Young Master Zheng enter, he felt as if he had welcomed a golden Buddha.

"You said in your letter that this winter will be extremely cold, is that true?" Young Master Zheng entered the old house, but because it was too cold, he climbed into the carriage. He held a hand warmer for Gu Ruinian and said, "But although the weather is cold, every winter is like this."

Gu Ruinian panicked for a moment, but then became increasingly calm and said, "That's how it's written in the history books of later generations. If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. Now we can stockpile charcoal and sell it at a high price during the extremely cold weather to make a fortune. Even if the history books are wrong, charcoal doesn't spoil easily. If we can't sell it this year, we can sell it next year."

Gu Ruinian said this because he was also unsure when the extreme cold weather would arrive.

If the winter weather is normal as usual, he can escape by claiming that the historical records are incorrect.

Gu Ruinian studied Zheng Er Gongzi's expression and said, "I don't have the resources. If I did, I would never have given you this information."

Young Master Zheng thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "I'll trust you this time. I'll have the steward stockpile charcoal as soon as I get back. Since you gave me this information, if it really is as you say, with extremely cold weather, I'll give you 20% of the profits from the charcoal."

Gu Ruinian breathed a sigh of relief.

Young Master Zheng asked, "How's your high-powered gunpowder project coming along?"

Gu Ruinian raised his hands, which were covered in chilblains, and said, "It's been snowing these past few days, and it's so cold at home. My hands are covered in chilblains, and they bleed whenever I do any work. I really have no choice."

Young Master Zheng's eyes were unfathomable as he said, "You know there's been a war on the border, right? If you really can't make high-explosive gunpowder, surely you can make the heavy artillery you've been talking about."

As he spoke, Young Master Zheng tossed a blueprint to Gu Ruinian.

Gu Ruinian unfolded it and saw that it contained design drawings for a musket.

"Didn't you say that where you live there are airplanes that can fly, trains that are as fast as lightning, and missiles that can fly thousands of miles? You don't need to build any of these. You can improve heavy artillery based on muskets," said the Second Young Master Zheng.

Gu Ruinian held the musket diagram, looking utterly bewildered. Did the Second Young Master Zheng even know what industrialization meant? In this era, even gunpowder had to be prepared manually; how could he possibly transform it into a heavy artillery piece?

But he dared not say no, for fear that the Second Young Master Zheng would simply turn and leave.