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

Chapter 598 Who is the Mighty General?

Young Master Zheng had a perfectly good plan.

Unexpectedly, the plan was shattered before it even began.

Currently, Jufulai's cotton cloth is selling well, and the prices of grain and cotton in Jufulai are very stable. Zheng Er Gongzi guessed that since Tong Huaqiong could hoard charcoal, he would definitely hoard cotton and grain like him.

As long as the price of grain and cotton from Jufulai doesn't rise, the Zheng family won't be able to sell their grain and cotton.

If the second young master Zheng could think of this, his father, Old Master Zheng, certainly could too.

If it weren't for Tong Huaqiong's swift and decisive actions, Grandpa Zheng would have praised his youngest son for his thoughtful act of stockpiling charcoal, cotton, and grain.

Looking back now, the son's behavior was utterly idiotic.

He actually put all the risks in one basket.

"Father, you have to save me! Even if the Fifth Prince is not favored, he is still a prince. Crushing me is like crushing an ant." The Second Young Master Zheng said in a panic.

The Fifth Prince didn't even need to show his face; any one of his maternal relatives could easily kill the son of a small-town merchant.

Old Master Zheng propped his head up and said in a trembling voice, "That's 100,000 taels of silver! Where am I supposed to get that kind of money? Are you suggesting I sell my shops or land?"

The second young master Zheng knelt down with a thud and said, "Otherwise, our whole family will be doomed."

Old Master Zheng was so angry he almost choked, and kicked the second young master Zheng hard.

Young Master Zheng sat on the ground, resenting Gu Ruinian for taking advantage of the situation with a single piece of information, and resenting Tong Huaqiong for not playing by the rules.

screwed up!
Everything's been messed up!
In order to raise money, the Zheng family urgently sold charcoal, cotton, and grain.

Selling them piecemeal won't get you anywhere.

The Zheng family could only hope that a large merchant would buy up all the charcoal, cotton, and grain in one go.

Tong Huaqiong, a manager at Jufulai, used to be a manager at Zhengjia Shop. He was promoted by He Chao from Zhengjia.

After Jufulai opened, He Chao recruited him to Jufulai.

He learned that the Zheng family was urgently selling charcoal, cotton, and grain, and told Tong Huaqiong about it.

Tong Huaqiong smiled.

Lu Zhaozhao's strategy worked.

Tong Huaqiong doesn't need charcoal for the time being, but she does need cotton, and the more the better.

As for grain, Master Huang is in the grain business, so he definitely needs it.

The Zheng family is selling so urgently, they must be in dire need of funds. In that case, it's a good opportunity to negotiate a lower price.

Tong Huaqiong felt no remorse for making things worse for the Zheng family; they were clearly trying to exploit the people in the freezing cold, and they deserved to be treated this way.

So Tong Huaqiong leaked the news to Lu Zhaozhao and Huang Yuanwai, and they decided that the three families of Tong, Lu and Huang would divide the Zheng family's cotton, charcoal and grain.

Neither Tong Huaqiong, Lu Zhaozhao, nor Master Huang need to show their faces; their respective managers can handle the negotiations.

At first, when the Zheng family saw that someone was willing to take over, they wanted to maintain their control over the price.

The Zheng family didn't ask for an exorbitant price; they set it at 10% higher than when they stocked up.

Even so, Tong Luhuang refused to budge, insisting that the Zheng family had to bleed heavily before they would agree to take over.

The managers left immediately as instructed by Tong Huaqiong and others.

The Zheng family was left hanging until just before the Spring Festival. Finally, they couldn't take it anymore and agreed to sell their charcoal, cotton, and grain at the same prices as the Tong, Lu, and Huang families.

Tong Huaqiong successfully purchased 200,000 jin of cotton.

Lu Zhaozhao purchased 200,000 jin of charcoal, while Huang Yuanwai purchased 100,000 jin of grain.

Tong Huaqiong purchased cotton for weaving workshops, while the Lu and Huang families directly transported charcoal and grain to the border to pave roads for Lu Zhaoyang.

When Tong Huaqiong arrived in Qinghewan from Pingchuan County, every household had already begun making dumplings in the snow.

Another Lunar New Year's Eve has arrived. This year, Gu Dashu and Su Chengmin are not in the family, but Su Qing, Xiaoxi, Granny Chen, and other maids and servants have been added.

"Mom, everyone in the village says it's all thanks to you that we were able to buy charcoal. This is the New Year's gift they brought," Chen Sufeng said, holding her child in her arms and pointing to the meat and vegetable dumplings in the yard.

Tong Huaqiong took her granddaughter Ying'er from Chen Sufeng and held her in her arms.

Man'er, Xiaolong, Yaozu, and the others surrounded them.

Tong Pandi and Hong Shi brought Hua'er Duo'er to their home, and Master Su was also invited to celebrate the New Year together.

While they were having their New Year's Eve dinner, the Lu family sent a letter to Tong Huaqiong from the prefectural city.

"Whose is it?" Liu Yue'e couldn't help but ask.

The most unhappy person this year was Liu Yue'e, who was worried about Gu Dashu. One moment she worried that Gu Dashu would be conscripted, and the next she worried that Gu Dashu would be detained by the people of the northern desert.

As Liu Yue'e spoke, Madam Hong also looked at Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong handed one of the letters to Gu Jingzhe and said, "Your second brother's letter, please read it to everyone."

Then he handed the unopened letter to Mrs. Hong and said, "This is a letter from He Chao to you."

Gu Jingzhe read Gu Dashu's letter aloud to everyone.

Gu Dashu, He Chao, Su Chengmin, and others arrived safely at the border in December.

The Great Sheng and the Northern Desert have already gone to war.

After writing about the hardships on the border during the war, Gu Dashu changed the subject and said that Dasheng would definitely win this battle, indicating that he was very optimistic about the border market and wanted to do business on the border in the future.

The letter revealed that they had met Nie Xiaofeng, who was thriving in the army and had become a captain. It also revealed that Su Chengmin joined the army with Nie Xiaofeng on the spot.

Tong Huaqiong: "."

"What's wrong, Third Brother? Why did you stop reading?" Just as Liu Yue'e was listening intently, Gu Jingzhe suddenly stopped talking.

Everyone looked towards Gu Jingzhe.

Gu Jingzhe looked at Tong Huaqiong, a hint of embarrassment on his face.

“Read it. Why are you looking at me?” Tong Huaqiong said.

Gu Jingzhe forced himself to read on, stuttering as he read. "Second brother, really," he thought, "why does he write everything in a letter?"

The impatient Gu Taohua snatched the letter and said, "It's driving me crazy!"

Gu Taohua glanced at the letter, her eyes widening, and said with barely suppressed excitement, "Oh my, Mother, no wonder Second Brother and the others had such a smooth time at the border. Do you know who Second Brother met? The mighty General."

Tong Huaqiong searched her memory but couldn't recall who the Mighty General was.

Xiaolong raised his head, his eyelashes trembling, and then lowered his head again.

"Which mighty general?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

Gu Taohua, with a look of utter astonishment, read the letter aloud: "The mighty general is actually my mother's childhood sweetheart, Min Han Niu."

Silence fell over the room.

Tong Huaqiong was speechless.

No wonder Gu Jingzhe got stuck while reading just now.

It turns out that Gu Dashu made no attempt to hide the fact that Min Hanniu was his mother's childhood sweetheart in the letter.

Gu Taohua raised her head and said innocently, "It wasn't me who said it, that's how my second brother wrote it."

Liu Yue'e became excited and said, "Min Han Niu? Is that the cowherd who followed the rebel army to Heilongtan, as the older generation used to say? He's actually a mighty general? Oh my god, Mother, if you hadn't married your father-in-law, wouldn't you have been a general's wife?"

Liu Yue'e's mouth always spouts nonsense.

Gu Jingzhe's face darkened instantly.

Gu Dahan's lips twitched.