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

Chapter 605 You've Mistaken Your Fellow Villager
Gu Dahu was strong, and he swung the whip with great skill.

He slashed at Gu Ruinian again and again without hesitation.

On a quiet winter morning, the only sound was the crack of a whip in the Gu family's courtyard. The sound startled the snowballs on the trees, causing them to tumble down and splash onto faces and bodies.

The chill intensified.

He was lashed fifty times.

Gu Dahu threw down the whip, panting heavily from exhaustion.

Gu Ruinian lay on the stool, barely breathing. The two young men holding him down released their grip, and Gu Ruinian collapsed limply onto the snow, unconscious.

A pool of blood stretched across the snow.

It stood out especially against the backdrop of the white snow.

Everyone looked at Gu Ruinian with different expressions, their hearts filled with shock and disbelief.

This was the first time the young people in the clan had witnessed the clan using addition, and everyone was terrified.

It's so cold outside. After being whipped fifty times, I wonder if Gu Ruinian will still be able to stand up.

The clan chief pointed at Gu Ruinian and said to the Gu family members behind him, "Everyone, look carefully. In the future, anyone who disregards the clan and makes a big mistake will be punished with the same family discipline as Ruinian."

"Chieftain, I understand."

“Who else but Gu Ruinian could make such a big mistake?”

When the clan chief speaks, no one in the clan dares to disobey.

"Yutian, you'd better keep a close eye on your son from now on. If he gets into trouble again, you'll get a beating too."

The clan chief pointed at Gu Youtian, but his eyes were fixed on Tong Huaqiong, implying that he, as the clan chief, wanted to sever ties with the people of the Gu family's old residence, and whether it was too late to seek refuge with Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong didn't even glance at the clan leader.

Faced with the unyielding Tong Huaqiong, the clan chief gritted his teeth and walked back through the snow with his hands behind his back.

The clan leader left, and the others followed suit and left the Gu family's old residence.

Tong Huaqiong watched the play all night and then left as well.

Before leaving, she glanced at Gu Ruinian on the ground.

Gu Ruinian's efforts have completely backfired.

"Peach Blossom."

Gu Taohua passed by Gu Ruinian, who opened his eyes and struggled to grab her skirt.

Tong Huaqiong, fearing that Gu Ruinian was up to no good again, stopped beside Gu Taohua.

Gu Ruinian said in a very soft voice, "Peach Blossom, we are both time travelers, so why are you the one favored by fate, while I am the one abandoned by fate?"

Gu Taohua couldn't understand, and thought that Gu Ruinian had lost his mind after being beaten and was telling her these things, so she kicked Gu Ruinian's hand away.

Tong Huaqiong patted Gu Taohua and pointed to the door, and Gu Taohua walked towards the door.

When no one was looking, Tong Huaqiong leaned down and said to Gu Ruinian, "Because you want to use other people's lives to achieve your own destiny."

To others, this appeared to be Tong Huaqiong showing concern for Gu Ruinian as his aunt.

Gu Ruinian's eyes widened; he had mistaken his fellow villager for someone else.

He always thought his cousin, Gu Taohua, was a time traveler, but he never expected her to be his aunt.

Gu Ruinian coughed up a mouthful of blood and completely fainted.

The first month of the lunar calendar passed quickly.

The weather remains cold.

The weather has not warmed up since the beginning of spring.

The entire world seemed to be frozen in ice.

Just when everyone thought they would never see spring, one day the sun suddenly brought warmth.

Soon the ice and snow melted, and the winter wheat, which was about to freeze, gradually turned green under the nourishment of the spring water.

Once the sunlight tears a hole in the sky, spring's vitality can no longer be contained. Tong Huaqiong's weaving workshop started work on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, with the hum of looms echoing every day. When the first batch of cotton cloth from the year came to market, Tong Huaqiong looked up and saw that the willow trees outside the workshop's courtyard were sprouting buds, and the peach and apricot trees in the courtyard were budding.

Only then did Tong Huaqiong breathe a sigh of relief.

The extreme cold weather is completely gone.

After the snowfall, there were no corpses strewn across the riverbanks, no plague, no volatile grain prices, and everything returned to normal.

The villagers have already begun preparing for spring plowing!

Tong Huaqiong also began to study the weaving and dyeing techniques of cotton fabric.

Peach Blossom Desserts welcomed a baking competition that selected promising pastry chefs, and Jufulai opened its Fucheng branch. Tong Huaqiong's career is once again moving towards a new stage.

After another spring breeze came a spring rain, and after the spring rain came the gentle spring sunshine.

The entire Qinghe Bay is enveloped in the colors of peach blossoms and willows.

Tong Huaqiong received a second letter from Gu Dashu from the border. The letter reported that she was safe and sound, mentioning that she had boldly purchased a batch of goods at the border and returned safely to the northern desert. She planned to go to the northern desert again to explore the way and expand her business there.

Tong Huaqiong didn't dare show this letter to Liu Yue'e, fearing that Liu Yue'e wouldn't be able to handle it.

With the war between the two countries at a stalemate, most merchants are avoiding the northern desert like the plague. Tong Huaqiong never expected that Gu Dashu would be so bold as to venture deep into the northern desert and even do business with the people there.

Expanding her business to the northern desert region has always been something Tong Huaqiong wanted to do.

The entire Dasheng Group, whether it was maritime or land-based business, was basically controlled by them.

Even if you want to infiltrate, you can only get a sip of soup.

Just like Tong Huaqiong's business, whether it's Peach Blossom Dessert or Jufulai, neither can compare to Old Master Lu's maritime business.

The only place she can break through is the border.

The border is in complete chaos right now; it's a battle of who's the most daring.

Since last autumn, merchants from the border have been gradually moving back to the interior. Despite the fighting on the border, ordinary people still have to live amidst the flames of war.

Since we need to live, we need living supplies.

She could use cotton fabrics and general merchandise to start a business in the northern desert.

The purpose of sending Gu Dashu and He Chao to the border before the Lunar New Year was precisely this.

To her surprise, Gu Dashu was even more adventurous than she had imagined.

To run business on the border, Tong Huaqiong not only did it herself, but also brought Aunt Tang along.

Soon, a caravan, organized by Tong Huaqiong and Aunt Tang, set off for the border.

After the caravan set off, Pingchuan County was filled with great joy.

Lian Hengruo, who was arranged by Tong Huaqiong, got married to Prefect Yao.

As a matchmaker, Tong Huaqiong went to the prefectural city to help Prefect Yao with welcoming and seeing off guests. The event lasted for three days before she returned to Qinghewan from the prefectural city.

The news of Lian Heng's marriage reached Gu Ruinian's ears.

Gu Ruinian gave a bitter laugh, seemingly laughing at his past self who had been like a clown.

Ever since the gunpowder depot exploded, and after being severely punished by the clan leader, Gu Ruinian was completely devastated.

He now desperately wants to go back to the past, no longer wanting to dream of stirring up trouble in this era.

He originally thought that after the incident of planting explosives, his marriage with Xu Xinghua would be completely ruined.

To Gu Youtian's surprise, the Xu family not only did not look down on Gu Ruinian, but were also eager to confirm the marriage.

When Gu Ruinian was completely baffled, Xu Xinghua explained it to him: the Xu family had a kiln on the mountain that burned charcoal and lime, and they needed gunpowder.

Buying gunpowder regularly costs a lot of money.

Gu Ruinian's acquisition of gunpowder-making technology was beneficial to the Xu family.

As for manufacturing gunpowder illegally, who would care if it were blasted in the mountains? As long as no one reports it, nothing will happen.

Even though Gu Ruinian didn't want to become a live-in son-in-law in the Xu family, Xu Xinghua was the only person he could hold onto.

At least if I went to the Xu family, I would be free from worries about food and clothing.