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

Chapter 639 Grand Ceremony in the First Month of the Lunar New Year

In the evening, a horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of Tong Huaqiong's house.

Gu Dahan and the others wondered who was visiting relatives on the first day of the Lunar New Year, but a single word, "Godmother," solved the case.

Liu Yanhong, the son of Magistrate Liu, has arrived.

Tong Huaqiong came out to greet them.

Liu Yanhong has grown taller in the past two years, his baby fat has disappeared, and he is beginning to take on the appearance of a teenager.

I just can't change my headstrong, self-centered nature.

"Grandma, I've come to wish you a Happy New Year."

Liu Yanhong ran towards Tong Huaqiong, but accidentally slipped and fell flat on his face, kneeling down in front of her.

Tong Huaqiong's lips twitched. Such a grand ceremony during the first month of the lunar year.

Liu Yanhong, having nothing to lose, kowtowed twice to Tong Huaqiong.

During the Chinese New Year, it's customary to kowtow to one's elders.

Anyway, his godmother is rich now and will give him a big red envelope, so he won't lose out.

Tong Huaqiong pulled Liu Yanhong up, patted the snow off him, and said, "You're so clumsy, did you hurt yourself?"

Liu Yanhong stretched out his hand and said, "It doesn't hurt at all. Um, I already kowtowed to my godmother, where's your red envelope, godmother?"

Madam Hong chimed in, "How could we forget about Young Master Liu's red envelope?"

Tong Huaqiong led Liu Yanhong into the room and had the maid serve him his favorite pastries. She also gave him a large red envelope, and Liu Yanhong touched the silver inside and grinned from ear to ear.

"Do your parents and grandmother know you're here?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

Liu Yanhong said, "It was my grandmother who sent me here to hide for a few days?"

Tong Huaqiong said speechlessly, "Did you get into trouble?"

Liu Yanhong said with a smile, "The Lian family hosted a banquet before the New Year and invited my father. That eldest son of the Lian family was shameless and wanted to give my father two concubines, but luckily my father didn't accept them. The eldest son of the Lian family wanted to seduce my father with his beauty, which made me furious. Yesterday, I sneaked into the Lian family and blew up the latrine when the eldest son of the Lian family was using it. The eldest son of the Lian family fell into the pile of dung and broke his arm."

Tong Huaqiong and Madam Hong burst into laughter.

“This morning, Grandpa Lian came to complain to my father, but my mother refused to let him in. Grandma was afraid my father would beat me, so she told me to come to your house to hide for a while,” Liu Yanhong said while eating pastries.

Tong Huaqiong tapped Liu Yanhong's head and said, "You're such a clever little devil."

Blowing up the latrine, he really knows how to come up with that idea.

"By the way, where did Man'er go?" Liu Yanhong asked.

"She was taken by the village chief's youngest son to the river to set off firecrackers on the ice," Su Qing said with a smile as she came in. "He said he wanted to fry up a bucket of fish."

Tong Huaqiong said to Su Qing, "Take Yan Hong to find them."

He then instructed Liu Yanhong, "You mustn't blow up anyone. If you cause trouble in Qinghe Bay, I'll beat you up, and you won't have anywhere to hide."

Liu Yanhong stood up, nodded obediently, and followed Su Qing out.

After Liu Yanhong left, the room became quiet.

Nothing much happened during the first month of the lunar calendar.

It's nothing more than eating and drinking.

In the past, Tong Huaqiong would have Gu Dashu, Gu Taohua, and the shopkeepers treat the shop's employees to New Year's feasts and banquets on her behalf. This year, however, she waived these formalities, since the bonuses were already sufficient, and it would be better to let everyone have a good rest.

"Mom, there's an opera troupe performing in the village tonight. Let's all go listen."

Liu Yue'e walked in, carrying melon seeds, her face beaming with excitement.

This year, Qinghewan was more lively than usual.

Because everyone made money by planting cotton with Tong Huaqiong, and many people also earned a lot by taking on work at the weaving workshop, each household became quite wealthy and pooled some money to have the village chief invite a very popular opera troupe from the town to perform in the village.

The plan is to sing throughout the entire first month of the lunar calendar.

Liu Yue'e strolled around outside and saw the opera troupe entering the village. In the entire Qinghewan area, apart from Tong Huaqiong, there was practically no one who didn't love listening to opera.

Tong Huaqiong expressed her understanding, saying that there are simply too few entertainment options in this era.

Having experienced the various forms of entertainment in the world, she wasn't particularly interested in opera. Moreover, her artistic appreciation was lacking, and theatrical singing was torture for her.

Tong Huaqiong spoke to Liu Yue'e with unusual gentleness, saying, "You guys go tonight, I don't like listening to that babbling."

Liu Yue'e and Chen Sufen, sisters-in-law, were surprised.

You should know that Tong Dajiao used to love listening to opera. Qinghewan was poor in the past and couldn't afford to hire an opera troupe during the first month of the lunar year, so she often braved the snow to go to the next village or to the town to listen.

Why is it that she won't listen to the opera troupe now that they're right in front of her house?

Chen Sufeng was a little uneasy and said, "If Mother isn't going, then I won't go either."

Liu Yue'e wanted to roll her eyes. Her sister-in-law was really something; she just couldn't shake the habit of flattering her mother-in-law.

Her mother-in-law told her to go east, but she dared not go west; she told her to chase chickens, but she dared not chase dogs.

Tong Huaqiong said to Chen Sufeng, "You two listen to yourselves and don't worry about me. I plan to go to the Lu family in the prefectural city on the sixth day to discuss your third brother's marriage. The date should be set by now, so we need to prepare properly before we go."

Liu Yue'e said, "Third brother and Zhaozhao are getting married?"

My mother-in-law kept it a secret very well.

Chen Sufen beamed with joy and said, "That's wonderful! Our family is going to have another happy occasion."

Liu Yue'e thought to herself that her sister-in-law was a complete idiot.

Both she and Chen Sufeng came from poor families for eight generations, and their backgrounds paled in comparison to Lu Zhaozhao's.

Lu Zhaozhao brought the Lu family's vast fortune with her when she married Gu Jingzhe. She was originally Tong Huaqiong's personally chosen daughter-in-law, unlike her and her sister-in-law, one of whom eloped and the other whose family married her off for the bride price. After Lu Zhaozhao entered the family, she would probably make the two of them look even more pathetic.

Liu Yue'e asked, "Mother, where will Zhaozhao live after she marries into the family?"

Tong Huaqiong said, "She'll stay in the prefectural city. But she won't stay long; she's going to Shengjing with your third brother."

Surprisingly, Liu Yue'e wasn't envious.

Lu Zhaozhao should not live with her mother-in-law, otherwise she will look like a fool in comparison. Sooner or later, Lu Zhaozhao will be able to coax her mother-in-law into having only one daughter-in-law in her eyes.

"By the way, Mother, when I was in Jufulai, Pingchuan, Madam Chen, Madam Zhao, and Madam Li would inquire about Taohua's marriage from time to time. Madam Zhao even wanted to marry her nephew to Taohua. I told them that no one else should interfere in Taohua's marriage, and they gave up. They even asked me to ask you what kind of person you want to find for Taohua, and they would keep an eye out for her."

Gu Jingzhe and Gu Taohua are twins, a boy and a girl. Gu Jingzhe is about to get married, but Gu Taohua hasn't shown any signs of pregnancy.

If this drags on any longer, Gu Taohua will become an old maid in Qinghewan.

But her mother-in-law wasn't in a hurry at all.

Liu Yue'e was always asked about marriages in Pingchuan County. She felt that the marriages of these major families were all good, and she couldn't let her desire to find a son-in-law ruin good opportunities.

Tong Huaqiong knew that Liu Yue'e had ulterior motives regarding Gu Taohua's marriage, but no ill intentions. She said nonchalantly, "It's good that you refused. Taohua's marriage depends on what kind of person she likes. I only have one daughter, and I won't go through the whole arranged marriage thing with her."

Although Tong Huaqiong told outsiders that she couldn't bear to part with her daughter and wanted to keep Taohua a few more years, no one believed her at all. People came one after another to propose marriage to Gu Taohua, but Tong Huaqiong rejected them all.

Everyone knows that Tong Huaqiong dotes on her daughter and will give her a share of the family fortune, so many people are eager to get involved.

Especially some poor students, when Gu Taohua was in Yanguan Town and Pingchuan County, they would always create opportunities to meet her or come up to chat with her.

Tong Huaqiong was fully aware of their plans: to use his status as a scholar to lure a wife home to work hard, bear children, and serve his parents, while bringing a large dowry to support his studies.

They took advantage of the woman who had a generous dowry.

Fortunately, Gu Taohua was more clear-headed than in her previous life under Tong Huaqiong's constant admonitions, focusing only on making money and ignoring these petty scoundrels.

If she and Su Chengmin are truly destined for each other, Tong Huaqiong will not interfere.

The prerequisite is that Su Chengmin can stand openly in the sunlight, instead of hiding his identity like a "dead man".

However, it should be soon. After all, as the male lead's nominal "uncle," with the male lead's halo protecting him, Su Chengmin's future prospects won't be bad.

Gu Taohua and Su Chengmin are a strong-strong couple.