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

Chapter 69 Sons are meant to be used.

Fearing the weather would get hot after the sun rose higher, Tong Huaqiong asked Gu Dahan to escort the Lu siblings back to the prefectural city after breakfast.

After the carriage was ready, Tong Huaqiong instructed Gu Dashu to place the two baskets of pastries ordered by Lu Zhaozhao on the carriage and cover them tightly with cloth.

Lu Zhaozhao gave her three taels of silver, which Tong Huaqiong accepted without refusing.

In addition, Tong Huaqiong prepared rice balls, eggs and other food for Lu Zhaoyang, and told him never to eat any wheat or flour products in the future.

Lu Zhaozhao held Gu Taohua's hand, her face showing reluctance.

Gu Taohua has a knack for socializing; in just one night and one morning, she won over Lu Zhaozhao and made her a close friend.

"Peach Blossom, when you have time to go to the prefectural city, you must come to the Lu family to find me," Lu Zhaozhao said.

“I’ve never been to the prefectural city before. I’ll definitely look for you when I go,” Gu Taohua said. “Hurry up and get in the carriage.”

Lu Zhaozhao stepped onto the carriage, bid farewell to Chen Sufeng and Liu Yue'e, and hesitated to get into the carriage, looking around with a hint of something in her eyes.

Tong Huaqiong understood immediately; Lu Zhaozhao was looking for Gu Jingzhe.

After Gu Jingzhe was beaten from the field and brought home, the Lu siblings were inside. Since Gu Jingzhe didn't show up when he was eating, the Lu siblings didn't know that Gu Dahan had beaten Gu Jingzhe.

Lu Zhaozhao thought Gu Jingzhe had gone to work in the fields and hadn't returned yet, so she wanted to wait for him, but she didn't know what to say, so she could only talk to this person and chat with that person to stall for time.

It was almost time to leave, and Gu Jingzhe still hadn't appeared.

"Get in the car, it'll get hot and we won't be able to travel well later," Tong Huaqiong urged.

She still had to go to town to sell pastries; she couldn't afford to waste time on a farewell.

"Dad, when will you be home?"

Man'er stood by the carriage and held Gu Dahan's hand, looking reluctant to part.

Although her father had told her that he would be returning from the prefectural city soon and would stay at home with her and never go out again.

But Man'er was still a little worried and looked timidly at Tong Huaqiong.

“Your father will be home tomorrow or the day after,” Tong Huaqiong answered for Gu Dahan.

Man'er believed her words even more than Gu Dahan's.

There was no way around it; she was the head of the Gu family, and everyone in the household, including the livestock, had to listen to her.

"Man'er, be good and listen to Grandma at home. I'll be home by the day after tomorrow at the latest, and I'll bring you hairpins and clothes when I get back," Gu Dahan said, rubbing Man'er's head.

He had initially felt it was a pity that he had resigned from his job at the Lu family, but now, seeing Man'er's teary eyes, he wished he could stay at home today.

"Daddy, I'll be good," Man'er said in a soft, sweet voice.

Man'er's farewell to Gu Dahan delayed things, and Lu Zhaozhao was happy, so she wanted to take out the hairpin from her hair and give it to Man'er.

Then she thought again, Aunt Tong had scolded her when Gu's second sister-in-law took her clothes that morning, so she dared not add fuel to the fire by giving the hairpin. After thinking for a moment, she took out a beautiful handkerchief and handed it to Man'er.

"Man'er, don't worry, your father will definitely be back in the next couple of days. Here, this handkerchief is for you." Lu Zhaozhao handed the handkerchief to Man'er.

Tong Huaqiong didn't stop them from giving her a handkerchief.

Man'er took the handkerchief, pointed to the lotus flower on it, and said with a smile, "The flower looks just like the real one. Thank you, Sister Lu."

Lu Zhaozhao: "."

It seems there's a generational difference; she and Gu Taohua are sisters, but Man'er calls her "older sister."

Before she could correct her, Tong Huaqiong urged them to set off immediately.

Gu Jingzhe still hadn't appeared, and Lu Zhaozhao's eyes showed disappointment. She had no choice but to get into the carriage.

Gu Dahan gave Chen Sufeng a few more instructions, then drove the carriage away from the Gu family. With the Lu siblings gone, Tong Huaqiong also needed to pack up and go set up her stall on the street.

Originally, Tong Huaqiong planned to take Grandpa Xu's horse-drawn carriage to town, but yesterday, her two sons pushing a flatbed cart and pulling her gave her a new idea.

Why would she spend the extra cost of four people's fare to ride in Grandpa Xu's car? She could have had her two sons take her to town in the morning and bring her back in the evening.

Having a son doesn't make her stupid!

As for whether her son is tired from dropping her off in the morning and picking her up in the evening and having to do chores, she said she doesn't care.

Even if you don't train your son like a beast of burden, you can't smooth out the bad habits on his body.

So Tong Huaqiong shouted into the house, "Gu Jingzhe, get out here right now!"

When his elderly mother called, Gu Jingzhe dared not disobey.

Gu Jingzhe walked out of the house looking depressed. Gu Jingzhe, who always considered himself the hope of the whole village, had been beaten up by his half-brother. Not only was his brother unharmed, but he also received praise from their widowed mother.

The changes in the Gu family have reached their peak today.

“You know perfectly well why your older brother hit you. Tell me, did you deserve it? You deserve it! The awful things you did would make your father kneel before his ancestors in the afterlife to beg for forgiveness. Your older brother beating you up was the least of your worries. Tell me, are you convinced or not? Do you resent your older brother?” Tong Huaqiong asked in a series of questions as she saw the two symmetrical bumps on Gu Jingzhe’s head.

Gu Jingzhe rubbed the corner of his mouth and said, "I don't blame my elder brother."

He dared not complain!
These past few days he has been reflecting on his actions, realizing that selling Man'er for a better future was a huge mistake.

He should be thankful that his older brother only beat him up.

The eldest brother is usually quiet and only knows how to work hard. He secretly asked his older brother for money behind the family's back. No matter how hard or tiring it was, his older brother would always find a way to satisfy him. He always thought his older brother was just a clay figure.

Unexpectedly, the clay figure, imbued with human power, became incredibly ruthless when beating people, especially Gu Dahan, who did manual labor and possessed great strength; one punch was enough to leave him with a bruised and swollen face.

What made him even more ashamed was that many people in the field saw him being beaten early in the morning.

Apart from Qin Qingyou and his second brother who stepped forward to help, everyone else stood on the ridge to watch the excitement. Some of the older women even clapped their hands and said that Gu Dahan did a good job.

After suffering a blow to his self-esteem at the private school, Gu Jingzhe also felt the pain of shattered self-esteem in the village.

He was as proud as he used to be in the village, and now he's in such a sorry state.

Dropping out of school and being beaten are the two things that have kept him trending on the Qinghewan hot search list. Of course, apart from Liu Qiaoyun and Qin Qingyou, the comments section is probably full of negative comments about him.

“Since you don’t blame your eldest brother, don’t act like this. Get up straight, you and your second brother will take me to my stall today,” Tong Huaqiong said.

Gu Jingzhe hadn't reacted yet, but Gu Dashu was already excited.

“Mother, you should have done this a long time ago. You have two sons at home, but you don’t use them. You ride in Uncle Xu’s car and get disgusted by people like Xu Si. What are you trying to achieve?” Gu Dashu said as he carried the pastries onto the cart.

The eldest brother got up at the first crow of the rooster and watered the sparsest land at the foot of the mountain. There wasn't much work left in the fields; they were just waiting for the wheat to ripen.

He was already impatient with farming, so being able to go to town with his mother to set up a stall was exactly what he wanted.

“You’re right, so starting today, you and Lao San will take me and Tao Hua to town in the morning, then come home to continue tending the crops, and pick me up from town in the late afternoon,” Tong Huaqiong said, slapping her thigh.

"Oh, so I have to go back to farming?" Gu Dashu said dejectedly.

He really dislikes taking care of crops!

“Otherwise, you could take me to town and then do what your older brother did, carrying sandbags at the dock to earn money for the family,” Tong Huaqiong said.

Gu Dashu shrank his neck, realizing that manual labor was even more out of the question!
Gu Jingzhe remained silent, quietly spreading dry grass on the flatbed to make it easier for Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua to sit comfortably.

Tong Huaqiong observed coldly, and indeed Gu Jingzhe's temperament had become much calmer.

(End of this chapter)