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

Chapter 787 Making Money to Survive
Gu Jingzhe resumed his studies at the Imperial Academy.

Lu Zhaozhao was able to quietly rest at home during her pregnancy.

The hands of time kept sliding, and soon it was December.

With the Lunar New Year just around the corner after the twelfth lunar month, Tong Huaqiong's whole family began to get busy.

Not only do they have to prepare for the New Year, but they also have to prepare Gu Taohua's dowry.

Shengjing City truly lives up to its reputation as the capital; the festive atmosphere of the New Year begins to permeate the city from the start of winter, with every household starting preparations for the New Year as early as the twelfth lunar month.

Therefore, the shop's business was particularly booming in the twelfth lunar month.

Peach Blossom Desserts' daily pastries were in high demand and short supply, while Jufulai was always packed with people. The two shops became the most popular shopping destinations in Shengjing during the Spring Festival.

Peach Blossom Dessert and Jufulai have become popular shops in Shengjing.

Looking at the endless stream of customers, Tong Huaqiong pondered how to make the products from her shop an indispensable tradition for the Chinese New Year.

Just like in some places in later generations, people would definitely go to a certain pastry shop to buy pastries during the Lunar New Year, or go to a certain shop to buy glutinous rice balls.
Peach Blossom Desserts, Jufulai's clothes, shoes, socks, and Spring Festival couplets will also become part of the New Year tradition in Shengjing.

From now on, when people mention the Lunar New Year, they will inevitably think of how it can be considered the Lunar New Year without peach blossom-themed desserts and shopping for New Year's goods at Jufulai.

To achieve this goal, Tong Huaqiong put a lot of effort into marketing.

This has always been one of her strengths.

Since she is the grandmother of the Crown Prince in public, this gimmick should be used.

The launch of Peach Blossom Desserts, which featured the same pastries favored by the Crown Prince, led Jufulai to have the Crown Prince request the Emperor to inscribe a message for them. This marketing strategy proved highly effective, and the business flourished.

Everyone wanted to taste what the pastries that had won the Crown Prince's heart tasted like.

Everyone wanted to share in the emperor's blessings.

"Master, the young mistress of the Gao family has arrived," Su Qing said as she walked in. "She's waiting in the front hall, saying she's here to thank you and the young lady for saving her life."

Su Qing's brother's case file has been retrieved by the Dali Temple, and the case is being reopened. As a result, Su Qing has been smiling more lately and her steps have become lighter.

Tong Huaqiong was still wondering which young mistress of the Gao family it was, but after Su Qing's explanation, she realized it was Lu Yin'er.

Last time, Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua rescued Lu Yin'er from Su Chengji in the alley. Gao Ming and his mother, Bai Shi, had already come to express their gratitude. Lu Yin'er didn't say anything because she was frightened and had a high fever.

Tong Huaqiong also asked Gao Ming to take some medicine to Lu Yin'er.

Lu Yin'er was sitting and talking with Gu Taohua, and bowed to Tong Huaqiong when she saw her.

Tong Huaqiong helped her up.

"You look great," Tong Huaqiong said, observing Lu Yin'er's complexion.

Lu Yin'er smiled and said, "Thanks to the medicine you gave me."

Tong Huaqiong could tell that Lu Yin'er was trying to curry favor with her family by coming to her home.

She had previously disliked Lu Yin'er, but she knew that Lu Yin'er had been forced into this situation by the Lu family and had suffered the consequences herself. Now that Lu Yin'er was willing to do good and befriend her, she didn't mind if Lu Yin'er visited her often.

"Aunt Tong, Peach Blossom, I have a favor to ask," Lu Yin'er said, mustering her courage.

Tong Huaqiong asked, "I don't know what you're asking for. We've just arrived in Shengjing and our foundation is weak, so we might not be able to help."

Tong Huaqiong laid out the unpleasant truths upfront.

If Lu Yin'er's request is to promote Gao Ming, then it's best to forget about it.

Although their family had many connections with the Crown Prince, and Su Chengmin was her son-in-law, they could not interfere with the Imperial Guard's deployment orders.

If you need to borrow money, you can go to Tong Family Business to borrow low-interest loans.

After all, they weren't close enough with Lu Yin'er to help each other out. As for the help in the alley, it was purely accidental. Tong Huaqiong would help any woman who was being harassed in the street, not just Lu Yin'er.

When Lu Yin'er heard Tong Huaqiong say this, she knew that Tong Huaqiong had misunderstood.

Knowing that Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua were straightforward people, she didn't need to guess their thoughts like she did with Madam Lu. So she spoke directly, "Gao Ming is the only one in my family with a monthly salary, and although he earns enough to live on, my parents, younger brother, and younger sister are coming to Shengjing in a few days. My younger brother is talented in his studies, and Gao Ming wants him to stay in Shengjing to study, and he will support him. I'm thinking that it's not right for my family to rely on the Gao family all the time; I can't even stand up for myself. So I was thinking about whether I could find a job at Aunt Tong's shop."

It wasn't just that she felt inferior because her family was relying on the Gao family; more importantly, Lu Yin'er really wanted to leave the mansion.

When she learned that Su Chengmin was in love with Gu Taohua, she often secretly went to Jufulai and Taohua Dessert Shop to observe Gu Taohua.

She originally thought she would hate Gu Taohua.

However, she was attracted by Gu Taohua's energetic and efficient business style.

She greatly envied Gu Taohua for being able to leave home and earn money.

Not only Gu Taohua, but also Chen Sufang, Liu Yue'e, and Gu Baishuang are busy in the shops. Lu Zhaozhao even controls half of the Lu family's shops.

Needless to say, Tong Huaqiong, as the head of the Tong family business, single-handedly built the Tong family's business empire.

The Tong family shop not only had women from the Tong family, but also other female shop assistants and pastry chefs. It was said that Tong Huaqiong had built a weaving workshop in Shengjing, and many poor girls came to apply for the job.

She never imagined that women could live like this.

Lu Yin'er suddenly felt that being in the Su residence was very boring.

My aunt was very capable when she was young. She went up the mountain to collect herbs and worked in the fields. Half of the family's money was earned by my aunt. The money my aunt earned was indispensable in the reason why Su Shihang was able to leave Sujia Village to study in the county town and take the imperial examination in Shengjing.

My aunt could have abandoned my uncle like Aunt Tong did and taken a different path.

However, ever since Auntie arrived at the Su residence, she has always been humble and subservient, yet Su Shihang and Old Madam Su have never looked down on her.

She thought of Lian Hengruo, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Yao family, who, like Tong Huaqiong, came from Ningcheng and was also from a merchant family.

At first, Madam Yao looked down on her background, but if Lian Heng could run the shop and make money, she would have confidence, and none of the Yao family would dare to offend her.

Now, under the old matriarch's arrangement, the entire Yao family business has been handed over to Lian Hengruo.

Lian Heng, who could lead the Yao family to make money, could do whatever he wanted in the Yao family. Even if he brought his concubine with him, no one would dare to say a word.

Lu Yin'er wanted to learn from Tong Huaqiong, wanted to be like Gu Taohua, and wanted to earn money on her own.

He also wanted to be like Lian Hengruo, using money to support himself.

This way, she would have the financial means to support her family or pay for her younger brother's education.

Tong Huaqiong glanced at Lu Yin'er with surprise.

She really didn't expect that the frail girl Lu Yin'er would also want to work in her shop.

“Aunt Tong, I really want to earn money. I can settle down and work hard,” Lu Yin’er said. “Before I came to Shengjing, I would work in the fields with my father and help my mother cook and embroider. After I came to the Su family, I had to learn and do everything.”

Tong Huaqiong asked Lu Yin'er, "Besides farming and cooking, what else can you do?"

The skills of farming and cooking are useless in their own shop.

Lu Yin'er thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up and she said, "I can do accounts. Aunt Tong, what I mean by 'I can do accounts' isn't how much the family ate or drank, but that I can read account books and spot any discrepancies at a glance. I'm not bragging; I had a talent for accounting since I was a child. Every autumn when our village sells grain, I can calculate the price in one breath. After arriving in Shengjing, I learned to read at the Su family mansion, and my bookkeeping and accounting skills improved even more."

Tong Huaqiong pondered, "Being able to do accounting is indeed a good skill."

Whether it's a modern enterprise or an ancient trading company, finance is indispensable.

By keeping the ledgers, one can see where the business's profit and loss points are, and accurately calculate the business's operating costs and investment directions.

Seeing that Tong Huaqiong remained silent, Lu Yin'er assumed that Tong Huaqiong did not believe her and said, "Aunt Tong, if you don't believe me, you can test me."