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

Chapter 106 Helping in times of need
Tong Huaqiong and her two sons ate a bowl of noodles for lunch, and then urged them to go and cultivate a relationship with Feng Chuan.

She then toured the shops again, and after having some ideas about the renovations, she returned to Qinghewan.

Arriving at the village entrance, I encountered Gu Taohua.

Gu Taohua was eating melons with Man'er and Yaozu.

When Man'er and Yaozu saw Tong Huaqiong, they called out "Grandma!" and handed her a melon. Gu Taohua, on the other hand, was all smiles after hearing that the shop's paperwork had been completed.

"Where did you get these melons?" Tong Huaqiong asked immediately.

It was a bit hot, and Tong Huaqiong was sweating profusely from walking from the town to Qinghewan. The crisp melons made her feel refreshed.

The Gu family didn't grow melons, and seeing that there was no one in the fields at the village entrance, Tong Huaqiong suspected that Gu Taohua had stolen them from someone else's land with Man'er and Yaozu.

"It was given to me by Gu Xiaocao," Gu Taohua said.

"Originally, they didn't give them to me. My aunt dug up my little grass-cutting basket and saw two melons inside, so she insisted on taking them." Gu Yaozu revealed Gu Taohua's secret as soon as he opened his mouth.

Gu Taohua's face darkened, and she said, "What nonsense are you spouting? I saw her melon and asked if I could have one, and she gave it to me. I didn't steal it."

It was clearly given to me by Gu Xiaocao, wasn't it?

Gu Taohua spoke with righteous indignation.

Tong Huaqiong's lips twitched. How could she not know Gu Taohua? Given Gu Taohua's previous reputation and her figure, if she asked Gu Xiaocao if she could have a melon, would honest Gu Xiaocao dare to refuse?
"Alright, it's just a melon, you ate it, but you can't bully Xiaocao in the future." Tong Huaqiong smacked Gu Taohua.

Speaking of Gu Xiaocao, Tong Huaqiong just remembered that she needed Gu Xiaocao's father, Gu Guangkui, to build a counter for the shop, so she made a detour to Gu Guangkui's house.

Gu Taohua followed behind with Man'er and Yaozu.

Gu Xiaocao was chopping grass to feed the chickens in front of her house when she saw Tong Huaqiong leading Gu Taohua and others towards her house, and her scalp tingled.

She didn't want to give Gu Taohua the melon at all, but she was afraid of Gu Taohua's menacing look, so she had no choice but to give it to her.

Upon seeing Tong Huaqiong and her group, she began to worry whether there was something wrong with the melons she had given them.

Widow Tong is not someone to be trifled with in the village; if you offend her, they might take away her entire household's pots and pans. And that Gu Taohua is equally terrifying; when she gets angry, she can tear down the roof beams of her house.

When this mother and daughter team up, their house will be swept by a hurricane.

Aunt Tong, Gu Xiaocao, threw down the knife she was using to chop grass and stood up tremblingly.

Tong Huaqiong heard the fear in Gu Xiaocao's voice and smiled gently.

Gu Xiaocao was even more frightened.

Gu Taohua then pulled out the stool that Gu Xiaocao had been sitting on while chopping grass and handed it to Tong Huaqiong to sit on.

"Where is your father?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

"Aunt Tong, what...what do you need my father for?" Gu Xiaocao asked.

“Little Grass, don’t be afraid. I’m asking your father to make a cabinet for my family,” Tong Huaqiong said.

Look how scared that girl is.

"Oh, I see." Gu Xiaocao breathed a sigh of relief, but was still a little incredulous. She pointed into the distance and said, "My dad's in the field. I'll go call him for you."

“Okay, I’ll wait at your house,” Tong Huaqiong said.

Seeing that Tong Huaqiong was sweating, Gu Xiaocao went inside to pour her a basin of water and a bowl of tea.

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, "Gu Xiaocao is such a good girl."

No wonder Gu Guangkui would rather live at the village entrance than reconcile with Granny Huang for the sake of his daughter.

According to Tong Dajiao's memory, Tong Huaqiong had a very good impression of Gu Guangkui.

Gu Guangkui was kicked out by his own mother, Granny Huang.

Gu Guangkui and Gu Dahan are the same kind of honest and simple-minded people. He only has one daughter, Gu Xiaocao, who is two years older than Gu Taohua. Two years ago, Xu Si took advantage of her in the bushes. Gu Guangkui wanted to settle the score with Xu Si, but Granny Huang stopped him.

Old Mrs. Huang already disliked Gu Guangkui for having only one daughter. When Gu Xiaocao was groped by Xu Si, she added fuel to the fire, blaming Gu Xiaocao for seducing Xu Si and saying that Gu Xiaocao had disgraced the ancestors. She even wanted Gu Xiaocao to marry Xu Si.

The uproar was so great that Gu Xiaocao threatened to hang herself to calm things down.

Old Mrs. Huang felt ashamed that Xu Si had taken advantage of her, so she kicked Gu Guangkui and his entire family out.

Honest Gu Guangkui could only settle down with his wife and daughter in two thatched huts built at the entrance of the village.

Gu Xiaocao's reputation was ruined, and everyone in the village avoided Gu Guangkui's family, especially Granny Huang, who was particularly harsh on her son's family.

Not only did she call Gu Xiaocao a vixen, but she also conspired with the venomous old woman Yan to bully her son's entire family.

When Granny Yan gossiped in the village, she often said that Gu Xiaocao was Xu Si's used woman, and that who would dare to marry her in the future? Just wait and see, she would end up paying Xu Si for her services. Others avoided Gu Guangkui's family to avoid unnecessary trouble, but Tong Huaqiong was not afraid.

Not only was she unafraid, she also took the initiative to invite people to do work.

Gu Guangkui and his wife Zhang were in the field when they heard Gu Xiaocao say that Tong Huaqiong had come to their house to ask Gu Guangkui to make furniture. The couple did not believe it.

Only after standing up from the ground and seeing the blurry shadow of the peach blossoms did I believe it.

The couple rushed home and saw Tong Huaqiong so nervous that she didn't know where to put her hands.

This was the first time any villager had visited Gu Guangkui's family after they moved to the village entrance.

"Sister-in-law Tong, I heard from Xiaocao that your family is thinking of having a cabinet made?" Zhang asked.

Tong Huaqiong nodded and said with a smile, "That's right."

Gu Guangkui and Zhang Shi looked excited.

Gu Guangkui was a skilled craftsman, but ever since Gu Xiaocao's reputation was ruined by her own mother and the Xu family, no one in the village dared to hire him to make furniture.

He didn't dare take on business from other villages, fearing that Xu Si would retaliate against Xiao Cao if he left.

"Then, Sister Tong, what style would you like to have made?" Gu Guangkui asked.

"It's not my house, it's a pastry shop in my town that's opening and they need to set up a counter and stuff," Tong Huaqiong said.

"Sister-in-law Tong, you are really capable, you've even opened a shop."

Zhang was happy for Tong Huaqiong.

Everyone in the village knew that Tong Huaqiong sold pastries in town; she never expected that Tong Huaqiong would open a shop so soon.

Previously, Tong Huaqiong had a bad reputation in the village, and Zhang Shi was not very willing to talk to her.

Ever since she learned from Liu Qiaoyun that Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua had dealt with Xu Si, she only dared to greet Tong Huaqiong when she met her at the village entrance.

Upon hearing this, Zhang felt that Tong Huaqiong was a good person. Her family had suffered greatly from reputational problems, and Zhang believed that Tong Huaqiong's reputation had been ruined by her mother-in-law and Granny Yan.

"We're going to town?" Gu Guangkui hesitated.

He went to town, what will happen to his wife and daughters at home?
If Xu Si were to seek revenge, his daughter would have no choice but to die.

Zhang secretly hoped that Gu Guangkui would take over Tong Huaqiong's job. The fact that Tong Huaqiong thought of having Gu Guangkui work at the counter when opening her shop showed how much she valued their family. For this kind of timely help, they should accept it.

At worst, she and Xiaocao could always carry knives.

“I know what you’re worried about. You’re just afraid that Xu Si, that bastard, will cause trouble for Xiao Cao while you’re not home. Don’t worry, my shop still needs someone to cook for the employees and stuff. Xiao Cao is capable, right? If she is, she can come with you,” Tong Huaqiong said.

Gu Xiaocao raised her eyes in surprise; she hadn't expected that she could go to town.

"It's true that the grass can work, but won't it affect the shop's business?" Zhang was so excited that she almost cried.

Tong Huaqiong understood Zhang's meaning: Gu Xiaocao's reputation had been ruined by Xu Si, and she was afraid that this reputation would affect the pastry shop's business.

"Who buys pastries without appreciating the taste?" Tong Huaqiong said nonchalantly.

"Can Xiaocao really work at the shop?" Gu Guangkui was too excited to believe it was true.

“Uncle Guangkui, what are you saying? If I can do business with my mother, why can't Sister Xiaocao?” Gu Taohua said.

Gu Guangkui and Zhang, their eyes red, thanked him repeatedly.

"How about I pay you 500 cash a month?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

"What? There's also payment?"

The Gu Guangkui family was even more excited.

Tong Huaqiong's efforts to win over Gu Guangkui's family were not out of altruism; she had her own motives.

She will definitely need workers and assistants to open a shop, but she is not familiar with hiring people from outside.

We should start with the people around us. Gu Guangkui is skilled, and Gu Xiaocao is beautiful, honest, and meticulous. These two will play a significant role in the early development of the shop.

Moreover, given her timely help, the Gu Guangkui family will surely be devoted to her.

In her previous life, Gu Xiaocao was ultimately forced to marry Xu Si because she couldn't escape Yan Pozi's scheme. Despite her tragic situation, she still managed to secretly give Man'er several hundred coins and some dry food when Man'er escaped from the Zheng family and returned to the village to find her parents in vain.

She considered it as repaying the kindness of Man'er from her past life.

Let Gu Xiaocao start by doing cooking and odd jobs. Once the shop is open, train her to be a waitress and eventually make her a key member of the shop.

(End of this chapter)