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

Chapter 107 The Grandeur of Consort Xi's Return to the Palace

When Tong Huaqiong left Gu Guangkui's house with Gu Taohua and her two grandchildren, she had an extra basket of melons in her hands.

As soon as she arrived home with the melons, she instructed Gu Taohua to go to the Qin family and invite Qin Qingyou to set up a barbecue grill in town if he had time in the next few days.

Qin Qingyou said he must be available.

With the shop in hand, the whole family is working like dogs.

With Gu Guangkui leading Gu Xiaocao and Qin Qingyou bringing tools, along with the rest of the Gu family who wanted to experience their own shop firsthand, the whole group followed Tong Huaqiong and headed towards Yanzhi Lane in Yanguan Town.

Tong Huaqiong didn't hide the news of her family opening a shop. Since the villagers were also customers of the pastry shop, she naturally wanted to spread the news throughout the village.

The entire Qinghe Bay area was in an uproar!

No one in Qinghewan had opened a shop or started a business before. Most families relied on farming to make a living. At most, during the off-season, they would go to the mountains to burn charcoal or to the towns and counties to carry sandbags to earn some extra money. Tong Huaqiong became the first person in Qinghewan to open a shop.

It should be included in the village history.

When Granny Huang learned that Gu Guangkui had been called to the shop by Tong Huaqiong to help with the counter work, and that even her disdainful granddaughter had been recruited by Tong Huaqiong to cook and do odd jobs in the shop, she was furious and kept grumbling behind her back with Granny Yan, cursing Tong Huaqiong for pretending to run the shop and that her real purpose was to seduce men in town.

Tong Huaqiong naturally couldn't hear the slander behind Huang Pozi and Yan Pozi's backs.

Even if she heard it, she would just slap her across the face and not take it to heart. What kind of person dares to enter her heart and take it seriously?

Tong Huaqiong led the people into the shop, and the Gu family members were extremely excited as they stepped into their first shop.

The first couple and Liu Yue'e, who were visiting for the first time, were especially excited and didn't know where to put their hands and feet.

What is Rouge Lane? It's located in the heart of Yan Guan Town, a gathering place for the town's wealthy. The shops there look incredibly high-class, filled with elegantly dressed women. Those with meager wallets wouldn't even dare to enter.

But now that their mother-in-law has bought a shop in this prime location, how could they not be happy?
“Uncle Guangkui, I don’t think Aunt Tong is what the villagers say she is at all. I set up a grill for her at home a few days ago, and she paid me for it. I think the villagers are just jealous of her skills and are deliberately smearing her. But smearing her won’t do any good, she’s already opened her shop.” Qin Qingyou said to Gu Guangkui.

“Your Aunt Tong was a very reasonable person when she was young. I think it was all because of Grandpa and Grandma Dashu that she became unreasonable.” Gu Guangkui thought of his own mother forcing his family.

He knows how to protect his wife and daughter, but Brother Gu has never been seen protecting Tong Dajiao.

“But you’re right, your Aunt Tong is indeed capable; this shop is really big.” Gu Guangkui couldn’t suppress his envy.

Gu Guangkui and Qin Qingyou were envious but not jealous at all. They knew they didn't have the ability to open a shop, and they were already very grateful that Tong Huaqiong was thinking of them when she had good opportunities.

After exchanging a few words, the two of them went back to work.

"Sister-in-law Tong, I just measured it, and we still need to buy some more timber," Gu Guangkui said to Tong Huaqiong.

With the wine rack as a base, Gu Guangkui decided to modify it to achieve the effect Tong Huaqiong wanted, and buy more if needed.

Tong Huaqiong nodded and said, "Okay, I'll buy it."

Qin Qingyou came to Tong Huaqiong's side and said, "Aunt Tong, I've calculated the bricks and cement."

Tong Huaqiong said decisively, "Whatever you say, that's what I'll pay."

Since two workers had been hired to start the project, Tong Huaqiong decided to give them her absolute trust.

Seeing how readily Tong Huaqiong agreed, Gu Guangkui and Qin Qingyou could only work even harder.

Tong Huaqiong thought for a moment and called Gu Dahan over, saying, "You can come to town to supervise the construction these next few days. We'll discuss with you what your Uncle Guangkui and Qingyou need. Here's thirty taels of silver for you to buy."

Deeply moved by his stepmother's trust, Gu Dahan accepted the money and patted his chest, promising to diligently supervise the construction.

Tong Huaqiong said to Gu Guangkui, "You're in charge of the cabinets, counters, shelves, and so on. I'll listen to you on this. Just tell Dahan what you need and buy it. Try to use good materials and don't try to save me money."

Qin Qingyou didn't need any instructions. Tong Huaqiong was very satisfied with the oven that had been set up before, so he just needed to follow the previous standards.

As for Gu Xiaocao, since the shop hasn't opened yet, she doesn't need to cook for the staff. She only needs to cook for Gu Guangkui, Gu Dahan, and Qin Qingyou. Anyway, there's a pot in the yard, and the ingredients and vegetables are readily available.

After cooking, she tidied up the yard behind the shop.

Tong Huaqiong originally planned to hire professionals to build the warehouse and oven house, but Gu Dahan said that he, Qin Qingyou, and Gu Guangkui could handle it. If they didn't have enough people, they could hire two more workers.

Originally, Gu Dashu and Gu Jingzhe were also laborers, but weren't they busy dealing with Manager Feng? They didn't have time to take care of the shop.

Seeing her stepson's confidence, Tong Huaqiong told him to handle it as he saw fit, as long as the project could be completed smoothly and the opening could be delayed.

After giving her instructions, Tong Huaqiong took Gu Taohua, her two daughters-in-law, and Man'er and Yaozu to the opposite side of the Su Shi Yuan (a food stall). She would be setting up her stall again after a three-day closure.

Previously, it was just Gu Taohua and her daughter-in-law, but now their two daughters-in-law are also there. The four adults quickly set up their stall and hung up the signboard. Taohua Desserts once again began to dominate the taste buds of Yanguan Town.

Many diners saw that Peach Blossom Dessert had specially raised its signboard to flutter in the wind, and headed towards Peach Blossom Dessert.

The queue at Su Shi Yuan started to break up and head towards Tao Hua Dessert Shop.

Manager Feng was furious.

He thought Tong Huaqiong's behavior in the woods was just a facade, and after his threats, she never dared to appear in Yanguan Town again.

In fact, Tong Huaqiong did not appear for the past three days; he was preparing to hold a banquet to celebrate.

Unexpectedly, Tong Huaqiong returned and even dared to continue setting up a stall at the entrance of the Su Shi Yuan (酥食园) restaurant.

This is clearly a provocation against him.

These three days have been extremely difficult for Su Shi Yuan, and Manager Feng has also had a very bad time.

He was certain that the recipes for taro paste pastries, pork floss cakes, and other pastries that Tong Huaqiong gave him were genuine, but he thought that some of the ingredients, such as butter and condensed milk, were easy to buy among the Hu people, but what he bought was completely different.

However, Su Shi Yuan is Su Shi Yuan. If there are no ingredients available, they will use other ingredients instead. Although the taro paste pastry and pork floss cakes are slightly inferior to Peach Blossom Desserts, they are still very delicious.

He thought people would buy it.

But those picky diners insisted that it couldn't compare to the authentic Peach Blossom Dessert and demanded a refund.

If it weren't for the fact that some familiar diners also demanded refunds, Manager Feng would have really thought that those who caused trouble were all shills hired by Tong Huaqiong.

Eventually, the matter escalated to the point that even the employer was alarmed, and this was the first time in all these years that the employer had expressed dissatisfaction with him.

The money was refunded, and other pastries were given as gifts to appease everyone. The taro paste pastry and pork floss cake were also removed from the menu.

Manager Feng's original intention was not to have taro paste pastries and pork floss cakes replace other pastries in Su Shi Yuan. His main purpose in dealing with Tong Huaqiong last time was to get Peach Blossom Desserts out of Yan Guan Town.

Now, Peach Blossom Desserts not only didn't disappear, but it has made a comeback with even more customers.

Tong Huaqiong assumed a fighting stance, knowing that Manager Feng was currently on the second floor of the Su Shi Yuan restaurant, and gave a provocative smile towards the second floor.

He mouthed the words, "Whether we leave Yanguan Town or not, it's not up to you to decide, it's up to me."

"Come on, everyone, have a taste. I have authentic taro paste pastries and pork floss buns here."

Tong Huaqiong let out a loud shout; she had to put on an air of being the Consort Xi returning to the palace today.

Manager Feng was on the second floor of the Su Shi Yuan restaurant. He naturally read the provocative words from Tong Huaqiong's lip movements. Seeing the Peach Blossom Dessert stall being surrounded by diners, he wanted to overturn the stall.

I'm so angry! No one has ever dared to openly challenge Su Shi Yuan like this.

Don't be impulsive.

Manager Feng told himself that since hard methods wouldn't work, he would resort to insidious ones.

He thought of the Zheng family.

He dug it up: Tong Huaqiong had a feud with her employer's cousin, Zheng, a scholar.

The eldest son of the Zheng family is hanging on by a thread and will probably kick the bucket soon. Could we use him to provoke the Zheng family's anger and get them to take action against Peach Blossom Dessert?

(End of this chapter)