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

Chapter 114 Today is a good day

Brother Feng returned to the village happily with five hundred taels of silver.

Feng Chuan took the land deed and seal of Su Shi Yuan to Gu Dashu.

Gu Dashu's lips twitched. Tong Huaqiong asked him to set a trap for Feng Chuan, not mainly for the thousand taels of silver, but to stop Manager Feng from making him get out of the Su Shi Yuan and out of Yan Guan Town.

As long as Peach Blossom Dessert Shop continues to operate smoothly, they have no intention of taking the thousand taels of silver.

Unexpectedly, Feng Chuan stole the entire Su Shi Yuan (a type of pastry shop) and used it as collateral for him.

With Gu Jingzhe absent, Gu Dashu dared not make a decision on his own. In other words, the whole matter was beyond his control.

This matter must be decided by Mother.

Tong Huaqiong, who was preparing to open her shop, was startled when Gu Dashu barged in with Feng Chuan.

Gu Dashu was an excellent speaker, and he explained the purpose of bringing Feng Chuan here in just a few words.

Good heavens! Tong Huaqiong couldn't help but clap her hands. Feng Chuan was practically giving her the entire Su Shi Yuan (a famous pastry shop) as a gift.

When Feng Chuan was taken to Rouge Lane, he was also stunned to see Tong Huaqiong. Wasn't this the widow Tong who was selling pastries across from Su Shi Yuan and whom his second uncle wanted to sweep out of Yan Guan Town?

When he heard Gu Dashu call Tong Huaqiong "mother", he realized that he had really been tricked.

All of this was orchestrated by this mother and son—no, by the three of them.

Feng Chuan tried to run away, but Gu Dashu held him down. In this desperate situation, he was full of strength, and Gu Dashu couldn't hold him down. Just as he was about to step out of the shop, his arms were suddenly held down tightly, and he was dragged back into the house by a big fat girl.

"Trying to run away?" Tong Huaqiong sneered.

Feng Chuan begged for mercy.

“I’m not as despicable as your second uncle, I won’t kill you.” Tong Huaqiong smiled brightly.

"You just want to use the deed to the Su Shi Garden to pay off your debts, I'll grant your wish."

Surrounded by Tong Huaqiong, Gu Dashu, and Gu Taohua, Feng Chuan tremblingly took out the land deed and seal and handed them to Tong Huaqiong.

"Where's the IOU?" Feng Chuan asked.

Tong Huaqiong laughed loudly. This gambling addict turned out to be a naive and innocent girl. You have my life in your hands and you still want an IOU? What were you thinking?

Tong Huaqiong was too lazy to waste words, so she waved her hand and ordered Gu Dashu to tie up Feng Chuan and lock him in the woodshed in the yard.

She would absolutely not let Feng Chuan leave before the shop opened smoothly.

Now she has the land deed for Su Shi Yuan and Feng Chuan's life in her hands, and she's just waiting to see how Manager Feng will cause trouble.

Her goal was not to take over the Su Shi Yuan restaurant or the thousand taels of silver, but to make Manager Feng get out of Yan Guan Town.

After all, she doesn't yet have the absolute strength to fight against the owner of Su Shi Yuan.

Peach Blossom Dessert will open in three days.

As a competitor, she felt she should personally inform the owner of Su Shi Yuan of this good news.

Perhaps the owner of Su Shi Yuan would be willing to add to the grand opening of Tao Hua Dessert.

Tong Huaqiong slapped her thigh and summoned Gu Dashu and Gu Jingzhe, ordering them to take the seal and land deed of Sushi Garden and immediately go to Pingchuan County.

Over the past few days, Tong Huaqiong has been reassured by Gu Jingzhe's work. She is confident that Gu Jingzhe will be able to meet Ma Ming, the owner of Su Shi Yuan, and use Ma Ming's help to deal with Manager Feng before Peach Blossom Dessert opens, making Manager Feng completely finished.

"Today is a good day, all my wishes will come true." Tong Huaqiong's steps became lighter, and she couldn't help but hum aloud.

Feng Chuan was tied up in the woodshed, listening to the commotion outside, his mouth gagged so he couldn't speak.

He did not regret stealing the land deed from the Crispy Food Garden.

It was all his cheapskate father's fault, that is, his second uncle. It was his second uncle's way of dealing with Peach Blossom Dessert who wanted to drive Widow Tong out of Yanguan Town, so Widow Tong asked her son to set a trap for him.

The suffering he is enduring now is all thanks to his second uncle.

He harbored deep resentment towards his second uncle.

As dusk fell, Gu Jingzhe and Gu Dashu returned from Pingchuan County. From Gu Jingzhe's face, Tong Huaqiong knew that Manager Feng would never be able to turn things around.

Tong Huaqiong ordered Gu Dashu to go into the woodshed and feed Feng Chuan water and steamed buns. After feeding him, she tied him up again and gagged him.

"Mother, what should we do with this man?" Gu Dashu asked. "Keep him locked up until the shop reopens," Tong Huaqiong said. "You stay here and watch over him for the next couple of days."

Gu Dashu agreed.

On the morning before Peach Blossom Desserts opened, Manager Feng arrived at Crispy Food Garden.

He had two things to do today. The first was to obstruct the opening of Peach Blossom Dessert Shop, and the second was to temporarily use the land deed of Su Shi Yuan as collateral to raise one thousand taels of silver to fill the hole left by Feng Chuan.

With the opening of the store imminent, Tong Huaqiong bid farewell to her days of setting up a stall.

When Manager Feng came to Su Shi Yuan, he made a special trip through Rouge Lane and saw that the former tavern had now put up a sign for peach blossom desserts. The signboard hurt his eyes.

The figures of people working in the shop moved about.

Manager Feng smirked, "Let you be smug for one more day. Tomorrow, when we open for business, Peach Blossom Desserts' reputation will be completely ruined."

Widow Tong must take her brood of babies and get out of Yanguan Town.

Crossing the street to Su Shi Yuan, Manager Feng's heart inexplicably started racing.

The pastries from Su Shi Yuan were fresh out of the oven, and their aroma filled half the street.

There seemed to be quite a few people in line.

"Would I be stupid to queue up to buy pastries? I'll endure it for a day. Tomorrow, Peach Blossom Desserts will open, and they say there's a buy-one-get-one-free offer." Suddenly, a pretty young woman in the crowd spoke up.

"Really? Peach blossom desserts really come with a buy-one-get-one-free offer?" one girl asked.

"Of course, why would I lie to you? Aunt Tong is very generous; she always offers free samples when she's at her stall, let alone now that she has a shop," the pretty young woman said.

Instantly, the queue at Su Shi Yuan dwindled by half.

Manager Feng was furious. He said he would change his surname to Tong if Tong Huaqiong was not driven out of Yanguan Town.

Liu Qiaoyun pulled Gu Xiaocao away from the crowd.

The two patted their wildly beating hearts; they were a little nervous being shills for the first time.

Tong Huaqiong thought that the shop would definitely need manpower after it opened, so she hired Liu Qiaoyun as a waitress.

Liu Qiaoyun never expected that her first day on the job wouldn't be selling pastries, but rather working as a shill with Gu Xiaocao.

Manager Feng, his face ashen, went up to the second floor of the Su Shi Yuan restaurant and entered his office.

He opened the drawer containing the land deeds and banknotes.

They were shocked when they opened it; the land deed and the banknotes were gone.

He thought he had put it in the wrong place, so he opened all the drawers, only to find them empty.

His first thought was that there was an inside job at the Crispy Food Garden.

Manager Feng called over a reliable employee and asked if anyone had been to his room. The employee, unaware of the situation, said that Feng Chuan and his elder brother and sister-in-law had come to retrieve something for Manager Feng, so he let them in.

Manager Feng's scalp tingled instantly, and he collapsed into a chair, unable to support himself.

"You little brat, you bastard, you heartless scoundrel!" Manager Feng cursed.

The man was so frightened he didn't dare move, thinking he was being insulted.

Manager Feng propped his head up, and Feng Chuan and his elder brother and sister-in-law assumed that because he was the manager, Su Shi Yuan was his private property? That belonged to the owner, Ma Ming!
He could find a way to fill in the missing 500 taels of silver notes, but how could he explain the missing land deed to his employer?
Manager Feng told himself to stay calm and that he had to find Feng Chuan, but the more he tried to calm down, the more his hands trembled.

The waiter was terrified and kept asking the shopkeeper what was wrong.

Frustrated by the questions, Manager Feng slapped the shop assistant across the face, who fled in terror.

"What should I do?"

Manager Feng trembled as he forced down a mouthful of tea, determined to calm down and devise a plan.

The only thing that gives him some comfort right now is that his employer trusts him enough. As long as he keeps this from his employer, he can still salvage the situation by finding Feng Chuan.

Manager Feng stood up and was about to call his trusted employees to go find Feng Chuan separately.

Just then, someone rushed upstairs and shouted, "Manager, the boss is here!"

(End of this chapter)