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

Chapter 13 The Wicked Stepmother Revealed
"Mom, you know what, my sister-in-law's steamed buns are quite popular."

Gu Dashu was initially reluctant to speak up, but later he got hoarse from calling out to everyone to buy steamed buns.

At this moment, he had a strange confidence that he was also very good at business.

"This is just the beginning." Tong Huaqiong took the opportunity to educate her eldest son, calmly saying, "Didn't you want to go to Zheng's shop to be the manager? If you have that ambition, why don't you think of a way to do business and be your own manager? Why bother to suffer with others?"

Gu Dashu chuckled and said, "Mother, don't mention the Zheng family matter. I was just confused and blinded by greed."

He didn't believe that a single basket of steamed buns could develop into a shop; his widowed mother was merely pointing out his despicable idea of ​​exchanging his niece for the shopkeeper.

Tong Huaqiong sneered: "It's good that you know."

This rotten bamboo is showing signs of improvement; it's already reflecting on its own actions so quickly.

But straightening out the distance is still far from enough.

"We've sold out of steamed buns, what are we going to eat? I'm starving," Gu Taohua asked, rubbing her rumbling stomach.

She was really hungry.

After causing a scene at the Zheng family's house and acting as a human-shaped advertising cardboard cutout for steamed buns, Gu Taohua, who is usually so pampered that she has never even washed a pair of chopsticks, felt that she had done more work in a single day than in the past ten years of her life.

Tong Huaqiong took the opportunity to begin educating Gu Taohua.

"Your thick flesh could be used as a cotton coat to keep warm. You won't starve if you skip a meal."

"Peach Blossom, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but you should lose some weight."

“You’re such a fat old man that you can’t even run. If there’s a war or famine, you’ll be the first one they abandon.”

This chubby girl never deprives herself of a single meal!

Doesn't she have any self-awareness about her own body shape?

Putting aside the impact on her appearance, if Gu Taohua continues to eat like this, she'll get high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar, which would be the end of her. In this era, there are no blood pressure medications or insulin to save lives.

Gu Taohua pouted, unconvinced.

My mother never used to say that. She would hug her chubby daughter and say that being fat is a blessing.

Even when her second sister-in-law, Liu Yue'e, told her to lose some weight, her mother jumped up and down, cursing her for being a heartless, rotten seed who would mistreat her younger sister-in-law.

"Grandma, I'm hungry too." Gu Yaozu looked at the porter next to him who was gnawing on a chicken leg, his mouth watering.

Liu Yue'e swallowed hard. She was actually hungry too, but she didn't dare say so. Her sister-in-law had been scolded by her mother-in-law, and as a daughter-in-law, she dared not provoke her.

“Yaozu is hungry, let’s eat some big meat buns,” Tong Huaqiong said.

The steamed bun shop is located near the dock, and business seems to be booming.

Yaozu clapped his hands happily, reverting to his spoiled and irritating self.

Upon hearing that there would be meat buns to eat, Gu Taohua and Liu Yue'e's eyes lit up.

Gu Dashu's lips twitched. His mother's behavior was becoming more and more unpredictable. Using the money from selling steamed buns to buy dumplings, if it were anyone else, he would have called her crazy.

Steamed buns cost five coins each, and stuffed buns cost ten coins each.

Two steamed buns can be exchanged for one baozi (stuffed bun).

However, he didn't intend to enlighten his mother. Anyway, meat buns were tastier than steamed buns, and he hadn't eaten meat for several days. He was happy to let his mother eat meat buns.

Tong Huaqiong gritted her teeth and bought eight meat buns.

Gu Dashu, Gu Taohua, Liu Yue'e, and Yaozu each ate one, while Tong Huaqiong ate two herself.

As the most senior member of the family, she has the right to be treated specially.

The remaining two were given to Chen Sufeng and Man'er.

As for Gu Jingzhe, there was nothing to eat. The whole family tightened their belts to support this wicked bamboo's education, which in turn angered the Zheng family, forcing them to swallow their pride and break off the engagement, making him suffer.

Having not eaten for almost a day, Gu Dashu was enjoying a meat bun with great relish, held by several bamboo sticks.

Tong Huaqiong felt that the buns smelled good, but tasted so-so. The main problem was that the pork had a faint, unpleasant smell, which the scallions couldn't mask.

She had read in a popular science book in her previous life that pork in this era was not as fragrant as it is in later times because the pigs had not been castrated, so the meat naturally had a gamey smell.

Therefore, pork was not very popular in this era. Ordinary gentry and nobles did not eat pork, but mainly ate mutton.

Lamb is relatively expensive and ordinary families can't afford it, so steamed bun shops like this one, located near the docks and targeting porters and laborers, would naturally choose cheaper and more appealing pork.

Thinking of this, Tong Huaqiong's eyes lit up. She was eager to try to castrate the pig at home and then launch braised pork, Dongpo pork, braised pork ribs, and big meat buns. Wouldn't that allow her to take the lead in the pork market?

After finishing her steamed buns, Tong Huaqiong grabbed a middle-aged porter carrying sandbags and asked, "Young man, do you know Gu Dahan?" She remembered that Gu Dahan carried sandbags at the dock.

I didn't have time to ask when I was selling steamed buns, but now that I have time, I'd like to find out.

Carrying sandbags at the dock is hard labor, and no one would do this job if their family was well-off.

Looking at the porters carrying sandbags coming and going, Tong Huaqiong wanted to curse Tong Dajiao for being a heartless person.

The weather wasn't very hot yet, but the porters were already drenched in sweat from their labor. The heavy sandbags weighed them down so much that they could barely straighten their backs, and the foreman ahead kept urging them on.

Being a porter is not a long-term solution.

Tong Huaqiong plans to bring Gu Dahan home and have him farm in the village from now on.

Tong Huaqiong ate her steamed bun while observing the porters carrying sandbags not far away, searching for Gu Dahan's figure among them, but she couldn't find him after searching for a long time.

That's why I grabbed a porter who looked honest and simple to ask him some questions.

"Who are you?" the middle-aged porter asked, hefting the sandbag in his hand.

“This is my mother, and Gu Dahan is my elder brother,” Gu Dashu said first.

The middle-aged man sized Tong Huaqiong up and down, and said sarcastically, "Who do we have here? It's Gu Dahan's heartless stepmother. Gu Dahan works himself to the bone here and can't even afford a sip of hot soup, while you all wear new clothes, adorn yourselves with pearls, and eat meat buns."

Tong Huaqiong choked.

孽 孽!
Tong Dajiao's mistakes are still her responsibility.

"Young man, do you know where my son is?" Tong Huaqiong asked instead of getting angry.

The middle-aged man was disgusted by Tong Huaqiong's use of "my son." It seems that this stepmother is not only vicious but also a green tea bitch!

"What do you want with him? Are you here to ask for money?"

"You're going to be disappointed; he's gone to the prefectural city."

"What's he going to the prefectural city for?"

"To make money. His younger brother, who's studying, comes to him for money every now and then. How much can he earn carrying sandbags here? To earn more money, he went to work as a hired laborer for a wealthy family in the prefectural city." The middle-aged porter wiped his sweat and sneered at Tong Huaqiong and the others.

Tong Huaqiong frowned. That Gu Jingzhe! He actually came to ask Gu Dahan for money behind her back. She'd give him a piece of her mind when she got home!
"Do you know which wealthy family he lives in?" Tong Huaqiong asked, meeting the unfriendly gaze of the middle-aged porter.

"I don't know." The middle-aged porter carried the sandbags away.

Tong Huaqiong sighed.

"That was Gu Dahan's stepmother. Even as a widow, she still dressed so beautifully. Only a woman who doesn't do housework would wear that pink dress."

"I heard that the stepmother is a heartless woman. She made him carry sandbags and scraped all his money every month."

"No wonder, she can dress up as much as she wants with her stepson's money."

"Gu Dahan has it tough, supporting a large family and a younger brother who's still in school. Tsk tsk..."

The steamed bun shop owner and the passing porter had overheard what Tong Huaqiong and the middle-aged porter had said when they inquired about Gu Dahan. Upon learning that the pink-clad widow with beaded flowers was Gu Dahan's stepmother, everyone who knew Gu Dahan felt indignant on his behalf.

Some porters even said they regretted buying the steamed buns from the wicked stepmother.

Tong Huaqiong felt immense pressure under the intense gaze of those seeking justice.

If they don't leave soon, I'm afraid kind and righteous people will start throwing rotten eggs at the wicked stepmother.

Tong Huaqiong, her face darkening, led Gu Dashu and the others in a hasty retreat.

“Mother, if my brother wants to go to the prefectural city, let him go. Why do you care?” Gu Dashu said on the way home.

"Anyway, my older brother only comes home once a month, so it's not like we never see each other."

Gu Dashu was unaware that Tong Huaqiong planned to prevent Gu Dahan from doing manual labor.

Tong Huaqiong pointed at Gu Dashu's forehead and said, "You heartless rotten seed! Your older brother works hard outside to earn money to support the family, but you don't care about him at all."

Gu Dashu thought to himself, "Isn't it you who kicked my brother out of the house? You can't blame him for it."

“Great Heat.” Tong Huaqiong seemed to know what Gu Dashu was thinking, staring at him with a half-smile.

Gu Dashu felt uneasy under the intense gaze.

What kind of trouble is Mother up to now?

"I'll have your third brother, a scholar, stay home and farm. You two brothers should be fair. I'm thinking of having you come to the docks to carry sandbags and earn money to support the family. What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)