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

Chapter 66 Isn't it annoying to keep guessing?

The pigs in the pigpen grunted twice.

Tong Huaqiong temporarily let Liu Yue'e go and went to the pigsty to check on the castrated piglets after one night.

The piglet looked to be in good spirits. When it saw Tong Huaqiong approaching the pigpen, it stood in front of the feeding trough and stretched its neck.

Tong Huaqiong jumped into the pigpen, held down the piglet, and checked between its legs. She found that the red wound from yesterday was no longer visible.

She had originally thought that if the wound became infected, she would have some anti-inflammatory medicine to apply.

It seems that Master Tan, whom I've never met, has excellent knife skills.

Tong Huaqiong rolled out of the pigpen and ordered Liu Yue'e to bring wheat bran and crushed corn mixed with fresh hay and pour it into the feeding trough. The little boar, which had been starving all night, went crazy when it saw the food and buried its head in the feeding trough.

“Mother, I heard from the villagers who go to the market in town that our pastries are famous there, and we have a lot of customers. You said before that once business was good, I could go to town to help out the customers. Now that I have nothing to do at home, why don’t you let me go to town with you now?” Liu Yue’e said.

Tong Huaqiong glared at her and started cursing.

“You’re just lazy because you’re doing nothing at home. There’s so much to do around the house, feeding the chickens and pigs, cooking. Are you blind? Don’t think I don’t know you’ve dumped it all on your sister-in-law. Let me tell you, Liu Yue’e, you’re doing my laundry, cooking, feeding the chickens and pigs these past few days. If I find out you’re slacking off, don’t even think about going to town.”

“If you don’t want to do the housework, let Dashu do it for you. You go to the fields to weed and water the plants. If our wheat yield is a pound less than others, I’ll make you make up the difference.”

Liu Yue'e retorted, "I didn't slack off. I helped my sister-in-law start the fire yesterday, and I also rubbed your clothes."

Liu Yue'e's attempt to defend herself only fueled Tong Huaqiong's anger, who snapped, "So you think you're the Gu family's greatest hero just because you tend the fire? What, do you expect me to worship your name before our ancestors for praise? I work myself to the bone to earn money, and you think you're being treated like dirt just because I'm washing clothes? Fine, then you can quit. The Liu family's house is just steps away from ours, so pack your bags and go home. You can take Gu Dashu with you and have him live with you."

Liu Yue'e dared not utter a sound after being scolded. At this moment, she regretted that she had not gone to serve her mother-in-law in the morning but instead went to curry favor with Lu Zhaozhao.

She did receive a piece of clothing, but it also angered her mother-in-law.

She had witnessed firsthand how her mother-in-law tormented Chen Su-fen, and now that Chen Su-fen's status had risen, her own status would correspondingly decline.

My mother-in-law now tries to send me back to my parents' home all the time.

She couldn't go back to her parents' home, especially now that the Gu family was doing better and better.

"Mother, I am a daughter-in-law of the Gu family. I will not go anywhere. I will take good care of you." Liu Yue'e raised her hand as if making a vow.

"Alright, stop with the showmanship. Doing more work is better than anything else. Watch the pigs finish eating, then add clean water. After that, there's all that dirty laundry, the dust in the house, the pots and pans in the kitchen—you'll have to do all that too."

"I understand." Liu Yue'e felt a slight ache in her arms; she was the one who did all this work.

Tong Huaqiong ordered Liu Yue'e to squat in front of the pigsty and tied her up with a lot of housework, intending to use physical means to sever her relationship with Lu Zhaozhao.

In your past life, you bullied Lu Zhaozhao with the princess, so don't mess with her in this life.

Tong Huaqiong discovered that none of her three adopted sons were home in the morning.

Her stepson, Gu Dahan, had been hesitant to speak to her all night, but she was too tired to talk to him. She planned to talk to her stepson before setting up her stall and ask him to quit his job at the Lu family and live at home.

Of course, Tong Huaqiong's decision wasn't solely to make amends to Gu Dahan; she also had her own ulterior motives.

The wheat at home was about to ripen, and she watched coldly. Gu Dashu and Gu Jingzhe were not good at farming, and it would be difficult for them to stand up in the field in the short term.

The field needs someone to look after it now, and that person can only be Gu Dahan.

After all, Gu Dahan had been working in the fields all day long under the manipulation of his father and stepmother since he was a child. The land was Gu Dahan's comfort zone, and there was no need to worry about the work in the fields when he was there.

If it weren't for the fact that Gu Jingzhe needed money for his studies, Tong Dajiao would never have sent Gu Dahan out to do hard labor.

She planned to buy a lot of land with the money she made, cultivate it, hire people, and transform the Gu family into a new generation of landlords. Gu Dahan would play a very important role.

Moreover, she didn't intend for Gu Jingzhe and Gu Dashu to be busy in the fields all the time.

Gu Jingzhe ultimately had to settle down at the reading room.

Gu Dashu, on the other hand, has a very active personality and isn't suited to being tied down to the land. She plans to cultivate Gu Dashu's business acumen so that he can expand his business empire when he travels far and wide. If used well, this son can become a pillar of the business.

"Where are Da Han and the others?" Tong Huaqiong asked Chen Sufen.

“He took his second and third younger brothers to water the fields,” Chen Sufeng said.

Tong Huaqiong nodded. Gu Dahan was indeed capable, getting to work in the fields early in the morning without stopping.

"Mother" Chen Sufeng hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

"What's wrong? Speak your mind," Tong Huaqiong said.

Chen Su-fen is good in every way, except that sometimes she is clingy and doesn't speak clearly.

Of course, this is not her fault. She was not an unloved daughter in her family of origin. Just think about how the reputation of Tong Dajiao's harsh stepmother spread throughout the villages around Qinghewan, yet the Chen family still let Chen Sufeng marry Gu Dahan. This shows her situation in her family of origin.

When she came to the Gu family and had to make a living under her stepmother-in-law's care, her weak and timid personality became more pronounced.

Although Tong Huaqiong had intended to promote her these past few days, things couldn't be changed so easily; she was still somewhat afraid of Tong Huaqiong.

Chen Sufeng lowered her head and said, "Last night I said that you planned to let Dahan live at home from now on, but Dahan said he still wants to go to the Lu family, saying that the Lu family pays three taels of silver a month."

Tong Huaqiong thought for a moment and then asked Chen Sufen, "What do you think?"

Chen Sufeng looked up and glanced quickly at Tong Huaqiong, then said, "I'll listen to Mother."

Tong Huaqiong was speechless for a moment, then grew impatient and demanded, "I'm just asking you what you think? Just tell the truth, or do you think I'm a tiger that can eat you?"

If it weren't for Tong Dajiao's spirit possessing Chen Sufen, she wouldn't dare to tell the truth.

Tong Huaqiong got angry when she saw Chen Sufen like that.

If it weren't for Chen Sufen's usual dedication to filial piety and her talent for making pastries, Tong Huaqiong would have loved to scold her just like she scolded Liu Yue'e.

"I...I want Dahan to stay at home," Chen Sufeng said, forcing herself to speak, her voice barely audible.

“Then stay at home,” Tong Huaqiong said decisively.

Then he reasoned with Chen Sufeng: "Let me tell you, my dear wife, you've seen how I've been these past few days. Don't keep putting on that pitiful little wife act for me. If you have any requests or anything you want to say, just say it openly."

"If you're still acting the same way as before, it means you still harbor resentment towards me. A mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship can't be like that of a mother and daughter. I don't expect you to treat me like a daughter, and I won't treat you like I treat Tao Hua. We just need to keep a polite distance from each other. If you want to be filial to me like a daughter, I'll accept that, but don't be filial while feeling wronged inside. I have so many things to do every day, I don't have time to guess what you're thinking."

Chen Sufen almost knelt down upon hearing this.

This is far beyond the understanding of this ancient person, especially since the mother-in-law accused her of being wronged and demanded that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law be polite to each other.

These two things made Chen Sufen feel that she had committed a great act of rebellion.

"Mother, I was wrong."

“I didn’t mean that, I’m not wronged,” Chen Su-fen said incoherently.

“I know what you mean, and I hope you understand what I mean too. We, as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, shouldn't play games. From now on, just say what you mean, don't hold back. Like, if you want Dahan to stay home, just say so directly. I know you didn't say it directly because you were afraid I'd blame you if Dahan quit his job at the Lu family for three taels of silver, so you came to test me. Eldest daughter-in-law, there's no need for this kind of thing in the future.” Tong Huaqiong delivered a blunt blow to Chen Sufeng.

Chen Sufen's thoughts were exposed, and her face flushed red and then turned pale.

Of course, Tong Huaqiong said she wasn't angry; on the contrary, she understood Chen Sufen very well.

The reason she spoke so frankly to Chen Su-fen was that she hoped Chen Su-fen would also express herself frankly in the future.

Isn't it annoying for the whole family to keep guessing?

(End of this chapter)