The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 103: Profiting Without Investment

In the end, Tong Huaqiong bought Ma Huateng’s shop for one hundred and eighty taels.

Ma Huateng brought the deed, paper, and ink with him. He laid them out and started writing. After finishing, both parties would have to go to the government to finalize the process by signing and sealing.

After Ma Huateng finished writing the contract, Tong Huaqiong signed and said, "Well, Little Ma, Aunt Tong doesn’t have that much Silver. I can only come up with one hundred taels right now."

Ma Huateng: "..."

So you don’t have money and want something for nothing.

How did he fall for it?

Tong Huaqiong remained calm and said, "Little Ma, do you think I hired you to be the accountant in the shop just because I have enough Silver?"

Ma Huateng couldn’t wrap his head around it. He didn’t understand the logic of Aunt Tong owing money and still wanting him to work for her.

So he not only had to let her owe him for the shop but also be grateful for the employment she offered.

Tong Huaqiong didn’t want to be too harsh either. This young man, Ma Huateng, had potential and might have a bright future in the imperial exams.

Just like the Lu Family wanted to angel invest in Gu Jingzhe, she also wanted to angel invest in Ma Huateng.

So she said, "I’ll give you one hundred taels first, and I’ll owe you the remaining eighty taels. I promise to repay it within half a year after the shop opens. Additionally, you’ll be the accountant in my shop with a monthly pay of one tael of Silver."

One tael of Silver was already decent, and that was because Tong Huaqiong considered his scholarly status.

One tael of Silver was not enough to buy brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, but it was enough for him and his mother not to return to the countryside to farm and stay in town.

Moreover, with one hundred and eighty taels of Silver as the base, once Taohua Dessert turned a profit, there would be bonuses at the end of the year, making his life quite comfortable.

Furthermore, if he showed potential in his studies, Tong Huaqiong wouldn’t mind sponsoring him to study further and take the imperial exams in the future.

Ma Huateng was a bit tempted when he heard about the one tael of Silver.

Tong Huaqiong continued, "You don’t need to balance the accounts as diligently as a waiter. Just balance it once a day, once every seven days, once a month, and once at the end of the year. The rest of the time, I won’t interfere, whether you want to read or do anything else, as long as it doesn’t harm Taohua Dessert."

"My son is also a scholar. I can easily assign him this accounting task. The reason I’m willing to give it to you is that I understand the hardships of you and your mother, a widow and orphan, better than anyone else."

Ma Huateng, being inexperienced, was moved by Tong Huaqiong’s disclosure about widows and orphans.

Since his father’s death, he and his mother had genuinely been struggling to survive.

Aunt Tong probably had similar struggles; otherwise, why would she, having three good sons, still have to show her face and do business?

Thinking about how his mother said if life became too tough, she’d go wash clothes for others, Ma Huateng felt uncomfortable. To prevent his mother from doing hard labor, he needed to find a job.

With this in mind, Ma Huateng said to Tong Huaqiong, "Alright, Aunt Tong, I agree to all your conditions."

Tong Huaqiong smiled kindly, looking at Ma Huateng as if he were her own junior, and called Liu Yueer to serve hot tea again.

Ma Huateng finished his tea and left, but before leaving, he agreed with Tong Huaqiong to go to the government the next day to transfer ownership.

However, Tong Huaqiong had to write him an IOU for eighty taels, with the agreement to pay it back within half a year. If not, interest would be charged daily.

Tong Huaqiong thought that Ma Huateng wasn’t truly stupid, but it didn’t affect her feeling happy inside. She finally had her own business in this world.

The feeling of owning a business was truly wonderful!

At that moment, the other three women at home who heard the news about confirming the shop, Gu Taohua, Chen Sufen, and Liu Yueer, were also overjoyed.

"Mother, when you were discussing the price with Ma Huateng earlier, I was so nervous, worried he might back out. Thankfully, Ma Huateng agreed to transfer the shop to us," said Liu Yueer, patting her chest.

Her mother-in-law was really good at getting something for nothing, securing someone’s shop by owing eighty taels.

She wanted to learn such skills too.

"When mother takes action, it’s bound to work," said Chen Sufen happily.

Heaven was merciful; she never imagined the Gu Family could one day open a shop in town and do business.

Chen Sufen felt happy for her mother-in-law.

"This shop needs to be transferred at the government office. Who should go to do it?" Liu Yueer asked casually.

Her intention was evident; she simply wanted to know in whose name the shop would be.

In this era, family businesses typically belonged to sons, especially favoring the eldest son.

The Gu Family was quite unique. Gu Dahuan wasn’t Tong Huaqiong’s biological son, and Gu Dashu was her eldest by blood, so conventionally, the shop should be in Gu Dashu’s name.

Liu Yueer naturally thought the same way.

"Who else could it be? Naturally, it should be in mother’s or sister’s name. This shop was earned by mother and sister," said Chen Sufen.

Honest Chen Sufen believed that since Taohua Dessert was named after Gu Taohua and the business was established by her mother-in-law, the shop should rightfully belong to either Tong Huaqiong or her sister-in-law.

Tong Huaqiong glanced at Liu Yueer and said, "The shop should naturally be in my name. Who else would it be under?"

Seeing Tong Huaqiong’s calm expression, Liu Yueer felt a sense of foreboding. Since her mother-in-law’s head injury, this was her expression before scolding or getting angry.

Frightened, she quickly said, "I also think it should be under mother’s name."

Tong Huaqiong scoffed twice and warned Liu Yueer, "Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. You just want the shop to be under Dashu’s name. Let me tell you, stop dreaming early. Blood relations and having sons don’t count for me."

"During this time, Taohua and Sufen have put in a lot of effort. If there’s more money in the future to establish more shops, Taohua and Man Er will have them. If your second family wants one, then show some real skill. Letting you work as a clerk at Taohua Dessert is good enough. If you want a shop, go ask your parents for it."

Gu Taohua was promised during a family gathering that she’d have a shop in the future. Reassured by Tong Huaqiong’s guarantee, she felt calm.

However, Chen Sufen was different. She felt that Man Er had struck lucky and was so excited she wanted to bow to her mother-in-law in gratitude.

Owning a shop or land in a woman’s name was incredibly important. Even after marriage, she wouldn’t be mistreated by her husband’s family.

Liu Yueer dared not show dissatisfaction, fearing that if her mother-in-law canceled her position as a clerk at Taohua Dessert, it’d be even worse.

"Second daughter-in-law, keep your little schemes to yourself around me. If you do well, the family business will offer you shares in the future. If not, I’ll let you split from the family and do whatever with Dashu," said Tong Huaqiong. "After all, haven’t you always encouraged Dashu to split from the family?"

Liu Yueer, terrified, repeatedly begged for mercy, saying, "Mother, that’s not what I meant... I’m already satisfied being able to work at Taohua Dessert... I don’t want to split from the family, I want to show filial piety to you."

She used to mention splitting from the family because the Silver needed for Gu Jingzhe’s studies was too much.

Now, with her mother-in-law’s excellent cake-making skills, the first shop about to open, even if the family assets were split with the second family, she wouldn’t want it.

In just a few days of doing business, her mother-in-law had already saved up one hundred taels of Silver to buy the shop.

There’s a long future ahead, with plenty of opportunities for the second family to benefit. If she separates now, Taohua Dessert will have no connection to the second family anymore.

"Don’t just say it, do it. Practice your smile. Don’t embarrass me once the shop opens."

Tong Huaqiong tossed a pair of chopsticks to Liu Yueer, who accepted them and obediently went to practice her smiling service.

For someone like Liu Yueer, quick-witted and active in her thoughts, she needed a good shake-up every few days.

Tong Huaqiong had to constantly keep her in check.

She couldn’t just discipline her; she needed to offer some incentives.

Commonly known as the stick and date approach.