The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 154: Zao Hua Is to Marry Mr. Zheng

The onlooking villagers clicked their tongues.

Widow Tong is really not easy to deal with!

Tong Huaqiong, carrying her spoils of war, strode proudly along the village path.

The intention was to be intimidating. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

She wanted Yan Pozi, Xu Kun, Xu Yong, and others to have headaches, ideally fearing her like mice in front of a cat.

Xu Si brought it upon himself.

The silver the Xu Family owed her couldn’t just be written off simply because Xu Si was punished.

After Tong Huaqiong left with her things, Yan Pozi was carried home crying and cursing, while Xu Da went off to get a doctor for his mother.

Under the hot sun, after lying in the vehicle for half a day, Yan Pozi was hungry and thirsty.

"Go bring me a bowl of water and then make me a bowl of egg noodles, don’t forget a splash of sesame oil," Yan Pozi instructed Xu Da’s wife, her niece Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan, with a sullen face, handed a bowl of cold water to Yan Pozi.

Yan Pozi, in a foul mood, cursed out loud: "My back is all hurt, how can I hold the bowl and drink myself, aren’t you going to feed me?"

Xiao Yan replied coldly, "If I can’t serve you well, you can let your youngest son feed you instead."

The family’s silver and grain were compensated to Widow Tong, worsening their already poor condition.

Even the eggs laid by the hens in recent days were taken by Widow Tong.

As her husband went to seek a doctor, there was no extra money for medicine at home.

Given the Xu Family’s reputation now, who would be willing to lend them anything?

Xiao Yan resented Tong Huaqiong’s cruelty and also blamed her mother-in-law for indulging the younger brother-in-law that caused this trouble.

"You heartless person, is it too much to ask you to bring me a bowl of water?" Yan Pozi, hearing her daughter-in-law mention Xu Si, couldn’t help but cry again, throwing a bowl of water onto her daughter-in-law.

Xiao Yan, extremely frustrated, angrily shouted, "Widow Tong was right, if you hadn’t let your younger son cause trouble, would our family be in this state? When the youngest son first bothered the village girls, you should have cut off his root, better being a eunuch than dying in Lingnan."

"Still thinking of eating egg noodles, if you want to eat, lay eggs yourself, I don’t have that ability."

Xiao Yan cried and cursed while packing her things, planning to return to her family home.

She didn’t want to take care of her mother-in-law and aunt anymore.

Yan Pozi was so angry that she fell back, her back injury worsened by the tugging pain, continuously wailing.

...

When Xu Jin returned home, Yu Shi eagerly brought up the marriage proposal between Fan Xiucai and Xu Zaohua to her husband.

Of course, she did not say it was suggested by Tong Huaqiong, but claimed she heard it from Matchmaker Wang while in town, talking about Fan Xiucai from Wild Bull Valley looking to propose.

After hearing this, Xu Jin waved it off, saying, "Zaohua’s marriage has already been arranged, no need to discuss Fan Xiucai."

Yu Shi thought Xu Jin was reluctant to give up on Gu Jingzhe, wanting instead to marry into Tong Dajiao’s family.

She voiced her opposition.

"That Tong Dajiao isn’t a good person. I previously thought she was just unreasonable, but based on Xu Si’s incident, she’s vicious, what kind of good son could such a vicious woman raise? Would Zaohua have a good life marrying Gu Jingzhe? Besides, Fan Xiucai is a scholar, Gu Jingzhe is just a child student, anyone with sense would pick the scholar as a son-in-law."

Xu Jin laughed, saying, "What do you know, woman. Are Gu Jingzhe and Fan Xiucai the only men in the world? I valued Gu Jingzhe before only because he stood out in Qinghe Bay, but looking beyond, Gu Jingzhe is just ordinary. I’ve arranged a good marriage for Zaohua in Pingchuan County; her marrying there means she can become the Eldest Young Madam and housekeeper."

Yu was speechless in astonishment.

It took her quite a while before she joyfully asked, "What kind of family is it?"

If it’s in Pingchuan County, it must be better than Qinghe Bay or even Yan Guan Town.

No girl from Qinghe Bay has married to Pingchuan County yet.

"It’s the Zheng Junren family in Pingchuan Country," Xu Jin said.

Yu didn’t know much about families in Pingchuan County, but Zheng Junren sounded familiar.

She finally remembered, last time when Matchmaker Wang came to propose for Zaohua, she mentioned Gu Family wanting to send Man Er to Zheng Family to bring good fortune; it seemed to be for the Eldest Young Master Zheng in Pingchuan County.

If that was the case, wouldn’t her Zaohua marry there to become a widow?

"Is it that Eldest Young Master on the verge of dying?" Yu Shi asked anxiously.

"What dying Eldest Young Master? You spend all day in Qinghe Bay, what do you know?" Xu Jin said, "There are only a few scholars in Pingchuan County. Zheng Junren has a big family, with land and shops, though the eldest son’s health isn’t good, it’s not to the extent of dying, and he has a younger son who is promising in school, already a child student. It’s a hard-to-find good match for Zaohua," Xu Jin said.

Xu Jin had a small kiln on the mountain, where he burnt charcoal, and through his dealings, connected with Zheng Family, who bought his charcoal every winter.

Normally, he couldn’t speak directly to Zheng Junren, maybe at most dealing with the procurement.

This time, when he went to Pingchuan County to fetch Xu Yong and Xu Kun, he bribed the procurement to meet Zheng Junren.

Through Zheng Junren, he managed to get Xu Kun and Xu Yong out, but Zheng Family also had demands; they wanted to be related by marriage.

"But last time, Matchmaker Wang said Eldest Young Master Zheng was on the verge of death," Yu Shi said, clutching her handkerchief.

Xu Jin interrupted Yu Shi, "Nonsense! Eldest Young Master Zheng isn’t in great health but it’s not to the extent of dying."

Yu Shi still felt uneasy and said, "Zheng Family has two sons, why not let the younger son marry our Zaohua?"

Xu Jin stared at Yu Shi, looking speechless.

His wife really had imagination.

"Do you think sons from Zheng Family are cabbages for us to pick from? Your husband is someone in Qinghe Bay, beyond Qinghe Bay who knows me? If Zheng Eldest Young Master wasn’t ill, he wouldn’t marry into our family."

Yu Shi, her mind in a whirl, said, "I’m just worried Zaohua marries over, and Eldest Young Master Zheng..."

Xu Jin laughed, saying, "That’s why we need to hurry with this, get Zaohua to marry then have a son first. With a son she has everything. Even if Eldest Young Master Zheng really doesn’t make it, Zaohua, being the Eldest Young Madam, who would dare disrespect her? As the eldest sister-in-law, she’d have authority. When Young Master Zheng, the younger son, succeeds in his studies, he wouldn’t dare act up in front of Zaohua. Think about it, our two sons neither excel in studies nor in craftsmanship, but going through Zheng Family’s connections, they could become shopkeepers or government officials, isn’t that better than village life?"

"Daughters everywhere sacrifice for family and brothers, even the Empress and Imperial Concubine in Shengjing entered the palace for their families, not thinking about long-lasting love with the emperor."

Her sons were Yu Shi’s weak spot.

With a few words, Xu Jin persuaded Yu Shi.

Of course, she cherished Zaohua, but only when there was no conflict with the interests of her sons. When her sons’ interests were at stake, sacrificing her daughter was inevitable.

Yu Shi dismissed Fan Xiucai to the realm of oblivion.

Xu Zaohua naturally did not want to marry into Zheng Family; she had heard about Gu Family wanting to send Man Er to Zheng Family for good fortune.

When a son needed good fortune, it implied serious illness.

Xu Zaohua had her sights set on Gu Jingzhe, besides Gu Jingzhe she wouldn’t consider marrying anyone else.

For Xu Jin and Yu Shi to have Xu Zaohua smoothly marry into Zheng Family, they directly confined her at home.