The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 163: The Love-Fool Mind Didn’t Form

Gu Taohua felt she was played by Fan Tong.

With the lessons from Tong Huaqiong recently, Gu Taohua’s mind wasn’t empty anymore.

Under the pressure of doing business, she didn’t have time to spark with Fan Tong, and the signs of a love-struck mind hadn’t appeared yet.

At this moment, she and Fan Tong were still in an ambiguous state, so regarding Fan Tong climbing up to Miss Huang, she only felt anger with no self-pity.

Good for you, Fan Tong, turns out you’re a spider.

No need to spread your legs, you naturally use your many legs to step on two girls.

Gu Taohua thought she couldn’t go to confront Fan Tong; firstly, Fan Tong hadn’t clearly expressed his affection for her, secondly, if this got out, the ones facing humiliation would be herself and Taohua Dessert; thirdly, she felt it was really beneath her.

This time, she could only swallow the silent loss, and in the future, she would put away her feelings for Fan Tong and ignore him forever.

She cursed Fan Tong to fall flat on his face in the Huang Family.

"Taohua, come eat watermelon."

Tong Huaqiong, seeing Gu Taohua sitting listlessly on the chair, asked Gu Dashu to cut some watermelon to refresh her.

The watermelon was bought early in the morning, soaked in the well water.

A watermelon soaked all day was cool, with each bite sweet to the heart.

After eating the watermelon, Gu Taohua felt much better.

While tidying up to go home, Gu Taohua took the opportunity while her sister-in-law wasn’t around to tell Tong Huaqiong: "Mom, I won’t bother with Fan Tong anymore."

Tong Huaqiong asked: "You heard what Yu Qin said?"

Gu Taohua nodded, then threw the handkerchief Fan Tong gave her into the stove where the rice dumplings were being cooked, burning it.

There was even a poem on it, which was unbearably cheesy.

Gu Taohua finally got rid of her love-struck mind.

Tong Huaqiong was pleased with herself for completing another great task.

It seems the fates of a few bad bamboo were getting on the right path—the first was Jingzhe understanding the meaning of studying, followed by Taohua clearing her mind.

Tong Huaqiong said to Gu Taohua: "You are still young, being dazzled by Fan Tong is normal. Fortunately, his true nature was revealed, and it’s a good thing you see it clearly now."

Gu Taohua said: "Mom, from now on, I’ll focus all my attention on the shop. None of the men in this world are good, they all only like girls like Gu Xiaocao and Xu Zao Hua, white and slender."

Tong Huaqiong comforted Gu Taohua: "Nonsense, a man who truly likes you won’t care if you’re fat."

Gu Taohua raised her head and said: "Hmph, no matter what men, I won’t let them pick and choose. I don’t care if they mind me being fat."

Tong Huaqiong nodded approvingly.

It must be said that Gu Taohua, who had cleared herself of her love-struck mindset, had a more advanced mentality towards men than some girls from Tong Huaqiong’s past life era.

...

In the following days, the meat dumplings at Taohua Dessert once again became a popular festive product in Yan Guan Town.

Chen Sufen and Hu Family made dumplings from morning till night, almost unable to meet the demand.

Crispy Food Garden and some eateries also started selling meat dumplings.

But most people still believed Taohua Dessert’s had the best flavor.

Tong Huaqiong thought, with the same ingredients, the same cooking time, and the same taste, customers would only recognize Taohua Dessert.

It’s because Taohua Dessert was the first to launch the meat dumpling, leaving people with a preconceived impression.

Just like a certain brand of pork floss cake in future generations—a lot of shops make it just as well as a certain master, but people still prefer that master’s.

The day before the Dragon Boat Festival, Yu Qin came to the shop to pick up the pre-ordered pastries for her family’s festival feast.

"Aunt Tong, thanks to your reminder. My master sent someone to inquire at Wild Ox Valley, guess what? That Fan Xiucai indeed had one end tied to the village chief’s daughter, while still coveting our family’s Miss. This was all hidden. Now that it’s exposed, both the village chief and my master are livid."

"What a thing that Fan Xiucai turned out to be, looking proper but is such a liar. They say scholars are good at deception, and it’s true."

Yu Qin told Tong Huaqiong about Uncle Huang sending someone to investigate Fan Tong.

After speaking, she cursed Fan Tong to die miserably.

Uncle Huang didn’t seem like someone who would easily suffer losses, and Tong Huaqiong knew Fan Tong’s reputation was probably done for.

Thinking of marrying into a wealthy family now—dream on!

Gu Taohua found out that Fan Tong, while climbing onto the daughter of the village chief in Wild Ox Valley Village, still tried to cling to Miss Huang, and she felt even more contempt for Fan Tong.

She wished she could gouge her eyes out for once having liked such a person.

Luckily, she only accepted a handkerchief from him and gave him a few pastries without giving more.

Fan Tong was still unaware that Uncle Huang had already excluded him from the door of being a wealthy son-in-law.

He carried Dragon Boat Festival gifts and happily went to Uncle Huang’s door.

He was stopped by the guard.

"I’m here to deliver Dragon Boat Festival gifts to Uncle Huang," Fan Tong said to the guard disdainfully.

He had been in and out of the Fan Family several times, yet the guard dared to stop him.

Did he not know who he was?

The guard said coldly: "It’s you we are stopping. Our master said you are not allowed in anymore and won’t see you."

Fan Tong broke into a cold sweat, not knowing what went wrong.

Just days ago, Uncle Huang was still chatting with him about books and poetry, and now suddenly, he wasn’t allowed through the door.

To be honest, he held Uncle Huang in contempt, considering him a pretentious sophisticate. In his mind, someone like Uncle Huang, a nouveau riche, only managed to amass wealth through sheer luck; if he, a scholar, had money, he wouldn’t even dream of associating with such a background.

He had met Miss Huang at a shop for pen and ink, where she was choosing Xuan paper, and he helped pick out a stack.

All of Yan Guan Town knew Miss Huang was not only renowned for her talent but also for her managerial skills, though her appearance left something to be desired. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

He felt quite disappointed upon seeing Miss Huang.

Her features were plain, but her eyes were lively.

Fan Tong couldn’t help but internally compare Miss Huang to Gu Taohua, thinking Miss Huang fell short. Gu Taohua was plump, but she had fair skin, big eyes, a straight nose, and long, curly lashes. Slimmed down, she would surely be a great beauty.

Once Fan Tong gained Uncle Huang’s favor, he comforted himself with the thought that marrying a virtuous wife was the priority; once he gained status, wives would come easily.

"Is this Uncle Huang’s statement? I’ll only believe it if I hear it myself," Fan Tong said to the guard.

"Take that talk to your village chief in Wild Ox Valley; how did the village chief’s son-in-law end up at Huang’s door?"

Returning from Taohua Dessert, Yu Qin encountered Fan Tong at the door and couldn’t resist mocking him: "What riffraff come to leech off relations."

Fan Tong, hearing Yu Qin’s scolding, felt thunderstruck.

His secret, dangling the village chief’s daughter, was out!

In Fan Tong’s mind, the village chief’s daughter was his childhood sweetheart, affectionate and gentle.

He always thought, if only Miss Huang’s wealth, his childhood sweetheart’s gentleness, and Gu Taohua’s attractiveness could be combined into one person.

If Gu Taohua knew his thoughts, she would surely knock his brains out.

Fan Tong, scolded by Yu Qin, departed the Huang Family mansion with his gifts, walking dejectedly until he reached Rouge Alley.

He stopped at the entrance of Taohua Dessert, seeing Gu Taohua bustling inside the shop, looking vibrant.

Gu Taohua, busy drawing in customers, didn’t notice Fan Tong.

"Hey there, young man, come take a look inside the shop," Liu Qiaoyun, not recognizing Fan Tong, warmly greeted him.

Fan Tong, with a glint in his eye, walked into Taohua Dessert.