The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 167: Mr. Zheng Is Gone

Liu Tieshan is the village chief and the "social broker" around Qinghe Bay. He knows the land situation well, so Tong Huaqiong wants to go through him for buying land.

Returning from the shop to Qinghe Bay, Tong Huaqiong goes to Liu Tieshan’s house.

After listening to Tong Huaqiong’s request to buy land, Liu Tieshan laughs.

"...You’re just in time; there are fifty acres of land at the foot of the West Mountain that are up for sale." Liu Tieshan tells Tong Huaqiong.

"Indeed, quite a coincidence. Brother Liu, whose land is it?" Tong Huaqiong asks.

Everyone knows that the fifty acres at the foot of the West Mountain near Qinghe Bay are fertile fields, yet they have never belonged to anyone in the village.

Every year, people come to cultivate and harvest the land, but those people never speak to the villagers.

It’s very mysterious.

Tong Huaqiong is afraid that the land might belong to bandits or some royal kin, and if she buys it, they might later deny it, and she’d fall into a trap.

Liu Tieshan says, "The owner of this land is a scholar who came from Moon Bay. He became an official, returned, and bought some land. Later, he committed a crime, and his family was confiscated, but this land was exempted as sacrificial land. His descendants were pardoned and could have returned to live a quiet life, but they were used to a life of luxury in the provincial city and didn’t want to return to the countryside. Because they were poor at managing the land, they decided to sell it."

Such matters are not uncommon in these times.

Tong Huaqiong thought back to her previous life when Lu Zhaozhao bought sacrificial land for the Gu Family around Qinghe Bay, thinking it would provide a fallback if Gu Jingzhe’s official career met with setbacks.

However, before that sacrificial land could be of use, Tong Dajiao’s family was wiped out.

Thinking of this, Tong Huaqiong asks Liu Tieshan, "How is this land being sold?"

Liu Tieshan says, "The family’s old servant also came from Moon Bay and has some friendship with me from childhood, so he asked me to help sell the land. If you want to buy it, you can get it for one hundred fifty taels of silver."

Tong Huaqiong calculates and finds that the price is indeed reasonable.

One must know that fertile fields are difficult to buy, and such opportunities are rare.

She trusts Liu Tieshan.

"Brother Liu, since I came to you, I trust you. Please take care of the land for me."

After saying this, Tong Huaqiong places two taels of silver in front of Liu Tieshan and says, "This is for your tea."

Liu Tieshan repeatedly waves his hand; if it weren’t for Tong Huaqiong, he wouldn’t even be the village chief.

It’s just a small effort, why take the silver?

Tong Huaqiong insists on giving it, which puts him in a difficult position.

He doesn’t know whether to accept it.

"Brother Liu, I know what you’re thinking. You always feel that me pushing you to become the village chief, but Brother Liu, think about it. Besides you, who else in our village can do this job? You becoming the village chief is the wish of the people in our village."

"So, Brother Liu, let’s interact as we should. If you always bear my kindness in mind, it will be unnatural for both of us, and our families will grow distant. To be honest, you are the great-uncle of my second daughter-in-law; I hope to maintain this family connection and not grow apart because of some gratitude or ungratitude."

Tong Huaqiong feels that if Liu Tieshan keeps treating her as a "benefactor," the interaction between their families will be unnatural, and sooner or later, the relationship will collapse.

And she needs to be united with the village chief to live in the village.

It’s better to express Liu Tieshan’s thoughts explicitly and let the families’ relationship become more natural.

Liu Tieshan is deeply moved by Tong Huaqiong’s frank words.

He indeed feels a bit unnatural with the Gu Family, always afraid of inadvertently offending the "benefactor," unlike his dealings with other villagers.

"Dashi’s wife, what you said is exactly what I was thinking. Alright then, our families will continue to interact as before." Liu Tieshan accepts the two taels of silver.

Liu Tieshan escorts Tong Huaqiong out and reveals an important piece of information to her.

"Dashi’s wife, you know the girl Zaohua, right? She married into the Zheng Family in Pingchuan County on the day before the Dragon Boat Festival. Her husband died last night, and today the messengers arrived at the Xu Family."

Xu Zaohua got married the day before the Dragon Boat Festival.

Due to the Xu Family’s downfall and because Xu Jin looked down on non-Xu family villagers, most non-Xu villagers did not attend the banquet or give gifts.

The Gu Family naturally followed suit, not to mention that Tong Huaqiong never had much interaction with Xu Jin, so not attending the banquet or giving gifts was normal.

Moreover, the Xu Family didn’t send her an invitation anyway.

Just a few days after the marriage, Mr. Zheng died of illness.

Tong Huaqiong isn’t surprised in the slightest.

Wasn’t Mr. Zheng’s death inevitable?

Recalling how Mr. Zheng had scalded Man Er all over in the previous life, Tong Huaqiong doesn’t feel any sympathy for him.

As for Xu Zaohua, she doesn’t sympathize with her either. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

In her view, it’s better for Xu Zaohua to be without a man than to stay with a mentally-disturbed man.

She could live comfortably as the Eldest Young Madam of the Xu Family, adopt a promising child from the clan, and find ways to maintain the family business; this life would be much better than having a husband.

It all depends on whether Xu Zaohua can see things this way.

However, Tong Huaqiong is still overly optimistic.

At that moment, Zheng Junren and Mrs. Zheng have already directed their full anger toward Xu Zaohua, blaming her for their son’s death instead of admitting their failure to provide a healthy body for him.

In their past life, they blamed Man Er this way.

Fueled by the resentment of having their son’s death blamed on them, they tortured Man Er relentlessly.

As Tong Huaqiong heads back from Liu Tieshan’s house, she just happens to pass by Xu Jin’s door.

The Xu Family door is closed, and faint cries can be heard from inside.

The Xu Family.

Xu Zaohua’s mother, Madam Yu, is holding a handkerchief and crying, her face full of tears.

She never expected that Young Master Zheng’s illness would be so severe, and just a few days after Xu Zaohua’s marriage, he would be gone.

The servant who came to report the death didn’t speak pleasantly; his words implied that it was Xu Zaohua who killed their elder young master.

Madam Yu, overwhelmed with anger, nearly collapses.

They haven’t even blamed the Zheng Family for hiding the truth yet.

Initially, the Zheng Family claimed that Young Master Zheng was recovering, giving Xu Jin and Madam Yu hope that at least their son-in-law could live until Xu Zaohua had children.

On the day Xu Zaohua got married, they found out that Young Master Zheng was bedridden, so much so that even the wedding ceremony had to be conducted by Young Master Zheng.

After learning this, they didn’t dare to argue with the Zheng Family, their only hope being that Xu Zaohua could bear a child.

Now, with Eldest Young Master Zheng’s death, all hopes are shattered.

"Oh, my poor daughter, widowed so young, how can she live this life?" Madam Yu cries.

"Life goes on as it should, adopt a child from the clan, and Zaohua can still be the eldest young madam of the Zheng Family." Xu Jin doesn’t seem worried, "Tong Dajiao lived on after losing her husband, so why can’t Zaohua? The Zheng Family is large and wealthy, living as a widow in the Zheng Family is better than most people’s lives."

Madam Yu cries and says, "You make it sound easy. Tong Dajiao didn’t have to wait on her in-laws, and was even served by her daughter-in-law, plus she had a grandson. How is our daughter the same? Our daughter is so young, should she live alone? Moreover, her parents-in-law are difficult to deal with. Haven’t you heard them saying that Zaohua killed her husband?"

"How is Zaohua supposed to live?"

Madam Yu feels distressed for Zaohua, knowing Zheng Junren and his wife will blame Zaohua for their son’s death.

"Why don’t we bring Zaohua back home, it’s not unheard of for widows to remarry." Madam Yu suggests to Xu Jin.

Xu Jin immediately refuses, saying, "You have to think about our two sons."

Madam Yu starts to sob.