The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 181: Confronting Brother and Sister-in-Law
Tong Fusheng opened the door to the wood storage room.
The creak redirected everyone’s attention.
Tong Huaqiong’s mouth twitched; she knew this cheap older brother had always fancied himself a scholar, paying the most attention to his eating and dressing.
Now, after a night in the wood storage room, his clothes were all wrinkled.
He was no longer the meticulous man he used to be.
"Dad, you’re up."
Tong Zhaodi, as if she were at home, picked up a washbasin in the courtyard to fetch water for Tong Fusheng to wash his face.
Tong Fusheng nodded, content to wait for his daughter’s attendance.
When he saw Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua, along with other women, standing under the veranda, and Gu Dashu and Gu Dahuan busy in the kitchen, a feeling of discontent arose within him.
The urge to reprimand Gu Taohua grew stronger.
"Niece, I just heard you in the room talking about marrying or not marrying and buying or not buying a husband. Is this really something you should be saying? A young girl like you should not have men and marriage hanging on your lips all day. Do you even know what shame is?" Tong Fusheng entered the courtyard, pulled a chair over, sat down, and crossed his legs as he began to posture.
Gu Taohua rolled her eyes, which in Tong Fusheng’s view was outright defiance.
"Sister, it’s not just me saying it, but our niece is becoming more and more unruly. A young lady should be gentle and considerate, not so sharp-tongued and assertive. At home, you let her have her way, but what about when she’s married? Without a father now, as an uncle, it’s up to me to teach her how to speak properly."
Tong Huaqiong was displeased with this. Damn it, picking faults with Gu Taohua first thing in the morning.
Accommodating them for a night was already generous—did they want to take over?
Tong Fusheng still thought he could call the shots in the Gu family like before.
"What did Taohua say that was wrong? Let me ask you, how did I end up being married into the Gu family to an old widower? It was because you sold me off. It’s no wonder Taohua says you’ll sell Zhaodi next; you have a history. You sell your sister and then your daughter, we’re just your money trees, and you still dare to lecture Taohua. Disgusting." Tong Huaqiong said with a huff.
If she didn’t say it, Tong Fusheng might still think he could gain some advantage from her.
Tong Fusheng was furious.
His father had received twenty taels of silver from the Gu family to have Tong Huaqiong marry into the Gu family, and that silver had eventually been used for his education.
This was a fact.
But a sister shouldn’t accuse him of selling his sister.
In any family, aren’t sisters supposed to support their brothers?
If he had passed the exams, wouldn’t he have supported his sisters? It wasn’t his fault he hadn’t succeeded.
Now his sister was growing more ill-tempered, even after becoming a grandmother in the Gu family, she was starting to dig up the past.
"Finding you a good marriage is considered selling you? Don’t think I don’t know—you still have your heart set on Min Han Niu? That Min Han Niu ran off with the rebel army and hasn’t been heard from since, probably eaten by wild dogs by now. If I hadn’t stopped you back then, you’d have died out there with him, and there wouldn’t be a peaceful life in the Gu family with children and a shop. You wouldn’t have even had a stable day."
Min Han Niu was a childhood sweetheart from the same village as Tong Dajiao. Tong Fusheng brought it up because, firstly, Min Han Niu was Tong Dajiao’s great love and mentioning him would drive her insane, and secondly, it would shame Tong Dajiao to have ties with another man in front of her children.
Tong Huaqiong wasn’t buying it.
Even if someone accused her of rolling in the hay with Min Han Niu in front of her kids, her expression wouldn’t change.
Tong Huaqiong said, "So you broke up me and Han Niu, used the silver from marrying me off to the Gu family for your studies, and I should thank you? How shameless can you be? I didn’t hold it against you before because I was blind. Now that I’ve opened my eyes, don’t expect me to respect you."
"First thing in the morning, and you’re in my house talking shit. Do you think you’re royalty, that I’m giving you face? You, who studied for so many years and now are a grandfather but still just a child student, I say your studies are wasted. If you really knew some sense, you wouldn’t rely on your sister when young and daughter when old, a failed rural scholar still considers himself cultured and tries lecturing me."
Tong Huaqiong’s words were fierce and biting.
Tong Fusheng knew how sharp-tongued Tong Dajiao could be; her barbs were well-targeted at him, and it made him uncomfortable.
"You... you..." Tong Fusheng pointed at Tong Huaqiong, unable to articulate anything further.
Mrs. Wang saw her husband being taken down by Tong Huaqiong and wasn’t happy.
She stepped forward, taking a sister-in-law’s stance, and said, "Sister, your brother is just kindly guiding Taohua for the good of the niece. There’s no need for such sharp words. We haven’t stopped feeling aggrieved since coming here from yesterday. If we have offended you in any way, please let us know early."
If not for the idea of having her children work in Tong Huaqiong’s shop, Mrs. Wang would have started scolding.
Tong Huaqiong gave her no leeway, saying to Mrs. Wang, "Was he really kindly guiding Taohua? Not just him, but your whole family—why are you here? Isn’t it to scrounge things from us? Let me tell you, you won’t carry off a single straw from my home."
"You’re suffering because you brought it on yourselves, leaving Black Dragon Village to come here. If you think I’m still the pushover I used to be, giving your family everything good, supporting you with money, and raising Zhi Jie for you, then you’re mistaken."
"I was blind before, but now that my eyes have been opened, I won’t let you take advantage and bully us. It’s already generous enough letting the four of you stay a night. Now pack up and leave."
Tong Huaqiong decided not to put up with it anymore.
Send this family away while the chance arose.
Avoid spoiling the mood for breakfast.
Tong Fusheng stood up in anger and said, "Is this how a sister should act? I’m your brother, and you dare disrespect me? Your wings have hardened just because you opened up a shop. Let’s see how far you can go without family support."
"Fine, we’ll leave."
Tong Huaqiong retorted, "The only reason I couldn’t go far before was because you dragged me down. You better leave before you make me sick."
Tong Fusheng trembled with rage, saying he was leaving but staying put.
He hadn’t gotten any silver yet; how could he leave?
But he couldn’t muster the face to speak softly to Tong Huaqiong either, so he took his anger out on Mrs. Wang, saying sideways, "I’ve slept in the wood storage room all night, and my clothes are wrinkled. Don’t you know to fetch me a fresh set?"
Inside, he seethed at Mrs. Wang’s previous goading words, thinking if she had comforted and advised him, things wouldn’t have escalated to this stalemate of leaving or staying.
Having lived with Tong Fusheng for so long, Mrs. Wang already knew the weight of his words by heart.
She swallowed her pride and smiled apologetically to Tong Huaqiong, saying, "Sister, we might have spoken harshly in our retort, upsetting you. You know your brother only has your and your niece’s best interests at heart. He just speaks harshly. As the saying goes, ’breaking bones are still tied by tendons.’ Don’t take those harsh words to heart."
Tong Huaqiong gave zero face to Mrs. Wang, retorting, "Let’s consider both bones and tendons severed today, and let’s stop interacting in the future."
Tong Fusheng heard Tong Huaqiong’s firm words and still dismissed it.
Wasn’t this what Tong Dajiao always said, while also sending things to her family?
Mrs. Wang was also riled, as even with her conciliatory attempts, Tong Huaqiong gave no room to de-escalate.
They say a widow’s disposition changes over time, and her sister-in-law was a living testament.
