The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 211: Wasteland Turns to Blessed Land
"Village chief, I get scared passing by that wasteland at night, afraid that vengeful spirits will jump out."
One of the younger hires chickened out.
"What’s there to be scared of? As the saying goes, every debt has its debtor. You said it’s a vengeful spirit; naturally, it seeks its own enemy. Have you ever seen it go after anyone else all these years? Besides, haven’t the Liu Family been living here for so long without any incidents? On top of that, life’s been getting better and better for them. Jingzhe was the first child student in the village, and Aunt Dajiao opened the first shop in the village." Liu Tieshan spat on the ground and said, "It shows even spirits know who their enemies are and who’s a neighbor. They’re good neighbors too."
Tong Huaqiong twitched at the corner of her mouth.
"Those fears are just in your head. If you haven’t done anything bad, what’s there to fear about ghosts knocking on your door at midnight?"
"Some of you young folks don’t know what happened back then. People fleeing to our village were hacked to death before they even reached it. It wasn’t us who harmed them but the chaotic soldiers. Now Boss Qian from the Fengle Building wants to build a house back there and is willing to pay for rituals to appease those spirits. It’s good for both them and us. Why? Because those spirits can find peace and reincarnation, and we won’t have to worry about them jumping out anymore. If that’s the case, if we put in the effort, the spirits will definitely be grateful and bless us."
Liu Tieshan continued his persuasion.
Gu Dashi added, "Uncle Liu is right. Think about it. What grudges do we have against them for them to seek vengeance on us? If they wanted revenge on Qinghe Bay, it would’ve been a ghost town long ago. Let’s put ourselves in their shoes. They died unjustly by the soldiers and haven’t found peace all this time. If we give them a proper burial, they’d only be grateful, not cause us trouble. At least, I’m not afraid."
Liu Tieshan and Gu Dashi’s words significantly changed everyone’s mindset.
On careful thought, everyone says the wasteland is where the spirits rest, but all these years, no spirit has harmed anyone.
The fear is only in the mind.
The Liu Family has lived by the wasteland for years without any issues.
To say nothing else, take Aunt Dajiao for instance, she used to be quite the boss in the village. After her husband died, she became more spirited and opened a shop in town.
Thinking this way, an older hire said, "The village chief is right. We haven’t done anything bad, so what’s there to fear? Giving them a proper burial is a good thing. Even Boss Qian isn’t afraid and is building on it, so there must be no problem. Remember, Boss Qian is a businessman, and they care greatly about feng shui. He wouldn’t just build a house anywhere. He must’ve calculated that the wasteland is a lucky spot."
Tong Huaqiong: "..."
She hadn’t considered this angle.
The wisdom of the common folk indeed.
These words are perfectly logical. Even Tong Huaqiong couldn’t think of a better reason.
Sure enough, the workers, stirred by these words, started thinking the wasteland was a lucky spot.
Rolling up their sleeves, they were ready to follow Gu Dashi to dig up the remains.
Some even thought it was a good deed, believing that if those lost ones knew, they would be grateful to them.
"Alright, let’s go dig. Giving them a proper burial is the right thing to do."
"If Dashi isn’t afraid, what’s there for us to fear."
"Exactly, hasn’t every era had its deaths? Every household here might have unknown corpses buried beneath."
...
Once one person led the way, the others readily followed.
Seeing everyone relax, Tong Huaqiong added fuel to the fire, saying, "Since everyone is so righteous and caring, I won’t shortchange anyone. The pay is the same as working for my family."
"That wasteland is pretty big, no time like the present, let’s start digging by the locust tree today. Not to alarm anyone, but under the locust tree lie the remains of the Shopkeeper’s in-laws. The other remains aren’t urgent; we can dig them after everyone finishes with my cornfield."
Hearing it was the remains of Taohua Dessert’s Shopkeeper’s in-laws, there was nothing left to be afraid of.
Especially with the pay involved.
Everyone grabbed their tools and got ready to dig.
Tong Huaqiong thought Mrs. Hong must be eager for her parents’ remains to be laid to rest. It was best not to delay; the sooner they were buried, the sooner Mrs. Hong could find peace. So, she had Gu Dashi lead them to the slanted tree.
He Chao, taking a hoe, went along with Mrs. Hong.
Mrs. Hong wanted to see her parents’ remains brought to light with her own eyes.
Tong Huaqiong didn’t go along; she had to meet with another group at home.
After providing some guidance at the slanted tree, Liu Tieshan estimated that every household was making dinner. While everyone was home, it was the perfect time to inform them to go to Tong Huaqiong’s house to collect insect and fungus removal medicines.
Every year, as the corn ripened, every household faced pests and diseases leading to huge production cuts.
Corn, after all, was a major crop in Pingchuan County.
Even Lord County Magistrate fretted over the corn disease and pest issues.
Now as village chief, Liu Tieshan naturally wished his village to prosper. For the families in Qinghe Bay who lived off the land, a good harvest was of utmost importance.
Thus, promoting the corn fungus and pest removal medicine was his crucial task.
Now that Tong Huaqiong had solved this problem, Liu Tieshan was so overjoyed you’d think he wanted to set her on a pedestal.
Just like Liu Tieshan, which family in the village didn’t want their corn to harvest bountifully?
Initially, when they heard Tong Huaqiong had made such a medicine, they were skeptical.
But after witnessing the Gu Family’s sprayed field with no fungus on the corn and black bugs littering the ground, they began to believe.
Seeing as both the Liu Family and the Qin Family had started spraying pesticide following Gu Dashi, villagers were eager to get their hands on the medicine to spray their fields, fearing a delay would reduce its effectiveness and affect their yield.
Soon, a crowd gathered outside Tong Huaqiong’s house.
Since Tong Huaqiong went to town to open a shop, she rarely interacted with village folks, and everyone was busy with their fields, seldom visiting the Gu Family.
So when Tong Huaqiong appeared, many felt both familiar and unfamiliar with her.
Familiar because she was clearly Aunt Dajiao; unfamiliar because Tong Huaqiong carried a demeanor that seemed to transform Aunt Dajiao entirely. In their eyes, she was no longer the sharp-tongued shrew from before but someone poised and authoritative.
The clamoring crowd went silent as soon as they saw Tong Huaqiong step out of the courtyard.
They all just gazed at her up and down.
Someone sighed internally, asking if she really was the same Aunt Dajiao as before?
Previously, if Aunt Dajiao claimed she had concocted a pest-killing potion, nobody would’ve believed her. But now, she was the village’s mighty figure—capable of running a shop and earning money, even the unofficial godmother of Lord County Magistrate. People now looked up to Tong Huaqiong.
Once someone is respected, anything they say or do becomes credible.
"Aunt Dajiao."
"Aunt Tong."
"Dashi’s Mom."
Everyone greeted Tong Huaqiong enthusiastically, turning Gu Family’s doorstep into a lively market.
