The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 216: The Opportunity Is Right Before Your Eyes
Tong Huaqiong guessed right.
Ever since Xu Yong was removed from the position of village head, he has indeed been unwilling to give up and always wanted to rebuild his influence in Qinghe Bay.
But he never found an opportunity.
Ever since Liu Tieshan became the village head, his prestige in the village has only grown.
Plus, given his close relationship with the Gu Family, everyone in the village wants to work through him to get into Taohua Dessert, which makes Liu Tieshan’s position as village head very secure.
Especially now, thanks to Widow Tong, Liu Tieshan has gained even more presence in the village by devising ways to appease the restless spirits in the barren land, bringing in Mr. Qian to build roads for the village, and delivering rice and flour to the elderly.
Now the whole village sings praises for Widow Tong and Liu Tieshan.
Trying to drag Liu Tieshan down was impossible.
Since it was impossible, he aimed higher.
Tong Huaqiong was the godmother of County Magistrate Liu’s son, so he had to find a bigger backer than County Magistrate Liu.
Whose backing is bigger than County Magistrate Liu’s? Naturally, it would be the Magistrate’s.
How could he catch the eye of the Magistrate? He couldn’t be as certain as Tong Huaqiong in forming such bonds.
He saw a glimpse of hope in Tong Huaqiong’s pesticide.
Since Tong Huaqiong was generous enough to distribute the pesticide, he could use this opportunity to secretly replicate it, not just to promote it in Qinghe Bay, but throughout the entire county city.
He wanted this year’s corn harvest in the entire county city to be bountiful.
Then he would be the top contributor and might even be awarded a plaque from above.
Once he surpassed Tong Huaqiong’s influence and aligned with the Magistrate, he would make Taohua Dessert shut down and even uproot the whole Gu Family from Qinghe Bay.
Xu Yong thought Tong Huaqiong was foolish not to seize such a good opportunity and instead gave the pesticide away for free to the villagers.
As for why Tong Huaqiong would give the pesticide for free, Xu Yong felt it was understandable.
Tong Dajiao had a long-standing bad reputation in the village, and this was her way of thoroughly reversing that image.
After all, she’s just a woman, with long hair but short sight.
With such thoughts, Xu Yong went to Xu Jin’s family.
On that day, Xu Zaohua happened to visit her maternal home.
Originally, Zheng Family wouldn’t have let Xu Zaohua come to Qinghe Bay, but Xu Zaohua threatened with her unborn child, saying that unless she visited her maternal home, she couldn’t maintain the pregnancy, so the Zheng Family reluctantly agreed and sent a group of servants to accompany her to Qinghe Bay.
Xu Zaohua intentionally passed by the Gu Family’s door, feeling a bit disappointed when she didn’t see Gu Jingzhe.
Tong Huaqiong, however, saw the commotion of Xu Zaohua through the door and couldn’t help but glance at her belly.
The precious cargo carrying the Zheng Family’s golden heir was in there.
Tong Huaqiong wasn’t afraid of Xu Zaohua, but she worried she might cause trouble for He Chao and his wife, so she sent Gu Dahuan to town to warn He Chao and Mrs. Hong not to come to Qinghe Bay these days to avoid any unpleasant encounters with Xu Zaohua.
She didn’t want her shopkeeper getting caught in Xu Zaohua’s schemes.
Xu Zaohua’s belly was just starting to show, barely noticeable unless one looked closely. She proudly displayed her belly around the village, naturally hearing all the praise for Tong Huaqiong’s charitable act.
Her eyes spun with a new idea; since Widow Tong gave away the pesticide for free, why couldn’t she use this opportunity to replicate it?
When Xu Zaohua returned home, she overheard Xu Yong discussing the replication of the pesticide with Xu Jin.
Her uncle had beaten her to it.
"... Uncle, since Tong Dajiao can make the pesticide, we can too," Xu Zaohua said as she sat down, holding her belly, to Xu Yong, "The Zheng Family has a vast network. Why don’t I take that pesticide and find someone to replicate it?"
The Zheng Family was in business, and Xu Zaohua intended to get involved after giving birth.
But her in-laws watched her closely, treating her well but not allowing her to get involved in business.
Xu Zaohua always wanted to prove herself in business to gain her in-laws’ approval.
But she never found the opportunity.
Now wasn’t this the perfect opportunity?
If she could find someone to create a pesticide against cob rot and aphids, not to mention the acclaim from above, the profits from each bottle would be immensely appealing.
Her in-laws weren’t foolish; they would definitely uphold her for the profit from the pesticide.
She would seize this chance to get involved in the Zheng Family business and secure control over the family’s finances.
From then on, her brother-in-law wouldn’t be a threat to her status.
With such thoughts, Xu Zaohua felt more and more that her decision to come to Qinghe Bay was absolutely correct.
Originally, Xu Yong was still a bit hesitant.
Who would want to share the credit? If the pesticide replication succeeded, the credit wouldn’t just belong to him.
Xu Zaohua noticed her uncle’s hesitation and said, "Uncle, do you think replicating the pesticide doesn’t require money? How much spare money do you have to make it? Moreover, can you find the right people to make it? I have silver, the Zheng Family has connections, the character Xu can’t be written without a stroke, I’m helping you."
Xu Jin also chimed in, "Brother, Zaohua is right. Using the Zheng Family’s silver and connections will speed up the process. Time waits for no one, if you go searching for people to make the pesticide yourself, by the time it’s ready, corn will be harvested, and how will we make a comeback in the village?"
Xu Yong thought about it and agreed it made sense.
Xu Zaohua added fuel to the fire, "Uncle, think about it, I’m the daughter of the Xu Family, Tong Dajiao is your enemy and therefore my enemy too. I don’t want to see her showing off in Qinghe Bay. Gu Jingzhe might help her flaunt more in the future, what do we have? Our offspring are poor students, we have no business acumen, we naturally have to find a way to suppress Tong Dajiao’s rise in the village. This is a great opportunity."
"We have to create a big name for ourselves. Isn’t Tong Dajiao making waves in Qinghe Bay? We’ll make waves in Pingchuan County and all of Ning City."
"My father-in-law is a scholar, he has respect from the County Magistrate, and the Magistrate treats him very courteously. By the time the pesticide is made, we can rely on my father-in-law’s connections, leverage the Magistrate’s influence to promote it across the county city. Once you grace the Magistrate’s presence, you could become not only the village head of Qinghe Bay but even the village chief of Yan Guan Town. Her backer might be County Magistrate Liu, but yours would be the Magistrate. When the time comes, you could handle Tong Dajiao however you like. County Magistrate Liu would never go against the Magistrate for a distant godmother."
It is true that Xu Zaohua’s suggestion was tempting to Xu Yong.
Exactly, he only thought about spreading the pesticide around Ning City but hadn’t thought about how to promote it.
How could he reach the Magistrate?
How could the Magistrate trust him?
If the Zheng Family’s connections were exploited, everything would be simple.
Since the Zheng Family had money and connections, why not use them?
"Alright, let’s go with Zaohua’s plan." Xu Yong laughed, then after thinking for a moment, he said to Xu Zaohua, "Zaohua, you said one thing right; the word ’Xu’ cannot be written without a stroke. Although you are now the Zheng Family’s daughter-in-law, but you still have a brother-in-law in the Zheng Family, if you want to stand firm in the Zheng Family, you can’t do it without support from your maiden family. Now, the Zheng Family doesn’t acknowledge us, the Xu Family, but if I get close to the Magistrate and become the village chief of Yan Guan Town, your in-laws will see the Xu Family as family, and you’ll have your backbone."
Though it sounded heartfelt, it was a hidden warning.
He meant that Xu Zaohua’s failure to secure a foothold in the Zheng Family was due to inadequate support from her family, and now they’re in the same boat. If she used the Zheng Family resources to elevate him, he would bring the Xu Family along to support her.
Xu Zaohua raised her eyelids and replied demurely, "Uncle is right."
But internally, she sneered with disdain.
What airs are you putting up, a displaced village head, towards a young mistress of the Zheng Family?
Once the pesticide is made, the credit would naturally be hers.
