The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 217: Scheming for Pesticide

Xu Zaohua managed to visit her maternal home, intending to flaunt the prestige of being Young Madam Zheng in Qinghe Bay.

Her show did not go as planned because the villagers were busy spraying farm chemicals and had no time to notice her.

Xu Zaohua was initially angry, but when she thought of how those chemicals could help her secure her position in the Zheng Family, her displeasure vanished into thin air.

To ensure her plans succeeded, Xu Zaohua stayed at her maternal home for only two days before returning to the Zheng Family in Pingchuan County.

She did not trust anyone else to handle the farm chemicals.

She had to oversee it personally.

On the day Xu Zaohua returned to the Zheng Family, she took a detour past Tong Huaqiong’s door on purpose.

Along this route, she encountered Gu Jingzhe.

The town’s private school was on a two-day break, and Gu Jingzhe helped Gu Dahuan at home before taking Taohua Dessert’s donkey cart back to town early in the morning.

Xu Zaohua ordered the coachman to stop the carriage and lifted the curtain.

Gu Jingzhe’s face was still as outstanding as ever.

In the past, Xu Zaohua was infatuated with this face; now, she only wanted to destroy Gu Jingzhe.

Since she couldn’t have him, she didn’t want anyone else to, especially someone she had only met once, Lu Zhaozhao.

"Gu Jingzhe, I heard you resumed school?" Xu Zaohua’s voice had a slightly sarcastic tone.

Gu Jingzhe responded indifferently, "Yes, I resumed school."

Xu Zaohua was somewhat disappointed by Gu Jingzhe’s reaction.

Nowadays, Xu Zaohua was adorned with jewels and dressed in fine silk, expecting fluctuations in Gu Jingzhe’s gaze focused on her.

In reality, Gu Jingzhe’s gaze towards Xu Zaohua was as calm as the lake surface at dawn at the village entrance.

"Third brother, who are you talking to?"

Hearing Gu Jingzhe talking to someone, Gu Taohua stepped outside from the yard. Seeing Xu Zaohua sitting in the carriage adorned in silk and supporting her belly, she snorted.

"Oh, I wondered who it was, turns out it’s Eldest Young Madam Zheng. How do you have the leisure to pass by our door, flaunting? Then you’ve got the wrong idea; only you would marry Mr. Zheng." Gu Taohua’s words were full of sarcasm from the start.

"Since you’ve married, stop thinking about my third brother."

Already married into the Zheng Family, but still not giving up on the third brother?

Gu Taohua had disliked Xu Zaohua before and detested her even more after learning she had framed He Chao.

Hearing this, Xu Zaohua was furious, her belly heaving.

The nanny beside Xu Zaohua used to serve Mrs. Zheng.

Upon Gu Taohua’s appearance, the nanny found her familiar, and despite Gu Taohua being much thinner now, the nanny recalled she was from the Gu Family, initially proposed to marry Young Master Zheng.

She also remembered the widow mother from this family and her children causing a ruckus at the Zheng Family.

Wait, did that chubby girl imply that their young mistress once had feelings for the Gu Family boy?

The nanny’s expression changed.

Xu Zaohua, having been at the Zheng Family for several months, was adept at interpreting their expressions.

One glance, and she knew the nanny had a newfound opinion of her.

This nanny belonged to her mother-in-law; though she was ostensibly in Qinghe Bay to serve her, in some way, she was Xu Zaohua’s superior.

Xu Zaohua dared not act out in front of her.

"Gu Taohua, what nonsense are you spouting? Who’s thinking about your third brother? Your third brother should take a good look at himself, does he fit?"

Seeing the nanny’s displeased expression, Xu Zaohua felt a bit panicked, and her words lacked confidence.

Gu Jingzhe heard this, a look of exasperation crossed his face.

He wasn’t the one who needed self-awareness.

However, Gu Jingzhe didn’t argue, aware that Xu Zaohua, like his mother, was a widow, vulnerable to gossip, especially in a family like the Zheng’s, which valued a woman’s reputation.

Even if he didn’t like Xu Zaohua, he didn’t want to ruin her reputation over this.

Gu Taohua, however, did not relent, saying to Xu Zaohua, "You weren’t thinking about him? Yet before you got married, you cornered my third brother in an alley?"

Xu Zaohua couldn’t help but regret passing by the Gu Family.

Not only did she fail to show off, but she also got herself into trouble.

In her panic, she couldn’t bother to spar verbally with Gu Taohua and ordered the carriage towards the village road.

Noticing Nanny Cai’s displeasure, Xu Zaohua couldn’t help but explain.

"Nanny Cai, that chubby girl was talking nonsense. My uncle was the village head, and that Gu Family wanted to please my uncle by suggesting their youngest son marry me. My parents and I disapproved."

"That chubby girl is good at twisting facts."

Nanny Cai gave Xu Zaohua a meaningful look and said condescendingly, "Indeed, girls from the countryside can be quite unruly."

Xu Zaohua felt a sinking in her heart.

Was Nanny Cai referring to her or Gu Taohua?

She dared not ask.

She knew the entire Zheng Family looked down on her; if not for the child in her belly, she’d probably be in the Zheng Family temple by now, praying away her remaining years.

Although Nanny Cai looked down on her, she would eventually deal with her.

If she could expel Housekeeper He, she could certainly handle a Nanny Cai.

Caressing her belly, Xu Zaohua thought having a child was not enough; she needed to control the Zheng Family’s business.

Thus, uncovering the formula for the corn disinfectant and pesticide as soon as possible was crucial.

The carriage moved along the mountain path, the cornfield swayed with the wind, rustling softly.

Xu Zaohua observed the corn fields, noting that the corn in Qinghe Bay, sprayed with the chemicals, had regained its lush green hue, with tassels gracing the tips, promising an abundant harvest under the morning sun.

Conversely, the cornfields in the other villages told a different tale.

Corn cobs were speckled with powdery gray mildew spots, and the leaves were infested with numerous aphids.

It reminded her of what the cornfields looked like before.

If she could master the formula for Tong Dajiao’s disinfectant and pesticide, not only would her position as Young Madam Zheng solidify, but she would also gain significant recognition in Ning City.

Her father-in-law had mentioned that the Magistrate was an official from the capital sent to Ning City, someone even the Emperor regarded highly.

If she assisted the Magistrate in ensuring a bountiful corn harvest this autumn, and if the Magistrate mentioned her favorably upon returning to report to the capital, maybe the Emperor would grant her a noble title.

By then, even her parents-in-law might have to salute her.

Both Gu Jingzhe and Tong Dajiao would regret it by then.

The more Xu Zaohua thought, the happier she became.

Traveling to Pingchuan County required passing through Yan Guan Town.

"Isn’t that our master’s distant cousin’s Crispy Food Garden? Madam loves the hazelnut cake from there," said Nanny Cai.

Originally, Crispy Food Garden was located at a bustling intersection in Yan Guan Town, and the aroma of freshly baked pastries wafted in as soon as the Zheng Family’s carriage entered the town.

Nanny Cai took a deep breath, reminded of Ma Ming’s Crispy Food Garden, positioned exactly where the fragrance came from.

Since Mr. Zheng passed away, Mrs. Zheng had secluded herself at home, neither visiting guests nor going out, oblivious to everything happening among the relatives outside.

Mrs. Zheng wasn’t attuned to external affairs, and naturally, neither was Nanny Cai.

Moreover, Ma Ming felt humiliated by his ten-year-old shop, Crispy Food Garden, being outdone by the emerging popular Taohua Dessert, making him too embarrassed to tell kin about his loss in Yan Guan Town and the subsequent acquisition of Crispy Food Garden by Taohua Dessert.

As Xu Zaohua’s status in the Zheng Family remained unstable, she constantly tried to curry favor with her mother-in-law.

Spotting the opportunity to purchase her mother-in-law’s favored hazelnut cake from Crispy Food Garden, she naturally had to seize it for brownie points.

"Since Mother-in-law loves it, let’s go buy some."