The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 344: Niece’s Plea for Help

Tong Huaqiong had no psychological burden in driving away her brother, sister-in-law, and Tong Pandi’s parents-in-law.

Their arrival reminded her that it was possible Tong Fusheng and Tong Zhijie might use her title of Lady to flaunt and swindle outside.

No, she must take precautions and nip this possibility in the bud.

So, Tong Huaqiong had Jingzhe visit the village chief of Yan Guan Town to express that Tong Huaqiong had no relation with the Tong family or the Wu family from Black Dragon Pond. The village chief immediately understood Tong Huaqiong’s intention.

He was pleased that Tong Huaqiong was cutting ties with the Wu family from Black Dragon Pond, as it saved him from being pressured by Wu Ren, the village chief of Black Dragon Pond, using Tong Huaqiong’s name.

Thus, when County Magistrate Liu gathered the village chiefs in the county, the village chief of Yan Guan Town mentioned in front of many that the Lady did not wish to have any ties with the Wu family, and he emphasized the hope that Tong family members would be restrained.

This enraged Wu Ren, who cursed Tong Fusheng upon returning home.

You have to admit, it’s a good thing Tong Huaqiong declared her stance of cutting ties because Tong Fusheng and Tong Zhijie were already secretly flaunting her name as Lady outside. A wealthy household from Black Dragon Pond wanted to do business with Tong Huaqiong through them and had already sent gifts to Tong Fusheng.

Upon hearing the news of the cut-off, the gifts were not accepted, and instead, it was widely announced in Black Dragon Pond about the separation between Tong Huaqiong and the Tong family.

In no time, winter arrived.

Winters in the Yan Guan Town area were still very cold, and in Tong Dajiao’s memory, it often snowed heavily in winter.

The expansion of the new house and courtyard had long been completed.

Tong Huaqiong took the opportunity to move into the new room.

She was afraid of the cold and didn’t want to suffer hardship. Even in this era without heating, she wanted to make herself more comfortable within the existing conditions.

The new room was fully insulated, with the roof layered with tiles and thatch, the walls thickened with stone, and an earth dragon installed inside.

Once the earth dragon was lit, the whole room became warm and cozy.

Tong Huaqiong didn’t hold a housewarming, firstly because it was just an expansion based on the original courtyard, and secondly, she wasn’t sure how many people would take the opportunity to climb connections if she did.

After she moved into the new house, Manager He, Mrs. Hong, and Boss Qian also moved to Qinghe Bay one after another.

Of course, after the pastry shop in the prefectural city started up, Manager He surveyed and found a suitable manager, and he still came to Yan Guan Town to train Taohua.

The He family and Qian family were new households in Qinghe Bay, so naturally, they tried to build good relationships with the original Qinghe Bay people, thus jointly organizing a housewarming banquet.

Without accepting any gift money, they invited the villagers to eat and drink for a day.

With nothing much to do in winter, Tong Huaqiong sat in her warm room looking at account books, while Mrs. Hong and Chen Sufen embroidered beside her.

Gu Xiaocao’s father, Gu Guangkui, came to visit.

Gu Guangkui told Tong Huaqiong that he had taken a job these days making furniture at Wu Ren’s house, the village chief from Black Dragon Pond. Tong Huaqiong’s niece, Tong Pandi, married into this family and was about to give birth. Upon learning he was a carpenter from Qinghe Bay, she asked him to pass on a request for Tong Huaqiong to visit.

Tong Huaqiong frowned.

She had refused goodwill from the Wu family and severed ties with the Tong family, so she didn’t see what this niece married into the village chief’s family wanted from her.

Moreover, she wasn’t that close to this niece. If their relationship was good, Tong Pandi should have visited her during her time at the Gu family, yet she never did, not even during festivals.

Their relationship wasn’t even as good as that with her stepdaughter, Gu Baishuang.

Tong Huaqiong was wary that Tong Pandi might try to link her up with her in-laws as she was pregnant.

Tong Huaqiong asked, "How is Tong Pandi doing at the Wu family?"

"How should I say it," Gu Guangkui thought for a moment and truthfully replied, "She has a poor relationship with her parents-in-law and also her husband."

"A poor relationship?" Tong Huaqiong thought for a moment and said, "How so, are her parents-in-law and husband treating her harshly?"

In Tong Dajiao’s memory, Tong Pandi from her past life was timid and honest, shaped by Tong Fusheng and Mrs. Wang into a punching bag for Tong Zhijie. She had a hard time at her in-laws, with her mother-in-law and husband both disliking and mistreating her.

Gu Guangkui’s mouth twitched, thinking to himself that indeed her in-laws and husband weren’t good, but Tong Pandi didn’t suffer much.

Tong Pandi and Tong Huaqiong were truly a pair of close aunt and niece, neither being easy to deal with.

When her mother-in-law scolded her, she countered; when her father-in-law reprimanded her, she cursed him back.

Recently when her husband wanted to hit her, she got a knife in the middle of the night intending to chop him up.

Gu Guangkui recounted to Tong Huaqiong the daily interactions between Tong Pandi and her in-laws and husband.

Tong Huaqiong became intrigued.

This was entirely different from the Tong Pandi in Tong Dajiao’s memory.

"Big Sister Tong, when I was about to leave today, your niece quietly asked me to tell you to save her life. Indeed, for women, childbirth is like stepping into the ghost gates. Tong family members aren’t welcome at the Wu household, and when she goes into labor, I suppose her mother can’t be there to accompany her. Now that you are a Lady, if you go to accompany her, the Wu family won’t have anything to say."

Upon hearing this, Tong Huaqiong suddenly thought of how in the past life, Tong Pandi’s little daughter was drowned by her in-laws.

Tong Dajiao even went to the Wu household and cursed them out.

But what happened to Tong Pandi afterward wasn’t in Tong Dajiao’s memory anymore, possibly because after Jingzhe made steady progress later, Tong Dajiao followed her son to the Capital. A married niece like Tong Pandi couldn’t have traveled with them, and so gradually they lost contact.

After Gu Guangkui left, Chen Sufen put down her embroidery needle and asked, "Was Uncle Guangkui talking about Sister Pandi just now?"

She found it hard to believe.

She once followed Tong Huaqiong to work for the Tong family, and when the married Tong Pandi visited her maternal home, this cousin left an impression of being incredibly weak.

Tong Huaqiong said, "When a person is pushed to the edge, there’s nothing impossible."

Mrs. Hong said, "Sister Tong, go then. Sufen is pregnant and it’s not convenient for her to go out, I’ll accompany you. Your niece asked you to save her life, it sounds quite dire."

Tong Huaqiong closed the account book and said, "Alright, we’ll go tomorrow."

Since she was asked to save a life, Tong Huaqiong didn’t dare delay and planned to head there the next day.

Early the next morning, the sky was gloomy, and it seemed like snow was about to fall.

Mrs. Hong murmured to herself, "The snow is arriving quite early this year."

Tong Huaqiong looked up at the sky, hoping the snow wouldn’t fall too early, as it would make the mountain paths to Black Dragon Pond muddy and difficult to traverse.

Originally, Gu Dahuan was supposed to accompany them, but the sow in the pigsty was expected to give birth in the next few days, so Tong Huaqiong had Gu Dahuan stay home to watch over it.

She was worried about the sow farrowing without Gu Dahuan present, which might lead to problems.

Just in time, the private school was on a day’s break, so Tong Huaqiong had Su Chengmin drive the carriage to accompany them.

With his leg healed, Su Chengmin, thanks to his military-honed physique, was a very competent worker.

Aside from teaching, he didn’t idle after class, constantly busy with household chores and tasks around the pigsty.

Su Chengmin drove the carriage swiftly.

At Tong Huaqiong’s request, they first went to Yan Guan Town to find a midwife.

Tong Huaqiong didn’t trust the midwife hired by the Wu family.

Initially, Midwife Cai was reluctant to go due to the distance to Black Dragon Pond, but after Tong Huaqiong slipped her two taels of silver, she boarded the carriage with a cheerful smile.

To save time, after leaving Qinghe Bay, Su Chengmin took a shortcut through the mountain paths. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

As the mountain roads were rugged, Tong Huaqiong and Mrs. Hong wrapped themselves tightly in their coats as they sat inside the carriage.

Tong Huaqiong was full of memories from Tong Dajiao, recalling that Tong Pandi had given birth in the winter, initially said to have delivered a stillborn. Tong Pandi felt particularly guilty about it, starting to work without taking postpartum rest.

After the postpartum period, when urged by her in-laws to bear a son, she accidentally revealed that it wasn’t a stillborn after all, but rather a baby girl who had been drowned by her in-laws.

Tong Huaqiong had every reason to believe that if she didn’t make it in time, Tong Pandi’s child wouldn’t survive.