The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 369: As Expected, There Is a Request
"That’s right, it was me who arranged the marriage."
Nie Mingyuan’s eyes lit up.
Tong Huaqiong took another sip of tea and slowly said, "The marriage between the Huang and Lu Families can’t entirely be credited to me as the matchmaker; after all, it was destiny."
Nie Mingyuan saw that Tong Huaqiong wasn’t averse to talking about this matter, and said, "Although the Huang and Lu Families are both merchants, not all merchants are the same. The Lu Family is an Imperial Merchant, and their willingness to marry into the Huang Family really surprised me. Mother-in-law, how did you come to know the Lu Family? I heard Mr. Lu is quite hard to get along with."
Tong Huaqiong replied, "I went to the city to open a shop. The Lu Family came to my shop to buy pastries, and Mr. Lu said my pastries were delicious, so that’s how we got acquainted."
Nie Mingyuan found it incredible.
If it were that easy to befriend the Lu Family, wouldn’t all the merchants in Ning City be able to do so?
But it didn’t seem like his mother-in-law was lying.
Nie Mingyuan was a bit envious of his mother-in-law’s luck.
Tong Huaqiong asked in return, "Son-in-law, you keep mentioning the Lu Family. Do you perhaps have something you wish to ask of the Lu Family?"
Nie Mingyuan was inwardly delighted; he had been waiting for this opportunity.
"Mother-in-law, I’ll be frank with you. Mr. Lu is very capable; he has large merchant ships and has opened trade routes to the South Seas, where porcelain is reportedly in high demand. Taking a voyage can easily earn thousands of silver. I happen to be in the porcelain business and have always wanted to connect with Mr. Lu. However, as a small merchant, he tends to overlook me. I was hoping, given Mr. Lu’s high regard for you, if you could help introduce me to him?" Nie Mingyuan said.
As Tong Huaqiong had guessed, Nie Mingyuan’s real purpose for visiting her during the New Year was to latch onto the Lu Family.
Tong Huaqiong pondered, wanting to refuse outright, but was held back by obligations to Gu Baishuang.
After all, Gu Baishuang had no qualms with the Gu Family.
Seeing Tong Huaqiong remain silent, Nie Mingyuan frequently glanced at Gu Baishuang, hoping for support.
Gu Baishuang also wanted Tong Huaqiong to make the connection. Now that her stepmother had changed for the better and her husband was willing to engage more with the Gu family, Gu Baishuang was pleased. She hoped that family tensions would dissolve, and everyone could mingle happily as relatives.
Gu Baishuang, who had remained silent, said, "You’re making it difficult for mother by blatantly forcing her to help connect you, as it costs her a favor."
Tong Huaqiong realized that Gu Baishuang was in cahoots with Nie Mingyuan.
Nie Mingyuan laughed in response to Gu Baishuang’s words, "If mother-in-law can arrange the introduction, and if my porcelain starts selling in the South Seas on Mr. Lu’s ships, I’m willing to give two-tenths of the silver to mother-in-law. Of course, this is just my idea; it also depends on whether mother-in-law is willing, and if the connection cannot be made, I understand it’s just not meant to be, and I won’t blame anyone."
Nie Mingyuan assumed that Tong Huaqiong’s earlier silence was due to a lack of clarity about her potential profit share.
His mother-in-law, indeed, still loved a bargain.
Gu Baishuang asked, "Mother, what do you think?"
Tong Huaqiong looked at Gu Baishuang and suddenly smiled, "Baishuang, how much of your family’s business do you own?"
Gu Baishuang was taken aback, never having considered this question.
In reality, since marrying into the Nie Family, she had no worries about food and clothing and had never meddled in Nie Mingyuan’s business dealings.
Even though Nie Xiaofeng was so grown up, she had no idea about the details of the family business or how much silver the family possessed.
A woman marrying means joining her husband’s household; Nie Mingyuan’s belongings were hers. Is there any division between husband and wife?
Tong Huaqiong noticed the unnatural look on Nie Mingyuan’s face as Gu Baishuang was lost in thought.
In her previous life, Gu Baishuang only realized at Nie Mingyuan’s funeral that he had been guarding against her all along.
Not only had he been guarded against her, but also against the son she bore.
In her past life, he had completely used her up.
She married into the Nie family, cared for his elderly and young, arranged marriages for stepchildren, and tried her best to maintain good relations with her daughters-in-law. Even if she didn’t deserve credit, she deserved recognition for her efforts. Nie Mingyuan shouldn’t have plotted against her.
Everyone who interacted with her, from her daughter-in-law to her stepson, had a certain attitude towards her; even a few encounters would reveal it. She couldn’t believe Nie Mingyuan was ignorant of it.
He was fully aware but chose to turn a blind eye.
Or, further suggested, Nie Mingyuan allowed it deliberately.
Nie Mingyuan laughed and said, "Mother-in-law, you jest. What I have belongs to Xiaofeng’s mother as well; how could I possibly shortchange her?"
Tong Huaqiong nodded, saying, "Your mention of the Lu family reminded me of something I once heard while visiting the Lu Family. It’s about an influential merchant. This merchant’s mother was a second wife, and she lived in harmony with her husband for as long as he lived. One day, the father suddenly passed away, and before he died, he left all his assets to the son of his first wife. The merchant and his mother were left with nothing, eventually being ousted from their home at the funeral by their stepbrother and kin."
Nie Mingyuan and Gu Baishuang’s faces changed dramatically upon hearing this.
Clearly, Nie Mingyuan had a guilty conscience.
Gu Baishuang’s two stepdaughters-in-law, Mrs. Su and Mrs. Zhang, exchanged looks.
If only their father-in-law was like the one in the story, their husbands, who worked with their father-in-law, would still get scolded for being worthless, while Xiaofeng did nothing but study and yet didn’t do well.
The father-in-law was considerably older than the stepmother, and they both feared that Gu Baishuang might influence Nie Mingyuan and that most of the family estate might eventually fall to Nie Xiaofeng.
They also feared that after the father-in-law’s death, they would have to rely on pleasing the stepmother to survive while she controlled the family assets.
The mere thought was distressing.
Tong Huaqiong laughed and said, "After hearing the story, I overthought it and asked a few more questions; there’s no need for concern, son-in-law."
Tong Huaqiong glanced at Gu Baishuang, knowing that this story echoed the end of Gu Baishuang’s past life.
Nie Mingyuan wiped his sweat and said, "Things like this happen in the world. It’s really inhumane..."
Tong Huaqiong responded, "Who would say otherwise?"
Even if just to instill some fear in Nie Mingyuan, this talk served its purpose well.
After such a discussion, Nie Mingyuan found it inappropriate to further ask Tong Huaqiong to make the introduction to the Lu Family.
As they gathered and drank tea, soon enough, Tong Pandie, with the help of Mrs. Hong and Gu Taohua, had put together a table full of dishes.
Except for Nie Xiaofeng, who was impressed by Su Chengmin’s skills and insisted on forming a bond with him, stating that he would forgo the local private school to study at Qinghe Bay’s school while learning martial arts from Su Chengmin.
Gu Baishuang dismissed him, saying it was nonsense since Qinghe Bay’s school was for young children and he didn’t belong there.
Nie Mingyuan was silent at the dinner table, still pondering how to get Tong Huaqiong to help him with the introduction.
No matter how much he thought, he couldn’t find a solution.
He couldn’t understand why Tong Huaqiong would share that particular story about the merchant.
Was it to rebuke him?
Impossible.
It wasn’t like Tong Huaqiong to favor her stepdaughter Gu Baishuang; even if he plotted against Gu Baishuang to death, she wouldn’t allow the Gu family to defend her.
After the meal, except for Nie Xiaofeng, who was reluctant to return, the other Nie Family members wanted to head back to the town soon.
"Big sister..."
As the Nie Family members bid farewell and prepared to get into the carriage, Chen Sufen hesitantly addressed Gu Baishuang.
Gu Baishuang asked in surprise, "What’s the matter?"
Chen Sufen whispered, "Big sister, could you come to my room for a moment? I have something to tell you."
Gu Baishuang followed Chen Sufen into the room.
Nie Mingyuan and the two daughters-in-law thought that Chen Sufen might have some grievance to voice to Gu Baishuang.
After all, raising an illegitimate child is frustrating; it’s normal to confide in one’s sister-in-law.
None of them suspected that Tong Huaqiong had asked Chen Sufen to call Gu Baishuang into the room.
