The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 42: Taohua Dessert

"What should we name it?"

Tong Huaqiong gathered the whole family for a brainstorming session.

"How about ’Fragrant Delight Pastries’?" the genius Gu Jingzhe asked in a literary manner.

Tong Huaqiong shook her head immediately: "No, it’s too literary."

Besides, the characters are too complicated, hard to read and pronounce.

"How about ’Old Gu Family Pastries’?"

Gu Dashi came up with a simple and straightforward name.

The stall selling sesame cakes in town is called ’Lao Wu Family,’ and when sesame cakes are mentioned, everyone knows it’s the Wu Family.

"It’s too blunt, and there are many people with the surname Gu in our village, so it doesn’t highlight us," Tong Huaqiong said.

That’s indeed the case.

"They’re called ’Crispy Food Garden,’ we might as well call ourselves ’Mai Xiang Garden,’" Liu Yueer said.

Since Mother-in-law already set up a stall outside Crispy Food Garden, might as well go all out and choose a name similar to Crispy Food Garden to confuse people.

"No, it sounds like a branch of Crispy Food Garden," Tong Huaqiong vetoed emphatically.

Tong Huaqiong was confident that she would open her own shop in the future and didn’t want others to think she was part of Crispy Food Garden.

With this not working and that not working, everyone fell back into deep thought, racking their brains for a name.

"How about ’Widow Tong’s Pastries’?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

She thought the name was straightforward and easy to pronounce, while also highlighting the stall owner’s characteristics.

More importantly, the word ’widow’ itself made many people let their imaginations run wild. If possible, Tong Huaqiong even wanted to add ’pretty’ in front of it. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"I don’t think it’s quite right."

Chen Sufen, who hadn’t spoken, voiced her objection.

"Oh, tell me, what’s wrong with it?" Tong Huaqiong asked gently.

"Well, Mother, I’ll just say it directly. It’s not that the name is bad, but think about it, what are pastries? They’re not like regular meals, but are bought by people with extra money to enjoy, bought for holidays and reunions for offerings and visiting relatives, for weddings and birthdays as symbols of good fortune. If our pastries have the word ’widow’...well, I just think it’s not appropriate."

Chen Sufen couldn’t articulate profound reasons, but she just felt ’widow’ would affect the sales of pastries.

"Big Sister-in-law means it’s unlucky for Mother?" Gu Dashi asked unhappily.

Most times, Gu Dashi is blindly filial and has PTSD with the word ’widow,’ fearing his sister-in-law would hurt his widow mother.

"No, no, Second Brother, you’ve misunderstood me. What I mean is...since we’re doing business, we have to consider the buyers, not just ourselves..." Chen Sufen explained nervously.

"Mother, I really didn’t mean to offend you," Chen Sufen looked at Tong Huaqiong.

"Dashi, why are you speaking to your sister-in-law like this? Aren’t we just discussing names? Why are you getting upset with your sister-in-law?" Tong Huaqiong reprimanded Gu Dashi.

She then said to Chen Sufen, "I think Sufen’s consideration is quite comprehensive."

It was unexpected that this quiet and honest daughter-in-law had such insight.

Tong Huaqiong was only thinking about a simple and straightforward name, forgetting the purposes for which people buy pastries.

Chen Sufen is right, during these times, people who buy pastries for casual consumption mostly have extra money, and they’re used for holidays, reunions, weddings, birthdays to add joy. Naming them Widow Green Bean Cake or Widow Date Cake does indeed make people uncomfortable.

Some people also buy pastries for their sick mothers, and serving a plate of pastries named after a widow might make the patients have negative associations.

Not that she had any issue with the widow identity, but naming pastries after a widow indeed has a big impact on the target audience.

"It’s my oversight, luckily Sufen reminded me."

"Dashi, you should also stop losing your temper at your sister-in-law. I’ve never thought being a widow was bad. Not having to serve a man makes me happy."

Tong Huaqiong tidied the stray hair on her forehead and asked everyone to continue thinking.

Gu Dashi: "..."

Who was the one who used to argue with villagers over land and water, jumping in anger at the slightest disagreement, claiming that being a widow made everyone look down on her?

"Taohua, do you have any thoughts?"

Everyone had spoken except Gu Taohua, so Tong Huaqiong asked her plump daughter.

In recent days, Gu Taohua had been following Tong Huaqiong around town, and even when home, she was urged to work by Tong Huaqiong, to the point that her face had noticeably thinned.

Really, despite being a bit plump, Gu Taohua is quite good-looking, with fair and rosy skin, big eyes, long black eyelashes, and a high straight nose, giving her a dignified appearance.

If she slimmed down, she’d be every bit a beauty.

Gu Taohua said, "I do have an idea, but I’m afraid that if I say it, Mother won’t agree with my name."

Tong Huaqiong said, "You haven’t even said it yet, how do you know I won’t agree? Just spit it out, don’t hold back."

Gu Taohua’s mouth twitched, and she tilted her face up, "How about we name it after me? Taohua Pastries."

Gu Jingzhe: "Not bad, Taohua Pastries sounds melodious, simple and easy to remember."

Gu Dashi: "If even our cultured Third Brother says so, then it must be fine."

Liu Yueer: "It definitely sounds better than ’Widow’ in my opinion."

Chen Sufen: "Taohua Pastries, the name is festive."

Before Tong Huaqiong could voice her opinion, Gu Dashi and others already supported Gu Taohua.

"Mother, how about this name?" Gu Taohua asked.

Tong Huaqiong’s eyes lit up, this name was indeed good, Taohua family pastries, the name alone exuded a fragrant aura.

If people ask where to buy the pastries, just say from the pastry shop of Miss Taohua in Qinghe Bay.

It would make people imagine a place by the stream with blooming peach blossoms, where a beautiful girl makes fragrant and sweet pastries.

So poetic, so picturesque.

"Taohua, this name is great," Tong Huaqiong exclaimed, slapping her thigh, wondering why she hadn’t thought of it initially.

Gu Taohua smiled.

"However, I think we can tweak it a bit. Instead of everyone calling it such-and-such pastries, why not call it Taohua Dessert?"

"Think about it, pastries are sweet, so calling it dessert isn’t wrong. Plus, we use more sugar in our pastries than Crispy Food Garden, making them sweeter, so let’s emphasize our specialty with the name ’dessert.’"

Tong Huaqiong felt that Taohua Pastries wasn’t distinctive enough, so she suggested Taohua Dessert instead.

After all, the concept of ’dessert’ didn’t exist in this world, she’d be the first to use it, seizing the first-mover advantage.

"I agree with Mother’s idea. Taohua Dessert sounds more elegantly refined than Taohua Pastries," Gu Jingzhe was the first to agree.

"Alright, let’s call it Taohua Dessert."

Gu Taohua smiled so broadly that her eyes were barely visible, no matter if it was called pastries or dessert, they were both named after her, Taohua.

When people mention Gu Taohua from Qinghe Bay, it would no longer be the big plump girl from Old Gu Family, but delicious pastries and sweet desserts.

Her image would be completely transformed.

Wouldn’t even Fan Xiucai look at her differently?

"Since both Mother and Third Brother say it’s good, it must be good," said Gu Dashi.

Chen Sufen nodded in agreement.

Liu Yueer wasn’t entirely pleased, not that she opposed the name Taohua Dessert itself, but she was thinking further ahead. If the Gu family’s pastries carried Taohua’s name and they eventually opened a shop, who would it belong to? Would it belong to Taohua?

Taohua, destined to be someone else’s wife, claiming ownership of her family’s pastry shop didn’t make sense.

"Yueer, do you agree?" Tong Huaqiong asked, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Yes, I agree, Taohua Dessert is nice, my sister-in-law’s name sounds pleasant too," Liu Yueer said insincerely.

"You can’t accuse me of favoritism. Think long-term: later, our family will surely expand beyond one pastry stall, with more shops to come. If the pastry stall can be named Taohua Dessert, the pig farm can be called Dashi Pig Farm," Tong Huaqiong said.

Gu Dashi: "..."