The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 57: Man Er’s Heartache

Chen Sufen and Liu Yueer hurriedly rushed to the door upon hearing the commotion.

They saw Gu Dahuan driving a horse-drawn carriage, with Gu Dashu and Gu Jingzhe pulling a flat cart where a lavishly dressed young man and a pig were lying.

Confused, Liu Yueer asked, "Where are Mom and Sister?"

The carriage stopped, and Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua helped Lu Zhaozhao down from the carriage.

Chen Sufen, unable to contain her emotions, was both surprised and happy to see Gu Dahuan.

"Dear, why have you come home?" Chen Sufen’s tears of excitement rolled down.

Tong Huaqiong briefly introduced the Lu siblings to Chen Sufen and Liu Yueer, while Gu Dashu and Gu Jingzhe led Lu Zhaoyang into the yard.

Once the flat cart was stable, Gu Jingzhe and Gu Taohua began unloading the supplies purchased.

Tong Huaqiong felt like something was missing from this homecoming.

Ah yes, whenever they came home before, Man Er would rush over happily shouting for grandma; today, no one did, which she found quite unusual.

Just as she was about to ask where Man Er was, she saw the girl squatting by the pigsty, crying into the trough.

"What’s wrong with Man Er?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

Chen Sufen pursed her lips and smiled, "She was sad this morning when she woke up and didn’t see the little pig. We told her it would be back by evening, but she didn’t believe us. She’s been keeping watch by the pen all day."

Little Man Er’s small body squatted by the pigsty, her tiny shoulders trembling.

Tong Huaqiong’s heart ached for the little girl,

Yet Man Er didn’t turn around despite hearing Tong Huaqiong’s return.

Today was supposed to be a joyful day: her mother had made a new skirt out of some floral fabric given by her grandmother, and she planned to show off to her little friend Big Ya when they went to chop pig grass.

Big Ya always doubted that her grandmother had changed for the better and didn’t believe that she gave her new floral fabric. Man Er wanted to prove to Big Ya that her grandma really had changed and cared for her deeply.

She carried a small basket to the pigsty and discovered the little pig was gone.

Gu Yaozu had told her that he saw his father and third uncle tie the little pig up on a cart in the morning, likely to be sold or slaughtered for meat.

Man Er was terrified.

Her second and third uncles were fully capable of selling or slaughtering her little pig.

What Yaozu said next utterly shattered little Man Er.

"Grandma knew about it too. When the pig was tied up, she even said to take it to Pingchuan County to have its eggs cut off..."

Man Er was already subconsciously afraid that Tong Huaqiong’s recent change was just temporary, and any day she might revert to cruel Tong Dajiao. Yaozu’s words confirmed her fears.

What difference was there between the way grandma treated the little pig now and how she used to treat her?

They were going to cut off the pig’s eggs, after all.

Oh no, oh no!

The bad grandma of the past was back.

So Man Er no longer had the heart to boast about her outfit to Big Ya. Regardless of how Chen Sufen tried to explain that the family’s little pig wouldn’t be harmed and grandma wouldn’t change back to her old ways, Man Er just didn’t believe it.

She squatted by the pen and cried all day.

Chen Sufen couldn’t persuade her otherwise.

Tong Huaqiong called out, "Man Er, your little pig is here."

Upon hearing Tong Huaqiong’s voice, Man Er didn’t dare to turn around, afraid that she would once again face the bad grandma of the past.

Look at how frightened the child is!

Tong Huaqiong left the Lu siblings and walked over to the pigsty, taking Man Er’s hand gently. "Man Er, Grandma is back," she said warmly.

Tong Huaqiong’s kind voice finally made Man Er turn her head reluctantly and throw herself into Tong Huaqiong’s arms, bursting into tears.

A whole day’s worth of worry and grievance poured out.

Goodness, her cries shook heaven and earth.

Man Er: "Grandma, did our family’s little pig get butchered by Second and Third Uncles? Wuuu wuuu wuuu...."

Tong Huaqiong: "If your uncles dared to butcher the pig, I’d butcher them! They took the little pig to Pingchuan for treatment."

Man Er: "Wuuu wuuu wuuu... Grandma, I was so afraid you’d become a bad grandma..."

Tong Huaqiong: "Grandma promised you, I’ll always be a good grandma. I guarantee I won’t turn bad."

Man Er: "Yaozu said Grandma had the pig’s eggs cut off... wuuu wuuu wuuu... Will the pig die?"

Tong Huaqiong: "..."

Indeed, the pig’s eggs were cut.

"Yaozu is talking nonsense. Why would I cut off a pig’s eggs for no reason? Yaozu, you scared Sister Man Er, watch me not cut off your eggs," said Tong Huaqiong.

Yaozu was eagerly running to find Man Er to tell her that the little pig was back when he heard his grandma threatening to cut his eggs off, causing him to clutch his crotch and not dare to move forward.

"Grandma, you’re not lying to me? The little pig really went to Pingchuan for treatment?" Man Er asked, then worriedly added, "What’s the pig sick with? Is it cured?"

Tong Huaqiong nodded, "Of course it’s true. The pig has been treated and returned home."

"Wuuu wuuu wuuu... Where is it..." Until Man Er saw the pig, her tears wouldn’t dry.

Tong Huaqiong regretted not telling Man Er beforehand when they took the pig away, seeing how worried she had been—probably with her heart broken all day, her little face crumpled from crying.

Tong Huaqiong shouted angrily at Gu Dashu and Gu Jingzhe: "Dashu and Jingzhe, you two bastards, bring Man Er’s pig back to the pen now."

Gu Dashu and Gu Jingzhe had been helping Lu Zhaoyang get off the flat cart.

Hearing Tong Huaqiong’s angry voice, they dared not disobey.

"Sorry, Mr. Lu," said Gu Jingzhe.

The two brothers put Lu Zhaoyang down and lifted the little pig, heading towards the pigsty.

Leaving Lu Zhaoyang utterly bewildered.

This further confirmed to him that at the Gu Family, pigs were valued more than people.

Man Er’s eyes lit up upon seeing the little pig.

"Grandma really didn’t lie to me, the little pig has come home." Man Er wiped her tears and reached out to touch the little pig’s head.

The little pig snorted twice, looking utterly dejected.

Well, who could stay excited after having their eggs removed?

In a past life, Tong Huaqiong had accompanied a classmate to neuter a cat. When the cat woke up, it was unhappy, and a neutered tomcat soon transformed from a delicate young cat into a greasy big couch potato uncle cat.

It’s likely this little pig will similarly turn into a big fatty pig someday soon.

Becoming a big fatty pig is good; that’s precisely the effect Tong Huaqiong wanted.

Gu Dashu and Gu Jingzhe carefully placed the pig in the pigsty.

Thankfully, the pigsty was kept clean with Chen Sufen and Man Er’s attentive care. Otherwise, Tong Huaqiong would have felt guilty for the cut between the pig’s hind legs.

To compensate for the pig losing its eggs, Tong Huaqiong instructed Gu Dashu to fetch fresh pig grass and Gu Jingzhe to mix in some wheat bran and corn.

"Mother, the castrating Master Tan said we can’t feed it now, only tomorrow morning." Gu Jingzhe remembered Master Tan’s medical advice.

Forgot about that.

Tong Huaqiong nodded and said, "Then feed it tomorrow morning."

"Man Er, the pig just got better, so it has to wait until tomorrow morning to be fed. You can’t give it anything today." Tong Huaqiong reminded Man Er, who had picked some grass.

Luckily, Man Er listened to Tong Huaqiong and kept the grass far away.

"Little pig, grow up quickly, hurry up and grow," Man Er said as she joyfully stroked the little pig that she’d once lost then found.

Tong Huaqiong thought that given Man Er’s affection for this pig, she’d likely end up following behind the butcher, crying, when it was finally time to slaughter it.

By the light of the wind lamp, Tong Huaqiong checked the pig’s wound between its back legs, finding it cleanly treated; only slightly red instead of anything worse.

"Did everything go smoothly when castrating the pig today?" Tong Huaqiong asked her sons.

"At first, Master Tan didn’t agree but it was third brother who persuaded him," replied Gu Dashu.

Tong Huaqiong nodded approvingly; Gu Jingzhe certainly had some skills.

"How much did it cost?" Tong Huaqiong grew serious.

The family wasn’t that well-off yet, spending two taels of silver to castrate a pig was a big deal. If her sons tried to shortchange her, she could quickly become the evil stepmother to both of them.