The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 73: The Stepson’s Thoughts

Taohua Dessert has become the top trending pastry in Yan Guan Town.

Alongside, Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua have become the new generation of internet celebrities in Yan Guan Town.

Everyone who goes to the market in Yan Guan Town can’t wait to check in at the Taohua Dessert stall.

Tong Huaqiong joyfully thinks that Taohua Dessert can’t always be an open-air stall; it’s time to find a shop.

But unexpectedly, Crispy Food Garden hasn’t caused her any trouble.

However, she vaguely feels that the risk will come sooner or later. She has imagined many scenarios in her mind in which Crispy Food Garden deals with Taohua Dessert, and she has ways to tackle each scenario.

Since that troublesome shoe hasn’t dropped yet, she decided not to dwell on it and to focus on earning money steadily first.

Gu Dahuan has already resigned from the Lu Family and returned home. The Lu Family has ordered desserts from Taohua Dessert, agreeing to deliver every seven days, and this task falls to Gu Dahuan.

Tong Huaqiong clearly knows that this is the Lu Family repaying her for saving their lives—who eats large amounts of pastries every day?

When Gu Dahuan returned home, he also brought two boxes of books, ink, paper, and inkstones, specifically for Gu Jingzhe.

In this era, books are rare, and many are not in circulation. This is why even talented sons from humble backgrounds rarely succeed if they can’t study at places like Wanliu Academy, where children from wealthy families gather.

Tong Huaqiong knows that Lu Zhaoyang is indirectly persuading her not to let Gu Jingzhe be wasted.

Gu Jingzhe, fondly touching the books, once again decided to go to the city after the wheat harvest to both study and work as an accountant.

In addition to this, Gu Dahuan also brought home a cart full of piglets, both male and female, totaling eight.

These pigs are also Lu Zhaoyang’s gesture, saying it was a thank-you gift to the Gu Family.

The eight squealing piglets made Tong Huaqiong and the others gasp, but it also delighted Tong Huaqiong.

She originally wanted to raise pigs to develop the pork economy, and Lu Zhaoyang’s gift of pigs saved her a significant amount of money.

The little boars that were castrated at home have already transformed into sows, gaining weight like crazy. Every day, Tong Huaqiong eagerly sharpens her knives, craving the aroma of braised pork, braised ribs, and stewed pig’s feet without any off-putting smell...

Once the eight pigs entered the pen, Tong Huaqiong arranged for Gu Dahuan, Gu Dashu, and Gu Jingzhe, the three brothers, to take the pigs to Pingchuan for castration.

Due to the number of pigs and fearing mishaps on the road, Gu Jingzhe personally went to Pingchuan County to invite Master Tan to the house for castration.

Tong Huaqiong selected one sturdy male pig and one handsome female pig to keep for breeding. The remaining six pigs, regardless of gender, were deprived of their right to become pig parents under Master Tan’s excellent skills by the third day at home.

There was no other choice; for Tong Huaqiong’s pork business, these pigs had to be sacrificed.

Once Gu Dahuan returned home, the fieldwork fell mainly on him.

It wasn’t that Tong Huaqiong was biased; if they relied on Gu Dashu to shoulder the responsibility, all the family land would be ruined.

Tong Huaqiong still remembers how Gu Jingzhe discovered the different growing patterns on their wheat fields, so one leisurely evening, she sneaked into her secret space.

She opened her computer to search for information, and after a night of exploration, she roughly understood why their wheat leaves turned yellowish-green and withered at the tips.

It was likely due to nitrogen deficiency.

Nitrogen deficiency is a common issue in wheat field soil, even in the modern era where Tong Huaqiong lives.

Because it’s a common problem, solving it is not difficult; just apply nitrogen fertilizer.

In Tong Dajiao’s era of depending on the weather for food, nitrogen fertilizer was probably hard to come by, but Tong Huaqiong had her golden finger.

She got right to work, immediately ordering several bags of nitrogen fertilizer.

In an instant, nitrogen fertilizer appeared in the empty space of the room.

Soon, Man Er entered.

Tong Huaqiong hasn’t figured out the regularities of the space yet, but one thing makes her feel blessed by the heavens: she can enter the space with her eyes closed.

Once inside, if she wants Man Er to enter, then Man Er can enter; if she wants Gu Taohua to enter, then Gu Taohua can enter.

"Grandma, what do you want me to take this time?" Man Er asked, raising her little face to Tong Huaqiong.

Initially, the child was curious about the computer, speakers, and such things in the space, but after coming in often, the curiosity faded, and she went straight to work.

"Take these."

Tong Huaqiong pointed at the fertilizer on the ground, feeling a bit anxious about how Man Er could carry something so heavy.

Isn’t she exploiting child labor?

Gu Taohua has great strength and can carry two bags easily, but the crucial thing is that Gu Taohua can only restock and not carry goods.

Tong Huaqiong thought for a moment and began to prepare a basin and shovel, planning to scoop out the fertilizer into the basin and carry it out one basin at a time.

But before she could execute this plan, she turned around to see Man Er carrying the fertilizer bags out of the space.

Holding the shovel, she was petrified—what kind of golden finger could transform Man Er into a Popeye-like strongman?

She understood that this was the nature of the space, without any patterns.

In the Gu Family, the small-bodied Man Er could at most carry a plate of water or carry a bunch of pigweed, but in the space, she could lift twenty-pound fertilizer bags.

Once all the fertilizer in the space was shifted to the Gu Family, daylight began to break.

When Tong Huaqiong got up, the farming expert Gu Dahuan had already cleaned the courtyard at home and was ready to carry a hoe to the fields.

The brothers Gu Dashu and Gu Jingzhe also emerged from the house one after the other.

In the kitchen, Chen Sufen and Liu Yueer were busy making breakfast around the stove.

In the pig pen, nine pigs grunted in unison, while chickens fluttered in the chicken pen, with a few hens clucking after laying eggs.

People and animals thrive!

Great, the Gu Family farmhouse, under Tong Huaqiong’s leadership, finally reveals a scene of vitality and prosperity.

Tong Huaqiong felt a bit proud; if it were not for her, this bunch of bad bamboo following Tong Dajiao would have lived their lives blindly.

"Dahuan, let me ask you, have the harvests from the two pieces of wheat fields at the village entrance always been poor?" Tong Huaqiong caught her stepson Gu Dahuan to inquire.

Gu Dahuan showed a hint of anxiety on his face. Although he witnessed his stepmother’s transformation in the past few days, he still found it hard to believe, fearing she might one day revert to her old self.

As expected, it came!

Is she now blaming him for not farming well?

Honestly, he’s been diligent in farming, even when doing hard labor outside. He would always make time to care for the fields.

"Mom... those two pieces of land have always had poor harvests. But you know, I’ve never been lazy; I take care of those two pieces the same way as the ones at the foot of the mountain. I just don’t know why the yield isn’t great," Gu Dahuan began to explain.

"Don’t sidetrack, I’m asking if the yield is poor only for our family or if it’s the same for others," Tong Huaqiong asked.

Gu Dahuan’s scalp tingled. The yield from Qin Qingyou’s adjacent land was good, and he envied it every harvest season.

He had inquired about Qin Qingyou’s farming methods, but there wasn’t much difference from what he did.

It seems his stepmother had noticed this issue, intending to criticize him for not being effective in farming.

"Qingyou’s wheat yields are good. I farm in the same way as he does, but I don’t know why our yield isn’t as good," Gu Dahuan cautiously replied.

"Besides the Qin Family, have you noticed anything about the other families’ wheat next to ours?" Tong Huaqiong continued to ask.

Gu Dahuan thought for a bit and shook his head.

Tong Huaqiong sighed internally. While Gu Dahuan is indeed a good farming hand, he only knows to work hard.

But Gu Jingzhe is different. He could spot issues in the fields within just a few days.

It just proves that high intelligence applied across various fields is truly unbeatable.