The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 78: How Can Others Snore Beside My Bed?
"Mom, what task?"
Yue Er stopped in her tracks.
She silently prayed, hoping it wasn’t work in the fields.
She knew that the main household would be visiting the maternal home the day after tomorrow and would likely be gone for two days. She hoped her mother-in-law wouldn’t leave the work in the fields to her and Dashi.
She couldn’t handle heavy work!
"In a few days, I plan to open a shop in town. Tomorrow, you and Dashi should head to town and find out who has shops for rent," Tong Huaqiong said.
Yue Er’s eyes lit up.
Oh my gosh, it scared the life out of her. She thought she’d have to work in the fields, but it turned out she was being sent to find a shop in town.
Her mother-in-law considered the pastry business her life, and she was entrusting such a significant task to her. What did that mean? It meant she valued her!
Yue Er’s complaints about Tong Huaqiong’s bias, which she’d just shared with her mother Mrs. Zhao, disappeared completely. Compared to putting Chen Sufen to work hard with baking, being sent to find a shop was clearly favoritism from her mother-in-law.
She knew it—her previous cooperation with her mother-in-law wasn’t in vain. At crucial times, her mother-in-law still chose to trust her.
"Mom, I’ll go to town first thing in the morning," Yue Er said excitedly, almost wishing she could fly there immediately.
"You and Dashi inquire about several shops and note down the prices and everything. Can you handle this?" Tong Huaqiong asked, feigning doubt.
Yue Er proudly patted her chest and said, "Of course I can handle it."
Tong Huaqiong nodded and instructed, "Just say it’s Taohua Dessert looking for a shop."
Yue Er nodded eagerly and said, "Mom, you mean to spread the news of Taohua Dessert opening a shop everywhere?"
She loved doing this sort of thing.
In terms of spreading gossip and digging into secrets, no one in Qinghe Bay could compete with her.
She guaranteed that with the snap of a sunflower seed she could spread the news of Taohua Dessert opening a shop throughout Yan Guan Town and all the surrounding villages.
Tong Huaqiong nodded in satisfaction and said, "Yes, that’s exactly it."
Who knew that this little gossip monger Yue Er was quite resourceful—just by hearing Tong Huaqiong asking her to find a shop, she understood Tong Huaqiong’s intentions.
Tong Huaqiong wanted to use Yue Er’s mouth to let everyone know she was opening a shop.
There were two purposes for spreading this news: first, to indicate that their stall was upgrading and that everyone would soon need to go to the shop to buy pastries.
Second, she wanted to alert Crispy Food Garden. Crispy Food Garden had bought her pastries but hadn’t launched a similar product, suggesting their master baker was struggling to mimic her products. Since they couldn’t replicate her pastries, Crispy Food Garden would most likely seek to undermine her.
After all, one cannot allow others to snore beside their bed. If she were the shopkeeper of Crispy Food Garden, she would also go against Taohua Dessert. That’s the harshness of business.
But she had been waiting for days without a sign from Crispy Food Garden, so she couldn’t wait. She feared they would catch her off guard around the shop’s opening.
Thus, she had to announce her intention to open a shop to provoke Crispy Food Garden into action beforehand, allowing her to better respond.
And she planned to spread the news tomorrow when she went to Huang Yuanwai’s house—it’s easiest to create a buzz when she’s not setting up her stall.
After all, the less she set out her stall, the more people would speculate about the reasons, making it easier to fuel the story.
The next day, Tong Huaqiong once again woke up early, with Man Er sticking by her side. Tong Huaqiong woke Man Er and, in a drowsy state, dressed and washed her face.
Tong Huaqiong sighed, saying that it was not easy for the young laborer to take the stage today.
Chen Sufen and Yue Er had already set the table, while Gu Dahuan, with Gu Dashi and Jingzhe, pulled weeds while there was still dew, and returned home to eat after finishing an acre.
Following behind Gu Dahuan was Qin Qingyou, who had come to help Tong Huaqiong build a baking oven.
For better development in the baking business and large-scale pastry output, a professional oven was necessary.
Tong Huaqiong fretted over whom to ask for help, but Gu Dashi thought of Qin Qingyou’s father, Uncle Qin, who knew how to set up stoves and warmers; nearly every household’s pot and stove in the village were his handiwork.
But Uncle Qin wasn’t home; he was up in the mountains making charcoal and wouldn’t be down for a while.
Fortunately, when Uncle Qin set up stoves and warmers, Qin Qingyou often assisted and had learned much of his father’s craft.
Thus, Tong Huaqiong invited him to her home to construct the oven.
Tong Huaqiong planned for Qin Qingyou to build a trial oven in the yard. If successful, she would build two more at the shop once it opened; if unsatisfactory, they could make further improvements.
She didn’t want the shop to open, bringing in more customers, only to be caught with no oven, blindly groping in the dark.
"Aunt Tong, Dashi said you want to build an oven. What kind are you looking to build?" Qin Qingyou asked with a silly smile.
The Qin Family was honest and simple, and Qin Qingyou was no exception. The fact that he started work without even drinking a sip of water upon arrival fully attested to Tong Huaqiong’s assessment of the Qin Family.
She admired such quality; her shop might even employ Qin Qingyou in the future.
Thinking this, Tong Huaqiong smiled widely, like a spider demon emerging from the Silk Cave, and said, "Eat first and then talk."
Qin Qingyou laughed, "Aunt Tong, I didn’t want to delay your work; I ate before I came."
Taking his words, Tong Huaqiong didn’t stand on ceremony. She returned inside and handed a drawing to Qin Qingyou, saying, "This is what Jingzhe drew according to my description. I want an oven like this."
Qin Qingyou took the drawing and said, "I’ll give it a try."
Indeed, one should never underestimate the craftsmen of any era, as Qin Qingyou could understand the drawing.
Tong Huaqiong said, "Feel free to try boldly. If it fails, no worries; you’ll be paid the same rate your father charges for setting up stoves."
Qin Qingyou waved his hand and said, "No need, no need. Aunt Tong’s purchase of eggs from our family is already a great favor to us."
Tong Huaqiong insisted, "Let’s keep things separate; you must be paid for your work."
Then Qin Qingyou smiled and said, "How about this, Aunt Tong? You can pay me in pastries instead."
His wife and mother loved pastries, and Aunt Tong’s pastries were wonderfully fragrant. He earned pastries to let his wife and mother enjoy them.
This arrangement suited Tong Huaqiong, so they agreed.
In the yard of Tong Huaqiong’s house were green bricks, stones, mud—materials gathered by Mr. Gu from the mountains, intending to repair their home. But before work began, he had passed away.
Tong Dajiao was lazy; once the old man died, she had no wish to carry on his wish to renovate the house.
The materials had been lying around for almost a year, just right for building the oven.
Without another word, Qin Qingyou rolled up his sleeves and started working. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
Tong Huaqiong had Jingzhe stay home to help Qin Qingyou build the oven. She realized that this person, with a high IQ, could do anything. Hearing she wanted to build an oven, Jingzhe already had a clear mental picture of it.
If he were in modern times, he’d surely be a talent in infrastructure.
After breakfast, Tong Huaqiong took Gu Taohua and Man Er onto the cart.
With Gu Dashi pulling the cart, Yue Er granted the privilege of walking alongside it. The couple escorted Tong Huaqiong, Gu Taohua, and Man Er to Huang Yuanwai’s house, after which they would spread the news of Taohua Dessert opening a shop throughout all of Yan Guan Town.
