The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 83: Birthday Cake

"Returning to Old Mrs., this is a birthday cake," said Tong Huaqiong.

"Birthday cake? This novel thing is something I’ve never heard of before."

Who wouldn’t agree, not only was it the first time hearing about it for the guests, but even seeing such a styled dessert was a first.

It was more eye-catching than a longevity peach, with its vivid colors.

Tong Huaqiong laughed and explained, "My younger son loves reading, he often reads storybooks and geographical records. He mentioned that in some places, they have birthday cakes for birthdays and even copied a recipe from a book for me. I mentioned it to Mr. Huang last time, and he asked me to make a birthday cake for you according to that recipe. I was afraid I couldn’t do it well, but he encouraged me to just go ahead confidently. It seems that even the heavens were moved by Mr. Huang’s filial piety, and I really did succeed in making it."

Tong Huaqiong saw the undercurrents between Old Mrs. Huang and her confidante the County Magistrate’s wife, and couldn’t resist adding another point in favor of Old Mrs. Huang, wildly praising Mr. Huang’s filial piety.

Indeed, Old Mrs. Huang was beaming with happiness.

Oh, my goodness, this birthday cake is one of a kind in Yan Guan Town.

The old friends were right, her son truly puts more thought into it than Lord County Magistrate.

"Hahaha, mother, are you satisfied with your son’s filial piety?"

Mr. Huang came over to his mother’s side, fanning himself. He didn’t expect Tong Huaqiong to come up with this dessert table; the longevity peach, the koi, and the lotus pastry had already made his mother very happy.

Tong Huaqiong unexpectedly came up with a birthday cake too.

Naturally, Tong Huaqiong hadn’t informed him about this beforehand; it was as much a first for him to know and see it.

The Widow Tong was interesting, pushing all the credit onto him.

Now, the whole of Yan Guan Town knew how much thought Mr. Huang put into his mother’s birthday banquet, making his filial piety shine even more.

"Satisfied, satisfied," Old Mrs. Huang said, her smile as wide as could be.

"As long as mother is happy, after the meal, your son will dress up and perform a play for you," Mr. Huang said.

Tong Huaqiong sighed, Mr. Huang was truly entertaining his mother wholeheartedly.

She wanted to go home and tell Gu Dashu and Gu Jingzhe about today’s events, hoping that in the future, the two brothers could be as filial to her as Mr. Huang, making all her efforts to correct them worthwhile.

"Old Mrs., this cake needs to be cut by you, the birthday star, to be shared among everyone."

Tong Huaqiong supported Old Mrs. Huang as she came to the cake, handing her a knife. Old Mrs. Huang made a symbolic cut.

Then Mr. Huang personally divided the cake into pieces and served the guests.

This new fad intrigued everyone, while the cake’s aroma awakened their taste buds.

"Oh, didn’t I say? Your son is indeed more thoughtful for you than mine," the County Magistrate’s mother said when Old Mrs. Huang sat down.

She was genuinely envious.

No matter how difficult the dessert was, the meticulous thought behind it was incomparable.

Moreover, the cake was delicious, melting in the mouth, better than any cake she had ever tasted.

She decided to tell her son, the County Magistrate, that she wanted this cake too.

"Mr. Huang really put in a lot of thought, look, those longevity peach koi, were already thoughtful enough, and then there was this cake."

"With such a son, it’s worth being a widow who lost her husband early."

"Indeed, Old Mrs. is really fortunate."

"I have to say, this cake is truly delicious."

Tong Huaqiong became famous overnight, with many deciding to enlist her for similar dramatic effect on their family members’ birthdays.

...

"Reward! Reward!"

Old Mrs. Huang was so pleased by the guests’ chatter that she couldn’t close her mouth, turning to call for Yu Qin to hand out rewards.

Man Er timely clasped her hands together and offered blessings: "Wishing the birthday star good health and happiness, wealth and peace, boundless future blessings, harmony of the sun and moon, and eternal youth..."

These words were taught to her by Gu Jingzhe in advance.

The sly Gu Jingzhe had long realized that having a child recite blessings would be more effective than if his own mother or sister did it.

Wearing a floral outfit with two little pigtails on her head, Man Er, with her big eyes and round face, looked like a lucky doll blessing the birthday star, sprinkling the auspicious words taught by Gu Jingzhe like they cost nothing.

It was exceedingly appropriate, making Old Mrs. Huang so delighted she almost took off.

"Good child, come here." From Yu Qin’s mouth, Old Mrs. Huang learned that this jubilant child was Tong Huaqiong’s granddaughter, and she repeatedly called Man Er over to her side.

Yu Qin took Man Er’s hand and led her to Old Mrs. Huang.

The more Old Mrs. Huang looked, the more she liked her, stuffing a handful of copper coins into Man Er’s pocket.

Man Er thanked her sweetly.

Believing Tong Huaqiong had given much thought to her birthday banquet, Old Mrs. Huang was so pleased that she invited Tong Huaqiong, along with Gu Taohua and Man Er, to join the meal.

Gu Taohua and Man Er both charmed the elderly lady, one being a fair, chubby, auspicious young lady, the other a cute little girl. Thinking of the widowed Tong Huaqiong managing alone with her daughter and granddaughter, she, as a widow herself, remembered the hardship of raising her son and couldn’t help but praise Tong Huaqiong to the crowd.

Yu Qin seated the trio of Tong Huaqiong’s women beside several ladies from Yan Guan Town.

"Aunt." Man Er called to a lady next to her.

"Man Er is here." Gu Baishuang smiled at her niece, but felt mixed emotions.

Tong Huaqiong felt her scalp tingle at bumping into her stepdaughter, Gu Baishuang.

As Madam Nie of the Nie family, Gu Baishuang was considered a member of Yan Guan Town’s circle of noblewomen, and she was certainly invited to Old Mrs. Huang’s birthday banquet.

Since Tong Huaqiong came in to offer the birthday wishes, she noticed a difference in her stepmother from usual.

She was aware that Taohua Dessert had become popular all over Yan Guan Town. She truly didn’t expect her stepmother to have such a skill at making desserts and to have won Mr. Huang’s favor as a special guest for Old Mrs. Huang’s birthday wish, let alone that she would be sitting at the same table eating with her stepmother.

Seeing Man Er’s chubby cheeks and new clothes, she believed what Chen Sufen said last time about her stepmother treating the main house well.

"Mother." For the sake of appearances, Gu Baishuang called out to Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong’s mouth twitched, as Gu Baishuang seemed just a few years younger than her.

"Hmm." Tong Huaqiong nodded reservedly, hoping the banquet would start soon to end the awkwardness.

But Mr. Huang continued with his birthday speech above, and she knew she shouldn’t pick up her chopsticks before the host did.

"Ah, Madam Nie, is this your malicious stepmother?" Madam Yang sitting opposite Tong Huaqiong couldn’t help but exclaim upon hearing Gu Baishuang call Tong Huaqiong "mother."

The other ladies turned their attention to Tong Huaqiong.

The local ladies of Yan Guan Town knew the specifics of every household’s inner dealings as if they were eavesdropping under their beds, naturally aware that Gu Baishuang’s marriage to a man nearly twenty years her senior as a concubine was largely driven by her malicious stepmother.

The malicious stepmother and the stepdaughter sitting together at the same table, everyone had varying expressions of expectancy for how the story might unfold.

"Yes, I am the legendary malicious stepmother," Tong Huaqiong said.

She thought instead of letting the atmosphere remain awkward and icy, she might as well take the initiative to diffuse it by admitting, preventing direct sarcasm.

"Ladies, I know you’re curious about the malicious stepmother, but I can’t exactly cut open my heart for you to see if it’s made of coal," Tong Huaqiong stated self-deprecatingly.

Her self-deprecating words made the troublemaking ladies feel a little guilty suddenly!

Wasn’t this stepmother supposed to be lazy, greedy, tormenting? Yet, this stepmother seemed different from the rumors.

Every family has its struggles; it’s not easy to say that this stepmother truly has a black heart.

"Madam Yang, you’ve misspoken. There’s no maliciousness, those are just rumors. When living day to day, who doesn’t encounter some bumps, especially in our family’s case."

Not wanting her family’s affairs to become everyone’s gossip fodder, Gu Baishuang defended Tong Huaqiong.

Since Tong Huaqiong convinced Gu Dashu to agree to have her mother buried with her father, she decided, as long as her stepmother behaved, she wouldn’t dwell on past matters.

Tong Huaqiong gave Gu Baishuang a grateful look, startling Gu Baishuang to nearly drop her chopsticks.

This was her first time seeing her stepmother since her father’s death, especially in such a setting.

Was she seeing right?

She realized her stepmother had undergone a complete transformation.