The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 93: Brutal Business Warfare

Ma Huateng sent Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua out of Rouge Alley and then went back. He still needed to get medicine for his mother.

Tong Huaqiong was ecstatic, waves of excitement surged within her. She was confident she could buy the shop from Ma Huateng.

Although it was a bit like taking advantage of someone else’s misfortune, she thought it was better for her to seize the opportunity than someone else; after all, she was an honest and reliable person.

In less than two days, the shop in Rouge Alley would be her private property.

It’s not easy. Even someone like Tong Dajiao can earn her own shop.

In her previous life, the reason more and more girls were buying houses was simply because having property gave them a sense of security.

She was an only child, everything at home belonged to her. As soon as she got into graduate school, her parents bought her a house near campus, so she never really felt the significance of having a house or shop under her name.

It was only after coming here that she experienced the excitement of owning a fixed asset for the first time.

Moreover, this shop was earned with her own hands, doubling her sense of accomplishment.

"Mom, doesn’t buying a shop require a lot of money? Can we afford it?" said Gu Taohua. "I think renting might be better."

The shops in Rouge Alley were not cheap.

Although they had made quite a bit of money lately, buying a shop seemed quite challenging.

Tong Huaqiong confidently said, "No matter how much it costs, we must buy the shop. Gu Taohua, let me tell you, people need to have property to feel secure."

Gu Taohua was a bit confused.

Tong Huaqiong continued, "This is our family’s first shop, so naturally, it will be under my name. When we have more shops in the future, I will register some under your name. When you get married, it will be part of your dowry, and if you choose not to marry, it will be your private property, offering you some security."

Gu Taohua didn’t fully understand terms like security or private property, but she did understand one thing: in the future, she would also have shops under her name.

This was quite unprecedented in the entire Qinghe Bay.

Who wouldn’t first consider their sons when they have shops or land? Yet, her mother thought of her first.

This showed her position in her mother’s heart.

All the hard days of getting up early and returning late to assist her mother in business seemed to vanish in an instant.

"Mom, you truly care for me," Gu Taohua said, moved. "I will definitely work hard with you in business so that I can manage my own shop in the future."

She was motivated by the near closure of Ma Huateng’s tavern and decided to work diligently with Tong Huaqiong in business.

Otherwise, even if she had a shop, it would still lose money if she didn’t know how to manage it well.

"It’s best you think like this." Tong Huaqiong was very pleased that Gu Taohua had this understanding.

Gu Taohua smiled.

The smile dazzled Tong Huaqiong’s eyes.

All those days of accompanying her mother in hard business work and intentionally controlling her diet had noticeably slimmed her down compared to when Tong Huaqiong first became her mother.

The fourteen-year-old girl, at her prime youth, with fair skin, lost a little weight, and her beauty shone through.

Tong Huaqiong was sure there was no maternal bias in her view of Gu Taohua.

Such a good girl, she must keep a close watch on her, ensuring people like Fan Tong would not snatch her away halfway, nor should situations like premarital pregnancy from the past life occur again.

While the mother and daughter were chatting, they figured Gu Dashi and Gu Jingzhe should be coming to pick them up by now, so they headed towards Mr. Xu’s ox cart stop.

When they reached the ox cart, indeed, Gu Dashi was there squatting with the flatbed waiting.

But there was no sign of Gu Jingzhe.

Gu Dashi came forward to explain that the wheat in the fields was ripening, and Gu Jingzhe needed to clear the home’s threshing floor to thresh the wheat.

Tong Huaqiong was pleased to hear Gu Jingzhe was taking the initiative to do heavy work.

Whether Gu Jingzhe came to pick her up was irrelevant, as long as Gu Dashi could bring her home.

Tong Huaqiong instructed Gu Dashi to load their belongings onto the flatbed, then lifted her leg and sat on it, and Gu Taohua got onto the cart as well.

Gu Dashi gritted his teeth to lift the cart bar. If not for fear of Tong Huaqiong scolding him, he would have complained about Gu Taohua’s weight again.

The flatbed passed by Crispy Food Garden. Whether by sixth sense or something else, Tong Huaqiong felt as if someone was watching with malicious intent, wishing to poke holes in her all over.

She looked up towards the second floor of Crispy Food Garden, and it was empty.

A chill ran down her spine.

"Mom, what’s wrong?" Gu Taohua noticed Tong Huaqiong shivering and couldn’t help but ask.

"Nothing," said Tong Huaqiong.

Despite her words, a sense of panic seized Tong Huaqiong inexplicably.

Gu Dashi, out of habit, took a shortcut, and the flatbed bobbled through the woods between Yan Guan Town and Qinghe Bay.

The place where Tong Huaqiong and company had encountered the Lu siblings.

Since Gu Dashi was pulling the cart alone, the pace was slower than when Gu Jingzhe helped, and by the time they reached the woods, it was getting dark.

At that moment, rustling sounds came from the woods. Tong Huaqiong wondered if they were going to be robbed.

In the next second, a group of men emerged from the woods.

These men wielded knives, blocking their path.

Gu Taohua screamed in fear, while Tong Huaqiong held her close.

This was a robbery.

Tong Huaqiong thought, if they wanted silver, they could have it, just a day’s worth of pastry money. But if it was her virtue, they’d have to fight their way through; if it was people, then sacrificing Gu Dashi would be acceptable.

"What do you want?" Gu Dashi was almost scared to death, but for the sake of his widowed mother and sister on the cart, managed to ask bravely.

"What do you want? Ask Widow Tong to come out and talk," the leader commanded.

Gu Dashi immediately thought of the Zheng Family taking revenge.

Tong Huaqiong had broken off her engagement with the Zheng Family, in such a humiliating way; their revenge wasn’t surprising.

"Who are you, asking for my mom to come out and talk? Do you even deserve it?" Gu Dashi was furious.

No matter how useless he was, he couldn’t hand over his mother to them.

Otherwise, could he still be called a son and a man?

The leader flashed his knife towards Gu Dashi.

"I am Widow Tong. Are you here for silver or virtue? Speak up," Tong Huaqiong said as she stepped off the cart.

Virtue?

The leader’s face twitched. He had no interest in the virtue of an old widow who already had grandchildren.

As for silver, he did want it.

But Manager Feng said just to have Widow Tong hand over the cookie, taro puff, and other pastry recipes.

"No virtue, no silver. Do you not know you’ve offended someone?" the leader said.

Tong Huaqiong felt relieved hearing they didn’t want virtue.

"Mom, get back on the cart. I can keep them at bay," Gu Dashi said, speaking sensibly this time, preventing Tong Huaqiong from going any further.

Gu Taohua, seeing Tong Huaqiong get off the cart, followed suit.

She assessed her own ability, believing she could handle a couple of small thieves. She studied the situation and had already targeted which thief to snatch a knife from.

With a knife, she should be able to take down this group.

"You must be working for Crispy Food Garden? Where’s Manager Feng? Why didn’t he have the guts to come himself?"

Not here for silver or virtue, claiming Tong Huaqiong offended someone, clearly Crispy Food Garden had sent them for revenge.

If it were the Zheng Family, their methods wouldn’t be so crude.

In her past life, she had seen reports of commercial battles: Company A cooked to death Company B’s money tree, the president poisoned the CEO, two executives pulling each other’s hair in the elevator... She used to laugh at how crude and simple these commercial battles were, without any cunning.

Now, she too experienced a crude commercial battle.

Crispy Food Garden sent people to rob them directly.