The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 96: You Can Only Rely on Yourself

"Otherwise. Not giving it to them won’t get us stranded in this forest." Tong Huaqiong said.

"What will happen to our Taohua Dessert business if we give away the recipe?" Having just gone through a harrowing ordeal, Gu Dashu asked worriedly.

Who doesn’t know that in these times, secret recipes are the most important asset of food shops!

Now, the family’s recipe has been forcibly taken by Crispy Food Garden; it’s likely that Taohua Dessert will disappear because of this.

Thinking of this, Gu Dashu once again regretted his past carelessness.

As a man, he couldn’t even protect his mother’s dessert recipe.

"Do what needs to be done and continue running our pastry shop." Tong Huaqiong said, as if she didn’t care about the recipe being given away at all.

To Tong Huaqiong, those recipes were not important.

After all, in ancient times, information was blocked; in modern times, which shop doesn’t have taro pastries, doesn’t have meat floss cakes, doesn’t have its own signature products?

But even if they all have the same pastries, the flavors are each different.

What’s more, in these ancient times, without condensed milk and cream.

Her recipe clearly listed the formula for condensed milk and cream; whether Manager Feng could find and extract it would depend on his skill.

While stopping Gu Dashu’s bleeding, Gu Taohua said angrily, "We sell pastries and don’t interfere with Crispy Food Garden at all, even if we don’t sell, others will. That Feng guy is too much!" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Tong Huaqiong sneered and said, "Before us, in the entire Yan Guan Town, besides Crispy Food Garden, which other pastry shop was there?"

Gu Taohua, being a naive young girl, hadn’t realized this issue before.

Following Tong Huaqiong’s words, she then realized that indeed, for so many years, there hadn’t been any other pastry shop besides Crispy Food Garden in Yan Guan Town.

Compared to Gu Dashu’s heartbreak over losing the recipe, Gu Taohua didn’t feel much.

After all, she held a "golden finger" over a third of the raw materials for Taohua Dessert.

As long as there was space, she believed Tong Huaqiong could come up with more pastry varieties.

Just like the cake at Old Mrs. Huang’s birthday, even if Crispy Food Garden went all out, they couldn’t make it.

What worried Gu Taohua was that Taohua Dessert might never be sold again, as Manager Feng explicitly said he hoped Taohua Dessert would disappear from Yan Guan Town.

After this twist of fate, Gu Taohua quickly realized that Crispy Food Garden’s monopoly in Yan Guan Town relied on Manager Feng’s strong tactics to suppress other shops.

"Mom, can’t we run Taohua Dessert in Yan Guan Town anymore?" Gu Taohua asked sadly.

Taohua Dessert had already found a suitable place! Such a pity.

After finally mending her ways and living a sincere life with her mother, and feeling accomplished in business, it was about to be cut short.

She felt that even having space wasn’t useful if she couldn’t turn resources into money.

Though Manager Feng’s threat wasn’t explicit, given today’s knife-wielding stance, who knew what he might do next?

Could they leave Yan Guan Town and develop elsewhere?

Probably not, for if Yan Guan Town had Crispy Food Garden, other towns would similarly have local bullies.

"Of course, we’ll keep the business going. I’ll take over Ma Huateng’s shop in three days. This time, having been schemed against by Manager Feng, I’ve seen his tactics clearly. With that knowledge, we’ll be prepared next time. But merely defending isn’t enough; we also need to find Manager Feng’s weaknesses, take the initiative, and make him never dare to mess with Taohua Dessert again." Tong Huaqiong’s eyes flashed with determination.

"Finding weaknesses is easier said than done." Gu Dashu said.

"Everyone has weaknesses; I refuse to believe we can’t find one." Tong Huaqiong replied.

"Dashu, for the next two days, keep an eye on him in town for me."

Having taken her recipe, Manager Feng would surely be riding high these days, and when people are riding high, they tend to reveal flaws.

Gu Dashu, being glib and having once run wild in town, had quite a few friends made over drinks and meals, and might genuinely discover one of Manager Feng’s weaknesses.

"Alright." Gu Dashu agreed.

By the time Tong Huaqiong and the others arrived at Qinghe Bay, it was already completely dark.

Liu Yue’er, having prepared dinner, was standing at the door anxiously when she finally saw her husband’s silhouette, having not seen her mother-in-law and husband return for a while.

Tong Huaqiong led Gu Dashu into the house, and under the oil lamp, Liu Yue’er noticed the wound on her husband’s neck and screamed in fright.

"Dashu, what happened to you, what happened to your neck?" Liu Yue’er asked, face full of concern.

Tong Huaqiong went to her room, found iodine and anti-inflammatory ointment, and returned to the main room. She disinfected Gu Dashu’s wound and applied the ointment.

From Gu Dashu and Gu Taohua, Liu Yue’er learned all that had transpired in the forest today. Furious and heartbroken, she cursed Manager Feng and Crispy Food Garden thoroughly.

Gu Jingzhe had a solemn expression.

This Crispy Food Garden was too bullying.

"Mom, there’s one thing I forgot to tell you. The owner of Crispy Food Garden is a relative of the Zheng Family. Could Manager Feng be taking it out on us because of the Zheng Family?" Gu Jingzhe said guiltily.

If it weren’t for his conflict with the Zheng Family, perhaps his mother, brother, and sister wouldn’t have encountered such things.

Tong Huaqiong shook her head and said, "Whether or not it’s about the Zheng Family, as long as we have the intention to open a pastry shop, Crispy Food Garden won’t let us off."

Gu Jingzhe nodded; his mother was right.

When he studied in town before, it wasn’t like there weren’t any other pastry shops, but they’d open for a few days and then close.

Now, seeing their family’s predicament, those hastily closed shops must have been forced by Crispy Food Garden.

It’s simply outrageous.

"Mom, what should we do? With Crispy Food Garden being such a large enterprise, and having targeted our Taohua Dessert, can we still continue?" Liu Yue’er asked, looking alarmed, then shifted her tone, "Isn’t County Magistrate Liu’s son calling you godmother? Why don’t we seek connections with County Magistrate Liu?"

Liu Yue’er’s suggestion wasn’t entirely wrong.

By relying on County Magistrate Liu, even if an outsider can’t suppress a local bully like Crispy Food Garden, the local bully would still show County Magistrate Liu some respect.

Tong Huaqiong shook her head.

The key was that it had been some days since Tong Huaqiong saved County Magistrate Liu’s son, yet there had been no gesture from County Magistrate Liu’s side. Tong Huaqiong always felt that County Magistrate Liu’s son calling her godmother was merely the county magistrate’s mother’s way of showing her affinity with the people.

She wasn’t certain whether County Magistrate Liu would acknowledge her, a widow from the countryside.

Moreover, since the owner of Crispy Food Garden was a distant relative of the Zheng Family, the Zheng Family was a well-connected family in Pingchuan County. In small places, families are deeply intertwined, and County Magistrate Liu might not want to get involved either.

Besides, if she really wanted to use County Magistrate Liu’s connections, she’d prefer not to waste it in Yan Guan Town.

"Better not bother County Magistrate Liu." Tong Huaqiong said.

"Why?" Gu Taohua and Gu Dashu asked in unison.

They had both forgotten about Tong Huaqiong saving County Magistrate Liu’s son on the road, and only after Liu Yue’er’s reminder did they feel enlightened.

Feeling a sense of joy that Taohua Dessert seemed finally saved.

With such a connection, yet Tong Huaqiong was unwilling to use it.

The siblings couldn’t understand Tong Huaqiong’s mindset. Was now the time to uphold integrity?

Everyone else was keen on putting Taohua Dessert in a desperate situation.

"We’ll talk about using County Magistrate Liu’s connections when we reach Pingchuan County." Tong Huaqiong said, "If I can’t handle Crispy Food Garden in Yan Guan Town, how will our shop grow and become stronger in the future?"

"Relying on others isn’t as reliable as relying on oneself."