The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 99: A Daughter’s Predicament

"You should have broken your sister-in-law’s hand."

"Don’t associate with such relatives in the future."

Tong Huaqiong, in a fit of anger, cursed outright. On one hand, she was angry at Chen Sufen for not living up to her expectations, and on the other, she wished she could run to Chen Family Village and tear apart Chen Sufen’s sister-in-law.

To think she dared to pinch Man Er’s hand. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Mom, I bit Aunt’s hand." Man Er raised her little face, indicating that she didn’t suffer without fighting back.

"The two of you adults tied together are not as good as one child. Good job biting." Tong Huaqiong praised.

"So when you bit your aunt, how did they react?" Tong Huaqiong didn’t believe the Chen Family had no response.

"My big brother and sister-in-law wanted to beat her up, but my parents stopped them, and Da Han and I also tried to talk them down."

Chen Sufen said timidly, now regretting not flipping the table at the time.

Why did her parents intervene? Wasn’t it just because they wanted to exploit her, pretending to be nice before they could squeeze out more of her worth?

Chen Sufen was filled with guilt.

Lunch was unpleasant.

Her daughter suffered an injustice.

She was forced to hand over silver.

Chen Sufen still held hopes for her parents.

To mend her relationship with them, in the afternoon, Chen Sufen and Gu Dahuan took care of all the work in the Chen Family’s fields. After finishing, Gu Dahuan was tasked with repairing the Chen Family’s roof, working well into the night.

The Chen Family brothers came up with more nonsense; somehow, they heard that Tong Huaqiong was planning to open a pastry shop in town and wanted Gu Dahuan and Chen Sufen to bring their nephew to the Gu Family to work as a clerk in the shop.

Chen Sufen’s older sister-in-law, upon learning that Chen Sufen was learning to make pastries from her mother-in-law, also wanted Chen Sufen to take her daughter to the Gu Family to learn how to make pastries, saying that Chen Sufen should consider her niece’s future since she also carried the Chen family name.

The unreasonable demand made by her sister-in-law was something she didn’t even dare mention explicitly.

The sister-in-law wanted to have her own daughter betrothed to Jingzhe, claiming what was wrong with the niece becoming a sister-in-law, and that since Jingzhe was so promising, the advantages shouldn’t go to waste outside the Chen Family.

When Chen Sufen refused, her parents suggested they should contact the Zheng Family again, sending Man Er to the Zheng Family to exchange for a better future.

Chen Sufen’s heart completely turned cold.

Gu Dahuan finally lost his temper, smashed the Chen Family’s large water tank, and took Chen Sufen and Man Er rushing towards Qinghe Bay overnight.

"...How can my parents, brothers, and sister-in-law treat me this way?" Chen Sufen spoke through tears; she was genuinely upset.

In the past, when her mother-in-law treated her poorly, she thought after all she was just the daughter-in-law—painful, but not heartbreaking.

But her own family treating her like this, it left her both heartbroken and cold.

All these years, they knew what kind of life she lived in the Gu Family and yet didn’t care, never standing up for her.

Now that her mother-in-law treats her well, and the Gu Family’s life is improving, they want her to hand over silver and groom her nephew and niece, it’s unbearable.

"As a girl in my family, I worked from dawn till dusk, cooked, farmed, never wore new clothes, never tasted good food. I didn’t complain; most girls in the village went through the same, sacrificing for their brothers. The sisters I grew up with were sold to big families as maids; my parents letting me stay home and feed me was kindness enough." Chen Sufen choked on her memories.

"Big Sister-in-law, what you’re saying isn’t right. Most girls in the village went through this? You’re comparing worse than your best. Not to mention, look how my parents treat me. Even if they didn’t like me marrying Dashi, when I gave birth to Yaozu, they sent chickens and brown sugar. And look at our Taohua, how Mom dotes on her. She’s like the family princess; nobody dares to cross her." Liu Yueer commented, with a pout.

Tong Huaqiong felt that although Liu Yueer was petty, she saw through this issue clearly.

Perhaps it’s because she was spoiled by her parents from a young age, leading to Liu Yueer’s petty and proud nature.

Gu Taohua was also brought up wrapped in affection too.

Though she understood it in principle, Chen Sufen still felt heartbroken.

Tong Huaqiong very much understood Chen Sufen’s feelings.

Not just in these times, even in her past life, her roommate who made it to a prestigious 985 graduate school still couldn’t sever ties with her sexist family.

Wanted to escape, yet craved that elusive family love.

"Big Sister-in-law, let me say something harsh. Your parents don’t treat you well at all. If they did, would they have married you to Big Brother?" Liu Yueer said.

Back then, Tong Dajiao had a bad reputation concerning his stepchild, and Gu Dahuan took long to find a match. Mr. Gu had to give twenty taels of silver before the Chen Family hurriedly married Chen Sufen off to them.

"Your parents and brothers just sold you to the Gu Family for twenty taels of silver, plain and simple," Liu Yueer said, "They took your silver, and you didn’t even get a dowry. Look at me, even though my parents opposed my marriage to Dashi, they still gave me quilts, cupboards, and ten taels of silver as dowry."

"Anyway, if I had a family like yours, I’d cut ties without looking back."

In the countryside, ten taels of silver as dowry was already substantial.

And this was even with Liu Yueer marrying without a bride price, against her parents’ wishes with the Liu Family’s way of doing things.

Tong Huaqiong gained some respect for the Liu Family in-laws.

They truly cherished their daughter.

"What your sister-in-law says makes sense, Sufen. Your parents don’t care about you. I ask you, what are you planning to do in the future?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

Tong Huaqiong hoped that Chen Sufen would sever ties completely with the Chen Family.

Not just because in Tong Dajiao’s past life memory, the Chen Family allied with the Zheng Family to exploit Man Er.

But also because the Chen Family now had ideas about the Taohua Dessert shop, wanting their nephew to work there as a clerk, and their niece to potentially steal trade secrets.

Such in-laws, she couldn’t tolerate, and they must be cut off.

If not severed, she feared they would bring troubles to her own shop.

One should never underestimate how annoying a fly can be.

"My heart has turned cold, and I want to break off, but I’m afraid of gossip..." Chen Sufen said.

That she felt cold and wanted to sever ties was good; it showed Chen Sufen wasn’t delusional enough to blindly tolerate such behavior.

"What are you scared of? Is someone gossiping about you going to make you lose a piece of flesh?" Tong Huaqiong said.

"Look at me, how good can my reputation be in the village? Did it stop me from eating and drinking? Did it stop me from selling pastries? When I was a stepmother, I ignored what others said, only caring about my own happiness. Now, as a widow, exposed in public doing business, there are plenty talking behind my back, but I still go to town and earn money. Let the world say what it will." She said, using her own example.

Chen Sufen remained silent, her eyes welling up with tears.

On the way there, she had resolved that in the future, she would be respectful and fulfill her duties, but she would no longer go back to her parental home, nor allow Man Er any contact with the Chen Family.

The Chen Family was harsher than her former in-laws; people who hadn’t raised Man Er wanted to exchange her for their advancement.

"In the future, I’ll only send things through others, be respectful as needed, but no more contact." Chen Sufen resolved decisively.

Tong Huaqiong was not pleased, and her face darkened instantly, her demeanor shifting to that of Tong Dajiao: "Eldest daughter-in-law, all the things in our house are earned through my hard work. Don’t even think about sending anything to the Chen Family. If I find out, you can go back to the Chen Family."

Chen Sufen was at a loss for words; how did her kind mother-in-law suddenly turn fierce again?

"Don’t speak about what you should or shouldn’t do. As long as you’re part of my family, you must cut ties with the Chen Family." Tong Huaqiong ordered Chen Sufen, "You have brothers and sisters-in-law and a younger brother, they don’t lack your respect, so don’t run yourself ragged trying to offer it."

Given Chen Sufen’s indecisive nature, a strong hand was needed to cut her ties with her family.

Knowing what kind of people they were, if Chen Sufen even took a little thing over, the Chen Family would be like flies on a cracked egg, clinging tirelessly.

To prevent the chance of being encircled and exploited by those flies, it was better to make a clean break.