After presenting the gifts, Tong Huaqiong took the opportunity to sit down.

Mrs. Jia and Gu Youtian exchanged a glance.

The eldest sister-in-law is really stingy.

Old Mr. Gu took a puff from his pipe, his face displeased as he spoke: "I hear you’ve gotten some skills now, started a business, opened a shop, and built a new house."

Tong Huaqiong pretended not to understand the sarcasm, pressed her palms together and said, "Thanks to the Buddha’s blessing, for giving us orphans and a widow a way to survive. This family, young and old, needs to eat as soon as they open their mouths, and without a man in the house to support us, how could we get by if I didn’t do business?"

Old Mr. Gu’s lips twitched, calculating how to make demands of his eldest daughter-in-law.

If the eldest daughter-in-law still got angry at the slightest provocation as before, he’d have a way.

Now he couldn’t fathom what his eldest daughter-in-law was thinking.

Old Mrs. Gu shot Tong Huaqiong a glare and finally couldn’t hold back, saying, "Eldest daughter-in-law, by the old rules, you haven’t finished the three-year mourning period yet. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at for dressing like this? You have children too, don’t you think about them?"

Tong Huaqiong sneered, "You said it yourself, those are old rules. Old Gu is dead, and with no income at home, it’s thanks to me doing business that everyone can eat. Second brother knows, in business outside, people respect clothes before they respect the person. If I dressed in rags, who would pay attention to me? If people laugh, that’s their business. I haven’t stolen any men, nor robbed money, who would laugh at me?"

Old Mrs. Gu clutched her chest in anger, thinking that even if she hadn’t stolen a man, dressing like that would surely tempt them.

Tong Huaqiong glanced at Jingzhe and the others and said, "I’ve fed and clothed these little brats well enough for studying. What else should I consider for them?"

Shameless.

Old Mrs. Gu wanted to scold Tong Huaqiong fiercely to her face.

But she held back in the end.

There’s no choice; the younger son’s business failed, and the future is uncertain. In the village, they still need to rely on the eldest daughter-in-law.

Tong Huaqiong glanced around; the whole second brother’s family was there.

Tong Huaqiong asked, "Why did second brother come home all of a sudden?"

Mrs. Zhao told Tong Huaqiong that the second family’s business suffered losses, so they returned home, and Tong Huaqiong leaned towards believing this.

Otherwise, why would anyone with a good business outside come back to live in the countryside?

Gu Youtian felt visibly uneasy when Tong Huaqiong asked this. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Old Mr. Gu was about to speak when his grandson Gu Ruinian spoke first.

Gu Ruinian said, "Auntie, as the saying goes, ’A tree may grow a hundred feet tall, but its leaves always fall back to its roots.’ Besides, Grandpa and Grandma are getting older, and they’ve been homesick the past couple of years, so Dad decided to move the whole family back to Qinghe Bay. I believe if Uncle were here, he would also certainly support Dad’s filial piety."

He knew what Grandpa was thinking, wanting the aunt to lend money to Dad for business.

But this wasn’t the right time to mention it, as it might backfire if mishandled.

Tong Huaqiong looked towards the shadows cast by the lamp.

Noticing a neatly dressed young man.

In terms of looks, he was average. Not to boast, but compared to her own youngest son Jingzhe, he fell short.

Just like comparing a nobody to a big celebrity.

This was the second son of the second branch, Gu Ruinian, the same boy who came to call her to the main house today and was sent away by Jingzhe.

Upon hearing these words, Gu Dahuan and Gu Jingzhe glanced at him.

This usually mischievous cousin, since when did he start speaking so sensibly?

But there was a pit in those words, indirectly blaming Tong Huaqiong for being unfilial.

Tong Huaqiong nodded towards Gu Ruinian and said, "So this is Ruinian. Haven’t seen you in years, speaking more eloquently now, and grown more handsome too."

Mrs. Jia looked at Gu Ruinian with pride and said, "My Ruinian passed the child student exam last year."

Gu Jingzhe’s mouth dropped open in shock.

This always mischievous cousin, who couldn’t even recognize a few characters, actually passed the child student exam.

Simply unbelievable.

Old Mr. Gu said, "Ruinian is the qilin son of our family. Next month, he’ll take the Scholar exam."

This was deliberately ignoring Gu Jingzhe.

Hearing Old Mr. Gu praise Gu Ruinian, Mrs. Jia looked smug and said to Tong Huaqiong, "Jingzhe has always been good at studying. His parents said he also passed the child student exam last year; I thought he would have passed long ago. He’s taking the Scholar exam next month too, right? He’s older than Ruinian by half a year, so having his brother accompany him makes me feel at ease."

This was a subtle attempt to put down Gu Jingzhe for being older than Ruinian.

Gu Ruinian told Mrs. Jia that Gu Jingzhe was promising in childhood but not necessarily so later, which now seemed true.

Tong Huaqiong secretly curled her lips; her Jingzhe was bound to become a minister.

Even though he became a notorious traitor in his past life, he got there through the fierce competition, only taking a wrong path.

Thinking of this, Tong Huaqiong said, "What’s a Scholar? My Jingzhe is aiming for the third place in the imperial exam. Jingzhe’s only drawback is his good looks, inherited from me. Otherwise, he would surely seize the top place."

Gu Jingzhe: "..."

Gu Ruinian: "..."

This confident aunt was boundless; even a modern 985 college graduate wouldn’t dare to boast like this, so how could this ancient rural woman dare?

Gu Ruinian flashed an impeccable smile at Gu Jingzhe and said, "Then I’ll congratulate brother in advance for taking third place."

Gu Jingzhe ignored Gu Ruinian’s sarcasm and said expressionlessly, "How do you know I won’t take first place?"

Gu Ruinian: "..."

Tong Huaqiong looked at Gu Jingzhe with a grin.

This cunning son was getting more interesting.

She really hoped that the Old Emperor far away in Shengjing could overlook Gu Jingzhe’s looks and make him the top scorer.

Mrs. Jia’s eyes darted around, looking to regain some ground.

She spotted Gu Taohua and asked with a smile, "Has Taohua been engaged yet?"

Tong Huaqiong replied, "Not yet, she’s still young."

Mrs. Jia sighed and said, "True, being someone’s daughter-in-law can’t compare to the freedom of living at home, so it’s better to marry a little later. My Xiaoxue has had too many proposals in the past two years; I’m afraid to agree to one and offend others, so I haven’t given my word. I mentioned the other day that now being home, most old connections are broken so I no longer fret about matchmakers, but yesterday another matchmaker showed up."

Gu Xiaoxue sat by the side, her face flushed red.

Mrs. Jia thought Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua would jump up angrily, but it was Gu Honglian who did.

"Second sister-in-law, what do you mean? Are you implying that no one wants me? Don’t think I don’t know about your evil intentions, deliberately steering good matches towards Xiaoxue and away from me."

After speaking, she threw herself into Old Mrs. Gu’s arms, crying loudly.

Old Mrs. Gu’s face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

For the past couple of years, Old Mrs. Gu tried matchmaking for Gu Honglian, but her temperament was poor, and her looks average, so each match failed.

Finally, one was settled, but as soon as the family heard that the second brother’s business failed and returned home, they used a matchmaker to call off the engagement with Gu Honglian.

Gu Honglian’s sharp cries grated on Tong Huaqiong’s ears.

Old Mrs. Gu scolded Mrs. Jia: "Honglian is right, you’re up to no good. You know your sister got rejected from an engagement, yet you keep bringing up proposals. Last year, people talked about Young Master Xu and Scholar Chen, but they never materialized. Don’t think I don’t know it was you causing trouble, blocking them for Xiaoxue. Do you think Xiaoxue even deserves it?"

Mrs. Jia looked embarrassed after being scolded.

Caught in the turbulence, Gu Xiaoxue felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, completely at a loss.

Old Mrs. Gu finally calmed Gu Honglian, but ended up crying herself.

Tong Huaqiong thought it seemed crying was contagious; this mother-daughter pair showed no sign of stopping.