Tong Huaqiong lifted the curtain of the carriage, nodded to Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu, and instructed the carriage to head towards her own residence.

She wouldn’t invite Mrs. Gu and Mr. Gu to stay at the county’s house. A whole bunch of people, clearly knowing she has a grudge with the Wu Family, yet still opened a shop with them.

Fine, open it if you must, but they even opened it right across from her. Do they think she doesn’t understand their intentions?

Mrs. Gu gritted her teeth in anger.

The last hope of being invited to the county house of the eldest daughter-in-law was dashed.

Too much, she didn’t even bother to put on a pretense in front of so many people.

She had heard that Tong Huaqiong’s house in the county was spacious enough, even with the people from the old house they could fit, but the eldest daughter-in-law is just so vicious and petty.

The little bit of filial piety usually shown to them in the village was all fake.

"I was wondering why Second Uncle’s shop was called Wu Ji. Turns out it’s working for Wu Ren," said Gu Dashu.

Gu Dashu only found out during dinner that the grocery store opposite had the hand of his Second Uncle. He couldn’t fathom why, with his Second Uncle surnamed Gu and Second Aunt surnamed Jia, why it would be called Wu Ji.

His grandmother, Mrs. Gu, also doesn’t have the surname Wu.

Turns out it’s the shop of Wu Ren, the village chief of Black Dragon Pond. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

He couldn’t understand how Second Uncle could lower himself to work for someone else.

Tong Huaqiong said with a smile on her lips, "It’s not working for Wu Ren, it seems your Second Uncle is partnering with Wu Ren."

But it’s hardly different from working for him.

"Shameless."

As Tong Huaqiong’s caravan moved away, Wu Na, thinking of Tong Pandi’s earlier humiliation towards her, yelled angrily in the direction of the speeding carriage.

Mrs. Qiao, watching Wu Musheng with a lost expression, was equally furious, and Wu Na was right to curse. Tong Pandi, even after divorcing, still dared to seduce her son.

What else could it be if not shamelessness?

So she too cursed, calling her shameless.

While Wu Na was being cursed by Tong Pandi, Gu Honglian inwardly rejoiced. She and Wu Na couldn’t stand each other.

She disliked Wu Na’s arrogance; just a village chief’s daughter, not even a county magistrate’s girl, yet so conceited.

Moreover, it’s not like she’s especially beautiful. Wu Na, like her, had dark skin and small eyes, far from being a village belle.

Still, at the dinner table, Mrs. Qiao dared to mock her betrothal.

Gu Honglian linked arms with Wu Na and gossipy said, "Tong Pandi was your former sister-in-law, right? Even with your family’s wealth, she dared to divorce your brother, just because she’s good-looking. You see, she’s always so dressed up in the village, and many young men here like her."

Gu Honglian originally intended to irritate Wu Na by mentioning Tong Pandi’s attractive looks, but it inadvertently upset Mrs. Qiao and Wu Musheng.

Mrs. Qiao cursed her as a sly enchantress.

Wu Musheng’s expression changed.

The mention of divorce by Gu Honglian hurt his pride; in this era, men divorcing wives was normal, but when a woman initiates a separation, it reflects poorly on him, akin to being divorced.

Well, Tong Pandi, dressing so lasciviously in Qinghe Bay.

He hadn’t seen Tong Pandi in Qinghe Bay, but he had seen her in Pingchuan County, and according to Gu Honglian, she dressed like that every day.

Wu Musheng felt that Tong Pandi leaving him was truly because she had taken a fancy to some man.

Was it Gu Dahan or Gu Dashu?

Or maybe Gu Jingzhe.

All Tong Pandi’s cousins were known for their good looks.

Wu Musheng dug his nails into his palm, still, Gu Honglian continued to chatter about how Tong Pandi was adored by many young men in Qinghe Bay.

"Shut your mouth."

Wu Musheng roared angrily at Gu Honglian before brushing off his sleeves and walking away.

Leaving everyone to look at each other in dismay.

Wu Ren’s face was extremely unpleasant, a sense of foreboding rising. Anything involving Tong Huaqiong always spelled trouble for their family.

He cared little about the former daughter-in-law’s affairs; his concern was, could Wu Ji triumph over Jufu Supermarket?

Gu Youtian always said, look to the long term, but it’s worrying when there’s no immediate earnings.

Even though he didn’t have to pay rent for the shop, renting it out would yield daily income; every day it didn’t make money was a loss.

Wu Ren pondered, since Jufu Supermarket was loudly promoting its three-day grand opening, and tomorrow would only be the second day with customers surely flocking in, if their shop opened earlier and intercepted customers before Jufu Supermarket opened?

"Youtian, tomorrow we’ll open the shop an hour earlier than Jufu Supermarket," Wu Ren said to Gu Youtian.

Gu Youtian, tired from a day’s work, felt more irritated by Tong Huaqiong’s triumphant spirit. And now, hearing Wu Ren’s ordering tone like a manager’s, he was further annoyed.

He handled everything in the shop, and what contributions had Wu Ren made aside from providing the capital and the shop? Yet on just the first day, he was already being given tasks.

"I have my own pace."

Thus, his tone was slightly confrontational.

Wu Ren, displeased by the hard tone, questioned,

"What do you mean?"

He was one of the owners, wasn’t he entitled to give his input?

Not happy, he retorted, "You think I shouldn’t involve myself in the shop?"

Gu Ruinian feared Gu Youtian might impulsively clash with Wu Ren, hurried forward to mediate, and said to Wu Ren, "Uncle Wu, that wasn’t my dad’s intention. My dad meant that each shop is different, and we should act based on our specific circumstances."

Wu Ren’s expression turned icy.

Thinking that Gu Youtian wasn’t as sensible as his younger son, who understood who should take the lead in business.

Despite Gu Youtian’s annoyance at Gu Ruinian mediating, it only exposing him, he still decided to go along with it.

He softened his tone, saying, "Brother Wu, I truly didn’t mean it that way. You’ve provided the capital and the shop, who else should manage it if not you? On second thought, Brother Wu’s suggestion is reasonable; let’s open an hour earlier than Jufu Supermarket to draw customers in first."

What else could he do but soften?

If Wu Ren withdrew his capital and shop, it would be nearly impossible for Gu Youtian to find another gullible partner.

His temper was too fiery.

Under a low roof, he had to bow his head.

Better keep Wu Ren pacified, establish a foothold in Pingchuan County, then separate from Wu Ren for better opportunities.

He didn’t want to endure such humiliation again.

Wu Ren’s face relaxed slightly.

It seemed he needed to regularly express his views, or else Gu Youtian might forget who owns the shop.

Back home, he had to remind Wu Musheng to be vigilant. Don’t just flaunt the title of Young Master without working, closely observe how Gu Youtian runs business, and once the business methods are learned, discard Gu Youtian.

Currently, the shop’s profit had to be split with Gu Youtian, but wouldn’t it be better to keep it all within the family?

In addition, he himself needed to be involved, not just act as a hands-off manager, especially keeping strict control of the accounts, ensuring financial approvals only came through him before Youtian could act.

Both Gu Youtian and Wu Ren, these partners harbored their own schemes.

The business hadn’t even started, yet was already showing signs of division.

In such circumstances, there’s no need for competitors to strike; they’d self-destruct from internal strife.