The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 230: A Living Man’s Transformation

Gu Dahuan and a young man had carried in Xu Yong.

But only those familiar with Xu Yong from Qinghe Bay could recognize him by his outline.

Tong Huaqiong guessed correctly; Xu Yong had completely transformed.

He was wearing a woman’s dress, his hair styled like a married woman’s, and he had a tassel hairpin stuck in.

The shadow of the tassel danced on his blush-covered face, looking quite comical.

He went to great lengths to evade responsibility for selling fake pesticides.

Indeed, when one loses shame, they’re invincible.

Both the villagers of Qinghe Bay and those from other villages were shocked by Xu Yong’s appearance.

"Oh my, Uncle Yong, you look quite pretty dressed up like that," remarked a woman, clicking her tongue in amazement. "Even prettier than your wife."

Xu Yong buried his face in a handkerchief.

Everyone twitched their lips.

"What’s this bundle of straw doing in his arms?" someone asked in confusion.

Gu Dahuan said honestly, "Uncle Yong was confused and put a straw bundle under a cloth. When I saw him, I was startled, thinking he had stolen someone’s child."

Gu Dahuan’s words struck a chord.

Everyone realized with a shock.

Xu Yong spared no expense trying to escape, not only dressing as a woman but disguising a bundle of straw as a child in his arms.

He really did resemble a grandmother visiting relatives with a child.

If you didn’t look closely, Xu Yong could truly fool you.

Four strong men placed Xu Yong on the ground.

Xu Yong wanted to run but couldn’t.

His ankle was injured.

And with the villagers from other villages glaring at him like tigers, he feared they’d tear him to pieces the moment he tried to escape.

He hated Gu Dahuan to the core.

If not for Gu Dahuan, he might have already escaped to the mountains by now.

He planned to escape to the Zheng Family in Pingchuan County via the mountain.

The prescription was made by Xu Zaohua; she wouldn’t abandon him.

Before escaping into the toilet, Mrs. Tian, thinking quickly, handed him her clothes and powder box.

Armed with these disguises, Xu Yong jumped over a wall unnoticed, made up in a cornfield, and ran toward the mountain along the small path.

He had nearly reached the foot of the mountain when Gu Dahuan and some hired help caught up to him.

In Gu Dashi’s cries of "Uncle Yong," Xu Yong ran desperately, tripping over some grass on the field ridge and twisting his ankle, leading to Gu Dahuan and his team easily carrying him back.

Out of the corner of his eye, Xu Yong saw Tong Huaqiong, and his hatred for Gu Dahuan shifted to Tong Huaqiong.

He couldn’t believe simple-minded Gu Dahuan would devise a plan to intercept him.

He believed being caught by Gu Dahuan was all Widow Tong’s scheme.

Xu Yong even suspected the fake pesticides were a trap set by Widow Tong, just waiting for him to fall into it, so they could bury him in Qinghe Bay for good.

"Xu Yong, you became a woman to play the turtle. Aren’t you ashamed?"

After the initial shock at Xu Yong’s antics, the crowd quickly turned indignant.

The Village Chief of Guazhou Bay was the first to mock Xu Yong.

"Chief, don’t bother talking to him. He ruined our corn; we can’t let him get away with it."

The villagers of Guazhou Bay, eyes red with anger, couldn’t wait to punish Xu Yong for both new and old grievances.

Village Chief Hu stopped everyone.

Of course, they couldn’t let Xu Yong off, but before they did, Xu Yong had to compensate them for their losses.

Xu Yong lay on the ground feigning death, eyes tightly shut, saying nothing.

His twisted ankle hurt sharply, but he dared not cry out.

Wishing the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

"Xu Yong, stop pretending to be dead! I gave the pesticides to the villagers in good faith, but you secretly altered the formula to harm them. Now that everyone is here, you owe them an explanation." Tong Huaqiong, channelling Tong Dajiao, went over and kicked Xu Yong as she spoke.

Xu Yong yelped in pain, his foot aching even more.

Tong Huaqiong continued, "Do you think closing your eyes will get you out of this?"

The villagers of Qinghe Bay felt it was only right for Tong Huaqiong to step up.

After all, Xu Yong had derived the formula from the pesticide Tong Huaqiong provided. If Tong Huaqiong didn’t care, wouldn’t she seem like an easy target?

Today they concocted fake pesticides; tomorrow, they might copy Taohua Dessert’s cakes.

Xu Yong still kept his eyes tightly shut.

As if by not opening his eyes, he wouldn’t have to face any of this.

Having dealt with Xu Yong many times, Village Chief Hu of Guazhou Bay knew Xu Yong had a thick skin but didn’t expect it to be this thick.

In a fit of rage, he ordered the villagers to bring a basin of water from the yard and doused Xu Yong.

Xu Yong shuddered and opened his eyes.

"Pretending to be dead without considering the timing," Village Chief Hu said. "Even if you were truly dead, we’d dig you up for punishment to make amends."

Xu Yong knew he couldn’t escape and quickly sat up.

Like a fish on the chopping block making a last attempt to wriggle free, he said, "...I didn’t make that pesticide. It’s no use coming after me. I was tricked too."

Tong Huaqiong, on high alert, darted in front of Xu Yong. If he dared to drag her down with him, she had the means to make sure Xu Yong would be finished with no place to be buried.

Seeing Tong Huaqiong ready to rip him apart, Xu Yong grudgingly swallowed the words that would have put the blame on her.

"The pesticide was prepared by my niece, Xu Zaohua," Xu Yong said. "I was duped by her too."

When he fled, Xu Yong realized he was just a pawn and stepping stone for Xu Zaohua.

Xu Zaohua wanted to gain the trust of the Zheng family’s elders and secure her place by using the pesticide. She couldn’t guarantee her unborn child was a son, so she seized the chance to concoct pesticides that could cure corn smut.

If successful, the pesticide would not only earn her official commendations but also bring great wealth to the Zheng family.

How could Xu Zaohua test the pesticide’s effectiveness? Naturally, she’d experiment in the field.

The Zheng family had plenty of fertile land, but Xu Zaohua would never use theirs for testing, so her cheap uncle Xu Yong came in handy.

If the pesticide worked, Xu Zaohua would shine in front of the Magistrate, taking all the glory; if it failed and damaged the crops, it was her uncle who would bear the condemnation.

Xu Yong hated Xu Zaohua for using him.

He really hadn’t thought the pesticide would destroy the crops.

He figured if Widow Tong could make a formula, with the Zheng family’s resources, they certainly could as well, especially since they acquired Widow Tong’s formula.

Just replicate it, and it’d be fine.

"You didn’t mention it was your niece’s formula when distributing it to everyone; now you want to pass the blame, dreaming, aren’t you?"

Village Chief Hu was not about to let Xu Yong off.

Even if the pesticide was indeed concocted by Xu Yong’s niece, he refused to acknowledge it.

Xu Yong’s niece was the Eldest Young Madam of the Zheng Family; seeking accountability from the Zheng family would be much harder than from Xu Yong.

Village Chief Hu wouldn’t be led by Xu Yong.

"You took the silver and didn’t say it was your niece’s doing! If you didn’t make the potion, why did you run?"

Village Chief Zhang of Moon Bay agreed with Village Chief Hu. Since the pesticide was bought from Xu Yong, he should be held accountable.

They had to nail Xu Yong down for concocting the fake formula.

Xu Yong looked at the villagers from other villages, fierce as wolves and tigers, and was distressed.

"The pesticide was indeed made by Zaohua. It’s all my fault for believing her nonsense. Why would I give fake pesticides knowing you’d come after me? You wouldn’t let me off easily. I really didn’t expect it to ruin the crops."

"Knowing you’d be angry and not let me leave the village, I had no choice but to disguise myself like this. I wasn’t escaping. I planned to go to the Zheng family in Pingchuan County to seek justice from Zaohua for everyone."

Knowing he couldn’t escape, Xu Yong decided to play the pity card.

He truly was an adaptable figure, having held power as the Qinghe Bay Village Chief for so long.