The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 264: Only Money in Hand Is Real

"Taohua, have you got engaged?"

Lu Zhaozhao was lying in bed with Gu Taohua, the two were chatting closely about gossip, and Lu Zhaozhao asked Gu Taohua if she had gotten engaged.

Gu Taohua said, "No."

Lu Zhaozhao was quite surprised.

Lu Zhaozhao said, "Isn’t it said that girls in the countryside get engaged very early?"

Lu Zhaozhao was not wrong.

In the countryside, girls are usually pursued by matchmakers once they turn twelve, typically getting engaged by thirteen, and married by fourteen or fifteen.

In Qinghe Bay, the ones over thirteen not engaged were Gu Taohua and Gu Xiaocao.

Gu Taohua didn’t have matchmakers coming because she was plump with a bad personality and had a bad reputation due to Tong Dajiao.

Gu Xiaocao had her reputation ruined by Xu Si, also causing matchmakers to stay away.

Gu Taohua said, "I’m not engaged because others don’t fancy me, and I don’t fancy others."

Gu Taohua’s tone was extremely natural.

Previously, when no one in the village approached her for a match, she always felt lower in status, especially during arguments with Xu Zaohua, who would use her lack of suitors to attack her. Each time, she was furious, not knowing how to counter.

Now, Gu Taohua was indifferent about having no suitors.

She’s busy managing the shop, and making money excites her more than getting engaged.

Lu Zhaozhao said, "You’re so good, anyone who doesn’t see it must be blind."

Gu Taohua said, "I think so too."

After saying this, the two of them giggled.

Just a few months ago, Gu Taohua still had feelings for Fan Tong.

But after she gave Fan Tong a beating, she completely cut off any remaining affection for him.

Even when encountering Fan Tong in town, neither of them exchanged a word.

She did give him a look, though it was a fierce glare as if wanting to eat him alive.

Fan Tong, seeing her, shivered like a mouse encountering a cat. Now, he didn’t dare to casually walk out of the private school onto the streets.

Gu Taohua, seeing Fan Tong as a coward, was even more convinced that she must have been blind and oblivious to have liked someone like him before.

"Are you engaged?" Gu Taohua asked Lu Zhaozhao in return.

In the dark, Lu Zhaozhao shook her head, saying, "No, not yet."

Gu Taohua said, "You’re so pretty, and your family is wealthy. In the future, you’ll marry into a big family, right? But I think marrying into a big family isn’t necessarily a good thing. Like the story of our village’s Xu Zaohua, who you met last time — she married into the Zheng family of Pingchuan County, but soon after, her husband died. Her in-laws didn’t like her, and her life was quite tough."

Gu Taohua shared with Lu Zhaozhao the bits she had heard about Xu Zaohua’s situation in the Zheng Family.

Lu Zhaozhao said, "There are many families like the Zheng Family who don’t value their daughters-in-law. To be honest, my grandpa wants me to marry into a Beijing family, but I don’t want to. You might say my family is rich, but in their eyes, we’re just merchants reeking of money. If I really married there, I’d have to endure them spending my money while looking down on my background."

Gu Taohua resonated deeply with what Lu Zhaozhao said.

Before, when she was chasing after Fan Tong, he never gave her a definitive answer nor sent a matchmaker.

When he hit a wall at the Huang Family and saw the Taohua Dessert Shop booming, Fan Tong started chasing her. If she had been impulsive and agreed, he would probably have been like the families Lu Zhaozhao mentioned, using her money while looking down on her for selling pastries in the street.

These high-minded scholars and pedigree families are all the same.

Gu Taohua said, "Those pedigrees don’t deserve you, fame and fortune are all illusions; the money you have in hand is what’s real. Don’t forget that learning business and making money at home is the right path."

Lu Zhaozhao nodded and said, "Got it!"

The two girls talked until the moon was high in the sky before falling into a deep sleep.

Tong Huaqiong also went to bed late, and she didn’t sleep well either.

Because Mrs. Han was sharing a bed with her.

She didn’t know what the County Magistrate’s mother was thinking, not sleeping in the room specially prepared for her, but insisting on squeezing into her bed.

Mrs. Han was quite unreserved, saying Tong Huaqiong’s bed was big and spacious, saying that she liked the way Tong Huaqiong talked and acted, and so she wanted to sleep with her and chat at the same time.

In her past life, as an only child, Tong Huaqiong hardly ever shared a bed with anyone.

When she went to university in a dormitory, a four-person room was her limit.

During her graduate studies, her affluent parents used the family’s relocation compensation to buy her an apartment near the school entrance. She stayed in her own apartment throughout her graduate years.

Therefore, Tong Huaqiong wasn’t used to sharing a room with others.

Even in this life, when she shared a bed with Man Er for a while, it was just to explore the mysteries of the space.

When she figured out the rules of the space, she let Man Er sleep in the big room.

Mrs. Han, practically treating Tong Huaqiong as a confidante, chatted with her for half the night before falling asleep contently.

Tossing and turning, Tong Huaqiong only fell into a light sleep around dawn.

When the rooster crowed for the third time, Tong Huaqiong woke up with dark circles under her eyes.

"Miss Tong, do you have something on your mind? Your dark circles are quite pronounced," Mrs. Han asked.

"No, I just get dark circles when I stay up too late," Tong Huaqiong replied.

Mrs. Han suggested, "Boil an egg later and give it a roll."

Tong Huaqiong smiled and agreed.

Fortunately, Mrs. Han was leaving today; otherwise, sharing a room longer would have been unbearable for Tong Huaqiong. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

After breakfast, and sitting for a while, Mrs. Han and Liu Yanhong were ready to return to Pingchuan County.

At that moment, Liu Yanhong was not at the Gu Family home.

Liu Yanhong, having quickly eaten breakfast, left his dishes behind and went to play wildly by the riverside in the village with Yaozu and Man Er.

"It’s so fun here in the countryside, I don’t want to go back at all," Liu Yanhong said, a bit troubled.

Once home, he would have to attend private school.

This return might mean no knowing when he’d visit Qinghe Bay again.

"When someone comes to call you home later, pretend you didn’t hear it," Yaozu said to Liu Yanhong.

Liu Yanhong’s eyes lit up; why hadn’t he thought of that?

Not only would he pretend not to hear, but he’d also make sure his grandma couldn’t find him.

A child’s thoughts are simple; he thought if his grandma couldn’t see him, maybe she wouldn’t make him leave.

As Liu Yanhong spoke, he began to make his way into the cornfield, saying to Yaozu and Man Er, "Let’s hide in the cornfield so that when my grandma calls for me, we can pretend not to hear."

Man Er said, "Then let’s hide a little deeper."

With that, she led Liu Yanhong into their family’s cornfield.

Mrs. Han waited for a bit without seeing Liu Yanhong return, so Tong Huaqiong sent Jingzhe to call for them outside.

Jingzhe stood on the riverbank and called out a few times, but no one responded.

He carefully looked around the riverbank, then turned around and walked away.

"Third uncle’s gone back."

Hiding in the cornfield, Liu Yanhong saw Jingzhe standing on the riverbank searching, holding his breath and not daring to make a sound.

"Staying here, Third Uncle surely can’t see us," Yaozu said.

"Third Uncle is very smart, let’s go a bit deeper," suggested Man Er.

The three children then burrowed further into the cornfield.

The corn was about to ripen, each cob heavy against the children’s heads and bodies.

The three kids found a concealed spot in the middle of the cornfield, crouching low as corn leaves scratched against them, not daring to move.

However, Liu Yanhong’s plan to stay in Qinghe Bay misfired.