The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 326: Let Your In-Laws Deal With You

Tong Huaqiong nodded in agreement with the Clan Leader’s viewpoint.

"Clan Leader, you’re right, the children in our clan should study. I don’t care about others, but Yaozu and Man Er must go to school," Tong Huaqiong said.

The Clan Leader felt pleased with the first part of the sentence, but the latter part made him frown.

What’s the point of a girl studying?

What would people say?

"It’s fine for Yaozu to study, but why should Man Er study? She can’t become an official, and having too many ideas will make it hard for her to find a husband," the Clan Leader said discontentedly.

Not to mention, Gu Taohua is a perfect example.

Knowing a few characters and she’s already lost herself, arguing with everyone and spouting reasonings, yet no one has proposed to her so far.

The same goes for Tong Dajiao, who learned some words at home with her brother. After getting married, she was disrespectful to her in-laws and harsh to her stepchildren, and now she’s even going out doing business openly.

Tong Huaqiong calmly said, "Man Er studies for no specific reason. As long as I can afford the tuition, she will study."

The Clan Leader’s mouth twitched.

Wasting a tuition fee would be better spent on his great-grandson, after all.

His great-grandson already knows a few characters, though not as bright as Jingzhe when he was young, he still has talent.

Supporting a scholar in the family is not easy, especially challenging for a farming family.

Back then, Tong Dajiao struggled to support Gu Jingzhe’s studies, living a hard life.

If Tong Dajiao was willing to support her own descendants in their studies, he would definitely support having Tong Dajiao buried with Mr. Gu.

Forget it, let her go ahead and let Man Er study if she wants.

The Clan Leader shifted the topic saying, "What do you think about the clan children studying?"

Tong Huaqiong feigned ignorance, "What else can I think? It’s a good thing you’re allowing the clan children to study. If they want to study, then let them study."

What’s up with Tong Dajiao, why doesn’t she just admit to the issue of the children’s tuition fees?

Must he really spell it out?

The Clan Leader gritted his teeth and said, "Dashi’s mother, since you’re willing to spend money on a private school, you might as well cover the tuition for the clan’s children. I heard that many wealthy families invite poor children to study for free so that their own children can gain an advantage in officialdom. Now that you have money, you should also consider Jingzhe. Spend a little now on supporting the clan’s children, so Gu Jingzhe can have some help in the officialdom in the future."

The cheek of it, thought Tong Huaqiong, brazenly saying she should fork out the money like that.

Tong Huaqiong replied, "I haven’t even fully supported Jingzhe yet. Where do I have spare money for others? Since the clan’s children want to study, no matter how clumsy they are, my private school will accept them. Their parents are responsible for tuition, and if things get really bad, there’s you as the Clan Leader. It’s nothing to do with me. I’m not looking for support for Jingzhe in the future, as long as the clan’s children don’t drag him down."

"Since you mentioned that wealthy families support poor children to gain advantages in officialdom, surely you have connections with those families. Why not take the clan’s children to them, and perhaps some insightful rich family might take them all in?"

"In the future, don’t come to me for such generous matters," Tong Huaqiong said and stood up to leave.

The Clan Leader’s face flushed with anger.

Once Tong Huaqiong had moved away, the Clan Leader cursed, "What the heck, just because she got a few stinking coins, she starts to flaunt it."

The Clan Leader couldn’t swallow his anger, thought for a while, and came up with an idea.

"Da Hu, help me grind the ink," the Clan Leader shouted to his grandson, Gu Dahu, to come in and grind the ink.

Gu Dahu didn’t understand why his grandfather needed the ink; it had been so long since he last recorded anything, and the only ink at home had dried up, making it difficult to grind.

The Gujia Clan Leader was barely literate himself.

Gu Dahu ground the ink for his grandfather and reluctantly found two sheets of yellowed paper.

"Grandfather, what are you writing?" Gu Dahu asked.

The Clan Leader picked up the brush and said, "Writing a letter to someone who can put Tong Dajiao in her place."

Gu Dahu asked, surprised, "Who can put Aunt Tong in her place?"

The Clan Leader sneered, "Her in-laws."

As he wrote, the Clan Leader harbored resentment, thinking, Tong Dajiao, don’t get complacent, have you forgotten about her in-laws?

For so many years, Tong Dajiao had lived a comfortable life in Qinghe Bay, forgetting the days of quarrels with her in-laws.

Although she disrespects her in-laws and dares to argue with them, she wouldn’t dare truly defy them.

If her in-laws were to return, even if they couldn’t force Tong Dajiao to contribute financially to the clan, they’d at least disrupt her comfortable life.

The more the Clan Leader thought about it, the more pleased he became.

In the letter, he exaggerated the profits of Taohua Dessert, criticized Tong Huaqiong’s character, and even speculated about Boss Qian’s intentions towards Tong Huaqiong.

The main theme was that their daughter-in-law didn’t know what she was doing after her husband’s death, as her business was thriving. They should hurry back to enjoy a good life before it was too late, or they might find their son’s pride being buried in the coffin soon enough.

After finishing the letter, the Clan Leader carefully sealed it, and asked Gu Dahu to take it to Pingchuan County to pass it on to a southern merchant to deliver.

The Clan Leader figured that Tong Huaqiong’s in-laws would return to Qinghe Bay upon receiving the letter, probably by the end of the year.

He’d let Tong Dajiao savors her contentment for a while and then send her a wave of trouble by the year’s end.

Tong Huaqiong naturally had no idea of the Clan Leader’s intentions involving the in-laws she’d never met.

After leaving the Clan Leader’s house, Tong Huaqiong headed to Liu Tieshan, the village chief’s home.

The autumn harvest was done, and the threat of sheltering the remnants of rebels was lifted. It was the perfect time to start an educational venture.

When Liu Tieshan heard about the private school, he was thrilled.

His grandson would be a scholar in the future.

"...I’ve already discussed with the Liu Family Patriarch where the children will study. At first, it will be in the Liu Family Ancestral Hall. It’s spacious enough for the kids, and there’s accommodation for the teacher in the backyard. By next spring, we’ll build some dedicated schoolrooms at the village entrance," the village chief said.

Since Tong Huaqiong had been away in the provincial city, the village chief hadn’t had the chance to discuss this with her.

Upon hearing that the school site was at the Liu Family Ancestral Hall, Tong Huaqiong asked, "Won’t it disturb the Liu family’s ancestors?"

The village chief waved his hand, saying, "If the ancestors were to know their descendants can study, they’d be eager to make room."

Setting up a private school, a deed beneficial to the village and the people, being held in the ancestral hall was no big deal.

Tong Huaqiong asked, "Do the village kids all want to study?"

Tong Huaqiong had already planned to invite County Magistrate Liu to the school opening.

If only Yaozu, Man Er, and a few children like the village chief’s grandson were there, it would seem like a lot of fuss for nothing.

Village Chief said, "You don’t have to worry about that; who wouldn’t want their kids to study? Previously, they didn’t because they had to go to the town and stay away for a day, delaying work, and the tuition fees in town were quite high, nobody could afford it."

Now, with a private school in the village, it saves the travel time to the town, giving the children enough free time to help at home.

Plus, with financial aid from Tong Huaqiong and Boss Qian, the teacher’s food, clothing throughout the four seasons, were assured without the village having to worry. The tuition fees were also half of what the town charged, so any villagers hoping for their children to succeed would gladly send them to the private school.

He hadn’t told the villagers yet. He planned to announce the news in the village in the next few days.

The village chief was already waiting to receive the villagers’ gratitude.