The evil mother-in-law does not whitewash, she only abuses her children

The Gu family's old house was bustling with activity.

The wives were steaming buns, making fire, and picking vegetables; the men were chopping wood or butchering chickens and chopping ribs.

"Sufen, put it there, I'll do it."

"Taohua, you don't have to do anything, just wait and eat."

Seeing Chen Sufen picking vegetables, kneading steamed buns with peach blossoms in the valley, the wives of the clan snatched the vegetables and dough from their hands.

The economic base determines the superstructure. Since Tong Huaqiong's business has grown bigger and bigger, the status of her and her children in the clan has risen.

In the past, whenever there was something happening in the clan, all the heavy work would be assigned to Chen Sufen.

Wherever Gu Taohua appears, girls and wives will often mock her for not being able to find a partner.

Now no one dared to assign work to Chen Sufen, and no one dared to find fault with Gu Taohua. Not only that, they also tried to curry favor with the two of them, fearing that if they offended them, they would not be able to work in Tong Huaqiong's weaving workshop in the future.

Chen Sufen looked embarrassed, but Gu Taohua was at ease. She grabbed Chen Sufen's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, just take a rest if I tell you to."

There is strength in numbers, and three tables of banquets were quickly prepared.

Old Man Gu brought out two jars of wine.

Just waiting for someone from the Xu family to come.

Logically speaking, since the two families were engaged and lived in the same village, they should have come to negotiate early in the morning, but no one from the Xu family came until noon.

Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu were getting anxious, and Gu Youtian's face was gloomy because he was afraid that the Xu family would go back on their word.

"Why hasn't anyone from the Xu family come yet? Do you think there's no one in my Gu family? Even if Ruinian is a son-in-law, he should be given due respect." Old Man Gu said dissatisfiedly.

Isn't marrying into the family the same as a girl from the Xu family marrying a boy from the Gu family? The Gu family doesn't ask for a dowry, so what else is there for the Xu family to be dissatisfied with?

Old Man Gu tapped his pipe hard and asked Gu Fengnian to go to the intersection to see what the Xu family was doing.

The Xu family did it on purpose.

Ever since Xu Yong was removed from his position as village chief and Xu Zaohua was sent to the ancestral temple by the Zheng family, the Xu family has become completely silent in the village.

Xu Yong and Xu Jin agreed that the Xu family was in trouble because of the Gu family.

First it was Tong Huaqiong, then it was Gu Ruinian. Since they couldn't control Tong Huaqiong, it would be easy for them to control Gu Ruinian.

The Xu family wanted to tell the whole village that the Gu family was begging the Xu family to marry into their family.

"If you don't come, this marriage will be annulled." The clan leader was about to go crazy.

Gu Youtian said, "Wait a little longer."

Gu Youtian thought that the clan leader was just talking nonsense, and it was useless for anyone to find him another opportunity to sell his son.

The Gu family waited until everyone in the village had finished their lunch and became impatient, and the Xu family finally arrived.

They greeted each other and sat down one by one.

Xu Xinghua sat next to Xu Yong arrogantly, which made Mr. Gu and others angry.

How can a girl be the protagonist when getting engaged? She always keeps her head down shyly and relies on her parents to make the decision.

"......Since the two families have reached an agreement, we will exchange the engagement letter today so that Ruinian can get married as soon as possible." Matchmaker Wang said.

Matchmaker Wang was the official matchmaker hired by the Xu family.

This was the first time she had talked about a marriage in which the wife married into the family. For a moment, she didn't know how to organize her eloquent words.

This was also what Mr. Gu meant. Anyway, Gu Youtian and Xu Yong had already reached an agreement before, so today was just a formality.

The Xu family members crowded into the upper room. Old Man Gu always felt that he was suppressed by the Xu family in every way, which made him uncomfortable.

When Jia heard the word "marriage", her eyes turned red. She still couldn't accept that her eldest son was going to marry into someone else's family. Old Madam Gu glared at her fiercely.

Xu Xinghua stroked her fingertips and said, "The two families have agreed? When did they agree? Aren't we still negotiating? Only when the agreement is reached can the engagement letter be exchanged."

As soon as these words came out, Gu Youtian's expression changed.

Mrs. Gu said, "Since ancient times, marriages between men and women have been decided by their parents and matchmakers. How can a girl have any say in it?"

Old Mrs. Gu didn't care whether Gu Ruinian would be bullied by the Xu family after getting married. What she was unhappy about was that Xu Xinghua was acting wildly in front of her.

Xu Xinghua snorted and continued to touch her nails.

"Brother Yong, what do you mean? Didn't we discuss this before?" Gu Youtian couldn't help but look at Xu Yong.

He saw through the situation. The reason why Xu Xinghua was so unruly must have been something the Xu family had planned beforehand.

Could it be that the conditions the Xu family agreed to him were no longer valid?

Gu Youtian guessed correctly, the conditions promised to him by the Xu family were no longer valid.

Years ago, the Gu family kept the Xu family hanging, neither rejecting nor agreeing to the marriage, which made the Xu family very angry.

Ever since Gu Ruinian's secret hoarding of gunpowder was exposed, the Xu family began to gain the upper hand. Now the Gu family is more anxious about this marriage than the Xu family, so the Xu family has to reconsider the previous conditions.

Xu Yong laughed and said, "What we talked about privately over a drink doesn't count. Let's have a formal talk now. We've agreed to exchange the engagement letter today and hold a banquet the day after tomorrow."

Old Master Gu took a puff of his pipe and said slowly, "What Youtian is talking about is that if Ruinian comes to live with us, the Gu family will not hold a banquet. Youtian and his wife will support Ruinian, and you will pay them fifty taels of silver. In the future, Ruinian will not be responsible for their retirement. Ruinian and Xinghua have children, and they want one of the sons to return to the Gu family to live. Which of these three conditions do you think is inappropriate?"

Xu Xinghua opened her mouth and said, "Isn't it your duty to raise Ruinian? Did I come out of a crack in a rock? I was also raised by my parents, and I didn't even ask for a dowry."

After Xu Xinghua finished speaking, the Xu family fell silent.

Xu Xinghua's opinion is the Xu family's opinion.

Jia was so angry that her heart ached. If Ruinian's leg had not been lame, Xu Xinghua would not have been qualified to be her son's concubine.

"You are only eligible to ask for a dowry if you marry into our Gu family. You are looking for a son-in-law now, what do you want as a dowry? Ask around Yanguan Town and see who is willing to marry into your family, except for Ruinian from my family."

Xu Xinghua was not willing to be outdone and said, "Yes, why is Gu Ruinian the only one willing to marry into the family in Yanguan Town? Because he is useless."

Jia was so angry that she wanted to tear Xu Xinghua to pieces.

At this time, Xu Yong jumped out to ease the atmosphere and said, "Xinghua is young and speaks bluntly, please bear with her."

Jia wanted to roll her eyes. What do you mean by young? He is three years older than Gu Ruinian.

When Mrs. Gu heard that the Xu family didn't want to pay fifty taels of silver, she looked unhappy.

She was also counting on giving fifty taels of silver to Gu Honglian as a dowry. Gu Honglian told her a few days ago that she had fallen in love with a scholar. If she wanted to be the scholar's wife, wouldn't she have to have a generous dowry?

Mrs. Gu thought so and said, "Not a cent less than the fifty taels of silver."

Xu Xinghua glanced at Old Lady Gu lightly. She was looking for a son-in-law anyway, so she didn't have to go to the house to serve her grandmother-in-law and mother-in-law. She didn't need to give them face.

Without waiting for Xu Xinghua to speak, Gu Ruinian said, "Xinghua is right. Everyone is born by their parents. Since Xinghua doesn't want a betrothal gift, our Gu family doesn't want money either."

Everyone: "..."

Tong Huaqiong was eating melons and raised her eyes to look at Gu Ruinian.

The little grandson's thoughts are obvious. Since he can't escape the fate of becoming a son-in-law, he might as well curry favor with the Xu family first.

Anyway, once he leaves the family, the Gu family will have nothing to do with him anymore, so he naturally won't leave any money to benefit the Gu family.