Chapter 9: The Pretty Widow Goes to the Zheng Family

Tong Huaqiong rose very early the next day.

As soon as she stepped out of the house, she saw Chen Sufen chopping vegetables in the kitchen and Man'er tending the fire. This infuriated Tong Huaqiong, and she began scolding them at the top of her lungs in the courtyard.

"Gu Dashu, Gu Jingzhe, Gu Taohua, Liu Yue'e, Yaozu! Are you all dead? Are you just waiting for Sufen and Man'er to serve you? You black-hearted, rotten-seeded bastards, get up and get to work right now!"

Despite having sworn an oath to respect their eldest sister-in-law and treat their niece well, Gu Dashu and the others had let those vows slip into oblivion after a night's sleep, habitually waiting for Chen Sufen to finish breakfast before getting up.

Hearing Tong Huaqiong's vigorous scolding, they scrambled out of their rooms in a hurry.

Reluctantly, they began to work under Tong Huaqiong's razor-sharp gaze.

Gu Dashu chopped wood, Gu Jingzhe swept the courtyard, Gu Taohua tended the fire, Liu Yue'e took over the kitchen knife from Chen Sufen, and even little Yaozu carried a basket to gather firewood.

This was already an improvement; at the very least, they were willing to labor!

Breakfast was still the unpalatable, unhulled grain, accompanied by pickled radishes.

After a few bites, Tong Huaqiong put down her bowl and took out a piece of mung bean cake that Gu Jingzhe had bought in town, stuffing it into her mouth.

It was too dry and greasy, leaving a faint, lingering bitterness.

She took a bite and shook her head. It seemed even the pastries from the best shop in town were nothing special. If she were to step in and bake a batch herself, she would likely put the town's shops out of business.

No rush. Once she finished handling the Zheng family affairs over the next couple of days, she would start her business and make money!

Tong Huaqiong shared the remaining mung bean cake with Man'er and Chen Sufen. Yaozu and Taohua watched longingly, wanting a bite, but Tong Huaqiong pretended not to notice.

Usually, all the good food in the house was reserved for those two—one had grown into a figure as bountiful as a harvest, and the other was so solid with meat that she was hard to pinch. Compared to them, Chen Sufen was gaunt, and Man'er was nothing but skin and bones. In the future, the good food should be reserved for the mother and daughter, Chen Sufen and Man'er.

Of course, the kind-hearted Chen Sufen could not bring herself to eat alone. When Tong Huaqiong got up to go inside to change, Chen Sufen shared the mung bean cake with her sister-in-law and nephew.

"Is Sister Tong at home?"

At the sound of this voice, Chen Sufen and Man'er trembled with fear, and the mung bean cake in their hands suddenly lost its flavor.

The visitor was the famous Matchmaker Wang from Yanguan Town.

It was she who had acted as the intermediary to finalize the marriage between the Gu and Zheng families a few days ago.

She called out while stepping through the door, casting an unfriendly glance at Chen Sufen. If not for the eldest daughter-in-law blocking the way, the matter would have been settled long ago.

Now, she had to make another trip.

Fine, let her make another trip; the silver the Zheng family would provide upon success would be enough to last a year, so she wasn't losing out!

At most, it was just a bit more effort.

She only hoped this trip would go smoothly and get the job done.

"Auntie Wang, you've come! My mother-in-law is changing her clothes; please wait a moment."

Liu Yue'e brought over a stool and invited Matchmaker Wang to sit.

Hearing the commotion, Tong Huaqiong smoothed her hair and walked out gracefully.

"Sister Wang, I was just about to head out to find you. You beat me to it. You've come at the perfect time, saving me an extra trip," Tong Huaqiong said with a beaming smile.

"Sister Tong, you're looking quite lovely today."

Matchmaker Wang glanced over. What a charming, beautiful widow.

The widow was naturally fair-skinned, and wearing a delicate pink outfit—loosened at the waist and cinched with a silk ribbon—only added to her grace and allure.

She had applied a layer of rouge to her cheeks and pinned a few pearl flowers in her hair.

She looked ten years younger than she had a few days ago.

They say cats go into heat in the spring; could a widow be the same? Matchmaker Wang surmised that Widow Tong was longing for a man. Longing for a man was fine; Matchmaker Wang didn't mind taking on another business deal, as she had several old widowers waiting to be matched.

So what if she was already a grandmother? This Widow Tong was only forty; her body was still capable of carrying on a family line.

"Well, there's a happy occasion coming, so I thought I'd dress up a bit."

Tong Huaqiong gave Matchmaker Wang a meaningful look. To be fair, in Gu Taohua's clothes and pearl flowers, even Tong Dajiao's physique took on an air of flirtatious elegance.

Despite secretly planning to arrange a marriage for Tong Huaqiong later, Matchmaker Wang couldn't help but feel a sense of disdain at her behavior. She wondered who this Widow Tong was trying to seduce with such a provocative look today.

Gu Dashu and the others were momentarily petrified by their mother's appearance.

*Mother, what are you doing?!*

Gu Dashu wanted to ask on behalf of the whole family: was what Mother said last night about going to the Zheng family to "bring luck" through marriage not a joke?

Mother really had a wild imagination!

With a house full of descendants, if she pulled this stunt, she wouldn't be afraid of being beaten out of the house?

"I came to offer my congratulations. The eldest son of the Zheng family is failing. He spent all of yesterday gasping for breath and is now hanging on by a thread. The Zheng family sent someone to tell me to come and fetch the person immediately."

"Once the person is delivered, the Zheng family is willing to provide an additional five hundred taels of silver!"

Matchmaker Wang slapped her thigh in excitement, her facial features dancing with emotion.

Chen Sufen trembled with fear, wanting to kneel before her mother-in-law on the spot.

She was terrified that after a night's sleep, her mother-in-law would revert to her old ways of being blinded by money.

Five hundred taels of silver—a farming family could not save that in a lifetime. Anyone would be tempted.

"Five hundred taels of silver? That sounds wonderful! Let's leave right now then," Tong Huaqiong said, her face full of excitement.

"Sister Tong is so decisive! The carriage is just outside."

Matchmaker Wang had been woken up in the early hours by someone from the Zheng family, sent to demand the person from her first thing in the morning.

As previously agreed, there would be no formal wedding rites; they were to bring the person to the Zheng house first.

Clutching the hundred taels of silver provided by the Zheng family, Matchmaker Wang had rushed over early. If she were late, the Gu girl might truly end up bowing to the eldest son's spirit tablet instead of him.

At this moment, Chen Sufen felt like fainting, and Man'er felt like running away.

Tong Huaqiong gave Chen Sufen and Man'er a reassuring look, then turned to Taohua. "Taohua, go and bring the four gold ingots the Zheng family gave us and the remaining fabric."

Though Taohua didn't understand the reasoning, she listened to her mother most of all. If Tong Huaqiong told her to get it, she would. After grabbing the gold and fabric, she also took a moment to dress herself up.

Looking at the newly dressed Gu Taohua, Matchmaker Wang asked with slight confusion, "Sister-in-law Tong, didn't you say it was that little girl who was going to marry into the family?"

As she spoke, she pointed at Man'er, who scurried behind Chen Sufen in fear.

"I've thought about it," Tong Huaqiong said calmly. "That little brat is too young; I'm afraid she won't be able to suppress the eldest son's illness."

Chen Sufen breathed a sigh of relief. Man'er was safe!

"True, true. She is indeed a bit small," Matchmaker Wang said with a broad smile.

Gu Taohua was better. She was a bit chubby, and being chubby could suppress evil spirits.

This would also make it easier for her to explain to the Zheng family.

With the eldest son of the Zheng family practically wearing Yama's collar and ready to kick the bucket at any moment, who cared about being thin or fat?

She hadn't specified which girl to the Zheng family originally, fearing that if she mentioned a six-year-old, they would refuse. After all, as long as the eldest son had one breath left, the Zheng family wanted to preserve their lineage—and a six-year-old who still wets her pants couldn't preserve much of a lineage.

In any case, she had only said it was a girl from the Gu family. Six was a girl, and fourteen was a girl; it was all the same.

As long as the person was delivered, it would be fine.

However, this Widow Tong was quite protective of her daughter, bringing gold and fine fabric along. Did the Zheng family lack such things?

Tong Huaqiong slung a bundle over her shoulder, took Gu Taohua by the hand, and said to Matchmaker Wang, "Sister Wang, let's go."

Matchmaker Wang, wearing a beaming smile, waddled out the door.

"Dashu, Yue'e, Yaozu, you all come along too. And while you're at it, carry the basket of steamed buns from the pot," Tong Huaqiong instructed Gu Dashu and the others.

A look of disdain crossed Matchmaker Wang's face. No wonder people said Widow Tong had a strange temperament—going to the Zheng family while carrying a basket of steamed buns? Did the Zheng family lack food?

Gu Dashu obediently shouldered the basket of large steamed buns that Chen Sufen had prepared early that morning.

"Sufen, you and Man'er stay home and wait."

"Jingzhe, go weed the wheat field. If you don't finish, I won't let you off easy."

Tong Huaqiong climbed into the carriage, giving individual instructions to those staying behind.