Chapter 5: The Widow's Change of Character

After dealing with a bunch of scoundrels, a physically exhausted Tong Huaqiong returned to her room to continue eating.

Due to the low grain yields of this era, to fill their bellies while saving food, the grains eaten by farming families were mostly unhulled. Just half a bowl of rice made Tong Huaqiong's throat feel so scratchy she could barely swallow.

Thus, she made a decisive move, taking out the fine flour from the house with Chen Sufen to make egg pancakes, calling Chen Sufen and Man'er over for a hearty meal.

Chen Sufen and Man'er didn't dare eat much, while Tong Huaqiong alone polished off nearly a huge stack of egg pancakes.

Chen Sufen was so startled by her mother-in-law's abnormal behavior that she couldn't sleep well all night.

She was terrified that some demon had possessed her mother-in-law's soul.

If there truly was such a demon, then it was a kind one, for it couldn't bear to see her and Man'er suffer and had come to save them.

"Grandma, eat the egg."

Tong Huaqiong had been at the Gu family for three days.

Every mealtime had been an ordeal.

Over these three days, her attitude toward Chen Sufen and Man'er had been very kind.

This allowed Man'er to eat without trembling by following Tong Huaqiong's lead. Seeing her grandmother unable to swallow her food, Man'er obediently handed her egg to Tong Huaqiong.

"Good grandchild, you eat it."

Tong Huaqiong stepped into the role of grandmother, stroking Man'er's head affectionately.

She was a little girl after all, and knew how to care for others—unlike her eldest grandson, Yaozu, who ate like a starving ghost, shoveling all the good food into his own bowl.

Tong Huaqiong stared at the unhulled grains in her bowl and sighed; it was truly difficult to swallow.

The Gu family was simply too poor; even the only half-bag of white flour had been used up by her.

"Nanny, I want to eat eggs too."

Yaozu stared at the egg in Man'er's hand, looking as if he wanted to snatch it.

The "money-loser" was eating an egg that belonged to him—it was all his!

"If you want to eat, make it yourself," Tong Huaqiong rejected Yaozu decisively.

"It's been days since we've had any meat. I really can't stand it," Gu Taohua muttered, looking displeased as she raked through the rice in her bowl.

Usually, whenever there was something good to eat, priority was given to her. No matter how poor the family was, she was never left wanting.

Now, being forced to eat the same communal meal as Chen Sufen was unbearable; she felt she had lost weight from hunger over the last three days.

She wanted to eat eggs too, but her mother had said the eggs from the family's hens were for her sister-in-law and niece to nourish their bodies, and no one else was allowed to touch them.

Gu Taohua looked up and stared at Chen Sufen's bowl, which happened to contain an egg.

In the past, without her even needing to hint, her sister-in-law would have quickly peeled the egg and handed it to her. Now, with her mother keeping a tight rein, the sister-in-law didn't dare give it, and Taohua didn't dare ask.

"That muscle on you could use some starving; it's not like you'll die of hunger anyway," Tong Huaqiong said to Gu Taohua with a fierce expression.

Gu Taohua pouted in dissatisfaction.

Her mother was truly muddled; instead of doting on her own daughter, she was doting on her sister-in-law.

Sitting beside Gu Taohua, Liu Yue'e was also dissatisfied with her mother-in-law's current transformation. Her eldest grandson was sitting right there, yet she treated that "money-loser" like a treasure.

No wonder people said that long-term widowhood could lead to psychological abnormalities; in her view, that was exactly what her mother-in-law was now.

No matter how dissatisfied they were, no one dared to say anything more.

Over the past three days, Tong Huaqiong had beaten the family scoundrels twice, even snapping a firewood stick in the process. This finally made these rascals realize that Tong Huaqiong had changed.

At the very least, they no longer dared to bully Chen Sufen and Man'er openly as they had before.

After finishing her meal.

Tong Huaqiong sat in the courtyard, thinking.

Since she had transmigrated into this black-hearted widow's body and couldn't return anytime soon, she could only brace herself and live here.

However, the Gu family's living conditions were truly poor, with an air of decay permeating everything.

First, the family circumstances: they were a poverty-stricken household with a few mud-brick rooms and no money.

Of course, the blame for this poverty lay with the people. The original owner, Tong Dajiao, was a lazy woman who, along with several scoundrel children, did no productive work. All the household chores fell on her stepdaughter-in-law, Chen Sufen, while the daily expenses relied on her stepson, Gu Dahan, carrying sandbags at the wharf.

Even so, they still sent the youngest son to school, which had caused Gu Jingzhe to harbor the evil thought of selling his niece to pay for tuition.

If Tong Huaqiong was going to live here, she had to find a way to change things. Setting aside everything else, she simply could not stand the leaking mud house and the throat-scratching unhulled millet.

Over the past three days, she had tried to activate all the "golden fingers" found in transmigration novels—systems, spatial dimensions, or any other transmigrator abilities—but nothing worked.

Oh, she had entered a "space" once, but she could only stare at the things inside without being able to take them out. She had reason to suspect it was merely a product of her own dreams and fantasies.

She didn't even have the chance to turn her life around through marriage like other transmigrated women. She was a widow; who could she marry? And she was dragging a whole bunch of baggage with her.

She understood now: here, she could only rely on herself and this group of scoundrels.

"Nanny, let me massage your back."

Man'er stood behind Tong Huaqiong.

In the past, Tong Huaqiong always ordered Man'er to massage her back and legs, so as soon as Tong Huaqiong sat in a chair and struck a pose, Man'er would instinctively curl her fists.

"No need," Tong Huaqiong said kindly.

Man'er's eyes welled with tears: "Nanny, did Man'er make you angry?"

Tong Huaqiong: "..."

There was no helping it; Man'er's fear of her would not vanish overnight.

"Man'er, you didn't make me angry. You don't have to be so afraid of me in the future," Tong Huaqiong's expression became even more benevolent.

Man'er smiled; she liked this version of her grandmother.

Chen Sufen, who was sweeping the courtyard, felt her scalp tingle with fear.

When she was about to send Man'er to the Zheng family, Tong Huaqiong had used that same kind gaze.

She couldn't help but feel that her mother-in-law was harboring some wicked scheme, just waiting for her to let her guard down before pulling a major stunt.

Over the past three days, Chen Sufen had worked even harder. She even huddled by her mother-in-law's door at night, rushing to serve her at the slightest movement.

Fetching water, bringing the chamber pot, tucking in the blankets...

All to ensure her mother-in-law was comfortable so she wouldn't change her decision to keep Man'er at home.

Tong Huaqiong shot a glare and shouted at Gu Dashu, who was lounging in a corner soaking up the sun: "Gu Dashu, you're a grown man, how do you have the nerve to lie around like a corpse in broad daylight? Are you blind? Can't you see your sister-in-law working all day? Get up and sweep the courtyard. Once you're done, chop that pile of firewood for me."

Gu Dashu's buttocks were still swollen from being whipped; he endured the pain, stood up, and took the broom from Chen Sufen.

Chen Sufen silently moved a stool next to the washbasin, sat down, and began scrubbing the family's clothes.

Tong Huaqiong glanced at Gu Taohua and yelled: "Gu Taohua, you're a grown woman, yet you still make your sister-in-law scrub your underwear? Have you no shame? Do you think you're a pig just because you've grown fat? Get out here right now. If you don't finish these two large basins of laundry, don't even think about eating."

Gu Taohua rubbed the red welts on her arms and reluctantly walked out of the house to wash the clothes.

Chen Sufen picked up the buckets to fetch water.

Liu Yue'e was leaning against her own doorstep cracking sunflower seeds. Fearing her mother-in-law's wrath might reach her, she quickly tried to scurry away.

But Tong Huaqiong caught her and scolded her.

"You are also a daughter-in-law of the Gu family. Look at your sister-in-law, then look at yourself. Are those seeds growing out of your mouth? Cracking them all day long—why don't you just crack your teeth off? Now, go fetch water immediately."

Liu Yue'e could only stuff the seeds into her pocket and, with tears in her eyes, took the shoulder pole from Chen Sufen.

"And you, Yaozu! If you ever dare call Man'er a 'money-loser' again, just try it! I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Gu Yaozu looked at the firewood stick in his grandmother's hand and nodded hurriedly while clutching his buttocks.

Only then did Tong Huaqiong feel a slight sense of satisfaction.

The only benefit of this era was that filial piety was the law of the land. No matter how much of a scoundrel a person was, once the "filial hat" was placed on them, they wouldn't dare disobey her.

As long as they listened to her, she was confident she could set them straight.

"Mother, give me the truth. You've been whipping and scolding us for the past few days. Are you just acting to numb my sister-in-law so it's easier to send Man'er to the Zheng family, or have you truly changed your ways?"

After Gu Dashu finished sweeping the courtyard, taking advantage of Chen Sufen going to the vegetable patch, he asked his mother brazenly.

Standing beside Tong Huaqiong, Man'er turned pale with fright at the mention of the Zheng family.

Tong Huaqiong gave Gu Dashu a sharp flick to the head.

"Acting my grandmother's ass! I said Man'er isn't going to the Zheng family, and she isn't! You black-hearted, turtle-bred rotten seed, you're still plotting against your niece? If you envy the good life at the Zheng house so much, why don't you just go be their son instead?"

Gu Dashu thought to himself that calling him a "black-hearted rotten turtle" was basically calling her herself.

"But Mother, our family has already accepted two hundred taels of silver from the Zheng family. Do you think they'll let us go?"

"Then return the silver."

"Mother, you're thinking too simply. What kind of family is the Zheng family? When they stomp their feet, the whole of Pingchuan shakes. The news of their eldest son's marriage has already been released. If you return the money and don't send the girl now, do you think they'll let us off? Or let Third Brother off?"

In his opinion, Man'er should be sent over.

Gu Dashu looked worried; anyone who didn't know better would think he was acting out of kindness.

Tong Huaqiong frowned.

However, what Gu Dashu said was indeed the truth.

The Zheng family was not an easy group to deal with. Having suffered such a massive loss, they certainly wouldn't let the matter rest easily.

Resolving the matter with the Zheng family properly was the most urgent task at hand.