Free Web NovelChapter 320: Chapter 320: Fake Mother-in-law
Grandma Tang had been a child bride, sold to the Tang Family by her parents at a young age.
Life has never been easy for a daughter-in-law, and it was even harder for a child bride.
A child bride’s status was lower still. Grandma Tang endured endless suffering and countless beatings from her mother-in-law.
Life was hard, which gave her mother-in-law a terrible temper. Whenever she got angry, she would take it out on Grandma Tang.
Shoving pig feed and dirt into her mouth were common occurrences.
Later in life, when Grandma Tang herself got angry, she would resort to the same methods.
Mrs. Tang suffered the same treatment from Grandma Tang as a child. Whenever she was disobedient, Grandma Tang would either beat her or shove things into her mouth.
After Mrs. Tang married, life gradually improved. She had only one son, Tang Yuanxiao, and she doted on him so much that she never laid a hand on him.
But when she learned that Little Tang Mo was not her biological grandson, this method of punishment resurfaced from the depths of her memory.
Mrs. Tang had inherited this vicious habit from Grandma Tang, who in turn had learned it from her mother-in-law.
Its origins further back were impossible to trace, but this cruel habit of stuffing things into people’s mouths had been passed down from one generation to the next.
Tang Yuanxiao had been too young to remember seeing Grandma Tang do these things.
It was only now, after the prison guard’s questions forced him to wrack his brain, that this deeply buried memory came to light.
After waking up, Tang Yuanxiao sat in a daze on his bed for a long time.
Over the next two days, Tang Yuanxiao handed off his current tasks and prepared for the Devil’s Training Camp.
On his last day before leaving, Tang Yuanxiao went out early in the morning.
He was going to visit the prison. But before that, he first made a trip to the Imperial City.
He went to see Little Tang Mo.
He didn’t contact Su Li in advance, choosing instead to secretly visit Little Tang Mo at his school.
He had only just heard from Yu Le that Little Tang Mo could speak.
Everyone else already knew, but due to his sequestered training and other reasons, he was essentially the last to find out.
Tang Yuanxiao hid off to the side, quietly watching Little Tang Mo, who had grown taller again. When he heard the boy speak with his own ears, his eyes welled up with tears.
’Little Tang Mo can talk...’
’He can finally talk...’
Afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from appearing if he watched any longer, Tang Yuanxiao quickly left.
After seeing Little Tang Mo, Tang Yuanxiao went to the entrance of Huaguo Communication University. He stood outside the gate, silently bidding Su Li farewell.
Around noon, Tang Yuanxiao finally arrived at the prison to see Mrs. Tang.
Compared to his previous visits, Mrs. Tang seemed to be in very poor spirits this time.
Although she was wearing clean clothes, the foul, acrid smell still clung to her.
She had lost a shocking amount of weight; she was nothing but skin and bones.
This time, Mrs. Tang didn’t dare to wail and complain. She desperately wanted to cry when she saw Tang Yuanxiao, but a glance at the nearby prison guard made her force her tears back.
Tang Yuanxiao could tell that his mother was afraid of the prison guards. Terrified.
And how could she not be? She was terrified of being locked in solitary confinement again. The feeling of being cut off from the light of day was simply horrifying.
There was terror in Mrs. Tang’s eyes, and she spoke cautiously, like a frightened mouse.
Seeing her like this, Tang Yuanxiao felt both heartbroken and helpless.
"Mom, I’ll come see you again in April. I’m going out of town for a while, so I won’t be able to visit until I get back."
Tang Yuanxiao didn’t mention the dangers of the Devil’s Training Camp, afraid it would frighten her.
Tang Yuanxiao had brought everything he could think of for her. He repeatedly urged her to behave and not cause any more trouble like before.
The next day, Tang Yuanxiao embarked on his journey to the Devil’s Training Camp.
Wu Sheng didn’t go in person, but he arranged all the logistics for their departure, controlling everything from afar.
All news from the camp, good or bad, would be reported back to him immediately.
After leaving the training camp, Wu Sheng rested for a day, sought out Su Li to soothe his longing for her, and then threw himself back into his work.
After seeing off Tang Yuanxiao’s group, Wu Sheng’s hectic schedule finally eased up a little.
Unfortunately, despite the break, he couldn’t go see Su Li, as there were other matters to attend to.
After work, Wu Sheng went to find Ge Ba.
Ge Ba, who could have worked anywhere but had insisted on working with him, had quietly resigned while Wu Sheng was away at the sequestered selection. He had left without a word, disappearing without a trace.
Wu Sheng gritted his teeth the entire way there.
’That damn kid. Thinks his wings are all grown and he can just fly the coop, huh? He insisted on joining when I told him not to, and now, of all times, he quits!’
When Wu Sheng found Ge Ba, he wanted nothing more than to give him a good thrashing.
But he couldn’t bring himself to do it when he saw Ge Ba’s fawning smile.
"Wu Sheng, don’t be mad. I’ve actually wanted to resign for a while now, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. This seemed like the right time... so I did. I have to chase my dream, you know?"
Wu Sheng was speechless. "Chase what dream?"
"To be a chef! You all say my cooking is great, right? I’m going to be a chef, and then I’m going to get married and have kids!"
Ge Ba puffed out his chest. "And you were the one who told me to get married and have kids."
Wu Sheng was beyond frustrated, but what was done was done. There was no changing it.
Ge Ba cooked a delicious meal, brought out some good wine, and the two of them drank together.
"Don’t pull a stunt like this again, kid." After several drinks, Wu Sheng patted Ge Ba’s shoulder as he was leaving.
"Yeah." Ge Ba, whose face flushed when he drank, nodded, his cheeks red.
"I’m off," Wu Sheng said with a wave.
Ge Ba watched him take a few steps before suddenly asking, "Heard you’re getting ready to propose?"
Wu Sheng turned back and gave him a look. "You’ve got good ears, kid."
He raised a finger to his lips. "Keep it under wraps for now!"
Ge Ba nodded. "Got it."
Wu Sheng waved. "Once I succeed, I’ll introduce you to your future sister-in-law."
Ge Ba smiled as he watched Wu Sheng walk away.
Meanwhile, Wu Sheng continued with his grand project of preparing his proposal, completely unbeknownst to Su Li.
The first batch of spring apparel had rolled off the factory’s production line. Between her classes and her business, Su Li was just as busy as Wu Sheng.
Su Li had seen many such things in her past life, but she’d never actually done them herself. To others, she made it look easy, but in reality, she was constantly learning and improving through trial and error.
In the Imperial City, Su Li had acquired three storefronts—some purchased, some rented—and with the addition of the boutique in the department store, she had a total of four locations.
Currently, the shops were undergoing rushed renovations.
The decor and style of the shops were standardized so that customers would immediately recognize them as being from the same brand.
Yin Cuihua had also traveled to two other cities—both among the most developed in Huaguo—to lease more storefronts.
At the same time, Su Li was handling the advertising.
With such a big launch, advertising was indispensable.
Radio, newspapers, television—Su Li didn’t want to miss a single one.
But you couldn’t just run ads on a whim. There was too much to arrange, especially for television spots, which required filming a commercial.
Su Li planned everything step-by-step and acted methodically to avoid being overwhelmed.
In the midst of all this, just as Su Li had nearly forgotten all about her "fake mother," Ye Xilan, the woman showed up again.
When Su Li was taking Little Tang Mo home from school, she once again saw the familiar car and the familiar man.
This time, however, Su Li ignored them.
Unfortunately, Su Li still ended up meeting with Ye Xilan the next day.
