Gu Honglian returned home, but as the eldest sister-in-law, Tong Huaqiong did not attend the meal.
She instructed someone to send over some meat and dishes.
With Gu Honglian and Fan Tong’s marriage, the ill-fated relationship from Gu Taohua’s past completely dissipated, which also improved Tong Huaqiong’s impression of Gu Honglian and Fan Tong.
Gu Dahan, Gu Fengnian, and Mrs. Wei were all invited to the return home banquet.
Mr. Gu hinted to Gu Dahan and Gu Fengnian to support Gu Honglian in front of Fan Tong, but neither knew the specifics of the situation, and given their aunt’s usual willfulness, they remained silent as quails.
After Fan Tong left, Mr. Gu angrily scolded the two as useless fools.
Gu Dahan and Gu Fengnian, after being scolded, went straight to the cotton fields from the old Gu family residence to work.
Mrs. Wei heard from Mrs. Gu that Gu Honglian had been wronged in the past three days and gossiped about it with Tong Huaqiong at the Weaving Workshop.
"Our aunt always wanted to marry a scholar, and now she got what she wanted, but only three days have passed and things are not satisfactory. I saw her eyes were swollen from crying," Mrs. Wei shook her head and sighed.
Tong Huaqiong knew about the situation of the Fan family from her past life’s memory as Tong Dajiao.
A widowed mother, an elder sister-in-law, and a big sister-in-law, like three big tough characters.
Just thinking about it made Tong Huaqiong’s scalp tingle.
A widowed mother alone is difficult enough, let alone having three.
Gu Taohua, back then, also felt aggrieved, but unlike Gu Honglian, she was not as tolerant and single-minded.
Gu Taohua directly started a fight, as she couldn’t hit her mother-in-law, she beat up her elder sister-in-law and big sister-in-law.
Moreover, the family really supported Gu Taohua; Tong Dajiao went and scolded Mrs. Fan, Gu Jingzhe admonished Fan Tong, and with the large dowry from Lu Zhaozhao, Gu Taohua established her position in the Fan family.
Aside from feeling hurt by Fan Tong emotionally due to her romantic notions, who didn’t treat her well in the family?
In this life, Gu Honglian and Fan Tong have become a pair of ill-fated lovers, taking over the chaos of the Fan family.
One can well imagine their life.
"If you eat salted fish, you have to bear the thirst," Tong Huaqiong remarked.
This was also Gu Honglian’s own choice.
Gu Honglian had long known what kind of person Fan Tong was.
So did Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu.
Had Gu Honglian obediently married a prosperous farmer, her life would have gone smoothly.
But she insisted on marrying a scholar, unwilling to marry anyone but a scholar. Marrying a scholar was fine, but the good ones didn’t want her, leaving her only with someone like Fan Tong.
No choice.
Her life was her own, and only she knew its warmth or coldness; anyway, Tong Huaqiong couldn’t control it.
Tong Huaqiong soon pushed Gu Honglian’s matter to the back of her mind.
Now that the border was stable, the store that Gu Dashu and Manager He had opened at the border required a large supply of general goods and cotton fabric.
Tong Huaqiong had been busy these days sending supplies to the border.
Going to the border was not a simple matter; they needed to cooperate with a reliable escort agency, select trustworthy clerks, and rent camels and horses to form a caravan.
The leaders of this team were Qin Qingyou and Ma Huateng.
Qin Qingyou and Ma Huateng were the first batch of clerks to work with Tong Huaqiong since Taohua Dessert was established; later, after Jufu Supermarket was established, Tong Huaqiong transferred them there.
Qin Qingyou was already the manager of Jufu Supermarket in Yan Guan Town.
Ma Huateng was the financial manager of Tong Huaqiong’s business.
Originally, Tong Huaqiong hadn’t intended for Ma Huateng to go, but he volunteered to go to the border.
Although Ma Huateng held the position of a financial manager, he had the heart of a scholar who cared about the world.
The vast desert at the border was a place Ma Huateng yearned for immensely; had Manager He not convinced him that he couldn’t handle labor, he would have joined the military.
So when he learned that Tong Huaqiong was organizing a caravan to the border, he enthusiastically volunteered and was ultimately selected.
With Qin Qingyou and Ma Huateng steadying the ship, Tong Huaqiong felt very reassured.
Tong Huaqiong wasn’t worried about their betrayal at all; for one thing, their characters had stood the test of time, and for another, to be blunt, their families were still in Yan Guan Town.
Two days before the caravan’s departure, Liu Qingsong came to visit.
He begged Tong Huaqiong to allow him to go to the border to help develop the market.
Ever since Gu Xiaoxue had rejected Liu Qingsong, he had been looking for an opportunity to make something of himself. Hearing about the chance to go to the border, he wanted to join, but his family disagreed, and he didn’t dare go with the caravan without their consent, fearing it might cause friction with Tong Huaqiong.
He finally managed to persuade his village head father and rushed over to join the caravan.
"Life at the border is tough, you should think it over," Tong Huaqiong said.
Liu Qingsong replied, "I can endure hardships."
"Alright, go inform Qingyou, and depart with them the day after tomorrow," Tong Huaqiong instructed.
Liu Qingsong excitedly shouted and headed to the Qin family.
After leaving the Qin family, Liu Qingsong waited at the crossroad and stopped Gu Xiaoxue after she got off work.
He told Gu Xiaoxue that he was going to the border to seek his fortune. He still liked her, and asked if she would be willing to leave Qinghe Bay in the future and live in a vast and free place outside.
Gu Xiaoxue understood Liu Qingsong’s intentions and told him she needed to think about it, which might take a year or even two.
Liu Qingsong said he could wait since it was unlikely he would achieve anything significant at the border anytime soon.
On the third day’s dawn, the caravan set out, and Tong Huaqiong saw them off from Yan Guan Town.
Gu Xiaoxue stood behind Tong Huaqiong, watching the departing caravan, and asked, "Aunt, is life at the border really free?"
Tong Huaqiong thought for a moment and said, "Not necessarily, but it should be freer than Qinghe Bay."
This was in reference to Gu Xiaoxue.
As long as she was in Qinghe Bay, she would be controlled by the old Gu family’s residence.
Although she had now left the old residence to live with her eldest brother and sister-in-law, her marriage was still in the hands of Gu Youtian and his wife. They might sell her for a good price one day.
Currently, they weren’t selling her because they feared Gu Xiaoxue might poison them.
"Aunt, can I go to the border in the future?" Gu Xiaoxue asked.
Tong Huaqiong replied, "Of course you can, as long as you want to."
Gu Xiaoxue pursed her lips and said nothing.
She truly wanted to go to the border, to that place the villagers described as having endless sandstorms and six months of snow a year.
Tong Huaqiong watched as the caravan got farther and farther away and said, "Liu Qingsong is a good person. If you like him, you could try being with him. In fact, the important thing is not being with him, but having the courage to leave after being with him, just like Tong Pandi."
Gu Xiaoxue’s eyes brightened.
Of course, she liked Liu Qingsong, but in a way, Liu Qingsong represented a vehicle for her to escape the Gu family and live freely, like going to the border for a free and easy life.
No choice was perfect for her.
With her parents around, she couldn’t establish a female household like Li Mingxiu.
Nor could she live with her brother and sister-in-law for the rest of her life.
Eventually, she would have to marry, and rather than being under her parents’ control, she might as well take the plunge and venture with Liu Qingsong to the border.
Even if Liu Qingsong disappointed her one day, she could still learn from Tong Pandi and seek separation.
She had the skills to run a textile business, and even renting a spinning wheel would prevent her from starving.
Besides, her aunt’s business had already expanded to the border. She could learn to manage a shop like Gu Taohua.
Gu Xiaoxue only felt that her future life was full of hope.