The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 115: Protect Mom from Being Taken by Bad Men

Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Protect Mom from Being Taken by Bad Men

Pei Ziheng stared intently at the direction in which Yan Yi’s car had disappeared, his deep, dark eyes flickering with tiny flames.

Bad uncle, dreaming of stealing his mother, in your dreams!

He suppressed the chill in his eyes, lifted his head, and a perfectly timed look of confusion and curiosity appeared on his lovely little face.

"Mommy, that uncle is actually quite nice, huh? He treats us to meals and even offers to drive us home."

Shen Mingzhu, upon hearing this, lowered her head and pinched her son’s soft cheek, "Silly boy, treating you to a meal and driving you home makes someone a good person? How are you so easy to please? Remember, there’s no such thing as free lunch, and no pies fall from the sky."

Pei Ziheng blinked, "What you mean is, Uncle Yan isn’t a good person?"

"Whether he is good or bad, it’s none of your business. Just remember, he has nothing to do with us."

"Oh."

Thank goodness, Mom isn’t that naive.

Pei Ziheng quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

——

Once they got home, Shen Mingzhu went to the bathroom to get water, ready to take a bath.

The weather had warmed up, and it was no longer cold to bathe at home.

Knowing she loved to bathe, when Pei Yang was still at home, he specifically had a wooden bathtub made for her and also bought a large aluminum pot to heat bathwater.

The aluminum pot was lightweight and rustproof, with quick heat conductivity; a big pot of water could boil in just a few minutes.

While the water wasn’t boiling yet, Shen Mingzhu went to find some clothes to change into.

Pei Ziheng took the opportunity to pick up the telephone on the table and call his aunt, Pei Wenping.

"Auntie, I want to borrow some money..."

The next day, Pei Wenping took her lunch break to go to kindergarten and find Pei Ziheng.

"What does a little kid like you want with borrowed money?"

Pei Ziheng blinked his eyes, which were as pretty as black gems, appearing exceptionally well-behaved, "To treat Mommy to a meal."

After learning that the previous day had been Shen Mingzhu’s birthday, Pei Wenping gave Pei Ziheng a good lecturing for not telling her sooner, then asked how much he wanted to borrow.

Pei Ziheng held up one pale and soft little finger.

Pei Wenping took out a large Unity note from her wallet and handed it to him.

Pei Ziheng shook his head, "It’s one hundred."

Pei Wenping’s eyes almost popped out, "What kind of meal costs one hundred yuan? Are you eating dragon meat or what?"

"It’s not dragon meat, it’s steak, what we had yesterday..."

Pei Ziheng recounted everything about the meal the day before, meeting Yan Yi, and Yan Yi treating them to an extravagant Western meal.

Pei Wenping was dumbfounded.

Sweet mother of mercy, a hundred yuan for a steak? You could buy half a cow at the meat factory for that price!

Unable to resist, Pei Wenping pinched her nephew’s chubby cheek, "You two gluttons, blowing through two months of my salary on one meal!"

Pei Ziheng kept still, a picture of quiet and obedient remorse.

Being pinched once was a small price for borrowing one hundred yuan.

In those days, one hundred yuan was a considerable amount, and Pei Wenping did not have it on her, so she asked for the restaurant’s address.

"I’ll withdraw the money from my savings passbook tomorrow and deliver it directly to the restaurant."

"Thank you, auntie. When Daddy comes back, I’ll have him pay you back."

Pei Wenping waved her hand indifferently, "Alright, you’re just a kid, why worry about these things?"

After saying that, she couldn’t help but grumble, "I’ve lived for so many years and never eaten steak. What does it taste like? Can you become immortal after eating it? One hundred yuan for a steak meal."

"It’s really fragrant, very tender, with a strong milky scent. Auntie, when I grow up and make money, I’ll treat you to steak every day."

Pei Wenping had been quite unhappy at first, feeling that her sister-in-law Shen Mingzhu spent money too freely. But hearing her nephew’s grand promise immediately lifted her spirits, and all her annoyances dissipated.

"Auntie, please don’t tell Mommy that I’m borrowing money from you."

"Why not?"

"It’s Mommy’s birthday, and since Daddy isn’t here to celebrate with her, we should give him a chance to make it up."

Pei Wenping felt it made sense and heartily praised her nephew before pulling him aside for a whisper, "Ziheng, you also need to act like a little man and take good care of your mommy. With your dad not at home, we need to keep watch over the homefront for him, to protect his wife and make sure no bad men whisk her away."

"Hmm!"

——

After returning to her workplace, Pei Wenping immediately called home to ask her mother-in-law to go to the market to buy groceries. Then she phoned her husband, Chen Yi, to take some time in the afternoon to order a birthday cake, and finally called Shen Mingzhu, asking her to bring Pei Ziheng to the Chen Family’s house for dinner in the evening.

"... I’ve been so busy I completely forgot your birthday was yesterday. Come over for dinner tonight; I’ve arranged everything. You don’t need to bring anything, just come directly."

Unable to decline the warm invitation, Shen Mingzhu agreed.

Although Pei Wenping said there was no need to bring anything, there were still basic courtesies to observe when visiting someone’s home.

Besides, it wasn’t simply an invitation for dinner; it was to celebrate her birthday.

After hanging up with Pei Wenping, Shen Mingzhu took her wallet and went out to buy some fruits. She also bought flour, peanut butter, milk, salted eggs, and the like, and then went home to bake peanut cookies and egg yolk biscuits among other snacks.

Once baked, she let them cool and then vacuum-sealed them in small transparent bags for preservation.

Due to limited time, she didn’t bake much. Worried that she would not have enough to give away, she did not dare to leave any for Pei Ziheng.

After she finished the preparations, it was just time for kindergarten to let out.

Shen Mingzhu changed into a suitable outfit, took the fruits and her homemade cookies, picked up Pei Ziheng, and headed straight for the Chen Family’s home.

Upon arrival, Pei Wenping was already tied up with an apron in the kitchen, busy with preparations.

Shen Mingzhu felt both surprised and touched.

Office staff at the cotton mill finished work at 5:30 PM, and it was only just past 5:15 PM. Evidently, Pei Wenping had left work early to prepare for her birthday.

"Big sister, let me help you."

"That won’t be necessary. Today, you are the birthday star. You should sit in the living room and watch TV; there’s no need for you here."

Like Pei Yang, Pei Wenping was a domineering person who didn’t take no for an answer. She insisted on not letting Shen Mingzhu help and promptly pushed her out of the kitchen and closed the door behind her.

Shen Mingzhu was both amused and at a loss, turning to go help the twins with their homework.

However, as she reached the door of the twins’ room, she saw Pei Ziheng standing next to his cousin, Chen Xiaochao, seriously teaching the other how to form sentences.

"...For example, you’re curious; you saw a pile of dog poop on your way home from school and, out of curiosity, picked it up and sniffed it."

Shen Mingzhu: "..."

And Chen Xiaochao actually didn’t see a problem with it, praising Pei Ziheng for being impressive while diligently jotting down the sentence in his exercise book.

On the other side of the room, Chen Chaolu, who was still relatively normal, looked disdainfully at her brothers and started composing her sentence, though she replaced the dog poop with a little flower.

Just before it got dark, Chen Yi also returned, holding a beautiful cream cake in his hand. The twins were so excited they started hopping around, almost as if it were the New Year.

Clearly, the family didn’t often have birthday cakes at home, which explained such a reaction.

Shen Mingzhu’s feelings of gratitude grew even more.

Pei Wenping’s cooking skills were still quite impressive; the dishes were varied, with a good mix of meat and vegetables, and she had even specifically made Shen Mingzhu’s favorite garlic pork ribs.

After the meal, Pei Wenping and her in-laws efficiently cleared the dining table, put the birthday cake in place, inserted the candles, and the whole family clapped hands and sang the birthday song together, creating a warm and intense atmosphere.

Under the dim candlelight, Shen Mingzhu’s eyes filled with tears.

When making a wish, she found herself subconsciously praying for Pei Yang in her heart—

Return safely.

——

Before long, the weekend arrived, and Shen Mingzhu took Pei Ziheng to participate in a study group’s outdoor activity.

The location was a mountain villa in the suburbs.

The villa was built on the mountainside with a Western architectural style. The main building was a castle-like round-topped villa, surrounded by an artificial lake, lawns, flower gardens, and a little further out, vegetable plots, orchards, and farms.

The event was held on the lawn behind the villa on a slope.

When the staff of the mountain villa led Shen Mingzhu and her son to the event site, everyone cast surprised glances their way.

The activity required participants to bring a family member, and other students brought their significant others or friends; those who were single and unmarried brought friends or besties.

Only Shen Mingzhu had brought her son.

"Shen Mingzhu, don’t tell me you thought today was a parent-child event?"

"Today’s outdoor activity involves taking on tasks. If you’re here with your son, are you going to be focused on the tasks or busy looking after the child?"

At the end of this comment, a round of laughter broke out among the group.