The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 121: Dragons Beget Dragons, Phoenixes Beget Phoenixes, The Mouse’s Offspring Will Dig Holes

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Dragons Beget Dragons, Phoenixes Beget Phoenixes, The Mouse’s Offspring Will Dig Holes

In Ning Yuan’s mind, kids Pei Ziheng’s age were incredibly easy to trick. All he had to do was scare him a little, and he would surely tell him everything obediently.

Yet, when Pei Ziheng turned his head towards him, he rolled his eyes dismissively and said, "I don’t care."

Ning Yuan chuckled. "Do you know that poisoning is illegal? If the police find out, they’ll definitely arrest you."

"Oh."

Not even afraid of the police?

When he noticed Pei Ziheng looking towards Shen Mingzhu in the resting pavilion, Ning Yuan had an idea, "Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell your mom? If she found out you’ve done something bad, she would certainly spank you."

"She won’t."

Pei Ziheng said with certainty, "She’ll just praise me for doing a good job."

"..."

Indeed, like father, like son; the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

It’s no wonder then, given Shen Mingzhu’s behavior in swindling Sun Feifei and the other person at noon, that this Miss Shen, who seemed so delicate, was no pushover.

No wonder Yan Yi took such an interest in her.

While Ning Yuan was distracted thinking about Shen Mingzhu, he didn’t forget to keep trying to coax the truth out of Pei Ziheng. "How about this, if you tell me what exactly you put in, from now on whenever you guys dine at Baina Restaurant, you’ll get a twenty percent discount, how does that sound?"

These words sparked a bit of interest in Pei Ziheng.

His mom seemed to really like Baina’s steak; she even mentioned wanting to take him there again after they’d saved up some money.

Thinking about it, Pei Ziheng turned his head and asked Ning Yuan, "Are you also an owner of Baina Restaurant? How many owners does this restaurant have?"

"Do you know what a shareholder is? A shareholder is..."

"I know."

Pei Ziheng’s interruption caught Ning Yuan off guard, and although surprised, he didn’t think too much of it, "Your Uncle Yan is just a minority shareholder, I’m the majority shareholder. In short, I have the final say on the restaurant’s matters."

Pei Ziheng acknowledged with an "Oh," then asked, "Uncle Ning, do I look like a beggar to you?"

Ning Yuan was taken aback by the question before he realized what he meant, a hint of amusement appearing on his face.

The little rascal, actually trying to haggle.

"Thirty percent discount."

Pei Ziheng shook his head.

"Forty percent?"

Pei Ziheng still shook his head, raising his chubby, fair right hand and showing a gesture of five.

Ning Yuan nodded, "Fine, deal!"

Pei Ziheng, now satisfied, gave Ning Yuan the answer.

Upon learning that Pei Ziheng had added fine sugar to the starch, Ning Yuan immediately gave him a thumbs up for his talent, and meanwhile became curious as to how Pei Ziheng knew that adding sugar would spoil the fish when fried.

Pei Ziheng simply replied, "Isn’t that common knowledge?"

Ning Yuan: So, I’m the one without common knowledge, huh?

——

Under the willow trees by the lakeside, Yan Yi and Sun Feifei stood side by side, looking from afar like a match made in heaven.

Yan Yi took the initiative to break the silence, "If you have something to say, just say it."

Looking at his handsome and gentle features, Sun Feifei’s cheeks flushed with two blossoms of red, "Yan Yi, the first time I saw you, I felt really good about you, and then..."

Yan Yi interrupted with a smile, "I’m sorry, I understand what you mean, but I don’t have any feelings for you."

Sun Feifei’s face showed embarrassment and awkwardness, and she seemed about to cry the next second.

"However..."

Sun Feifei’s eyes rekindled with hope, "However, what?"

Yan Yi smiled, "What do you think about Ning Yuan?"

Sun Feifei immediately understood the implication in Yan Yi’s words, but she pretended not to, "I don’t understand..."

At this moment, Sun Feifei had no idea that the person standing before her was not as harmless as she had thought.

In fact, Yan Yi precisely captured every microexpression of hers and accurately dissected her psychology.

An affected woman, utterly dull to the core.

"Ning Yuan is quite eligible and interested in you, you could consider it," he said.

After saying that, Yan Yi left.

Sun Feifei stared at his receding figure, her face changing colors incessantly.

She could clearly see that Ning Yuan came from a wealthy, well-bred family, not to mention his meticulous attire, the watch on his wrist alone was worth a fortune.

But she didn’t like the kind of man Ning Yuan seemed to be, someone who didn’t take the world seriously, and moreover, Zhao Fang was interested in him and had already mentioned it to her.

By the time Yan Yi returned to the equestrian grounds, the people riding had changed to Xiangying’s husband and Zhao Fang.

Xiangying, Ning Yuan, Pei Ziheng, and Shen Mingzhu were sitting in the pavilion, resting and chatting.

Seeing Yan Yi and Sun Feifei return one after the other, Xiangying and Shen Mingzhu exchanged a meaningful smirk.

The pavilion was square with benches made for lounging on all four sides. Shen Mingzhu and Pei Ziheng sat on the east side, Xiangying on the west, and Ning Yuan on the north side.

Yan Yi was the first to enter the pavilion and casually sat down on the bench to the south.

After Yan Yi took his seat, Sun Feifei also stepped into the pavilion.

She glanced at Xiangying, then at Yan Yi, hesitated for a moment, and sat down next to Ning Yuan.

Xiangying immediately started teasing her, "Yo, Feifei, don’t you usually love sticking to Yan Yi? What’s gotten into you today?"

Sun Feifei glanced at Yan Yi with an embarrassed face, "Xiang Jie, stop joking, Yan Yi and I are just ordinary friends."

Xiangying’s eyes circled around to Yan Yi, vaguely understanding something, she changed the subject and started talking to Shen Mingzhu about horse riding, encouraging her to give it a try.

Shen Mingzhu made the excuse of having a fear of heights, so Xiangying could only regretfully switch the conversation to something else.

Meanwhile, Ning Yuan appeared to have a great time chatting with Sun Feifei sitting next to him on the bench.

Although Zhao Fang was riding horses, she kept glancing over at the pavilion, feeling very depressed.

Before horseback riding, she had fantasized about being in Ning Yuan’s arms while riding horses together in a lovely scene.

But once she got on the horse, Ning Yuan simply handed the reins to the groom and went off to rest in the pavilion himself.

Seeing Ning Yuan and Sun Feifei laughing and talking together now made her feel even more morose.

"Feifei!"

Hearing Zhao Fang calling her on the field, Sun Feifei had no choice but to stop chatting with Ning Yuan and stand up to walk towards the riding arena.

"What were you and Ning Yuan talking about?"

Originally, Sun Feifei felt somewhat guilty facing Zhao Fang. After all, Zhao Fang had previously confessed her interest in Ning Yuan to her, and as a friend, knowing Ning Yuan liked her, she should have been more considerate.

But Zhao Fang’s inquisitive tone irritated her.

"Just small talk," she replied.

Noticing her indifferent expression, Zhao Fang realized her own attitude was problematic and quickly changed to a more pleasing tone, "Feifei, how is it going with Yan Yi?"

In front of the stable hands, Sun Feifei obviously didn’t want to bring up a topic that would embarrass herself, so she suggested Zhao Fang dismount to sit in the pavilion for a while.

This suggestion was precisely what Zhao Fang wanted. She immediately jumped off the horse and followed Sun Feifei back to the pavilion.

One Sun Feifei was already bothersome enough for Shen Mingzhu; the addition of Zhao Fang made Shen Mingzhu feel as if the air in the pavilion had become sullied. Using the excuse to walk elsewhere, she pulled Pei Ziheng away from the pavilion.

"At least she has the self-awareness to vacate the seat for us," Zhao Fang muttered to herself, looking at the departing figures of Shen Mingzhu and her son, gleefully pulling Sun Feifei to sit on the bench previously occupied by Shen Mingzhu.

This spot was closest to Ning Yuan.

She actually wanted to sit right beside him, but was too shy to act on it.

Little did she know, she and Sun Feifei had hardly warmed their seats when Yan Yi and Ning Yuan found excuses to leave one after the other.

Suddenly, only three women were left in the pavilion.

Xiangying, impatient to have to deal with them, stood up and went to the riding grounds to find her husband.

Watching the pavilion empty out, Zhao Fang’s face turned green with anger.

Did they think she was a plague? Was it her arrival that made everyone leave?

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