The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 123: When You Have Shit on Your Mind, Everything Looks Like Shit

Chapter 123: Chapter 123: When You Have Shit on Your Mind, Everything Looks Like Shit

After returning from the farm, Shen Mingzhu began to focus exclusively on devising methods to make money.

She was no longer satisfied with only selling egg cakes, a minor and simple business.

The weather was getting hotter by the day, and without air conditioning in this era, she had no desire to stand by the oven that could kill someone with its heat, sweating profusely just to earn a paltry few dollars during the scorching summer days.

For a live-streaming influencer with no work experience, other than making food, she really had no other talents to show off.

After several days of deep reflection, she decided to make snacks.

Opening a restaurant or bakery not only required a large investment but also meant she had to keep a daily watch on the place. The busyness and exhaustion were one thing, but she certainly wouldn’t have time to take care of Pei Ziheng.

Making snacks was much simpler.

She just needed to develop the techniques and recipes, find a food factory for collaboration, and she could earn money while sitting at home, taking care of the child and helping with his studies simultaneously.

Perfect~

Once she had the idea, she took action. Shen Mingzhu selected spicy strips, seaweed, fried potato chips, and dried tofu from the online famous snacks that would sweep the nation forty years later.

The reason she chose these four snacks was a comprehensive consideration of the era, cost, and other factors.

In this era, the economy wasn’t wealthy, and when it came to food, value for money was more urgent than nutritional value.

Thus, the snacks she intended to make were also affordable for the masses.

Once she had settled on the project, Shen Mingzhu began to put it into action.

She spent several days touring the various food markets in Fengcheng, making conscientious research notes, and buying back various factories’ spicy strips, potato chips, and dried tofu for taste testing.

Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.

As for seaweed, it didn’t seem to exist in this era, at least not in Fengcheng as a snack item yet.

Besides seaweed, she also couldn’t find treats like jelly and crisp noodles which would become popular among children in later years.

For Shen Mingzhu, this was also a golden business opportunity not to be missed.

Before long, the weekend arrived.

After a busy week, Shen Mingzhu wanted to relax a bit, so she took Pei Ziheng to the city’s movie theater to watch a movie.

When they arrived at the entrance of the cinema, Shen Mingzhu faintly heard people arguing nearby. Looking toward the source of the sound, she couldn’t help but laugh.

The two people arguing were none other than Sun Feifei and Zhao Fang. Talk about coincidence.

Zhao Fang had an angry expression like someone betrayed, "...And you’re saying there’s nothing between you two? If there’s nothing, why are you going to have Western meals and watch movies together? Sun Feifei, I trusted you as a friend and told you all my heartfelt thoughts. How could you do this to me?"

Sun Feifei wore an innocent and enduring expression, "Zhao Fang, you’ve misunderstood. Last time we ate together, it was just to thank him for helping me down the mountain. Today he asked me out to inquire about the school’s enrollment for the next semester, and after I told him, he invited me to watch a movie to thank me."

"Sun Feifei, do you think I’m an idiot?"

Seeing the surrounding crowd watching her, Sun Feifei quickly tried to calm Zhao Fang down, "Feifei, don’t be angry, let’s find a place where I can explain everything to you slowly, alright?"

Just as Zhao Fang was about to speak, she caught sight of Shen Mingzhu, who was watching the drama unfolding from a distance, and her face suddenly became annoyed, "What are you looking at!?"

Sun Feifei also turned her head instantly and, seeing Shen Mingzhu who had been watching the drama unfold for who knows how long, her expression changed several times.

Shen Mingzhu replied with a smile that was not quite a smile, "If you hadn’t seen me, how would you know I was watching you? If you can look at me, why can’t I look at you?"

Watching Zhao Fang become enraged to the point of smoke rising from her head, Shen Mingzhu happily led Pei Ziheng away to leave, but Sun Feifei chased after them.

"Good dogs don’t block the path."

Upon hearing Shen Mingzhu call her a dog, Sun Feifei’s expression instantly soured.

"Shen Mingzhu, I have something to ask you."

"Are we familiar? Why should I talk to you just because you want to ask me something?"

After the confrontation, Shen Mingzhu simply walked around him, but Sun Feifei was like a stubborn plaster that couldn’t be shaken off.

"Shen Mingzhu, what exactly did you say to Yan Yi the day of the outdoor activity?"

Shen Mingzhu turned a deaf ear and quickened her pace.

Feifei, frustrated, grabbed her purse strap.

Shen Mingzhu became furious, turned her head and berated, "Let go!"

Feifei, acting as if she couldn’t understand human speech, said, "Do you know that after that day’s activities, Yan Yi notified everyone that night, and the study group was disbanded."

"Oh, great jubilation."

"You!"

Sun Feifei glared at her with a sullen expression, "Shen Mingzhu, considering that we once studied under the same roof, I kindly remind you that as a married woman with children, you should not get too close to Yan Yi. Even if not for your own sake, you should think about the child by your side."

As she spoke, Sun Feifei’s gaze lingered on Pei Ziheng for an instant before moving back to Shen Mingzhu’s face.

At this moment, Sun Feifei had not noticed the devilish cold glint flickering in Pei Ziheng’s eyes.

"Shen Mingzhu, as a woman from the countryside without any noteworthy attributes, the fact that you could marry into the city and live a peaceful life is already blessed fortune from prayers and worship. I advise you not to aspire above your station and not see your actual status clearly. Be careful not to end up losing everything and being reduced to your original state."

Shen Mingzhu scoffed, "Sun Feifei, I’ll leave you with a quote from Sanmao, ’Your myriad interpretations and readings of me do not make up even a thousandth of who I am, yet they completely reveal who you are.’"

"Only those with a guilty conscience see everything as filthy."

After saying that, Shen Mingzhu forcefully yanked her purse strap back. Caught off guard, Sun Feifei stumbled from the momentum.

Pei Ziheng quietly stuck out his little leg.

Thud.

Sun Feifei fell flat on her face.

By the time Sun Feifei got up from the ground, Shen Mingzhu and her son were nowhere to be seen, and she was left to the ridicule of passersby pointing and laughing.

Shen Mingzhu!

---

The next day, Sun Feifei took the initiative to find Zhao Fang to mend their friendship.

"Fangfang, actually, when I invited Ning Yuan for dinner that day, I wanted to inquire about why Yan Yi disbanded the study group. Ning Yuan told me that Shen Mingzhu had the audacity to ask to have me expelled from the study group, and that Yan Yi, annoyed by Shen Mingzhu’s persistence, simply decided to disband the group."

"Fangfang, the truth is, when I met with Ning Yuan, it was only to learn more about Yan Yi. You know I like Yan Yi. I’ve never been fond of a frivolous playboy type like Ning Yuan."

Zhao Fang looked at her half-believing and half-doubting, "Then why didn’t you say this earlier?"

"Isn’t that why I’m here explaining it to you?" Sun Feifei held Zhao Fang’s hand, her face full of sincerity, "I’ve said quite a few nice things about you to Ning Yuan, and he should have a pretty good impression of you by now. I’m planning to find an opportunity to create a chance for you two to meet."

"Really?"

Zhao Fang was both surprised and delighted, completely unaware that the topic had been skewed by Sun Feifei.

"Fangfang, when things work out between you and Ning Yuan, remember to treat me to a meal."

"Don’t worry, if it really works out between him and me, I’ll definitely treat you to a big meal."

Zhao Fang affectionately linked arms with Sun Feifei, completely forgetting the earlier animosity.

Seeing Zhao Fang’s beaming face resembling a blooming flower, Sun Feifei felt a shameful sense of superiority, and her eyes even showed a mocking scorn for her friend’s naive infatuation.

In fact, aside from having a meal and watching a movie with Ning Yuan in private once, he called her every night, and they would talk for half an hour each time.

But she had no intention of telling Zhao Fang this, for now, she still needed to use Zhao Fang to achieve some goals.

"Fangfang, could you do me a favor?"

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