The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 129: The Yang Family’s Ugly Eating Manners

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: The Yang Family’s Ugly Eating Manners

Qin Jinlian stirring up trouble was something Shen Mingzhu had anticipated, but what she hadn’t expected was the unsightly manner in which Qin Jinlian and the Yang Family members behaved—simply revolting to the extreme.

"Since they want the skill of making egg cakes so badly, just give it to them."

Du Juan nodded in agreement, but deep down she felt somewhat aggrieved and reluctant.

"Actually, on the way here I was thinking about it, too. With Mom’s temperament, she wouldn’t give up until she taught the skill to Xiangnan. Fortunately, in these past months, Chaobei and I have been working hard and have saved some money. In the worst case, we’ll just earn a bit less."

At this, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but be curious about how much the couple had earned in the past two months.

"We haven’t set up stall these past few days, but the last time we did the accounts, in total it was three hundred and twenty-four yuan and eighty cents."

"That much?"

Earning over three hundred in two months, even Shen Mingzhu felt a twinge of envy.

For Du Juan, Shen Mingzhu’s reaction was tantamount to deep praise. She eagerly recounted to Shen Mingzhu the events of setting up stall in the neighboring town over the past two months, speaking animatedly and clearly taking great pleasure in the sense of achievement from making money.

After listening, Shen Mingzhu’s envy immediately turned into admiration.

No wonder she noticed that Du Juan’s skin had become much rougher, and she had lost a significant amount of weight, with her clothes hanging loosely on her frame.

Traversing hills and valleys for six to seven hours every day, Shen Mingzhu was sure that she herself wouldn’t have been able to earn that money.

"Sister-in-law, do you want to come to the city to make money?"

Du Juan was so startled by her question that it took her a good while to recover, stammering, "Can I? I’m uneducated, unskilled, and know nothing. What can I do if I go to the city?"

"You can learn what you don’t know. Making money isn’t really related to education. As long as you can talk and do arithmetic, you can earn money."

"Sister-in-law, if you can settle down in the city, in the future Daya can study in the city. As she grows up, her life prospects compared to living in Shenjiagou will be completely transformed."

——

By the time Du Juan returned to Shenjiagou, the sun had already set.

No sooner had she stepped through the door when Qin Jinlian, like a dog catching a scent, swiftly came looking for her.

Before Qin Jinlian could even ask, Du Juan directly informed her, "Mom, Mingzhu has agreed to teach the egg cake skill to Xiangnan, but she has a condition. You tell Lizhen to come back to her maternal home and bring her family over, and let’s clarify this matter in person tomorrow."

Overjoyed, Qin Jinlian turned and ran home to pass on the news to her second daughter-in-law.

Early the next morning, just as it dawned, the Yang Family members arrived.

The attendees were Yang’s mother, along with Yang Lizhen’s cousins and their spouses.

In addition to the Shen Family members, Du Juan went ahead and invited the village chief and several respected elders of Shenjiagou.

Having waited impatiently all night, Qin Jinlian could no longer contain herself, "Daya’s mother, go on and tell us, what exactly did Mingzhu say?"

Seeing her face beaming with happiness, Du Juan scoffed, "Mom, it seems you’ve forgotten what Mingzhu said when we split the family."

Qin Jinlian was taken aback and then awkwardly replied, "We’re talking about the egg cakes now, why bring up the past?"

"It’s necessary to clarify the whole complicated story. It doesn’t matter if Chaobei and I suffer a little injustice, but we can’t let Mingzhu take the blame for favoring us over the older brother and sister-in-law."

Hearing this, the Yang Family members exchanged uncomfortable glances.

To force Du Juan and her husband to share the egg cake technique, they had spread quite a few rumors in the village about Shen Mingzhu’s partiality towards them.

Then, Du Juan explained in detail to the village chief the reason why Shen Mingzhu taught only her and Chaobei the egg cake technique.

The crowd of villagers who had gathered around the entrance of the Shen house heard Du Juan’s words, which undeniably cast the Yang Family members in the role of villain.

"Pah, the Yang Family really has no shame. They took such great benefits in private, didn’t feel any gratitude, and yet they spread malicious gossip. They said Mingzhu was biased towards Chaobei’s family. Aren’t they just ungrateful wretches?"

"If you ask me, Jinlian and her husband must be sick in the head. They have such a good job opportunity in the city and don’t give it to their own son, instead giving it to an outsider?"

"If she wasn’t sick, why would she ignore her dutiful and filial daughter-in-law and favor that lazy, good-for-nothing one?"

Although Qin Jinlian didn’t feel in her heart that favoring her second son was wrong, hearing the villagers criticizing her one after another still made it hard for her to save face, she silently noted down a few who spoke against her, planning to seek revenge when an opportunity arose.

On the other hand, Yang Lizhen’s mental fortitude was exceedingly strong, no matter how much the villagers spat on her, she acted as if she did not see it.

The Yang family originally felt guilty, but seeing her so confident, they too started to calm down.

Today, even if the sky fell, they had to acquire the skill to make egg cakes!

Shen Jianguo and Shen Xiangnan, father and son, were so ashamed they couldn’t lift their heads.

Both were honest men, and both were henpecked husbands who couldn’t control their wives, only able to watch as the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law bickered, turning their household upside down.

However, even at this point, Qin Jinlian was still fixated on the egg cake recipe.

"Chaobei, Xiangnan is your own brother, not a stranger, teach him the craft so he can make money with you, isn’t it much better than you making money quietly on your own? When your nephew grows up, he will be grateful for his uncle’s help."

Upon hearing this, Yang’s mother instinctively looked towards her daughter.

The latter was peeling loquats with a calm demeanor, not even blinking.

Du Juan took up Qin Jinlian’s thread, "Mom, we’ve already returned the egg cake recipe to Mingzhu."

This statement was indeed a novelty to everyone.

Could a skill they had learned be returned to their teacher?

Qin Jinlian’s eyes bulged wider than a pair of copper bells, "Do you think a craft is an object that can just be returned once you say so?"

"Mom, we truly have returned the egg cake craft back to Mingzhu. Starting from today, Chaobei and I will never touch the egg cake business again, if we break this vow, let us be struck by lightning and meet a bad end!"

Du Juan swore publicly, leaving Qin Jinlian speechless for a long time.

Even Yang Lizhen couldn’t stay calm.

She never expected that Du Juan and her husband would rather ruin their reputation than compromise.

The onlookers whispered and debated among themselves.

Some thought Du Juan and her husband were foolish, handing over the skill might have set them back, but they could still have made some money, although a little less; why break the pot so that everyone would go hungry?

Others, however, supported the couple, saying that life is short and one must stand up for oneself. It’s not worth it to be humiliated, and they could still live without money.

The Yang family was also stunned. After all that trouble, they ended up with nothing?

At that moment, Du Juan spoke up again, "Mom, Mingzhu said you and the Yang family can have the egg cake recipe if you want, but she has one condition."

What’s called a plot twist?

This is it!

Qin Jinlian immediately asked, "What condition?"

Instead of continuing, Du Juan took out the ledger she had kept for the past two months selling egg cakes and showed it to the village chief.

Qin Jinlian hurriedly leaned in next to the village chief.

But she was illiterate, and after staring for a long time, she couldn’t make heads or tails of it, so she asked the village chief, "What does it say?"

The village chief ignored Qin Jinlian and quickly flipped to the last page, so shocked he lost his voice—

"Chaobei, you made over three hundred yuan in these two months?!"

What?!

It was as if a drop of cold water had been dropped into a hot oil pan. The entire Shen family erupted in an instant.

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