The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 137: Regretted, Want to Remarry

Chapter 137: Chapter 137: Regretted, Want to Remarry

The next morning, in front of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

Shen Xiangnan watched Yang Lizhen arrive late, heart unavoidably filled with reluctance and fantasies.

The two had dated, married, and now, adding it all up, shared a bond of three years.

If possible, he still hoped to continue being husband and wife with her.

"Lizhen, if you’re willing to live with me, let’s not divorce. I’ll go back and talk to Mom."

Facing Shen Xiangnan’s earnest and sincere expression, Yang Lizhen scoffed coldly, "Shen Xiangnan, what I hate most is your pathetic demeanor. Yesterday, when your mother forced me to return the bride price, you didn’t utter a word, and now you regret it? Too late!"

Shen Xiangnan’s lips quivered, but he ultimately swallowed the words that had reached his mouth.

He had wanted to tell Yang Lizhen that he would be heading into the city tomorrow; he would be capable of providing her a good life in the future.

But knowing Yang Lizhen’s character, even if she learned of his job, she wouldn’t be happy for him. Instead, she would angrily accuse him of stealing Yang Bo’s job.

She always took her own family’s side, never considering him in the slightest.

Just like the craft of making egg cakes, he had long known that it wasn’t Yang Family’s cousin’s wife who carelessly leaked it but the Yang Family who sold it.

After completing the procedures, Yang Lizhen threw the agreed upon fifty yuan of bride price money at Shen Xiangnan.

"I want to see if your mother can still get you a wife with these fifty yuan!"

——

From the moment Shen Xiangnan entered the village, villagers working in the fields or walking on the roads all eagerly inquired.

"Xiangnan, did you really get divorced?"

"Yeah."

As soon as Shen Xiangnan stepped into his home, the news of his divorce spread like wildfire throughout Shenjiagou.

"He got divorced, really divorced!"

"It’s good that he did. Such a lazy wife should’ve been kicked out long ago!"

"It’s just a shame for Chaobei and his wife’s craft, such a good source of income, completely ruined by the Yang Family."

"Tsk, you don’t know the half of it. The Yang Family is clever. I heard that the egg cake craft wasn’t accidentally leaked—it was sold by the Yang Family in secret! They charged fifty yuan per person, selling to at least a dozen or twenty households. In a single stroke, they made several hundred yuan."

"Hiss, no wonder. I thought the Yang Family was so generous, sharing a costly craft with outsiders so casually."

"Those Yangs are really something, only caring about their own family, completely indifferent to their in-laws and husband’s wellbeing, downright ominous creatures!"

Good news stays indoors; bad news travels a thousand miles.

In less than a day, the news about Yang Lizhen conspiring with her family to quietly sell the egg cake recipe to outsiders had reached villages ten miles around.

Qin Jinlian was furious, proclaiming outright: If the Yang Family played the first move, then don’t blame us for making the fifteenth!

The next day, Qin Jinlian set up a stove in the threshing ground and taught the egg cake craft for free.

Word of mouth spread quickly, and soon the whole village had come.

A craft that others spent fifty yuan to learn, they could learn for free. Not taking the opportunity would be foolish!

The Shen Family earned unanimous praise and admiration from the entire village for their gesture of teaching the craft for free, but this left the Yang Family seething.

During this time, the Yang Family had made a fortune by selling their egg cake recipe.

They sold it not only in their own village, but also in nearby villages and even towns, with prices ranging from fifty to thirty yuan.

However, ever since Qin Jinlian started teaching the egg cake recipe for free in the village, no one approached the Yang Family to buy their recipe anymore.

And that wasn’t the worst of it.

The reckless sale of the egg cake recipe by the Yang Family had resulted in an influx of vendors selling egg cakes in over a dozen neighboring towns, creating a supply that exceeded demand. The consequence was an oversupply of egg cakes, and the sellers not only failed to make any money, but they also incurred various costs.

No one knows who started it, but those who had bought the egg cake recipe came knocking, demanding refunds from the Yang Family.

Initially, the Yang Family refused to refund, but they could not withstand the increasing number of people who showed up, with dozens of them besieging the Yang Family’s home. They threatened that if the Yang Family didn’t give the money back, they would not leave and would just move in, eating and drinking at the Yang Family’s expense.

After a standoff that lasted two or three days, the village head intervened and settled the matter, stipulating that the Yang Family should only charge five yuan for their efforts and return the rest of the money.

In the words of the village head, "Five yuan is already good enough. The Shen Family is teaching the craft for free, not charging a single penny, and even giving away the egg cakes they make for free to the villagers. You Yang Family should learn from them."

Forced to spit out the money they had swallowed, Yang Lizhen was so angry she nearly exploded.

After calculating the accounts, they not only failed to earn a penny but also lost over a hundred yuan.

And this hundred-plus yuan was exactly the amount that Yang Bo earned from his factory work.

After toiling for half a year, they gained no benefit and she herself had become a divorcee.

Yang Lizhen harbored deep hatred for the Shen Family.

Qin Jinlian could barely contain her laughter when she learned that the Yang Family had been forced to refund all the money they had collected from the buyers.

At the same time, Shen Xiangnan had moved to the city and, thanks to Shen Mingzhu’s arrangements, successfully took over Yang Bo’s job and became a temporary worker at the cotton mill.

Shen Xiangnan, having a job at the cotton mill, got four days off every month, and during his days off, he would help his brother Shen Chaobei at the snack stall, looking after his niece Daya, and the brothers’ relationship had returned to its former closeness.

With both brothers working in the city, only Qin Jinlian and Shen Jianguo, the elderly couple, were left at home. Although it was somewhat lonely, there was plenty of unfinished work in the fields; they went out early and returned late every day, leading a life that was full and stable.

After several failed matchmaking attempts, Yang Lizhen was beginning to regret her hasty decision to divorce Shen Xiangnan.

Especially after hearing that Shen Xiangnan had moved to the city and taken over Yang Bo’s position to become a worker at the cotton mill, she felt both angry and regretful.

She was angry with the Shen Family for going back on their word and even more angry that Shen Xiangnan hadn’t made things clear on the day of their divorce.

If she had known Shen Xiangnan would get a job at the cotton mill, she definitely wouldn’t have divorced him!

After the divorce, Yang’s mother sought the help of a matchmaker, but as soon as many heard Yang Lizhen’s name, they shook their heads and said it wasn’t a good match.

Her reputation as a lazy woman had spread far and wide.

Those willing to meet her were either bachelors in their thirties or widowers.

Yang Lizhen’s fortunes weren’t looking up, and her brother Yang Bo wasn’t faring any better.

After losing his job, his partner had left him, causing their mother great anxiety over her children’s marital affairs.

That day, after yet another failed matchmaking encounter, Yang’s mother couldn’t help but persuade her daughter, "Lizhen, why don’t you go back to Xiangnan? Now that he has a job in the city, you should remarry him and live a good life together. After the marriage is restored, let the Shen Family help find a job for your brother again. It’s not good to keep muddling along like this."

Lizhen also had this in mind.

So the next day, she put on her prettiest dress, drew her eyebrows with a matchstick, and reddened her lips with red paper, and cheerfully went to the city to reconcile with Shen Xiangnan.