The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 165: Two Out of Four Workers Ran Away

Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Two Out of Four Workers Ran Away

Seeing the visitor, Shen Mingzhu could hardly conceal her surprise and astonishment.

"Sister Li, how come you’re here?"

Li Bing was a forthright person. She strode up to her and joked without any hesitation, "How come I’m here? Naturally, I came to see you. It’s not like I came to borrow the bathroom."

Shen Mingzhu chuckled, "Please come in, have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet, I came specially to catch your lunch."

Shen Mingzhu laughed again, "No problem, we’re having tofu for lunch today. If you don’t mind, please sit down and join us."

Li Bing put her arm around Shen Mingzhu’s waist and made a pun, "Tofu is good, I love eating ’personal tofu’ the most."

Shen Mingzhu was so amused she could barely squeak.

The dining table in the canteen was already set with dishes, a whole banquet of tofu: home-style tofu, pan-fried tofu, minced pork tofu custard, and a pot of tofu soup.

Just like last time, Li Bing ate while heaping praise on Shen Mingzhu’s cooking skills.

After filling up, Pei Ziheng conscientiously went to the office sofa for a nap, while Shen Mingzhu took Li Bing on a tour around the food factory.

"I ran into Wenping a couple of days ago and only found out after chatting with her that your factory’s business license hasn’t been processed yet. Why didn’t you come to me when you ran into trouble? Did you forget what I told you the other night?"

While recalling what Li Bing had said the last time she visited for dinner, Shen Mingzhu replied, "Sister Li, you’ve already helped me out a lot before, I can’t possibly trouble you again."

"What’s there to trouble about? Aren’t we friends? If you feel bad about it, just invite me for a few more meals later."

Shen Mingzhu eagerly said, "Sister Li, I’m flattered that you think so highly of my cooking. You’re always welcome to visit."

"Then it’s agreed."

"Sure."

Li Bing, having successfully secured two more meals, looked delighted and beamed at Shen Mingzhu, "You have time this afternoon, right? Come with me for a bit."

Shen Mingzhu sensed something coming and her heart skipped a beat.

...

When they arrived at the hospital, Li Bing led her straight to a single room.

The room was small but kept tidy and clean, with a middle-aged woman around forty years old lying on the hospital bed.

"Director Liu, how are you feeling today?" Li Bing asked familiarly, while taking the patient’s blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer.

"Much better."

Liu Yuehua responded to Li Bing, but her eyes stayed on Shen Mingzhu.

Shen Mingzhu politely bowed slightly, "Director Liu, hello, my last name is Shen. Sorry for intruding, please forgive my boldness."

Having said that, Shen Mingzhu put the fruit basket and nutrition products on the bedside table.

Li Bing chimed in with a smile, "This is my younger sister. I thought you might be bored all by yourself in the hospital, so I asked her to come keep you company. Let me tell you, my sister is something else, elegant and a wonderful cook. Her cooking skills are on par with the chefs at Ginkgo Building. We’ll have her show you sometime, how about that?"

Liu Yuehua asked with interest, "What kinds of dishes can you make?"

Shen Mingzhu thought for a bit and replied, "I’ve learned a bit of everything, can do a little bit of each cuisine."

"Can you cook Sichuan cuisine?"

"I can."

Hearing this, Liu Yuehua’s eyes lit up, "Is it authentic? I’ve tried all sorts of Sichuan restaurants in Fengcheng, but they’re always somewhat disappointing."

Shen Mingzhu didn’t beat around the bush, she picked the dish Poached Sliced Fish in Hot Chili Oil, and from preparing the fish to the ingredients to the cooking method, she detailed every step.

After she finished, Liu Yuehua excitedly slapped her thigh, "That’s right, you have to pour hot oil over garlic paste, coarse chili powder, and Sichuan peppercorn kernels in the end, without that, the fish won’t be fragrant!"

"That’s correct."

Shen Mingzhu, continuing her stride, explained several classic Sichuan dishes to Liu Yuehua, who became so tantalized she almost dragged Shen Mingzhu into the kitchen to cook on the spot, if it weren’t for the fact that she couldn’t eat spicy food during her recovery.

When Liu Yuehua learned that Shen Mingzhu ran a food factory and her production license was stuck, preventing her from starting operations, she immediately said she would take care of it.

It was only then that Shen Mingzhu realized that Liu Yuehua was the second in command of the Food Bureau’s inspection department. Although she wasn’t responsible for approvals, pulling some strings through the backdoor was quite easy for her.

Shen Mingzhu had been chatting with Liu Yuehua about Sichuan cuisine until dusk before bidding farewell and leaving.

Li Bing escorted her downstairs and reassured her with a smile, "It’s settled, with Director Liu’s confirmation, you don’t have to worry. Just go and get the certificate directly on Monday."

Shen Mingzhu took Li Bing’s hand proactively, her expression sincere, "Bing Sister, you have helped me so much, I don’t know how to thank you properly."

"If you really want to thank me, just treat me to a meal, the boiled fish you were talking about with Director Liu this afternoon."

"Sure, no problem, Bing Sister, when are you free?"

"I’m free every day—if a person isn’t enthusiastic about eating, there’s something wrong with them."

Shen Mingzhu was amused and agreed to invite her over on the weekend, and to bring her child along so that he could play with Pei Ziheng.

Li Bing readily agreed.

Stepping out of the hospital’s main entrance, Shen Mingzhu could not help looking up at the slanting western sun, feeling as brilliant inside as the golden glow of the sunset.

She had put a lot of thought into getting along with Xiangying, but the results had not been as good as she wished, and now, Li Bing had given her a pleasant surprise.

This joy was not just about career progress; it was also about the happiness of making a friend.

The bus during the rush hour was packed, but fortunately, the hospital was not far from the food factory, so Shen Mingzhu decided to walk back slowly, thinking about how to proceed with work once the food factory was officially in production.

...

The sun dipped below the horizon, and the evening sky blazed like flames, as a familiar, petite figure walked slowly through the fiery red sunset.

"Mommy!"

Seeing Pei Ziheng running towards her, Shen Mingzhu smiled, squatted down, and opened her arms to scoop him up.

"Son, did you come home by yourself after school this afternoon?"

"Hmm."

"What a champ!"

Shen Mingzhu affectionately kissed his cheek as a reward.

Pei Ziheng’s snow-white cheeks instantly turned pink, and his lips curled into a handsome arc.

However, Shen Mingzhu began to feel the strain after walking only a few steps.

Despite her attempts to hide it, it was hard to fool Pei Ziheng, who was sharper than anthracite.

"Mommy, let me down to walk by myself. I’m already in first grade; I don’t need to be carried."

"No matter which grade you’re in, you’re always Mommy’s darling Erza and need cuddles."

Despite saying this, she honestly let him down to the ground.

"Mommy, are you in a really good mood today?"

Shen Mingzhu held Pei Ziheng’s hand as they walked home and pretended to be surprised. "Can you really tell?"

Pei Ziheng’s lips formed a faint curve, "Is it because the permit issue has been resolved?"

"Yes!"

Shen Mingzhu narrated the afternoon’s events and the people she met to her son, as if telling a story in great detail.

Pei Ziheng listened quietly, looking up at Shen Mingzhu’s shining black eyes. His fair and beautiful little face was radiant with a smile that even he had not noticed blossoming.

Mommy had finally met her noble benefactor. Excited!

The next day, Shen Mingzhu went to the food factory in high spirits, ready to announce the good news to everyone, but upon arriving, she had a bucket of cold water thrown on her excitement.

Of the four workers who had left the previous day, only two had returned; the other two had decided not to come back.

The reason for not coming back was not that they were busy with the harvest but that they aimed for better opportunities and planned to go to Wencheng to work and earn more money.

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