The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 174: Shen Baolan is Released from Detention and Refuses to Divorce

Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Shen Baolan is Released from Detention and Refuses to Divorce

Shen Mingzhu returned to the food factory at almost eleven o’clock.

As soon as she entered, Shen Chaobei and his wife, who had been waiting for a long time, along with five female workers from the factory, immediately surrounded her.

"Ming, Director, how did it go? Did we get the permit?" Shen Chaobei was the most anxious.

Shen Mingzhu’s bright apricot eyes swept over everyone and she spoke, "Starting today, we can begin production!"

"That’s wonderful!" Shen Chaobei was so happy he almost jumped up.

The others were equally excited, and laughter filled the entire food factory.

Everyone had been waiting for this day far too long.

Shen Mingzhu had been happy all the way here but now her emotions had calmed down a lot.

She had Du Juan bring out the prepared offerings and led everyone in worship, praying for the gods’ blessing so that the factory could start production smoothly.

Even though feudal superstitions are not encouraged, if big bosses worth hundreds of millions or even tens of billions are doing it, she, being an ordinary person, naturally has to follow suit.

After worshiping the gods, it was time for setting off firecrackers.

There are particular rules for setting off firecrackers: the longer, the better. Once finished, you must sweep up the paper scraps and put them in the cash register or the wealth location, which signifies that money will be made and saved this year. The faster the sweeping action, the quicker the accounts will be collected for the year.

Therefore, as soon as the sound of the firecrackers stopped, Du Juan led all the female workers to sweep up the firecrackers’ scraps as quickly as possible.

...

After the start-up ceremony ended, Shen Mingzhu gathered everyone in the workshop for a staff meeting.

The content of the meeting focused on two main aspects: one was about production, and the other was about the confidentiality policy.

Apart from the previously agreed-upon salary and benefits, Shen Mingzhu added an additional incentive.

Each month, an outstanding employee would be selected, and they would receive a bonus of ten yuan to motivate the staff’s enthusiasm.

Shen Mingzhu spoke in detail about the confidentiality policy; everything - from salaries, personnel, production, operations, products, decisions, and related matters - must not be mentioned to outsiders, including parents and children.

Violators would be fined ten yuan for the first offense, twenty yuan for the second, and would be dismissed on the third offense, subject to peer monitoring and reporting. Reporters could receive all the fines from the violators.

"... When you all meet with friends, you’re bound to chat a bit. You can talk about life, family, children, but you can’t discuss matters from the food factory. Some people can’t keep their mouth shut. In their chatter, they end up saying things they shouldn’t, spilling everything."

"Let me give you an example. Recently, the residents in the family compound have been saying that the food factory is going to close down. Why do they say that? Because they know the food factory hasn’t started production. They don’t work in the food factory, so how could they know it hasn’t started? Shen Baolan told them."

"How Shen Baolan knew about the food factory not starting production, I won’t investigate. But if something like this happens again, I will have to deal with it formally."

"Everyone came to the city to make money. If the factory does well, everyone’s wallets fatten and we all rejoice, right? You treat someone as a friend and tell them everything, but they might just treat you as a joke or as gossip material, secretly hoping for your misfortune."

Several female workers exchanged glances, their expressions varied.

Even if they were not very clever, they could all hear that Shen Mingzhu was particularly warning them.

At one o’clock in the afternoon, production officially began.

First, soybeans were ground to make dried tofu, which requires a process of air-drying and baking. During this period, one female worker was responsible for this part of the process, while the others washed and steamed wheat gluten to make spicy strips.

To make delicious dried tofu and spicy strips, in addition to a good texture that is chewy and resilient, the most important aspect is seasoning.

This is also the most core technology of the food factory.

Shen Mingzhu entrusted the spice formulas for the dried tofu and spicy strips to Du Juan to manage.

When the scar on Pei Ziheng’s forehead turned into a pinkish nub of flesh, the food factory finally produced the first batch of dried tofu and spicy strips.

The next day happened to be the weekend, and Shen Mingzhu hosted a tasting event in the family compound.

Men, women, the elderly, and children could all sample the dried tofu and spicy strips for free. Those who could provide constructive feedback that was accepted would receive a reward of ten packets of spicy strips or ten packets of dried tofu.

Today also happens to be the day Shen Baolan’s detention ended.

After picking up Shen Baolan from the detention center, Zhou Shuhuan didn’t take her home, but found a decent state-owned restaurant.

Throughout their marriage of over a year, it was the first time Zhou Shuhuan had taken Shen Baolan to a restaurant to dine alone.

When the waiter came over to take the order, Zhou Shuhuan passed the menu directly to Shen Baolan, allowing her to pick a few of her favorite dishes.

Shen Baolan was tearfully moved, thinking that Zhou Shuhuan felt sorry for the hardship she had endured and had specially brought her out for a good meal.

The dishes were served quickly, and Shen Baolan, who had been eating plain food in detention for seven or eight days, devoured her meal voraciously.

Zhou Shuhuan already had things on his mind, and faced with Shen Baolan’s crude manner of eating, he lost all appetite. He couldn’t even be bothered to pick up his chopsticks and just sipped his tea in silence, patiently waiting for Shen Baolan to finish her meal before discussing the topic of divorce.

Three dishes, one soup, and half a basin of rice were swept clean by Shen Baolan.

After eating her fill, she sat burping contently while waiting for Zhou Shuhuan to settle the bill so they could go home.

During the days of her detention, she hadn’t washed once, and her body was now grimy; all she wanted was to return home, take a thorough wash, and change into clean clothes.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder; having been away for so many days, Zhou Shuhuan must have missed her too, right?

As Shen Baolan was lost in her fanciful thoughts, she suddenly heard Zhou Shuhuan call her name.

"Baolan."

"What is it?"

"Let’s get a divorce."

Shen Baolan stared at Zhou Shuhuan in a daze, her mind unable to process his words as if she had been hit with a blunt object.

"Shuhuan, what are you saying?"

"We’re getting a divorce. I won’t ask for the bride price back; let’s just end this. After the paperwork, take your things and go back to your parent’s house. From then on, we’ll go our separate ways."

Shen Baolan finally understood, and she jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"No! I don’t agree! I won’t get a divorce!"

Zhou Shuhuan was very calm, apparently having anticipated her reaction, "You’re still young, and we don’t have children to worry about. After the divorce, you can still remarry."

"If you don’t agree, I will file for divorce. It’s more troublesome, but in the end, it can still be done."

Seeing Zhou Shuhuan’s determination, Shen Baolan panicked completely, and burst into tears.

"Shuhuan, I know I was wrong, I promise I won’t cause trouble ever again. Can’t we just not divorce? I’m begging you..."

Shen Baolan’s pleading drew many strange looks and snickers, making Zhou Shuhuan feel embarrassed, so he got up to settle the account, planning to discuss the matter further at home.

...

Because of the tasting event hosted by Shen Mingzhu, the family yard was as lively as the New Year’s celebration.

As soon as Zhou Shuhuan drove into the family yard with Shen Baolan, it immediately attracted everyone’s attention.

Zhou Shuhuan parked the motorcycle in front of the flower bed and let Shen Baolan get off first while he rode the bike to the shed.

Normally, Baolan would have been overjoyed and scrambled to gossip about the excitement in the family yard, but today she was not in the mood; her mind was consumed by one thought—

She could not get a divorce.

She must continue living with Zhou Shuhuan, and only after a few years, once Shuhuan became successful, could she bask in the glory of a better life and become a rich wife.

She was determined to live a better life than Shen Mingzhu!

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