The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 180: Punishing Jiang Jing

Chapter 180: Chapter 180: Punishing Jiang Jing

As Feng Huiying and the others walked in from the balcony, Jiang Jing’s head buzzed as if she had been struck hard by a blunt object.

She didn’t understand why, at this late hour, these people weren’t sleeping but gathered at Shen Mingzhu’s place?

Meeting Shen Mingzhu’s cool, mocking apricot eyes, a lightbulb went off in Jiang Jing’s head, and she suddenly stood up from the ground, as if understanding something.

"Shen Mingzhu, you did this on purpose!?"

Shen Mingzhu showed a look of surprise, "Wa Shiting’s mom, what do you mean by that?"

Jiang Jing angrily said, "You deliberately waited for me to walk into your trap, and you purposely gathered everyone at your house to make a laughing stock out of me! Shen Mingzhu, how could you be so malicious?"

Shen Mingzhu almost laughed in anger at the other’s attempt to turn the tables, "I had no prior knowledge that the backstabber of the food factory was you, nor could I have foreseen that you would come over to confess. Don’t measure my honorable intentions with your petty heart."

Feng Huiying and the others had all gathered around Shen Mingzhu, each of them looking at Jiang Jing with a mix of surprise and disdain, making Jiang Jing wish the ground would swallow her up in shame and anger.

"Wa Shiting’s mom, Pei Yang’s wife has never provoked you, so why would you do something so despicable? Aren’t you afraid of retribution?"

"When Pei Yang’s wife had the tasting event, you enjoyed quite a bit, didn’t you? This is like eating the meat from the bowl and then cursing the mother who cooked it—utterly heartless."

Everyone chimed in one after another, their words like slaps upon Jiang Jing’s face.

But even at this point, she tried to justify her despicable actions, "Yes, my methods were indeed underhanded, but I was considering everyone’s safety. During the tasting, everyone was saying how addictive your food factory’s dried tofu and spicy strips were, craving more after eating them. I suspected you added something bad to them and reporting to the Bureau of Industry and Commerce—was that wrong?"

Shen Mingzhu sneered, "If you think your actions were so honorable and selfless, then why didn’t you report openly, instead of writing an anonymous letter?"

"I could understand your anonymous report as not wanting to offend me, but why are you now kneeling and apologizing? What are you really after?"

Jiang Jing was at a loss for words.

At this moment, she finally realized the desperation in her actions and felt immense regret in her heart.

Yet Shen Mingzhu didn’t intend to let the matter slide so easily.

Three strikes.

Jiang Jing’s shenanigans were not a one or two-time affair. First, she spread the news about her and Pei Yang’s marital issues for everyone to know, then she spread rumors about her alleged unscrupulous lifestyle, and now she maliciously sought to destroy her food factory.

"Wa Shiting’s mom, no matter how many excuses you come up with, you can’t hide the fact that you’re green with envy. It seems your apologies and confessions aren’t sincere; you’re just afraid of ending up like Shen Baolan if I expose you, hence such a desperate measure."

"Considering we all live in the same residential compound, I’ll spare you this time. If there’s a next time, I’ll make sure you understand the true meaning of karmic retribution."

Truth be told, Shen Mingzhu had never considered calling the police. Reporting the incident would be futile, but that didn’t stop her from winning favor in front of the others.

The more magnanimous she appeared, the more they would denounce Jiang Jing as vile and despicable.

This was currently the only way she could punish Jiang Jing.

Jiang Jing wasn’t wrong in her guess that Feng Huiying and the others were there deliberately.

When she returned home, her son had told her that the night-blooming cereus on the balcony had bloomed.

In her past life, she had also grown a night-blooming cereus, but it had never flowered, or perhaps it did and she missed it since she was often away doing shows.

The Pei family’s night-blooming cereus had also been cultivated for a few years without blooming, and she hadn’t held out much hope, just watering and fertilizing it as usual. Unexpectedly, it bloomed this year.

The blooming of the cereus was a rare and beautiful sight. Overjoyed, an idea suddenly popped into her head.

So she went upstairs to invite Feng Huiying to come down to see the cereus bloom, and Feng Huiying called others she was familiar with to join.

Shen Mingzhu had set up chairs and benches on the balcony, laid out mooncakes, fruits, and snacks. Everyone was enjoying the mooncakes while marveling at the cereus when Jiang Jing turned up at the door.

...

"She doesn’t even dare to go out now; today, it was her mother-in-law who picked up and dropped off Wa Shiting. Where has she the face to show herself? The whole residential compound knows about the sordid things she did, she’s totally shamed herself!"

"In the afternoon, Wa Shiting came home crying, said that her kindergartners called her mom bad, and won’t play with her anymore."

That evening, just as Shen Mingzhu and Pei Ziheng got home, Feng Huiying hurried downstairs to share the latest gossip with her.

Regarding this, Shen Mingzhu remarked, "The sins of the parents fall on the children. As a parent, you must consider your child in everything you do. If you want to cultivate them into fine individuals, you must first set a good example for them to follow."

"Isn’t that the truth."

Not long after Feng Huiying left, Shen Mingzhu received a phone call from Zhong Qing, who asked her to come and pick up a cheongsam at "Junlin" the next day.

Shen Mingzhu had been so busy lately that she had all but forgotten about it.

The next day, after she had arranged the day’s promotional work for Shen Hongmei and Du Juan at the food factory, Shen Mingzhu set off for Junlin.

She took the bus, transferring once along the way, and arrived around 11 o’clock.

Zhong Qing was trying on a cheongsam.

The wine-red, high-necked, double-breasted cheongsam featured extensive gold thread embroidery and beading on the chest and hem, intricate and luxurious yet retaining a noble elegance.

Moreover, Zhong Qing had a classical beauty about her, with skin fine as white jade, a slender neck, a slim waist, and rounded hips. Wearing a brightly colored cheongsam, she looked not aging but rather vivid and alluring like a rose reborn from flames.

Shen Mingzhu was utterly stunned.

It was only when Zhong Qing noticed her, her light brown pupils gleaming with amusement as she looked over, "Come in, what are you spacing out at the door for?"

Then she came to her senses and went in, sincerely complimenting, "You look really beautiful in that cheongsam."

Zhong Qing smiled, her eyes falling on the object Shen Mingzhu was carrying, "What have you got there?"

"Mooncakes."

Zhong Qing blinked, "They wouldn’t happen to be for me, would they?"

Shen Mingzhu nodded and handed over the mooncakes, "I wasn’t sure what flavor you liked, so I brought red bean and egg yolk fillings."

Zhong Qing looked at the brand on the mooncake packaging box and asked with a smile, "Did you buy these especially for me?"

"Sort of, but these mooncakes are from a collaboration I developed with a mooncake factory. I earn two cents for each one sold."

Shen Mingzhu explained, her hands animatedly moving, which prompted laughter from Zhong Qing.

"Thank you! I’ve also brought you some mooncakes, they’re in the car; I’ll give them to you in a bit."

"That’d be great."

After collecting her cheongsam, Zhong Qing gave Shen Mingzhu the invitation to the engagement banquet and asked the driver to take her back to the food factory.

As the car stopped in front of the food factory, Zhong Qing looked curiously through the car window at the factory’s sign, and said regretfully to Shen Mingzhu, "I have something to do today. When I’m free, I’ll make sure to visit your factory."

"You are most welcome."

Upon returning to the Zhong Family’s home, Zhong Qing instructed the driver to take the things in the trunk directly to her room before getting out of the car to head into the living room.

In the luxurious living room, the heads of the Zhong and Yan families, along with Yan Yi, were seated on the massive U-shaped sofa.

As Zhong Qing entered, everyone in the living room turned their gaze towards her.