The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 188: The Mid-Autumn Festival Mooncake Dividend Scam

Chapter 188: Chapter 188: The Mid-Autumn Festival Mooncake Dividend Scam

Zhou Shuhuan regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth.

Even if Pei Yang, like him, had divorced Shen Mingzhu, what could he do? Did he really want to marry Shen Mingzhu again?

If he really did that, his brotherhood with Pei Yang would truly be over.

"Yang, that’s not what I meant, I, I..."

Just as Zhou Shuhuan was racking his brains trying to explain his slip of the tongue, Pei Yang laughed, "Shuhuan, I understand what you mean. Mingzhu has been married to me for so long and has suffered quite a bit. I’ve decided to transfer her to a different post. From now on, she’ll work from home and look after our mother and son, living a good life."

"That’s pretty good."

Zhou Shuhuan said it was good, but inside he felt an indescribable sense of loss, along with relief.

Now that Pei Yang had come back, it was time for him to let go of his impractical fantasies.

Pei Yang, unable to comprehend Zhou Shuhuan’s complex emotions, excitedly told him about the wedding he was planning and humbly sought Zhou Shuhuan’s advice.

Among his several brothers, it was Zhou Shuhuan who had been married the most times and should have the most experience.

Zhou Shuhuan: Thank you.

...

In the office, Shen Mingzhu was counting beads on the abacus, which clicked and clacked noisily.

Across from her, Shen Hongmei, Shen Chaobei, and Du Juan all stared at her intently without blinking.

As soon as her hands stopped, Shen Chaobei couldn’t contain his impatience and asked, "Well? Is it a loss or a profit?"

Shen Mingzhu looked at the three of them, her eyes clear, "Neither a loss nor a profit."

"Our revenue from last month just balanced out with the expenses for raw materials, factory rent, utilities, workers’ wages, and accommodations."

Shen Chaobei was visibly disappointed, "Toiling for a whole month and not making a penny, isn’t this just busy work for nothing? Had we known, we might as well have run a snack stand!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he was kicked by Du Juan, and he immediately quieted down, not daring to make another sound.

Shen Mingzhu looked at the three disheartened people and smiled slightly, "Don’t be discouraged, everyone. For a factory in its first month, just breaking even already beats out seventy to eighty percent of business proprietors nationwide."

Du Juan nodded her head, "Every beginning is hard, and since we didn’t lose money, it’s a good start. Things will get better and better."

"Exactly!" Shen Hongmei agreed.

Shen Mingzhu brought out the business report and analyzed it with the three, "Last month we supplied eighteen stores, this month, my target is to add thirty more. If we achieve this target, our factory’s total outlets will reach forty-eight, with profits expected to double or even triple."

The three were invigorated by Shen Mingzhu’s ambitious vision.

After pumping up their spirits, Shen Mingzhu began assigning the work tasks for the month.

Shen Chaobei was still in charge of production, this month’s output had to increase by more than thirty percent from last month.

She, along with Du Juan and Shen Hongmei, was responsible for stocking the thirty new stores, as well as for their promotion, helping the new stores to open up the market and sales channels.

After arranging this month’s work, Shen Mingzhu also gathered the workers for a brief staff meeting. The main content was to summarize last month’s production operations and to recognize and reward outstanding employees.

The ten yuan reward was not much, but it was not too little either, enough to motivate the workers’ enthusiasm and passion for their work.

...

Time flew by, and before they knew it, mid-October had arrived.

Fushun Cake Factory.

General Manager Wang Hongcheng called the accountant to his office and threw the settlement report in his face, "What’s wrong with you? Can’t you even get the accounts right!"

Fan Wei took the settlement report, looked it over three times seriously, his face filled with confusion, "Manager Wang, there’s no mistake here."

"You still talking back, don’t want to work here anymore?"

As Wang Hongcheng looked at him fiercely, a lightbulb went off in Fan Wei’s head, and he quickly said, "Manager Wang, I didn’t sleep well last night and my mind isn’t very clear. Could you please point out my mistake, and I’ll correct it right away."

Only then did Wang Hongcheng, satisfied, take over the settlement sheet and, picking up a pen from the office desk, tapped the foremost digit of the settlement amount before looking up at Fan Wei.

Fan Wei’s heart pounded as he quickly agreed, "Yes, I understand, I’ll correct it right now."

In the finance office, the new cashier Xu Yang saw Fan Wei erase the whole number of the settlement amount, leaving only the fractional part, and was shocked to his core.

"Old Fan, isn’t this son of a bitch way too corrupt?"

Fan Wei gave him a sidelong glance, "If you want to keep working here, keep your mouth shut."

Xu Yang made a zipping motion across his lips in understanding.

Wang Hongfa, seeing the new settlement sheet, signed off on it with satisfaction and instructed Fan Wei to deliver the money personally.

After finishing her work for the day, Shen Mingzhu returned to the factory and saw Fan Wei sitting in the office, her heart leapt with joy.

There was money!

Fan Wei got straight to the point, giving her the settlement sheet and the money together.

Seeing the amount on the settlement sheet, Shen Mingzhu’s smile slightly faded.

"Accountant Fan, is this the dividend for the entire year’s sales, or just a part of it?"

Fan Wei smiled, "It’s the whole thing. As soon as Mid-Autumn Festival was over, Manager Wang had me tally up the sales quickly. Your dividend was calculated immediately, and Manager Wang had me bring the money to you right away."

As he spoke, Fan Wei began praising her food factory, "Your factory is really well managed, I should start calling you Director Shen from now on."

After a few words, Fan Wei left on the pretext of having other matters to attend to.

Shen Mingzhu stared at the money and settlement sheet on the desk, chin propped in her hand, pondering over Wang Hongcheng’s intentions.

Last year, for just a few days of cooperation, she received a dividend of a hundred and thirty-five yuan and eight jiao. This year, with a full year of preparation, she expected at least a five- or six-fold increase, if not tenfold.

But the money Fan Wei brought was just over four hundred yuan.

Given Wang Hongcheng’s shrewdness, even if he wanted to skim off the top, it shouldn’t be this blatant, unless he wasn’t afraid of a fallout and no longer wished to collaborate with her!

Whether it was premeditated from the start or he became greedy upon seeing the promising future of the mooncakes and wanted to go it alone, she wouldn’t let this slide!

Usually, Shen Mingzhu finished her daily business report before leaving work, but today she was so disgusted by Wang Hongfa’s actions that she had no mood to continue working and decided to leave work early, planning to soak the medicinal herbs she bought at home and stew a medicinal meal in the evening.

Lately, it had been Pei Yang cooking dinner, and she would come home to eat the ready-made meal, not having used the Chinese medicinal herbs she purchased even once.

Arriving home, she found the father and son duo absent, probably out buying groceries.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t pay it much mind, changed her shoes, and headed straight for the bedroom to change clothes, only to find a white dress that resembled a wedding gown laid out on the bed as she walked in.

She drew closer and scrutinized the dress for a few seconds, nearly certain that it was indeed a wedding gown.

"Huh, why did you get off work so early today?"

Pei Yang was standing at the bedroom door, smiling at her, his expression amused.

She pointed at the wedding gown on the bed and asked him, "What’s this?"

"A wedding gown, can’t you tell?"

Of course, she could tell, "Did you buy it? Who did you buy it for?"

Pei Yang walked up to her, gently pinching her tender chin with a half-smile, "Who do you think I bought it for? Could I really buy a wedding gown for someone else’s bride?"

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