The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 189: Clearly Taught a Lesson by My Son

Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Clearly Taught a Lesson by My Son

Shen Mingzhu irritably swatted away his hand, "What do you mean?"

Seeing her getting angry, Pei Yang dared not to joke any further and honestly told her about the wedding arrangements he had been secretly planning.

After listening, Shen Mingzhu became even more angry.

It was her own wedding, and yet she was the last to know about it.

The style of the wedding dress wasn’t to her liking either; it was outdated and tacky.

Bullied by others outside, and at home, she was still upset by her own man—there wasn’t a single thing that went smoothly. Shen Mingzhu’s mood soured as she thought about it, and her eyes inexplicably reddened.

Pei Yang thought she was unhappy about the secret wedding planning and hurriedly embraced her to comfort her, "Wife, I was wrong. I wanted to give you a surprise, but I ended up making you unhappy."

Shen Mingzhu, not wanting to talk, leaned her head against the man’s chest, feeling the strong heartbeat and the continuous warmth transferring onto her body; she couldn’t help the sourness in her nose.

She wasn’t a delicate person, but at this moment, the man’s sturdy and warm embrace was truly very timely.

"Mommy."

Pei Ziheng had walked in at some point, hugging her legs, looking up at her with his beautiful, snow-white little face showing eyes full of concern and adoration for her.

"Mommy, if you’re unhappy, you can hit me and dad, don’t keep it bottled up, it will harm your health."

Hearing her son’s childish yet heartwarming comfort, all the displeasure swirling in Shen Mingzhu’s heart seemed to dissipate like smoke.

She calmed her emotions and stepped out of Pei Yang’s embrace, picking up the wedding dress from the bed once more.

Seeing the displeasure on her face, Pei Yang immediately said, "If you don’t like this one, I’ll return it and exchange it for another one tomorrow."

"Let’s try it on before we talk."

The material of the wedding dresses in this era wasn’t great, feeling scratchy against the skin, but the effect once worn was unexpectedly not bad.

This credit went to her good figure.

She was naturally petite and had been running around lately, which made her muscles firm, and her curves even better than before.

In the living room, as they watched Shen Mingzhu walk out of the bedroom slowly in the pristine wedding dress, both father and son were awestruck.

"Mommy, you are so beautiful, just like a fairy descending to Earth!"

Shen Mingzhu, picking up the hem of her dress, twirled in a circle, "Does it really look good?"

The father and son nodded in unison.

Shen Mingzhu felt it was also passable. By the time she had a tailor adjust the parts she didn’t like, it would be mostly fine.

Going out to buy a new one would probably yield something similar because let’s face it, the aesthetic taste of the era was there for all to see. Unless it was a bespoke order, which would be too time-consuming and expensive.

After trying on the wedding dress, Shen Mingzhu went into the kitchen, tied on an apron, and prepared to make dinner.

Pei Yang followed her in, "Let me do it. You take a rest, or maybe help our son with his homework."

As he spoke, he reached to untie the apron from her waist, but she dodged away.

"No need, you go out."

Pei Yang stared at her for two seconds, then turned and closed the kitchen door. He promptly picked her up and sat her on the countertop, his arms propped on either side of her, enclosing her firmly within his embrace.

She looked at him, "What are you doing?"

"Can you stop being mad at me now?"

Shen Mingzhu replied, "I’m not mad at you."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Then give me a kiss."

Shen Mingzhu rolled her eyes and pushed him away with her hands, "Stop bothering me, I need to cook."

Pei Yang let her push him, his tall stature unmoving as if rooted to the spot, his deep eyes steadily gazing at her.

Shen Mingzhu felt somewhat overwhelmed by his gaze and finally spoke about the issue with Fushun Cake Factory.

After hearing her out, Pei Yang smiled wryly, "If I hadn’t pressured you, would you have ever planned to tell me?"

"Mingzhu, who am I in your heart? What am I to you?"

Shen Mingzhu felt inexplicably guilty.

She indeed had no intention of telling him, wanting to solve it on her own, but she couldn’t lose her momentum.

"Can you blame me for that? You’re nowhere to be seen for a year and a half. What could I do but rely on myself? Now that you’re back, you’re busy all the time and hardly visible. I specifically left work early today to tell you, and what do I get? Some wedding surprise that nearly killed me with anger."

It had to be said, the tactic of turning the tables was quite effective.

The power dynamics between them shifted instantly.

Pei Yang’s tone softened, "Mingzhu, I didn’t do well in the past. I failed to fulfill my responsibilities as a husband. Now that I’m back, you can rely on me. You don’t have to shoulder everything alone."

Shen Mingzhu said to herself that the most reliable support is oneself, as relying on mountains may cause them to collapse and relying on people may see them run away. However, she didn’t voice these spoilers out loud.

Pei Yang wasn’t just talking; he genuinely intended to help her resolve this matter.

Looking at his serious profile as he reviewed the cooperation agreement with Fushun Cake Factory, Shen Mingzhu felt that maybe she really could try to trust and rely on this man.

...

The sky outside the window gradually darkened, and the soup on the stove had simmered to just the right degree.

Pei Yang sniffed the aroma and entered the kitchen, "What’s stewing? It smells amazing."

"Pork ribs."

Pei Yang sniffed again, "Did you add Chinese herbs?"

"Yes, angelica and astragalus."

Pei Yang nodded and didn’t ask further, little did he know the soup was specifically made for him.

Angelica is warm and moist, good for enriching the blood, while astragalus boosts qi and yang. The angelica-astragalus pork rib soup is suitable for postoperative recovery and blood replenishment.

After dinner, while Pei Yang washed the dishes, Shen Mingzhu went to the bedroom to pack up the wedding dress in a bag, planning to take it to the tailor for alterations.

She had initially thought to ask Pei Ziheng to go with her for a walk, but Pei Yang insisted on accompanying her.

So, once Pei Yang finished tidying up the kitchen, the family of three headed out the door together.

A loyal customer of the tailor shop, Shen Mingzhu got assurances from the owner that the alterations would be ready for her wedding in two days.

After leaving the tailor, the family of three strolled around their residential compound.

Pei Yang brought up the Fushun Cake Factory matter with her, "I’ll handle this and make sure to get your money back. There’s no need to cooperate with an untrustworthy factory like that. Why not take back Ronghua’s brand and manage it yourself from now on?"

As Shen Mingzhu looked at the man, her heart felt like a bubble machine, constantly producing brightly colored bubbles. His thoughts aligned with hers so perfectly she couldn’t help but feel joyful.

Pei Yang, not receiving a response from her, reached out to hold her hand, "Mingzhu, what are your own thoughts? Tell me."

Shen Mingzhu answered nonchalantly, "I haven’t thought much about it; I’ll just listen to you."

Hearing this, Pei Yang laughed, "Will you listen to me in the future too?"

"Let’s talk about that after you’ve handled this matter."

"Will there be a reward for me if I get it done?"

Shen Mingzhu gave him a look, "No reward. You can do it if you want, but if you don’t, I have my ways."

Pei Ziheng tilted his innocent face upward, "Mom, I can help you with anything. I don’t need a reward; I just want you to be happy."

Shen Mingzhu hugged her son’s head with joy and gave it a loving smack, "You’re such a good boy, truly worthy of being Mama’s dear Erza."

Pei Yang, taught a clear lesson by his son: "..."

Wang Family.

Wang Defa did not agree with his cousin’s plan to muscle out Shen Mingzhu as an agent and keep the profits for himself, "She’s not taking much of a slice. Why be so greedy and cut ties completely?"

Wang Hongcheng didn’t think much of it, "She’s not taking much now, but it’ll be different in the future. Brother, you’ve heard of Hengxing, right? A few days ago, some manager or supervisor from Hengxing came to our factory, wanting to order mooncakes from us for next year."

"Hengxing is one of Fengcheng’s top enterprises, with over a dozen branches nationwide and over ten thousand employees. If I sell these ten thousand boxes of mooncakes, I have to give her two thousand yuan."

"Moreover, I heard Hengxing is a subsidiary of Huihai Group. The Huihai Group! One of the top ten families in Hong City, with interests spread both domestically and abroad. If I could sell mooncakes to Huihai Group, how much would I have to give her each year?"

"Why shouldn’t I kick her out now instead of waiting for her to cling to me and leech off my earnings later

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.