The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 206: Equality Hates Anyone Trying to Share Mother’s Affection

Chapter 206: Chapter 206: Equality Hates Anyone Trying to Share Mother’s Affection

Seeing Shen Mingzhu, Pei Ziheng paused for a moment before running over happily, "Mom!"

Zhao Yun and the others stared at Shen Mingzhu dumbfounded, their expressions a mixture of shock and envy.

Pei Ziheng’s mom also looks pretty good, huh.

Shen Mingzhu tenderly stroked her son’s head, her moist and bright apricot eyes smiling as she looked at Zhao Yun and the others, "Hello, are all of you Ziheng’s friends?"

Zhao Yun and the others looked at each other and nodded guiltily.

Shen Mingzhu cheerfully invited everyone to come play at the food factory, mentioning there was a ping-pong table where they could all play whenever they wanted. The children promptly agreed with eagerness and high spirits.

For Zhao Yun and the others, playing ping-pong wasn’t anything special, but having an additional place to hang out was enough to excite them.

Upon arriving at the food factory, Shen Mingzhu brought out snacks and sodas for the children.

It was not until then that Zhao Yun and the others realized that "Mingzhu" spicy strips were actually Pei Ziheng’s family business, and they became even more envious of him.

For them, at that point, having an endless supply of snacks at home was much cooler than having an unlimited amount of money.

While the children were happily immersed in playing ping-pong, Shen Mingzhu took Pei Ziheng into the office to question him.

"Have they been bullying you?"

Pei Ziheng shook his head.

Shen Mingzhu pulled out Zhao Yun’s homework booklet from his backpack, "Then what’s this? Why is his homework in your backpack?"

"He doesn’t like doing homework, so I helped him. It’s what friends do, help each other, right?"

Shen Mingzhu choked up, "Helping with homework isn’t helping, it’s harming him. Doing homework is a necessary part of learning; it helps you grasp knowledge more firmly..."

Wait a minute!

Shen Mingzhu suddenly realized a problem and looked at her son in utter disbelief, "You’re helping him with homework? You know how to do fifth-grade homework?"

Stupid mom, you finally got to the point.

Pei Ziheng thought to himself, while obediently replying, "A little bit."

Still skeptical, Shen Mingzhu laid a fifth-grade workbook in front of him, "Write one problem for me to see."

Pei Ziheng batted his black eyes, "Mom, didn’t you just say that helping with homework is actually harmful?"

"..."

...

Looking at the neatly arranged older children, Shen Mingzhu stood with her hands behind her back and asked with a beaming smile, "Are you having fun here?"

Zhao Yun and the others nodded while wiping sweat from their brows.

"If you’ve had fun, then it’s time for homework. Once you finish, you can go home."

Zhao Yun and the others were dumbfounded.

Hold on, if you’d said we’d be doing homework, we wouldn’t have come.

To avoid worrying the children’s parents, Shen Mingzhu called each of them to explain the situation.

Zhao Yun and the others were troublemakers who didn’t respond well to discipline. They would be up to no good at home anyway, so having Shen Mingzhu supervising them do their homework was a relief to their parents.

In the staff canteen, Zhao Yun and the others sat around a dining table, scratching their heads as they started on their homework.

Pei Ziheng moved from one to another, offering guidance like a little teacher.

Daya, who was attending kindergarten, sat quietly at another dining table, drawing on her notebook with crayons.

If there had been any doubts about Pei Ziheng being able to do fifth-grade homework before, they had all turned into shock and pride at this moment.

Along with the pride, there was also a sense of guilt.

She and Pei Ziheng lived under the same roof, yet she had no idea what he did every day, who his friends were, or how advanced his studies were.

She felt she was far too unfit as a mother.

After confirming that her son’s knowledge level had indeed reached the fifth grade, Shen Mingzhu turned and headed to the kitchen to make dinner.

Because there weren’t many employees at the food factory, everyone took turns cooking.

Today, it was Du Juan’s turn, and when Shen Mingzhu entered, she took the wok spatula from Du Juan’s hand, ready to make two dishes the children loved.

Considering the children’s general preference for sweet flavors, Shen Mingzhu prepared a dish of sweet and sour spare ribs and another of cola chicken wings.

She made sure to prepare ample portions of each dish to ensure there was enough for the five older children and the factory staff to eat their fill.

The children, having finished their homework, were as jubilant as if it were New Year’s upon seeing the sweet and sour spare ribs and cola chicken wings on the table, dancing with glee and sweet-talking.

"Thank you, Aunt Mingzhu!"

"Aunt Mingzhu, you’re so beautiful!"

"Aunt Mingzhu, I love you!!"

Shen Mingzhu found it amusing and couldn’t stop smiling, but Pei Ziheng frowned, glaring at the child who had "confessed" in such a way, finding him increasingly annoying.

The meal was enjoyed not only by the children but also by the factory staff.

Although the meals at the food factory were usually quite good, with meat seen at every meal, opportunities to feast on meat like this were extremely rare.

...

After a satisfying meal, and as the streetlights began to turn on, Shen Mingzhu and Pei Ziheng escorted each of the children home one by one.

Fortunately, the children’s homes were all in the nearby neighborhoods, with the farthest being just three streets away—a nice walk to aid digestion.

Along the way, the children chattered non-stop, asking her how she made the cola chicken wings that evening and how spicy strips and dried tofu were produced.

While answering so many questions could be tiresome, seeing the children’s pure and innocent smiles upon learning the answers made her find them irresistibly adorable.

The last one to be taken home was Zhao Yun. Among the kids, he lived a bit further away.

However, Zhao Yun’s family seemed well off, residing in one of Fengcheng’s few upscale neighborhoods, where all the homes were private Western-style houses.

After watching Zhao Yun enter the gates of the community, Shen Mingzhu took Pei Ziheng’s hand, ready to head home.

They hadn’t walked far when they heard Zhao Yun shouting from behind, "Aunt Mingzhu, wait!"

Turning around, Shen Mingzhu saw Zhao Yun chasing after them with a box of something.

"Aunt Mingzhu, this, this is for you!"

Once he caught up, an out-of-breath Zhao Yun shoved the box into Shen Mingzhu’s arms.

Shen Mingzhu, under the streetlight, saw that it was bird’s nest!

"Aunt Mingzhu, bird’s nest is good for beauty and health. Take it home and make a soup!"

After saying this, Zhao Yun hesitantly asked, "Aunt Mingzhu, can I still come to your house for meals?"

Under the dim streetlights, looking at his flushed face, Shen Mingzhu asked, "Did you take this out with your parents’ knowledge?"

Zhao Yun scratched his head, "We have lots of bird’s nest at home. My dad doesn’t really care about it. I don’t have a mom."

The last few words stung Shen Mingzhu’s heart.

She handed the bird’s nest back to Zhao Yun, patting his shoulder, which was almost high enough to reach her chest, "As long as you get along well with Ziheng and truly consider him a friend, I’ll always welcome you to visit our home."

Zhao Yun’s eyes lit up like small light bulbs, "Really? Thank you, Aunt Mingzhu!"

"Aunt Mingzhu, goodbye, Ziheng, goodbye!"

After the mother and son left and had covered some distance, Zhao Yun was still standing there, waving at them, smiling like an idiot.

Pei Ziheng couldn’t help but look back as they walked, his dark eyes filled with both sympathy and discontent.

Sympathy because he knew how tragic being without a mother was, but disenchanted by Zhao Yun trying to win his mother’s sympathy and pity with bird’s nest.

He equally despised anyone trying to steal his mother’s affection.

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