The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 222 - 221: Love Me, Buy Me Apples

Chapter 222: Chapter 221: Love Me, Buy Me Apples

Pei Yang understood his wife’s soft heart and kindness and was willing to indulge her, so he generously bought all the apples from the old farmer’s burden.

There were about seventy to eighty jin in the two baskets combined, seven to eight yuan he could still afford.

Who knew his wife would actually want to buy the old farmer’s entire stock of over a thousand jin of apples.

Even at 0.8 yuan per jin, that would still cost over a hundred yuan. Considering their current financial situation, they needed to be frugal.

The old farmer clearly didn’t believe Shen Mingzhu was serious about buying all his apples. He chuckled, "Miss, you must be joking with me."

Pei Yang immediately chimed in, "Exactly, wife, the old man still needs to hurry back home after selling his apples. Don’t tease, be good, ah."

"I’m not teasing."

Giving him a covert glare, Shen Mingzhu turned to the old farmer and said, "I’m serious, I really want to buy your apples—mmph mmph..."

Pei Yang spread his palm, larger than Shen Mingzhu’s face, to cover her mouth and apologized to the farmer with embarrassment, "It’s cold; it must have frozen her brains, don’t take it seriously."

"You’re the one with the frozen brain!"

Pei Ziheng stomped up angrily, standing on tiptoes in a desperate attempt to pull Pei Yang’s hand from covering Shen Mingzhu’s mouth while shouting, "Let go of Mommy fast, or I’ll bite you!"

"Mommy just wants to buy apples, not a house. If you can’t even spare this little money, are you even a man!?"

Pei Yang: "..."

The little rascal, speaking with some sense.

Pei Yang released his hand and before he could speak further, his wife crossed her arms and fumed, "Do you not love me anymore?"

"Of course I love you."

"If you love me, then buy me the apples!"

Pei Yang gave in and turned to the old farmer, "Old man, your apples, I’ll buy them all."

The old farmer stared at him, dumbfounded, "Young man, you’re not joking, are you? My family has at least one thousand three hundred jin of apples; what do you need so many for?"

"To please the wife."

Old farmer: "..."

Thanks for making me feel I’ve been fed dog food when I haven’t had dinner yet.

...

Though he said it and arranged the time with the old farmer, Pei Yang’s heart was as murky as an ancient well.

Once they got home, he couldn’t help but confirm again and again, "Wife, are you sure about buying? It’s more than a thousand jin."

Shen Mingzhu glanced at him, "Aren’t you a man? You don’t want to keep your word?"

Pei Yang: "I didn’t say I wouldn’t buy them, but you have to tell me, why do you need so many apples? To run a fruit stand?"

Pei Ziheng eyed his father as if he were looking at a cell phone, the annoyance clear on his beautiful little face, "Why ask so many questions? Just buy them if Mommy wants them."

Shen Mingzhu was nearly killed by her son’s domineering tenderness.

If other people’s daughters are warm as little cotton-padded jackets, then her son was like lamb’s wool, extremely warm.

She affectionately took her son to sit on the couch, resting her chin on his fluffy head, her almond-shaped eyes fluttering as she looked at the man: "I have use for the apples if you buy them for me."

Fine then.

A bit over a hundred yuan, if it could make the wife happy, it was worth it.

If need be, he could think of a way to sell them on. The quality of these apples was good; picking the right market, selling them for two jiao more wouldn’t be a problem. Maybe he could even earn some spare cash for his wife.

After silently calculating, Pei Yang’s heart settled down. Seeing the mother and son intimately sitting together on the couch, he also plopped down next to them.

Just as he sat down, he was scornfully looked at by Pei Ziheng, "Aren’t you going to peel an apple for Mom?"

Pei Yang choked up, "Why don’t you go?"

"Of course I should stay with Mom."

"..."

Fine, he was the oldest in the family and should naturally dote on the younger ones.

Seeing Pei Yang grumpily clutching two large apples as he headed to the kitchen, Shen Mingzhu chuckled quietly to herself.

Over the past year, the man had undergone some changes in temperament and nature; he had become much more magnanimous and tolerant.

The apples were crisp and sweet, brimming with juice, and had a rich apple flavor, far more delicious than refrigerated fruits in the future by countless times.

After finishing the apples, Pei Ziheng conscientiously went back to his room to do his homework, while Shen Mingzhu went to the bathroom to freshen up.

Upon exiting the bathroom, she saw Pei Yang sitting in front of the sofa making a call, seemingly trying to borrow a vehicle from someone.

She paused momentarily and stepped forward to approach him.

"...Yes, yes, just for one day tomorrow, I’ll treat you to a meal once it’s all taken care of."

After hanging up the phone and before Shen Mingzhu could ask, Pei Yang took the initiative to explain, "An old army buddy of mine drives for a logistics company. I asked him to borrow a small truck from his workplace and also asked him to drive for one day. We’ll give him ten yuan for fuel and labor."

Finding a small truck for ten yuan was a steal for them; if they had to approach a logistics company to transport the goods, it would cost at least twenty yuan.

...

The next day, after arranging work at the factory, Shen Mingzhu and Pei Yang rode the small truck to Uncle Guo’s house.

The truck driver was named Old Zhu, and aside from Old Zhu, Pei Yang also invited Shen Chaobei and He Tao along.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t say much, but she felt that Pei Yang was making a mountain out of a molehill - for a mere thousand or so pounds of apples, there was no need to get so many hands on deck.

Uncle Guo’s place wasn’t far, but the road was terrible, full of potholes and mud. After a bumpy ride over the hills, they finally arrived close to noon, even though it was just about twenty miles away.

Uncle Guo’s village was called Red Star Village.

Entering the village there was only one road, and at the moment, there was a small truck similar to theirs parked at the entrance of the village.

Around the truck, a crowd of farmers were gathering, either carrying or hoisting bright red large apples. It seemed a fruit dealer was buying apples.

Shen Mingzhu was about to head over when Pei Yang grasped her hand.

"Let’s wait for that truck to fill up before we go in."

Looking at Pei Yang’s distinct, chiseled features, Shen Mingzhu suddenly felt a surge of apprehension.

Just yesterday, Uncle Guo had mentioned that the fruit dealer only paid four fen, and here they were, offering to pay eight. Weren’t they blatantly challenging the fruit dealer?

Even a powerful dragon wouldn’t oppress a local snake, much less her - she wasn’t even a dragon, at most a local, earthy one.

As she was thinking, Uncle Guo hurried over, beaming, "You guys are finally here. Let’s go to my house first. The wife has already cooked the rice. We can eat together."

Pei Yang pulled Uncle Guo aside to inquire about the price the fruit dealer was paying.

Perhaps afraid they would undercut the price, Uncle Guo was reticent and didn’t answer, only looking at them with a pair of hopeful, weathered eyes.

Pei Yang explained with a smile, "Don’t worry, Uncle Guo, the price we agreed upon yesterday remains the same. However, we’d like to ask you for a small favor."

Upon hearing that the price would remain the same, Uncle Guo hastened to agree.

Pei Yang said, "The price we’re paying for your apples – you shouldn’t mention it to others. If someone asks, just say it was the same as what the fruit dealer offered, okay?"

Before Uncle Guo could respond, a villager suddenly ran over.

Looking Pei Yang up and down and brimming with excitement, he asked, "Are you the bosses here to buy Uncle Guo’s apples? I heard you’re paying eight fen? I’ve got about a thousand pounds at home too, why don’t you take those off my hands as well!"