The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 244 - 243: The Pei Family’s Daughter-in-law, for Better or Worse, is Covered by the Pei Family

Chapter 244: Chapter 243: The Pei Family’s Daughter-in-law, for Better or Worse, is Covered by the Pei Family

"Mr. Tian?"

Outside the office of the cotton mill director, Pei Wenping, while reaching out to knock on the door, wore a pleasing smile, "Are you busy?"

Tian Yuan raised an eyebrow looking at Pei Wenping, his tone revealing no particular emotion, "Come in."

Pei Wenping hurriedly pulled Pei Yang into the office.

"Mr. Tian, I’ll take up just two minutes of your time. This is my younger brother. Ah, it’s somewhat embarrassing to say... but I’m not afraid you’ll laugh at us..."

Pei Wenping succinctly explained the difficulties of the food factory, "...Mr. Tian, could you see if you could let my brother sell some candy at the factory gate? His wife is pregnant, lying in the hospital taking care of the fetus, and money is flowing out like water every day. The workers in the factory are waiting to be paid their wages to go home for the New Year; we really had no other choice, or else I wouldn’t dare to disturb you."

Waiting for Pei Wenping to finish, Pei Yang very perceptively placed a bag of apple soft candy on Tian Yuan’s desk, "Mr. Tian, please try it. This is our factory’s handmade apple soft candy, made from the local Red Marshal apples, absolutely genuine material."

Tian Yuan did not look at the items on the desk, but instead sized up Pei Yang, his tone indifferent as he addressed Pei Wenping.

"You’re an old employee, so you should know the rules of the factory. If I make an exception for you today, and everyone comes to me tomorrow, how could I possibly handle it?"

Pei Wenping immediately picked up a pack of candy, opened it, and brought a piece to Tian Yuan’s mouth.

"Please have a taste first."

Tian Yuan was about to turn away when Pei Wenping already swiftly stuffed the candy into his mouth.

Tian Yuan stared at her, chewing subconsciously a couple of times, and the anger on his face gradually melted away.

"How about it? Tasty, isn’t it? It’s my sister-in-law’s craft; you’ve tried it before."

Something came to Tian Yuan’s mind, "Oh, the one who makes mooncakes?"

"That’s right. Next year I’ll have my sister-in-law send you a couple more boxes of mooncakes, with your favorite five-nuts flavor. How about that?"

Tian Yuan picked up the candy from Pei Wenping’s hand, looking it over carefully, checking that the production date, factory address, and production code were all complete before he relaxed.

"Set up your stall a bit to the side of the factory gate, don’t block the entrance and exit. Just this once, it won’t be a precedent."

"Ah! Thank you, Mr. Tian!"

Pei Yang quickly followed by bowing in thanks.

After the siblings had left, Tian Yuan picked up the already opened bag of apple soft candy from his desk, took one out, and threw it into his mouth. It was sweet and sour, soft yet chewy, with a refreshing apple aroma that seemed to wake him up from drowsiness.

Eating the candy, he hummed a tune as he continued with his work.

...

Outside the cotton mill, Pei Wenping was helping set up the stall while saying to Pei Yang, "You start selling first, and I’ll come to help after I get off work."

"Sis, no need, Mr. Tian already made an exception by allowing me to set up a stall at the gate. Don’t come here, so that people at the factory don’t gossip and make it hard for Mr. Tian."

Pei Wenping thought it over and felt her brother made sense.

"Then I’ll go back after work and deliver dinner to Mingzhu early so she won’t go hungry."

Pei Yang was filled with gratitude, "Sis, thank you so much these past few days. I really couldn’t have managed alone."

Pei Wenping glanced at him, "Enough, we’re family, no need for such talk. You’re my only brother, and it took you a while to start a family, and now you and Mingzhu are expecting a child, I couldn’t be happier or more relieved in my heart."

Thinking of his wife and child, Pei Yang also felt indescribably secure and happy.

After setting up the stall, Pei Wenping casually took some apple candy back to the office and gave a small pack to everyone there.

Once they tasted it, they agreed it was really good and not expensive, and since it was sold right at the factory gate, they decided to go buy some together after work.

"I’ll take three jin of apple candy!"

"Sister, how about four jin, if that’s alright? I have it pre-weighed and packed because I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep up. They’re two jin a bag, and if you buy two bags, I’ll throw in an extra two small packets for free."

"Alright then."

The cotton mill was one of Fengcheng’s top state-run factories, employing nearly a thousand workers. Within a short time after work, half of Pei Yang’s apple candy had sold out.

...

After selling all the candy, Pei Yang returned to the food factory, just as Du Juan and Shen Chaobei, the couple, also arrived back.

Together, the three of them totaled up the afternoon’s sales: two hundred and fifty jin of apple candy, making a total of 625 yuan.

"We’ve got tomorrow’s wages figured out!"

After counting the money, Du Juan happily announced to the two others.

She was a conscientious and kind woman, and the fact that she owed the workers their wages weighed heavily on her heart. Now that she finally had the money in hand, her worries subsided.

Pei Yang’s next words made the couple even happier, "There are still many workers at the cotton mill who want to buy apple candy. I’ve told them I’ll come back tomorrow afternoon to sell more."

"That’s great!"

Pei Yang shared his thoughts and plans. "Besides the cotton mill, there are quite a few other factories around. Tomorrow, we’ll set up two selling points and sell separately. If we sell until the factories close for holiday, we should be able to sell a few hundred jin more."

"Ok!"

Once they agreed on the plan, Pei Yang took out some new locks and replaced all the locks of the food factory.

He also took out the money, seal, and important documents from the safe, ready to temporarily keep them at home.

Having done all this, the three of them went to the hospital together.

The couple went to see Shen Mingzhu and also to pick up Daya.

It was only when they arrived at the hospital that they learned Qin Jinlian and Shen Jianguo had come into town from the countryside.

Qin Jinlian was still sitting on the cold bench in the hallway. As soon as she saw Pei Yang and the eldest couple arrive, she eagerly started asking about the food factory.

When she heard that Pei Yang and the couple sold over two hundred jin of apple candy that afternoon, Qin Jinlian breathed a sigh of relief but couldn’t help complaining to the three about Shen Mingzhu.

"...We should never have let her start this factory. She just isn’t capable. Look at all the trouble she’s caused, and now you all have to clean up her mess..."

"Mom."

Pei Yang interrupted Qin Jinlian. "We welcome you to visit Mingzhu, but if you’re here to lecture her, then please don’t bother. A daughter married out is like water poured away; she’s now a daughter-in-law of the Pei Family, and we’ll support her through good and bad."

"You say Mingzhu isn’t capable, but I disagree. Her abilities are much greater than you think. She started a factory, led the family to prosperity, and allowed rural women to earn money in the city. Isn’t that a matter of pride for our family? If she were a son, you would probably be burning incense to honor our ancestors, wouldn’t you?"

"Mom, you’re a woman too; you should understand a woman’s difficulties better than I do. Why can’t you offer Mingzhu more understanding and support instead of harsh criticism?"

Du Juan also spoke up in defense of Shen Mingzhu, "Jianguo and I are able to earn money in town, Daya can attend kindergarten in the city, and Xiangnan has a job in the city, all thanks to Mingzhu’s help."

"Yes, the factory is facing difficulties, but all of us are working hard to find solutions. Even outsiders who have no stake in this are willing to lend a hand, yet you, her own mother, instead of trying to help Mingzhu, you’re blaming her. No wonder Mingzhu is disheartened and resentful towards you."

Shen Chaobei, ever the straightforward man, said, "Mom, don’t go in there; you’ll only upset the little sister."

After their words, the three of them entered the ward without paying her any more attention.

Qin Jinlian stood at the door of the ward, her face burning as if she had been slapped several times.

She didn’t understand and felt wronged. What was the big deal about a mother scolding her daughter? Why did everyone seem to be blaming her?