The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 260 - 259: Chance Encounter

Chapter 260: Chapter 259: Chance Encounter

Ma Sufen didn’t get the information she wanted from her son, feeling an unbearable scratching and clawing inside her heart. To make matters worse, Shen Baolan, clueless to the mood, came up pestering her with question after question, igniting a nameless rage in Ma Sufen.

"Even if I told you, you wouldn’t recognize it."

"Mom, just say it, maybe I do know."

"I don’t want to talk about it."

Ma Sufen tossed the remains of her eaten orange onto the coffee table, patted her backside, and stood up, ready to go downstairs to look for her grandson.

Shen Baolan hurriedly followed, "Mom, come on, tell me."

"Get lost, stop annoying me."

"If you tell me, I’ll stop bothering you."

"I still won’t say it."

Die of curiosity!

...

As the weather warmed up, the sales of spicy strips, dried tofu, and chips began to rise steadily.

Besides, the gummies with improved packaging were also widely praised.

First was the packaging. The original transparent plastic bags were replaced with plastic boxes filled with various flavors of gummies, which looked colorful and appealing.

Next came the shape of the gummies, changed to cherry-sized spheres, with about forty pieces per box and a net weight of approximately 100 grams, retailing for fifty cents.

Given the current prices, this price point was slightly high, but Shen Mingzhu had her strategy.

As policies relaxed and per capita income steadily increased, so did the purchasing power of consumers. Moreover, many children were now only-children, spoiled by their parents who were willing to splurge on them.

To break into the market, one had to seize the mid-to-high-end candy market before the competition caught on.

In an era when most candies were packaged in paper or tin boxes, Shen Mingzhu’s plastic candy boxes hit the market and instantly became popular among children, particularly little girls who couldn’t resist the colorful candy boxes.

Fifty cents a box wasn’t cheap, but for those with strong self-control, a box of candy could last for days. In the end, it cost less than ten cents a day.

And after finishing the candy, you could still have a pretty box, which could be used to hold hair clips, hair ties, or some small snacks.

The success of the soft candy business strategy greatly boosted Shen Mingzhu’s confidence, prompting her to begin development and production of flower cakes, egg yolk pastries, and snowflake crisp pastries.

...

In April, the spring scenery was enchanting, with willows gently swaying.

After the morning meeting, Shen Mingzhu left the building with Shen Hongmei.

As a modern-day college student, Shen Mingzhu was acutely aware of the dangers of obesity in pregnant women. Therefore, she had been very mindful about her diet since getting pregnant, insisting on eating small, frequent meals and rejecting high-sugar and high-fat foods.

Her dedication and perseverance paid off. Despite being five months pregnant, her figure hadn’t changed. If it wasn’t for the bulge in her abdomen, you couldn’t tell she was pregnant.

"President Shen, Vice President Pei repeatedly instructed me before he left not to let you go out to work, otherwise, he would dock my bonus. And here you are, taking every chance to go out when he’s not around," Shen Hongmei couldn’t help but complain while supporting Shen Mingzhu.

Shen Mingzhu comforted her, "If you don’t tell and I don’t tell, he won’t find out."

Pei Shi doted on her, that was true, but he was also truly strict with her, only allowing her to do clerical work in the office and forbidding her from going out.

She had only had the chance to go out these past few days because Pei Yang was in Quancheng to purchase fresh roses for the flower cakes.

Upon entering the department store, Shen Mingzhu first casually strolled around. When no one was paying attention, she and Shen Hongmei headed to the offices on the top floor.

"Manager Yao."

Yao An looked at Shen Mingzhu; his frown was so deep he could have trapped mosquitos in it, "Why are you here again?"

Shen Mingzhu quickly handed over the paper bag she had been holding to Yao An, "Manager Yao, this is our newly developed flower cake and snowflake crisp. They are currently unique in the market. Please have a taste."

Without even glancing at what Shen Mingzhu was offering, Yao An responded irritably, "Don’t come here again, it’s pointless! The products that get into our mall are all well-known domestic and international brands. Customers come here for the brand and the prestige. To be honest, even if your products were laid out for free tasting, people wouldn’t give them a second glance."

Despite the disparagement, Shen Mingzhu wasn’t discouraged but remained cheerfully persistent.

"Manager Yao, I know our strength isn’t enough yet, but I came today with no other intention than to ask you to taste our products."

"No need, you better leave now, or else I’ll call security to come up."

Holding a key position, Yao An was acutely aware of the principle that accepting favors made one susceptible to influence and obligation.

Moreover, the number of people trying to curry favor with him was countless, and they all made generous gestures; the useless trinkets Shen Mingzhu had brought didn’t even warrant a glance from him.

"Alright then, I won’t disturb you any longer."

Shen Mingzhu left, knowing when to retreat.

The sound of high heels tapping on the floor came through; Yao An turned around, and instantly put on an obsequious and eager attitude when he recognized the person.

"Miss Yan."

Yan Su gave a faint nod, her gaze sweeping toward the staircase exit where Shen Mingzhu had left, and asked, "What did she come for?"

...

Having descended the stairs, Shen Mingzhu didn’t leave but found a place to sit in the rest area.

She caught her breath while observing the flow of customers in the mall.

Flower pastry, egg yolk pastry, and snowflake pastry—these three new products were costly to produce, so they could only target the mid-to-high-end market.

Compared to opening her own flagship store, entering a department store would undoubtedly allow her to break into the market more quickly and easily.

After all, customers who could shop in department stores were a high-spending quality crowd filtered through selection.

Fengcheng currently had three department stores, People’s Shopping Mall and Baihui were both state-owned.

The state-owned stores currently did not allow private enterprises to join. They had to wait for the annual tendering conference to have a chance of becoming a supplier for the state-owned stores, and that would not be until the second half of the year.

The Friendship Mall where she was now, although privately owned, had a higher consumption level and business was even better than the state-owned stores because, in here, money could buy any goods without the need for vouchers.

Accordingly, Friendship Mall had very stringent selection criteria for brands to enter, and it was filled with well-known brands, including numerous international luxury brands.

Pei Yang had already tried twice before and was turned down without exception.

This time she wanted to try her luck while Pei Yang was not around.

If only Friendship would give her a spot as big as a palm, she wouldn’t have to worry about selling her flower pastries and snowflake pastries.

Oh, heavenly swan, bestow upon me a miracle.

...

Yan Su, having finished her errands and preparing to go back, passed by the first-floor resting area and saw Shen Mingzhu sitting on the sofa chair; she paused in her steps.

"Thud, thud, thud."

Hearing the footsteps approaching from afar, Shen Mingzhu seemed to sense it and turned her head back.

"Miss Yan, what a coincidence."

Because Yan Su had once taken care of the food factory’s business and helped her by showing the way, Shen Mingzhu had a good impression of her.

Yan Su’s gaze fell on Shen Mingzhu’s protruding belly.

"With your pregnancy so far along, you shouldn’t be running around outside instead of resting at home. What would you do if something happened?"

Shen Mingzhu was taken aback by the reprimand.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Yan Su regretted them. It wasn’t her place to meddle—why was she making it her business?

"Forget it, just pretend I had a moment of madness. You sit, I’m leaving."

Watching the other’s departing figure stride away quickly, Shen Mingzhu found the encounter baffling but could tell that Yan Su had shown concern, even if her way of expressing it was not the most comforting.

"Miss Yan, are you going home?"

Hearing her driver’s inquiry, Yan Su hesitated slightly, "Not going back yet, I still have some things to take care of."

After speaking, she got out of the car and headed back toward the mall.