The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 262 - 261: A Sister as Beautiful as Mom

Chapter 262: Chapter 261: A Sister as Beautiful as Mom

Yan Jing looked at her son with a smile, "... If you want to be a hedonistic scion for the rest of your life, you need to have the awareness of being one, which means listening to your mother."

"If you have the capability to take over your father’s authority, you can do whatever you want, marry whoever you want, and I won’t interfere, understand?"

Ning Yuan: "..."

He didn’t want to understand.

...

"Pei Ziheng, look, I bought your family’s gummy candies, and I also bought spicy strips and potato chips..."

Zhao Yun immediately approached Pei Ziheng as he saw him coming out of the school, proudly showing off the snacks he bought from the convenience store.

Pei Ziheng ignored him, showing no interest in Zhao Yun’s attempt to curry favor.

Unwilling to give up, Zhao Yun stretched out his hand to block his path, "Pei Ziheng, can you at least acknowledge me?"

"Get out of the way."

"What do I have to do for you to acknowledge me? Tell me!"

Seeing that Zhao Yun refused to step aside, Pei Ziheng coldly turned his face away and walked around him.

Watching Pei Ziheng’s retreating figure, Zhao Yun felt extremely frustrated and downhearted.

A lackey disdainfully looked at Pei Ziheng and complained, "Bro Yun, since he doesn’t want to hang out with us, let’s stop buying his family’s snacks and buy from other places."

"You don’t know jack!"

Zhao Yun glared at his followers, warning them ferociously, "If any of you dare to buy snacks from another place behind my back, I’ll deal with him."

The lackeys quickly promised they wouldn’t.

...

With Pei Yang not at home, Shen Mingzhu kept dinner simple for her and her son, boiling just two bowls of sour soup wontons.

During dinner, Shen Mingzhu looked at her son’s quiet and pensive little face and asked purposely, "Why haven’t you brought Zhao Yun over to play recently?"

"He’s busy."

Shen Mingzhu gave a knowing look, "You still haven’t made up with him, have you?"

Pei Ziheng kept his head down and said nothing.

He had no intention of playing with someone who fantasized about stealing his mother from him.

Seeing that her son didn’t want to talk about Zhao Yun, Shen Mingzhu changed the subject to school matters, and Pei Ziheng answered them all.

After dinner, Pei Ziheng took the dishes to the kitchen and stood on a small stool in front of the sink to wash them.

Before Pei Yang had left, he made a point to teach Pei Ziheng how to do household chores like dishwashing and cleaning, claiming it was to take care of his mother.

And indeed, even though her son was young, he did the household chores quite well, which really lightened her load.

With her current stage of pregnancy, bending over to do the dishes and clean was indeed inconvenient.

After washing the dishes, her son poured her a glass of water and reminded her to take her medication.

Just a few minutes after taking her medicine, the home phone rang.

Pei Ziheng answered; just by listening to the conversation, he knew it was Pei Yang calling back.

The father and son talked about her on the phone, asking if she had eaten well and taken her medication, if she felt uncomfortable, and so on.

When the father and son finished talking, Shen Mingzhu finally took over the receiver.

On the phone, Pei Yang’s voice was deep and magnetic, laced with laughter, "Missing me, right? Hang in there, I’ll be back in three days."

Not at all, you have no idea how comfortable I am without you at home, how comfortable it is to sleep alone.

Shen Mingzhu silently grumbled to herself but couldn’t help cautioning the man to be careful.

After the phone call, Shen Mingzhu, as usual, prepared to go downstairs with her son for a walk.

Just as she bent over to get up, she suddenly felt a kick in her belly.

Hearing her cry out, Pei Ziheng, who was changing shoes, immediately ran over in concern.

"Mom, what’s wrong?"

Shen Mingzhu looked down at her stomach, her face full of surprise, "Son, your sister is kicking me."

As if in response to her words, a bump suddenly rose on her belly and then disappeared just as quickly.

Pei Ziheng, witnessing this for the first time, was momentarily stunned and took a while to react.

Afterward, the mother and son didn’t go out, instead sitting on the couch, waiting for the next fetal movement.

However, the little guy seemed to be deliberately opposing them, and there was no reaction even after waiting two hours.

Shen Mingzhu touched her stomach with a slight sense of regret, "My little sister must be tired, let’s wait until tomorrow."

"Mm."

Seeing the disappointment on her son’s face, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but smile to comfort him, "Don’t worry, your sister will be born in five more months."

Pei Ziheng’s eyes immediately sparkled.

A soft and fragrant little sister, as beautiful as mom.

The very thought was exciting.

...

One day before Pei Yang returned, Shen Mingzhu made another trip to Friendship Mall.

She didn’t hold out much hope, just going to familiarize herself with faces and deliver some gifts to make a good impression.

This time she brought some mooncakes and yolk pastries.

For a big mall like Friendship, they would definitely need to order mooncake gift boxes for customers during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and maybe they could strike up a cooperation.

There’s a soft spot for those who bring gifts.

This time, Yao An was much friendlier to her, not only letting her into the office but also pouring her water.

"Manager Yao, these are our factory’s new yolk pastries, and mooncakes, try them. We can take pre-orders for mooncake gift boxes, if you need them, I can firstly prepare a few proposals for you to look at."

Yao An tasted a yolk pastry and learned about the scale of the food factory, its future development, and plans, then he led her to the northeast corner of the mall’s first floor.

This location was secluded and inconspicuous, situated in the innermost corner of the mall.

Previously it was a tea shop, and she had wandered through the mall’s three floors, memorizing clearly what each spot sold, countless times.

But now, this spot was empty.

"Here, the annual rent is a thousand, with a minimum lease of one year. If you want it, follow me upstairs to sign the contract."

Having learned from the previous apple soft candy incident, Shen Mingzhu this time wasn’t overwhelmed by the prospect of an unexpected windfall.

"Manager Yao, may I ask why you suddenly changed your mind and agreed to let us rent the space?"

Just as Yao An was about to answer, a mall manager came over in a hurry.

"Ms. Shen, I have other matters to attend to. Think it over; if you want to rent, just go directly to the commercial management department. I’ve already given them a heads up."

With that, Yao An left.

Shen Mingzhu observed the storefront at hand.

The space wasn’t large, only five or six square meters, but for the first floor, an annual rent of a thousand was not expensive.

"Let’s go back."

Shen Hongmei was utterly puzzled, "Manager Yao finally softened up; we should strike while the iron is hot! Aren’t you afraid if you miss this opportunity, there won’t be another?"

If she missed this place, she could still look for other locations.

Besides, renting a storefront wasn’t a trivial matter, she ought to discuss it with everyone rather than signing a contract on her own.

Although she saw a glimmer of hope, how to bring up the subject with Pei Yang was a challenge for Shen Mingzhu.

If Pei Yang found out she hadn’t obeyed and was running around all the time, he would certainly be angry.

"Hongmei, when Pei Yang comes back tomorrow, I will say it was you who arranged this."

Shen Hongmei very sensibly shook her head and refused, "I don’t have that ability. If your husband finds out I lied to him, goodness knows how he’ll react."

"If the shop is successfully rented, I will raise your salary."

"...How much?"

"Five yuan."

"Deal!"

Money convinces people.

The next day, Pei Yang returned as expected.

After unloading the goods, Shen Mingzhu called Pei Yang into the office to take a break and took the opportunity to tell him the good news about Shen Hongmei securing a space at Friendship Mall.

After hearing this, Pei Yang’s expression didn’t reveal pleasure or anger, "I’ll go ask Hongmei."

Watching Pei Yang stride purposefully to find Shen Hongmei outside the office, Shen Mingzhu could only pray in her heart that Shen Hongmei would withstand the intimidation of the ’scoundrel’ and not betray her.

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