The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 267 - 266: Shit Is Hard to Eat, Money Is Hard to Earn

Chapter 267: Chapter 266: Shit Is Hard to Eat, Money Is Hard to Earn

Shen Mingzhu looked at the woman and realized she was a middle-aged lady she didn’t recognize, so she smiled, "Thank you for your recognition of Mingzhu Restaurant. Please come and register your preorder with me, and you can come to pick up the goods after 9:30 tomorrow morning."

"I don’t have time tomorrow. Don’t you have some at the counter? Weigh me a pound."

"Sorry, these have been preordered by other customers, who will be coming to pick them up later."

The middle-aged woman huffed, "Forget it then, forget it. It’s not like we can only buy from you. We’ll go to another shop."

As she spoke, she motioned for Ou Liya and the young girl beside her to leave.

However, the young girl became stubborn, "No, I want to eat this! Mom, I want this one!"

Seeing this, Ou Liya approached Shen Mingzhu, "Could you make an exception? We only want a pound."

Shen Mingzhu apologized with a shake of her head, "Ms. Ou, these were preordered by customers yesterday; if we give them to you, we have no way of explaining to our customers, so please forgive us."

Ou Liya smiled, "Can’t you have the factory make some more and send them over?"

The clerk muttered discontentedly, "The pastry chef starts work at 4 in the morning; they have already finished for the day now."

Ou Liya glanced at the clerk and fixed her gaze on Shen Mingzhu, "Please, make an exception. My sister-in-law really likes your pine nut crisps, and I can bring you more customers in the future."

The middle-aged woman chimed in, "My son is a surgeon at the People’s Hospital. There are countless people who want him for treatment. If you help us out today, I’ll help you out in the future."

Shen Mingzhu politely retorted, "You should keep such favors for yourself."

The woman’s face changed, "What do you mean by that?"

Shen Mingzhu couldn’t be bothered to argue with her, her head felt like it was throbbing with a serious illness, cursing people to end up in a hospital for no good reason, she turned and straightforwardly said to Ou Liya: "Alright then, Ms. Ou, I’ll call the pastry chef to work an extra shift and make a fresh batch for you; come and pick it up in two hours."

Ou Liya pondered for a moment, "We should be heading back soon. I’ll give you an address; you can deliver it there once it’s ready."

This was her son’s head teacher.

Shen Mingzhu repeated to herself three times and forced a slight smile, "Okay."

Just as Shen Mingzhu was having the clerk take down the address, the young girl started clamoring for fresh flower cakes and egg yolk pastries.

"Two pounds each of the fresh flower cakes and egg yolk pastries as well. Deliver them along with the pine nut crisps," Ou Liya ordered directly.

The clerk, holding the pen, looked toward Shen Mingzhu and, upon receiving a nod, began to jot it down, though she couldn’t hide her annoyance.

Ou Liya saw it and laughed, "In the West, there’s a saying that customers are God. Pei Ziheng’s mom, I think those of you in business should truly take this to heart."

"Pah! What nonsense! Comparing yourself to God, I’d rather send you to meet God instead!"

Watching Ou Liya and her party walk away, the clerk could not hold back and cursed loudly.

Shen Mingzhu turned around and sternly reprimanded, "Xiaofang, how have I taught you usually? As service industry workers, we can never argue with customers, let alone insult them. You’ve only made this mistake today, so I’ll deduct a dollar."

Luo Xiaofang didn’t say much, but her pouted lips revealed her dissatisfaction.

Shen Mingzhu softened her tone, "It’s normal to encounter difficult customers, but no matter the situation, we must always maintain a smiling face. Why can we charge a premium? It’s not just because our products are genuine and taste good; it’s also because of first-rate service, doing what others can’t and tolerating what others can’t endure."

As she spoke, she moved closer to Luo Xiaofang and whispered so only the two of them could hear, "Do you think I’m not angry? I’d love to smash their heads in."

Luo Xiaofang was amused and laughed out loud.

After alleviating the clerk’s resistance, Shen Mingzhu continued her lecture, "If you encounter similar customers in the future, it’s best if you can handle them yourself. But if you really can’t cope, call the factory. I will stand up for you if you are wronged."

"Remember this, poop is unpleasant, and money is hard to earn."

Luo Xiaofang nodded firmly, "President Shen, I understand now!"

...

Making the pastry chef work overtime might sound simple, but it was not easy to implement.

```

The snowflake crisps were manageable, but the fresh flower cakes and yolk pastries required making the pastry dough first, which took an hour just for that step. With baking and other processes, the small order from Ou Liya needed over three hours to complete.

The pastry chef normally worked the morning shift and rested earlier at night than most people. This overtime work disrupted their schedule, making it easy to affect tomorrow’s work.

To appease the pastry chef, Shen Mingzhu made a note to pay double the overtime wages.

After the desserts were ready, Shen Mingzhu arranged for Shen Hongmei to deliver them according to the address.

Upon arrival, Shen Hongmei knocked on the door politely.

"Hello, I’m looking for Teacher Ou."

Ou Liya was busy in the kitchen; a middle-aged woman opened the door. Recognizing Shen Hongmei was from Mingzhu Restaurant to deliver, she immediately complained discontentedly.

"You promised two hours, and only now you’ve brought it over. People doing business have no integrity at all."

Shen Hongmei wanted to explain, but the middle-aged woman didn’t give her the chance. "Alright, hand it over to me."

Shen Hongmei hurriedly passed over the three bags of food, just about to mention the price, when the middle-aged woman slammed the door shut.

Shen Hongmei couldn’t just go back like that, so she knocked on the door again.

The middle-aged woman opened the door, her annoyance evident. "Why haven’t you left?"

"Please settle the bill," Shen Hongmei said, swallowing her anger.

Ou Liya, hearing the noise, came out and asked how much it was.

"Twenty-eight."

Ou Liya looked surprised. "That expensive?"

Shen Hongmei quickly went over the bill again and held out her hand.

Ou Liya’s face stiffened, then she smiled and said, "I didn’t bring enough money today. I’ll personally give it to President Shen another day."

Shen Hongmei had no option but to go back.

"What the heck, wanting special treatment without money. Do you know what they said? They complained that we delivered too late and lacked integrity. If I hadn’t asked, they probably would have thought about denying the charge and not paying at all! It’s so infuriating."

Once back at the factory, Shen Hongmei vented her dissatisfaction to Shen Mingzhu.

Shen Mingzhu felt the anger too, but had to swallow it and put Ou Liya’s debt on her own account.

She silently hoped that Ou Liya would take extra care of her son in return for today’s favor.

...

"Wow, your ring is so pretty, it’s sparkling."

On Monday, during the break between classes, a close female teacher couldn’t stop admiring the ring on Ou Liya’s finger.

Soon, the gaze of the entire office converged on Ou Liya’s hand.

She ran the hand with the ring through her hair and smiled as she explained, "It’s a diamond. Yawen bought it, saying that diamond rings are trendy abroad."

"I heard that diamonds are sold incredibly expensively, even a tiny one the size of a mung bean costs over a thousand yuan, and although yours is a bit smaller than a mung bean, it must have cost several hundred yuan, right?"

The entire office gasped, especially the female comrades, each envying the diamond ring on Ou Liya’s finger.

Ou Liya was modest in words but thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention.

After discussing the diamond ring, someone brought up Mingzhu Restaurant, complaining about the expensive items that were also hard to get.

Ou Liya casually joined the conversation, "If you want to eat anything, just let me know, and I’ll have them deliver it."

Those unaware might think that Mingzhu Restaurant was owned by her.