The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 279 - 278 Resolving the Crisis

Chapter 279: Chapter 278 Resolving the Crisis

Upon learning Pei Yang was the owner, the middle-aged woman immediately began berating him, "Finally, you’re here! I bought a flower cake from your shop, and I found a cockroach in it. If you don’t give me a proper explanation today, I’ll file a complaint with the Bureau of Industry and Commerce! I’ll make sure your store gets shut down!"

After carefully examining the flower cake and the cockroach in the box, Pei Yang offered an apology to the woman, and then politely inquired about her name to locate the corresponding order.

The woman’s name was Shi Yanyan, who had ordered a pound of flower cakes yesterday.

"Sister, how about we do it this way? We’ll refund you the money for the flower cake you bought and offer three more pounds of flower cakes as a gift," he suggested.

"Pah! Are you trying to dismiss me like a beggar? I don’t care if it’s three pounds or thirty pounds; I wouldn’t want them. Your cakes are so dirty; I dare not eat them again," she retorted.

The few women who had been supporting Shi Yanyan all began clamoring for compensation.

Pei Yang then said, "Sister, if you don’t want the flower cakes, then I can compensate you twelve times the price of the cakes. How about that?"

Shi Yanyan scoffed, "I’m not unreasonable. Seeing that you’re so sincere, just compensate me one hundred yuan and we’ll call it even."

One hundred yuan was equivalent to two months’ salary for an ordinary wage earner.

Pei Yang smiled, "One hundred yuan? With so many of you, will it be enough to share?"

Shi Yanyan’s face changed instantly, and the other women in her group showed signs of guilt and panic.

Pei Yang picked up the half piece of flower cake with the cockroach and the other half, putting them together to form a complete flower cake.

He displayed the reassembled flower cake to everyone, "Our flower cakes and egg yolk pastries at Mingzhu Restaurant have a flaky crust, which is freshly baked on the same day. The crust is very crispy and crumbles easily. Therefore, we usually remind our customers to hold the pastry flat when eating and it’s best to place a handkerchief under their chin to prevent any crumbs from falling on their clothes and bodies."

"When I was examining the flower cake, I also took the opportunity to observe Ms. Shi Yanyan’s hands. Her skin is rough, with large knuckles, dirt under the fingernails, and calluses on the palms of both hands. It’s clear that she works very hard in her daily life."

"Earning money through such hard work to buy such expensive cakes, one should appreciate and savor them properly. Why would she break it apart, and moreover, break out a cockroach?"

Hearing Pei Yang’s reasoning, the onlookers began to feel there was sense in his words.

The flower cake was five yuan per pound, with ten pieces per pound, which calculates to fifty cents per cake. Ordinary people, facing such costly treats, would probably pick up even crumbs that fell on the ground to eat.

Shi Yanyan didn’t seem like a wealthy person. Buying cakes and not eating them, but breaking them open, was indeed suspicious.

Pei Yang suddenly became confrontational, catching Shi Yanyan off guard. She panicked and tried to defend herself, but Pei Yang didn’t give her a chance to speak, his barrage of points leaving Shi Yanyan disoriented—

"Our flower cakes undergo baking at high temperatures between 120 to 150 degrees Celsius for half an hour. If a cockroach inadvertently got into the filling, it would have been roasted by now. Ms. Yao, may I ask why this cockroach is still raw?"

Shi Yanyan was speechless.

The onlookers suddenly realized—was this a deliberate scam to extort money?

The crowd began to denounce and curse Shi Yanyan.

Seeing the tide turning against her, Shi Yanyan thought of leaving, but Pei Yang had already communicated with the security department of the Friendship Mall.

The security team promptly escorted Shi Yanyan to the police station.

Before the crowd dispersed, Pei Yang took the opportunity to explain and promote his factory—

"Although we are a small enterprise, our food safety and hygiene can certainly withstand scrutiny, and we welcome everyone to visit and supervise our factory!"

An old customer who had bought the flower cake before spoke up to vouch, "I’ve bought the flower cakes several times and never encountered any issue."

Just then, Manager Yao received the news and came to see the situation. Hearing the customer, Yao said, "Please rest assured, our principle at Friendship Mall is integrity and quality first. Any brand with quality issues wouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our mall."

Backed by Manager Yao, the crisis was smoothly resolved.

After the customers dispersed, Pei Yang asked Luo Xiaofang to prepare some apple candy. He went outside to use a public phone to report to Shen Mingzhu, then bought some fruits and a pack of decent cigarettes, brought them to Manager Yao to express his gratitude, and afterward went to the police station.

Shi Yanyan was a rural woman who had come to the city to work. Once at the police station, she confessed to everything.

Not only did he confess the mastermind behind the scene, but he also gave up several "accomplices."

After returning to the factory from the police station, Pei Yang vividly described his intellectual battle with Shi Yanyan to Shen Mingzhu.

"...The mastermind’s surname is Hong, named Hong Jinbao. He said he was short on cash recently and, seeing our business doing well, wanted to extort some money. Shi Yanyan is his lover, and the rest are fellows from Shi Yanyan’s hometown."

Now that the issue was resolved and the troublemakers were apprehended, Shen Mingzhu could finally relax.

Upon learning that the man hadn’t eaten lunch yet, she, supporting her lower back, headed to the cafeteria kitchen to cook him a bowl of noodles.

Pei Yang eagerly followed behind her.

Wearing flat shoes, Shen Mingzhu looked dainty and delicate next to his towering height of six-foot-two, resembling from a distance, Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.

"Wife, how did I do with the matter today?"

"Not bad."

Shen Mingzhu stood by the stove, waiting for the water to boil, curious, "How did you know the cockroach was raw?"

"I don’t know about raw or cooked cockroaches, but that cockroach’s color was off. Our rose sauce is made from fresh petals—if a cockroach had really fallen in, it would’ve been stained red long ago."

Indeed.

Shen Mingzhu patted his head, "Pretty smart."

Pei Yang bent over cooperatively, "Do I get a reward for that?"

Meeting his expectant, shining black eyes, Shen Mingzhu withdrew her hand with a light snort, "Isn’t cooking you noodles enough, how about I add an egg?"

Pei Yang traced his finger in her palm, "Not enough."

Shen Mingzhu swatted his hand away, "Not enough, but that’s all you get."

After a pause, she reminded him, "It’s already eight months, be careful."

Pei Yang whispered something into her ear while pinching her hand, causing Shen Mingzhu to blush to the tips of her ears without making a sound.

...

Unable to capitalize on the Ronghua mooncake brand anymore, the sales of mooncake gift boxes were dismal in the following days of the exhibition sale, which infuriated Wang Hongcheng.

"That damn Shen woman, just you wait and see, if I don’t ruin your business, I’ll take your last name!"

After closing the ledger, Wang Hongcheng looked at his watch, took the car keys, and prepared to find Hong Jinbao to see how he was progressing with the task.

He had barely gotten up and walked a few steps when the phone rang.

It was his wife, telling him that his brother-in-law, Hong Jinbao, had been arrested by the police.

Wang Hongcheng felt overwhelmed and rushed to bring money to bail him out.

Hong Jinbao’s actions were classified as a scam, and the police detention resulted in a ten-day detention and a fifty-dollar fine.

Wang Hongcheng paid the fine and slipped an extra hundred dollars to finally get Hong Jinbao out.

As soon as they stepped out of the police station, Hong Jinbao stretched out his hand, asking Wang Hongcheng for money.

"Brother-in-law, we had an agreement. You owe me a hundred dollars for the favor."

Wang Hongcheng had been just fine until that point, but mentioning it nearly made his blood boil with rage.

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