The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 287 - 286: A Family of Four, Meals Through the Four Seasons

Chapter 287: Chapter 286: A Family of Four, Meals Through the Four Seasons

Unable to say whether it was sheer fondness or overwhelming emotion, Shen Mingzhu turned to look at the man, seeing both tenderness and fatigue between his brows, and couldn’t help but tiptoe to kiss the corner of his lips.

"I love it, thank you, husband!"

Pei Yang bent down to respond with a kiss, "You’re welcome, wife."

Although her body had not yet fully recovered, Shen Mingzhu still let Pei Yang carry her upstairs to see their son’s room.

The staircase had also been renovated. It used to be a wooden 90-degree turn, but Shen Mingzhu had it removed and replaced with a 180-degree wrought iron spiral staircase, both beautiful and retro.

The second floor had a total of three rooms, in addition to a terrace of about ten square meters.

Shen Mingzhu turned the room adjoining the terrace into a study, and the remaining two rooms into bedrooms for Pei Ziheng and Little Guoguo respectively.

There was only time to renovate Pei Ziheng’s bedroom due to the tight schedule.

Pure white wallpaper, sky-blue curtains, and solid wood furnishings including a single bed, a desk, and a bookcase—all bright and refreshing in color.

After viewing Pei Ziheng’s room, Shen Mingzhu asked Pei Yang to boil water as she wanted to wipe down her body and wash her hair.

In such hot weather, and after several days without cleaning, even she felt disgusted by the stale odor on her body.

Sister Yu, upon hearing this, spent a good deal urging that during the confinement period one should not bathe or wash hair, as it may lead to postpartum illnesses.

Shen Mingzhu did not refute stubbornly but explained to Sister Yu using modern science, "Sister Yu, in the old days, conditions were poor, and there wasn’t proper heating or clean water, so bathing or washing hair during the confinement period easily led to colds and infections."

"But now it’s different. Every household has its own clean tap water, and once you wash your hair, there’s a hairdryer to dry it immediately. With heating, there’s no risk of catching cold, so there’s no worry about postpartum illnesses."

Besides, it was the height of the hottest days of the year, and as long as you don’t use a fan, you don’t have to worry about getting cold at all.

Although Sister Yu had old-fashioned views, she wasn’t so stubborn as to ignore reason. Hearing Shen Mingzhu’s logical explanation, she didn’t object further.

Once the hot water was ready, Pei Yang set up a lounge chair in the yard.

Shen Mingzhu lay on the lounge chair with a basin under her head, while Pei Yang squatted down to wash her hair.

After washing her hair and blow-drying it, and wiping her body twice with warm water, Shen Mingzhu finally felt refreshed as she changed into clean and comfortable pajamas.

Having taken care of Shen Mingzhu’s personal hygiene, Pei Yang returned to the service quarters to pack up things, moving the necessities over.

As the evening cooled down, Shen Mingzhu asked Sister Yu to move a chair out into the yard. Sitting there, she enjoyed the garden’s flowers and plants while basking in the sun to absorb some calcium.

Dinner was much more lavish than usual.

For the first meal in a new home, it was customary to invite a bunch of relatives and friends for a housewarming, but unfortunately, the timing coincided with Shen Mingzhu’s confinement, so only Pei Wenping and his spouse, Shen Chaobei and his spouse, and Zhao Dafa from the same street were called.

Zhao Dafa was the one who introduced them to the house, and during the renovation, Dafa helped secure many materials without charging a cent.

Zhao Dafa did come, but he also brought along his new girlfriend.

It seemed that good news was on the horizon, and he had specifically brought her to be acquainted with everyone.

The woman was named Zhou Hui, a bus ticket seller, divorced, and mother to a 7-year-old daughter, Liang Xiaowen.

After dinner, while Sister Yu helped clean up the dishes and utensils, Shen Mingzhu went back to her room to breastfeed her daughter, and Pei Yang showed the others around the new house.

Knock, knock.

Hearing the knocking, Shen Mingzhu turned away from the door before calling out for the knocker to enter.

The one who entered was Pei Yang, seeing that she was still nursing, he immediately closed the door behind him.

"Hasn’t Guoguo had enough yet? My sister and the others want to see her."

"Wife, she seems to have grown quite a bit."

Even as an old married couple, being stared at so intently by her husband while nursing, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but blush and feel bashful.

"Aiyah, go out first, and once I’m done feeding her, I’ll bring Guoguo out."

Pei Yang did not heed her request, and instead sat down on the bed, showing gentle concern, "Does the wound still hurt?"

Shen Mingzhu shook her head, "It doesn’t hurt anymore."

Receiving no response after replying, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but turn her head, only to see the man gazing at her with a gentle look in his eyes.

"What’s wrong?"

"I feel like you’ve changed a bit."

"Changed in what way?"

Shen Mingzhu asked this out loud, but inside, she couldn’t help feeling apprehensive.

People say that giving birth to a child can make one look older, she hoped she hadn’t started to show it already.

But looking at the daughter in her arms, who she had given almost half her life to bring into the world, she felt it didn’t matter.

"You’ve become even more beautiful."

Although she knew the man was just sweet-talking, she still took great pleasure in hearing it.

"Wife, you’ve been through a lot recently. That day, standing outside the delivery room, I was so afraid that something would happen to you. Thankfully, both you and Guoguo were safe and sound. I never want to go through such an experience again in my life."

At that moment, she could feel a vulnerability and softness in the man that was completely different from his usual composure.

She couldn’t help but lean her head gently against his broad shoulders, "It’s not only me who’s been through a lot, you’ve had it tough too, carrying the burden of everything inside and outside the house, and then taking care of me and Little Guoguo at night. You’ve been an admirable husband and father. Although I haven’t had a good night’s sleep for a while, I feel very happy and content."

Pei Yang wrapped his arms around her slender shoulders, leaned down, and kissed the top of her head, "Me too, thinking about you both every day gives me so much energy, like I have an endless supply of power, and I don’t feel tired at all."

"Wife, thank you, thank you for making our home even more complete and joyful."

After letting Pei Yang take the satiated Guoguo out, Shen Mingzhu got up and went to the dressing mirror. Looking at her lively eyes and the light within them in the mirror, a smile blossomed on her lips.

She used to think happiness meant living joyfully and happily.

But now, she felt that happiness was about being a family of four, through meals and seasons.

...

Ever since she found out that Shen Mingzhu had a daughter, Shen Baolan stood at the entrance of the family compound every day, waiting for Shen Mingzhu to return so she could watch and gloat.

She waited and waited, several days in a row, but never caught sight of Shen Mingzhu’s figure.

Eventually, she stomped off to the healthcare center.

But upon inquiring at the healthcare center, she learned that Shen Mingzhu had been discharged two days earlier.

She had been waiting at the entrance of the family compound for two whole days and had not seen Shen Mingzhu return. Could it be that, because she had given birth to a girl and feared mockery, she sneakily went back at night when everyone was asleep?

Thinking of this possibility nearly had Shen Baolan grinning crookedly.

She then hurried back to the family compound, huffing and puffing as she ran up to the fourth floor.

Knock, knock, knock, she rapped on the door for a long while, but the Pei Family’s door didn’t open. Instead, it was the upstairs neighbors who, hearing the noise, poked their heads out to look down.

Seeing that it was Shen Baolan, they bluntly said, "Stop knocking, there’s no one home."

Shen Baolan, not one to give up easily, knocked again for a good while, but indeed, no one opened the door. Only then did she return to her own home, with a belly full of confusion.

Back at the Zhou family’s place, Shen Baolan mentioned this to Ma Sufen, who was also perplexed.

She had just given birth; surely she must be doing her month of postnatal care. If not at home, where else could she have gone?

"Could she have gone back to her hometown?"

With no in-laws to take care of her postpartum recovery, returning to her mother’s home for care seemed plausible?

That night, when Zhou Shuhuan came home, Shen Baolan casually asked him about it, "Did Pei Yang send Shen Mingzhu back to the countryside for her postnatal care? Why is there no one in their house?"

"Yang bought a new house and has already moved over," Zhou Shuhuan replied.

This news stunned everyone in the Zhou family, especially Shen Baolan, who was so shocked that her rice bowl fell from her hand.