The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 289 - 288: Shen Baolan Cries in Regret

Chapter 289: Chapter 288: Shen Baolan Cries in Regret

After lulling her daughter to sleep, Shen Mingzhu felt the room was eerily quiet.

Turning around, she saw Pei Yang slumped against the headboard, already deep in slumber.

Gazing at the faint dark circles under the man’s eyelids, Shen Mingzhu’s heart filled with pity. She stepped forward to pull up the thin blanket to cover him, but he suddenly opened his eyes.

Seeing it was her, the surprise and wariness in Pei Yang’s eyes dissipated, replaced by a softness.

Shen Mingzhu draped the blanket over him and whispered, "You should sleep for a while, I’ll wake you up for lunch."

Perhaps unaccustomed to their new home, Little Guoguo had been quite fussy these last two nights, especially around two or three in the morning, always crying, disrupting everyone’s sleep.

She might be able to rest during the day, but Pei Yang had to get up early to buy groceries, and after shopping, he had to rush to the food factory to deal with reports and organize work, then hurry back to deliver the groceries.

Pei Yang tugged at her, pulling her onto the bed and holding her in his embrace, "Stay with me for a while."

Shen Mingzhu raised her eyes to look at him, her fingers involuntarily stroking his chin dusted with a light stubble, "Why didn’t your uncle come back when we got married?"

With his eyes closed, Pei Yang answered, "My uncle was no good when he was young, committed a lot of foolish deeds, and didn’t have a good reputation among relatives. After going to Hong City, he never came back."

"My dad missed his younger brother a lot, he was still talking about him before he passed away."

Shen Mingzhu didn’t ask further.

In the book’s plot, this uncle was mentioned.

Perhaps because Pei Yang stayed in Hong City for the Spring Festival, he later experienced a shipwreck, which led to him being unable to see his son Pei Ziheng before his death, leaving his uncle burdened with guilt.

After making his fortune, he returned to Fengcheng and, upon learning that Pei Ziheng had been suffering long-term abuse from the original owner, took Pei Ziheng to live in Hong City.

Regrettably, this uncle passed away just a few years later.

However, before he died, this uncle left Pei Ziheng a substantial inheritance.

Pei Ziheng could have lived a carefree life in Hong City with that wealth, but because of his dark and twisted psyche that developed an anti-social personality, he took all his fortune and returned to Fengcheng.

First, he burned his wicked stepmother alive, and then, following Hong City’s syndicates’ lead, he built a criminal empire involving smuggling, illicit artifact dealing, and running underground casinos—he was engaged in every kind of evil deed imaginable.

And in attempting to kidnap Zhou Hao, who by then had become a customs anti-smuggling officer, he was caught on the spot by the police.

As a matter of fact, at that time, Pei Ziheng, portrayed as a villain, was already harbouring a death wish, hence his desperate opposition to the legal authorities.

Fortunately, because of her arrival, everything changed.

Pei Yang’s fate of dying young changed, and Pei Ziheng became a morally upright good child, no longer destined to be sentenced to death.

...

After leaving Shen Mingzhu’s new home, Shen Baolan wandered the streets like a lost soul until she found herself in front of her maternal family’s doorstep, finally coming back to her senses.

"Hey, what on earth, you dead girl, why did you run back here?"

Liu Cuihua was about to head out to work in the fields when she saw her daughter standing woodenly at the door like a post, startling her.

"Mom——"

Shen Baolan burst into tears, rushing into Liu Cuihua’s arms, but was repelled by her large belly, and would have fallen flat on her behind if Liu Cuihua hadn’t caught her.

"What are you howling for? Had another fight with your mother-in-law?"

Liu Cuihua led her daughter into the house, irritatedly, and secured the courtyard door firmly behind them to avoid eavesdroppers.

"Mom, I regret it, wuwuwu..."

Shen Baolan, with snot and tears mingling, had told Liu Cuihua about how Shen Mingzhu had bought a big house and even hired a nurse to take care of her after childbirth.

She had expected Liu Cuihua to beat her chest and stamp her feet in regret just like she did, but instead, Liu Cuihua slapped her hard across the face.

Shen Baolan was dumbfounded and clutched her face as she stared at Liu Cuihua, "Mom, why did you hit me?"

Liu Cuihua poked her forehead, scolding her but with a lowered voice, "What did I tell you back then? You had your pick of good suitors, but you only went after the tasteless crap. Now you’re regretting it! You wouldn’t listen, acting like you were possessed, treating fantasies as reality, insistent on marrying into another family. You chose this path yourself, so even if you have to crawl, you’re going to see it through!"

"If you don’t live peacefully with your son-in-law, you’ll have more to regret later! Go outside and look, see how many daughters-in-law in the village envy you; they’d jump at the chance to take your place! You don’t know how fortunate you are, stupid girl! I really wish I could beat you to death!"

After being beaten and scolded by Liu Cuihua, Shen Baolan’s mind cleared up quite a bit.

On the way back to the city from the village, she saw several women around her age, rural daughters-in-law, who were doing farm work while carrying children, their faces tanned and reddened by the sun, making them look at least ten years older than her.

Aside from feeling sympathy for them, her heart was also struck with sadness.

Though she couldn’t compare to Shen Mingzhu’s comfortable life, she had, after all, married into the city, and once her son was born, generations hence would all be city folk, far better off than these rural daughters-in-law by leagues.

Yet the thought of the big house Shen Mingzhu lived in, and the tall, handsome, gentle, and considerate man that she had willingly yielded to, made her unbearably miserable.

Despite Pei Yang’s insinuations that she was not destined to bring fortune to her husband, she could not bring herself to accept such an outcome.

She’d rather believe that she had simply chosen incorrectly.

...

After feeding her daughter and coaxing her to sleep, Shen Mingzhu walked out of the room, looked around, went upstairs for a quick tour, and then headed to the kitchen.

"Sister Yu, has Ziheng gone out again?"

"Yes, he said he was going to a classmate’s place to play; he won’t be home for lunch."

Thinking about the frequency and duration of her son’s recent trips outside, Shen Mingzhu frowned slightly.

She wasn’t against her son going out; rather, she felt guilty for neglecting him.

So much so that she, as a mother, had no clue where her son had been or which classmate he had been playing with recently.

Zhengxing Trading Company.

In the General Manager’s office.

Pei Ziheng sat in front of the desk, flipping through the report in his hands, his delicate and pretty face displaying a maturity beyond his years.

Shi Yizheng, the actual General Manager, on the other hand, sat opposite the desk like a guest, quietly waiting.

Finally, Pei Ziheng put down the report and looked up at Shi Yizheng.

"How are things on Xi Yuan’s side?"

Shi Yizheng smiled, "It’s pretty much an empty shell now, all their clients and payments have been transferred to Zhengxing."

Pei Ziheng nodded, then his thoughts seemed to shift, "Have you looked into what I asked you to check?"

"I did. I took the guy out for a few drinks, and now he sees me as a brother, tells me everything. He said he was doing a favor for his brother-in-law. Right, his brother-in-law is named Wang Hongcheng, he owns a bakery business, and it’s doing quite well."

Pei Ziheng was unsurprised, a hint of scorn and chill flashing through his dark eyes.

"Find a way to make Hong Jinbao get the list of major clients from Wang Hongcheng’s bakery."

Shi Yizheng nodded in understanding.

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