The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 302 - 301: It’s Against Heaven’s Will, It’s Destiny

Chapter 302: Chapter 301: It’s Against Heaven’s Will, It’s Destiny

Shen Mingzhu lowered her head, her hands gently caressing Pei Ziheng’s little head, "Marrying your father is something I’ve never regretted, and I even feel fortunate that it was your father I married, not someone else. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have a son as handsome, sensible, and smart as you."

While she was ostensibly speaking to her son, in reality, Shen Mingzhu was also expressing her thoughts to the man beside her.

So Mom never despised me!

So my wife never despised me!

The gloom on the faces of both father and son was swept away, and even their steps became more joyful.

Pei Ziheng opened his arms and hugged her legs, his face beaming with joy and happiness, "Mom, having you as my mother is also my good fortune!"

Pei Yang also wanted to cuddle his wife, but alas, with sour dates on his shoulder, he could only regretfully suppress the thought.

Once they got home and had put away the sour dates, Pei Yang quickly washed his hands and rushed back to the bedroom.

Shen Mingzhu was feeding her daughter, and didn’t pay much attention when he entered.

Pei Yang squatted in front of her, first looking at his daughter, and then turning his gaze to her face.

The sunlight, filtering through the light green curtain, lent Shen Mingzhu’s already delicate features an even softer and more enchanting charm.

Pei Yang gazed greedily at his wife’s beautiful face, "Wife, was it true when you said you have no regrets about marrying me?"

Shen Mingzhu glanced at him and then lowered her head to watch her daughter feed, "Mmm, it’s true."

"Our union as husband and wife is destiny, inevitable, and preordained."

Pei Yang couldn’t grasp the deeper meaning in her words but was smiling at the corners of his eyes because of them, quickly spreading across his entire face.

Pei Yang took one of her hands and kissed it gently, "Wife, thank you."

Pei Yang didn’t specify what he was thanking her for, and Shen Mingzhu didn’t ask, but she felt she understood his sentiment.

Could this be what they call a meeting of minds?

"What do you plan to do with those sour dates?"

"Make sour date candy and sour date cake."

Though sour dates aren’t eye-catching or valuable, their flesh is rich in Vitamin C. Vitamin C not only boosts immunity but also has beauty and skincare benefits.

It would be too wasteful for such a good thing to rot on the ground.

If the sour dates could be developed for commercial value, it would mean an additional source of income for the people of Shenjiagou.

The finished sour date candy, coated with a layer of dried tangerine peel powder, gives a unique taste experience: first, the distinct aroma of the tangerine peel, followed by the candy’s sweet and sour flavor. The taste of the tangerine peel and the tartness of the sour date collide to create an exquisite flavor, both appetizing and refreshing.

Compared to the chewy texture of the sour date candy, the sour date cake is more tender and chewy, and since it’s made with sweet potato paste, it feels filling, making it perfect as a snack when you’re craving something sweet.

Of the batch of sour dates, Shen Mingzhu kept a small portion for herself to eat, and the rest she gave to relatives and friends to gather feedback and suggestions for improvement.

...

Ever since Zhou Shuhuan learned the truth about the blind date back then, he was convinced that Shen Baolan had ruined him, led him astray, and caused him grief, harboring deep resentment against her.

Not only did he not visit Shen Baolan when she was in confinement in the countryside, but even after she was out of confinement, he did not go to bring her back.

Seeing that several days had passed since her confinement ended and Zhou Shuhuan hadn’t come to fetch her, and with her sister-in-law at home making veiled insults every day, the proud Shen Baolan couldn’t stand the affront any longer. She simply packed up her things and had her elder brother Shen Hao send her back to the city.

While Ma Sufen didn’t care much for her, she was still delighted with her grandson, Little Yuanbao, playing with him without a break.

Taking advantage of Ma Sufen’s doting on Little Yuanbao, Shen Baolan quickly sorted her things and cleaned herself from head to toe, finally feeling a sigh of relief wash over her.

```

From now on, I’ll just live a good life with Zhou Shuhuan, raise our son well, and have someone to rely on when we’re old. That would make my life complete.

But the calm and peaceful atmosphere stopped abruptly when Zhou Hao came home.

"I don’t want a little brother, I hate little brothers! Go away, roll back to your countryside!"

Probably haunted by the psychological shadow of Little Yuanbao’s midnight crying, Zhou Hao came home from school and, seeing the return of Shen Baolan and her son, started crying and throwing tantrums with such intensity that no one could calm him down.

Little Yuanbao was woken up by the commotion and started to cry loudly as well.

With both the older and the younger child crying at the same time, their wails nearly lifted the Zhou family’s ceiling.

Occupants of the same building couldn’t help but sigh: There goes any peace and quiet.

Zhou Hao, being young, cried his heart out a few times but to no avail, so he reluctantly accepted the reality.

But inside, he deeply resented Little Yuanbao, seizing any chance to bully him mercilessly. Little Yuanbao, being a crybaby, would cry for half an hour each time, and Grandma Ma Sufen offered no help to soothe the child, instead constantly complaining and nagging, which exhausted Shen Baolan greatly.

But this wasn’t what troubled her the most.

"Yuanbao’s full-month celebration has been due for so long, when are you going to hold it?"

Faced with Shen Baolan’s question, Zhou Shuhuan simply tossed back, "If you want to do it, do it yourself. I’m not doing it."

Upon hearing this, Shen Baolan immediately became anxious, "Why not? Little Yuanbao is your biological son, he is of the Zhou family’s blood. If you don’t hold a full-month celebration for your son, aren’t you afraid of people gossiping behind your back?"

"Let them talk."

Zhou Shuhuan’s indifferent attitude completely enraged Shen Baolan.

She could bear the indifference of her mother-in-law, looking after the children while attending to the needs of the entire household, even trying to please her stepson, with her husband paying no attention to her—all of this she could endure.

But her son was her bottom line. Without the full-month celebration, her son would not receive blessings and recognition, and that was something she couldn’t stand.

"Zhou Shuhuan, I’m asking you one more time, are you going to arrange the full-month celebration or not?"

"No, there’s no money."

Shen Baolan was choked with pain at these words, "I risked my life to bear you a son. Little Yuanbao has been born for so long, how many times have you held him? Now you can’t even spend money on his full-month celebration, are you even a man? How could I be so unlucky to marry such a useless loser like you..."

Zhou Shuhuan let her rant and, after she finished, retorted with a cold sneer, "Wasn’t it you who desperately wanted to marry me? To get married to me, you even deliberately caused Shen Mingzhu to fall into the water to miss her matchmaking session. Shen Baolan, you brought all this upon yourself."

Shen Baolan was dumbstruck.

The couple’s quarrel woke up the sleeping Little Yuanbao, whose relentless cries filled the air.

Zhou Shuhuan, fed up, packed a few things and prepared to move to the dormitory at his factory.

Shen Baolan hugged her tearfully crying son, watching as her husband coldly shut the door on her, tears streaming down relentlessly, "Yuanbao, life is so hard for us, mother and son..."

...

After marrying Jia Yuemei, Shen Xiangnan moved out of the cotton mill dormitory and rented a small suite in a tube building, starting a sweet new life with Jia Yuemei.

"Xiangnan, you might as well quit your job."

That evening, as Shen Xiangnan was affectionately embracing his wife, he was caught off guard by her statement and froze.

"Yuemei, are you running a fever? What nonsense are you talking about? If I quit my job, how will I earn money to support you, to build you a new house?"

Jia Yuemei, annoyed, knocked on his head, "You’re such a fool; can’t you learn a bit from your brother and sister-in-law? They’re buttering up your little sister, and now the couple are both bosses, while you’re still slaving away at a dead-end job!"

```

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