The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 303 - 302: Refusing Shen Xiangnan Entry to the Factory

Chapter 303: Chapter 302: Refusing Shen Xiangnan Entry to the Factory

After the National Day holiday, Shen Mingzhu began attending night school with Pei Yang, Shen Chaobei, Du Juan, and Shen Hongmei for a short-term training class in human resources and business management.

For Pei Yang and Shen Hongmei, it wasn’t too difficult, given their junior high school education level.

Shen Chaobei and his wife Du Juan had a poorer educational foundation, struggling to recognize many characters, so Shen Mingzhu would use her free time at noon or in the evenings to tutor the couple.

Thanks to this method, the couple made quick progress and could at least keep up with the training class.

Jia Yuemei worked in the food factory and was always keen on observing Shen Mingzhu’s every move. Seeing Shen Mingzhu not only making money with Shen Chaobei and his wife but also helping them improve together, naturally left a bitter taste in her heart.

They were both sisters-in-law, yet Du Juan was the boss, managing about thirty people in the factory and earning several hundred yuan a month.

She could only work as a regular worker, making at most fifty or sixty yuan a month.

With such a huge gap, it was strange if her heart could be at peace.

Before being influenced by Jia Yuemei’s pillow talk, Shen Xiangnan was quite satisfied with his current life.

Together with Jia Yuemei, they could earn a bit over a hundred yuan a month. After deducting rent, food, and other daily expenses, they could still save sixty or seventy yuan a month, which amounted to seven or eight hundred a year.

In at most three years, he could return to his hometown and build three beautiful bungalows.

Have another child, a warm wife and kids by the bed—who wouldn’t be delighted?

But after being influenced by Jia Yuemei’s pillow talk, he gradually began to keep score in his heart.

In September, the food factory did well, and his elder brother and sister-in-law earned eight or nine hundred in one month. Although he wasn’t exactly jealous, he still envied them and wanted to know what it felt like to earn a few hundred a month.

"Younger sister, I don’t want to work for others anymore, I want to go into business with you and elder brother."

"You can’t make much by working for others; you need to do business to make big money."

It didn’t surprise Shen Mingzhu that Shen Xiangnan would come to her for this, as ever since she started the food factory without involving him, she had been prepared for this day to come.

Shen Mingzhu offered Shen Xiangnan two options.

One was to pay for him to learn to drive. Once he learned, he could become a driver at the food factory.

The other was to lend him money to start a small business.

Shen Xiangnan was somewhat hurt and pleaded in a pitiful tone, "Younger sister, can’t you also take me and Yuemei to work together? Just like elder brother and his wife, be our own bosses, make our own money."

Shen Mingzhu calmly looked at him, "Second brother, do you think that’s possible? The food factory was built from nothing. In this past year, Pei Yang, elder brother, his wife, and I have gone through so many hardships and obstacles. The factory nearly didn’t survive several times. Now that we’ve finally seen some profits after so much bitterness, you think you can just come along and claim a share? There’s no such good deal in this world."

Shen Xiangnan was deeply hurt by Shen Mingzhu’s refusal and ended up drinking himself into a stupor with Shen Chaobei at a small restaurant that evening.

"Elder brother, younger sister has changed. She’s willing to help you and sister-in-law make money, but she doesn’t want to include me."

"Wuu wuu wuu..."

"I know she must think I’m useless. I did everything she said before—I divorced Lizhen just because she told me to, and stopped contacting Lizhen when she asked me to. What else is she dissatisfied with me for?"

"Elder brother, my heart hurts..."

Shen Chaobei has always valued loyalty, especially the deep brotherly bond with Shen Xiangnan. Hearing his younger brother’s tearful complaints twisted his heart into knots.

"Xiangnan, don’t worry. I’ll talk to younger sister tomorrow, and I’ll make her agree to let you into the food factory to work with us!"

"Really? Elder brother, you can’t lie to me."

"I won’t lie to you; I promise."

Shen Chaobei and Shen Xiangnan rented apartments in the same tube-shaped building, one above the other.

After escorting a drunken Shen Xiangnan back to his place, Shen Chaobei returned upstairs and spoke to Du Juan about the situation.

Shen Chaobei had intended to bring his wife along to plead with Shen Mingzhu on behalf of his brother, but Du Juan, without hesitation, refused and even forbade him from asking Shen Mingzhu for any favors.

Shen Chaobei was baffled and even a bit angry, "Why, you won’t even help Xiangnan?"

"There’s a limit to helping. We’ve worked so hard and suffered so much to get the factory to where it is today. Do you really want to let others reap the benefits for nothing?"

Shen Chaobei stiffened his neck, "I do! Xiangnan is my own brother, and I won’t ignore him."

Seeing her anger nearly causing a heart attack, Du Juan retorted, "What you want is your business! The factory was built from scratch by Mingzhu’s hard work; why should your sister have to be as generous as you?"

Staring at her blankly for a moment, Shen Chaobei suddenly said, "You and little sister are the same, only caring about money, completely disregarding kinship. You won’t even give Xiangnan a helping hand!"

"I don’t care. If you won’t go, then I’ll talk to little sister myself. I’m the eldest brother, and I must take care of my younger brother Xiangnan no matter what."

Seeing Shen Chaobei being so stubborn, Du Juan couldn’t be bothered to argue anymore, and she didn’t even let him sleep in their bed that night.

Luckily, they had a folding bed at home; otherwise, Shen Chaobei would have had to sleep on the floor.

The next day.

"You said last night that big brother would go and ask little sister today to let you into the food factory. Is that true or false?"

Shen Xiangnan, sitting on the bed in discomfort, felt somewhat puzzled upon hearing his wife, Jia Yuemei, ask this.

He had drunk too much the night before and couldn’t remember what all he had said to Shen Chaobei.

However, he knew his elder brother’s character; if he had promised to talk on his behalf, he would surely do so.

With big brother’s help, he reckoned his little sister would likely agree to let him work at the food factory as well.

Thinking thus, Shen Xiangnan couldn’t help feeling elated and even began to fantasize with Jia Yuemei about a bright future, "Once I start working at the food factory, I’d be satisfied with earning two to three hundred a month. After a year, we could go back to our hometown to build a new house."

Jia Yuemei scorned, "Look at you, with such limited ambition. If you really earn that much, we wouldn’t go back to the countryside! We’d buy a house in the city in the future, have a child, and let the child go to school here, becoming city folks."

"Alright, I’ll listen to you!"

The couple was so delighted they couldn’t stop grinning.

Meanwhile, upstairs at Shen Chaobei’s home, the atmosphere was frigid with resentment as the couple had breakfast silently, neither speaking to the other.

After breakfast, Du Juan took Daya to kindergarten, while Shen Chaobei hurried off to the factory.

Pei Yang was the first to arrive at the food factory that morning.

As the weather cooled down and not wishing to let Little Guoguo’s crying disturb the workers, Shen Mingzhu stopped bringing her to the food factory.

She fed her before leaving for work every morning and then pumped half a bottle of milk to store in the refrigerator, which was enough to last until she returned home in the afternoon.

Because of the time spent breastfeeding, Shen Mingzhu was always half an hour late to work in the morning.

Shen Chaobei pulled Pei Yang into the office and explained Shen Xiangnan’s situation, hoping Pei Yang would help mediate.

"Big brother, in this matter, I’ll follow Mingzhu’s lead," Pei Yang declined gently.

Shen Chaobei became anxious at once, "Pei Yang, are you also worried that if Xiangnan joins the factory, he will take a share of our money?"

Pei Yang looked at him and said, "It’s a fact."

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