The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 304 - 303: Shen Chaobei Commits Treason, Divides Property

Chapter 304: Chapter 303: Shen Chaobei Commits Treason, Divides Property

Pei Yang’s attitude made Shen Chaobei very discouraged, "Is money really that important? Even if Xiangnan joins us, we’d just earn a bit less, it won’t affect much. Xiangnan is my own brother, and also Mingzhu’s elder brother, why can’t you help him and let him earn money with us?"

"Big brother, it’s not about whether we help or not. If Xiangnan encounters difficulties and urgently needs money, Mingzhu and I will definitely lend a hand."

"But doing business is different, Xiangnan hasn’t contributed a single thing to the development of the food factory. He wants to share the fruits of victory without putting in any effort. It’s not just Mingzhu who is reluctant, I’m also reluctant."

Shen Chaobei clenched his teeth and said, "In that case, I’ll give Xiangnan a portion of my own shares. That should be acceptable, right?"

"Big brother, you should discuss this matter with your wife first."

"I can make this decision on my own."

Seeing Shen Chaobei’s stubbornness, Pei Yang said no more.

After all, he was just a brother-in-law and it wasn’t proper for him to interfere too much in the family affairs of his sisters’ husbands.

However, from what he knew of his wife, he guessed she would be unlikely to agree to let Xiangnan into the food factory.

The worst possible situation for a company is to have severe nepotism.

Shen Mingzhu was merely a married-out daughter. If she allowed too many people from her natal family to enter the food factory and form an influence, it would inevitably affect the management and development of the factory in the future.

Shen Chaobei acting as Shen Xiangnan’s advocate was something Shen Mingzhu had anticipated, but she hadn’t expected Shen Chaobei to consider giving part of his shares to Shen Xiangnan.

Shen Mingzhu called Du Juan into her office, "Sister-in-law, big brother wants to give part of your shared stocks to our second brother. Are you aware of this?"

Upon hearing this, Du Juan immediately glared fiercely at Shen Chaobei.

Feeling guilty and evasive, Shen Chaobei avoided eye contact.

"Mingzhu, I didn’t know about this, and I don’t agree to it," Du Juan said.

Shen Chaobei immediately raised his head, showing a rare firmness, "I’ve made my decision, whether you agree or not, I’m going to do it."

Du Juan sneered, "Fine, then let’s get a divorce."

Shen Chaobei was flabbergasted, "What, what did you say? Divorce? You want to divorce me?"

Du Juan looked at him, "The shares are jointly owned by us. I’ll take half, and Daya will go with me. You can give half of your half of the shares to Daya as child support. The rest, you can give it to whomever you like!"

Shen Chaobei stood dumbstruck by Du Juan’s words.

Shen Mingzhu, however, quite admired Du Juan’s decisiveness and chimed in, "This division is very fair, big brother. You’re Daya’s real father, so you should rightfully support her until she’s eighteen. Taking half of your shares for Daya is well reasoned, and once you divorce sister-in-law, she won’t ask you for money again."

Only then did Shen Chaobei react, his urgency expressed through frantic foot-stomping, "I’m not getting a divorce! Who said anything about a divorce? We are talking about Xiangnan right now."

"I’ll say it once more, I don’t agree to you giving our shares to Xiangnan. If you insist on doing so, then let’s divorce, split up the property, and you can give your things to whoever you want," Du Juan said.

Seeing that Du Juan was serious, Shen Chaobei didn’t dare to bring up the issue of splitting shares again and left with a downcast face.

After he left, Du Juan turned to Shen Mingzhu with an apologetic expression, "Mingzhu, I’m sorry for causing a scene. Don’t worry, as long as I’m here, I won’t let your big brother do something foolish."

Shen Mingzhu simply smiled.

Perhaps with the benefit of experience, she wasn’t quite as upset about Shen Chaobei’s foolishness.

Shen Chaobei was truly a kind person; his brotherly feelings for Shen Xiangnan weren’t fake, but he just wasn’t wise.

But a fool has his own luck. With a wife like Du Juan to keep him in line, Shen Chaobei probably wouldn’t live too badly in his life.

...

"Xiangnan, you can rest easy. Once I get back, I’ll talk to your sister-in-law again. She isn’t someone who lacks compassion. She’s probably still upset about that incident with the Yang Family."

If there were an award for China’s Best Big Brother, Shen Chaobei would definitely win it, hands down.

Even with his own butt on fire, he still hadn’t forgotten to comfort his younger brother Shen Xiangnan.

Shen Xiangnan looked wilted, like a frostbitten eggplant, "Big brother, forget it, Mingzhu never intended to take me along from the start. She blames me for the Yang Family issue and I’m to blame for not protecting the craft of making egg cake."

It was unclear whether it was sadness or regret, but Shen Xiangnan bowed his head and began to wipe away his tears.

Shen Chaobei couldn’t bear to see him like this; his own eyes also began to redden, "Are we not just talking about business? If Mingzhu refuses to take you, I’ll take you!"

Shen Xiangnan lifted his head to look at him, "How will you take me?"

"The two of us brothers, we’ll start a new business. As long as we’re willing to put in the hard work, we won’t be afraid of not making money," Shen Chaobei said confidently.

Shen Xiangnan’s fighting spirit was also ignited. If Mingzhu looked down on him, then he would make something of himself and show her that he was not a useless man!

...

"You want to withdraw your shares?"

Shen Mingzhu was genuinely taken aback by Shen Chaobei’s rash move.

This time Shen Chaobei was determined and even got Du Juan involved, "I’m not divorcing you, but I want to divide our assets. We’ll do it like you said, half and half, I’ll give another half to Daya, and the remaining shares that are mine, I want to withdraw. I want to go into business with Xiangnan."

Shen Mingzhu found it amusing, "What kind of business are you planning on doing?"

"Xiangnan and I have decided to open a noodle shop, right in the industrial area."

The industrial area with its multitude of factories and workshops, situated next to the urban village, was packed with factory workers and migrant laborers coming into the city. Opening a noodle shop was indeed a good choice.

After consulting with Du Juan, Shen Mingzhu quickly processed the withdrawal of a 5% share for Shen Chaobei.

The couple had a total of 25% shares between them; however, 5% of the shares were a gift from Shen Mingzhu, and naturally, those were not included in the withdrawal.

With the money in hand, Shen Chaobei resigned from his position as workshop director, fully intent on embarking on a venture with Shen Xiangnan.

Shen Mingzhu promoted two veteran employees internally to temporarily take over the workshop director duties and then stopped meddling with the brothers’ affairs.

They could do whatever they wanted.

She was now fully focused on preparing for the tenders of People’s Shopping Mall and Baihui Department Store, the two state-owned department stores.

Unlike the brand franchising model of Friendship Mall, the state-owned department stores operated their own businesses; factories and merchants provided products and prices, and the malls chose the best suppliers.

In the current economic environment, state-owned department stores, with their high-standard product quality and open and transparent pricing, had great reputation and credibility among the locals.

Brands that managed to enter state-owned department stores were without exception industry heavyweights.

As a newbie in the beginners’ village, the pressure was immense for her to compete with the big brothers.

Even though it was tough, Shen Mingzhu’s spirits were high.

After all, her flower cakes and snowflake crispy cakes were currently unique in the market, without any competitors.

Before the bidding conference, Shen Mingzhu invited the responsible persons in charge of the bidding at both venues to visit the food factory for an on-site inspection.

Although the food factory was not large, the clean and orderly production workshop, standardized production processes, and the uniform attire of the staff, all received praise from the department store tender officials.

Especially after tasting the freshly baked flower cakes and snowflake crispy cakes, they all gave a thumbs up.

Half a month later, the tender results were announced.

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