The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 308 - 307: The Identity of the Person Behind the Scenes

Chapter 308: Chapter 307: The Identity of the Person Behind the Scenes

"Mingzhu, if there’s anything you need help with, just ask. We’re friends, and I’ll do my utmost to assist you,"

"Qingqing, thank you,"

Moved, Shen Mingzhu squeezed Zhong Qing’s hand, then turned to her son and said, "Son, go sleep in my room for a bit, and keep an eye on your sister while I talk with Auntie Qingqing."

Pei Ziheng nodded understandingly and jumped off the stool heading to Shen Mingzhu’s bedroom.

Shen Mingzhu asked Sister Yu to brew a pot of tea while she and Zhong Qing went upstairs.

The terrace on the second floor was furnished with a small round table and wicker chairs, a favorite spot for Mingzhu to sit and rest with a cup of tea when she was idle.

Mingzhu called Qingqing not solely for assistance, but because she felt confused and feared her thoughts and plans might have flaws, and she wanted to discuss them with someone reliable.

"First, we can ascertain that the counterfeit spicy strips and dried tofu are not produced by our food factory. But such products don’t just appear out of thin air. Whether it’s vindictiveness or someone trying to fish in troubled water for ill-gotten gains, there must be a production den behind this."

"As long as we expose this production den and clear the food factory of the accusation of not meeting food safety standards, naturally, Pei Yang will be in the clear,"

Qingqing appreciated her reasoning and plan, "Let’s do that, then. Mingzhu, don’t hesitate to ask for my help if you need it."

"Qingqing, if you could use your connections, could you help spread the word? I’m worried Pei Yang might be given a hard time."

"Relax, this is a minor issue. I can even get Pei Yang out of there right now,"

"No need, as long as Pei Yang is safe. With him inside, the person behind the scenes will become careless and show their tail,"

Seeing Mingzhu’s resolve, Qingqing said, "Okay, it’s all up to you."

After seeing Qingqing off, Mingzhu returned to the bedroom to get her son ready for school, only to find that he hadn’t slept but was feeding Little Guoguo instead.

It was the breast milk she had expressed into the bottle before leaving home that morning.

Mingzhu stepped forward. "I’ll feed your sister, you need to go to school,"

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Pei Ziheng, holding Little Guoguo in one hand and the milk bottle in the other, said with his bright eyes, "I asked for leave from the teacher, I’ll go next Monday."

Well, with Pei Yang not around and her needing to busy herself with the investigation, it was good to have her son look after her daughter outside.

Shen Mingzhu encircled her son and daughter in her arms and nuzzled her son’s fluffy head, her tone affectionate yet firm, "Son, take good care of your sister at home. Mom will find a way to bring dad back."

"Mom, do you know who framed dad?"

"No matter who it is, I will definitely bring them to light."

Shen Mingzhu had her suspicions, but she did not plan to let her son in on them.

But Pei Ziheng said, "Mom, there’s something I didn’t tell you."

"What is it? Tell me,"

Although she was in a hurry to get going and wanted to expose the person behind the scenes as soon as possible, she waited patiently for her son to finish speaking.

"Mom, Hong Jinbao who came to our shop to make trouble before, I saw him dining with Wang Hongcheng of Fushun Cake Factory."

"Mom, I suspect they know each other. The trouble that Hong Jinbao caused before might have been orchestrated by Wang Hongcheng."

Mingzhu’s expression became stern.

If before she had only been suspicious of Wang Hongcheng, now she was almost certain that he was behind this incident!

She had merely disagreed with Wang Hongcheng using the Ronghua mooncakes’ brand name, leading to a verbal spat, and he then incited Hong Jinbao to pull strings in the shadows.

This time, not only had she publicly confronted Wang Hongcheng, but she had also utterly defeated Fushun Cake Factory in the bidding, a triumphant victory. With Wang Hongcheng’s pettiness and spitefulness, it wouldn’t be surprising if he sought revenge.

"Mom, could dad’s arrest be Wang Hongcheng’s doing as well?"

Shen Mingzhu regained her composure and patted her son’s head, "Mommy will find out the truth, and if it really was him, Mommy definitely won’t let him off the hook."

"Mom, what are you planning to do?"

"You don’t need to worry about that, just take good care of your sister."

Not sure when she would be able to return home, Shen Mingzhu had specially pumped out half a bottle of breast milk and stored it in the refrigerator before leaving. Just as she was getting ready to leave, Du Juan arrived at the door with Shen Chaobei.

"Sister, how is Pei Yang doing?"

Shen Chaobei was dressed somewhat shabbily, his sleeves and pant legs smeared with flour, clearly having rushed back as soon as he received the news.

Shen Mingzhu felt a warmth in her heart and deliberately asked, "Big brother, isn’t your noodle shop busy?"

Shen Chaobei blurted out, "No matter how busy it is, it’s not as important as Pei Yang’s business. Don’t panic, sis, we’ll think of something together."

Probably worried that Shen Mingzhu might misunderstand Shen Xiangnan, Du Juan explained, "When I went to the noodle shop, it was during mealtime, there were a lot of customers still eating, and it wasn’t good to kick them out, so we left Xiangnan to look after the shop and Chaobei came back with me first."

Shen Mingzhu nodded in understanding, then shared her thoughts and plans with the couple.

However, she didn’t mention Wang Hongcheng; she feared that Shen Chaobei might rashly confront Wang Hongcheng and thereby tip him off prematurely.

If Wang Hongcheng were to clear up his tracks and evidence beforehand, then Pei Yang would truly be in big trouble.

While they were discussing, Shen Hongmei also ran over, bringing bad news.

"People’s Shopping Mall and Baihui Department Store also seem to have heard about our factory being investigated, and they said they want to cease cooperation with us."

Shen Mingzhu felt a sinking feeling, "Do they want to cease or just pause cooperation?"

Shen Hongmei thought seriously for a moment and replied, "I went to People’s Shopping Mall first, and according to what you said, our factory is having equipment faults right now and can’t guarantee production for the next few days. The manager said it was perfect timing since he was about to send someone to notify us that they wanted to stop their cooperation with us."

"Afterward, I went to Baihui, and the manager there wants you to visit in person to talk about termination."

It was truly a case of misfortune coming like a continuous downpour into a leaky house.

No, it was more like someone behind the scenes was scheming with all their might to corner her.

Shen Mingzhu guessed correctly; the reason the two malls had received the news so quickly and taken action was indeed because Wang Hongcheng was behind it.

Wang Hongcheng’s Fushun Cake Factory, in addition to mooncakes, mainly produced various kinds of pastries.

The partnerships with the two malls accounted for one third of Fushun Cake Factory’s business.

Who would have guessed that this year, a misstep had occurred and he hadn’t been selected, something he couldn’t reconcile himself with. In private, he reached out to the staff responsible for the procurement at the two malls to inquire whether his gifts had not been sufficient, or if there were other reasons.

Upon inquiry, he found out that Fushun Cake Factory hadn’t succeeded because other factories had edged them out!

And as luck would have it, the one who had edged him out was none other than Shen Mingzhu!

Fushun Cake Factory’s mung bean cakes, red bean cakes, and sesame cakes simply couldn’t compete with Shen Mingzhu’s floral cakes, egg yolk pastries, and snowflake crisps.

Moreover, Shen Mingzhu held the trump card of Ronghua mooncakes, which had been a hit in Fengcheng for the past two years.

In Wang Hongcheng’s eyes, he had built up the Ronghua mooncake brand, but now Shen Mingzhu was reaping the benefits. He wasn’t about to let that go without a fight.

Thus, he meticulously set up this trap, only he hadn’t expected that the legal representative of the food factory wouldn’t be Shen Mingzhu.

However, seeing Pei Yang being taken away by the police, he was equally pleased and immediately ran off to the two shopping malls to leak the news.

If Wang Hongcheng was going to such lengths, then she might as well play along with his game.

Shen Mingzhu quickly had a countermeasure in mind.