The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 315 - 314 A Family Reunion

Chapter 315: Chapter 314 A Family Reunion

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For someone like Hong Jinbao, who favored gaining wealth without working for it, the allure of fortune was as intense as a parched traveler’s desperation and desire for water in the desert.

"Brother Zheng, do you have any good opportunities?"

Shi Yizheng leaned in mysteriously and whispered a string of words in his ear.

Hong Jinbao’s face became increasingly excited as Shi Yizheng spoke, his eyes gleaming like a hungry dog at the sight of a bone.

The police visited an empty Hong Family residence, only to learn upon their return to the station that Hong Jinbao had voluntarily turned himself in.

...

"Daddy!"

As soon as Pei Yang stepped through the door, he saw his son running toward him with his daughter in his arms; he bent down and effortlessly lifted both little ones up, one in each hand.

"Did you miss Daddy?"

Pei Yang first touched foreheads with his son, then turned to look at his daughter. The two days of detention had left him a bit disheveled, but his spirits were high, and his eyes were exceptionally bright, like twin flames in the darkness, warming one’s heart.

Pei Ziheng wrapped his arms around his father’s neck, unable to hide his joy on his usually indifferent face, "Daddy, it’s good you’re okay. Mommy, Guoguo, and I were all worried about you. You weren’t at home last night and Guoguo cried a lot."

Hearing this, Pei Yang looked at his daughter with even more tenderness and spoke with indulgence, "Guoguo is used to me putting her to sleep at night, so naturally, she was unhappy without it last night, right?"

In response, Little Guoguo let out an "ah."

Seeing this, Pei Yang teased with a smile, "See how smart our Little Guoguo is, knowing Daddy is back."

Shen Mingzhu closed the yard gate and followed behind the father and his two children, unable to suppress the smile in her eyes.

Shen Hongmei got off early in front of the food factory dormitory and took a detour to inform her brothers, Shen Chaobei and Shen Xiangnan.

The food factory dormitory and the tube building where Shen Chaobei and his brother lived were in the same block.

Back home, Pei Yang put his son down on the floor, then turned and handed his daughter to Shen Mingzhu before calling Pei Wenping at the Chen Family to report that he was back. Then he said to Shen Mingzhu, "I’m going to boil water to wash up, you take the children to bed first."

"Mm."

Shen Mingzhu took her daughter and whispered to her son as they walked to the bedroom, "Go to your room and sleep. Your daddy is all right now."

"Mm, Mommy, good night."

"Good night."

Shen Mingzhu returned to the bedroom to breastfeed her daughter and suddenly remembered something. She quickly put her daughter in the crib, gave her a toy to hold, then went out to the yard, picked a few pomelo leaves, brought them to the kitchen, placed them in the basin, and filled it with hot water, gesturing for Pei Yang to wash his hands.

"What’s this for?"

"To dispel bad luck."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yang laughed, rolled up his sleeves, and seriously and carefully washed his hands in the water.

"It’s enough now; you can stop."

Only when Shen Mingzhu spoke did Pei Yang lift his hands out of the water, took the towel she handed him, and dried his hands.

Afterward, Pei Yang carried the steaming bucket of water to the bathroom to clean himself.

Shen Mingzhu went to the bedroom to feed her daughter milk.

Perhaps extremely hungry, Little Guoguo sucked vigorously, her tiny pink mouth opening and closing.

"Little glutton."

Shen Mingzhu playfully tapped her daughter’s tiny nose, her expression unintentionally revealing tenderness and affection, "Take your time eating; no one is competing with you."

She wouldn’t listen, like a toad reciting scripture.

Little Guoguo kicked her legs and kept sucking milk with her eyes closed.

"Still eating?"

After some time had passed, Pei Yang, damp from his bath, returned to the room with a towel in his hand to dry his hair.

Under the light, the handsome contours of the man’s face glowed with a healthy ruddiness due to the fresh bath, and the stubble on his chin was immaculately trimmed, giving off an indescribable air of distinction.

"What is it?"

Pei Yang touched his face subconsciously as Shen Mingzhu’s gaze lingered too long, "Is there stubble left unshaved?"

Shen Mingzhu shook her head, "Are you hungry?"

"No rush, let Guoguo eat first."

```

After these words, the atmosphere turned eerily quiet.

Pei Yang’s comment was meant to suggest that after Little Guoguo finished eating, he would go make himself some supper, but paired with the current scene, it somehow took on a double meaning.

Shen Mingzhu’s ears burned, but she said nothing.

It was Little Guoguo who, perhaps having had her fill, chose that moment to let go, her grape-like big eyes staring intently at her father, her little face as round as a dumpling filled with curiosity.

"Aya~"

Daddy, are you going to have milk too?

Pei Yang leaned down, his thick fingers gently teasing his daughter’s soft cheeks, softer than tofu, "You eat, Daddy won’t compete with you."

"Ah~"

Watching his daughter continue to nurse, Pei Yang couldn’t help but laugh.

"Wife, what would you like to eat?"

"I’ve already eaten."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yang didn’t ask further and stood up to go to the kitchen.

He didn’t ask whom she had eaten with or what she had eaten.

By the time Shen Mingzhu had put her daughter to bed and stepped out, Pei Yang was sitting at the dining table, head down, eating noodles.

She went over, saw his bowl of plain noodles, and walked to the kitchen, where she fried two golden-brown eggs and brought them over.

"Thank you, wife."

Pei Yang smiled at her, picked up an egg with his chopsticks, and bit off half of it in one go.

Shen Mingzhu sat opposite him, watching him eat, and recounted to him everything that had happened in the past two days.

"...It was thanks to Qingqing and Yan Yi that we got through this. Once things are completely settled, we should really treat them to a meal."

Pei Yang swallowed the fragrant egg and smiled, "We should thank them properly. Let’s invite them to our home for a meal and take the opportunity to show them our new house."

Shen Mingzhu had originally thought to treat them to a meal at a high-end restaurant, but hearing Pei Yang’s suggestion, she felt it was a good idea and nodded in agreement.

...

Late into the quiet night, Shen Mingzhu and Pei Yang embraced each other in silence, tenderly listening to each other’s heartbeats, feeling the gratitude and warmth for their narrow escape from disaster.

"Wife, you’ve had a hard time these past few days."

In the stillness of the night, the man’s voice was deep and husky, filled with profound affection.

Shen Mingzhu shook her head gently, "I’m the one who should apologize to you."

This time, Pei Yang had suffered on her behalf. Even though he returned to her unharmed, she still felt an undeniable sense of guilt and self-reproach.

"I am your husband, the father of Ziheng and Guoguo; it’s my duty to take care of you three."

"It’s a good thing it was me this time. If it had been you, our Guoguo wouldn’t even have meals to eat," he said.

At this, the atmosphere turned awkwardly quiet as both of them simultaneously thought back to the breastfeeding misunderstanding earlier.

The air gradually changed.

The warmth in Pei Yang’s eyes steadily rose, his gaze becoming more predatory, "Wife~"

His rough fingertips grazed Shen Mingzhu’s cheek, leaving a faint scratchy sensation. Before she could react, his hot breath invaded her breathing space.

...A thousand words are omitted here...

The next day, as Shen Mingzhu got out of bed, she instinctively supported her back, which did not go unnoticed by Pei Yang, who was playing with their daughter. He approached with a smile, offering to give her a massage.

Looking at the refreshed man and then at herself, suffering from backache, Shen Mingzhu raised her foot and gave him a kick, "Told you to be gentle!"

Pei Yang took the kick without dodging and sweetly admitted his fault, "I was wrong."

Shen Mingzhu hummed in response, reluctantly letting the matter slide.

Although the food factory had been cleared of food safety charges, the Bureau of Industry and Commerce had not yet sent the notice to lift the seal.

After breakfast, Shen Mingzhu wanted to visit the Bureau of Industry and Commerce to see if she could find Liu Yuehua and get the factory unsealed sooner to resume production.

Just as she was ready to leave the house, Wang Hongcheng came looking for her.

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