The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 328 - 327: Three People’s Late Night Snack

Chapter 328: Chapter 327: Three People’s Late Night Snack

Noticing Shen Mingzhu’s gaze, Zhong Qing lowered her head and, upon seeing the mark in front of her left chest, quickly swept her hair from the back of her head to cover it.

Shen Mingzhu, feeling a bit embarrassed, rubbed the tip of her nose and floated over to sit beside Zhong Qing.

"Qingqing, let me scrub your back for you."

Zhong Qing hesitated for a moment and then laughed, "No need, I’m better off scrubbing yours."

"Sure!"

Shen Mingzhu didn’t overthink and willingly turned around, exposing her snow-white back to Zhong Qing, "Be gentle, I have tender skin."

"Okay, I know you’ve got delicate soft skin."

"Hehe, so do you. Your chest is so white, and your waist is so slim; and your features are also beautiful. A devastatingly stunning woman like you, in ancient times, would definitely be a seductive empress who brings calamity to the nation."

Zhong Qing responded, "What about you then? What would you be?"

"If I were in the imperial harem, I’d probably not survive past the third episode – cannon fodder."

"How so?"

"You see those minor characters on TV who get killed off after just a few appearances? That’s cannon fodder, right there."

Zhong Qing couldn’t stop laughing at the joke.

Shen Mingzhu twisted her waist, signaling Zhong Qing to scrub the spot on her right shoulder blade, and then asked, "Qingqing, you and Yan Yi aren’t getting any younger, when do you plan to get married?"

Shen Mingzhu waited a few seconds before she heard the response, "When I do get married, I’ll definitely invite you."

Not sure if it was just her imagination, Shen Mingzhu felt that there was a hint of melancholy in that tone.

She couldn’t help but turn her head to look at Zhong Qing, wondering if it was just her imagination, but as soon as she did, Zhong Qing slapped her on the buttocks, "Sit still, don’t fidget."

"Ouch~"

"Then let me rub it for you~"

Shen Mingzhu was joking when she yelped in pain, and she thought Zhong Qing was joking too.

But that wasn’t the case.

Zhong Qing really did rub it for her.

Um, it was a bit strange, and somewhat embarrassing.

To alleviate the weirdness and embarrassment she felt inside, Shen Mingzhu kept up the idle chat, "Qingqing, aren’t your family rushing you to marry?"

"Um, no, they’re not."

"What about Yan Yi then? He’s not young anymore, isn’t the Yan family anxious? With his background, the family should be quite eager to have grandchildren, shouldn’t they?"

"Stop talking about us, let’s talk about you for a change. How have you been doing lately?"

Sensing that Zhong Qing didn’t want to continue the topic of marriage, Shen Mingzhu tactfully curbed her curiosity, "I’ve been doing great, the new store’s sales are much better than I expected, which I owe a lot to you all for boosting my opening day, and Miss Zhuang and her friends brought in a good deal of business as well."

"If the revenue can keep up at the current level, by next year I should be able to open another one or two branches."

Zhong Qing: "That’s really good."

Shen Mingzhu smiled, her voice filled with sincerity, "Qingqing, thank you. Without your help back then, I couldn’t have gotten the food factory off the ground so smoothly."

"No need to thank me. I believe even without me, you would have succeeded; you have that capability."

Shen Mingzhu felt dizzy, unsure if it was from the compliment, or if she was just lightheaded from soaking too long.

...

Around three o’clock, a staff member from the resort came to inform them of a bonfire party taking place that evening, asking if they would participate.

If they decided to join, there was a charge of twenty yuan per person.

Although the price was a bit steep, the resort provided roasted whole lamb and wild game, and the drinks were free.

Since it was a rare outing, the point was to enjoy oneself to the fullest.

Shen Mingzhu cheerfully paid for both of their fees.

They had agreed before coming: the lodging expenses would be covered by Zhong Qing, and Shen Mingzhu would handle the food costs.

In the evening, an area about twenty meters in diameter was set up outside the resort’s dining hall with a Mongolian tent.

Shen Mingzhu and Zhong Qing, hand in hand, entered the Mongolian tent and found a huge bonfire already set up in the center. Around the fire were freshly slaughtered lambs and wild poultry such as pheasants and rabbits, which were flattened with bamboo sticks and hung on metal racks to roast over the flames.

It was still early, so there weren’t many customers in the Mongolian tent.

Shen Mingzhu and Zhong Qing chose a good spot, cracked sunflower seeds, and watched the chefs barbecue.

As night fell, the number of guests in the Mongolian tent increased, and the atmosphere grew more lively.

Perhaps it was because the two ladies were easy on the eyes and unaccompanied by any men, from time to time, strange men approached them with lines of small talk, only to be rebuffed by Shen Mingzhu with "I’m married with two kids," causing Zhong Qing to laugh nonstop.

The men of this era still harbored rather traditional thoughts and cared a great deal about face; even those with wandering eyes wouldn’t bother a married woman.

At exactly seven o’clock, the bonfire party officially began, and the staff distributed the roasted meat onto everyone’s plates.

Following an emcee’s welcoming speech, seven or eight young women dressed in Mongolian attire, carrying wine, thronged into the yurt. After placing a jug on each table, several of the girls gathered together and started to dance.

While drinking wine and eating meat, everyone watched the young ladies twist their slim waists—an utter delight.

When the dance was nearly at its end, someone else came through the door of the yurt.

Shen Mingzhu casually glanced over and felt surprised.

Yan Su was also taken aback, her eyes darting back and forth between them, "Are you out here for fun?"

Shen Mingzhu didn’t realize that Yan Su’s surprise was at the fact that she had come out to play with Zhong Qing; she assumed Yan Su was simply astonished to run into them here.

"Yeah, that’s right, we’ve been here since noon. Miss Second Young Lady, did you just arrive?"

Shen Mingzhu noticed that Yan Su’s head and clothes were speckled with the icy remnants of night dew, and her complexion was somewhat pale, a clear sign of spending a considerable amount of time outdoors.

She handed over her cup of wine to Yan Su, containing yellow wine that had been warmed with ginger and preserved plums.

"Miss Second Young Lady, have a sip to warm up."

"Thank you."

Yan Su took the cup and sipped a little; seeming to like the taste, she then tilted her head back and drained it in one gulp.

Shen Mingzhu hurriedly cautioned, "Miss Second Young Lady, you should drink slowly. This wine is quite strong."

Yan Su took the towel offered by Zhong Qing and wiped the wine from the corner of her mouth before returning the cup to Shen Mingzhu.

"You don’t need to call me Miss Second Young Lady."

"Oh, then should I call you Sister SuSu?"

Yan Su gave her a look but didn’t oppose, which was as good as agreement.

Zhong Qing asked, "Second Sister, did you come here alone?"

Yan Su nodded, "I came to take care of some business; my driver accompanied me, but he has gone back to rest in the room."

Yan Su didn’t divulge what business she was attending to, and both of them respectfully did not probe further.

The taste of the grilled meat was mediocre and the portions small; Shen Mingzhu hadn’t had her fill at all.

After inquiring with Zhong Qing and Yan Su, who also hadn’t eaten enough, Shen Mingzhu borrowed a clay pot and rice from the restaurant kitchen, bought half a pound of thinly sliced beef, and on her way out, she snagged some ginger, scallions, pepper, and salt as well.

Back at the courtyard, using the charcoal left from the bonfire party, Shen Mingzhu cooked up a pot of fragrant beef porridge.

Once the porridge was ready, Shen Mingzhu first served a bowl to Yan Su.

"You go ahead and eat; I don’t have late-night snacks."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mingzhu guessed the reason, "Are you afraid of gaining weight?"

Yan Su didn’t contest.

"Sister SuSu, if tomorrow were the end of the world, would you regret not eating this bowl of porridge tonight?"

Yan Su’s expression eased up a bit.

Shen Mingzhu pressed on, "No one knows if tomorrow or an accident will come first, so it’s better to live well in the moment and take care of the happiness at hand. Even if you do gain weight, that’s an issue for tomorrow—tomorrow can take care of itself."

Under the influence of Shen Mingzhu’s heartwarming persuasion, Yan Su accepted the bowl of porridge.

After eating, the three of them collapsed onto the sofa, too satisfied to move.

"Mingzhu, have you always been this good at cooking?" Yan Su asked.

Shen Mingzhu waggled her head proudly, "Not really, I learned it myself, plus I guess I have a little bit of talent?"

Zhong Qing rested her head on Shen Mingzhu’s shoulder, her slim, scallion-like fingers tapping on Shen Mingzhu’s chin, "You’re too modest, your culinary talent is much more than just a little bit. The mutton hotpot you made last time was delicious too, better than any I’ve ever had."

Yan Su turned to look at them, "Do you often eat together?"

"Second Sister, you don’t know how good Mingzhu’s cooking is. If I were a man, I would definitely snatch her away to be my wife and have her cook for me every day."

Yan Yi said to them, "Next time you have a meal, count me in."

"Sure~"

Maybe it was because she had eaten her fill, but Shen Mingzhu was like a contented cat, her entire being languid, her pale, pretty face exuding the naive and soft charm of a young girl.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yan Su followed Zhong Qing’s lead, leaning her head against Shen Mingzhu’s shoulder as well.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.