The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 347 - 346: The Mysterious Birthday Gift

Chapter 347: Chapter 346: The Mysterious Birthday Gift

"Wenping, I’m sorry, but I can’t agree to your request,"

Facing Pei Wenping’s angry gaze, Chen Yi gave a wistful smile, "You want a divorce, you no longer wish to continue living with me. As you desire, I will leave."

"Xiaolu and Xiaochao are still young, and our parents can’t accept it for the time being. Call me selfish if you will, but I hope you can continue to stay in this house. At the very least, let’s not divorce right now."

"I’m going to Shanghai City. A friend of mine has established a film company there and has invited me several times. If you agree, I will resign tomorrow."

"I will try my best not to appear before you in the future. You can stay in this house, and mom and dad can help take care of the children."

After a night of reflection, Pei Wenping agreed to Chen Yi’s proposal.

Living apart is not much different from divorce, but it would be easier for the children to accept.

After a few years, when the children are older, it would not be too late to proceed with the divorce formalities.

...

Chen Yi did not go back on his word and, half a month later, he was on his way to Shanghai City with his suitcase in hand.

The two of them did not tell the Chen Family about their divorce agreement.

The entire family thought that Chen Yi was leaving for better prospects, choosing to go to Shanghai City to strive for a better career.

The twins even took pride in it, as Shanghai City is much more prosperous than Fengcheng.

Chen Yi getting a job in Shanghai City was seen as a testament to his abilities and talents.

After Chen Yi left, Pei Wenping’s health improved, and she returned to her job at the factory.

Chen Yi’s father retired early and took over the daily school pickups and drop-offs for the twins, as well as helping with their homework, while Chen Yi’s mother took on all the household chores.

Both old folks were trying their best to make up for their son’s absence from home.

Pei Wenping’s life became much more relaxed. She decided to follow Shen Mingzhu’s example and enrolled in a self-study exam to improve her degree.

Seeing that Pei Wenping’s life was getting back on track, Shen Mingzhu could not fully put her worries to rest.

According to the book’s plot, Pei Wenping would die when Pei Ziheng turned seven.

Pei Ziheng’s seventh birthday was just half a month away.

Unfortunately, Pei Ziheng’s birthday coincided with the date of the Food and Wine Festival.

To give Pei Ziheng a perfect birthday, Shen Mingzhu deliberately moved the birthday banquet forward by a week.

This time, they did not celebrate as lavishly as the year before, only inviting Shen Chaobei and his two brothers, Pei Wenping and her three children, along with Zhao Dafa’s family.

Zhao Dafa had previously brought up becoming sworn kin, and after discussing with Pei Yang, they decided to let Pei Ziheng and Zhao Yun become sworn brothers.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t particularly like Zhou Hui and preferred not to have her daughter recognize Zhou Hui as a godmother.

This birthday banquet also doubled as a ceremony for Pei Ziheng and Zhao Yun to become sworn kin.

As a meeting gift, Zhao Dafa gave Pei Ziheng a gold bowl and a pair of gold chopsticks.

Shen Mingzhu’s gift for Zhao Yun was a white jade safety buckle.

After the ceremony, Pei Yang prepared to depart for the Food and Wine Festival in Rongcheng.

Shen Mingzhu had always loved Rongcheng in her previous life.

The climate was nice, the food wonderful, and the pace of life relaxed.

Regrettably, she couldn’t make the trip this time; someone needed to stay behind to look after the two children and the factory.

The Food and Wine Festival lasted three days, but with the time spent traveling and preparing, the trip would take roughly over ten days.

Apart from Pei Yang, two veteran employees, a pastry chef, Du Juan and her husband, and Shen Hongmei were all going as well.

Shen Mingzhu had started preparing for the Food and Wine Festival quite early.

She customized a portable and convenient oven and sugar cooking equipment, planning to bake fresh flower cakes and make candy on the spot at the festival to enhance the products’ competitiveness.

With Du Juan’s couple gone to Rongcheng, Daya was temporarily taken into the Pei Family for care.

Having an extra child did not trouble Shen Mingzhu.

Making the bed, dressing up, washing up, and combing hair, Daya was able to do all by herself without ever troubling Shen Mingzhu.

He was quiet and restrained, never loud or boisterous, even taking the initiative to help clean up toys that Little Guoguo had scattered all over the floor and to set the table, much like a diligent little bee.

Daya was still in kindergarten.

To help lessen Shen Mingzhu’s burden, Pei Ziheng took on the responsibility to pick up and drop off Daya.

Early in the morning, Zhao Yun would arrive at their doorstep on his bicycle, waiting for the siblings to leave the house.

Pei Ziheng also rode a bicycle to school, but as he was young, he could not carry Daya.

But Zhao Yun was already twelve years old, strong and sturdy, so it was easy for him to take Daya on his bicycle.

Every day, Zhao Yun and Pei Ziheng would drop Daya off at kindergarten before heading to school together.

Meanwhile, Shen Mingzhu was secretly planning a birthday present for her son.

She had already thrown a birthday party, but hadn’t given a gift, planning to wait until his actual birthday to do so.

That morning, as she left for work, she noticed a notice posted on the door of a house not far from hers.

She glanced at the notice out of curiosity, then stopped her bicycle.

"Excuse me, are you planning to sell this house?"

The person posting the notice recognized Shen Mingzhu as a neighbor from the same street and responded warmly, "Yes, why, do you have friends interested in buying?"

Shen Mingzhu looked up at the small western-style building with its whitewashed walls and black tiles, a bold idea forming in her mind.

The size and layout of the house were not much different from her current one, also detached with its own courtyard, but it had been renovated on the outside and looked quite modern.

Seeing her interest, the homeowner generously invited her in to take a look.

The house was indeed nice, well-maintained, and the owner was asking for thirteen thousand.

After dealing with the day’s work at the food factory, Shen Mingzhu went home, took her grandmother’s leather bag, and headed to the consignment store.

Because her asking price was low, the bag sold within two days.

After deducting the consignment fee, she ended up with seven thousand five hundred.

With two thousand in savings and over eight hundred from Guoguo’s New Year’s money, Shen Mingzhu planned to borrow it for the time being, even though it would still be a bit short.

The next day, Shen Mingzhu and Pei Wenping first went to the Housing Management Bureau to check the information of the house and, after confirming everything was fine, they went to talk to the homeowner about the price.

After some back-and-forth, they finally agreed on a price of twelve thousand.

The house would not be available until the next month, so they signed a contract first, and Shen Mingzhu paid a deposit of two thousand.

When the time came to complete the transaction and transfer procedures, she would pay the remaining amount in full.

On the way home after signing the contract, Pei Wenping flipped through it and chastised her, "You, I don’t know whether to praise you or scold you. To celebrate your child’s birthday, you actually bought a house."

Shen Mingzhu chuckled heartily.

Indeed, she had bought the house as a birthday present for her son.

...

The next day was the 20th, Pei Ziheng’s birthday.

As she did every year, Shen Mingzhu also made longevity noodles for Pei Ziheng.

After finishing the noodles, Shen Mingzhu called Pei Ziheng into the bedroom and put on a serious face.

"Ziheng, you’re all grown up now. There are some things that Mom can’t keep from you any longer."

Possibly frightened by Shen Mingzhu’s rare seriousness, Pei Ziheng clenched his little lips, and his pale little face showed worry and unease.

"Mom, what happened?"

"See for yourself."

Shen Mingzhu handed him the envelope containing the house purchase contract.

Pei Ziheng silently took out the contract from the envelope, and after reading its content, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He had thought something serious had happened, but it turned out his mother had bought a new house.

While he was thinking, his mother hugged his face and kissed him, "Son, Happy birthday!!!"