The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 353 - 352: A Short Parting is Better than a Honeymoon

Chapter 353: Chapter 352: A Short Parting is Better than a Honeymoon

Pei Yang had offered Ren Ping the following job proposal: the food factory would set up a branch in Rongcheng, with Ren Ping taking up the position of Sales Director, specifically responsible for the department store’s business.

The branch would provide Ren Ping with a base salary of one hundred yuan per month, plus a 1% commission on sales performance, and there would also be a bonus at the end of the year.

In this way, Ren Ping could earn a base salary of one thousand two hundred yuan a year, and with the commission and bonus, his annual income could easily break two thousand, maybe even more.

Moreover, this was a sustainable income, far more practical than a one-time deal!

Although Ren Ping was tempted by Pei Yang’s proposal, he didn’t immediately accept it.

After all, he couldn’t make this decision on his own; he had to listen to Ren Shengchun.

...

Ren Ping understood the math, and so did Shen Chaobei, but he didn’t understand it.

Last year at Friendship Mall, their total sales for half a year amounted to over sixty thousand.

If the sales volume at Rongcheng’s department store reached or even exceeded this amount, it would mean paying Ren Ping two to three thousand yuan a year.

It was simpler and less expensive to just pay two thousand directly, so why spend more?

Pei Yang explained the reason for using this approach to Shen Chaobei, "... Only by tying our interests together would the Ren family be fully committed to our products, as the more we sell, the more money they get."

However, there was another more important reason that Pei Yang didn’t share with Shen Chaobei.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Shen Chaobei, but rather he was worried that Chaobei couldn’t keep a secret.

The department store was a state-run enterprise, and both Ren Ping and Ren Shengchun were public servants. If they paid directly for the entry qualification, once the Ren family got into trouble and was investigated in the future, they wouldn’t be able to escape the charge of bribery.

But having Ren Ping take a position and receive a salary at their company was different.

If something happened in the future, it would be Ren Ping’s personal misconduct and would not involve a crime.

After an agonizingly long wait, Pei Yang finally received a call from Ren Ping.

Ren Shengchun had agreed to his proposal.

As soon as the procedures for Pei Yang’s branch were completed, the department store would immediately arrange for their products to be launched.

Pei Yang, feeling relieved, immediately bought a train ticket back to Fengcheng.

He was in a rush to return and celebrate his wife’s birthday.

And successfully securing the "ticket to entry" for the Rongcheng department store was the birthday gift he was presenting to his wife.

...

After finishing up her tasks, Shen Mingzhu quickly grabbed her bag and hopped on her bicycle, rushing home.

Since her daughter had been weaned, and with the food factory being incredibly busy lately, Shen Mingzhu rarely went home at noon anymore.

A few days ago, a late spring cold had caused Little Guoguo to catch a cold, but she had gotten much better during the past two days.

Originally, Mingzhu hadn’t planned to go back today, but half an hour ago, Sister Yu called to say that Guoguo refused to eat, which made her worried that her daughter’s cold had flared up again, hence the rush to check on her.

"Sister Yu, how is Guoguo doing?"

As soon as she entered the house, Mingzhu hurried towards the bedroom without even bothering to change her shoes.

So much so, she failed to notice the smile on Sister Yu’s face, "She fussed for a while, but now she’s asleep."

Hearing this, Mingzhu carefully turned the bedroom doorknob and pushed the door open slightly, ready to enter, but was suddenly pulled inside by a large hand that reached out from behind the door.

"Ah—"

Upon seeing the man behind the door, Mingzhu’s shock turned to delight, "When did you come back?"

Pei Yang kicked the door closed and simultaneously scooped her up into his arms with bent knees.

The next second, his lips, tainted with a hint of coolness, captured hers.

After a few seconds, Mingzhu was placed on the dressing table, and the array of bottles and jars clattered loudly from the motion.

Mingzhu’s senses returned somewhat, and she pushed the man who was kissing her passionately away a bit, "Stop it, Guoguo might wake up soon."

"She won’t, she’s upstairs and can’t hear us," he panted slightly and before she could react, he stole her breath away again.

Shen Mingzhu bit her lip forcefully, preventing herself from making any sound, but her thoughts involuntarily fluttered away.

One moment she wondered when Pei Yang had returned, the next why her daughter was upstairs, and then she realized it was daytime, with Auntie Yu still outside.

What was she doing?

But as inappropriate as it felt, she had to admit, after a month apart, she missed her husband terribly, both emotionally and physically.

After they finished, Shen Mingzhu immediately got dressed and tried to leave, only to be wrapped in Pei Yang’s arms.

"Rest for a while."

"I can’t."

Shen Mingzhu protested with her words, but her body clung to her husband’s warm, solid embrace.

"If I don’t go out for so long, Auntie Yu will definitely guess what we were doing in the room."

Pei Yang chuckled softly, nibbling her earlobe with a voice full of satisfied huskiness. "If you go out now, Auntie Yu won’t have to guess what we did, just look in the mirror."

Shen Mingzhu pushed away the person behind her and walked to the dressing mirror.

The woman in the mirror had a complexion like peach blossoms, eyes brimming with gentleness, and exuded charm.

Better to hide in the room than to be seen like this.

Meeting Pei Yang’s playful eyes in the mirror, Shen Mingzhu turned around, feigning annoyance with an upturned face.

"You come back and don’t even give me a heads-up, and you use our daughter to trick me."

Shen Mingzhu didn’t realize how endearing her petulant demeanor was.

Pei Yang wrapped his long arms around her waist, coaxing her gently. "I wanted to surprise you. I should have arrived at 6 a.m., but the train was delayed, and by the time I got home, you had already left for work."

"Wife, I’ve missed you so much. And I didn’t lie to you. Guoguo doesn’t even recognize me now. She cries when I hold her, refuses to eat what I feed her, even though she used to love it when I fed her."

He conveyed a sense of slight grievance in his expression and tone.

Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but laugh, teasing, "Who knows if you came back with a strange scent on you, making Guoguo dislike you."

"I didn’t, smell for yourself."

He tried to pull Shen Mingzhu’s head against his chest, but she held him back with her hand.

"I’m not smelling."

Pei Yang pulled her into his embrace, his rough and hot palm pressing tightly against her waist, stirring ripples.

"At least my wife still recognizes me and hasn’t forgotten about me."

Shen Mingzhu relaxed, laying her face against his chest, listening to the strong heartbeat beneath his chest cavity.

Without doing or saying anything, just quietly snuggling like this, she felt content and happy.

A brief separation is as sweet as a new marriage.

...

When they stepped out of the room, Shen Mingzhu felt quite embarrassed.

Fortunately, Auntie Yu wasn’t in the living room. The meal had been set on the dining table, covered with inverted bowls to keep it warm.

A meat dish, a vegetable dish, and a soup.

The couple sat opposite each other, eating and talking about the work in Rongcheng.

Nearing the end of lunch, Auntie Yu came downstairs with Guoguo in her arms.

With the reason for her recent tears, her lush lashes were damp, resembling little fans fluttering as she stared at Pei Yang eating, her watery black eyes filled with scrutiny and curiosity.

When Pei Yang stretched out his arms in a gesture to hold her, Guoguo immediately turned her head away.

She made her rejection and resistance crystal clear.

Unwilling to see the hurt and disappointment on the man’s face, Shen Mingzhu took her daughter from Auntie Yu’s arms and gently pointed at the man across, instructing softly, "Guoguo, this is Daddy, you know. Daddy hasn’t come home for so long because he was working and making money outside. If you’re mad and ignore Daddy, Daddy will be sad."

Perhaps the frequent use of the word "Daddy" struck a chord. Guoguo stared at the man opposite and suddenly blurted out a clear:

"Dad~dy~"