The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 389 - 388 The Meaning of Family

Chapter 389: Chapter 388 The Meaning of Family

In the moment she held her daughter’s soft body, Shen Mingzhu’s anxiety, self-blame, and worries gathered throughout the day dissipated, as though the weather had cleared up after the clouds had been swept away.

Although she loved her daughter, she also harbored various expectations and demands for her.

She wanted her daughter to be obedient and not mischievous and to grow up according to her own ideas.

But her daughter’s love for her mother was so pure, a dependent love without any impurities.

"Guoguo, thank you for not being mad at Mommy."

Even though she might not understand the emotions and insights of adults, when she saw her mother crying, she would unconsciously reach for a little handkerchief by her chest to help wipe her mother’s tears.

Just like how Daddy, Mommy, and Brother would wipe away her tears.

And in her childlike voice, she would coax, "Mommy, don’t cry."

"Mommy, don’t worry, Guoguo is still small, we’ll teach her together slowly."

Looking at her son, who was on his knees beside her, Shen Mingzhu nodded with a tearful smile, "Yes, it’s Mommy’s fault, I shouldn’t lose my temper."

"Not at all, you’re the best, the best mommy in the world!"

"Best Mommy!"

Guoguo clapped her little hands and mimicked the words.

Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but kiss her daughter’s delicate cheek, silently swearing to herself that she would control her temper in the future and never lay a hand on the children.

...

It was almost 8 p.m. when Pei Yang finally arrived home with a tattered burlap bag in hand.

She was covered in mud, her hair a messy windblown tangle, her cheeks and the tip of her nose red from the cold, causing Shen Mingzhu to feel both amused and heartache.

"Where have you been? You look like you’ve been rummaging through rubbish."

Pei Yang opened the mouth of the burlap bag for her to see.

"You went to the countryside to dig up wild vegetables?"

"And you grew up in the country, you can’t even recognize dandelions?"

Shen Mingzhu feigned ignorance, thinking to herself that she wasn’t the original inhabitant of this body, and besides, considering the original’s lazy and pampered ways at her parental home, she probably wouldn’t recognize dandelions either.

"What are you going to do with dandelions?" Shen Mingzhu asked, changing the subject.

"Yu Dajie said that fresh dandelions have the best effect for clearing heat."

"You didn’t need to dig up so much, though."

"Once it snows, you won’t be able to find them. I dug them up roots and all; I plan to buy some flower pots tomorrow and plant them at home, so we don’t have to go out looking for them anymore."

Looking at the man’s excited face, Shen Mingzhu’s heart filled with tenderness.

"Go to your room and change out of your dirty clothes, I’ll heat some water up for you to take a bath."

"Okay."

...

After cleaning up and seeing that it was getting late, Shen Mingzhu went upstairs to take her daughter back to her room to sleep.

Shen Mingzhu first went to the study.

Since her daughter could walk and run, she no longer liked playing in the nursery, preferring instead to stay in the study.

The study had desks, chairs, sofas, suitable for a child to climb up and down. Only the top shelf of the bookcase had books; the other shelves were filled with toys, dolls, and Barbie dolls.

For Guoguo, the study was much more interesting than the empty nursery.

However, the two children weren’t in the study today.

Shen Mingzhu turned and pushed open the door to the nursery, but it was empty as well.

The only room left was Pei Ziheng’s room.

After knocking on the door, Shen Mingzhu entered and saw her daughter lying on the bed, already asleep.

Her son supported her right arm with one hand, while the other hand kneaded the outer side of her elbow.

Shen Mingzhu’s first thought was that her daughter had been hurt, "What’s wrong with Guoguo?"

"Mommy, I’m giving Guoguo a massage. This is the Quchi Acupoint, massaging this point can clear heat, expel exterior factors, and unblock the channels."

Shen Mingzhu was somewhat surprised, "Who told you that?"

"I asked a Chinese medicine doctor."

Learning that her son had visited every Chinese medicine clinic in Fengcheng, asking about remedies for a baby’s excess internal heat, Shen Mingzhu’s heart swelled with waves of warmth and emotion.

"Let me do it, you take a rest."

"Okay."

As Shen Mingzhu massaged, Pei Ziheng taught her a few other acupoints.

Not sure if the massage was really effective, but in the middle of the night, Guoguo didn’t cough like before.

...

The next day, Shen Mingzhu finished washing up and came to the dining room for breakfast, surprised to find that both father and sons were wearing decorations on their heads.

Pei Ziheng and Guoguo had sheep horns on their heads while Pei Yang was wearing fluffy wolf ears.

While she was still in a daze, Pei Yang put a pair of pretty sheep horns on her head and pushed her into a chair to sit down.

"Alright, the game begins!"

Across from her, Pei Ziheng began to pick up his chopsticks and eat the vegetables on his plate.

Only then did Shen Mingzhu notice that today’s breakfast was actually a plate of vegetables.

The variety was quite rich, including carrots, bitter melon, cabbage, cauliflower, yam, and spinach.

"Mommy, eat quickly, or the big grey wolf will catch you!"

Seeing Shen Mingzhu not making a move, Pei Ziheng urged her while eating.

Pei Yang imitated the howling of a wild wolf and raised both his hands in a claw shape, walking around the dining table and saying in a menacing tone, "Let’s see which sheep isn’t eating their grass seriously. If any sheep isn’t eating seriously, I’ll catch her and eat her up!"

In the midst of speaking, Pei Yang arrived behind Shen Mingzhu, bent over, and leaned in close to her head, "Why aren’t you eating? Do you want me to catch you and eat you up?"

Shen Mingzhu held back her laughter and pretended to be scared, "I’ll eat, I’ll eat right now, don’t catch me and eat me up."

As she picked up some cauliflower, Pei Yang spoke, "Eat the bitter melon, no picky eating, or I’ll catch you all the same."

Shen Mingzhu glared at the man in the dark.

She knew he knew that she hated bitter melon the most. That bastard was settling personal scores.

Watching her swallow the bitter melon with a scrunched face, Pei Yang kissed her cheek with a smile in his eyes.

"Very good, here’s a reward for you."

Get lost.

Pei Yang quickly got lost, rolling over to his daughter’s side.

"Why aren’t you eating? Do you want to get caught and eaten by me, the Grey Wolf? Eh?"

Guoguo quickly shook her head and grabbed a spoonful of vegetable mash to stuff into her mouth.

"Keep eating, you must finish it all, or I’ll still catch you."

"Guoguo, eat quickly, or you’ll be caught by the big grey wolf!"

"Let’s eat together and finish all the grass on the plate, leaving no chance for the big grey wolf to catch us."

And so, with Shen Mingzhu and Pei Ziheng playing good cop, and Pei Yang posing as the big grey wolf playing bad cop, Guoguo obediently finished all the vegetable mash in her bowl.

"Ah, everything’s been eaten up, I can’t catch anyone to eat now, how vexing!"

"Just wait, I’ll be back!"

Pei Yang’s frustrated exit amused Guoguo to the point of wild gesticulation.

The big grey wolf is gone!

Pei Ziheng stretched out his arms to protect his mother and sister, shouting at the "big grey wolf," "You won’t have a chance, next time we’ll still eat up all the grass!"

"Right, Guoguo, next time we must eat everything up, not giving the big grey wolf any chance."

Guoguo rapidly clapped and nodded, "Eat it all up!"

...

By the time Pei Yang took off the wolf ears and returned to the dining room, he had resumed his role as a loving father.

"Daddy, we just chased the big grey wolf away!"

Pei Yang pretended to be amazed as he picked up his daughter, "Guoguo, really? You chased the big grey wolf away?"

"Hmm, chased the big wolf away!"

Guoguo was young, and speaking a four-word sentence was already her limit for now.

"Guoguo is amazing!"

Pei Yang kissed his daughter’s face.

Guoguo laughed and squirmed as her dad’s stubble tickled her, "Tickles."

"You want a tickle fight? Okay, daddy will oblige."

"Ahahaha, tickles, brother..."

The whole house was filled with laughter and joy.

Watching her husband and sons laugh and play together, Shen Mingzhu suddenly understood even deeper the significance of having a family.

Being together as a family was not just about companionship and care, but also about sharing and bearing burdens together.

...

With the arrival of the first snow, the batch of items entrusted to Zhuang Xueqi had also been taken care of.