The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 493 - 492: The Hunter Who Plays Dumb to Catch the Tiger

Chapter 493: Chapter 492: The Hunter Who Plays Dumb to Catch the Tiger

Zhao Dafa didn’t return home, and Zhao Yun was equally reluctant to live under the same roof with Zhou Hui and her daughter, so he simply hid away at the Pei Family’s place.

A week flew by in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Yun couldn’t stand it any longer.

His house, why should it be occupied by two outsiders, forcing him and his dad to skulk around?

"Ziheng, you’d better come up with a way for me, to drive those two out."

Pei Ziheng was teaching Guoguo how to write, and without lifting his head, he replied, "They’re living in your house, with food and drink at their disposal, enjoying their days comfortably and at ease, of course, they’re not willing to leave."

Contact with cinnabar will redden you.

Having played with Pei Ziheng for so many years, Zhao Yun had also become somewhat smarter.

That very afternoon, he brought movers back to his house and moved all the furniture, appliances, including all pots and pans, to the house that Zhao Dafa had bought for him on the next street over.

The housing there had only been roughly finished, without any furniture or appliances added yet.

The old belongings moved over would be just right to use.

Zhao Yun didn’t just empty the old house; he also took Auntie Deng with him.

Now, the Zhao Family’s home was almost like an empty shell.

The Zhao father and son had lived there for more than a decade, and their sudden move sparked curiosity among the neighbors.

Zhao Yun, not one to subscribe to the principle that family matters should not be spread abroad, bluntly told outsiders, "My dad can’t get along with Auntie Hui anymore. Since she refuses to leave, my dad and I just had to move out."

By half a day, the entire street, even the next street over, and the street beyond that one, knew about Zhao Dafa’s divorce from Zhou Hui.

Zhao Dafa was a locally famous millionaire.

The rumors were divided.

One camp felt that Zhao Dafa had made his fortune and got fancy ideas about kicking the old out and marrying anew.

The other camp believed the problem lay with Zhou Hui, who surely couldn’t have a son, which was why Zhao Dafa dumped her.

Though the current policy encouraged fewer but better births, for a boss man as rich as Zhao Dafa with his wealth measured in the millions, he surely wanted to have more sons to carry on the family line far and wide.

While everyone was arguing heatedly over whether it was the man’s fault or the woman’s, a third opinion emerged out of nowhere—

"They say that Mrs. Zhou treated Zhao Yun, the stepson, badly, focusing only on gaining advantages for her daughter, which displeased Mr. Zhao."

"I know about this, she had Mr. Zhao buy her daughter a house within six months of moving in."

"Tsk tsk, she really dared to ask for that. Her daughter shares no blood relation with Mr. Zhao; why on earth should he buy her a house?"

"Exactly, Mr. Zhao didn’t despise her for bringing along a child from a previous marriage. Just keeping the two of them well-fed and clothed was already generous enough."

"I heard, Mr. Zhao didn’t even draw up any papers with her."

Upon hearing this, the cluster of gossipy women was all astounded.

"No way, the wedding banquet back then was so grand; you mean to tell me they never got a marriage license?"

"That’s what you don’t know. They put on a grand banquet for show, to give her face, since they were a mid-life couple. Mr. Zhao has a big family business to take care of, so he had to be cautious, didn’t he?"

That made sense.

"It’s also her own incompetence, sleeping in the same bed for three years and still not able to keep a man."

"But speaking of which, the man is also quite heartless, discarding her after three years together, with not even a hint of sentimental attachment."

"What are you talking about? Mr. Zhao gave her stuff, let her take all the jewelry from the house, bought her a three-bedroom apartment, and even gave her 20,000 cash."

"Hiss, that’s not a small sum; could it be around 50 or 60 thousand?"

"It wasn’t just that. At the banquet, her jewelry alone was worth almost ten thousand, and outsiders gave her quite a bit too. Over the years, the mother and daughter must have acquired more. A commercial housing unit is at least twenty thousand, plus twenty thousand in cash, adding up to at least seventy or eighty thousand!"

"Ugh, comparing people can drive you to despair. We break our backs for three years and can’t even make seven or eight thousand, yet they make seventy or eighty thousand just by lying around."

There was a lot of gossip, some of it naturally occurring, and some deliberately spread by Zhao Yun.

He certainly couldn’t allow his father to carry the reputation of being heartless and ungrateful.

Besides, he’d sneak out at night to dig up water pipes and cut electrical wires.

In Pei Ziheng’s words, once basic living conditions couldn’t be sustained, we’ll see if the mother and daughter can still cling on and refuse to move out.

Zhou Hui might have been calculating and ambitious, but she wasn’t a shameless woman.

On the contrary, years of luxury and comfort had made her more concerned about her face than the average person.

The whispers and stares of the neighbors and the inconveniences from the lack of water and electricity were unbearable for her.

Liang Xiaowen’s situation wasn’t any better.

Her classmates at school knew that she and Zhou Hui were squatting in the Zhao Family’s house and had started to alienate and isolate her, laughing behind her back and nicknaming her "Little Scabby Dog."

For a girl just entering puberty, it was an unbearable weight on her life, and she would return home from school every day crying into Zhou Hui’s arms.

Zhou Hui was not willing to give up the wealth and status that were within easy reach.

After arranging for her daughter to go back and stay with her own mother, she made a desperate attempt to visit Zhao Dafa’s company.

"Dafa, we were husband and wife for three years. Do you really have to be so ruthless?"

"Do you know everyone outside is laughing at my daughter and me? Xiaowen can’t even stay at school anymore. Are you and your son trying to drive us to our deaths?"

Zhao Yun’s deeds were unknown to Zhao Dafa.

Now that he knew, he didn’t think his son had done anything wrong; on the contrary, he was quite pleased that his son was clever in dealing with matters.

"Hui, there are things I don’t say outright because I want to save face for both of us, not because I’m foolish," he said.

"To be frank, I understand that you, as a mother, would do everything possible for your own child. But don’t forget, I’m also a father, and I have to plan for my own child as well."

"I have no obligation, nor is it possible, for my son to suffer. If you really don’t want to move out, I can transfer the ownership of the Zhao Family’s apartment to your name, but that’s all there is."

The implication was that he would not give her any more money.

Zhou Hui could not accept this. "Dafa, I quit my job to take care of you and our son. You can’t just toss me aside; I’ve lost my job, and how are Xiaowen and I supposed to live?"

Zhao Dafa looked at her, "Hui, if you want to settle accounts, then let’s settle them properly."

Thump.

An account book was thrown in front of Zhou Hui.

"Over the years, the expenses I’ve laid out on you and your daughter are all recorded in this account book. You might want to take a good look at it."

Zhou Hui picked up the account book, flipping through page by page, her face turning a mix of pale and flushed.

After looking through the account book, Zhou Hui laughed bitterly out of sheer anger. "So, you’ve been guarding against me all along."

Zhao Dafa sighed, "Hui, I’m a businessman. I need to know where my money goes and whether it’s worth it."

Suddenly, Zhou Hui felt the man before her was a stranger.

And she came to an abrupt realization: Zhao Dafa’s success in business wasn’t luck; it was real skill.

She had lost because she’d underestimated this man from the beginning, thinking he was just an uneducated brute who could be easily fooled by her and her daughter.

Zhao Dafa was never the fool with too much money to be preyed upon; he was the hunter, playing the pig to eat the tiger.