The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 501 - 500 How’s the impression?

Chapter 501: Chapter 500 How’s the impression?

"I heard you’ve taken the self-study exam and already passed two subjects?"

"Yeah."

"That’s quite good, the difficulty of the self-study exam papers is not small, being able to study while working is pretty impressive."

"I had no choice, my family was poor back then, couldn’t afford education, now that I have the chance I must definitely put in effort."

Shen Mingzhu was sitting in the row in front of the two, listening to their conversation, feeling that the man didn’t have a bad impression of Shen Hongmei, which alleviated half of her worries.

Although Liang Kean and Shen Hongmei were about the same age, Liang Kean was a genuine college graduate.

Moreover, from a physiological perspective, at the same age, Shen Hongmei was at a disadvantage.

A man marrying at twenty-five or twenty-six wasn’t considered late, but if a woman of twenty-five or twenty-six wasn’t married, she would be referred to as an old maid.

Upon reaching Huxin Island, Pei Ziheng and Zhao Yun each held one of Guoguo’s hands, walking at the forefront, while Shen Mingzhu walked shoulder to shoulder with Yi Ling, who was carrying her daughter, chatting leisurely, with Chen Liang responsible for taking photos of everyone.

Liang Kean and Shen Hongmei walked at the back.

The group followed the island’s touring route, sightseeing along the way, stopping to take commemorative photos whenever they encountered a beautiful scene or vista.

In front of a sculpture of a famous person, after Chen Liang took photos of the children, Yi Ling suddenly laughed and called out to Liang Kean.

"Kean, why don’t you and Hongmei take a picture together?"

Unmarried men and women of those times were still very reserved and shy, and both Liang Kean and Shen Hongmei blushed.

Under Chen Liang’s pushing and pulling, they finally stood in front of the statue.

Yi Ling laughed and whispered to Shen Mingzhu, "I think these two could make it."

Shen Mingzhu laughed along, "Of course it would be great if they could."

After touring the sights, it was time for lunch.

Shen Mingzhu took the lead and chose a restaurant with a nice environment and quality.

Whether it was concern about the expense, Chen Liang and his wife, and Liang Kean all seemed very restrained, especially after seeing the prices on the menu, which led Chen Liang to suggest changing places.

"Sister-in-law, on the way here, there was a dumpling restaurant, why don’t we eat there?"

Shen Mingzhu said with a smile, "I rarely take the kids out for fun, let’s enjoy ourselves today, order whatever you want, it’s on me."

Chen Liang and Liang Kean looked at each other.

"Sister-in-law, how could we impose? You already bought the tickets for us, let’s split the meal cost," Chen Liang proposed.

Shen Mingzhu agreed, "That’s fine too, Guoguo and Minmin are still little, so we won’t count them, four people on my side, three on yours."

It was then that Chen Liang picked up the menu and began to order.

Each person ordered one dish, three meat and three vegetable dishes plus a soup; Shen Mingzhu also ordered an extra egg custard for her daughter and niece.

The dishes were served one after another, and halfway through an extra dish of braised squab was added to the table.

Shen Mingzhu actually liked it quite a bit, braised squab was a hometown dish from her past life.

However, the restaurant’s prices were on the high side, with one braised squab costing six yuan; taking the children into account, they would need at least four or five to be enough, and considering Chen Liang and the others’ income level, Shen Mingzhu had not ordered it.

"Waiter, you’ve brought the wrong dish, this wasn’t what we ordered."

The waiter, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, explained respectfully to Shen Mingzhu, "Madam Pei, you are a friend of Young Master Ning. Today’s expenses for your table will be charged to Young Master Ning’s account, in addition to what you ordered, our restaurant has specially added a few signature dishes, wishing you and your friends a pleasant dining experience."

Shen Mingzhu suddenly realized, "Huxin Island is developed by the Ning Family?"

"Yes, the entire Huxin Island is Young Master Ning’s private property."

"Is Young Master Ning still here?"

"He is, he’s upstairs in a meeting."

Hearing this, Shen Mingzhu did not go up to disturb them, but asked the waiter to convey her thanks instead.

After the waiter left, Shen Mingzhu saw Chen Liang and the others staring at her without blinking, their expressions a mix of admiration and envy.

"Alright, someone is treating us today, so everyone can eat to their heart’s content without worry."

Chen Liang and the others were very happy, seldom having the chance to enjoy a lavish meal, let alone for free.

As Yi Ling ate, she took care of her daughter and didn’t forget to inquire about the Ning Family from Shen Mingzhu.

It was natural for women to gossip, especially about a top-tier wealthy family like the Ning Family.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t feel it was appropriate to say too much, yet it wouldn’t be polite to say nothing, so she only shared things that were known to the public with Yi Ling.

Ning Yuan was always generous with his spending. In addition to ordinary dishes like braised squab, honey roasted goose, and white-cut chicken, he also served abalone, sea cucumber, and shark’s fin soup.

Not to mention Chen Liang and the others who ate as if they were graced with unexpected honor, even Shen Mingzhu felt some pressure.

The abalone, sea cucumber, and shark’s fin soup were served per person, with Guoguo included, nine servings each, adding up to twenty-seven servings, which amounted to five or six hundred yuan.

However, considering Ning Yuan’s family wealth, this amount of money was merely a drop in the bucket for him.

After a satisfying meal, they rested in the restaurant for a while before Shen Mingzhu led everyone on the next part of their day—the boat ride.

This was also something she had promised her daughter long ago, conveniently arranged while accompanying Shen Hongmei on her blind date.

As for rowing, they would skip it in this weather for fear of heatstroke.

Sitting in the boat, enjoying the breeze and the scenery, was quite pleasant.

To ride the boat, they needed to buy tickets, two yuan per person.

Shen Mingzhu excused herself from paying by tending to her daughter’s sweat, and Liang Kean promptly took the initiative to pay.

She couldn’t be concerned with others, but she certainly wouldn’t let Shen Hongmei end up with a stingy man.

And so far, Liang Kean’s behavior had left her quite satisfied.

After touring the lake, the day’s activities came to an end.

On the way back, the three children slept soundly in the back seat.

Shen Mingzhu was also exhausted and drowsy, relying solely on the vigor from essential balm to keep driving.

"How do you feel about Kean?"

Shen Hongmei’s face flushed with a touch of shyness, "Pretty good."

"Then you should spend some time getting to know him. If you feel it’s right, then you can confirm your relationship. My opinion is to date for at least a year or two to fully understand his character before talking about marriage. Marriage is for a lifetime, and it should be approached with caution. Don’t hastily commit because of external factors."

Shen Hongmei nodded earnestly, "I’ll listen to you."

Once they entered the city, Shen Mingzhu first dropped Zhao Yun off at her home.

After Zhou Hui and her daughter left, Zhao Dafa and his son didn’t immediately move back into their old house but continued living in Zhao Yun’s new home.

The old house, having been lived in for some years, was seen by Zhao Dafa as an opportunity to extensively renovate and redecorate.

"Xiaoyun, we’re here, go home and sleep."

Zhao Yun woke up at the call of Shen Mingzhu, and seeing that she had arrived at her own doorstep, she rubbed her eyes while bidding farewell to Shen Mingzhu as she got out of the car.

At this moment, the Zhao Family’s door opened, and Zhao Dafa stepped out, one hand clutching a briefcase and the other holding car keys.

Seeing Shen Mingzhu’s car and his son who had just gotten out, Zhao Dafa approached the driver’s side and greeted Shen Mingzhu.

"Sister Shen, you went to a lot of trouble for us today. I’ll treat you to a meal another day."

As he said this, Zhao Dafa noticed Shen Hongmei in the passenger seat, and his eyes clearly swept across her with surprise and admiration.

"Wow, Hongmei, you’re looking so spruced up today. Did you go on a blind date?"

"Exactly, the uncle Aunt Hongmei met for the blind date was both young and handsome."

Before Shen Mingzhu and Shen Hongmei could respond, Zhao Yun took it upon herself to chime in first.

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