The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 511 - 510: Not a Princess by Fate, Yet Suffering from Princess Syndrome

Chapter 511: Chapter 510: Not a Princess by Fate, Yet Suffering from Princess Syndrome

Liang Family, at the dinner table.

Mother Liang looked at Xiling Liang, who was burying her head in eating, and felt irritated no matter how she looked at her.

"Having read so many books, yet can’t even secure a job, still have the face to eat!"

Xiling Liang was always strong-willed, usually, when Mother Liang berated her like this, she would definitely retort.

However, today she was uncharacteristically smug, "Mom, I’ve found a job."

Upon hearing this, the whole family turned to look at her all at once.

"What kind of job?"

"At which company?"

"How much is the monthly salary?"

Question after question was thrown at her by the family.

Xiling Liang wiped her mouth with pride, "It’s not really a good company, just a food factory, with about a hundred or two hundred people."

The second sister-in-law quickly asked, "So you’ll be sitting in an office, right?"

"Of course, I’ll be in an office. I wouldn’t work on a production line. If I were to do that, I wouldn’t go to such a small factory."

Father Liang said, "With nearly two hundred employees, it’s not considered a small factory."

Mother Liang cared most about the income; a clever woman can’t cook without rice, after all. She controlled the family’s finances, and the entire household relied on her to provide meals every day.

"How much money can you bring home a month?"

Xiling Liang thought to herself that if she worked at the food factory, she should be able to make about a hundred or so a month.

Shen Hongmei, a junior high school graduate from the countryside, could make almost two hundred a month, so her, at least a high school graduate, surely taking home a hundred wouldn’t be too much, right?

However, she couldn’t tell Mother Liang everything; she needed to keep some for her own use.

She was almost twenty now, an age to look for a marriage prospect. If she didn’t dress up nicely, how could she find a good match?

"Probably around sixty or seventy."

Mother Liang immediately looked disappointed, "Only that much? In my opinion, you might as well work at a restaurant. With food and accommodation provided, you could make almost a hundred a month."

"I don’t want that. It’s so much more relaxing sitting in an office, and I can use the free time to study for a self-taught degree."

Mother Liang snorted, "You say it as if it’s easier said than done. You couldn’t even pass the exams in school, and now you’re thinking about university after leaving school?"

"I had an off day. If you would let me retake the year, I’m sure I could get in next year."

"You make it sound so easy. Retaking a year costs several hundred, and we can’t even scrape together enough money for your third brother’s marriage, let alone for your schooling."

Xiling Liang said angrily, "I will pass the exam just to show you!"

"Rather than wasting effort on this, you’d do better to earn more money in these two years to save up for a dowry, so you can marry into a good family."

The eldest sister-in-law laughed and advised, "Xiling, mom knows best, she wouldn’t harm you. For a woman, marrying into a good family is better than anything else."

"That’s right."

The second sister-in-law echoed repeatedly.

Putting oneself in the shoes of the two sisters-in-law, naturally, they wouldn’t hope for Xiling Liang to fuss about studying, which costs money.

For every extra dollar Xiling Liang spent, they would have one less.

They wished nothing more than for Xiling Liang to start earning money for the household as soon as possible. Otherwise, wasn’t all the money spent on her education over the years simply wasted once she married out?

All this talk about finding a husband, mentioning in-laws left and right, wasn’t it just their way of hastening to send her off, to make room for their own sons and daughters?

Xiling Liang slammed down her chopsticks in a huff and turned to go back to her room.

The Liang Family lived in a small mixed-use courtyard in an old alley, with two rooms facing the main entrance and one room on each side. The palm-sized courtyard was divided into a kitchen and a bathhouse, where you could relieve yourself for small needs, but had to go outside to the public toilet for the bigger ones.

Four rooms in total, adding up to less than sixty square meters, housed more than ten people—a tight fit indeed.

Liang Kean was aware of the inside story of Xiling Liang’s job. After scarfing down his meal, he too returned to his room and knocked twice on the wall panel.

He and Xiling Liang slept in the same room, divided into two cubicles, with a board in between.

"Xiling, may I come in?"

Without hearing any response, Liang Kean pulled aside the door curtain separating the two cubicles and entered Xiling Liang’s side.

"Did Hongmei secure you a good job?"

Hearing his inquiry, Liang Xiling rolled over and sat up from the single bed.

"As soon as I mentioned looking for a job, she eagerly handed me the form to fill out and said she would notify me in a couple of days."

With utter conviction on her face, Liang Xiling said, "Third brother, just like I said, she’s not over you. Just you wait and see, she’ll definitely come knocking within three days, trying to use it as an opportunity to curry favor with you."

"Enough, quit spouting nonsense."

Liang Kean chided her verbally but felt surprisingly good about it deep down.

The harder Shen Hongmei found it to let go of him, the more it proved his charm, which greatly satisfied his sense of achievement as a man.

Outside the door, the two sister-in-laws from the Liang Family overheard the siblings’ conversation and immediately went to tell the rest of the Liang Family.

"This little whore still hasn’t given up; I won’t let her through the door!" raged Mother Liang.

The two sister-in-laws from the Liang Family exchanged a glance.

The elder sister-in-law took the lead: "Mom, even if you can’t stand her, just bear with it for now. It’s not too late to turn against her once Xiling’s job is secure."

The second sister-in-law agreed, "Given Xiling’s picky nature, it’s not easy for her to find a job. We need to think long-term."

After half a day’s discussion, the family decided that if Shen Hongmei truly had the shamelessness to come bothering them, they would temporarily sacrifice Liang Kean’s "good looks" and wait until Liang Xiling got a job at the food factory before making further plans.

...

In the office.

"President Shen, here is this week’s list of job applicants for your review."

Shen Hongmei placed a stack of documents on Shen Mingzhu’s desk, on top of which was a neatly arranged list and underneath were the corresponding job application forms.

As Shen Mingzhu skimmed through the list, Shen Hongmei highlighted a few talents she considered noteworthy, including Liang Xiling.

With the food factory’s growing staff, every department was in need of more hands.

The marketing department needed a data clerk, the HR department needed logistics support, and finance also needed assistants, among others.

Liang Xiling, a fresh high school graduate, was generally more diligent, grounded, and willing to work hard compared to the slick veterans who had already been through the wringer of society.

Liang Xiling.

Shen Mingzhu always felt this name strangely familiar, yet she couldn’t remember why for the moment.

Thinking Shen Mingzhu was interested in Liang Xiling, Shen Hongmei explained subconsciously, "She’s Liang Kean’s sister; she came applying for a job on her own."

Shen Mingzhu suddenly understood.

She had heard from Yi Ling that Liang Xiling had been struggling to find a suitable job, which had been giving Liang Kean a headache.

At the time, she had even thought about helping by arranging something for Liang Xiling.

However, after Yi Ling elaborated on the reasons why Liang Xiling was having trouble finding work, she immediately dismissed the idea.

She didn’t have the luck of a princess yet seemed to have caught a princess’s disease; Shen Mingzhu wasn’t about to wait on her hand and foot.

Shen Mingzhu tossed Liang Xiling’s job application to the side, looked up teasingly at Shen Hongmei, "Liang Kean has already broken up with you, yet you’re still arranging a job for his sister. I wouldn’t have guessed, you’re practically a saint."

’Saint’ sounded like a compliment, but coming from Shen Mingzhu, Shen Hongmei always felt it was not a term of praise.

Shen Hongmei explained to Shen Mingzhu, "The factory needs talent, and she applied for the job. I’m just doing things by the book here."

"She may indeed be a talent, but not the kind we’re looking for."

Even if Liang Xiling didn’t have those awful traits, Shen Mingzhu wouldn’t consider hiring her.

The Liang Family looked down on her, yet they wanted to come groveling for work under her? Dream on.

Shen Hongmei was unaware of Liang Xiling’s background and couldn’t grasp Shen Mingzhu’s sarcasm, but she could see that Shen Mingzhu did not like Liang Xiling.

She silently breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn’t really want Liang Xiling working in the factory.

To bring Liang Xiling’s job application to Shen Mingzhu’s attention was something she had struggled with.

If she sent it, it bothered her; if she didn’t, she risked being accused of personal vendetta.

Moreover, Liang Kean had a good relationship with Chen Liang; if Liang Xiling got into the factory through Chen Liang’s connections, Shen Hongmei would be the one in an awkward position.

After much thought, she decided to leave it to fate.

Fortunately, fate was on her side.

Shen Mingzhu was her fate.

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