The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 521 - 520 Cui Lianying Visits

Chapter 521: Chapter 520 Cui Lianying Visits

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"Are you going to eat it or not? If you’re not, I’ll eat it all by myself."

In the end, Pei Ziheng couldn’t resist the temptation to "steal a taste," and scampered downstairs after Pei Yang.

To avoid waking Shen Mingzhu in the bedroom, the father and son took off their shoes and tiptoed to the living room like thieves.

They didn’t dare to turn on the lights; one wielded a flashlight while the other opened the fridge to grab the marinated crabs.

Clap.

Just as Pei Yang was carrying the crab jar out of the fridge, ready to head to the kitchen, the living room light suddenly turned on.

Turning their heads, they saw Shen Mingzhu, hair disheveled, standing in front of the switch, looking at the father and son with an amused expression, "What are you up to?"

Pei Yang looked down at the glass jar in his hands and swayed it from side to side.

"What if I say I couldn’t sleep and got up to do some exercises, would you believe me?"

Shen Mingzhu scoffed, "I thought there was a burglar in the house. Do I need to put a lock on the fridge tomorrow?"

"That won’t be necessary, absolutely not."

As Pei Yang spoke, he turned around to put the crab jar back in the fridge.

Picking up the feather duster from the wall cabinet, Shen Mingzhu came forward and began to scold him with it, "Not necessary, huh? I’ll show you what’s necessary!"

"Don’t hit me, wife, I was wrong!"

Pei Yang hopped about dodging, pleading for mercy as he quickly fled back to the bedroom.

Only the mother and son were left in the living room.

Gasping for air, Shen Mingzhu glared at him.

Pei Ziheng put down the flashlight and obediently came before Shen Mingzhu.

"Mom, I was wrong."

Shen Mingzhu asked sternly, "What did you do wrong?"

"I shouldn’t have joined Dad in doing something bad; it’s wrong to steal food."

"Good that you know. Stretch out your hand, and give me your left hand!"

Pei Ziheng dutifully stretched out his left hand.

Shen Mingzhu flipped the duster around and used the handle to whack Pei Ziheng’s palm several times with force.

"Does it hurt?"

Pei Ziheng nodded.

"Good, it should hurt. Pain helps you remember the lesson. Next time, it won’t just be your palm being hit."

Pei Ziheng nodded again.

Hs features were delicate and beautiful, his eyes narrow and jet-black, his lips vividly colored, and when he didn’t smile, he looked like a coldly beautiful young man.

His apologetic demeanor was even more pitiable.

Shen Mingzhu’s temper softened a bit, "From now on, you can ask me if you want something. You shouldn’t take things without permission and develop bad habits, understand?"

Hope lit up like stars in Pei Ziheng’s dark eyes, "Mom, I want to eat the marinated crabs, can I?"

Shen Mingzhu choked up slightly, "Not today."

A look of disappointment swept over Pei Ziheng’s face, and even the brightness in his eyes faded.

Shen Mingzhu’s heart softened, "It’s too late now, marinated crabs are cold and uncooked; eating them in the middle of the night can upset your stomach and cause diarrhea. I’ll let you have some tomorrow."

Pei Ziheng’s face lit up again, "Okay."

"Go back to your room and sleep."

"Okay, Mom, good night."

"Good night."

Upon reaching the second floor, Pei Ziheng stopped in his tracks and stared down at the reddened palm of his left hand.

It was tingling, somewhat painful.

Mom loved Guoguo so much, but when Guoguo was naughty and disobedient, she would spank Guoguo’s bottom and palms too.

But she had never hit him before.

This was the first time Mom had hit him.

He was nothing like the bad woman from his previous life; being hit by Mom, he felt only happiness in his heart.

He clenched his palm, a satisfied look on his face as he returned to his room, climbed into bed, and fell asleep.

...

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Downstairs bedroom.

Shen Mingzhu closed the door without even glancing at the man standing like a log beside the bed and went straight to sleep.

"Wife, I heard everything."

Just as she lay down, she heard the man’s plaintive voice.

She glanced at him sideways.

"You’re making special meals for Ziheng."

Shen Mingzhu ignored him, turning over to sleep.

Pei Yang climbed into bed, lying in front of her, his eyes fixating on her like lightbulbs.

"In this house, it’s clear your favorite is indeed Ziheng."

Shen Mingzhu, with eyes closed, didn’t want to respond.

Pei Yang continued to feel sorry for himself, "No matter whether it’s in your heart or in this house, I’m always the one with the least status."

"Unloved and uncared for, I’m just a little cabbage in the field."

Shen Mingzhu’s eyes snapped open, "Shut up, turn off the lights, sleep!"

Pei Yang looked at her with puppy-dog eyes, "Are you sick of me, don’t you love me anymore?"

Shen Mingzhu’s brow twitched, and after glaring at the man for a moment, she stretched out her hand and patted his head.

"Stop it, I will make some for you tomorrow too."

Pei Yang’s expression instantly brightened, and he hugged her tightly, rubbing his fuzzy head against her neck.

"I knew it, you still love me!"

Shen Mingzhu looked up silently, "Turn off the light."

"Okay."

Pei Yang hopped off the bed to turn off the light before bounding back in three strides, sliding next to her, and holding her close again.

"Let’s sleep, wife, goodnight."

Resting against the man’s broad, warm chest, Shen Mingzhu slightly curved her lips, relaxed her awareness, and drifted into sleep.

...

The next day, shortly after starting work, Shen Mingzhu received a call from old Zhu. Today Tang Jinshui hadn’t played any tricks, and Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Unless absolutely necessary, she didn’t want to have too ugly a fallout with Tang Jinshui.

In business, harmony is the key to making money, having one more friend is definitely better than having one more enemy.

At noon, after eating in the cafeteria and returning to the office, Shen Mingzhu stood digesting her food while making calls.

First, she called Pei Wenping, asking her to come home for dinner after work.

Then she called Pei Ke, telling him to bring Cui Lianying home for the crab banquet.

Pei Ke had been dating Cui Lianying for some time now, and apart from the blind date, Shen Mingzhu had seen her only once, while Pei Yang and Pei Wenping, the siblings, had not yet met her.

It was time to invite her over, so that everyone could officially meet.

In the afternoon, Shen Mingzhu left work half an hour early to buy some groceries at the market, along with a jar of the finest Huadiao wine.

Raw and marinated food tends to be cold in nature, while Huadiao wine is warm; not only does it remove the gamey taste and enhance the flavor, but it also counteracts the cold nature of seafood.

Apart from the raw marinated soy crab, Shen Mingzhu also made drunken shrimp, squirrel-shaped mandarinfish, Guoba pork, clams with glass noodles, and a big pot of yam and pork rib congee. With a few more home-style dishes, she filled the table to the brim.

After all, it was Cui Lianying’s first visit; she deserved a proper welcome.

Pei Wenping arrived early and put on an apron to help her and Sister Yu with the preparations.

Close to seven o’clock, voices could be heard from outside.

Pei Wenping was the first to go out, but she returned after a few seconds, untying her apron while speaking with Shen Mingzhu:

"They’ve arrived. I’m going to greet them."

After Pei Wenping left, Sister Yu suggested to Shen Mingzhu, "I’m not sure if the tea has cooled down, should I go and get a pot of hot tea?"

Shen Mingzhu, not exposing the other party’s eagerness to join the excitement, smiled and agreed.

Having worked for the Pei family for so many years, Sister Yu was practically one of their own. It was quite normal for her to be curious about what kind of daughter-in-law Pei Ke had found.

Before long, both Sister Yu and Pei Wenping returned to the kitchen one after the other.

"She seems alright, quite amiable too."

"Yes, really good. She even brought me something, she’s quite thoughtful," Sister Yu added with a smile, agreeing with Pei Wenping.

Hearing this, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but tease Yu Hong, "What nice thing did Aunt Cui bring for you to be so happy?"