The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 523 - 522: Refusal to Cooperate

Chapter 523: Chapter 522: Refusal to Cooperate

After dinner, everyone sat around sipping tea for a while until Cui Lianying said her goodbyes.

Since everyone had been drinking that evening, it wasn’t appropriate to drive, so Shen Mingzhu called a taxi.

Once the taxi arrived, Shen Mingzhu personally escorted Cui Lianying out.

"Aunt Cui, you should come over for dinner more often when you have the time."

"Eh, Mingzhu, I’ve troubled you today, thank you for cooking such a big meal."

"It’s no trouble; we’re just family having a simple meal together."

After exchanging pleasantries, Pei Ke also got into the taxi, insisting on taking Cui Lianying home himself.

As the taxi drove away, Pei Wenping whispered to Shen Mingzhu with a snicker, "I really didn’t see it coming; my little uncle is quite the doting husband. It just confirms the old saying, this old house is on fire and beyond saving."

Shen Mingzhu glanced back teasingly, "Are you envious? Should I find you someone who knows how to cherish you too?"

Pei Wenping responded with a face full of refusal, "I really don’t want that. Men are all no good; I’d rather have Tudou. Give him a bowl of rice, and he’ll faithfully stay by your side."

Tudou was the domestic cat Shen Mingzhu had bought for Pei Wenping to cheer her up when she had just gotten divorced.

Pei Yang took offense to Pei Wenping’s words, "Sis, I haven’t provoked you."

Pei Wenping glanced at him, "You’d better not provoke me, or you’ll see what I’ll do to you."

Pei Yang surrendered with a wry smile, "Alright, I’ll go wash the dishes; you two chat."

Only when Pei Yang had entered the living room did Pei Wenping withdraw her gaze, reminding Shen Mingzhu earnestly to keep a careful eye on her man.

"I’ve come to realize now that men are like Sun Wukong; they only remember who they are if you recite the Tightening Spell on them once in a while. If you loosen up, there’s no telling where his heart might wander off to."

Shen Mingzhu smiled.

Pei Wenping looked at her, "Don’t think I’m joking. I’m speaking from experience. At first, I thought Chen Yi was a measured man who wouldn’t mess around behind my back."

"Mingzhu, I’m not trying to nag, but I treat you like my own sister when I say this. Pei Yang is all high-spirited and successful now, and given his good looks, there are plenty of women out there throwing themselves at him. You can’t afford to take it lightly."

Shen Mingzhu nodded, "Big sister, don’t worry, I’ll be more vigilant."

Pei Wenping comforted her with a pat, "Don’t worry, in our Pei Family we side with justice and not kinship. If he dares to do anything to wrong you, neither uncle nor I would let him off."

Shen Mingzhu laughed, "Me neither."

If there ever came such a day, she wouldn’t cling desperately to him, but she wouldn’t let the unfaithful couple off easily either.

With that, Shen Mingzhu took the opportunity to ask Pei Wenping about her and Chen Yi’s recent situation.

"Does your ex-husband contact you often?"

Pei Wenping glared at her, "What ex-husband? I have no relation with him now, don’t call him that!"

Shen Mingzhu chuckled, "He’s still Xiaolu and Xiaochao’s father after all."

Pei Wenping snorted, "Don’t mention him to me; it’s bad luck. Xiaolu and Xiaochao have made great progress after going to school in Shanghai City. They speak English so fluently, they attend a foreign language school where the teachers use English in class, and this year they even went to an overseas summer camp..."

Talking about her children brought smiles and pride to Pei Wenping’s face, but probably only she knew the depth of longing and pain in her heart from being apart.

Poor are the hearts of all parents.

She asked herself whether she could be as carefree and magnanimous as Pei Wenping, were she to face the same situation one day.

Pei Wenping, worried about her cat back home, chatted with Shen Mingzhu for a bit before heading back to her residence complex on her motorcycle.

Returning home, Shen Mingzhu found the living room empty, the air still tinged with the scent of food and drink.

The sound of dishes being washed came from the kitchen, and there were faint sounds of children’s laughter from upstairs.

The liveliness was only temporary; solitude was the norm.

Suddenly, this thought popped into her mind.

Shen Mingzhu sat on the sofa and picked a peach from the fruit plate, rosy and white.

The peach was a little overripe, its flesh already soft; the skin peeled off easily when gently torn, revealing the pale yellow fruit inside.

She took a bite, fragrant and sweet, with the peach juice overflowing and dripping down between her fingers.

Shen Mingzhu stretched her foot out to hook the trash can over, but after struggling for a while, she couldn’t reach it. Finally, a large hand reached out and brought the trash can over to her.

As she turned her head, the man’s large head had already moved close, and he bit into the peach in her hand.

"The peach my wife peels is always sweeter."

Pei Yang closed his eyes and smiled happily, like a big dog that had gotten a taste of bone.

Shen Mingzhu gave him a glance and said, "If you want to eat, peel it yourself," then bent over the trash can, continuing to eat her peach.

Pei Yang sat opposite her, picking up a washed bunch of grapes to eat.

"How’s the taste of today’s marinated crab?"

"Quite fresh, but still a bit fishy."

Shen Mingzhu swallowed the peach, "The marination time wasn’t long enough. Marinate it for another day and it’ll taste even better. Try soaking it in Huadiao wine before marinating next time."

"I think that’s a good idea."

Once this batch is done marinating and there are no other issues, Shenji can launch this dish.

Shen Mingzhu planned secretly.

...

The next day, after finishing her work at the food factory, Shen Mingzhu drove to the seafood market.

One reason was to buy fresh swimmer crabs to make marinated raw crab sauce, and the other was to find a new supplier.

Shen Mingzhu used to come to the seafood market often and had a general understanding of each stall, knowing which ones had good quality.

She went directly to a stall where she had bought from twice before.

The owner was quite enthusiastic, but politely declined her request for a long-term supply due to insufficient stock and manpower.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t think much of it and moved on to another seafood stall she thought had a good reputation.

"I’m sorry, Boss Shen, our stall has a private agreement with other restaurants and we don’t supply to Fengcheng’s dining establishments."

"No problem, we may have the chance to cooperate in the future."

Shen Mingzhu visited four or five seafood stalls in a row, and the owners all rejected her partnership with various excuses.

Some didn’t even bother to make up a reason, just outright saying "Sorry, we can’t do business" to send Shen Mingzhu away.

Shen Mingzhu truly couldn’t believe it; she inquired at every stall in the market one by one, and without exception, not a single one was willing to do business with her.

Then, the owner of one stall, seeing that she was a woman trying to make it on her own, quietly informed her—

Tang Jinshui had put out the word that anyone supplying to her would no longer have a business.

Tang Jinshui was so brazen because his uncle, Uncle Tai, controlled and monopolized the whole seafood market.

With this connection, Tang Jinshui was domineering in the seafood market. Every time new stock arrived, it was him who got first pick, and only after he was finished could the other stalls have their turn.

Knowing the reason, Shen Mingzhu didn’t waste any more time, thanked the stall owner, and prepared to leave.

She had hardly walked a few steps from the stall when she came face to face with Tang Jinshui.

"Yo, isn’t that Boss Shen? You seem to have plenty of time to wander the market today."

"I run a small business, nothing compared to busy people like Boss Tang."

Tang Jinshui turned and spat on the ground, scoffing mockingly, "I heard you’ve been hitting walls all afternoon. Tch, let me give you some free advice: don’t bother. Our market is too small to accommodate a big Buddha like you. Don’t come here again in the future—you’ll only make a laughingstock of yourself."

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