The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 525 - 524: Resignation

Chapter 525: Chapter 524: Resignation

"Stuff a sack over his head and beat him up!"

"Dumb."

Zhao Yun was not convinced, "Then you suggest something smarter."

Pei Ziheng’s lips curled slightly, "Strike the heart to kill, hit the snake where it’s vital."

These were all lethal moves!

Zhao Yun patted his chest, immensely relieved that he was Pei Ziheng’s brother, not his enemy.

...

"How are things, are the babies still well-behaved lately?"

Watching Shen Mingzhu gently stroke her belly while bending over, Zhong Qing scolded her with a smile, "You still have the mind to care about me. You didn’t come to me when you were bullied. I had to call you before you would come over."

Shen Mingzhu straightened up and smiled, "Such a trivial matter isn’t worth your concern. What’s most important for you now is to peacefully nurture your baby and safely deliver the two little ones."

Zhong Qing grabbed her hand and led her towards the sofa, saying, "They are important, sure, but you are too. If something happens to you, there’s no way I could just sit by and do nothing."

Shen Mingzhu smiled as she helped her sit down, "Then what are you planning to do about it?"

"You tell me, how do you want me to help you?"

After Shen Mingzhu stated her request, Zhong Qing was somewhat surprised, "Is that really all?"

"Yeah, if you can help me with this, it’s enough. I can handle the rest."

"Okay then."

After they finished talking about serious matters, Shen Mingzhu inquired about Zhong Qing’s childbirth next month, meticulously reminding her of the items needed for delivery, which Zhong Qing noted down seriously.

The two sat and chatted for quite a while before Shen Mingzhu got up to leave.

Zhong Qing knew she was busy with work and didn’t hold her back. Instead, she had the butler pack all sorts of things into the trunk of her car.

It was all expensive nourishment like bird’s nest, cordyceps, ginseng, and lingzhi mushrooms.

These were gifts from relatives of the Zhong and Yan families, which Zhong Qing herself couldn’t possibly finish.

Shen Mingzhu could not decline and couldn’t help but joke about herself, "Every time I come, I leave with big and small packages. To anyone who doesn’t know, they might think I’m a relative coming to take advantage of your family."

Zhong Qing held her hand earnestly and instructed, "I can’t look after you right now, so take good care of yourself."

Shen Mingzhu smiled and nodded, agreeing to come over again next week for a visit.

Just as her car left the Zhong Family’s main gate, she ran into Yan Yi.

The road was too narrow for two cars to pass each other, so Shen Mingzhu had to reverse her car back into the Zhong Family’s courtyard to let Yan Yi drive in.

After Yan Yi parked his car, he got out and walked toward her.

Shen Mingzhu also had no choice but to get out of her car.

After exchanging simple pleasantries, Yan Yi got straight to the point, "I heard about the situation in your store. If there’s anything you need help with, just say the word."

Shen Mingzhu nodded appreciatively, "Thanks for the offer, but there’s no need for now. I can manage."

Yan Yi offered a shallow smile.

Her polite refusal was expected, so while he wasn’t disappointed, he felt a mild regret deep down.

Some say loving an impossible person is like waiting for a ship in the desert.

Even though he knew that she would never walk his way, he still took ninety-nine steps, a display of presumptuousness, yet the final step he didn’t take was a measure of restraint.

"It’s been a while since we last saw each other, I notice you’ve changed a bit."

Shen Mingzhu touched her face, teasing, "Is it because I’ve aged? Time is a merciless butcher’s knife."

Yan Yi chuckled, "That’s not it."

But he didn’t specify what it was about her that had changed.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t ask.

Some words, some people, are better left to deep conversations even with brief acquaintances.

"Go inside and keep Qingqing company. I’m heading back to the factory, goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Only after her car left the Zhong Family’s residence did Yan Yi let out a light chuckle and retract his gaze, then he stepped towards the Zhong Family’s main entrance.

Compared with the greenness of their first meeting, she had clearly smoothed out her edges and become more composed, like a piece of jade that had been polished, now starting to exude its own brilliance.

While waiting for the traffic light, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but take out her compact mirror to look at her face, thinking about Yan Yi’s remark, "You’ve changed a bit."

No wrinkles at the corners of the eyes, skin fair and glowing, complexion pretty good too.

It couldn’t be that he was suggesting she looked old or ugly.

Shen Mingzhu snapped the mirror closed and put it back in her bag, pondering inwardly.

Before she traveled through time, she was only twenty-two years old; this was her first time experiencing this age for real, and she was quite concerned about aging.

...

By the time she got back to the factory, Julie was already waiting in the office.

"President Shen, here are the resignation forms submitted by the employees since the closure, a total of eleven people, among which seven are front-of-house servers and two are kitchen staff," Julie reported.

Shen Mingzhu paid close attention to the resignations from the kitchen staff; all four were utility workers and food preparers, with no cooks among them.

It seemed the non-compete clause still held some sway.

If one resigns voluntarily, according to the non-compete clause, they can’t work in the same industry for three years.

Shen Mingzhu picked up a pen and swiftly signed approval on all the resignation applications.

"Notify all staff that there will be a meeting tomorrow morning at ten at the Shangyang Spring Store. If there are any more resignations in the meantime, you can deal with them directly, no need to consult me," she instructed.

Julie nodded, a trace of hesitation on her face, "President Shen, if we could give the employees a definite timeline for resuming operations, it would help settle their minds."

Shen Mingzhu shook her head, "I can’t give one."

Julie was taken aback.

Shen Mingzhu smiled, "Worried?"

Julie forced a smile, "To say I’m not worried at all would be a lie, but I believe President Shen has the capability and skill to get Shenji through this difficult time."

Shen Mingzhu looked at her, "Even if Shenji really does close down for good, I’ll make sure all of you are taken care of properly, you won’t be left without a livelihood."

Julie nodded vigorously, her heart finally at ease.

After leaving the food factory, Julie rode her bike to the Tianxiangyin employee dormitory to deliver the remaining salaries to the employees who had resigned and to inform them about the meeting the next day.

The dormitory was rented in an old, rundown tube-shaped building, with three rooms in total; one for male employees and two for female employees.

Julie walked up to the male employees’ dormitory and knocked on the door.

The door was quickly opened, and a strong smell of smoke mixed with the shouting of card games assaulted her senses, making Julie frown in disgust.

"Who allowed you to smoke and play cards in the dormitory?"

Seeing her, most of the male employees stubbed out their cigarettes and put down their cards, retreating to their own beds.

But two or three others didn’t take it seriously, still holding their cigarettes and playing cards, and they even looked at Julie defiantly.

"Manager Julie, we haven’t had any work to do for days now—what else are we supposed to do if not smoke and play cards?"

Manager Julie looked at them coldly, "Whether you’re busy or not, as long as you’re employed by Shenji, you must follow Shenji’s rules. Smoking in the dormitory incurs a five yuan fine, and playing cards will result in the same fine."

After announcing the punishment, Julie asked the dormitory head to note down the names of those who had just been smoking and playing cards and to report them to her.

Before the dormitory head could respond, the troublemakers who had defied Julie became angry.

"Fine your mother’s B, Julie. Apart from showing off your petty power in front of us, what else can you do? If you’re capable, why don’t you get the restaurant up and running, give everyone some work to do, something to eat—who would be here playing cards if not for being bored out of their minds?"

"Exactly, it’s been so many days since the closure, and President Shen hasn’t committed to anything. We can’t keep hanging on like this forever."