The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 546 - 545: Marriage Matters

Chapter 546: Chapter 545: Marriage Matters

After the National Day holiday, the first Saturday was Cui Lianying’s 45th birthday, but Cui Lianying did not host a big celebration; she merely invited the Pei family for a meal together.

This was also the first formal gathering between the Pei family and Cui Lianying’s relatives.

Cui Lianying had two sons and one daughter, the latter of whom was married off in Lin City and did not return for this occasion.

Cui Lianying’s two sons, along with her own brothers and sisters, plus Shen Mingzhu’s family, Pei Ke, and Pei Wenping, took up a total of three tables of people.

The banquet was set in the Ginkgo Building.

Besides celebrating Cui Lianying’s birthday, both families also planned to discuss the marriage of Pei Ke and Cui Lianying, so they all arrived fairly early.

After some interactions, Cui Lianying’s two sons gave Shen Mingzhu a fairly good impression; they each had legitimate jobs, not the sort to shy away from hard work.

As for Cui Lianying’s remarriage, her two sons did not make any excessive demands.

On the other hand, Cui Lianying’s two daughters-in-law were particularly enthusiastic and proactive about Cui’s remarriage.

Shen Mingzhu could guess the thoughts of the two daughters-in-law quite clearly.

With Pei Ke having no children and being quite wealthy, once he married Cui Lianying and became their stepfather, he would inevitably look after their families.

In Shen Mingzhu’s view, these were trivial matters; as long as Pei Ke and Cui Lianying were happy after their marriage, helping out the Ding family was not a big deal.

Cui Lianying’s family was extremely pleased with this marriage, even feeling that Cui Lianying had struck great luck.

After all, Pei Ke was a catch in all aspects, and he was also generous and openhanded—who wouldn’t like such a brother-in-law?

After the birthday banquet, the marriage of Pei Ke and Cui Lianying was set.

The 1st of next month.

That didn’t leave much time, but Pei Ke insisted, saying it would be too cold if they waited any longer, fearing that Cui Lianying might freeze.

Cui Lianying’s marriage to her former husband was arranged, and on her wedding day, she was sent to her husband’s home with a red veil over her head, not even having a marriage certificate.

Pei Ke wanted to give Cui Lianying a formal wedding ceremony.

Beyond the wedding, Pei Ke planned to take Cui Lianying to take Western-style wedding photos and had also planned a honeymoon trip.

It must be said that Pei Ke was quite romantic at heart.

...

"Ten buns, just one yuan, come again often."

Jia Yuemei smiled as she took the money, stuffed it into her apron, and went back to greeting other customers.

It was time for breakfast, and customers were coming in an uninterrupted stream; it didn’t take long for a whole steamer of buns to sell out.

Jia Yuemei deftly removed the empty steamer and placed a new one full of fresh buns from the big iron pot on her stall.

The freshly steamed buns, white and plump, steaming hot, wafted the sweet smell of wheat that made them irresistible.

"I’ll take two buns."

"I need five."

"Alright, hold on, there’s enough for everyone."

Qin Jinlian, holding Erya in her arms, stood to the side and whispered happily to Erya, "Look how capable your mom is now; selling white buns to earn money for your candy and new clothes."

Erya giggled, clapping her small hands excitedly.

Qin Jinlian stayed at Jia Yuemei’s stall until they had eaten lunch and, while Erya was taking her nap, she went to the food factory alone.

When Qin Jinlian arrived, Shen Mingzhu had just finished her nap and was drinking tea to wake up.

"I’ve been to your second sister-in-law’s bun shop; the business is doing quite well. While I still have some strength, I’ll help them look after the kids for a couple of years, so they can earn money with peace of mind and buy a house in the city sooner rather than later. Then, they can have a chubby grandson, and your father and I would feel our lives are complete."

"You don’t need to tell me about this; if you have the ability to help, then help, if not, don’t talk nonsense."

Clearly, she did not intend to contribute financially to help Shen Xiangnan buy a house.

Qin Jinlian looked at her but no longer dared to scold and complain as she had before.

Though Shen Mingzhu was her daughter, the coldness in her eyes and the authoritative aura in her gestures made her mother apprehensive.

If only her daughter could be as generous and magnanimous as her son-in-law’s younger uncle, lavishing loads of money on someone with the surname Cui.

Thinking this, she started to ramble about the marriage of Pei Ke and Cui Lianying again, "...Really don’t understand what you all are thinking, pushing the God of Wealth out the door for no good reason, letting outsiders benefit for free."

Shen Mingzhu lifted her eyelids, "If you’re so bored, just find a way to make money yourself. Stop thinking about this and that, longing for something is just a waste of time, the money in other people’s pockets won’t end up in your hands even one penny."

"You may not care, but others certainly do!"

"If they care, let them care. Dogs eat dung, why don’t you go eat it?"

Qin Jinlian was so taken aback that she couldn’t speak for a while, only after a moment did she mutter, "It’s all talk. Why don’t you teach me a way to make money then?"

Shen Mingzhu gave her a cold glance.

Under her stare, Qin Jinlian became sheepish, "Well, I was thinking about opening a bun shop in town like your second sister-in-law’s. Your dad twisted his back some time ago and it still hasn’t recovered completely. I was thinking of giving up farming and starting a small business instead."

"That’s feasible."

Apparently not expecting Shen Mingzhu to agree so readily, Qin Jinlian was somewhat surprised, "Really?"

Shen Mingzhu set down her teacup, "You go back first. I’ll come home to have a look in a couple of days when I’m free."

Qin Jinlian left happily.

Having finished up the work at hand, Shen Mingzhu was preparing to go to the pharmacy to buy some ointment for treating injuries for her father when the phone on the office desk rang.

Shen Mingzhu hurried to the hospital as quickly as she could.

Outside the operating room, Yan Yi was talking with his mother, and Yan Su stood by their side, surrounded by four or five other people who appeared to be relatives from the Yan Family and the Zhong Family.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t approach, instead finding a spot out of the way to sit and wait.

Yan Su was the first to see her, raising her foot and walking towards her.

Yan Yi followed Yan Su’s footsteps, turned his head, and upon seeing Shen Mingzhu, paused for a moment before nodding in acknowledgment.

Yan Yi’s mother, noticing her son’s actions, also looked in Shen Mingzhu’s direction.

Recognizing that Shen Mingzhu was the friend her daughter-in-law spoke highly of, she retracted her gaze and continued discussing the situation of her daughter-in-law with Yan Yi.

"How is Qingqing?"

"Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious, but the two little nephews decided to come out ahead of time."

As Yan Su spoke, she led Shen Mingzhu into the family waiting room to sit and wait.

The family waiting room was even more crowded than outside, with people talking quietly amongst themselves. When Yan Su led her in, many turned their gaze toward them.

Yan Su found a quiet spot for Shen Mingzhu and then left.

After sitting for a while and realizing she probably wouldn’t make it back home for dinner, Shen Mingzhu got up and went outside to call home.

When she returned after the call, she saw the doors of the operating room open, and two nurses holding swaddled babies were engulfed by the Yan Family.

"Ah, the two little young masters do look handsome indeed."

"Indeed, they’ve come straight out of the same mold as Yan Yi when he was a child."

Before she could get close, she heard several relatives discussing the appearance of the children.

Concerned about Zhong Qing’s condition, Shen Mingzhu struck up a conversation with a middle-aged woman with a friendly face.

Learning that Zhong Qing was safe, Shen Mingzhu let out a sigh of relief.

After looking at the babies, the relatives from both families began to leave gradually. Yan Yi with Yan Su, each holding a baby, walked toward her.

"Take a look."

The two babies were wrapped up tightly, revealing only their tiny, red faces.

Possibly due to uneven nutrition and being premature, the two babies were noticeably different in size.

The baby in Yan Yi’s arms was much larger, while the one in Yan Su’s embrace was quite small.

"The babies are beautiful, and they look quite like you," Shen Mingzhu ventured.

Yan Yi looked at her, "We are old friends by now, you don’t need to say such insincere pleasantries."

Shen Mingzhu felt awkward.

Seeing the faces of the two newborns, wrinkled like little monkeys, it was impossible to make out any distinctive features.

"Alright, don’t tease Shen Mingzhu," scolded Yan Su softly, then turned to Shen Mingzhu and asked—

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.