The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 548 - 547: Erya Falls Ill

Chapter 548: Chapter 547: Erya Falls Ill

"Children don’t find their mothers ugly, and it’s the same for mothers; they don’t find their children ugly either."

The nanny’s words received everyone’s agreement in the room, as they took turns praising the children’s virtues.

Comments about how sensible and trouble-free they are, how well they eat and sleep, their auspicious looks, gushing with compliments as if they cost nothing to give.

Although she knew they were all flattering and ingratiating words, Zhong Qing was delighted to hear them.

Her children were, of course, the best.

While the conversation was lively, Yan Yi arrived.

Even though Yan Yi appeared to be a gentle-tempered person, his status was obvious, causing everyone in the room to act more reserved, respectfully addressing him as "Mr. Yan."

After expressing his concern for Zhong Qing, Yan Yi took his eldest from the arms of a maternity matron.

Whether it was because he was not used to holding the baby or because the child sensed a stranger, the baby opened his eyes hazily in Yan Yi’s arms and burst into loud crying the next second.

"Call the doctor over."

The composure of a man who could remain calm even if Mount Tai was falling crumbled, revealing panic and helplessness on his face, which made Zhong Qing unable to help but chuckle.

"Don’t worry, he’s just hungry."

"Exactly, newborns get hungry quickly. They need to be fed every two to three hours."

Hearing what the maternity matron said, Yan Yi handed the child back, "Go feed him then."

"Okay."

No sooner had the maternity matron taken the baby than the other one started wailing, so both babies were taken to the next room for feeding.

Listening to the cries quickly fade away, Yan Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing him like this, Zhong Qing comforted him: "The maternity matrons and wet nurses were personally chosen by my mother and me; they are very experienced and will take good care of Ruizhe and Ruili."

Soon after knowing that Zhong Qing was expecting two grandsons, Yan’s father had already chosen names for them.

The elder was Yan Ruili, the younger Yan Ruize.

As for their nicknames, Yan Yi and Zhong Qing were to decide on their own.

Yan Yi asked her, "What do you have in mind for the nicknames of the two little guys?"

Zhong Qing had always been indecisive about the children’s nicknames. She had intended to decide before the due date on the 20th. It would have been enough time, but to her surprise, the children couldn’t wait and arrived early.

"Let’s call them An’an and Kangkang, hoping they grow up safe and healthy."

Yan Yi nodded in agreement, "Good."

...

"President Shen, all the things you requested are here: pencil cases, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, exercise books, a total of 450 sets. Here’s the inventory list."

Shen Mingzhu took the list, glanced over it, and instructed her staff to load the items onto her car.

After finishing up her immediate tasks, Shen Mingzhu, along with her new assistant Huang Ju, drove back to Anping Town.

Qin Jinlian received advance notice of Shen Mingzhu’s return and had been waiting at the town entrance with Erya for a while.

From afar, upon spotting Shen Mingzhu’s car approaching the town entrance, she immediately picked up Erya with excitement and went to meet her.

"You’re finally back!"

Shen Mingzhu rolled down the car window, pausing her gaze on her niece’s flushed face for half a second before looking at the smiling Qin Jinlian, who was bent over with a full smile.

"I need to stop by the school to handle something first. You hold Erya and wait for me at the town government entrance."

Qin Jinlian immediately said, "Why don’t I ride with you, and I’ll just wait in the car for you?"

As she said this, she opened the front passenger door and saw Huang Ju sitting there. She blurted out, "Who are you?"

"Auntie, hello, I’m President Shen’s new assistant."

Huang Ju got ready to get out of the car to give her seat to Qin Jinlian, but Shen Mingzhu spoke up to stop her.

"She’s with me; we have matters to attend to."

"Then I’ll sit in the back."

Qin Jinlian said and went to pull the rear car door open, only to find that the back seat was crammed full of cardboard boxes.

"What’s all this stuff? So much of it?"

Shen Mingzhu wasn’t keen on explaining much, so she got out of the car, closed the door, and instructed Qin Jinlian to wait at a designated place, then she drove towards the town’s elementary school.

All this stuff must be for those poor students again.

That impudent girl, she has money but won’t share it with her family, always scattering it elsewhere instead.

The more Qin Jinlian thought about it, the angrier she became. She decided to carry her little granddaughter with her to the town’s elementary school as well.

She had to see what kind of goodies that ungrateful girl had brought to the school this time.

Having been notified in advance by Shen Mingzhu, the school was already waiting at the school gate to greet her.

As soon as Shen Mingzhu’s car stopped, the principal, followed by several teachers, surrounded her.

Everyone had beaming smiles, looking at Shen Mingzhu with eyes as warm as if they were welcoming the god of wealth.

"President Shen, welcome, welcome!"

Shen Mingzhu shook hands with the principal and teachers, then introduced Huang Ju’s role and explained that Huang Ju would represent her in making donations to the school in the future.

Upon hearing this, the principal and teachers immediately turned their enthusiastic attention towards Huang Ju.

Shen Mingzhu hadn’t informed Huang Ju about this beforehand.

Taken aback and flattered, Huang Ju’s face turned redder than a hot chili. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she stuttered as she asked the teachers to help move the things from the car.

This performance was barely satisfactory in Shen Mingzhu’s eyes.

"Principal Xu, I have something else to take care of, so I won’t be coming in. There are a total of 450 sets of stationery here. You can deal with the extra thirty sets, either give them to students from difficult backgrounds or use them as rewards for exams."

Having said that, she turned to Huang Ju and instructed, "You help Principal Xu distribute the stationery. Make sure it gets into every student’s hands—no one should be left out."

With those words, Shen Mingzhu was instructing Huang Ju, but also reminding the school—

The supplies she brought were for the students and not to be misappropriated for any other purpose.

Principal Xu clearly caught her hint and repeatedly assured her.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t bother with further niceties. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she said goodbye and got back into her car.

As she was turning the car around after only a few steps, she ran right into Qin Jinlian, who was huffing and puffing her way to the school.

Shen Mingzhu stopped the car and stuck her head out the window to look at her daughter-in-law and granddaughter. "Didn’t I tell you to wait at the entrance of the town government?"

Qin Jinlian leaned over to look into the back seat, seeing it empty, a look of "just as I suspected" disappointment appeared on her face.

"What did you give to the school this time?"

"Get in the car."

Qin Jinlian opened the door, held Erya as she sat down, and repeated the question.

Seeing that Shen Mingzhu ignored her, Qin Jinlian’s lips moved, but in the end, she swallowed the rebuke she had intended to utter.

She didn’t dare to provoke Shen Mingzhu now, for fear that Shen Mingzhu would back out of helping her open a bun shop.

Thinking of the bun shop, Qin Jinlian’s mood brightened again, "Your dad and I found a spot for the shop. It’s at the entrance of the south street market. It’s the busiest place there, and we’ll surely make good money."

Shen Mingzhu drove while glancing at her little niece through the rearview mirror.

"Has Erya’s face always been this red?"

Qin Jinlian looked down at her granddaughter and responded, "It’s good that it’s red. It means she has plenty of vitality."

A healthy blush was indeed a sign of good health, but Erya’s face was now abnormally red.

Shen Mingzhu suspected it was lung heat—Guoguo had also experienced the same a while ago.

Lung heat wasn’t a serious illness, but if left unattended, it could lead to symptoms like phlegm, cough, and fever.

As she was contemplating this, she heard Erya cough twice with a "cough cough," her cheeks becoming even redder from the coughing.

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