The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 555 - 554: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Chapter 555: Chapter 554: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

"I asked around, and a couple of years ago, Xueqi gave a bag to Shen Mingzhu. Shen Mingzhu, the talented woman she is, sold it right away and used the money to buy a house, claiming the house had potential to appreciate in value."

Having said that, Ning Wan chuckled to himself.

Yan Yi looked at him. "Is it that amusing? Was she wrong? Didn’t the property she bought increase in value?"

Ning Yuan couldn’t help but lose his smile after being bombarded with these rhetorical questions.

They then talked about the hundred-day celebration happening next month. "You say she’s smart, but then she does such foolish things. There are so many people on the outside who would beg for a chance to attend a banquet at the Ning family, and here she is turning it down for the sake of a rural school’s anniversary, missing the party altogether."

Yan Yi stood by the window, from where he could see the road leading down the mountain.

"That’s just her nature. If she were a person driven by self-interest, she wouldn’t be who she is now."

That was true.

After leaving Mingyuan, Shen Mingzhu went straight to the stock exchange and transferred the one million given by Zhuang Xueqi into a personal account she had specially set up.

Yes, Zhuang Xueqi had given her a whole million this time.

With the additional three hundred thousand from before, the total was over one million three hundred thousand. Even if the annual investment return was only 10%, she would still earn a commission of more than twenty thousand.

And if there were losses, she wouldn’t have to pay out of her pocket.

She had already decided to pull her money out of gold futures and with this sum, divide it into three parts: one for rubber, one for oil, and the rest for purchasing shops.

If the economic trajectory she was familiar with held true, rubber prices would soar to historic highs next year. Moreover, due to the outbreak of an oil crisis, global oil prices would skyrocket.

Investing in rubber and oil would surely yield a profit, but to avoid disrupting the market economy, she dared not purchase too much.

After completing these transactions, she returned to the factory.

Once in her office, Shen Mingzhu closed the door behind her and took out the box from the paper bag.

Opening the lid, the rich fragrance of fine leather enveloped her.

Shen Mingzhu inhaled deeply, almost unconsciously.

Though she was prepared, the sight of the bag still filled Shen Mingzhu with irrepressible joy.

The Ma Family’s classic Birkin bag, 30cm petit size, custom-made crocodile leather, lemon yellow—perfect for her age and style.

The happiness a fine designer bag brings is truly endless.

Shen Mingzhu placed the bag in a corner of her office desk, and whenever she felt tired, just a glance would rejuvenate her spirits.

"President Shen, you got a new bag, huh? It’s really pretty."

Shen Hongmei was the first one to enter the office and instinctively reached out to pick up the bag from the corner of the desk.

"Don’t touch it carelessly."

"Huh?"

Meeting Shen Hongmei’s puzzled gaze, Shen Mingzhu said leisurely, "If you damage it, I’d have to sell you to cover the cost."

Shen Hongmei thought Shen Mingzhu was joking. While picking up the bag, she laughed, "Sure, if I damage it, you can take me as compensation."

Shen Hongmei slung the bag on her arm, admiring herself in it, "Is this bag expensive? If it’s suitable, I might buy one too."

Shen Mingzhu replied, "Put the bag down first, then I’ll tell you."

"President Shen, why have you become so stingy? This bag isn’t made of tofu; it won’t break just because I touched it."

Shen Hongmei chuckled and placed the bag back at the corner of the desk.

"I’m afraid you’ll drop the bag from shock when you hear the price."

"Is it that expensive?"

Shen Mingzhu held up a finger. "This much."

"A thousand?"

Shen Mingzhu shook her head.

"Ten thousand??" Shen Hongmei was astounded.

Shen Mingzhu nodded. "In US dollars."

Shen Hongmei stared dumbfounded at the leather bag on the desk as if it were a monster.

A bag just a bit bigger than a palm, not even made of gold, could be worth more than a house?

"You just need to know about this, don’t tell anyone else."

Shen Hongmei nodded frantically.

She feared that nobody would believe her if she said anything, and they would think she was just bragging.

On her way home from work, Shen Mingzhu stopped by the glass factory to order a lockable tempered glass display cabinet, planning to put it in her bedroom to showcase her first "Xiaoma".

In the blink of an eye, the day of Anping Town Middle School’s thirtieth anniversary performance arrived.

The school put on quite a show, with long banners hung over the school gate and a handful of teachers leading thirty to forty students, holding wreaths of colored paper, lined up on either side of the gate to welcome visitors.

Looking at those young and vibrant smiling faces, Shen Mingzhu felt as though she had returned to her own schooldays.

It was both familiar and nostalgic.

When she arrived at the sports field, her seat was arranged in the first row of the guest area.

On her seat, the back of the chair had "Female Entrepreneur Shen Mingzhu" written in red paper with black calligraphy.

A rush of indescribable emotions welled up inside Shen Mingzhu.

At that moment, she seemed to understand the meaning and power behind "With great power comes great responsibility".

The stage was simple, the hosts were awkward, the costumes weren’t uniform, and the performance was rough; it was the worst performance Shen Mingzhu had ever seen.

But she watched very attentively, clapping until her hands turned red.

Because she could see that every student performing had given it their all.

It was their backwardness and isolation that prevented them from delivering a better quality performance.

After the performance, Shen Mingzhu joined the town mayor and county leaders in touring the school.

She also learned from the school management that the dropout rate for eighth and ninth graders was extremely high, especially among girls.

Children in the countryside start school late, around 8 or 9 years old, and by the time they reach eighth or ninth grade, they are 16 and either head home to farm or go out to work to earn money.

By age twenty, they come back to get married, have children, do the laundry, cook, and take care of their in-laws.

Their lives seem to be defined from birth, domesticated to be the family’s tool for acquiring resources, with no room for refusal or resistance.

If factories hadn’t stopped hiring the illiterate, they might not even have the chance to attend elementary school.

As a woman herself, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but feel heavy-hearted and sorrowful in the face of such a phenomenon.

After the visit, she donated a library to the school.

At the same time, she promised to recruit twenty female graduates from the school every year to work in the food factory and the restaurant.

She hoped to help some of the girls complete middle school through this approach.

After discussing the renovation of the old street and the farmers’ market with the mayor, Shen Mingzhu politely declined his invitation for a meal and prepared to drive back to the city.

As she walked out of the town government’s gate, she saw a slender girl standing next to her car.

"Aunt Mingzhu."

Seeing Xu Dani, who had clearly grown taller, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t hide her gratification, like seeing her own row of poplars shoot up.

"Dani, how have you been lately?"

"Mhm."

"Are you here to see me for something?"

Xu Dani shyly handed over her test paper, already damp with sweat from her nervous grip.

"Aunt Mingzhu, I scored 185 on my midterms this time, 90 in language and 95 in math."

Shen Mingzhu was surprised.

Xu Dani had started school late and had a weak foundation. Last year, her total score for both subjects didn’t even reach one hundred.

She had cried in front of Shen Mingzhu, feeling that she had let down her help and expectations.

To think that in less than a year, Xu Dani had improved so much.

"Not bad, that’s fantastic!"

Upon receiving her affirmation, Xu Dani’s cheeks flushed with happiness.

Shen Mingzhu affectionately touched her head, "Are there any difficulties with your studies or life?"

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