The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 590 - 589: How Much Money Was Actually Made

Chapter 590: Chapter 589: How Much Money Was Actually Made

"Honey, did you forget that we invested forty thousand in Shuhuan’s electronics factory before?"

Reminded by Pei Yang like this, Shen Mingzhu indeed recalled the matter and seemed to understand why the man was so excited.

"Shuhuan’s electronics factory made money?"

"Yes!"

Shen Mingzhu also grew curious. "How much did they earn?"

"I’ll tell you quietly, not letting them (the readers) know."

With that, Pei Yang leaned over to her ear and whispered a figure.

...

"Mom, hurry up."

"Coming!"

Hearing her son urging her, Pei Wenping picked up her purse and hurried out of the room.

"You didn’t bring your scarf; it’s cold outside."

When Chen Yi reminded her, Pei Wenping looked down at her bare chest, turned around to get it from her room, but Chen Yi stopped her, magically draping a scarf around her neck and considerately adjusting it for her.

"I can do it myself."

Pei Wenping instinctively refused, but Chen Yi wouldn’t let go, insisting on arranging the scarf properly and tying a knot.

In front of the two children, Pei Wenping refrained from reacting.

The couple had not disclosed the divorce in front of the children.

Taking advantage of this, Chen Yi shamelessly moved in with the children after returning to Fengcheng.

The children slept in the secondary bedroom, each in a single bed, with a curtain pulled between them, granting some privacy.

Chen Yi himself slept on a makeshift bed in the master bedroom.

"Done."

Pei Wenping gave him a stern look and, grabbing her purse, led the two children out the door.

Chen Yi followed behind the mother and sons, looking pleased with himself.

Going out, they encountered many people from the residential compound.

In front of the family of four, they exchanged smiles and greetings, but as soon as they turned away they gossiped if the couple had reconciled or not.

...

After dinner, while Ma Sufen and her husband kept Zhou Shuhuan occupied with conversation, Shen Baolan entered the bedroom and quietly began searching through Zhou Shuhuan’s luggage.

She needed to know how much money Shuhuan had made.

After rummaging through several bags and finding nothing, the only thing left was a black leather trolley case.

In that era, trolley cases were rarities, seldom even seen, and Shen Baolan couldn’t figure out how to open it after studying it for a while.

As she was pacing around the trolley case, Zhou Shuhuan walked in.

"Baolan, what are you doing?"

Seeing her bags turned upside down, Shen Baolan forced a smile. "Well, I’m doing laundry this afternoon. I wanted to see if you had any dirty clothes so I could wash them together."

Zhou Shuhuan didn’t expose her, took out a key and unlocked the trolley case, pulling out a square-shaped leather bag from inside.

As he opened the leather bag and revealed stacks of brightly colored banknotes, Shen Baolan’s breathing became rapid.

Zhou Shuhuan gave her a stack and said, "Here, take this money. We agreed before that once I achieved success, I would repay you double."

This stack was ten thousand, twenty times what Shen Baolan originally gave him.

Zhou Shuhuan believed he had fulfilled his promise to Shen Baolan.

But what Shen Baolan wanted was to become a wealthy lady, to live the life of the upper crust.

This ten thousand is just the beginning; her good days are still ahead of her.

Shen Baolan happily covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud.

Zhou Shuhuan picked up the rest of the money, ready to go and give it to his parents.

Shen Baolan quickly stopped him, "Shuhuan, tell me honestly, how much money did you make out there?"

Zhou Shuhuan didn’t answer her question but simply said, "Get yourself ready, we’re going to Pei Yang’s house to pay an early New Year’s visit tomorrow."

Shen Baolan nodded her head eagerly.

It was indeed time to visit Shen Mingzhu’s house, to let Shen Mingzhu know that her man had made it!

For years, she had been so oppressed by Shen Mingzhu that she had barely been able to breathe; now it was her turn to hold her head high and make Shen Mingzhu green with envy!

The next day before dawn, Shen Baolan got out of bed and fixed herself up from head to toe; she even went to the hair salon to blow-dry a trendy hairstyle, then marched to the Pei Family’s home in high spirits by Zhou Shuhuan’s side.

...

Although she didn’t care for Shen Baolan, out of respect for Zhou Shuhuan, the "wealthy man", Shen Mingzhu still warmly offered hot tea and melon seeds and pastries.

Since it was at home, Shen Mingzhu dressed casually, a pea-green knit sweater paired with a plaid straight skirt; her black hair was casually tied at the back of her head with a silk scarf, and her plain face did not diminish her beauty one bit.

Her delicate features, complemented by her fair, creamy skin, were as beautiful as a painting of a classical beauty.

In comparison, Shen Baolan’s painstaking outfit seemed overdone and tasteless.

Despite being nearly the same age, Shen Mingzhu looked like a young woman in her early twenties, while Shen Baolan appeared to be a woman in her thirties.

Shen Baolan felt a sourness in her heart, and couldn’t help but jab Shen Mingzhu: "I heard your place was burgled a few days ago, you lost quite a bit, didn’t you?"

Being pretty doesn’t fill the stomach. Having lost so much money, you surely can’t even eat properly, can you?

Shen Mingzhu replied indifferently, "There were some losses, but as for money, what comes must go."

Isn’t that so, you’ve come all this way to bring me money?

Unfortunately, Shen Baolan failed to catch the implicit meaning in Shen Mingzhu’s words, thinking Shen Mingzhu was just putting on a brave face; feeling schadenfreude, she did not notice the absent-mindedness of her own man.

Zhou Shuhuan also didn’t want to keep looking at Shen Mingzhu; it wasn’t right.

But with Shen Mingzhu sitting next to Pei Yang, when he talked to Pei Yang, his peripheral vision inevitably swept over Shen Mingzhu.

After all these years, she was still so young and beautiful, even more dignified and elegant.

Shen Mingzhu’s finesse and excellence constantly reminded him of his own foolishness and short-sightedness back in the day, leaving him with an inexplicable sense of loss and gloom.

"Shuhuan, it’s a rare occasion for you to come back; how long are you planning to stay this time?"

Hearing Pei Yang ask, Zhou Shuhuan tried hard to keep his eyes from drifting to Shen Mingzhu, "I’ll be leaving after the third day of the New Year; the factory orders are pressing, and production needs to start early."

Shen Baolan said to Shen Mingzhu with not a small amount of pride, "You might not know this but Shuhuan has opened an electronics factory, making those learning and game machines that sell so well. The business is incredibly good, the money we earn from selling one unit is as much as you would make from selling several hundred kilos of spicy tofu strips."

"That’s pretty good."

Shen Mingzhu praised sincerely.

They also owned 20% of the electronics factory, so for every dollar Zhou Shuhuan made, she would get a twenty-cent share.

At this time, Shen Baolan was unaware of this, and mistook Shen Mingzhu’s compliments for envy and jealousy, thus she boasted even more about how capable Zhou Shuhuan was and how high the profits of the electronics factory were, speaking so excitedly that her voice alone filled the room, while Fugui tilted his dog head, appearing to be mightily impressed yet confused.

Shen Mingzhu patiently played the listener, occasionally providing Shen Baolan with more tea and water.

For some reason, Zhou Shuhuan didn’t even stop her.

Or rather, he wanted Shen Baolan to be his mouthpiece, to show Shen Mingzhu his capabilities and potential, to let Shen Mingzhu know that he was no worse than Pei Yang.

Although, this was futile.

Finally, when Shen Baolan grew tired of talking, Zhou Shuhuan then spoke up, "Pei Yang, about your share of the money, should I directly transfer it to your account, or how should I give it to you?"

He could have given the money directly to Pei Yang, but he deliberately wanted to do it in front of Shen Mingzhu.

And the oblivious Shen Baolan was utterly baffled, "What money?"