The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 601 - 600: Ways to Save Money

Chapter 601: Chapter 600: Ways to Save Money

Shanghai City.

Shen Mingzhu propped her chin in her hands, gazing out of the window at the brilliant night scene, enraptured, when Pei Yang walked in from outside and sat down opposite her, looking out the window following her gaze.

"If you hate to leave, we can stay a couple more days so you can get enough of it," he said.

Shen Mingzhu glanced at him, "Have Guoguo and the others gone to bed?"

"Mhm, it’s almost eleven," Pei Yang tapped his watch, asking her with a smile, "Don’t you feel like sleeping?"

Shen Mingzhu straightened up, opened the notebook on the coffee table, and passed it to him.

It contained a detailed list of the costs to set up a freeze-dried production workshop, totaling just over a million.

Pei Yang looked at the summarized amount teasingly, "You were being modest when you said you barely had five hundred thousand left?"

Shen Mingzhu crossed her arms, propped her chin, and looked at him, "What do you think?"

Pei Yang closed the notebook and patted its surface twice with his large hand, his gaze warm and smiling.

"You tell me how you want to do it, and I’ll listen," he said.

"A loan."

Although they each had their own careers and had agreed not to interfere with each other, they hadn’t signed a marital property independence agreement, so wealth and debt were shared by the couple.

She needed his support to take out a loan to set up a new workshop.

"What if I disagree?" he asked.

"What’s your reason for opposing?" she asked.

"I didn’t say I was against it."

"Then that means you agree, good, that’s settled then. I’m going to take a shower."

Pei Yang reached out to hold her back, pulling her down to sit on his lap, his arms wrapped around her waist, his expression uncommonly serious.

"I don’t oppose you, it’s just that we just invested in the Chinese Character Paging System, your factory is about to upgrade the potato chip production line, and at the same time you want to establish a new product workshop. Are you perhaps taking steps too large?"

Shen Mingzhu stared at him for two seconds and nodded, "Then I’ll think about it some more."

As soon as she finished speaking, she tried to get up, but his arms, like iron pincers, were firmly clasped around her waist, preventing her from moving.

"Let go of me."

"Are you angry?"

Both spoke almost simultaneously.

"No, I admit your concerns are reasonable."

Pei Yang pinched her cheek with a laugh, "I haven’t even finished speaking, and you’re in a rush to get angry, aren’t you being silly?"

Shen Mingzhu swatted his hand away irritably, "If you’ve got more crap to say, then let it out quickly."

Seeing that she was really angry, Pei Yang turned serious, "The staff at the general equipment factory said it themselves, this freeze-dry equipment is the first of its kind in the country. One downside of being at the forefront of the industry is that there might be technological flaws and shortcomings, and new iterations could come out anytime. Are you sure it’s not a loss to bet all your wealth on such an imperfect production line?"

Hearing his words, Shen Mingzhu slowly began to cool her head.

But the development of freeze-dried food had long been in her plans, and she felt quite unwilling to give it up just like that.

"Actually, there is another way more cost-effective."

"What’s that?"

"We can rent their freeze-drying equipment, pay an annual rent, wait for them to release a new model, return the old equipment and exchange it for the newest, thus greatly reducing cost investment and not having to worry about production becoming obsolete. You could also get them to make specific adjustments and upgrades to the equipment based on how you use it."

Shen Mingzhu had to admit, the man’s suggestion opened up new perspectives for her.

"Still angry?"

Shen Mingzhu glared at him, under the lamp light, her beautiful eyes shimmered like ripples on water.

"Consider yourself even," she conceded.

"Thank you, my gracious wife, for your mercy," he said playfully.

"Save the formalities, little Yang," she retorted.

```

"Do you need me to assist you with washing up, sir?"

"It depends on how you perform~"

...

Following the strategy provided by Pei Yang, Shen Mingzhu negotiated the rental terms with Universal Equipment Factory without much effort.

They agreed on an annual rent of 200,000 Yuan for the complete set of freeze-drying equipment.

Usually, a production line has a lifespan of at least ten years, and up to twenty years.

Paying 200,000 Yuan a year, in five years Shen Mingzhu could buy the entire production line, which seemed to be a very bad deal.

However, freeze-dry technology was just starting to take off in China, with continuous improvements expected over the next few years.

Spending one million to purchase the production line might seem economical, but if there were innovations and breakthroughs in freeze-drying technology within two years, she would find herself in a disadvantageous and awkward position.

Continuing to use old equipment, unable to keep up with technology, would certainly compromise the competitiveness of the products.

If she switched to new equipment, she would have to sell the old equipment at a loss and then invest a significant sum to adopt the new equipment, losing both the lady and the soldiers.

After finalizing the details of the cooperation, Shen Mingzhu returned to Fengcheng cheerfully with the whole family.

When they were still some distance from home, she saw a noisy crowd gathered outside the gate, and her first thought was that the house had been burglarized again?

Only after getting out of the car did she recognize that these people were from Shenjiagou.

"Mingzhu, you’re finally back!"

Upon seeing Shen Mingzhu, the villagers hurriedly surrounded her.

Instinctively protecting her two children, Pei Yang kept her behind him.

"Don’t push, everyone, let’s talk this out calmly."

Guided by Pei Yang, everyone voiced their demands, which turned out to be requests to borrow money from Shen Mingzhu!

In order to cause trouble for Shen Mingzhu, Liu Cuihua and her daughter had spread the story of Mingzhu obtaining 500,000 Yuan from Zhou Shuhuan far and wide, exaggerating the claim that Mingzhu had made tens of millions in business over the years.

In the eyes of some narrow-minded and entrenched rural people, you have money that couldn’t be spent in several lifetimes, and if I’m just asking to borrow a little, it’s your fault for not lending it to me.

Knowing that Shen Baolan was the one spreading rumors and stirring up trouble behind the scenes, Shen Mingzhu really wanted to chop off this madwoman’s tongue with a kitchen knife and feed it to the dogs!

Little Demu: Better not, I’m picky about my food.

Though she was angry, Mingzhu maintained her composure and grace on the surface.

She invited these people to a nearby restaurant, ordered two tables of good food and drink, and, once everyone was satisfied, she began to inquire about the reasons they needed to borrow money.

Some needed it to build new houses, some for getting married, and others for medical expenses and medicine for family members.

In short, every family had its difficulties.

Shen Mingzhu expressed her understanding first and offered verbal consolation and encouragement before helping them to make plans.

Borrowing money was easy, but what would they do after that? They couldn’t rely on borrowing money to get by forever, could they?

She advised those growing crops to plant different agricultural products according to the seasons to improve the cost-effectiveness of farming, and to take up temporary jobs in the city during the slower farming periods to increase their income.

For families with surplus labor, she helped to introduce or arrange suitable jobs.

Finding a way to earn money was undoubtedly more inspiring to these people than just borrowing it.

After all, borrowing money only addressed the immediate need and did not fundamentally solve their poverty.

With the issues resolved, everyone left happily.

Before they left, however, Shen Mingzhu had every one of them write a statement of proof and sign it with their fingerprints.

...

By the time she managed to send off the villagers, it was already evening, and Shen Mingzhu returned home exhausted, to find Shen Hongmei waiting for her.

Shen Hongmei brought her some good news.

The verdict on Liang’s mother was out; she had to personally apologize to Shen Hongmei, clear her reputation through a newspaper publication, and was fined two hundred Yuan.

Upon hearing this, Shen Mingzhu expressed her satisfaction and asked for the contact information of the lawyer who had represented Hongmei.

```