The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 606 - 605: Shen Baolan Becomes a Nanny for a Dog

Chapter 606: Chapter 605: Shen Baolan Becomes a Nanny for a Dog

Zhou Shuhuan, although he gained mastery over the assembly technology for gaming consoles through his own talent and abilities, knew that technology alone was far from enough to run a large electronic factory.

The learning machines and gaming consoles outsourced by the electronic factory heavily relied on essential electronic components such as circuit boards and decoders, and Zhou Shuhuan couldn’t manufacture these himself—he depended entirely on external suppliers.

In other words, it was because he had a supply chain for these electronic components that several major clients were willing to contract with him for manufacturing.

Now, with the supply of circuit boards cut off, it was as if a restaurant had run out of food ingredients—what was the point of production then?

Even worse, the situation was more serious than that.

The electronic factory had signed supply contracts with customers. If production stopped and goods were not delivered on time, the vast sums in financial penalties could force him to jump off a building!

And all of this was caused by Shen Baolan’s own doing, how could Zhou Shuhuan not be furious?

He truly wished he could kill Shen Baolan, the troublemaker!

Thinking this, he lifted his foot to kick Shen Baolan again.

"I was wrong, stop hitting me, woo hoo hoo..."

Zhou Shuhuan, tired from hitting, pushed Shen Baolan away with his foot and slumped onto the sofa to catch his breath, his red eyes glaring at Shen Baolan as if he wanted to devour her.

Shen Baolan was both scared and puzzled, not understanding what exactly she had done wrong.

"Shuhuan, what the hell happened?"

She had just finished asking when Zhou Shuhuan picked up a teacup from beside him and hurled it at her.

Shen Baolan couldn’t dodge in time and her forehead swelled up from the impact.

She scrambled and rolled, taking cover behind an armchair before daring to cry out.

"You used tactics to drive Qiao Ya away, feeling pretty good about your abilities, huh? Do you realize that Qiao Ya’s uncle is the vice-president of Huayuan, and the moment she left this afternoon, Huayuan announced they’re terminating our partnership, no more circuit boards for the electronic factory. You wretch, what exactly did you come to Fucheng for, can’t you bear to see me succeed, trying to bring down the electronic factory, is that it?"

Shen Baolan was stunned.

She had never dreamed that a mere secretary could be so influential.

"Shuhuan, I was wrong, I was temporarily bewitched. Let’s go bring Qiao Ya back, that should solve everything, right?"

"You make it sound so easy!"

Beating and scolding could not solve the problem, so Zhou Shuhuan had no choice but to bring Shen Baolan to make a doorstep apology.

They first went to the Qiao family’s home, but Qiao Ya wasn’t there, having gone to the Lou Family’s.

Qiao Ya’s aunt was Qiao Limei, whose husband’s surname was Lou.

The couple then rushed to the Lou Family’s home.

The Lou Family had just finished dinner. When they learned that Zhou Shuhuan had brought Shen Baolan for a visit, Qiao Limei instructed the maid to send them away without showing her face.

"What do we do now?"

"Wait!"

Zhou Shuhuan replied coldly and turned away to smoke.

Shen Baolan, looking at the firmly closed gate of the Lou Family, regretted so much she wanted to slap herself.

She would rather be beaten by Zhou Shuhuan every day than see the electronic factory close and her dream of being a wealthy wife shattered.

The clock ticked away, and before long it was ten o’clock.

"Madam, they are still waiting at the gate," said the maid.

Qiao Limei, caressing the Persian cat in her arms, sneered lightly, "Never mind them. If they like watching the gate so much, let them watch."

The maid nodded and left.

Soon, an Alaskan dog ran over to Qiao Limei, wagging its large tail and letting out a whimpering sound.

Qiao Limei liked cats but not dogs, particularly large breeds, finding them unpleasantly smelly.

However, her husband Lou Yunlong had a particular fondness for dogs and even kept several.

Qiao Limei, somewhat annoyed, turned her head and ordered the maid, "Aunt Ding, take Meixi out to poop."

Lou Yunlong still loved watching soccer, and he named his dogs after his favorite players.

Qiao Ya suddenly spoke up, "Auntie, let them come in."

Hearing Qiao Ya say this, Qiao Limei looked at her askance, "Can’t you have a bit of a temper? You’re going soft already?"

Qiao Ya cracked a sly smile, "Aren’t you short-staffed? Shen Baolan is from the countryside, and I won’t speak of anything else, but she’s definitely good at working."

...

"Madam invites you in."

At the news, Zhou Shuhuan and Shen Baolan both followed the maid into the Lou Family’s house, their faces lighting up with joy.

"Xiaoqiao, I spoke harshly this afternoon; don’t take it to heart. You should go back to the factory and continue work tomorrow; the electronics factory can’t do without you."

Shen Baolan knew how to humble herself as needed, and as soon as she entered, she lowered her stance to apologize to Qiao Ya.

"Forget it, I’m someone who can’t even keep documents safe; you couldn’t possibly trust me with work."

"It’s all a misunderstanding; we’ve found those documents!"

Qiao Ya’s smile seemed mocking, "Sister Lan really is capable. I, the person involved, couldn’t find them, but you found them as soon as you looked."

Shen Baolan heard Qiao Ya’s insinuation that she was up to no good, but didn’t take the bait, instead keeping up her silly act to apologize, urging Qiao Ya to return to work at the electronics factory, and even promised to increase her salary by fifty yuan.

Given Fucheng’s economic level, fifty yuan wasn’t a lot, but it was still a painful pinch for Shen Baolan.

But there was no other way; if they didn’t get Qiao Ya to come back, the electronics factory would be done for.

Shen Baolan’s lips were dry from pleading, when Qiao Limei finally spoke lazily, "Xiao Ya has already agreed to stay here and help me with work. If you take her away, who will do the work at my house?"

Shen Baolan was puzzled, "Don’t you have a maid?"

"Aunt Ding has her own work, and Xiao Ya has her own things to do."

Shen Baolan said with a conciliatory smile, "Then just hire another maid."

Qiao Limei looked her up and down, "I think you’re quite suitable. Why don’t you do it?"

Shen Baolan was taken aback, "I can’t, I’m not cut out for this."

She was, after all, the owner of the electronics factory and aspired to be a wealthy lady; she certainly wasn’t about to be someone’s maid.

To her surprise, Zhou Shuhuan by her side promptly agreed, "Alright, we’ll do as Mrs. Qiao says."

"Mrs. Zhou, please follow me."

Shen Baolan, addressed as Mrs. Zhou by the maid, was so delighted that she followed giddily without even asking what she was supposed to do.

"Scoop up dog poop?"

Staring at the large, steaming pile of dog feces in front of her, Shen Baolan nearly retched from the stench.

The large dog’s odor was not only strong, but the feces it produced were also extremely foul-smelling.

The maid thrust the shovel and bucket into her hands and ordered gruffly, "Scoop the dog poop into the bucket and carry it out to the public toilet to dump it."

"If you’re asking for help, you’ve got to show the right attitude. If you can’t even deal with this little hardship, you might as well go home and rest."

Faced with the choice between the electronics factory closing down and scooping up dog poop, Shen Baolan chose the latter.

My dear mother, what on earth did this dog eat, for its poop to smell so foul.

Gag!

Holding back her revulsion, Shen Baolan completed her task and hurried back to the Lou Family home, running straight to Qiao Limei, "Mrs. Qiao, I’ve finished."

"Not bad, you work quite efficiently."

At Qiao Limei’s compliment, Shen Baolan immediately felt elated, thinking the situation was finally smoothed over, only to hear Qiao Limei say:

"From now on, you’ll come over to work at the house. Every day at 8 in the morning, 3 in the afternoon, and 9 in the evening, your job will be to cook for the dogs, bathe them, take them out for walks, attend to their needs, and after that, you can go home to rest."