The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 627 - 626: Do You Want to Come Back?

Chapter 627: Chapter 626: Do You Want to Come Back?

"Dafa, what do you think I should do now? I don’t know if I’m overthinking it, but I feel like Mingzhu doesn’t want me to go back," Wenping said.

After speaking, Shen Hongmei pretended to eat her egg as if nothing was wrong, yet inside, she was incredibly tense.

If she was going to set up her own business, she absolutely needed the support and assistance of Zhao Dafa.

"So, what do you think? Do you want to go back to work?"

The experienced Zhao Dafa didn’t state his opinion directly but tossed the question back at her instead.

Shen Hongmei feigned distress, "I don’t know, I’m really confused."

"Then just rest for now. Once you’ve thought it through, we can talk about it. Either way, President Shen has already made arrangements at the factory."

Shen Hongmei was about to nod when she heard Zhao Dafa add, "Actually, work is secondary. You and President Shen should really talk things over. She’s not petty. If she’s doing this, she must have her reasons."

Shen Hongmei’s heart skipped, but she responded, "Okay, I’ll do as you say and find time to see her."

"You rest up at home, I’m off to work."

Zhao Dafa finished his breakfast and patted her shoulder reassuringly before heading off to work.

Only after the Cadillac was out of sight did Shen Hongmei turn to go back home, changed her clothes, applied makeup, and drove her newly purchased sports car to the securities company.

On the road, despite the harsh sun, she still opened the convertible top, donned oversized sunglasses, and sped through the streets, drawing envious glances from passersby.

Three days passed in a blink.

After dealing with her immediate tasks, Shen Mingzhu glanced at the mobile phone next to her water bottle and couldn’t help but space out.

Until a hand waved in front of her face a couple of times.

Shen Mingzhu snapped back to reality and saw Pei Wenping standing in front of her desk, "What is it?"

As she placed a folder in front of her, Pei Wenping gently chastised, "What are you daydreaming about? I called you several times."

Shen Mingzhu silently flipped open the folder; it was last month’s payroll.

Pei Wenping’s work competence was beyond doubt. The spreadsheet was clear and concise, easy to understand, but Shen Mingzhu couldn’t focus on a single line.

She closed the file in frustration, "Leave it be, I’ll look at it later."

Pei Wenping watched her for two seconds before closing the office door and pulling up a chair to sit opposite her.

"How long do you plan to keep this standoff with Hongmei? If you want to break the impasse, one of you has to give way."

Shen Mingzhu replied irritably, "I don’t think I did anything wrong in how I handled things. She’s been taking leave to play the stock market and has been out of it at work."

"If she was just a regular employee, I might have turned a blind eye, but she’s the manager of administrative affairs. She’s responsible for the discipline of all the employees, yet she sets the example of neglecting her duties."

"If I let this slide, it’ll set a precedent for everyone else, wouldn’t that be a mess?"

Seeing her quite upset, Pei Wenping stood up to pat her back and soothe her, "Yes, Hongmei is in the wrong, but it’s not severe enough to warrant a suspension. Even if a suspension was necessary, you didn’t need to replace her immediately. You didn’t leave any room for maneuver, did you?"

Shen Mingzhu massaged her forehead, "I was too angry at the time. I wouldn’t have been so angry with anyone else. In the past, she would insist on working even with a cold or fever, and now she’s taking leave to trade stocks!"

"Consider her past excellent performance and let her come back. You’re the boss, and she’s the subordinate. It’s not shameful to show respect for a talented person. Even a prime minister can steer a boat through his stomach; what do you think?"

...

After who knows how long, Shen Mingzhu picked up the mobile phone on her desk and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello?"

"It’s me, are you free tonight? Let’s have dinner together and talk," she said.

There was a two-second silence on the other end, "Sure, let’s go to Jinzhao."

"Okay."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Mingzhu let out a sigh of relief.

Having dealt with the backlog of work that afternoon at the fastest speed, Shen Mingzhu packed her things while calling home to let them know not to wait for her for dinner.

Upon arriving that morning, the waiter led her to the large private room on the third floor.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t pay much attention; the business was always good on this day, and it was common to be seated in the large private room on the third floor when the smaller ones on the second floor were full.

As she pushed open the door to the private room and saw the bustling scene inside, Shen Mingzhu thought she had entered the wrong room and subconsciously wanted to back out, but then—

"Mingzhu!"

Looking towards the source of the voice, if it wasn’t Shen Hongmei, then who else could it be?

Entering the private room, Shen Mingzhu sat down composedly, quickly scanning the people at the table and recognizing all the familiar faces.

There were classmates from junior high school, as well as a few female friends Shen Hongmei had met while self-studying and taking training classes.

"I present to you our esteemed guest of the evening, the illustrious founder of Mei Hao Food Co., President Shen!"

Following Shen Hongmei’s introduction, everyone at the table raised their glasses to toast Shen Mingzhu.

"Sorry, I can’t drink much, so I’ll have to use tea in place of alcohol. Please feel free to drink as you wish."

Hearing that Shen Mingzhu was drinking tea, a voice spoke up, "Indeed, how could we ordinary folks with no money and no power be fit to drink with the great boss herself?"

Shen Mingzhu looked over in surprise, "What are you talking about? I don’t even know you. I don’t know your surname, your given name, what you do for a living, nothing about your family background. How can we talk about being fit or unfit?"

The whole table fell silent.

On the surface, Shen Mingzhu seemed to be explaining, but she was also making a double entendre.

I don’t know any of you well, I can’t even remember your names, why should I drink with you?

Shen Hongmei spoke up to ease the atmosphere, "Actually, we’ve all met before, but you’re an important person with a lot on your mind, so you might not remember."

"Is that so? Then how about everyone introduces themselves first, starting with her."

Shen Mingzhu pointed at the person who had just spoken, "What’s your name, what’s your educational background, what do you do for a living, what skills are you good at?"

Feeling the eyes of the entire table upon her, the person Shen Mingzhu had pointed out sneered, "You’re quite something, aren’t you? Am I one of your employees? You’re throwing your weight around on me now!"

"We all have the fortune of sitting together for a meal, and I truly wanted to make friends with all of you. However, if you are unwilling, then I won’t insist. You all go ahead and eat. I won’t spoil your fun."

Seeing Shen Mingzhu stand up to leave, Shen Hongmei didn’t try to stop her but merely smiled and called out a few times before catching up to Shen Mingzhu.

"Why do you have to be so angry, they didn’t mean any harm."

Shen Mingzhu looked at Shen Hongmei, smiling with an air of nonchalance, "I thought it would just be the two of us tonight."

"You didn’t specify, and I thought the more the merrier, so I intentionally invited them."

Shen Mingzhu looked down at her shoe tips, striving to keep calm and not mix in other emotions.

"Hongmei, do you want to come back to the factory?"

Shen Hongmei laughed self-deprecatingly, "Look at how you’re talking. Wasn’t it you who suspended me? You even arranged Wen Xiaoqin to replace me. Mingzhu, you’ve had all this figured out for a long time, haven’t you? Do you truly hope I would return?"

Shen Mingzhu stared at her steadily, "Okay, I’ll ask again. Do you want to come back?"

Whether to return or not was up to Shen Mingzhu.

Whether she wanted to return or not was up to Shen Hongmei.

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