The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 634 - 633 Outsmarting Oneself by Laying Hidden Dangers

Chapter 634: Chapter 633 Outsmarting Oneself by Laying Hidden Dangers

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"Sigh."

At lunch, after hearing Zhao Yun sigh for the umpteenth time, Pei Ziheng’s good appetite was completely spoiled. Annoyed, he said, "Did Ren Jingshu dump you or something?"

"Pah, don’t jinx me. We’re still together," retorted Zhao Yun, biting his words.

Pei Ziheng said, "If you have something to say, just spit it out."

Zhao Yun poked at the rice in his bowl with his chopsticks, hesitating, "Ziheng, last night, Aunt Hongmei said something to me..."

He felt in his heart that this was something he shouldn’t share, as it could affect the relationship between the two families, but he was so choked up with it, he couldn’t find relief without speaking out.

"Ziheng, did Aunt Hongmei have a falling out with your mom? Are they not going to be sisters anymore?"

A flicker of sarcastic amusement crossed Pei Ziheng’s eyes, "Do you believe her or me?"

"What a question, of course, I believe you. We’re brothers through thick and thin."

"Then you should pay less attention to what she says."

Zhao Yun nodded, his face showing a gossip-hungry expression, "Is it because Aunt Hongmei left the food factory to go solo and your mom isn’t happy about it?"

"That’s bullshit! Is my mom that narrow-minded?" Pei Ziheng was indignant.

Zhao Yun shook his head like a rattle-drum, but inwardly he thought: ’Who can fathom the depths of a woman’s heart? How would I know how deep or shallow Shen Mingzhu’s thoughts are?’

Forget it, the world of adults is too complicated, and I’m still a baby. Why bother with so much?

Once he let go of his worries, Zhao Yun felt much lighter, and his appetite improved.

Wolfing down his meal, he brought up the challenge that Pei Ziheng was facing with Gong Rong.

"Summer vacation is just around the corner, are you really planning to fight Gong? I heard he’s been training extra hard lately, punching up to three hundred kilograms at his peak. With your small frame, won’t he send you flying?"

During this period of training, Pei Ziheng’s stamina, weight, and strength had all significantly improved, but he was still no match for the robust and powerful Gong Rong.

Pei Ziheng was noncommittal, "Want to bet on it?"

Zhao Yun blurted out, "I bet on you winning!"

"Are you sure?"

Facing Pei Ziheng’s half-smiling, somber eyes, Zhao Yun was uncertain again, "You wouldn’t lose on purpose just to make me lose the bet, would you?"

"What do you think?"

Zhao Yun: "..."

He didn’t want to guess.

Pei Ziheng’s mind was darker and more intricate than honeycomb briquettes, ten of him put together wouldn’t be able to outplay him, so he chose to join in.

"By the way, keep your afternoon free on Saturday."

"For what?"

Zhao Yun, with the bashful face of a macho guy, said, "Jingshu wants to treat us to McDonald’s; remember to bring Guoguo along."

Pei Tang was skeptical about Ren Jingshu’s offer to treat them to McDonald’s.

After all, the Ren Jingshu she knew was aloof and not easy to get along with. It felt like a condescension just to sit at the same table with them, and now she was taking the initiative to invite them for McDonald’s?

"It’s to thank us for the last time we went to cheer for her competition."

Those were Zhao Yun’s exact words, and Pei Ziheng repeated them verbatim.

"But last time Brother Hei Xiong specially arranged a victory celebration for her, and she didn’t show up!"

Pei Ziheng teased her, "If you don’t want to go, I’ll decline."

"Um... for the sake of Brother Hei Xiong, let’s go," she said.

Probably the allure of McDonald’s was stronger.

Pei Ziheng chuckled lightly, not exposing his younger sister’s desire for a treat, and instead went to brief Shen Mingzhu about the plan.

Shen Mingzhu was initially set to make ice cream for her daughter on Saturday, but when she heard about her children’s plans, she moved it to Sunday.

...

Two days flew by, and Fang Zheng’s stock reopened and had been plummeting ever since, falling more than 10% in three days.

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Stock investors who had been watching nervously could no longer sit still and began to liquidate their stocks en masse.

Shen Hongmei’s stocks had been listed for three days without a single one selling. Seeing the situation deteriorating, she had no choice but to list them below market value, but still, they wouldn’t sell.

When she lowered her price, others did too; there was always someone listing at an even lower price.

What had been stocks worth 1.4 million had shrunk to just over a million in just a few days—and that wasn’t even the worst of it.

The next day was the final deadline for her to pay the 300,000 yuan rent. If she couldn’t fulfill the payment, not only would she lose the shop she had set her sights on, but the 20,000 yuan deposit she’d already paid would also be lost.

Shen Hongmei was frantic and couldn’t help but regret her earlier refusal of Zhao Dafa’s financial support.

But she had already made her declaration; now, asking Zhao Dafa for money would undoubtedly be like slapping her own face.

At this moment, she still harbored illusions about the stock market.

She fantasized that Fang Zheng’s stocks would soar and that her own stocks could be sold off smoothly.

Then she thought of Shen Mingzhu.

Initially, Shen Mingzhu had started her factory with not a penny to her name, just a loan from the bank. Hongmei’s starting point now was much higher than Mingzhu’s back then—with connections, background, and brains, there was no reason she couldn’t get her company off the ground.

After asking everyone she knew and working until dark, Shen Hongmei had managed to scrape together 150,000 yuan.

Although it was still half short of the 300,000 yuan rent, Hongmei was quite satisfied.

The next day, she went to meet the landlord with the money, proposing to pay half a year’s rent upfront and promising to pay the remainder within a month.

The landlord agreed readily.

Having done her background check, the landlord knew Hongmei’s husband was wealthy and that she owned a sports car worth several hundred thousand yuan, so there was no concern about her ability to pay the rent.

After successfully signing the contract, Shen Hongmei felt a huge sense of relief.

However, she could never have dreamed that her cleverness and arrogance would bring such enormous trouble.

...

Weekend came in the blink of an eye.

After training at the boxing gym, Pei Ziheng showered and washed his hair in the gym’s bathhouse. Dressed in clean clothes, he then led Pei Tang to McDonald’s.

By the time the siblings arrived, Zhao Yun and Ren Jingshu were already there. The long table, made by pushing two dining tables together, was piled with hamburgers, chicken wings, fries, fried chicken, cola, and more.

It almost made Pei Tang’s mouth water, "Wow, so much delicious food!"

Though she was extremely eager to eat, Pei Tang didn’t forget her manners, "Jingshu, thank you for buying us all this delicious food."

Zhao Yun affectionately flicked her forehead, "What are you thinking? It’s not just for you."

Pei Tang covered her head, her eyes blinking cutely, "Are there others coming, too?"

"Mhm, Houzi and Lao Niu will be joining us."

Hearing this, Pei Tang couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed.

It wasn’t that she minded sharing the food with others; it was the waiting that was bothersome. She was so eager to eat that she wanted to stuff a big piece into her mouth right away and fill it to the brim.

"Here, have a cookie to tide you over."

Looking at the cookie Jingshu offered, Pei Tang was pleasantly surprised.

Just the other day, Jingshu had been indifferent to her, but now she was offering her cookies.

In view of the cookies, she reluctantly agreed to accept Jingshu as her sister-in-law Hei Xiong.

"Thank you, Jingshu!"

Pei Tang happily reached out to take it, but Pei Ziheng grabbed it first.

"You promised Mom you wouldn’t sneak sweets after going out."

"Brother, you’re the best~"

The sister, prettier than a doll, clung to his arm and cooed sweetly. Her big, grape-like eyes fluttered, enough to melt anyone’s heart.

Zhao Yun was the first to give in, "A couple of cookies won’t have much sugar; just let her have them."

Pei Ziheng frowned slightly, uncharacteristically conflicted.

Mom had forbidden his sister from eating sugar, but she had such a sweet tooth.

It was then that Ren Jingshu spoke up—