The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 636 - 635 Dafa Construction’s Trouble

Chapter 636: Chapter 635 Dafa Construction’s Trouble

When Jingshu looked at him blankly, with deep affection, Zhao Yun’s brain twitched, and he blurted out, "Jingshu, I’ll take responsibility for you!"

Jingshu was puzzled, "Take responsibility for what?"

"Aunt Mingzhu taught me that a real man should not only treat his woman well but also take responsibility for her. I held your hand, and we’ve had physical contact, so I’ll take responsibility!"

Jingshu’s face flushed with two shades of red, and she scolded, annoyed, "You’re crazy."

The more Zhao Yun talked, the more excited he became. "From now on, I’ll give you half of my monthly allowance, which is called sharing the blessings."

Jingshu spat lightly, "I don’t want your money."

Zhao Yun didn’t continue the topic but asked her with concern if she had eaten her fill, whether she was hungry or not.

Jingshu shook her head slightly.

"I also..."

Zhao Yun was about to say he hadn’t eaten his fill either when he heard Jingshu say, "I don’t know."

Don’t you have a feeling whether you have eaten enough?

As Zhao Yun wondered, he heard Jingshu say faintly, "I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be full. Every day, what to eat and how much is all arranged in advance; I just need to put it into my stomach at the right time. As for whether I like it or if I’ve eaten enough, nobody cares."

Listening to her words, Zhao Yun’s heart felt as if it was being tightly squeezed, and his eyes unexpectedly brimmed with moisture.

When Jingshu asked him what was wrong, he didn’t know what to say.

Many years later, when he truly understood love, he realized that feeling was the pain of loving someone.

"Do you have something you want to eat now? I’ll take you."

When Zhao Yun asked, Jingshu looked toward the fruit stall on the opposite side.

Summer was in full swing, and the stall featured watermelons cut into semicircles.

The vibrant green rind and the bright red flesh, overflowing with juice, released a fragrance unique to watermelons, enticing saliva.

"I’d like to eat a watermelon, but I have a cold constitution, so I shouldn’t," she said.

Zhao Yun stared at the watermelon for a few seconds and then had an idea, "I have a solution!"

...

"This is a snack factory opened by Aunt Mingzhu, filled with all kinds of snacks like spicy strips, potato chips, dried tofu, chocolate, candy, dried fruits, and so on. Later I’ll take you to the warehouse for a tour, and you can eat whatever you want."

Jingshu curiously surveyed the snack factory’s environment, but upon hearing Zhao Yun’s words, couldn’t help but say, "This isn’t your factory, you act just like the owner."

"Don’t worry, Ziheng and I are brothers who would risk our lives for each other, and I’ve already informed Aunt Mingzhu, so it’s fine," Zhao Yun reassured.

While talking, Zhao Yun was carrying a large watermelon with one hand and pulling Jingshu with the other, heading straight for the freeze-drying workshop.

After changing into clean work clothes, they entered the production workshop, where Zhao Yun led Jingshu under the guidance of the production leader to learn how to make freeze-dried watermelon.

The production of freeze-dried food mainly included processes like cleaning, processing, freezing, and vacuum drying, and the whole set of procedures would take more than twenty-four hours.

So, after the sliced watermelon was sent into the freezer, Zhao Yun could only take Jingshu and leave first.

"I’ll bring it to you after the day after tomorrow when the finished product is out," he promised.

"Mmm."

Jingshu nodded, and although she didn’t get to eat watermelon today, her mood was very joyful.

Life became extra beautiful because there was something to look forward to.

Noticing that Jingshu was in a good mood, Zhao Yun grew bolder, "Besides watermelon, what else do you like to eat, or what else do you like?"

I’ll buy it and give it to you, Zhao Yun silently added in his mind.

Jingshu shook her head.

Her family’s financial situation wasn’t bad, and she didn’t lack material things; it was just the strict upbringing that had made her suppress her warm and affectionate nature.

She turned her head to look at Zhao Yun, her peach-blossom eyes clear as mountain springs, "Actually, I’m really envious of you."

"Envious of me? Envious of what?"

Zhao Yun was both excited and a bit curious.

"A lot."

She didn’t continue but instead turned to gaze out of the car window, her fair, slender hand reaching out of the window, slightly open, to feel the force of the wind.

Her early romance with Zhao Yun wasn’t because she liked him, but purely out of a desire to rebel against Mother Ren.

On one hand, she used this method to challenge Mother Ren, but on the other hand, she was too timid to let her mother know, and she didn’t dare to talk back to Father Zhao like Zhao Yun did, much less get into a direct fight with him.

In the eyes of parents, Zhao Yun was undoubtedly unfilial, yet she only found it very interesting.

There were also Zhao Yun’s good friends and brothers, whom she envied for living their lives so vividly and unrestrainedly, being able to control their own destinies.

And then there was the adorable Pei Tang, the most likeable and pretty little girl she had ever seen.

Today she also had Pei Tang to thank for helping her slip away under Ren Yingying’s watchful eye; next time they met, she’d have to thank her properly.

She arrived at the doorway to her home.

Ren Jingshu didn’t immediately go inside, but instead patted her face, trying hard to press down the corners of her mouth that were curling upwards, to make herself appear no different from usual.

Tonight the Ren household was very quiet, and the dining table was not set for dinner, suggesting that both Mother Ren and Father Ren were not home for the evening meal.

Ren Jingshu breathed a sigh of relief; after greeting the nanny, she prepared to head back to her own room.

Suddenly, a "bam, bam, bang, bang" noise came from upstairs; it sounded like Ren Yingying was having a tantrum.

Ren Jingshu feigned confusion, "What’s wrong with her again?"

"Ah, she went out this afternoon all happy, but then someone dirtied her dress and she got into a quarrel with them. Apparently, she didn’t win the argument and came back home fuming," the nanny said.

Ren Jingshu calmly responded with an "oh" and, once back in her room, immediately closed the door and covered her mouth to stifle her laughter.

After laughing, she then tiptoed and began to twirl in ballet turns.

The room’s lighting shone on her, casting on the wall a swan-like, graceful and slender silhouette: one circle, two circles, three circles...

Today was such a happy day~

...

"Boss Zhao, this afternoon three more material suppliers came asking to settle their accounts early," reported Ren Yan.

Hearing Ren Yan’s report, Zhao Dafa’s brows furrowed unconsciously.

In the morning, two suppliers had come asking to settle their accounts early, saying they were short on funds and needed cash to revolve.

He had started out in small business himself and could empathize with the challenges of small business owners, so he agreed readily; however, he had not expected another three suppliers would come knocking that afternoon.

He sent Ren Yan to probe around. Some said their loans had matured; others said they lost money in the stock market.

On the surface, these reasons seemed plausible, but having five suppliers asking to settle accounts in a single day was obviously unusual.

Zhao Dafa remained composed. He first instructed the finance department to settle the supplier’s payments, and then ordered Ren Yan to arrange a dinner meeting to chat with the five suppliers that evening.

Just as he finished giving instructions, the manager from the marketing department came to see Zhao Dafa, reporting that the signing that was scheduled with Longchang Real Estate for tomorrow had been postponed.

Longchang Real Estate was one of the top local real estate developers, and Dafa Construction, as the contractor, had been cooperating with Longchang for two years.

The project they were supposed to sign tomorrow had already been negotiated with all terms agreed, just waiting for the signatures and seals.

A hunch prompted Zhao Dafa to sense something ominous, "Did Longchang give any reason for the postponement? To what date has it been moved?"

"They said General Manager Liu had urgent business out of town, the exact date of his return is undetermined; everything must wait for General Manager Liu’s arrangement," came the reply.

A flicker of concern ran through Zhao Dafa’s mind.

To suddenly postpone with such short notice, Longchang was clearly in the wrong. If they still had any sincerity in continuing the cooperation, they would at least send someone to explain and set a new date for the signing.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.