The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 642 - 641: I’m Still Young, I Don’t Get Involved in Adult Matters

Chapter 642: Chapter 641: I’m Still Young, I Don’t Get Involved in Adult Matters

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"This matter isn’t something that can be explained in just a sentence or two, but..."

Aunt Hongmei deliberately hesitated, causing Zhao Yun to naturally take the bait, "Aunt Hongmei, just say whatever it is you have to say."

Aunt Hongmei immediately recounted to him the ins and outs of how Longchang had ceased its cooperation with Dafa Construction.

"...It’s mainly my fault for not handling my relationship with your Aunt Mingzhu properly, which brought trouble to your dad. Aunt Mingzhu is also still mad at me and won’t forgive me. You and Ziheng have grown up together since you were little; can’t you ask him to help our family out? Your Aunt Mingzhu dotes on Ziheng the most; she will definitely listen to him."

Zhao Yun didn’t say a word for a long time.

He hadn’t realized the extent to which his family’s company was in trouble; no wonder his dad scolded him instead of giving him pocket money when he asked for it.

He also hadn’t expected the situation to be connected to an elder he held in high regard.

In his heart, he didn’t harbor a single ounce of blame or resentment toward Shen Mingzhu; he was just at a loss as to how to face everything upon suddenly learning of these troubles.

"Xiaoyun, I’ve already gone to ask your Aunt Mingzhu, but she won’t pay attention to me. I’m really out of options. If things keep going like this, your dad’s company might not survive. Can you help your dad out?"

Zhao Yun bit his lip, agonizing over what to do for a long while, until he finally spoke up, "Aunt Hongmei, I’m too young to get involved in the matters between you adults, and as for the difficulties of the company, I believe my dad will find a way to solve them."

Having said his piece, he stuffed the two hundred yuan back into Aunt Hongmei’s hand and turned to leave.

Aunt Hongmei never expected Zhao Yun, as Zhao Dafa’s own son and a direct beneficiary of the Zhao Family’s enterprise, to actually refuse to help out with family matters.

By the time she snapped out of her shock and wanted to continue persuading him, Zhao Yun was already nowhere to be seen.

...

After leaving the house, Zhao Yun ran straight to the Pei Family’s place.

Shen Mingzhu and Pei Yang had both gone off to work, and Aunt Yu had gone to the market, leaving only the siblings, Pei Ziheng and Pei Tang, at home.

"Ziheng, I’m out of pocket money. Can you give me some?"

"Am I your dad?"

"If only you were my dad. You’re so smart and good at making money; if I had a dad like you, I would never have to worry about eating or drinking for the rest of my life."

Pei Ziheng was speechless at his brazen shamelessness.

Pei Tang looked at Zhao Yun curiously, "Brother Hei Xiong, Uncle Zhao gives you so much pocket money every month, have you spent it all already?"

"Yeah, Guoguo, can you lend your brother some money? I’ll pay you back double when I have it."

Zhao Yun was just kidding, but Pei Tang took him seriously.

"How much do you want to borrow?"

Zhao Yun carelessly mentioned an amount, and Pei Tang seriously ran upstairs to fetch the money, amusing Zhao Yun immensely.

"Ziheng, your sister is really silly. With just a few words, she’s willing to hand over her money. In the future, who knows if some rotten guy might cheat her out of everything she has..."

When he met Pei Ziheng’s bottomless dark eyes, Zhao Yun shuddered.

With a deviously protective older brother like that, anyone who dared to cheat Pei Tang would likely not even know how they died.

When Pei Tang came back downstairs with the money, Zhao Yun waved her off three times in refusal.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want it, but rather that the money felt burning hot to the touch.

"Brother Hei Xiong, just take it. As long as you pay me back double when you have money, that’s okay."

Zhao Yun: "..."

Sure enough, they were true siblings, as shrewd as monkeys.

Soon after, several clear and bell-like voices could be heard from outside the door, "Pei Tang, Pei Tang, we’ve come to play with you!"

Pei Tang jumped off the couch and ran out of the living room cheerfully to open the door.

Over the summer break, Pei Yang had built her a swing set beneath the grapevines.

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The chair was a bird’s nest-style rattan chair designed by Shen Mingzhu. Inside the rattan chair, there were soft cushions and pretty plush toys, making Pei Tang’s little friends envious. They would come to the Pei Family’s place every day just to ride the swing.

"It’s my turn, my turn, you’ve been sitting there for so long!"

On the second-floor balcony, Pei Ziheng sat under a parasol reading, while Zhao Yun lay on the railing, crunching away at a fresh cucumber he’d just picked from the vine, watching a few little girls in the yard arguing over the swing until their faces turned red and their ears got hot.

All around five or six years old, they wore various styles of floral dresses and had their hair tied in little braids, chattering like a flock of sparrows.

Having finished a cucumber, Zhao Yun looked at Pei Ziheng, who was quietly reading.

"Ziheng, let me ask you something. If President Zhao’s company goes bust, what should I do?"

Pei Ziheng glanced up at him.

"Will Jingshu look down on me for being poor and stop hanging out with me?"

At a time like this, instead of worrying about your own rich kid’s rice bowl, you’re worried about your little girlfriend running away.

Pei Ziheng closed his book somewhat speechlessly, "Don’t worry, Uncle Zhao isn’t as weak as you think."

Zhao Yun grinned, showing his teeth. "That’s what I thought too. My dad, President Zhao, has been in the business world for so many years. Even a broken boat has three pounds of nails, right?"

Pei Ziheng gave a non-committal response, "You can think about what it was that got Uncle Zhao started."

Zhao Yun pondered thoughtfully.

...

"Alright, I got it, let me know as soon as there’s any update."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Hongmei paced back and forth in the living room, biting her finger and looking visibly annoyed.

Half a month had passed, and the stocks in her hands had diminished in value to only half a million.

What was giving her an even bigger headache was that no one wanted Fang Zheng’s stocks at the moment.

Without startup capital, her entrepreneurial plans couldn’t move forward; the shops and office buildings she had rented at high prices were now sitting empty, costing her over eight hundred in rent each day.

As Shen Hongmei’s headache grew worse, Yi Ling and her group came to the door.

Yi Ling had been spurred by Shen Hongmei’s earlier success in making a million from stocks and had not heeded Shen Mingzhu’s warnings. Instead, she secretly followed Shen Hongmei into stock trading.

Not only did she trade on her own, but she also pulled in her sisters and colleagues to join, and they all ended up trapped.

Yi Ling had almost been calling Shen Hongmei every day lately, pressing her to come up with a solution.

What could Shen Hongmei come up with when she was at her wit’s end?

After being bothered by Yi Ling a few times, Shen Hongmei simply stopped answering her calls.

Unwilling to give up, Yi Ling brought her stock-trading sisters to confront Shen Hongmei.

"You told me that trading stocks could make money, so I invested all of my savings. You shouldn’t have dragged me into it if you weren’t capable!"

"I borrowed the money I used for stock trading, and now I’ve lost everything. How am I supposed to repay them?"

"My husband found out I lost the compensation money from our old house’s demolishment and now he wants to divorce me. Shen Hongmei, you’ve really ruined me! If I can’t live on, don’t expect to have any good days yourself!"

Facing the accusations of Yi Ling and the others, Shen Hongmei felt both angry and regretful.

"I’ve said it before, with stocks, there’s a risk of loss as well as the chance of gain. You all need to think it over carefully, you’re adults, you have to be responsible for your own choices! My own over a million is also stuck in the stock market; should I go make a scene at the brokerage firm and expect them to hand the money over to me?"

"But you said it, if we followed your lead, we could make money. If you hadn’t said that, we wouldn’t have put all our money into stocks. Of course, you have to take responsibility!"

"Exactly!"

As the argument escalated, the housekeeper Aunt Deng knocked on the bedroom door, "Ma’am, the master has returned."

Shen Hongmei immediately walked to the window, and upon seeing Zhao Dafa’s car parked downstairs, her face changed.

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