The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 664 - 663: Sneaking a Snack

Chapter 664: Chapter 663: Sneaking a Snack

The sun had just risen halfway, and the dew on the grass blades still sparkled, when a flock of sparrows fluttered their wings onto the roof of the Pei Family home, beginning their day of foraging.

Unlike the city, it was rare to find a place as rich in fruits and vegetables as the Pei Family’s, which was visited by countless birds every day.

"Chirp chirp."

"Chatter chatter."

Woken up by the noise of the sparrows outside the window, Pei Tang jumped out of bed grumpily, pushed open the window, and stuck out her little head to yell into the yard, "Shut up!"

The foraging sparrows were startled by her shouting and flew away flapping their wings.

With her ears at peace, Pei Tang climbed back into bed, ready to continue sleeping.

Just as she lay down, something on her back made her wince in pain.

She sat up with a start, snatched the thing from behind her back, and her eyes suddenly filled with surprise.

It was the blue crystal necklace she had been longing for!

...

"Brother, brother!"

After his morning run, Pei Ziheng returned home and couldn’t help but smile as he saw his lively sister running towards him.

"Look at my crystal necklace, isn’t it beautiful?"

His dark eyes landed on the girl’s snow-white neck, where a deep blue crystal pendant gleamed brilliantly.

"It’s beautiful."

Pei Tang, happy, spun around in place, dancing and gesturing with her hands and feet, "I’ve decided, I’m going to wear a blue dress today, so it matches my necklace."

Perhaps infected by her happiness, Demu, the dog, also started circling around the siblings, wagging his tail and amusing everyone in the family.

"Time to wash hands and have breakfast."

"Coming!"

Pei Tang happily walked towards the dining table, but after a few steps, she seemed to remember something and turned back to run to Pei Ziheng, opening up her tender palm.

"Brother, what about my birthday present?"

"It’s on my desk."

"I’ll go get it."

Shen Mingzhu reminded her, "Guoguo, it’s time for breakfast."

"I’ll be right down!"

Watching his daughter bounce upstairs, Pei Yang chuckled, "Let her be, it’s only once a year that she has her birthday, let her be happy for the day."

Shen Mingzhu snorted softly, "You really know how to spoil your daughter."

As Pei Yang was setting the table, he teased, "Jealous? How about I spoil you too?"

"I might as well be eating soy sauce."

Pei Yang turned and called out to Pei Ziheng, who had just washed his hands, "Go on, pour a bowl of soy sauce for your mom."

Shen Mingzhu shot him a glare.

"Didn’t you say you wanted soy sauce, why aren’t you happy now?"

"Get lost~"

"Our son is here, be a bit more polite to me."

Pei Ziheng looked at his parents, "Maybe I should be under the table, not here."

Pei Yang, "We already have one Demu at home."

After saying this, he received a kick from Shen Mingzhu.

After breakfast, Shen Mingzhu took her daughter to their room to change into a dress and braid her hair prettily, while the father and son placed candies, pastries, fruits, beverages, and the ingredients for the birthday cake into the trunk of the car.

Making the birthday cake on-site was an important part of the birthday celebration today.

"Mom, brother, look, those balloons are shaped like petals, they’re so pretty!"

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Even from a distance, through the town’s buildings, Pei Tang’s sharp eyes spotted the semi-circular arch made of balloons, and her eyes lit up with joy.

Shen Mingzhu touched her daughter’s princess braid and said gently, "Daddy and Grandpa tied these balloons one by one, it took them all day."

Pei Tang immediately looked at Pei Yang who was driving in the front, "Thank you, Daddy!"

Pei Yang kept his eyes on the road, freeing one hand to pat her little head, "Good girl."

Upon arriving, Pei Tang could hardly wait to jump out of the car and run to the balloon arch to count how many flowers there were.

Making balloon flowers wasn’t technically challenging, mainly just time-consuming.

To make a flower, five balloons of the same color were put together in a circle, and a smaller yellow balloon was placed in the center to act as the pistil.

Then, the balloon flowers were connected along the arched iron frame, creating a beautiful balloon archway.

To maintain aesthetics, another layer of balloon flowers had to be attached to the backside of the arch, perfectly hiding the iron frame underneath.

Besides the balloon flower arch, from the entrance to the yard, "little grass" made of balloons were placed every half step.

The grass was made of green balloons with long, tubular balloons as stalks, topped with a pretty balloon flower.

The whole yard was decorated into a sea of flowers with colorful balloons.

It wasn’t just Pei Tang who was so happy she was almost crazy, even Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help feeling envious.

For this was the childhood happiness she never had.

Often, her indulgence towards her children was also a way to fill the void of her own life’s regrets.

Her love for the children was never just one-sided giving; it was also a salvation and a letting go for herself.

...

After ten o’clock, guests started to arrive one after another.

Those who attended the birthday party included children from family friends and Pei Tang’s own close friends, nearly fourteen or fifteen kids, along with the accompanying adults, totaling about thirty people.

When most of the people had arrived, Shen Mingzhu took out the materials and utensils, ready to teach the kids how to make a birthday cake.

The accompanying adults split into two groups.

One group stayed with the children to learn how to make the birthday cake, while the other wandered around the yard, picking ripe fruits to eat.

Besides fruit trees like peach, plum, apricot, and pear, there was also a patch of melon field with watermelons, cantaloupes, and honeydews.

"Aunt Mingzhu, why is the birthday cake you make rectangular?"

"I know the birthday cakes you usually eat are round, so today I specially made a shape you haven’t eaten before."

As Shen Mingzhu smoothed out the cream with a spatula, she patiently explained: "Besides round and rectangular, birthday cakes can also be square, crescent, heart-shaped, and even in various shapes of little animals. Once you learn how to make birthday cakes, you can make your favorite shapes at home."

The air was filled with the sweet aromas of cake and cream, tantalizing the kids and making them salivate.

Most of the children were well-behaved, swallowing drool and seriously watching Shen Mingzhu make the cake, but one or two mischievous ones kept leaning over the cream bowl, scooping cream out with their fingers to eat.

Shen Mingzhu glanced around and, seeing no parent intervening, had to speak up: "That’s not okay, it’s impolite, and eating with your hands isn’t hygienic. Wait for the birthday cake to be ready and share it with your friends, then I’ll give you a big piece."

An adult intently watching Shen Mingzhu’s demonstration grew irritated when interrupted by a child, "Whose kid is this, sneaking eats and nobody cares."

"Han Xiuxiu, you sneaky eater, shame on you!"

Being thin-skinned, the little girl couldn’t withstand such ridicule and immediately turned her lips down and began to cry loudly.

Hearing her child’s cries, the parent quickly came over.

"Xiuer, what happened?"

"Mommy—" the little girl wailed as she rushed into the parent’s arms, crying with heartbreak and feeling wronged as if she’d been bullied.

"She was sneaking cream!"

"Aunt Mingzhu told her not to eat, and she started crying!"

The children chimed in, chattering non-stop and explaining what happened in bits and pieces.

"What stealing food? If it’s placed there, isn’t it meant to be eaten?"

Han’s mother made a couple of sarcastic remarks, then lowered her voice to scold her own child: "What are you crying for, isn’t it your own fault? I told you not to come, but you insisted. Now look what happened, even a bite of food leads to being scolded."

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