The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 670 - 669: Pregnant Together

Chapter 670: Chapter 669: Pregnant Together

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The young man was in his mid-twenties, lean and tall, with fair skin and handsome features. He wore a light-colored short-sleeved shirt, exuding the gentle elegance of a scholarly gentleman.

What was most striking was that the young man bore a resemblance to a very popular Liang-surnamed Hong Kong star of the time.

Eighty percent of the women in the mahjong parlor lost interest in their game, each sneaking glances at the new handsome guy. Shen Baolan also looked over several times, which caused her to play the wrong cards and lose money. Yet she didn’t get angry; instead, she started gossiping with her fellow players about the background of the handsome young man.

"He’s the new owner of the video store up front."

Shen Baolan was surprised, "The video store makes that much money, and Ma Lao Wu actually quit?"

"No matter how much he earned, he lost even more. I heard he lost nearly a hundred thousand in the stock market. Debt collectors came knocking on his door, so he had to sell the store to pay off his debts."

"Bang! How much did he sell it for?"

"Eighty thousand! Must be around sixty to seventy thousand, right? The video store’s business is so booming, earning ten to twenty thousand a year is no problem."

Indeed.

...

After finishing mahjong and on her way home for dinner, Shen Baolan couldn’t help but look several times as she passed the video store.

In just one day, the video store had updated to a shiny new sign.

It used to be named Xiaoma Video Store, but now it was changed to Trendy Video Store.

The youth really knew what he was doing, even the store name was so fashionable.

"Sister Shen, would you like to rent some tapes? Come take a look; we have a new batch of Hong Kong movies and Qiong Yao dramas today."

Shen Baolan was a regular customer for video tapes, especially fond of Qiong Yao dramas.

Welcomed warmly by the handsome new owner, she stepped into the store without hesitation.

"What do you have?"

While asking, she couldn’t help but size up the young man.

Up close, he was even more handsome, with striking eyebrows and eyes, a face as fine as jade, and hair styled in a trendy "7:3 part." He was just as good-looking as those celebrity posters on the wall.

Gao Hualiang smiled at her, revealing a set of pearly white teeth, "Sister Shen, would you like to watch films or dramas?"

"Both."

"Ok then, take a seat, and I’ll bring them over to you."

Gao Hualiang courteously showed her to a seat and poured her a glass of water before going to the back room to fetch the tapes.

Shen Baolan sipped her water while examining the store’s environment.

Beyond the new signboard, the walls had been repainted, and the lights replaced with elegant chandeliers. In addition, there were plants and greenery all around, making the place look refined and tastefully decorated.

Gao Hualiang quickly brought over a dozen boxes of videotapes.

As Gao Hualiang had said, they were all the latest Hong Kong films and popular Qiong Yao dramas from Island Province.

Due to restrictions on the introduction of overseas film and television works, it would take at least half a year or even a year before these titles could be released or aired in the country.

Video stores with the right connections would find ways to get their hands on the source material, utilizing the time difference to rake in high profits.

However, renting out such non-licensed videotapes was illegal, so they were usually only rented to acquaintances.

"I’ll take all of these, how much is the deposit?"

"Sister Shen, just take them home and watch. Once you’re done, return them to me early so I can rent them out to others."

Seeing Shen Baolan’s surprised look, Gao Hualiang said with a shy smile, "I’ve heard a few things about you from Sister Lu and others. Your family has a big business; you surely wouldn’t cheat me out of a few tapes."

This flattery made Shen Baolan quite pleased.

She unceremoniously picked up the video tapes, "Alright, I’ll return them to you as soon as I’m done watching them, and we’ll settle the rental fee then."

"That’s a minor matter. Sister Shen, if it’s convenient for you, could you leave your contact information? I’ll notify you when we get new tapes."

Shen Baolan cheerfully left her pager number.

Having rented the new tapes, Shen Baolan didn’t go to play mahjong anymore and spent her days at home engrossed in the dramas.

Ma Sufen, although she disapproved of Shen Baolan’s lazy manner, was herself so captivated by the Qiong Yao dramas that she couldn’t step away, not only watching along but also occasionally discussing the plot with Shen Baolan.

The usually incompatible mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, united by a Qiong Yao drama, maintained a temporary and surface-level peace.

...

In August, Fengcheng was as hot as Sui City; by 8:30 in the morning, there were rolling heat waves, like a giant steamer, swelteringly suffocating.

At the crosswalk waiting for the red light, Shen Mingzhu took out her mobile phone to call the ice factory, planning to have two truckloads of ice delivered to the factory to cool down the workshop and the workers.

She had only dialed half of the number when she saw Shen Hongmei sitting alone on the curb, head down, seemingly lost in thought.

```

She rolled down the car window, "Hongmei!"

Shen Hongmei looked up at her.

"What’s wrong?"

Shen Hongmei shook her head at her, seemingly without the strength to speak.

Shen Mingzhu pulled over and stopped the car, got out, and walked over, only then did she see Shen Hongmei’s pale complexion, grey lips, and beads of sweat on her forehead and the tip of her nose, but it didn’t seem like sweat from heat, it looked more like cold sweat.

"Sick? Or is it heatstroke?"

"It should be heatstroke, I just need to sit for a while and I’ll be fine."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mingzhu went back to her car to get Huoxiang Zhengqi water and a cup for her to drink.

"Feeling better? If not, we should go to the hospital to take a look."

Heatstroke could be serious or mild, but if it led to heatstroke illness, it could be deadly.

"I feel a bit better, thank you, Mingzhu."

"Go to the factory for work first, I just need to sit for a bit longer and I’ll be okay."

"I may need to take a half-hour leave."

Shen Mingzhu didn’t bother with Shen Hongmei’s ramblings, she pushed the motorcycle to the parking area, secured it, and then came back to help her up.

"Let’s go to my car, I’ll take you to the factory."

"No need, I can do it myself..."

Before she could finish speaking, everything went black before Shen Hongmei’s eyes.

...

Shen Hongmei was woken up by the cries of a baby.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Zhao Dafa sitting by the hospital bed, staring intently at her.

"Hongmei, you’re awake, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

Shen Hongmei instinctively looked around.

No wonder it was noisy, the other beds were either occupied by pregnant women or women holding newborns.

"Zhao Ge, why am I here?"

Zhao Dafa took her hand and said warmly, "You fainted on the road, luckily Shen Mingzhu was there, she’s the one who brought you to the hospital."

With that, Shen Hongmei seemed to remember what happened before she fainted.

Shen Mingzhu had opened two bottles of Huoxiang Zhengqi water for her to drink...

As she was thinking, she heard Zhao Dafa say, "Hongmei, did you know, you’re pregnant."

She looked at Zhao Dafa’s joyous face and was unable to snap back to reality for a long time.

Zhao Dafa touched her face, smiling very happily, "I was just as happy and dumbfounded as you when I found out."

"You too, you didn’t even know you were pregnant, how silly are you?"

She was pregnant?

She was actually pregnant!

At last, she was pregnant.

Shock, excitement, joy, and disbelief—complex emotions surged through her, causing Shen Hongmei’s eyes to moisten involuntarily.

...

"Ugh!"

As soon as she stepped into the restroom, she saw Pei Wenping leaning over the sink vomiting, and Shen Mingzhu quickly went over to help pat her back.

After Pei Wenping recovered a bit, Shen Mingzhu asked softly, "Elder sister, could it be that you’re pregnant too?"

"Tsk! Don’t jinx me!"

Pei Wenping spat out at her and then explained that she had indulged in some fried skewers from a street stall after work yesterday, not realizing the food was unclean, and suffered through the night with vomiting and diarrhea.

"I’m much better now, just my stomach is a little uncomfortable, and I keep feeling nauseous."

Shen Mingzhu breathed a sigh of relief.

Jia Yuemei was pregnant, Shen Hongmei was pregnant, she really didn’t need another Pei Wenping...

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