The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 698 - 697: Shen Baolan Becomes a Celebrity

Chapter 698: Chapter 697: Shen Baolan Becomes a Celebrity

The Shenjiagou recently got stirred up by two incidents.

One was Shen Baolan’s divorce settlement of five million yuan, making her the famous rich lady of the entire town!

The second was Shen Baolan finding a handsome son-in-law, six years her junior.

Because of these two events, Shen Baolan, for the first time, overshadowed Shen Mingzhu and became the town’s most famous person.

"You should’ve seen Liu Cuihua’s attitude—strutting around like a peacock, almost wishing she could rush to the market eight times a day. What’s so great about driving a car, but it sure went to her head."

Ever since the news about Shen Baolan getting five million yuan from her divorce spread around the village, Qin Jinlian would find time to nag before Shen Mingzhu.

On one hand, she looked down on it, on the other, she couldn’t hide her envy, "Tsk, tsk, five million yuan—that’s probably more than one can spend in a whole lifetime. Zhou Shuhuan has been doing business outside for all these years, did he go crazy or something? How could he willingly give Cuihua’s daughter so much money?"

After talking for a while without getting any response from Shen Mingzhu, Qin Jinlian raised her voice, "Don’t you have any thoughts about it in your heart?"

Shen Mingzhu glanced over, "What thoughts should I have? To make a fuss like Shen Baolan, get a divorce and split three or five million, then find myself a pretty boy?"

"Pah, don’t talk nonsense, that’s not what I was thinking."

She was actually quite content with her son-in-law Pei Yang.

He was good-looking and could make money, knew how to repair electrical appliances, and he was filial to her and her husband. Such a great son-in-law—many people couldn’t find one even if they searched with a lantern. How could he be compared to a mere pretty boy?

But thinking about Shen Baolan’s five million yuan divorce settlement, and her big villa and shop, she couldn’t help but have mixed feelings.

If it was Shen Mingzhu who had married Zhou Shuhuan, then wouldn’t it be their family now splitting the five million and the big villa?

Adhering to the principle of making a fortune in silence, Shen Mingzhu never disclosed her real income to outsiders or her parents’ family. Since she didn’t buy new cars or new houses, to outsiders including Qin Jinlian, it seemed that she and Pei Yang didn’t earn as much as Zhou Shuhuan.

If Qin Jinlian knew the true net worth of Shen Mingzhu, she wouldn’t be envious of the five million Shen Baolan got from the divorce.

Compared to how much property Shen Baolan had split, Shen Mingzhu was actually curious about Shen Baolan’s handsome second husband.

The ink on the divorce certificate wasn’t even dry, and she was already planning a second wedding—she must have hooked up before the divorce, right?

Seems like both husband and wife gave each other a green hat.

Truly, birds of a feather flock together.

That evening, not long after dinner, Zhou Shuhuan’s call came.

"Shuhuan is having his wedding on the 20th of next month, and invites us to join the celebration."

Shen Mingzhu declined without even thinking, "You go ahead, I don’t want to go."

Pei Yang, knowing she didn’t like Qiao Ya, didn’t insist, "It happens to be on the weekend; I’ll take Ziheng and Guoguo with me. It’s not good to go alone on such a joyous occasion."

Shen Mingzhu called the two kids over and asked them if they wanted to go to Fucheng for the wedding feast.

Pei Tang was young and very interested in traveling far, so she wanted to go, and Pei Ziheng agreed to accompany her.

And so it was settled.

"Does Zhou Shuhuan know about Baolan finding a young pretty boy?"

"Not sure, he didn’t mention it on the phone, but he probably knows—Auntie Ma has always been well-informed, someone must have tipped her off early."

Although she didn’t want to meddle in the affairs of the Zhou family and Shen Baolan, Shen Mingzhu still felt an indescribable sense of oddness about Shen Baolan’s divorce.

Why would Zhou Shuhuan willingly give away most of his fortune to Shen Baolan?

Shen Baolan took the money and immediately found a younger man to marry, she might have even cheated during the marriage—yet Ma Sufen, with her harshness and aggression, was willing to let bygones be bygones and didn’t go looking for trouble with Baolan?

"If you really want to know, shall I ask Shuhuan about it tomorrow?"

Seeing her puzzled by the situation, Pei Yang teased.

"Never mind, I don’t have such strong curiosity, and neither should you. If Shuhuan hasn’t told you about it, just pretend you don’t know. Not knowing means you won’t get entangled in karma."

Pei Yang laughed. "Why do I feel like you’re actually afraid of Shen Baolan?"

Shen Mingzhu gave him a disdainful look. "Mind your own business when it comes to women’s affairs."

"You only boss me around. Are you also this assertive in front of Shen Baolan? Could she really bully you?"

After receiving a glare from Shen Mingzhu, Pei Yang obediently shut his mouth.

When it came to other people’s gossip, Shen Mingzhu was still willing to partake.

But Baolan was another story; she hadn’t forgotten that the original Shen Mingzhu was Baolan’s exact opposite. Who knew if Baolan carried some kind of protagonist’s aura or other buffs?

Jia Yuemei was also extremely envious of Shen Baolan’s divorce.

Five million, a large villa, a shop, plus an old house in the family housing compound.

If it were her, she would be willing to divorce as well.

But she only dared to think this in her heart and didn’t dare to say it aloud.

In the evening, when Shen Xiangnan returned home from work, she couldn’t help but compare Shen Baolan and Shen Mingzhu, as the two had been arch-enemies since childhood.

"You and your sister, have you made five million over these years?"

Shen Xiangnan answered, "How would I know? Your sister never tells me how much money she’s made."

Jia Yuemei was certain, "Definitely not. If she had really made that much money, wouldn’t she have gotten a new car and a bigger house? Just look at Zhou Shuhuan: the moment he makes money, he immediately buys a large villa."

"If you ask me, your sister is just foolish. She makes money but doesn’t keep it for herself; instead, she spends it all on charity. Sure, she’s gained reputation, but what use is that? All these years of effort, and she’s not even as well off as Shen Baolan, who doesn’t lift a finger and is now worth millions. Baolan doesn’t have to worry about the second half of her life."

"Would you cut the crap! Can Baolan even compare to your sister? Your sister is a thousand, no, a million times better than her, ok?"

Shen Xiangnan had always been protective of Shen Mingzhu since childhood. Besides, his current good life was all thanks to Mingzhu. In his heart, Shen Mingzhu was the most capable sister in the world, incomparable to anyone else.

"No wonder your sister can’t stand you. You speak without a shred of conscience. If it weren’t for your sister, could we have bought a house in the city and be living a good life? So what if Baolan has money? Can she share any of it with you?"

After being scolded by Shen Xiangnan, Jia Yuemei shrank her neck and didn’t dare to make a sound.

In this household now, Shen Xiangnan was the pillar, the head of the family, with the highest status and absolute authority. He was no longer the soft touch she could manipulate like in the past.

...

"Do you need something?"

Shen Mingzhu asked the blocking Shen Baolan, though her eyes were glancing at the young man beside Baolan.

He was undoubtedly good looking; tall and slender, with delicate and fair features, he could rival the fresh-faced young actors in the entertainment industry.

Seeing her gaze fixed on Gao Hualiang, Shen Baolan couldn’t help but show a smug expression, "I’ll introduce you, this is my man."

"Hello, Baolan mentioned you’re from the same hometown. We’re having a wedding banquet next week, and you’re welcome to attend."

"Sure, which day of the week?"

"Thursday, the 8th, on the day of Lidong."

"Alright, I’ve got it."

The interaction between them was quite normal, but Shen Baolan felt uncomfortable inside, always feeling that Shen Mingzhu was trying to seduce her man.

When she got married at 20, she and Shen Mingzhu were both known as the golden blossoms of Shenjiagou.

But as years went by, her figure had become out of shape, wrinkles and spots appeared on her face, while Shen Mingzhu still looked as youthful and vibrant as she had at 20, not showing her age at all, which made Baolan envious and even more wary.

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