The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 708 - 707: Give Up the Search

Chapter 708: Chapter 707: Give Up the Search

Liu Cuihua used to be considered a competent woman in Shenjiagou, good at everything from farming to fertilizing the fields.

But ever since Shen Baolan went missing, she lost all appetite, and her health rapidly deteriorated.

After only a couple of days helping Officer Shen in the search, she collapsed from exhaustion and caught a cold due to her low resistance, and now she’s so sick she can’t even get out of bed.

As her sworn enemy, Qin Jinlian was naturally pleased, "She got what she deserved! She couldn’t even take care of her own daughter, and she has the nerve to bother you? It’s only because I wasn’t there that day, or she would have seen what’s for!"

Although not fond of Liu Cuihua and her daughter Shen Baolan, Shen Mingzhu didn’t wish to kick someone when they were down.

"Let’s not talk about the past anymore. You should also stop instigating things. Her family is a mess right now, anyone involved is going to be unlucky."

Qin Jinlian pulled a long face, clearly unhappy.

She used to be the one doing the scolding, but now that she was getting older, she found herself being lectured by her daughter every other day. She felt like she was regressing the older she got.

Seeing her like this, Shen Mingzhu lightly scoffed and changed the subject, "How is your second sister-in-law feeling?"

When it came to her soon-to-be-born grandchild, Qin Jinlian perked up again, "Just three more months and he’ll be born. It’s a boy this time!"

Shen Mingzhu was not surprised to learn the gender of the baby in advance.

With Jia Yuemei’s hope for a son, she would have rushed to the hospital for a checkup as soon as she could.

"But your second sister-in-law is probably going to have to pay a fine for this child."

"Don’t talk to me about that, it’s none of my business."

Qin Jinlian looked at her sulkily, not daring to brazenly ask for money as she might have in the past.

...

Liu Cuihua was bedridden with illness, but she was still fixated on her missing daughter, insisting that Shen Hao, Tian Wenfang, and Shen Dashan go out and help search.

In the bitter cold, the biting wind was sharp enough to peel layers of skin off a person; Tian Wenfang had no intention of suffering through that and made excuses to stay home and be lazy under the pretense of taking care of Liu Cuihua.

Liu Cuihua could see right through Tian Wenfang’s intentions, scolding and shouting and beating around the bush, which made Tian Wenfang so angry she finally lashed out at Liu Cuihua:

"What else can you do other than order me around? You saw Baolan on the day she disappeared, yet you never contacted her or worried for several days."

"Officer Shen said that from the 8th to the 10th, her account kept transferring money out. She was still in the city then. If only you’d reported sooner, maybe she would have been found by now."

"She’s been missing for so many days now, all the scent and traces have disappeared. Use dogs or planes, nothing works. She’s long gone!"

"Baolan’s predicament is all because you spoiled her! You indulged her every whim, fostering all her bad habits."

"Don’t blame the Zhou family for looking down on us. How much trouble has Baolan caused since she married into their family? If I had such a trouble-making daughter-in-law, I would have chased her out with a broom long ago!"

"We’re all from the same village. Look at Qin Jinlian’s daughter—she not only lives a prosperous life, she’s also leading the whole village to wealth. And you still think you’re better than her, how laughable is that!"

Liu Cuihua was furious.

She could accept being accused of spoiling her daughter, but being deemed inferior to Qin Jinlian was something she couldn’t tolerate.

She had to get out of bed; she needed to find her daughter and retrieve that five million.

As long as she got the money back, she wouldn’t be worse than Qin Jinlian!

Liu Cuihua struggled to get out of bed, but her body was just too weak. Not only did she fail to rise, but she even passed out from the effort.

Frightened that she might have really angered Liu Cuihua to a grave state, Tian Wenfang quickly had Shen Dashan and his son come back and took Liu Cuihua to the hospital.

After diagnostics and treatment, Liu Cuihua’s life wasn’t in danger, but she couldn’t afford any more stress, which might trigger a stroke.

The Shen family didn’t have much education and only knew that a stroke meant paralysis, so they were all quite frightened for a moment.

Tian Wenfang especially so.

In rural areas, filial piety is highly valued. If the village were to find out she angered Liu Cuihua into a stroke, she’d likely be drowned by a torrent of spit.

As soon as Liu Cuihua woke up, Tian Wenfang fell to her knees.

"Mom, it’s all my fault. I won’t argue with you anymore. Please, don’t ruin your health over this. We can’t do without you in this house."

Liu Cuihua didn’t know her true physical condition, but seeing Tian Wenfang kneeling and admitting her wrongs, she forgave her just like that.

...

In the blink of an eye, December had arrived.

Fengcheng, after a snowfall, was as cold as an ice cellar, and indoor heating had already begun.

With nothing else to do, Pei Wenping and Shen Hongmei came to Shen Mingzhu’s house to learn how to bake bread. Staying by the oven was not only warm, but they also had something to eat, and they could chat about family matters.

As they chatted, it was inevitable that they mentioned Shen Baolan.

"She’s been missing for so long without a trace; could she be...gone?"

"Well, that’s hard to say. It’s her own fault for not understanding people well; she can’t blame others."

Shen Mingzhu didn’t join in the conversation, but she felt in her heart that Shen Baolan wasn’t dead.

After all, she was a major character in the original book. It wouldn’t make sense for her to have disappeared without a whisper.

In fact, Shen Mingzhu thought that perhaps one day Shen Baolan might just pop up from some unexpected corner.

...

The police prioritize timeliness in their investigations, and after a month without any clues or progress, coupled with the severe weather, the case was put on hold for the time being.

The Shen Family had to face reality.

They had searched everywhere they could, nearly turning Fengcheng upside down, but life had to go on.

Although the five million was gone, the villa, the shops, and the old house in the family compound were still there.

These assets were enough to ensure a stable life for the extended family for the latter half of their lives.

Shen Dashan gathered the whole family together and simply laid out the plan.

"I’ll visit the shop tomorrow to see what business we can do. Your mother isn’t in good health, so she’ll stay at home from now on, and we won’t farm the land in the countryside anymore. I’ll come to the city, you all will take care of the kids, and when you’re free, you can help out in the shop."

Tian Wenfang’s eyes lit up, "Dad, we’ll do as you say."

Shen Hao had no objections either.

Suddenly, Liu Cuihua spoke up, "Yuanbao! Get the Zhou family to bring Yuanbao back. If really something bad has happened to Baolan, it would be good to let him continue the lineage for Baolan’s branch of the family."

A daughter married off is like water spilled — what lineage is she talking about!

Tian Wenfang secretly disapproved, but she obediently replied, "Mom is right. Yuanbao is Baolan’s only hope. If she’s not around, my brother and I are willing to take good care of Yuanbao and help him grow up to be a successful person."

This was exactly what Liu Cuihua wanted to hear.

Early the next morning, the whole family dressed neatly and headed out to the shop.

They had assumed that with Shen Baolan and Gao Hualiang gone, the shop would surely have closed down, but to their surprise, it was still in operation and seemed to be doing quite well with customers coming in and out.

This was an unexpected delight for the Shen Family.

"Are you folks here to rent or to buy belts?"

As they walked in, a young lad greeted them enthusiastically.

As Shen Dashan and Shen Hao looked around curiously, Tian Wenfang took the lead, "How much does this shop make in a day?"

She spoke assertively, as if she owned the place.

The young lad’s smile remained unchanged, but his enthusiasm waned a bit. He surveyed the family with a subtle glance and nonchalantly replied:

"Not bad."

Tian Wenfang pressed, "Hey, can’t you understand me or what? What does ’not bad’ mean? Just tell me the truth, will you?"

The young lad couldn’t help but laugh, "Big sister, do I know you? How much my shop makes or doesn’t make in a day, what’s that to you?"

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