The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 723 - 722 Plastic Couple

Chapter 723: Chapter 722 Plastic Couple

Pei Qiuxia raised her left hand wielding the Gold Ring, "Let me tell you, I’m getting married soon, but I won’t invite you because you do not deserve it! A final warning, stop coming to find me. You know how powerful my husband is; should you accidentally get hurt, I won’t take responsibility!"

Jiang Xinsheng stared at the Gold Ring on Pei Qiuxia’s ring finger for a good while before turning around and leaving disheartened.

No sooner had Jiang Xinsheng left than Qian Rong arrived.

They had agreed to go shopping together beforehand.

Evidently, Qian Rong had seen Jiang Xinsheng; she immediately started gossiping about what she and Jiang Xinsheng had talked about, suspecting that Pei Qiuxia still harbored lingering feelings for Jiang Xinsheng.

"You’re not thinking about getting back together with Jiang Xinsheng, are you? They say adversity reveals true feelings; if you reconcile with him now, he’d surely be deeply moved and devoted to you for life."

Pei Qiuxia was exasperated by her friend’s assumptions, "Impossible! Even if all the men in the world were dead, I wouldn’t take him back. Don’t bring him up in front of me ever again!"

Seeing her determined attitude, Qian Rong smiled, "Seems like you’ve really fallen for Officer Shen."

Pei Qiuxia did not deny it.

Qian Rong then noticed the ring on her hand, "When did you buy that ring? Why go for gold, it’s so tacky? Everyone wears platinum these days."

"It’s for my mother. The factory did well this year, and they handed out the annual bonus early."

"How much did they give?"

Thinking about Qian Rong’s modest salary, Pei Qiuxia intentionally halved the amount of the bonus, "A little over five hundred."

Qian Rong sighed with relief without showing it, "Not bad at all. Maybe I should join your factory next year. My place is terrible; not only do they delay the salary, but there isn’t even a bonus. I don’t want to stay another day."

Pei Qiuxia spoke sincerely, "If you really want to join, you can try sending in your resume."

"Are there any good positions suitable for me in the factory? Otherwise, could you mention to your cousin to recruit me into the finance department?"

"You need an accounting certificate to get into the finance department."

"Would I be able to join the finance department if I get the certificate?"

"That’s hard to say; recruitment isn’t handled by my cousin."

Qian Rong clung to her coquettishly, "Isn’t the boss your cousin’s wife? Speak on my behalf, perhaps bend the rules or let me be her assistant; you started as an assistant too, didn’t you?"

"My cousin’s wife doesn’t need assistants right now, and she only picks internally, not hiring externally."

"Then never mind, I’ll just keep muddling along. We can talk about me switching jobs after I have the baby."

Upon hearing this, Pei Qiuxia glanced at her stomach, "Any news yet?"

"Not yet. My mother-in-law got some traditional remedies from who knows where and forces me to drink them every day, it’s so annoying."

"You should still go to the hospital for a check-up; if there’s an issue, it’s better to treat it early."

"We plan to do so, after the Spring Festival."

...

Jiangcheng.

Du Juan put her son to sleep and walked out from the bedroom only to see Shen Chaobei sitting on the sofa, rubbing his hands on his knees, looking utterly preoccupied. She took the initiative to approach him:

"Is something the matter?"

Shen Chaobei hesitated, "Dad called this afternoon, asking if we are going back to Fengcheng to celebrate the Spring Festival this year."

Du Juan fell silent for a long while before saying, "Let’s go."

Shen Chaobei looked at her incredulously, "Go?"

"It’s been many years since we last visited; it’s time we did."

Shen Chaobei nodded eagerly, thrilled, "Then I’ll book the flight tickets tomorrow; should I book for the 28th or the 29th?"

"Whichever you think best."

After speaking, Du Juan turned and went to the bathroom.

Shen Chaobei immediately picked up the phone and shared the news about returning home for the festival with Shen Jianguo and his wife.

"What are you spacing out for? Did the phone call take your soul away?"

Seeing Shen Jianguo clutching the receiver without saying a word for a long time, Qin Jinlian couldn’t help but scold him.

"Wife, Chaobei said he’s coming back for Lunar New Year this year."

Qin Jinlian was stunned. "Did he mention when he’s coming back?"

"He said he’ll book the tickets tomorrow, either on the 28th or the 29th."

"It’s only a few days left, I need to hurry and clean up their room."

Before she finished speaking, she was already rushing upstairs, anyone unaware would think that Shen Chaobei and his family were coming back tomorrow.

Shen Jianguo then called Shen Xiangnan and Shen Mingzhu to share the good news.

"Your sister-in-law’s temper is also really something, she hasn’t let mom see her eldest grandson for five years."

Shen Mingzhu neither agreed nor disagreed. "It’s not the frost of one day that freezes three feet deep, if it wasn’t for mom’s blatant favoritism towards the second brother, forcing Elder Brother and his wife to move to the city to make a living, and then trying to snatch Zilong, the sister-in-law wouldn’t have completely lost heart in her in-laws."

Pei Yang looked at her, "You’re quite ruthless yourself, sometimes I even think you’re not mom’s biological child."

Shen Mingzhu smiled, yet it wasn’t a smile. "Ever heard that a woman has to be ruthless to secure her position?"

"Now I know."

Time flew and it was Pei Yang’s 34th birthday.

Shen Mingzhu couldn’t think of what gift to buy, as everything that should be bought had already been purchased, and repeating gifts seemed meaningless, so she simply gave a cash red packet of 1314.

Pei Yang was initially unhappy to see the red packet as a gift, feeling that Shen Mingzhu was being perfunctory, until he learned the special meaning behind the amount and then he beamed with joy.

The siblings also thoughtfully prepared birthday gifts for their father.

Pei Tang prepared a thermos cup, so Pei Yang could brew some goji berry tea to take care of his health whenever.

Pei Yang remarked: truly a heartwarming yet heart-wrenching gift.

Pei Ziheng’s gift was very special, a modified hand-held telephone.

Current hand-held telephones all use nickel-cadmium batteries, which are bulky, heavy, and have low capacity.

Pei Ziheng spent a substantial amount of money to custom order newly developed nickel-metal hydride batteries from abroad, replacing the original ones.

Nickel-metal hydride batteries are not only lighter and thinner than nickel-cadmium but also have a larger capacity, supporting longer call times.

The body was also redesigned.

The modified hand-held telephone, whether in volume, thickness, or weight, had more than halved compared to the original.

During the time Pei Ziheng took a break from school, this was the project he had been researching.

The outer shell of the telephone used titanium alloy, with a deep blue metallic paint. The thin body combined with smooth lines made it look like a beautiful piece of art.

Pei Yang outwardly praised it greatly, beaming with smiles, but muttered quietly to Shen Mingzhu:

"Wife, do you think this phone our son made will work?"

"Can’t you know by trying it?"

Pei Yang inspected the telephone in his hand with the demeanor of an ’old man baffled by modern technology’: "I’m worried that if it doesn’t work and gets damaged, it might deter our son’s enthusiasm. He’s been busy with it for nearly a month."

Shen Mingzhu gave him a look. "You think our son would give you a defective product?"

"Right, then I’ll give it a try."

He was about to dial when Shen Mingzhu stopped him. "Go try it farther away."

"Why?"

"In case it explodes, don’t blow me up too."

"..."

"Are we some kind of plastic couple?"