The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 16 - Stepmothers Should Pay More Attention to Their Children
Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Stepmothers Should Pay More Attention to Their Children
Chapter 16 -16: Stepmothers Should Pay More Attention to Their Children
Before they knew it, the day had arrived for the kindergarten to start.
Early in the morning, Shen Baolan took her stepson, Zhou Hao, out of the door, ready to send him off to kindergarten.
Just a few steps out of the apartment building, they ran into Shen Mingzhu, who was also on her way to send Pei Ziheng to kindergarten.
Today, Shen Mingzhu wore a sleeveless printed shirt paired with a khaki-colored hip-hugging skirt with a slit on the side, revealing half of her snowy white thighs.
Her hair was loosely tied at the back of her head, pinned with a red plastic clip, exuding elegance and poise.
Pei Ziheng was also dressed handsomely in a brand-new striped navy shirt, paired with apricot shorts and blue and white sneakers, looking incredibly spirited.
Shen Baolan looked down at herself: a blue floral top, black bell-bottoms, and plastic sandals, with her hair braided into a thick plait behind her head.
This outfit was proper and there was nothing particularly wrong with it, but next to Shen Mingzhu, it just felt inexplicably plain.
Looking at her stepson Zhou Hao, he was in a plain white shirt and blue shorts, neat and clean, but not as fashionable and spirited as Pei Ziheng.
Moreover, Shen Mingzhu’s complexion was much better than hers.
In the few days since marrying into the Zhou family, she had to get up at 6 o’clock every morning to cook breakfast for the whole family.
After cooking, she had to feed her stepson first, before she could even have her own meal.
Then she had to wash the dishes, do the laundry, mop the floor, and go out to buy groceries.
She was busy all day, hardly touching the ground, except for a nap in the afternoon.
Shen Mingzhu, on the other hand, looked radiant, clearly well-fed and well-rested, without having done much work.
But it was okay.
Shen Mingzhu could be smug for now, but in six months, it would be her turn to cry.
Thinking this way, Shen Baolan felt much better.
“Mingzhu, do you think we were enemies in our past lives or what?
When we were little, we grew up in the same village, and when we got married, we ended up in the same family courtyard.
Now, our kids are even going to the same kindergarten.
Isn’t that a coincidence?”
Shen Mingzhu replied casually, “It is quite a coincidence.”
While the two of them were chatting, Pei Ziheng and Zhou Hao were also sizing each other up.
Zhou Hao, being held by Shen Baolan, had a look of pride and bragging on his face, “Pei Ziheng, your stepmom won’t even carry you.
She lets you walk by yourself.
You’re really pitiful.”
Shen Baolan and Shen Mingzhu were both taken aback.
Shen Baolan feigned an apology on behalf of her stepson, “Oh dear, children don’t know any better.
Don’t take it to heart, Mingzhu.
Xiaohuan, Xiaohao was just joking with you.”
Shen Mingzhu rolled her eyes, about to say that Pei Ziheng didn’t need to be carried when she heard Pei Ziheng say, “I’m not disabled.
I can walk by myself.”
The implication was that it was laughable for Zhou Hao to need to be carried to school as if he were disabled.
Zhou Hao’s lips quivered, tears welling up in his eyes, ready to cry any second.
Zhou Hao was both easily moved to tears and difficult to console.
Every time he cried, it took a long time to pacify him.
Seeing that Pei Ziheng had upset her stepson in just a few words, Shen Baolan immediately scowled.
“What kind of talk is that, Pei Ziheng? freewёbnoνel.com
Who are you calling disabled?
Mingzhu, is this how you teach your child?”
“Children don’t know any better, Baolan, don’t take it to heart.
Xiaohao, Xiaohuan was just joking with you.
Don’t cry, okay?”
Shen Mingzhu parroted Shen Baolan’s earlier words back at her, leaving Shen Baolan speechless with irritation.
At that moment, two more pairs of mothers and sons came along, greeting Shen Mingzhu with smiles.
Seeing Zhou Hao with tears in his eyes, one of the mothers asked jokingly what happened.
Shen Baolan kept a cold face without a word, while Shen Mingzhu smiled and said it was just the two kids arguing a bit.
“Children are like that, sometimes they argue, sometimes they laugh.
Xiaohao, it’s your first day at kindergarten.
If you cry, the other kids might laugh at you.”
Although young, Zhou Hao had his own sense of pride and competitiveness.
To avoid being laughed at, he forced back his tears and stared at Pei Ziheng with his red, rabbit-like eyes.
Shen Mingzhu subtly pulled her son behind her and cheerfully said to the other two mothers, “Let’s go, we can’t be late on the first day.”
After saying that, she led Pei Ziheng and walked ahead.
The other two mothers also followed, each holding their child’s hand, while Shen Baolan, carrying Zhou Hao, trailed at the very back.
Seeing everyone else leading their children by hand, only she was carrying hers, Shen Baolan also wanted to let her stepson walk on his own.
However, Zhou Hao was utterly unwilling to be put down; he would start whimpering and threaten to cry, so Shen Baolan had to keep carrying him, quickly becoming drenched in sweat.
After they had left the staff residential compound, they encountered several other parents on their way to the government-run kindergarten, all with children in tow, making it easy to strike up conversations.
“Hey, has your child started their enlightenment education yet?”
Observing Shen Mingzhu and her son, who both had a good presence and were attractive, a mother initiated a chat with Shen Mingzhu.
“No, my child is still young, there’s no rush.”
“Oh, you can’t think like that; the earlier the enlightenment, the better for the child.
Early enlightenment means early intellectual development; otherwise, they’ll fall behind once they start primary school.”
Hearing this, another mother enthusiastically agreed, “That’s right, my child started their enlightenment at the beginning of the year.
Now, they can count to 50 and can even do addition and subtraction within 10.”
At this point, Shen Baolan, holding her stepson, chimed in unwillingly, “My Xiaohao started his enlightenment half a year earlier than your child.
He can count to 100 and can write his own name.”
After speaking, she threw a challenging glance at Shen Mingzhu, “Mingzhu, as a stepmother, you should pay more attention to the child.
Don’t just care about enjoying your own food and drink; if you ruin the child’s life, be careful of retribution later.”
“Shen Baolan, your home must be by the sea with that broad mind of yours.
How many days have you been married into the Zhou family?
What business is Zhou Hao’s enlightenment of yours?
You just make sure to hold your son tight; I don’t need you to worry about how I manage my child.”
Shen Baolan was left staring, dumbfounded.
She couldn’t understand why Shen Mingzhu would lash out so suddenly, leaving no room for face, without fearing that it would become a public joke.
At this moment, the previously silent Pei Ziheng suddenly spoke to Zhou Hao, “Zhou Hao, do you know what two times two equals?”
Little Zhou Hao looked utterly bewildered, clearly clueless about what Pei Ziheng was talking about.
“What about three times three?”
“And five times five?”
After asking several times and getting no answer from Zhou Hao, Pei Ziheng loudly stated the answers, “Two times two is four, three times three is nine, five times five is twenty-five, seven times seven is forty-nine, nine times nine is eighty-one, quite simple.”
All the parents looked at Pei Ziheng in shock and silence, as if beholding a rare treasure.
Shen Mingzhu was both shocked and delighted; she wished she could grab Pei Ziheng and plant a big kiss on him.
This child, he had really made her proud!
“And here you said your child hadn’t started his enlightenment; he already knows the multiplication tables.”
“Your child, so silent and looks like a closed-mouthed gourd, has such a clever mind.
He will certainly achieve great things when he grows up.”
The parents commented, half sour, half complimentary.
Shen Mingzhu’s heart bloomed with joy, yet she replied modestly, “Not at all, my Ziheng is just a bit precocious and has a good memory.
I didn’t really teach him; he learned it himself.”
Hearing Shen Mingzhu’s words, the parents lavished praise upon them again.
Shen Baolan, still holding her stepson, watched as Shen Mingzhu and Pei Ziheng, surrounded by admiring parents, felt both sour and angry.
What’s so special about reciting the multiplication tables, as if her Xiaohao couldn’t learn it!
“Xiaohao, when we get home from school tonight, I’ll teach you the multiplication tables, and we’ll outdo Pei Ziheng.”
“Mhm, I want to learn the multiplication tables.”
Now Zhou Hao didn’t understand what multiplication tables really were, but seeing Pei Ziheng receive so much praise for reciting them, he thought they must be good.
He also wanted to learn, to recite them before everyone, and earn their praise as well.
