The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 22 - Shen Baolan felt emo
Chapter 22: Chapter 22 Shen Baolan felt emo
Chapter 22 -22 Shen Baolan felt emo
“Big sister, thank you.”
Shen Mingzhu sincerely thanked Pei Wenping.
It was said that a woman’s marriage was her second reincarnation, and so far, she seemed to have reincarnated well.
Whether it was Pei Yang or elder cousin-in-law Pei Wenping, both were people with upright values and protective natures.
Being relatives with such people was her fortune.
Pei Wenping frowned in feigned annoyance, “Thank me for what?
You’re my brother’s wife.
If I don’t help you, would I be helping a stranger?”
Soon, the water in the pot on the stove boiled, and Pei Wenping stopped chatting and turned around to go to the kitchen to cook dumplings.
At the first bite of the dumplings, Pei Wenping regretted it.
She should have cooked more!
They were so delicious!
Thin-skinned and generously filled, each bite was savory and delectable, brimming with juice—she almost wished she could swallow her tongue.
After finishing the dumplings, Pei Wenping even drank all the soup.
Content.
After cleaning the pot and dishes, Pei Wenping dried her hands and prepared to go to her unit.
“Sister-in-law, whenever you’re free, come over to my place.
We’ll make dumplings together.”
Shen Mingzhu agreed, “I’ll bring Xiaohuan over on Saturday when he doesn’t have school.
I should have paid you and your husband a visit earlier, but I’ve been busy tidying the house and haven’t found the time.”
Pei Wenping immediately brightened up with joy, “Alright, then it’s settled.
Come over to my house for a meal on Saturday.
Come in the morning, and I’ll make sugar-fried twists for lunch and we’ll make dumplings in the evening.”
“Okay.”
—
The Zhou family could tell that something was off with Shen Baolan.
Usually, she was like a spring-loaded doll—efficient and hardworking.
Today, however, she was like a frostbitten eggplant, listless and slack.
After dinner, she didn’t even teach her stepson multiplication mnemonics as usual but went back to her room to lie down on her own.
Zhou Quanchuan couldn’t help muttering to his wife, “Do you think Shuhuan’s wife could be pregnant?
She looks so languid and out of spirits.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Sufen rolled her eyes at him, “If you don’t know, better not to babble nonsense.
She just joined our family half a month ago, what could she possibly be pregnant with?!”
Zhou Quanchuan touched his head sheepishly and went out for a walk.
Ma Sufen went to the door of her son’s room and gestured towards Zhou Shuhuan, who was lying in bed reading a book.
What’s wrong with your wife?
How would I know?
Ma Sufen cleared her throat, entered her son’s room, and approached Shen Baolan, “Baolan, what’s wrong with you?
Are you sick?
Do you want Shuhuan to take you to the health clinic?”
Shen Baolan turned over, without getting up, just lying there, “Mom, I’m fine, just a little tired, I’ll be okay after some rest.
Could you please give Xiaohao a bath later?
I’m going to sleep first.”
“Oh, alright, you rest well then.”
When Ma Sufen left, she took her son with her.
The mother and son whispered something in the living room, but Shen Baolan had no interest in listening.
She was too depressed.
She couldn’t understand how Pei Wenping could tolerate Shen Mingzhu’s reckless spending.
It was Shen Mingzhu who had done wrong.
Which daughter-in-law spent money like Shen Mingzhu?
She had kindly given a tip-off out of goodwill, but not only had Pei Wenping not thanked her, she had actually scolded her for meddling.
It was infuriating!
She’s just an accountant, what’s so great about that?
No wonder her brother was a short-lived wretch.
In the living room, Ma Sufen was interrogating her son, asking if he had a conflict with Shen Baolan.
Zhou Shuhuan naturally denied it, and Ma Sufen grew puzzled—what could be wrong with her daughter-in-law?
She wasn’t too concerned about Shen Baolan, but she worried that if Baolan continued to be listless, there would be no one to help her with household chores and looking after the grandson.
Luckily, the next day, Shen Baolan had fully recovered.
Before dawn, she got up to prepare breakfast for the family and, after finishing, happily went off to work, which greatly relieved Ma Sufen.
After dropping Pei Ziheng off at the kindergarten and returning home, Shen Mingzhu wrapped her hair in a scarf, tied on an apron, and started preparing to make baked egg cakes.
Wang Defa was supposed to come over in the afternoon to pick up the egg cakes, and she needed to bake all twenty pounds of cakes before 6 p.m.
Worried there might not be enough time, she especially asked a mother she was on good terms with to help pick up Pei Ziheng from the family courtyard in the afternoon.
In that era, there were no egg beaters to buy, so she asked Pei Wenping to help her borrow an electric drill and strapped a whisk to it to beat egg whites and mix batter, which saved time and effort.
The clock on the wall ticked away.
As batches of egg cakes came out of the oven, the whole family courtyard was filled with the rich sweet aroma of cake, leading everyone to sniff the air continuously, thinking that a new cake factory had opened nearby.
By 5:30 p.m., twenty pounds of egg cakes were finally baked.
Pei Ziheng, who had been home for a while, sat in the living room pretending to watch TV, actually smelling the scent of the egg cakes and staring at the mountainous pile of cakes on the dining table.
This woman actually baked so many egg cakes in just one day.
She might as well start selling egg cakes from now on.
After unmolding the last egg cake, Shen Mingzhu waved to her stepson on the couch, “Xiaohuan, come here.”
Pei Ziheng walked over sluggishly.
Shen Mingzhu handed him a round egg cake.
The just-baked egg cake had a thin layer of crispiness on the outside but was exceptionally soft and sweet within, with a faint hint of orange flavor.
It was his favorite flavor.
Seeing her stepson enjoy the cake, Shen Mingzhu also grabbed a piece of egg cake for herself and made some tea with hot water, waiting for Wang Defa to drop by.
Just after 6 o’clock, Wang Defa showed up with four large bamboo baskets, accompanied by a nephew from the Wang family, who was there to help carry the egg cakes.
One basket could hold five pounds of egg cakes, and four baskets were just enough to carry twenty pounds.
After calculating the account and receiving the money, Shen Mingzhu gave an extra pound as a gift to the old lady to celebrate her longevity, and Wang Defa left happily.
Being a new face, Wang Defa and his nephew, carrying four baskets of egg cakes through the family courtyard, attracted a lot of attention.
Curious onlookers asked about the baskets, and upon learning they were bought from the Pei family, everyone finally realized, so it wasn’t that a new cake factory had opened nearby, but Shen Mingzhu who had been busy making them at home.
The word spread quickly.
By that night, everyone in the family courtyard knew about Shen Mingzhu’s egg cake venture.
Only then did Shen Baolan understand why Pei Wenping had scolded her for being nosy – it turned out Shen Mingzhu wasn’t wasting money but making it.
After dinner and washing the dishes, Shen Baolan removed her apron and rushed to the Pei family’s home.
She wanted to know how Shen Mingzhu made the egg cakes, and how much money she had made.
Shen Mingzhu was just worrying about what to do with the two big buckets of charcoal ash generated from baking the egg cakes when Shen Baolan arrived.
“Mingzhu, I heard you made egg cakes for sale today, how much money did you make?”
Shen Mingzhu pointed to the two buckets of charcoal ash, “Help me take these downstairs, and I’ll tell you.”
Shen Baolan, like a cat with raised hackles, hands on hips, cursed her, “Have you no shame, wanting me to do your work?
Dream on!”
“Don’t you want to know how much money I made today?”
“…”
Of course, Shen Baolan wanted to know, otherwise she wouldn’t have come right after dinner.
Shen Baolan’s eyes spun around, “I can help you take out the trash, but how about you give me half of what you earned?”
Nice try, why don’t you just go and rob someone?
Shen Mingzhu rolled her eyes, “Forget it, I don’t need your help anymore, you can go.”
Shen Baolan hadn’t heard what she wanted to hear and was not willing to leave.
Without getting a clear answer, she wouldn’t be able to sleep that night.
