The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 25 - Finding Redemption for the Stepson, Wang Defa Assists and Gives Testimony
Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Finding Redemption for the Stepson, Wang Defa Assists and Gives Testimony
Chapter 25 -25: Finding Redemption for the Stepson, Wang Defa Assists and Gives Testimony
Shen Mingzhu hurried downstairs in a panic and found that, apart from some disarray in his hair and clothes, Pei Ziheng showed no signs of injury on his face or body, nor had he shed any tears.
Instead, it was the child from another family standing opposite him who was crying so hard he could barely catch his breath.
Realizing that Pei Ziheng had won the fight without suffering any loss, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
But before she could catch her breath, the crying child’s mother angrily began to argue with Shen Mingzhu.
“Ziheng’s mom, how do you discipline your child?
Look what he’s done to my Mingming.”
Shen Mingzhu carefully examined the child and saw no apparent external injuries, just a head of hair messy like a bird’s nest and his body covered in mud and dirt, making it obvious he had been rubbed on the ground.
After appeasing the other mother with a few words, Shen Mingzhu turned to ask Pei Ziheng why they had fought.
Pei Ziheng pursed his lips and said nothing.
Knowing her stepson’s temperament, Shen Mingzhu turned to the other children who were playing together to find out what happened.
Several children chimed in one after another, and quickly explained the whole situation.
In front of Pei Ziheng, Tao Mingming called Shen Mingzhu the “King of Bluff”.
That’s what started the fight between Pei Ziheng and Tao Mingming.
What could a four or five-year-old child understand?
Obviously, he had overheard adults talking and mimicked them, blurting it out outside.
Initially, facing Tao Mingming’s mother’s questioning, she felt quite guilty, but now, what is there to feel guilty about?
“Xiaohuan, how can you hit someone?
If someone is impolite and lacks manners, you can reason with them properly.”
Having said that, Shen Mingzhu then looked towards Tao Mingming, “Tao Mingming, it was wrong of Xiaohuan to hit someone, and I apologize on his behalf.
But can you tell Auntie who taught you to call someone a ‘Bluff King’?
Remember, no lying, okay?
Liars will grow long noses.”
Meanwhile, the sobbing Tao Mingming stopped crying upon being “threatened” by Shen Mingzhu and, with teary eyes, looked up at his own mother, “Mommy…”
“Oh, so it was your mother who taught you that?” Shen Mingzhu realized and without waiting for an explanation, scolded, “Tao Mingming’s mom, that’s where you went wrong.
It doesn’t matter to me what you say about me behind my back, but you shouldn’t say it in front of children.
Aren’t you afraid that the child will follow your example and grow up to be a gossip?”
Tao Mingming’s mother blushed and frantically denied ever saying that.
But no sooner had she finished speaking than Tao Mingming burst into tears.
“Mommy can’t lie, lying will make your nose grow long, wuuu…”
Concerning Tao Mingming’s little assist, Shen Mingzhu only wanted to say: nicely done.
Tao Mingming’s mother’s face turned bright red with embarrassment, wishing she could vanish into thin air, yet she was also indignant.
She knew speaking behind someone’s back was wrong, but did Shen Mingzhu really not have any faults?
“Ziheng’s mom, I didn’t say those things.
Are you trying to save face by denying it, and preventing others from speaking the truth?”
“How am I pretending to be something I’m not?”
“Going around telling people you made ten bucks selling egg cakes when you can’t even make them – isn’t that pretending?”
It all boiled down to the egg cake incident, and Shen Mingzhu really felt amused by the absurdity.
What, has life gotten too comfortable, leaving people with nothing better to do?
Some onlookers who came for the commotion also started interrogating Shen Mingzhu en masse.
“Pei Yang’s wife, can you really make egg cakes or not?
Give us a straight answer.
Even if you can’t do it, we won’t laugh at you,” chimed the onlookers.
Bullshit!
If she really admitted she couldn’t make them, wouldn’t these troublemakers spread it far and wide, eager for the whole city to come and mock her?
“I don’t just know how to make egg cakes; I can also make mooncakes.
I’m planning to set up a stall in front of the residential complex in a couple of days to sell mooncakes.
I welcome everyone to come and support my business then.”
“Keep bragging, just don’t burst your bubble of lies,” someone sneered.
Shen Mingzhu recognized the old woman who was speaking; she was Shen Baolan’s mother-in-law.
Shen Mingzhu was about to give her a piece of her mind, but then she heard someone calling her.
Turning around, she saw that it was Wang Defa.
“Director Wang, what brings you here?”
Wang Defa smiled and explained his reason for coming, saying that the last time he bought sponge cakes from her, the guests couldn’t stop praising them, and a relative who was preparing for his son’s wedding had come seeking her help to make sponge cakes as well.
Hearing this, the residents from the family compound also recognized Wang Defa as the man who had bought sponge cakes a few days ago.
“Don’t let her deceive you; she doesn’t know how to make sponge cakes at all.”
“Exactly, she buys them from outside and fools people with them.”
Wang Defa, of course, didn’t take these words to heart; even if he didn’t trust Shen Mingzhu, he wouldn’t distrust Pei Wenping.
But the relative who came with Wang Defa started to have doubts.
He didn’t know Shen Mingzhu and had come to seek her out based on Wang Defa’s introduction; if Shen Mingzhu really was a swindler, losing money would be a minor issue, but affecting his son’s wedding would be terrible.
“Defa, maybe we should forget it and look somewhere else.”
Seeing the relative having second thoughts, Wang Defa couldn’t say much and awkwardly smiled at Shen Mingzhu, “Little Sister Pei, you go ahead with your work, we’ll come and find you if we need anything.”
Seeing that she had successfully thwarted (messed with) Shen Mingzhu’s trick (business), Ma Sufen was as triumphant as a victorious rooster.
This old hag, trying to ruin her business, no way!
“Hold on a moment.”
Shen Mingzhu sharply called out to Wang Defa and the other, “Hearing is believing, but seeing is the truth.
Whether I can make sponge cakes or not, why don’t you come back to my house with me and see for yourselves?”
Wang Defa still had quite some trust in Shen Mingzhu and immediately persuaded the relative to go and have a look, since they were already there.
In consideration of Wang Defa’s face, the relative agreed.
The residents from the family compound also wanted to go to the Pei Family’s home to see the truth, but Shen Mingzhu refused them on the grounds of inconvenience.
She was willing to go to this effort to vindicate herself because Wang Defa was her “bread and butter”; as for everyone else, believe it or not.
When they got back to the house, Shen Mingzhu invited Wang Defa and the relative to sit down on the sofa and made them tea, then she took out flour, eggs, sugar, and oil to start making the sponge cakes.
An hour later, the steaming-hot sponge cakes came out of the oven, filling the house with a sweet aroma.
The plum blossom-shaped sponge cakes boasted an attractive golden-brown surface.
After one bite, they were fluffy and sweet, making you want to eat more.
To save time, Shen Mingzhu only used four eggs and baked six sponge cakes; Wang Defa and the relative each polished off two.
Having seen with their own eyes and tasted with their own mouths, Wang Defa’s relative had no more concerns and decided on the spot to order thirty pounds.
A few days ago, the twenty pounds of sponge cakes Wang Defa had ordered for his mother’s birthday party weren’t enough, so he decided to order extra this time.
With the business settled, Shen Mingzhu warmly saw the two men out, only to discover once she opened the door that there were quite a few people standing outside.
Upon seeing her door open, they all turned to look.
Wang Defa had already learned about the misunderstandings the residents of the family compound had about her from Shen Mingzhu and immediately vouched for her.
“We’ve seen with our own eyes, Little Sister Pei doesn’t just know how to make sponge cakes, she makes them exceptionally delicious.
If anyone needs any in the future, feel free to place an order with her.”
