The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 44 - Dreaming of Pei Yang’s Death
Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Dreaming of Pei Yang’s Death
Chapter 44 -44: Dreaming of Pei Yang’s Death
Ma Sufen’s eyes widened, hardly believing her own ears.
“What did you say?
Say that again?”
Shen Baolan calmly took another bite of her apple before she spoke, “This child that I’m carrying is of your Zhou family lineage.
If we’re getting divorced, fine, I’ll go and abort the child right now!”
Ma Sufen slowly lowered her raised hand, her eyes falling on Shen Baolan’s stomach, filled with both shock and joy at once.
“You, you’re really pregnant?”
Shen Baolan didn’t respond and instead took another big bite of her apple, crunching loudly as she ate, her demeanor saying “what do you think?”
Liu Cuihua quickly told Ma Sufen about her daughter’s recent behavior, “…I’ve been there, Baolan is definitely pregnant, she was just sick earlier, look, over there.”
Everyone looked where Liu Cuihua pointed, at a puddle of yellow and white vomit, filthy and nauseating, yet no one showed a sign of disgust.
Shen Dashan edged closer, rubbing his hands excitedly, “Ah, does that mean I’m going to be a grandfather?”
Shen Baolan looked at Ma Sufen with a mocking smile, “Mom, are we still going through with the divorce or not?”
Ma Sufen’s mouth opened and closed, opening again then closing, without being able to utter a single word for a long time.
Zhou Shuhuan then stepped in to mediate, “Baolan, don’t be mad at mom.
These past few days, for your sake, dad and mom have nearly run their legs off, going from door to door to apologize, trying to get everyone’s forgiveness.
Otherwise, the police wouldn’t drop the case.”
Seeing the situation had improved, Shen Baolan dropped her haughty attitude.
She still wanted to be the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family.
Truly offending her mother-in-law would do her no good; with Ma Sufen’s age and health, she could easily live another twenty years.
——
The residential compound had been closely monitoring the Zhou family these past few days, any small movement from the Zhou family, even the kind of fart Ma Sufen let out, could keep the people of the compound entertained for a long while.
Early in the morning, just as Ma Sufen and Zhou Shuhuan stepped out the door of the compound, the news had already spread.
The Zhou family was going to the countryside to talk about divorce with the Shen family today!
The entire compound was waiting eagerly, looking forward to the Zhou family’s drama, waiting to see Shen Baolan, the family-wrecking daughter-in-law, being kicked out of her in-laws’ home.
They waited and waited, only to be met with a result that was a shock to all.
Far from driving Shen Baolan out, the Zhou family instead joyfully, as if treasuring a precious jewel, brought her back from her parents’ home!
The reversal came so quickly it was like a tornado, causing a stir throughout the compound.
Even Shen Mingzhu, upon hearing the news, expressed her shock, acknowledging that Shen Baolan truly had some tricks up her sleeve.
Even though she had anticipated that Shen Baolan and Zhou Shuhuan wouldn’t divorce, she subconsciously thought there would be some back-and-forth negotiations, ending with both sides making a compromise, each taking a step back.
She thought the wrangling would last at least a fortnight, but never expected Shen Baolan to return so smoothly and decisively.
Shen Mingzhu started to view her in a new light.
Although Shen Baolan had successfully returned to the Zhou family, the people from the residential compound did not view her favorably.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had been at odds before, casting certainty on forthcoming endless disputes.
Yet once again, the outcome surprised everyone.
Two full days passed by, and the Zhou family remained eerily quiet without any disturbances, and Shen Baolan didn’t leave the house.
Instead, it was Ma Sufen who was going up and down every day, buying vegetables, meat, fruit, looking to be in a rather good mood. frёeωebɳovel.com
What puzzled everyone the most was that the Zhou family didn’t seem to be in any hurry to bring their grandson, Zhou Hao, back home.
After all, Ma Sufen loved her grandson Zhou Hao as much as her own eyes.
A series of unusual occurrences had the Zhou family continuously dominating the top spot of after-dinner conversation topics in their residential compound, which also sparked extra curiosity toward Shen Baolan.
Everyone was curious about what method she had used to appease the Zhou family’s members so effectively.
Shen Mingzhu had been quite busy lately.
She had taken several orders for egg sponge cakes and also had to focus on preparing for the self-study exams in January, leaving her no time to bother with the Zhou family’s trivial matters.
However, Shen Baolan unexpectedly showed up at her door.
“Mingzhu, are you busy?
I heard that you’ve started making egg sponge cakes again recently and that you’ve earned quite a bit?”
Shen Mingzhu impatiently dealt with her and spoke bluntly, “As long as I’m not losing money, that’s enough.”
Either Shen Baolan was pretending to be foolish or she genuinely hadn’t picked up on Shen Mingzhu’s insinuations.
She trailed after the scent to the balcony and marveled at the oven, which was radiating the fragrance of egg sponge cakes.
“So, you bought this big piece of iron just for making egg sponge cakes?
Did you use this thing for your mooncakes too?”
Shen Mingzhu asked her back, “Is there something you want?”
“Nothing, just passing by to see what you’re busy with.”
“You’ve seen enough, so please leave.
I’m busy making money here, no time to entertain you.”
Shen Baolan, as resilient as a cockroach that couldn’t be squashed, stood her ground with an ominous tone, “Mingzhu, your husband Pei Yang has been out for three or four months now, when is he coming back?”
“What’s he coming back for, to watch your family’s farce?”
Shen Mingzhu left no room for face-saving for Shen Baolan, and even with skin thicker than city walls, Shen Baolan was beginning to feel embarrassed.
“Mingzhu, I haven’t done anything to upset you.
Why are you making snide remarks?
I was just kindly inquiring about you.
If you don’t want to discuss it, just let it go.”
“Oh, spare me.
Last time ‘kindhearted’ you sent someone to the hospital.
I’m not fortunate enough to withstand your kindness.”
Shen Baolan’s face cooled down, “Shen Mingzhu, I wanted to ask you.
You had previously said you were going to sell Chongyang cakes at a stall.
Why didn’t you eventually set up the stall?”
Shen Mingzhu made up an excuse on the spot, “Isn’t it because I wanted to leave the money-making opportunity to you?
Such a pity you’re not capable enough.”
“Don’t give me that nonsense.
You clearly did it on purpose to harm me!”
Shen Mingzhu was amused, “How did I harm you?
Did I make you bake Chongyang cakes, or did I tell you to give the unsold cakes to the children?
Shen Baolan, try looking for the reason within yourself for a change.
Don’t push the blame onto others every time something goes wrong.
It’s not the earth’s gravity’s fault when you can’t manage to shit.”
“Shen Mingzhu, you still have the nerve to make sarcastic remarks at me.
Wait a while, and I’ll see if you’re still laughing!”
Watching the Schadenfreude on Shen Baolan’s face, Shen Mingzhu inexplicably felt that same uncomfortable, strange feeling rise within her.
With Shen Baolan’s departure, Shen Mingzhu tried to cast aside that weird feeling, focusing instead on baking egg sponge cakes and memorizing knowledge points from her books.
As the saying goes, what one thinks during the day, one dreams at night.
That evening, Shen Mingzhu actually dreamed about Pei Yang.
In her dream, Pei Yang was dead.
Pei Ziheng, clutching Pei Yang’s black and white memorial portrait, cried pitifully, while Shen Baolan stood to the side laughing heartily, enraging her to no end.
She charged at Shen Baolan for a fight and then woke up.
Even though it was just a dream, Shen Mingzhu felt very uneasy.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that perhaps she had overlooked something.
After breakfast, she took Pei Ziheng to kindergarten.
As she descended the stairs, she ran into Wa Shiting.
Today, Wa Shiting was especially happy to go to kindergarten, as it was her father taking her, and she kept calling “Daddy” cheerfully all the way.
Watching this scene, Shen Mingzhu suddenly remembered!
