The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 70 - Buying a Gold Bracelet for My Wife
Chapter 70: Chapter 70 Buying a Gold Bracelet for My Wife
Chapter 70 -70 Buying a Gold Bracelet for My Wife
Shen Mingzhu looked at him, “What do you mean, what’s going on?”
Pei Yang replied with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, “I was out for nearly half a year, and not only has the money in this passbook not decreased, but there’s also an extra twenty dollars?”
“I did some small business and made some money, so I deposited it in there.”
In fact, she had saved four hundred dollars to buy Pei Ziheng a Walkman, which she used, adding the cost of the train ticket, and only twenty dollars were left.
“What kind of business makes so much money?
Earning four hundred in half a year, tell me about it?”
The damn man kept getting up close when talking, and deliberately too close at that, with his breath spraying onto her face as he spoke.
Shen Mingzhu pushed the man away, “Did you keep the tickets safe?
If you’ve got them, then leave.”
After she spoke, she headed out, but unexpectedly, her wrist was grabbed.
Pei Yang stuffed the passbook back into her hand.
Meeting her puzzled gaze, Pei Yang chuckled, “Keep the passbook, and take care of the money in it too.”
“You’re not buying anything?”
“I have money.”
Pei Yang took out a rectangular wallet from his backpack, opened it, and inside, besides a stack of bills, there were various types of tickets.
Pei Yang took out all the tickets and gave them to her, then pocketed the bills in his own coat.
Shen Mingzhu blurted out, “You actually have secret savings?”
And so much too.
At a rough glance, at least five to six hundred, almost a quarter of the total savings at home.
Damn man.
Pei Yang laughed as he explained, “This is my salary for the second half of the year, which I got when I went to the company for a meeting on New Year’s Eve.
We’re at sea all year round, so we usually get our salaries every few months.”
After a pause, he added, “I was planning to give it all to you, but I want to buy some stuff first, and I’ll give you the rest afterward.”
“Oh.”
Regarding the matter of managing money, it’s certainly best if the man is willing to hand it over voluntarily.
If he doesn’t want to, she wouldn’t insist.
Either way, the money in the passbook was enough to support her stepson until he turned 18.
With the money and tickets in her possession, the two went downstairs.
Upon reaching downstairs, good lord, Shen Baolan was actually still there, standing in the same spot as before, just staring blankly at Pei Yang.
Using an inappropriate analogy, she looked like a stone awaiting the return of her husband at sea.
Pei Yang mounted his motorcycle and as he passed by Shen Baolan, he thought for a moment and then stopped the bike.
“Shuhuan’s wife, go on home if there’s nothing else, be careful not to catch a cold.”
This warning was entirely out of respect for his brother Zhou Shuhuan.
However, Shen Baolan’s heart rippled—could Pei Yang be showing concern for her because he had a bit of feeling for her?
The more Shen Baolan thought about it, the more she felt this possibility was huge.
After all, in her dreams, she was the one married to Pei Yang.
She and Pei Yang were the couple!
Just then, she felt a kick in her stomach.
She looked down at her prominently rounded belly, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over her head.
She was already married to Zhou Shuhuan and was carrying Zhou Shuhuan’s child.
There was no possibility for her and Pei Yang.
It was she who had let slip this tall, handsome, good man to Shen Mingzhu.
Anyone else would have been better, but it had to be Shen Mingzhu, of all people, her very own rival.
Shen Baolan felt an extreme discomfort in her heart, as if a big hole had been dug out, letting the cold wind whistle through.
Seeing Shen Baolan’s dispirited appearance, the residents of the family compound were even more convinced that she was still hung up on Pei Yang.
“Look at her, as if her soul has been hooked away.”
“Who made her blind?
Pei Yang’s such a strong and handsome young man, with a good job too—marrying into his family would have meant a lifetime free from worries about food and drink.
She didn’t fancy him, chose the Zhou family’s reformed criminal instead, and now she regrets it, serves her right!”
—-
Once he rode out of the family compound, Pei Yang deliberately slowed down the bike’s speed.
One was fearing a skid on the road leading to a fall, the other was worrying about the cold harming his wife riding on the back of the motorcycle.
“Ride slower, the wind isn’t so strong, and it won’t be so cold.”
The couple leisurely rode the motorcycle as slowly as a turtle, while casually chatting about Shen Baolan.
“Did Shuhuan’s wife always bully you back in your hometown?”
Shen Mingzhu thought for a moment.
The original owner indeed had suffered quite a bit at the hands of Shen Baolan, so she just “mm-hmmed” in response.
Upon hearing this, Pei Yang said, “No wonder you’re so petite, it seems you were bullied from a young age.
When we were kids, Shuhuan was always bullied by me, so he didn’t grow tall either.
It’s really karma.
I bullied him, his wife bullied you.
That evens things out between him and me, right?”
Shen Mingzhu: “…”
“Why aren’t you speaking?”
“Cold.”
Shen Mingzhu was sparing with her words.
Pei Yang turned his head back, his voice carrying a smile, “You can hold onto me, that will be a bit warmer.”
Shen Mingzhu rolled her eyes.
After waiting a while without seeing her move, Pei Yang again brought up her business dealings.
Learning that she could make egg cakes and mooncakes, Pei Yang immediately requested that she make some for him to try the next day.
Shen Mingzhu thought it over but didn’t refuse.
With the weather being so cold, standing by the oven was quite warm; the man was at home anyway, so they might as well move the oven to the living room.
Bake some goods, warm up by the fire, and brew a pot of hot tea—just the thought was delightful.
During the Spring Festival period, the department store was packed with people, several times more than usual.
Almost every counter was crowded with people.
It was as noisy and lively as a vegetable market.
Pei Yang led her through several twists and turns to the counter selling gold jewelry.
The crowd was incredibly large; the counter, less than two meters long, was encircled three layers deep both inside and out.
Everyone had PURCHASE COUPONs and banknotes in hand, jostling and shoving each other, almost ready to break into a fight right there.
In an era of scarce resources, everyone scrambles for quality goods.
Although Pei Yang stood outside the crowd, his height allowed him to peek over with a little tiptoeing and spot the gold jewelry inside the counter.
“What do you like?
A necklace or a bracelet?”
Shen Mingzhu was somewhat surprised, “You’re buying it for me?”
Pei Yang smiled, “I have only you for a wife, if not you, who else would I buy jewelry for?
I see you don’t have pierced ears, so you can’t wear earrings.”
Shen Mingzhu felt a bit confused in her heart, and judging by the situation, it seemed very difficult to make a purchase.
“Let’s forget it; I’m not really interested in jewelry.”
The smile on Pei Yang’s face faded slightly, “Are you uninterested in jewelry, or are you uninterested in the jewelry I buy for you?”
Shen Mingzhu silently criticized the man’s fragility, then said, “Go buy it then.
I want a bracelet, the bigger the better.”
Only then did Pei Yang smile, said “Wait here,” and dived into the crowd, pushing aside people with his left hand, nudging others with his right, and quickly making his way to the very front of the counter.
Shen Mingzhu: “…”
Feeling somewhat bored while waiting, Shen Mingzhu turned to browse other product counters, randomly buying cups, towels, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, and an additional wash basin.
When she returned to the gold counter holding her purchased items, she saw Pei Yang squeezing out of the crowd, trotting towards her.
He was as excited as a big boy who had snatched a toy.
“Look, do you like it?”
The man spread his large hand like he was presenting a treasure, and nestled in his palm was a small gold bracelet, gleaming brilliantly under the bright daylight lamp.
It was a solid plain bangle with an open clasp, the band roughly the thickness of a woolen thread, with the ends fashioned like lotus pods.
Even forty years later, the design would still be considered classic and elegant.
“It’s pretty nice.”
Seeing that she liked it, Pei Yang prepared to put it on her but then noticed the nylon net bag in her hand, filled with various daily necessities.
He stared at it for a moment, his eyes suddenly filled with amusement, “Is that for me?”
