The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 421 - 420 Reckoning

Shen Mingzhu, heavy with thoughts, left work and stepped out of the food factory’s gate. She was about to fetch her car across the street when Sun Feifei, who seemed to come out of nowhere, blocked her path.

"Shen Mingzhu, I told you, you’re destined to lose."

Shen Mingzhu looked at the other person, "I’ve got a question for you, that’s all."

"You want to know how I managed to get the Hengxing order, don’t you?"

"No, I just want to confirm, on the day of the auction, the silver Xiali you drove, had its license plate’s last digits as 38, right?"

Sun Feifei raised her eyebrows, "So what if it is?"

"Very good."

Shen Mingzhu tossed her handbag to Pei Qiuxia behind her, then, faster than lightning, she grabbed Sun Feifei’s hair and slapped her resoundingly across the face, first left, then right.

"Hit and run, you’re really capable, aren’t you? I’ve been itching to settle the score with someone, and you dare to show up on my doorstep!"

Burning with both old and new resentments, Shen Mingzhu’s fighting spirit soared to SSS+.

Never underestimate the arm strength of a mom who’s been carrying a child for years.

Sun Feifei, wearing a pencil skirt and high heels look good, but they were quite restrictive in a fight. She was pinned to the ground by Shen Mingzhu, unable to fight back, only able to scream continuously.

It was the end of the workday, and the surrounding area was filled with factory workers who quickly formed three layers inside and three layers outside to watch the commotion.

Some recognized Shen Mingzhu, "Hey, isn’t that Shen Mingzhu from Meihao Food Factory? Why is she fighting with someone?"

"I don’t know. Look at that woman, she looks like trouble. Maybe she seduced someone’s man?"

"Can’t be, I’ve seen President Shen’s man, he seems like a decent person."

"You can’t judge a book by its cover, are there any cats that don’t steal fish?"

Pei Yang: ???

When you’re outside, trouble falls from the sky.

After Shen Mingzhu had her fill of slapping, her anger dissipated, and she grabbed her handbag from Pei Qiuxia, ready to leave.

Sun Feifei got up from the ground, furious, with her curled hair a mess like a chicken’s nest and her makeup smeared.

"Shen Mingzhu, stop right there! I’m calling the police!"

Shen Mingzhu turned around with a sneer, "Hit and run, endangering the safety of others’ lives, let’s see who the police will arrest first once they get here, you or me."

"Don’t think the incident where you hit me is over. Let me tell you, I reported it that very day. If you want to argue about it at the police station, I’m all in."

Sun Feifei stared at her, uncertain and fearful, no longer daring to mention calling the police.

Shen Mingzhu left feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

Once in the car, Pei Qiuxia couldn’t help but cast an admiring glance at Shen Mingzhu, "President Shen, you’re so foresighted to have reported to the police first. If it had been me, I would’ve just accepted my bad luck."

Shen Mingzhu started the car, a smile playing on her lips, "I was bluffing her. It was just a minor scratch. Even if it goes to the police station they might not file a case."

"Ah? But aren’t you afraid she will really make a fuss at the police station?"

"She won’t dare."

"Why?"

"She has a criminal record, and she holds a grudge against me. Once we get to the police station, I’ll turn the tables and accuse her of deliberate retaliation and assault; she won’t be able to walk away from that."

Shen Mingzhu guessed correctly; Sun Feifei indeed was worried about this and had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill in silence.

Yet the raging hatred in her eyes foreshadowed that she would not let things rest.

...

"Mom, what happened to your chin?"

Hearing her son ask, Shen Mingzhu subconsciously touched it, feeling a prick of pain, guessing it was scratched by Sun Feifei during the fight.

"It’s nothing, probably just accidentally scratched by a fingernail."

Pei Ziheng went to find a tube of erythromycin ointment from the house. Unscrewing the cap, he dabbed a little on his fingertip and carefully applied it to her wound.

Guoguo lay on her knees, her grape-like black eyes darting about.

She looked at her, then at Pei Ziheng, seemingly curious about what they were doing.

"All done," she said.

"Thank you, son."

Gazing at the increasingly refined and exquisite features of the youth’s face, Shen Mingzhu felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction swell within her.

Like a carefully nurtured sapling, he had grown into a strong plant with lush leaves.

After applying the ointment, Shen Mingzhu took her two children to the upstairs study.

While Pei Ziheng did his homework, Shen Mingzhu accompanied her daughter in playing with building block toys, waiting for Pei Yang to come home for dinner.

Pei Yang returned home earlier than usual that day, and as soon as he entered, he hurried to the second floor without even changing his shoes, bending over to inspect her up and down.

Shen Mingzhu felt oddly scrutinized by his gaze, "What are you doing?"

"It’s fine, your face isn’t scratched," teased Pei Yang.

Shen Mingzhu gave him a stern look, then turned to instruct the siblings to "come down for dinner in ten minutes," before she stood up to talk with Pei Yang downstairs.

After the footsteps at the stairway vanished, Pei Ziheng put down his pen, picked up the bamboo tube hanging by the window, and brought it to his ear.

He had made this sound-transmitting tube to amuse Guoguo; with it, one could hear the conversations taking place in the living room.

Seeing this, Guoguo also lost interest in her toys and scurried over to him, tilting her round, steamed bun-like face to look up at him.

"Brother~"

Pei Ziheng crouched down, a finger to his lips, "Shh."

Guoguo blinked her big eyes and mimicked his gesture, pressing her tender little ear to the bamboo tube.

At that age, a child’s hearing is not yet fully developed, and since she was behind the sound-transmitting tube, she couldn’t actually hear any spoken words, but Guoguo still smiled with joy and satisfaction.

Down in the living room.

Shen Mingzhu briefly explained to Pei Yang about her past grievances with Sun Feifei, how Sun Feifei snatched away Hengxing’s order, and the incident where Sun Feifei had previously rammed her with a car.

...

The following day, after finishing her work, Shen Mingzhu brought some homemade snacks she had made herself and drove to Mingyuan.

"Mrs. Ning, I made all these snacks by hand; they’re low in sugar and oil, so you can have them when you’re hungry without worrying about gaining weight," Shen Mingzhu offered.

Zhuang Xueqi grabbed a wholegrain cookie and nibbled on it as she looked at her, "Spill it — what do you want?"

Shen Mingzhu didn’t beat around the bush and told her about how Sun Feifei took away Hengxing’s order.

The maid, who was squatting in front of the coffee table peeling loquats for Zhuang Xueqi, glanced at Shen Mingzhu upon hearing Sun Feifei’s name.

"...Actually, it’s very normal to win some and lose some in business; I’m just looking to understand where I fell short this time so I can learn from it for the next time," said Shen Mingzhu.

Zhuang Xueqi took a sip of lemon water, "Alright, I’ll help you ask around about this."

After talking about her own matters, Shen Mingzhu reported on a few investment projects she was handling for Zhuang Xueqi, and then she took her leave.

After she had gone, the maid hesitated before speaking up, "Madam, there was once a Miss Sun Feifei who visited our house before. I wonder if it’s the same person Mrs. Pei mentioned..."

The maid recounted to Zhuang Xueqi all about how Sun Feifei had once harbored delusions of leveraging her child for status but had effectively been dealt with by Yan Jing’s decisive action.

Normally, the maid might not dare to discuss such things before Zhuang Xueqi.

But times had changed, and now that Zhuang Xueqi was pregnant and nearly secured her place as the Ning Family’s matriarch, those around her couldn’t miss the opportunity to curry favor.

Although the maid wasn’t sure if the Sun Feifei mentioned by Shen Mingzhu was the same Sun Feifei who previously visited, Zhuang Xueqi, relying on a woman’s intuition, was convinced they were one and the same.

She even suspected that Sun Feifei managed to oust Shen Mingzhu and secure the contract with Hengxing because Ning Yuan had schemed to open a backdoor for his old flame.

...

In the private room of a tea house, upon hearing Sun Feifei’s report of her accomplishments, Zhong Ying and Ouyang Xiaoyan were exceptionally excited.