The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 470 - 469: Pei Ke Goes Missing

"Mom, it’s different now. Shuhuan has gone south to do business, and he’s definitely going to succeed this time, he will make a fortune!" Baolan said with full confidence.

Even though Cuihua was a rural woman, she had a clear head on her shoulders.

She had never been optimistic about Baolan’s dream of becoming a wealthy lady. Over the years, she had come to see that her son-in-law, Shuhuan, was unreliable.

Setting aside whether Shuhuan could make a big profit.

Even if he did, let alone benefit from it, if Shuhuan didn’t kick his daughter to the curb, that would already be a sign of a good conscience.

Thinking about this, Cuihua tapped her daughter’s forehead and said, "You’re not young anymore. Stop dreaming these grand dreams. You’d be better off saving more money. Let me tell you, it’s only safe when the money’s in your hands. Don’t naively hand it all over to your mother-in-law; that Ma Sufen is a stingy old hen. Giving her your money is no different from a meat bun hitting a dog – you’ll get nothing back!"

Baolan took this advice to heart and replied, "I know."

Nowadays, she hid half of the money she made every day.

At night, after closing up her stall, Baolan would skip dinner and immediately pick up the phone to call Fucheng.

She got a busy signal for half an hour straight.

The factory dormitory where Shuhuan was staying had only two public phones for the whole building. It was normal for the lines to be busy during peak hours in the evening.

Baolan wouldn’t give up. She was frantic to know whether Shuhuan had sealed the business deal and whether she could become the rich lady she dreamed of, her whole future hinged on Shuhuan.

With her rice bowl in hand, she dialed the number while she ate.

Finally, the call connected but the person on the other end hung up after she mentioned Shuhuan’s name, claiming they didn’t recognize him.

When she tried to call again, she found the line busy once more.

She was so angry that she cursed the ancestors of the person who hung up on her.

Mingzhu, a few streets away, was also annoyed by her inability to get a call through.

Ever since she noticed an unexpected deposit in her account three days ago, she hadn’t been able to reach Pei Ke.

Ding-a-ling-ling.

The phone suddenly rang, and Mingzhu immediately picked it up. "Hello?"

"That quick, huh? Waiting for me? Are you like someone who feels days have been like years, expecting me eagerly?"

Pei Yang’s cheerful laughter came through the phone.

Mingzhu wasn’t in the mood for jokes. "How are things on your end?"

"Well, today I met with the Motorola Northeast Market Manager and we had a good talk. His wife is from our province, and he promised to help me vie for the provincial distributorship," he said.

"How much will it roughly cost?" she asked.

"I estimate not less than two hundred thousand."

Pei Yang paused for a moment before continuing, "During dinner, Manager Yang asked if I wanted to sign the provincial agency for handheld phones as well, mentioning that if I sign for both, the chances of success would be higher."

Mingzhu’s interest was piqued. "How much is the agency fee for portable phones per year?"

"One hundred thousand."

One hundred thousand.

Mingzhu tapped her fingers slowly on the armrest of the sofa.

In this era, handheld phones, commonly known as ’brick phones’, started at twenty thousand for the unit with an activation fee of three thousand. It was a luxury among luxuries, affordable by less than 0.1% of families in the whole province.

"Manager Yang said if the sales of handheld phones exceed one million for the year, they will refund 50% of the agency fee."

To reach a million in sales, at least fifty handheld phones needed to be sold.

"This year I can help you sell twenty, and for the remaining thirty, if you are confident, you could give it a try," Pei Yang suggested.

"But that means the investment would be too great. The pager business requires one hundred thousand, and the handheld phone agency starts with a two-year contract that needs an advance fee of two hundred thousand. Just the initial agency fee is that much, not to mention the stock-up costs. In total, we would need at least five hundred thousand," said Pei Yang.

Mingzhu fell silent.

Such a large capital investment was indeed a considerable pressure for them.

All the savings at home, along with the sixty thousand yuan that had mysteriously appeared in the account, totaled less than two hundred thousand.

However, if they asked Zhong Qing for help, borrowing three hundred thousand from the bank wouldn’t be a problem.

Seemingly guessing her thoughts, Pei Yang said, "You can’t get fat with one bite. I’ve just started my business, it’s better to proceed steadily. I don’t want to risk you and the food factory."

Hearing him say this, Shen Mingzhu also realized she was getting ahead of herself.

For now, pagers were the trend; mobile phones would take at least another four or five years to develop domestically.

One cannot rush these things.

"Alright, let’s do as we discussed before, strive to secure the provincial agency rights for pagers. When you have time, you can also find out about Manager Yang’s preferences. As long as we cater to his tastes and deliver the goods, things will be much easier to handle."

"Mm, I know."

After discussing the business, Shen Mingzhu brought up Pei Ke, "I haven’t been able to contact uncle these past days. I’m a bit worried, I’m thinking of asking someone to inquire at uncle’s workplace tomorrow."

"Mm, call me when you get in touch."

"Okay."

Early the next day, after still receiving no response from calling Pei Ke’s residence, Shen Mingzhu had no choice but to contact Zhuang Xueqi, who was recuperating in Hong City.

Zhuang Xueqi was very straightforward and immediately sent someone to Pei Ke’s workplace to look for him.

Pei Ke had been absent from work without reason for a week.

According to a colleague close to Pei Ke, before taking leave, Pei Ke had mentioned going to Ao City, and since then had gone missing.

Considering the sixty thousand yuan that had been transferred from Ao City, Shen Mingzhu was almost certain that Pei Ke had encountered trouble in Ao City.

So many days had passed without him asking for leave or contacting anyone.

Either he was physically unable to, or the environment was preventing him.

She hoped it was the latter.

Shen Mingzhu immediately went back home and found the postcard La Shiran had left her last year.

She knew it was rather abrupt to seek La Shiran’s help like this; perhaps La Shiran had left the postcard merely out of politeness and probably didn’t even remember who she was.

But she had no other option; La Shiran was the only person she knew from Ao City.

"Hello, who is this?"

Hearing a somewhat familiar, gentle female voice on the phone made Shen Mingzhu inexplicably nervous, and she stumbled over her words.

"Miss La, I’m Shen Mingzhu. Last year, at the Hongli Hotel, you got a blister on your heel..."

"Ah, it’s you, what’s up?"

La Shiran’s tone was easygoing, and she even remembered her.

Shen Mingzhu’s anxiety eased somewhat, "Miss La, I’m very sorry to disturb you so suddenly, but my uncle went to Ao City three days ago and has been unreachable since. Could you help me report this to the police?"

"No problem, tell me your uncle’s personal information."

Although La Shiran agreed to help, Shen Mingzhu’s anxiety was not alleviated, mingled with a sense of guilt and unease she couldn’t share with others.

She couldn’t help but wonder whether Pei Ke’s disappearance was related to her suggestion that he return to the country for his career.

While waiting for news, Shen Mingzhu found time to call Shanghai City.

Upon learning of Pei Ke’s disappearance, Pei Yang wanted to return to Fengcheng right away, even leaving the pager agency negotiations unfinished.

Shen Mingzhu stopped him, "Your coming back now won’t help; let’s wait for news from Miss La first. Maybe uncle is just held up by something, let’s not scare ourselves."

Shen Mingzhu hadn’t sought help in vain; by evening, news came from La Shiran’s side.