The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 780 - 779: Assisting

Grateful for Shen Mingzhu’s deflection, Han Zibin sent her an appreciative glance on the sly.

But he didn’t leave. Instead, he reminded the women in the room, "Eating too much barbecue can cause heatiness. Everyone should drink more pear soup to clear the heat, reduce inflammation, and aid digestion."

"Look at our Little Han, so thoughtful and considerate. He’ll definitely be a good husband who dotes on his wife in the future."

"Let’s take advantage of him before he gets married." Shen Hongmei smiled as she handed over an empty bowl. "Little Han, could you help me refill my soup?"

"Not at all a bother."

Han Zibin smiled as he took the bowl. His gaze shifted to Yan Su, who was sitting next to Shen Hongmei. "Second Miss, you don’t have much soup left in your bowl either. Let me get you some more while it’s still hot."

Not waiting for Yan Su to speak up, Shen Mingzhu, with her long arms, picked up the bowl in front of Yan Su and passed it to Han Zibin.

She praised him with a smiling face, "Our Little Han is so attentive."

Han Zibin chuckled and turned to where the soup was being served.

After serving Shen Hongmei and Yan Su, as well as Shen Mingzhu and the others, Han Zibin finally left the room to go back to the barbecue stand.

Upon his return, he could tell immediately that the way Pei Yang and the other three were looking at him was a bit off.

Especially Pei Yang, whose gaze was filled with benevolence, as if a father was looking at his son. "Little Han, you’ve got a bright future ahead."

After he said that, he didn’t give Han Zibin a chance to respond and went into the room with a skewer of meat cooked just right.

Han Zibin looked at Chen Yi quizzically, "What did Brother Pei mean by that?"

Chen Yi, "He’s complimenting your good taste."

Just as Han Zibin was about to ask further, She Zheming interjected, "Come on, keep grilling, don’t stop. Your skill isn’t bad, it ranks up there with the barbecue I’ve had."

He gave Han Zibin a thumbs up.

Han Zibin replied modestly, "It’s all thanks to Sister Shen’s marvelous marinating technique. At most, I’m just tending the fire."

"It’s already quite impressive. Some things might look simple, but are tough to do. Take this barbecuing, for instance. It looks simple, flipping and sprinkling on some seasoning, but if I were in charge, I guarantee it would be chaos; I’d be too busy to manage both ends."

Chen Yi, "Zheming, your expertise is dealing with criminals, a job not just anyone can handle."

She Zheming, "And you’re a great author, something others can’t do either."

Zhao Dafa laughed, "We each have our own strengths; let’s not sell ourselves short. Come on, back to the barbecue."

"Right, today’s all about eating, drinking, and having fun. Work and such can take a hike."

She Zheming, in high spirits, opened a bottle of strong spirits and poured five cups, handing one each to Chen Yi, Han Zibin, and Zhao Dafa.

"Come on, let’s have a drink."

"Cheers."

Inside the house.

After setting down the sizzling, aromatic skewers, Pei Yang didn’t rush out but squatted down next to Shen Mingzhu, waiting for her feedback.

"How’s the cooking? Charred enough?"

Shen Mingzhu nodded as she ate, "It’s good, your skills have improved a lot."

"Tasty, right? I told you, the skewers need to be a bit burnt to have the best flavor. Little Han just had to argue with me."

As he said this, all the women in the room turned their curious and gossip-hungry eyes upon them.

"What were you two arguing about?"

"He insisted that the skewers should be cooked softer, that as soon as the meat was barely cooked, he would rush to bring it inside."

"One bed doesn’t make two kinds of people," Shen Mingzhu guessed immediately that Pei Yang must have realized Han Zibin’s feelings and deliberately came to aid his cause.

She feigned annoyance, "Why argue over such a trivial matter?"

"That’s what I said too. A couple of extra minutes on the grill won’t hurt, but he just wouldn’t have it, insisting that the softer ones taste better."

Aside from Shen Mingzhu and Yan Su, Pei Wenping and the others didn’t take this little incident to heart.

They weren’t very familiar with Yan Su and didn’t know that she preferred her grilled meat on the softer side.

The couple left the subject there.

Shen Mingzhu took half of the skewers that had just been brought in and handed them to Pei Yang to take outside, "You don’t need to bring all of them in. You guys eat as well."

"Thanks, wife."

As he took the skewers, he swiftly planted a kiss on Shen Mingzhu’s face, earning a chorus of "Oh my!" from all the women in the room.

"Brother Pei, you really don’t consider us outsiders, do you?"

"If you really can’t help yourself, just take Mingzhu to the room," Pei Wenping teased with a smile.

Pei Yang asked Shen Mingzhu with a grin, "Want to go?"

"Go to hell, get lost," Shen Mingzhu snapped, her face blushing furiously.

"Alright then."

As Pei Yang cheerfully headed out, Yan Su couldn’t help but laughingly praise, "Your Pei Yang has such a great personality."

"What’s so great about it? He’s stubborn and pig-headed, has been a troublemaker causing mischief and stirring trouble since we were kids, he’s given my parents enough headaches."

Being the true sister she was, Pei Wenping didn’t hesitate to throw him under the bus, "Only Mingzhu can handle him."

"That’s what they call ’fighting poison with poison, a perfect match for each other.’

"Isn’t that the truth."

Everyone was teasing with their words, but deep down, they all knew very well that a man like Pei Yang couldn’t be tamed by mere tricks; he was simply wholeheartedly doting on his wife.

As the sky darkened, everyone had their fill of food and drink, and Shen Mingzhu suggested playing Truth or Dare.

People of this era knew nothing about this game, but once Shen Mingzhu explained the rules and how to play, everyone was eager to try it.

The game began.

Following the principle of ’ladies first,’ and since Shen Mingzhu initiated the game, everyone unanimously agreed to let her go first.

Among methods like rock-paper-scissors, spinning the bottle, passing the parcel, and rolling the dice, Shen Mingzhu chose to spin the bottle.

In her opinion, spinning the bottle created a better atmosphere.

The first person it pointed to was Chen Yi.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Who is the person you love?"

Chen Yi didn’t hesitate, "Pei Wenping."

After he spoke, he was glared at by Pei Wenping.

But Chen Yi seemed exceptionally happy.

Once everyone became familiar with the game, their excitement grew.

When it was Chen Yi’s turn to spin the bottle, it pointed to Yan Su.

"I’ll choose truth."

"Do you have someone of the opposite sex that you admire or like?"

Yan Su was silent for two seconds, then picked up the glass of red wine in front of her and drained it in one go.

Worried about Yan Su getting drunk, Shen Mingzhu grabbed a handful of melon seeds with milk fragrance and handed them over.

"Thanks."

Yan Su smiled at her and started cracking the seeds slowly.

As the game continued, the atmosphere got even more lively. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

After a few rounds, it was finally Han Zibin’s turn to be pointed at.

Han Zibin chose dare.

The initiator was Shen Mingzhu, who looked at Han Zibin with a mischievous smile, "Choose a lady present and dance a ballroom dance with her."

All the gentlemen simultaneously turned their gaze towards Yan Su, realizing that Shen Mingzhu was creating an opportunity for Han Zibin.

However, Han Zibin had the desire but not the guts, and opted to drink as a forfeit.

Alright then, he must really like to drink.

Soon it was Han Zibin’s turn again, this time he chose dare and was told to drink a large cup of red wine.

Under normal circumstances, everyone’s glass had only about two sips worth of wine.

Thanks to Pei Yang and a few others who were keen pranksters, Han Zibin was so drunk within half an hour that he was passed out.

After escorting Han Zibin back to his room, everyone stopped playing games and just sat around to chat and rest.

Yan Su had also had quite a bit to drink that night and soon excused herself, claiming she was sleepy and heading back to her room to rest.

The guest area of the courtyard was divided into two floors, with two rooms on both the upper and lower floors.

The rooms of Yan Su and Han Zibin were upstairs, adjacent to each other.