The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 850 - 849 Mooncake Orders Explode

Looking at Xia Wushuang’s grinning face, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but laugh, "You look so happy, it seems like there’s good news."

"It’s not just good news, it’s great news! You’ll know once you go inside!"

Once inside the door and seeing Shi Yizheng sitting on the sofa, Shen Mingzhu had a clear understanding.

"Brother Shi, long time no see. I hope you haven’t been waiting too long."

"Sister Shen is too courteous. It was me who came uninvited."

Shi Yizheng was not only very close with Pei Ziheng, but he was also a long-term tenant of that empty courtyard on Zhong Street, so the couple was very polite to him.

Shi Yizheng was here to place a mooncake order and generously placed an order for one hundred thousand boxes.

Officially, Shi Yizheng was the founder and general manager of several enterprises, with a net worth over a billion, and a rising star in the business world of Fengcheng.

However, even Shen Mingzhu didn’t know that Shi Yizheng was merely a "puppet" pushed to the forefront by Pei Ziheng.

This time, he personally came to the factory to place a mooncake order to "support" Shen Mingzhu.

As soon as Shi Yizheng left, the news of the one hundred thousand box mooncake order spread through the factory like it had wings.

Before even lunchtime, the full payment for the one hundred thousand boxes was transferred into the food factory’s account.

Pei Wenping was the happiest, "I have to pay salaries tomorrow, and I was worried there wouldn’t be enough money in the account. Brother Shi is really dependable. I must treat him to a nice meal soon."

Shen Mingzhu vaguely felt that Shi Yizheng’s generous help was due to his friendship with her son, Pei Ziheng, as they were close friends of different generations.

What made her curious was how her son came to value Shi Yizheng so highly.

Shi Yizheng’s order also filled the entire factory with hope.

The depressive atmosphere that had lingered for half a year was swept away, and the workers became re-energized.

Over the next few days, Shen Mingzhu received additional orders from Zhong Qing, Yan Su, and Ning Yuan.

The volume of mooncake orders grew like a snowball and quickly reached two hundred thousand boxes, surpassing the highest sales records of previous years.

Originally, the quota for one hundred temporary mooncake workers was urgently increased to three hundred, but there was still a massive labor shortage to produce two hundred thousand boxes within a month.

Shen Mingzhu made a decisive decision, halting half of the other production lines and reallocating those workers to help in the mooncake workshop.

The issue of insufficient staff was resolved, but there was a significant shortage of raw materials.

After finally negotiating a priority supply agreement with the suppliers, she received a call from La Shiran in Ao City.

"Mingzhu, what have you been busy with recently?"

"The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming; I’m busy selling mooncakes. By the way, Manman, what flavor of mooncake would you like this year? I’ll send some to you in advance."

"Kids make choices; adults want everything."

"Alright, no problem."

"Just send me ten thousand boxes of each flavor."

Shen Mingzhu thought La Shiran was joking, "Ten thousand boxes of each, are you planning to feed pigs?"

"That’s none of your business; I just want them."

"Manman, are you serious?"

"Otherwise?"

Now, the food factory’s mooncakes came in fifteen different flavors, ten thousand boxes each—that’s one hundred fifty thousand boxes.

Shen Mingzhu held her forehead, "Manman, you should have called earlier. The orders are already full. I can’t even fulfill fifty thousand boxes, let alone one hundred fifty thousand."

"I don’t care, figure it out, I believe you can do it. You’ve taken orders from others, so why not mine? Do you look down on me as a friend?"

"Of course not..."

"Then hurry up and figure out how to make the mooncakes. Don’t worry about transportation; just call me when the mooncakes are ready, and I’ll send someone to pick them up."

After saying this, he hung up the phone without giving Shen Mingzhu a chance to respond.

Sigh.

Seeing Shen Mingzhu holding the phone and sighing, Xia Wushuang asked out of concern, "President Shen, what’s wrong? Is it an issue with sourcing the raw materials?"

"Yes, and no."

When Xia Wushuang learned that the food factory had just received another order for 150,000 boxes of mooncakes, he was equally stunned.

"Another 150,000 boxes? The workers can’t possibly produce them all even if they rub their palms raw."

However, Shen Mingzhu’s mood suddenly changed, and she smiled mysteriously, "It seems, it’s time to show our true capabilities."

After saying this, she didn’t bother clarifying the confusion for Xia Wushuang, grabbed her car keys, and motioned for him to follow her out.

...

After discussing with several managers who had resigned from the food factory and joined her in starting a new business, two days later, they planned to head to Fu Wang Food Corporation in Ao City. Du Juan, her throat feeling as if it was smoking, picked up her cup to drink some water, only to find it empty.

She looked around and didn’t see her assistant, Mai Qiu.

After the managers left, she got up to go to the water room outside to get water and saw Mai Qiu quietly talking with two female employees, which made her frown slightly.

The day after leaving the food factory, she had rented a temporary office space of about 100 square meters in a business building in the downtown area.

"Mai Qiu."

"Eh!"

Hearing her call, Mai Qiu hurried back, took the empty cup from her hands with discerning alacrity.

After pouring the water and returning to the office, Mai Qiu explained the reason for her earlier distraction without waiting for Du Juan to ask—it was about discussing the recent burst of mooncake orders at the food factory.

Everyone had come from the food factory and had their own friends there; any bit of news from the food factory reached them almost instantly.

"When you managed the factory, it was in such difficulty, and Deputy Director Shen clearly had the ability to help but didn’t. Isn’t it obvious she wanted to force you out so she could take your place? She really is scheming."

Seeing her assistant’s indignation, Du Juan spoke indifferently, "For this trip to Ao City, you don’t need to come."

Mai Qiu was puzzled, "Why? Wasn’t it decided that I would go with you and Brother Shen? The plane tickets are already booked."

"You stay here to watch over everything, it will be more convenient for handling matters."

Mai Qiu was clearly unhappy, "But I want to go to Ao City; I’ve never been there in my entire life."

"There will always be other opportunities in the future."

After Du Juan had spoken, Mai Qiu, despite her reluctance, had to comply.

...

In the middle of the night.

Seeing light seeping through the cracks of the door, Shen Chaobei got up and opened the bedroom door, seeing his wife sitting alone on the living room sofa, he approached with concern:

"Why aren’t you sleeping, what are you thinking about?"

Du Juan shook the wine glass in her hand and said, "I’m pondering over the choice for a new assistant. Which one do you think is more suitable between Xiao Che and Xiao Fu, or should I hire a recent college graduate like Sister Shen did?"

Shen Chaobei showed a look of surprise, "What about Xiao Mai, are you promoting her to a manager?"

Du Juan took a sip of her drink and reflected, "I used to think Xiao Mai was straightforward and not cunning, but today I suddenly realized that not only is she gossipy and unclear-headed, but she also likes to stir up trouble. Keeping such a person by my side will sooner or later bring me down."