The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 159 Yang Lizhen Begs to Come Over, Tell Her to Get Out

Chapter 159: Chapter 159 Yang Lizhen Begs to Come Over, Tell Her to Get Out

Qin Jinlian was shocked by Shen Mingzhu’s threat to cut off family ties and couldn’t regain her composure.

Shen Chaobei and his wife were equally stunned, staring blankly at Shen Mingzhu.

Off to the side, Shen Baolan gloated over the misfortune.

She couldn’t wait for Shen Mingzhu to sever ties with the Shen Family; when Pei Yang died, Shen Mingzhu would be left with a huge debt. Surely the man who drove the small car wouldn’t marry a family-ruining woman like Shen Mingzhu. By then, Shen Mingzhu would be helpless and burdened with a child; a truly desperate scenario where neither heaven nor earth would respond to her pleas.

The more she thought about it, the more excited Shen Baolan became, even going so far as to fan the flames in front of Qin Jinlian.

"Aunt Jinlian, I’m not trying to be mean, but a daughter like Mingzhu is really troublesome. Ever since she married into the Pei Family, not a single day has she settled down, always up to something or causing trouble. You have no idea how much gossip flies behind backs in the residential compound; with Mingzhu’s antics, she will sooner or later cause a major disaster. Just wait and see if you don’t believe me!"

Although Qin Jinlian was confused, she wasn’t so confused as to not tell good from evil.

Shen Baolan had always been jealous of her daughter, always antagonistic. Qin Jinlian knew she had to interpret Shen Baolan’s words in reverse.

If Shen Baolan said her daughter was bad, that meant she was good.

If Shen Baolan said her daughter’s business would fail, that meant it would succeed.

Qin Jinlian had her answer.

She wiped away her tears and scolded Shen Mingzhu without good humor, "You went behind my back and your father’s, stirring up such a big fuss, and now you won’t even let me say a few words? And cutting off family ties? You came from my womb; do you think you can just declare it and be done with it?"

"Forget it, I’m done caring. You all can do as you please; you never listen to anything I say anyway. I’m leaving."

Qin Jinlian suddenly lost her fight, leaving not only Shen Mingzhu and Shen Chaobei baffled but even Shen Baolan was flabbergasted.

Unwilling to let it go, Shen Baolan chased after Qin Jinlian, "Aunt Jinlian, why are you leaving? You’re not going to look after Mingzhu anymore?"

"I’m not, I can’t control her!"

Their voices trailed off into the distance, and those left in the factory looked at each other, at a loss.

——

Outside the factory, Shen Baolan watched Qin Jinlian’s retreating figure with great regret.

Why had she suddenly stopped making a scene? She should have kept it up. It would have been perfect if they had fought to the death and cut ties for good.

When Shen Baolan returned home, carrying her disappointment, the gossip-loving Ma Sufen couldn’t wait to find out what had transpired.

Learning that Qin Jinlian hadn’t given Shen Mingzhu the harsh dressing-down she was expecting, scolding her only a few times before going back, Ma Sufen also felt a great sense of regret.

Regretting not getting to watch a good drama, she also despised Qin Jinlian, feeling she was utterly useless, unable to control her own daughter, letting her run wild.

Thankfully her son hadn’t married Shen Mingzhu, who had the gall to secretly take out a 5,000 yuan loan for her business. Marrying such a daughter-in-law would drag the whole family down.

Since Pei Yang went to sea, Shen Baolan had once again started dreaming of becoming a wealthy matron, making an effort every day to please everyone in the Zhou family. However, no matter how much she lowered herself, Ma Sufen had never shown her any kindness, treating her like a maid.

Yet, regarding the matter of Shen Mingzhu starting a business, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law miraculously joined forces.

Both were itching for Shen Mingzhu to fail disastrously and be saddled with a huge debt!

Not only were they harboring these thoughts, but they also dragged the rest of the residential compound into their gossip, eagerly waiting for Shen Mingzhu’s misfortune.

Although Qin Jinlian said she would stay out of it, once she got home, she couldn’t stop sighing to Shen Jianguo, "A debt of 5,000 yuan, how are we going to repay it?"

Shen Jianguo was also worried. For an authentic farmer who lived off the land, what did a 5,000 yuan debt mean? It was almost like the sky falling down.

Sigh~

News of Shen Mingzhu borrowing money to start a factory soon reached Yang Lizhen’s ears as well.

Yang Lizhen thought differently from Qin Jinlian. With a woman’s intuition and her several interactions with Shen Mingzhu, she believed Shen Mingzhu could make the business successful.

So, the next day, she packed her things and headed into the city again.

"Xiangnan."

"Why have you come again?"

Upon seeing Yang Lizhen, Shen Xiangnan did not have a welcoming expression.

Yang Lizhen’s previous behavior was truly unforgivable. If it weren’t for his younger sister inviting the village chief into the city ahead of time, he would have already lost his job and gone back home to farm.

Yang Lizhen’s eyes reddened as tears streamed down her face, "Xiangnan, I’ve wronged you. I know I made a mistake. I can’t go on living like this. Please help me..."

"...Ever since our divorce, your mother has been spreading bad rumors about me every day. Now I simply cannot get married off, and can only stay at home as an old maid. Everyone in the village is laughing at me; I daren’t even step outside. My parents can’t hold their heads up either."

"Xiangnan, I don’t ask for much, just help me find a way out so I can survive."

Having been a couple for years, Shen Xiangnan found it hard not to feel compassion upon seeing Yang Lizhen crying bitterly and learning of her miserable situation.

Despite feeling troubled, he still led Yang Lizhen to Shen Mingzhu’s food factory.

When Shen Mingzhu heard that Yang Lizhen wanted to work at her food factory, she bluntly replied with three words, "Tell her to scram."

Shen Xiangnan wanted to beg for mercy, but Shen Mingzhu had three words for him too, "You scram too."

Yang Lizhen didn’t dare enter the food factory, only waiting outside the gate. When she saw Shen Xiangnan come out looking dejected, her heart sank instantly.

"Xiangnan, what did your younger sister say?"

"She told us to scram," Shen Xiangnan answered honestly.

Yang Lizhen’s face turned pale with anger.

She couldn’t go back like this, going back meant a dead end.

She had to stay in the city. Only in the city did she have a chance to marry a city man and lead a good life like Shen Mingzhu.

With a resentful gaze fixed on the food factory’s sign, Yang Lizhen’s heart was filled with resentment and jealousy towards Shen Mingzhu’s heartlessness. She couldn’t help but instigate Shen Xiangnan, whispering in his ear:

"Mingzhu is way too biased. You and Chaobei are both her real brothers, but whenever there’s a good opportunity, she only thinks of Chaobei. The egg cakes before, the snack stall, and now that she’s running a food factory, she’s only making Chaobei rich, never once considering you."

Shen Xiangnan’s face turned cold immediately, "Lizhen, don’t say things like that again. I don’t want to listen. In order to help with our wedding back then, my younger sister went to be a stepmother to someone else’s child. After I got divorced, she arranged a job for me in the city. There’s nobody in the world who’s been better to me than my younger sister."

Although Shen Mingzhu sent Shen Xiangnan away with harsh words, she couldn’t help but worry that Shen Xiangnan might be swayed by Yang Lizhen. Busy with factory matters and unable to extricate herself, she asked Du Juan to make a trip to the cotton mill to relay a message to Shen Xiangnan—

If he dared to get back together with Yang Lizhen, he could pack up and, with Yang Lizhen, roll back to the countryside to farm.

Du Juan made a quick trip and brought back news about Yang Lizhen to Shen Mingzhu, "Xiangnan isn’t together with Yang Lizhen, but Yang Lizhen hasn’t gone back to the countryside. She’s found a dishwashing job at a privately run restaurant."

As long as Yang Lizhen didn’t bother Shen Xiangnan, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t care less about what the other was up to.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the end of the month arrived.

Everything at the food factory was ready—workers, raw materials, packaging—all were in place; they were just waiting for the food business license to be approved so they could start production officially.

Shen Mingzhu had visited the Food Supervision and Administration Bureau several times. The staff there kept saying the approval hadn’t come through and didn’t give a specific time, only asking her to wait for news.

After leaving the Food Administration Bureau, Shen Mingzhu felt somewhat dejected and couldn’t help but stare blankly at a crabapple on the greenway.

"No matter how much you look, it won’t bloom," came a somewhat familiar voice from behind.

Turning around, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but show surprise.