The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 207: Looking Down on the Gift, But Eating Happily

Chapter 207: Chapter 207: Looking Down on the Gift, But Eating Happily

On the way home, Shen Mingzhu earnestly communicated with Pei Ziheng about the matter of making friends.

"Son, Ms. Ou said that you don’t like interacting with other students in class. Can you tell Mom why?"

Pei Ziheng, with his lovely little face lifted, asked her, "Was that what Ms. Ou talked to you about in the office yesterday?"

Shen Mingzhu nodded, kindly concealing what Ou Liya said about Zhao Yun and the others being bad students.

She had invited Zhao Yun and the others to visit the food factory today precisely to observe the children’s character up close.

In her view, aside from being naughty, playful, and disinterested in studies, Zhao Yun and the others didn’t seem to have any major issues with their morals. With appropriate guidance and constraints, they might very well improve in the future.

"Mom, when you have time, could you help me bake some cookies?"

This was the first time Pei Ziheng had ever actively made such a request to her.

Although Pei Ziheng was introverted and seemed unsociable, he was very easygoing when it came to his basic needs. Whatever she cooked, he would eat, and he would wear any clothes she prepared without fuss or complaint, never being picky or giving opinions.

"Of course, I can. What kind of cookies would you like? Are you planning to eat them yourself or give them to friends?"

"I want to give them to my classmates."

Naturally, Shen Mingzhu was supportive of her son’s idea and took it to heart.

The next day, she specially squeezed her work into the morning to finish and went home for lunch before taking out the baking tools to start making cookies.

Considering the children’s preferences and dietary restrictions, she made milk-flavored, crispy shortbread cookies.

Including Pei Ziheng, there were 42 children in the class. She baked a total of 120 pieces of shortbread, each about the size of a child’s palm. She bagged two pieces together, and the extra ones were for Pei Ziheng to give to Ou Liya.

She had an inkling that Ou Liya was biased against her and Pei Ziheng, but for the sake of getting the teacher to take extra care of Ziheng, she had no choice but to keep playing the fool while trying to stay in her good graces.

Such is the heart of a loving mother.

For her child, she could endure all kinds of grievances.

She busied herself all afternoon and, drenched in sweat, finally finished baking.

The golden shortbread cookies filled the table, and their buttery scent wafted through the air. Pei Yang helped her pack the cookies into small paper bags, sneaking bites as they worked. He devoured several pieces in no time, earning himself a scolding from Shen Mingzhu before he finally restrained himself.

The following day, Shen Mingzhu helped Pei Ziheng carry the cookies to school.

Once all the classmates had arrived, Pei Ziheng handed out the cookies one by one, "These are the shortbread cookies my mom baked, please enjoy."

The whole class was pleasantly surprised, each face brimming with excitement and joy.

Pei Ziheng was already handsome and a good student to boot; his classmates actually wanted to befriend him. It was just his aloofness that deterred them, leading to their gradual estrangement.

But today, he unexpectedly took the initiative to share cookies, quickly capturing the goodwill of all his classmates.

The world of children is exceedingly simple and pure; just a little sweetness is enough to dissolve all past unhappiness.

"Pei Ziheng, thank you!"

"Pei Ziheng, your mom’s cookies are really tasty!"

"Ziheng, your mom is so nice, beautiful, and can even bake cookies; you’re so lucky!"

Pei Ziheng watched his classmates shower him with flattery. Even though he was inwardly irritated, he maintained a polite smile on his face, "I’m glad you like them. If you have any questions about your studies, you can ask me too."

"Wow!"

"Really?"

"Pei Ziheng, can I walk home with you after school?"

Not possible, I don’t want to walk with you at all.

Pei Ziheng looked at his female classmate, admonishing her in his mind, but his mouth answered, "Of course, you can."

"I wish I could go with you all; we live in the same direction."

"Sure, let’s go together then, Ziheng, sounds good?"

"Hmm, let’s go together."

As Pei Ziheng watched each joyous face, he thought to himself: If he got on better with his classmates, would Ms. Ou stop calling his mother in for talks?

...

"Ms. Ou, these are the cookies my mom baked herself, please have a taste."

Ou Liya smiled and took the cookies from Pei Ziheng’s hands, "Thank your mom for me."

"Hmm."

After Pei Ziheng left the office, a colleague who was on good terms with Ou Liya sidled up to her with a wink, "Pei Ziheng’s mom has brought you more treats."

Ou Liya gave a faint smile and casually handed over the box of cookies, "Do you want some? Here, take it."

The female teacher quickly said, "It’s specifically for you from her, I couldn’t possibly take it; I’ll just try the flavor."

As she spoke, the female teacher took a packet of cookies from the box, opened it, and after biting into one, she expressed admiration, "They taste really good, crisp and melt-in-your-mouth buttery, wonder how she made them."

Upon hearing this, Ou Liya also took a packet to taste, finding the flavor indeed impressive.

But that’s all a rural woman like her could be proud of—her culinary skills.

"Say she’s not good with people, yet she knows how to win hearts, always sending you this or that now and then, but always things that are tacky—a homemade mooncake one moment, homemade cookies the next, so cheap and stingy."

Ou Liya laughed, "You think she’s stingy, she probably cherishes what she gives."

The female teacher covered her mouth laughing, "It’s not impossible, rural folks are like that. Every time my cousin from the countryside comes to town, she brings a few eggs, treasuring them as if they’re precious, boasting about how hard it was to save them up, as if anyone’s dying for her eggs."

At that comment, a young male teacher sitting across chided, "You disdain what people bring you, yet you eat it with gusto."

"What’s it to you, mind your own lessons!"

The female teacher retorted and turned back to continue chatting with Ou Liya, "Cui Junyou’s mother from your class is so generous, one gesture and it’s real cash. I’m so envious of you."

As she spoke, she lifted Ou Liya’s right hand, where a shiny silver bracelet on her wrist was particularly eye-catching.

Ou Liya pulled her hand back and casually replied, "It’s alright, it’s only silver, not gold."

"Silver’s not bad at all, that bracelet is worth at least our month’s salary, I wish I could meet such a generous parent."

Outside the office door.

Pei Ziheng’s pupils were dark, his face expressionless as he turned and headed towards the classroom.

...

Friday arrived in a blink.

During the class meeting, after discussing discipline, Ou Liya suddenly announced a change of seating arrangements.

The original seats had been arranged by height, with the shorter students in front and the taller ones in the back.

But this time the seating wasn’t arranged by height—some students with poorer grades or those who liked to talk and didn’t follow rules during class were moved to the back rows.

This wasn’t too surprising.

What was unexpected, though, was that Pei Ziheng’s seat was assigned toward the back as well, second to last row.

Poor grades, bad discipline—neither of these applied to Pei Ziheng.

On the contrary, he was not only the best student in the class but also the youngest and shortest; by all accounts, he should be seated in the first row.

Regarding the new seating arrangement set by Ou Liya, Pei Ziheng just quietly looked at her for two seconds, then silently began packing his things.

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