The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 481 - 480: You Call the Police

Chapter 481: Chapter 480: You Call the Police

"Shen Baolan, you have the time to argue with me, you might as well go back and eat something good."

Shen Baolan stared at her blankly. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said, remember that, eat something good."

After finishing her sentence, Shen Mingzhu used work as an excuse to shoo her out.

Shen Baolan stood at the entrance of the food factory. She really wanted to go in and ask Shen Mingzhu for clarification, but the gatekeeper simply wouldn’t let her in.

She had no choice but to go home first, as she still had to set up her stall.

During the idle moments at her stall, Shen Baolan couldn’t help but mull over what Shen Mingzhu had said.

Telling her to eat something good—she didn’t believe for a second that Shen Mingzhu had such good intentions.

There must be some other underlying reason.

Shen Baolan thought and thought, and despite giving herself a headache, she still couldn’t figure it out and decided to ask the vendor next to her who was selling fried dough twists.

"Aunt Guan, if someone tells you to eat something good, what does it mean?"

Aunt Guan gave her a disdainful look. "You don’t even understand that? It’s a curse."

Shen Baolan was somewhat perplexed, "What do you mean?"

"You watch it in TV shows, don’t you? Before a prisoner gets beheaded, don’t they get a good meal? To tell you to have a good meal is to say you’re about to die—it’s a curse if not that, then what?"

Shen Baolan suddenly saw the light.

How dare you, Shen Mingzhu, to actually curse me.

She was furious and ready to confront Shen Mingzhu.

But upon further reflection, since Shen Mingzhu had seen the future just like she had, could it be that it wasn’t a curse, but that she really was going to die?

In the scorching sun, Shen Baolan felt as though ice water had been poured over her, drenching her in cold sweat.

Now she didn’t dare to confront Shen Mingzhu.

She was afraid the answer would be exactly as she feared.

"Why have you closed up the stall so early today? Have you sold everything?"

In the residential compound, seeing Shen Baolan coming back at only three o’clock, Ma Sufen couldn’t help but wonder.

Shen Baolan, as if she hadn’t heard, pushed her snack cart straight into the shed. Without tidying up the tools and utensils, she grabbed her money bag and went upstairs home.

Ma Sufen, seeing her as if she had lost her soul, thought maybe she was sick and followed her upstairs with her grandson.

Once home, she found Shen Baolan lying on the bed motionless.

Ma Sufen, showing rare concern, asked, "What’s wrong with you? Are you sick?"

"Mom, I just want some peace."

Again with wanting peace—who in the world is Peace?

Ma Sufen didn’t say anything aloud but was inwardly puzzled.

When she snapped back to attention, she saw her grandson had opened Shen Baolan’s money bag left on the sofa and was tearing up the bills as though they were just paper.

"Oh dear, my precious child, stop that right now!"

After sending the grandson off to play with something else, Ma Sufen counted the money in the bag and found it was more than usual, which pleased her.

She didn’t have any complaints about Shen Baolan finishing work early and lying down at home, and even considered making something tasty for dinner to nourish Baolan.

Only when in good health could she continue to earn money for the family.

What Ma Sufen didn’t know was that Shen Baolan usually hid half of the money she made from the stall. Today, with other things on her mind, she hadn’t hidden it, which explained the extra amount.

...

Shen Baolan had been lying down for two days straight, without the desire for tea or food, not even her favorite stewed pig’s feet, nor did she go out to earn money with her stall.

How could that be okay?

Missing a day at the stall would mean missing out on at least twenty yuan, two days without working would be a loss of forty.

"Baolan, what on earth is wrong with you?"

"Mom, I feel terrible."

"Are you feeling unwell? Then let’s go to the hospital."

Shen Baolan’s tears came rushing down as she hugged Ma Sufen, sobbing wildly, "Mom, if I die, what will happen to my Yuanbao? Wuu wuu wuu..."

She was going to die.

She was going to die.

She was going to die.

She hadn’t lived enough yet, why was her life so miserable?

The more Shen Baolan thought about it, the more heartbroken she became, tears flowing endlessly like the waters of the Yangtze River.

Ma Sufen touched her forehead, thinking it wasn’t hot at all, so why was she talking nonsense?

Could she have been possessed?

Ma Sufen immediately went out and invited the witchdoctor Ma over.

"Witchdoctor, please take a look at Baolan. She’s been lying in bed for two days now, spouting nothing but gibberish. Could she have been possessed?"

The witchdoctor approached Shen Baolan and before she had a chance to speak, Shen Baolan, with a shiver, sat up from her bed and knelt in front of the witchdoctor with a thump.

"Witchdoctor, please save me, I don’t want to die, save me!"

The witchdoctor sized her up and asked, "How do you know you’re going to die?"

"It was Shen Mingzhu who said it, she said I’m about to die."

Ma Sufen, all ears and curious why Shen Baolan was so convinced she wouldn’t live long, heard it was Shen Mingzhu who said it and almost fainted from anger.

"You fool, you believe whatever she tells you?" she couldn’t help but scold.

"It’s true, she has prophetic dreams, everything she dreams comes true. She said I am going to die, so I am definitely going to die."

Ma Sufen was so angry she didn’t know what to say and couldn’t understand why her daughter-in-law was so foolish to believe Shen Mingzhu.

She politely showed the witchdoctor out and turned around to go to Shenjiagou.

This matter had to be settled with Shen Mingzhu.

But having suffered a loss at the hands of Shen Mingzhu before, she was reluctant to take the lead.

Sure enough, as soon as she heard her daughter had been wronged by Shen Mingzhu, Liu Cuihua immediately went into town.

...

"President Shen, Liu Cuihua is here. She’s making a scene at the factory gate, claiming you’ve bullied Shen Baolan and demanding an explanation from you."

Seeing Shen Mingzhu smiling at her, Shen Hongmei was somewhat puzzled, "President Shen, what are you smiling at?"

Shen Mingzhu capped her pen and said, "You’ve become much more composed than before, no longer panicking when facing issues. I’m very relieved."

Shen Hongmei was slightly taken aback.

Back in the village, she did indeed fear Liu Cuihua, who seemed like a tigeress ready to devour someone when angry.

But just now, when she saw Liu Cuihua standing at the factory gate, hands on hips, cursing vehemently, aside from curiosity, there was not a trace of nervousness or fear in her heart.

As the food factory grew from a small workshop of a few people to an enterprise of hundreds, she too had grown, improving and strengthening herself.

Looking at Shen Mingzhu walking ahead of her, Shen Hongmei’s eyes filled with admiration, and her steps became even firmer.

When Shen Mingzhu reached the factory gate, the furious Liu Cuihua immediately pointed at her and shouted abuses.

"Shen Mingzhu, are you so full that you have nothing better to do than spout nonsense to my Baolan?"

Shen Mingzhu sneered lightly, "Aunt Cuihua, I haven’t been to see Shen Baolan. You say I talked nonsense to her, I don’t recall such an incident."

"You cursed my Baolan to die young, how can you be so malicious, aren’t you afraid of retribution?"

"I never uttered any curse."

"Don’t think you can just deny it and it’ll be over, I’m telling you, my Baolan is sick because of you, she can’t even get out of bed, you’re responsible! Otherwise, I’ll go to the police station and accuse you, believe it or not?"

Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

She had indeed intended to teach Shen Baolan a lesson, but she hadn’t expected Shen Baolan to be so easily frightened.

"You’re laughing now, you think I’m joking with you? If I really go to the police station to accuse you, you won’t get away with it!"

Liu Cuihua shifted her tone, "We’re all from the same village, I don’t want to make things difficult for you. Just apologize to Baolan, pay a hundred or eighty yuan for nutrition fees or something, and we’ll call it even."

Shen Mingzhu sneered lightly, "Aunt Cuihua, go ahead and call the police."