Chapter 17 - 17 17 Just laugh, let's see how you cry in six months!

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Just laugh, let’s see how you cry in six months!

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Just laugh, let’s see how you cry in six months!

On the way back after dropping off the kids, several young mothers surrounded Shen Mingzhu, praising the beauty of the dress she was wearing and asking where she had bought it.

When they learned that Shen Mingzhu had designed it herself and had a tailor make it, they were both surprised and envious.

Someone asked Shen Mingzhu if they could borrow her design sketch to have a tailor make the same dress, and Shen Mingzhu readily agreed, inviting the person to her house to get the sketch.

Seeing Shen Mingzhu’s easygoing response, a few other mothers also expressed their desire to have such a dress made.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t mind, after all, she didn’t rely on this for a living.

A few mothers thanked Shen Mingzhu heartily and even invited her to visit their homes.

Shen Baolan, trailing behind, seethed with envy as she saw Shen Mingzhu bask in everyone’s admiration.

It’s just an old dress, what’s the big deal?

Can it make you immortal or what?

Wait until Zhou Shuhuan strikes it rich.

She would buy ten or even more beautiful dresses than that, wearing different ones each day, and that would make Shen Mingzhu die of envy!

“Oh, Mingzhu, you’re really lucky, having someone to support you.

You don’t have to do anything, just take good care of the child, whereas I’m so unlucky, sigh.”

Shen Baolan was never one to belittle herself.

For her to come out of nowhere and lament like this, it was definitely not without reason.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t take the bait, quietly waiting for her performance.

Meanwhile, the other mothers were quite intrigued (and gossipy) about Shen Baolan’s “hard luck,” “Zhou Hao’s mom, did you run into some trouble?

Share with us, it’ll cheer you up—no, I mean, let us cheer you up.”

“My mother-in-law can’t stand to see me idle and hooked me up with a job.

I have to start work in a couple of days, there go my leisurely days.”

“What job is it?

Is it hard?”

“Working as a cook in the staff cafeteria of the city’s cotton mill.”

“The cotton mill?

That’s a state-run enterprise, you’ve got yourself a secure job!”

These days, who wouldn’t want a secure job?

But women like them without education, skills, or connections, could only stay home to take care of the children and serve the whole family.

Where could they find a job?

Surrounded by envious gazes, Shen Baolan puffed up with pride like a peacock.

She spoke as if it was all no big deal, but her face bloomed like a flower with her smile.

“Still, Mingzhu has it best, with a man earning money for her.

Well-fed and well-dressed, she doesn’t have to worry about anything, unlike me with my life of hard labor.”

Shen Mingzhu smiled, “I have to thank you for that, letting me pick up such a great guy and saving me a fortune.

My husband Pei Yang is tall, handsome, mature, and considerate.

The money he earns is mine to spend as I please.

Marrying such a good man in this life is worth it.”

Laugh now, I’ll see how you cry in six months!

Shen Baolan mocked, “Even though your husband Pei Yang can make money, we women should eventually stand on our own.

I advise you to find a job while you’re young, save some money, so you’re not empty-handed when you need it, and it’s too late to cry.”

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

As the two seemed on the verge of arguing, the other mothers quickly shifted the topic with random chatter.

——

On the boundless, azure sea, ripples ebbed and flowed, merging with the horizon in beauty like a painting.

Pei Yang stood by the ship’s rail, gazing out at the sea, a tinge of melancholy in his expression.

Lin Guofu passed by on inspection and noticed him lost in thought, so he approached.

“Got something on your mind?

What, did your newlywed wife have a spat with you?”

Pei Yang chuckled, “No.”

Lin Guofu grunted, “Don’t play tough with me, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.

Back in the day, your master’s wife and I had our share of fights, too.

It’s not easy for a sailor’s woman—they get emotional, and that’s normal.

We should be magnanimous, and when you get back, buy her some jewelry, sweet-talk her a bit, and all will be well.

Trust me, I have experience in this.”

Pei Yang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Master, Mingzhu really didn’t make a fuss…”

Lin Guofu was genuinely surprised when he heard about Shen Mingzhu’s reaction to Pei Yang’s going to sea.

“You just met and haven’t developed feelings for each other yet, so of course she’s magnanimous now,” they said.

“Wait until there are feelings involved, then she won’t be this generous.”

This analysis was quite reasonable, but Pei Yang somehow felt unhappy about it.

So it turned out that her tolerance and understanding were because she didn’t care about him.

He wondered what she was doing now.

Today was the first day of school for their son’s kindergarten; she couldn’t have forgotten, could she?

Maybe he should have reminded her over the phone.

After all, she was just a young girl, who truly made him worried.

——

Kindergarten ended at 4:30 PM.

When Shen Mingzhu arrived at the kindergarten gate, there was already a large crowd of parents waiting to pick up their children.

A young woman came over to chat with a smile, a mom she had met in the morning.

The other woman’s child seemed to be called Wang Shiting.

Right at 4:30, the young children swarmed out of the kindergarten like tender seedlings.

Shen Mingzhu quickly found Pei Ziheng.

While other children fluttered to their parents like swallows, Pei Ziheng remained calm and unhurried, his delicate and pretty face expressionless, the epitome of aloofness.

“Ziheng, walk faster,” she said.

Only when Shen Mingzhu urged him did Pei Ziheng reluctantly quicken his pace.

“How was your first day at school?

Did you have fun?”

Pei Ziheng gave her a glance that seemed to say, Do I look like I’m having fun?

“That’s odd, with your cool outfit, didn’t any girls come to play with you?”

There were plenty, but he had scared them all away.

He had no interest in playing with childish little brats who couldn’t even wipe their noses, burst into tears at the drop of a hat, or needed to be fed during mealtime.

“What did the teacher teach?

Did you learn any songs?

Sing a couple of lines for me.”

“Don’t tell me you’re too dumb to learn even a single line?”

Seeing her stepson not falling for the bait and pursing his lips tight like a clamshell, Shen Mingzhu stopped teasing and headed to the market to buy groceries instead.

After the grocery shopping, she made her stepson carry the bags while she enjoyed a popsicle on their way back, utterly content.

When she noticed Pei Ziheng looking at her, she said, “You’re still young, you can’t eat these cold things, you’ll get diarrhea.

I’m doing this for your own good.”

She remembered he was too young to eat popsicles when it suited her, yet felt perfectly justified in making him carry groceries?

Pei Ziheng sulked, not wanting to speak a word.

After entering the residential compound’s gate, they encountered many familiar faces.

Seeing Shen Mingzhu acting as if she had no duties, while little Pei Ziheng dutifully lugged a heavy bag full of vegetables, sweating profusely, they praised Pei Ziheng to his face for being capable and sensible.

But as soon as they turned their backs, they muttered disapproval of Shen Mingzhu for mistreating her stepson.

Shen Mingzhu dared to act this way, obviously having anticipated the consequences.

The reason she did this could be summed up in eight words—

Sacrifice oneself to benefit others!

These days, she never missed an opportunity to praise her stepson in front of others.

It seemed like she was boasting about herself, but in reality, she was establishing an image of Pei Ziheng as a hardworking, understanding, and persevering person.

Over time, whenever residents of the compound mentioned Pei Ziheng, they would sigh about what a good kid he was.

And he himself would gradually get into character, subconsciously aligning his behavior with the image she had created for him, until he eventually became such a person.

By the time she had nurtured the future villain into an upright and fine young man, she naturally wouldn’t have to worry about meeting the same tragic fate as the original owner of her life.

She was truly a cunning little devil.