Chapter 18 - 18 18 The food cooked by Shen Mingzhu, not even the dogs would eat it

Chapter 18: Chapter 18 The food cooked by Shen Mingzhu, not even the dogs would eat it Chapter 18: Chapter 18 The food cooked by Shen Mingzhu, not even the dogs would eat it Time flew by, and before one knew it, a week had passed since Pei Ziheng started preschool.

Beyond the first and second days, Shen Mingzhu hadn’t bumped into Shen Baolan again when she took Pei Ziheng to school.

According to Shen Baolan’s mother-in-law, Shen Baolan had started working at the cotton mill, leaving the responsibility of taking Zhou Hao to school to her.

Shen Mingzhu usually walked with a few young mothers she knew, chatting as they went, discussing things like food and clothing, while Ma Sufen, being older, couldn’t really converse with these younger women and preferred to walk with the older generation who were also taking their grandchildren to school.

Perhaps it was for this reason that Pei Ziheng and Zhou Hao, who used to be good friends as toddlers, had become quite distant.

In any case, during this week of preschool, Shen Mingzhu hadn’t seen Pei Ziheng and Zhou Hao playing together at all.

Shen Mingzhu was pleased with this outcome.

In the book, Zhou Hao was the male protagonist, pampered by his grandparents, doted on by his father, and with a kind stepmother.

He had it easy all the way, getting into a prestigious university, marrying a rich and beautiful girl, and enjoying a prosperous family and career.

He was the quintessential winner in life.

In contrast, Pei Ziheng suffered at the hands of his stepmother, never having enough to eat or proper clothes to wear, starkly contrasting with Zhou Hao.

He ended up becoming morally distorted and turned into the villain, committing all sorts of evil deeds and meeting a terrible end.

Therefore, privately, she didn’t want her stepson to be too close to Zhou Hao, worried that Zhou Hao’s protagonist’s aura might interfere with her plans to correct Pei Ziheng’s path.

Although things went as Shen Mingzhu wished, she still occasionally inquired about her stepson’s relationship with Zhou Hao.

“Ziheng, who are you closest to in your class?

You must answer, don’t forget our agreement.”

Pei Ziheng gave her a sidelong glance, sparing with words, “Nobody.”

“Didn’t you use to play with Zhou Hao all the time?

Isn’t he your good friend?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Impatience filled Pei Ziheng’s clear, dark pupils as if he found Shen Mingzhu’s many questions annoying.

Feigning ignorance to his disdain, Shen Mingzhu looked at her stepson, full of curiosity, “Come on, tell me, did you guys have a fight?

Or did he bully you?”

Pei Ziheng glared at her, “Because of you.”

“Hey, you’re really good at passing the buck.

Your disagreement with Zhou Hao is your business.

I certainly didn’t stop you from playing with him.”

“You and Zhou Hao’s stepmom start fighting the moment you see each other.

How can I still be friends with him?”

“…Well, we quarrel over our matters, and you have yours.

If you want to be friends with him, you still can.

I won’t get mad over it.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Why not?”

“No reason, just don’t like it.”

“Then who do you like to be friends with?”

“Nobody, stop asking, you’re so annoying.”

“Okay, I’ll stop asking.

You’re not allowed to yell.

Have some respect, I’m your elder no matter what…

where are you going?

Are you not eating?”

“I’m full from your nagging.

I don’t want to eat.”

“…”

Was she really that nagging?

Perhaps, who could blame her for being a broadcaster in her past life?

If a broadcaster didn’t have a good way with words, the audience wouldn’t tune in, right?

Shen Mingzhu felt a moment of sorrow and then cheerfully gnawed on her ribs, her favorite garlic pork ribs.

Pei Ziheng sat on the couch, maintaining a façade of aloofness, yet his eyes kept stealthily glancing at Shen Mingzhu.

Watching Shen Mingzhu savoring the ribs so enticingly, he involuntarily swallowed his saliva.

The preschool’s lunch was neither tasty nor satisfying, leaving him hungry every day.

Only when he went home in the evening could he enjoy a delicious and hearty meal.

Seeing Shen Mingzhu devour one rib after another, utterly ignoring him, Pei Ziheng couldn’t contain his frustration.

As Shen Mingzhu was about to grab another rib, he couldn’t sit still any longer.

He got up and ran over to the dining table, only to find that there were no ribs left in the plate, just some ginger, scallions, and other side dishes.

A sense of grievance welled up inside him immediately.

“How could you eat all the ribs!?”

Shen Mingzhu licked her fingers and said, “Didn’t you say you were done eating?”

Pei Ziheng was so upset that tears swirled in his eyes, but the next second, he froze.

Shen Mingzhu used chopsticks to push aside the rice in his bowl, revealing several pieces of golden, crispy ribs hidden beneath.

“Look how anxious you got.

I saved some for you.

Eat them before they get cold; they won’t taste good then.”

Seeing her stepson staring blankly at his bowl, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but chuckle as she ruffled his hair, only to see her stepson stare at her like a bristling cat.

“Your hands are all greasy!”

“No, I cleaned them up.”

“Saliva is even more disgusting!”

“Disgusting?

Then don’t eat it.”

Shen Mingzhu pretended to take the bowl away, but Pei Ziheng’s reaction was quicker, snatching the bowl and hugging it as he sat down on the couch to eat.

Shen Mingzhu teased, “You’re not even taking chopsticks.

Are you planning to eat with your hands?”

Pei Ziheng turned around, looked at her for a moment, ensuring she had no intention of snatching his bowl, before returning to the dining table and choosing a spot as far from Shen Mingzhu as possible to start eating.

The garlic ribs were so delicious that he almost wanted to swallow his tongue, and another mouthful of fragrant rice made the mean woman look a bit more bearable.

Compared to Shen Mingzhu’s side, the Zhou family’s dining table was much livelier.

Zhou Hao was being fed by Shen Baolan while Ma Sufen ate and griped about Shen Mingzhu to her son, daughter-in-law, and husband, “Her husband isn’t even home, and she dresses up every day.

I don’t know who she does it for; it’s clear she’s up to no good.

She doesn’t contribute a cent to the household, but she spends money like water.

The Pei Family’s savings will be squandered soon at this rate.”

“Mom, you should talk less about other people’s family matters.”

Zhou Shuhuan’s complaint about his mother’s nagging was one thing, but on the other hand, he thought Shen Mingzhu, a woman raising a child alone and hardly seeing her husband all year, deserved to spend some money on herself.

Otherwise, wouldn’t life be as miserable as a monk’s?

Shen Baolan glanced at her husband and felt uneasy inside.

Even though she was now part of the Zhou family, she remained wary of Shen Mingzhu because of dreams she had, afraid that Shen Mingzhu might steal Zhou Shuhuan away, and was particularly resentful when Zhou Shuhuan spoke up for Shen Mingzhu.

“It’s not that I’m being nosy for no reason, Mingzhu really is out of line.

Back in the village, she was known for being lazy and gluttonous, and her family indulged her.

You’ve never had to eat her cooking; even a dog wouldn’t touch it.”

These words killed two birds with one stone, defending her mother-in-law, Ma Sufen, while taking the opportunity to belittle Shen Mingzhu.

Sure enough, Ma Sufen looked at Shen Baolan with great satisfaction.

Which mother-in-law wouldn’t like an daughter-in-law who sided with her?

“Baolan, you’re really diligent and capable, managing both home and outside.

Shuhuan was right to marry you.”

“Mom, you say that, but isn’t that what daughters-in-law are supposed to do?

I’m just doing my part.”

“Not every daughter-in-law is like you; if it were someone like Shen Mingzhu, I might have died of anger.”

The more Ma Sufen disapproved of Shen Mingzhu, the happier Shen Baolan felt inside.

After dinner and washing the dishes, Shen Baolan took out the hard-to-find second-grade math textbook and began teaching her stepson Zhou Hao the multiplication table.

“One times one equals what?”

“One times one equals two.”

“Two times two equals what?”

Zhou Hao counted on his fingers for a while and said happily, “Two times two equals five!”