The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era

Shen Baolan stood behind the door of the main room, peeking through the crack into the courtyard at today's two matchmaking candidates.

The matchmaker introduced them to her and Mother Shen with a beaming smile, "The tall one is Pei Yang. He's tall and handsome, and his conditions are really good. He has a city residence registration, his parents are both deceased, and he holds a stable job. Once your daughter marries him, she'll be in charge of the household, with no in-laws to serve. His son is only four years old and doesn't remember anything yet. Raise him well, and in the future, he'll be no different from her own flesh and blood. The only downside is Pei Yang's job, which keeps him away from home most of the time. But he earns a lot, more than a hundred yuan a month just in salary, not to mention food coupons, meat coupons, and all sorts of allowances. Even the big four household items, his mother prepared them all before she passed away. He's truly rolling in wealth!"

Such conditions truly made Liu Cuihua's heart race, as she kept nodding at the matchmaker and smiling so wide that her mouth wouldn't close.

In a poor place like Shenjiagou, such a good son-in-law would be hard to find even with a lantern.

However, Shen Baolan, the person involved, didn't see it that way. Instead, she pointed at the shorter man next to Pei Yang.

"What about him?"

"That's Zhou Shuhuan. The Zhou family's conditions are also not bad. They have a city residence registration. His father is an employee of the Ocean Shipping Company, and he himself is a bona fide technical secondary school graduate. After graduating, he taught for a few years. But last year, he tried to do business like others and ended up being reported by someone jealous. He was sentenced for speculation and profiteering, and was just released last month. And because of this, his previous wife divorced him."

That won't do. A person who has been incarcerated is absolutely unacceptable, not to mention it would be a second marriage.

Though she'd be a stepmother either way, Pei Yang's child is motherless, and the household has fewer people; marrying into that family means she'd be in charge.

With Zhou Shuhuan, it's a second marriage, and the child's birth mother is still there; no matter how much she cares for him, he won't be as close as her own. Married into that family, she would have to serve the old and care for the young, and be tired from both ends.

Besides, Zhou Shuhuan is neither especially good-looking nor tall, and he even wears glasses, far inferior to the tall and handsome Pei Yang.

Liu Cuihua shook her head at Zhou Shuhuan in the courtyard, but Shen Baolan's eyes sparkled with certainty.

"I choose Zhou Shuhuan."

Upon hearing this, Liu Cuihua became anxious, "No! Didn't we agree? To choose Mr. Pei with the tall and strong stature, who can earn money. Aren't his conditions great?"

"Mom, listen to me this time. I assure you a lifetime of wealth and comfort beyond measure!"

Having said that, Shen Baolan hurried the matchmaker to go talk to Zhou Shuhuan.

The matchmaker hesitated and didn't move, clearly seeing that Liu Cuihua disapproved of Zhou Shuhuan.

Moreover, Shen Mingzhu hadn't arrived yet. They had agreed that both families would meet together. If Shen Baolan made her choice before Shen Mingzhu's arrival, it would be hard to explain to her.

"Auntie Li, please go quickly. If this succeeds, I'll give you double the matchmaking fee!"

Upon hearing about the double matchmaking fee, the matchmaker's eyes lit up, and she no longer cared whether Shen Mingzhu arrived, as she joyfully ran into the courtyard.

Liu Cuihua, in her anxiety, hit and pinched Shen Baolan, "You headstrong girl, are you trying to kill me with anger? You're ignoring the perfect match and choosing the worst option. You'll regret this one day!"

She would regret it if she didn't choose Zhou Shuhuan!

Peering through the crack of the door at Zhou Shuhuan talking to the matchmaker in the courtyard, Shen Baolan felt as sure as if she had swallowed a weight.

Despite Zhou Shuhuan's unremarkable appearance and his criminal record, which seemed as if he could never turn his life around, in just a few years, Zhou Shuhuan would become a wealthy tycoon.

And Pei Yang? It seemed everything about him was good, but in half a year, he would be dead. Anyone who married him would be waiting to become a widow.

There was no way she would marry Pei Yang and become a widow. Let Shen Mingzhu marry him and be the widow!

Though it felt somewhat unkind, one must look out for oneself, or else face destruction. It was Shen Mingzhu's bad luck.

Even the heavens were on her side. Last night, they sent her a dream, showing her the wretched life she would have married to Pei Yang and how Shen Mingzhu, by marrying Zhou Shuhuan, would become a rich lady. She'd live in a big mansion, drive a car, have three maids at her beck and call, not having to lift a finger, living even more comfortably than when she was a maiden at home.

Knowing that Shen Baolan had taken a liking to him came as a surprise to Zhou Shuhuan. He glanced at the expressionless Pei Yang and couldn't help feeling a bit smug inside.

He and Pei Yang were childhood friends, but he could never compare to Pei Yang in any respect. With a criminal record, he had prepared himself to be the one left over. But he never expected that the girl would actually show an interest in him.

"Pei, sorry about this, then I'll go meet the family first..."

Pei Yang nodded his head as he watched Zhou Shuhuan and the matchmaker enter the main room.

The moment he entered the main room and saw Shen Baolan behind the door, Zhou Shuhuan's eyes gleamed brightly.

Shen Baolan was even more beautiful than her photo suggested, which left him extremely satisfied.

Shen Baolan was also very satisfied with Zhou Shuhuan.

Because she had foreseen Zhou Shuhuan's brilliant future, even though the Zhou Shuhuan before her was not exceptionally handsome, in her eyes, he was like being coated in a layer of gold, shining brightly.

The matchmaker had just finished the introductions and hurried out, as she still needed to take Pei Yang to meet Shen Mingzhu.

It had been arranged for them to meet at Shen Baolan's home, but Shen Mingzhu had an accident in the morning, falling into a ditch, and didn't feel well, so a message was sent to bring Pei Yang over for the meeting.

Well, it's only an extra half-mile walk within Shenjiagou, so it wasn't much of a problem.

At Shen Mingzhu's home, Qin Jinlian was fuming.

She had set her sights on Pei Yang as a son-in-law, but couldn't believe her daughter had managed to fall into a ditch on the way to the matchmaking, almost drowning!

Now, it seemed certain that Pei Yang would be snatched away by that girl Shen Baolan.

"Sigh~ when you're out of luck, even drinking water can get stuck between your teeth! If you can't even walk properly, what good are you!"

Qin Jinlian vented her frustration on her daughter lying unconscious in bed, then turned and went outside. She had sent word to the matchmaker, who should be bringing Zhou Shuhuan at this moment.

Although Zhou Shuhuan couldn't compare to Pei Yang in many ways, the Zhou family had offered a bride price of five hundred as a promise upfront and to arrange a job in the city.

The second son needed to marry off and was waiting for this five hundred bride price for urgent relief. With her daughter married and a job secured, Yueyue could also help out her maternal home financially.

Considering all this, Zhou Shuhuan seemed like a good son-in-law.

Qin Jinlian comforted herself.

Not long after, the matchmaker arrived with a guest. Qin Jinlian did a double-take, thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her. Rubbing her eyes and looking again, it was Pei Yang—no doubt about it!

This was a fortunate twist, a silver lining without any effort.

Qin Jinlian's smile was so wide that it was crooked.

Pei Yang was eager to find a stepmother for his son, and Shen Mingzhu's family was desperately in need of money. Both parties quickly agreed.

Pei Yang agreed to give a bride price of five hundred fifty, fifty more than the Zhou family, with the sole condition that the marriage certificate was to be obtained immediately.

He was catching the five o'clock train in the afternoon; before he left, Shen Mingzhu had to move to his house to take care of his son, who was still sick.

Qin Jinlian was so dazzled by the bride price of five hundred fifty that she immediately assured that it wouldn't be a problem and promptly brought a basin of cold water into the room.

"Splash!"

Shen Mingzhu was awakened by the cold water pouring over her, and she sat up in bed, startled. She looked around at her surroundings and was instantly confused.

Brick walls, a mud floor, and a wooden beam under a tile roof—this was clearly a rural scene from the 70s or 80s.

What was going on?

Where was this?

She was sure she went to bed in her apartment—how did she end up here? Was this a dream?

Before she could make sense of her situation, she was dragged out of bed, "Stop sleeping, pack up some clothes quickly, Pei Yang is waiting outside to get the marriage certificate with you!"

Coming out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, looking at the bright red marriage certificate in her hands, Shen Mingzhu felt an indescribable sense of astonishment.

As a single person, she had actually gotten married to a man in her dreams?

Was the next step going to be the bridal chamber?