?Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Unprovoked Kindness, Either a Scam or a Theft   Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Unprovoked Kindness, Either a Scam or a Theft                                   Someone teased Shen Ban on purpose, “Ban, youe from the same vige as Shen Mingzhu, didn’t she tell you about any good news?”


    “What good news?


    Did she strike it rich?”


    Shen Ban instinctively wondered if this meant that Shen Mingzhu had made a fair amount of money selling mooncakes again?


    Her heart suddenly felt as sour as if a jar of pickled vegetables had been overturned.


    Then she heard that person say, “Shen Mingzhu has entered the food factory, and now she is a mooncake master at the food factory, specially teaching the factory’s workers how to make mooncakes.”


    “What?”


    Shen Ban’s first reaction was disbelief.


    If someone aszy and gluttonous as Shen Mingzhu could be a master, then she might as well be the factory director!


    She scoffed immediately, “You must have been listening to her bragging.


    She can’t even cook rice properly, and now she’s teaching people in a food factory how to make mooncakes?


    Don’t let her ruin them.”


    “You still don’t believe it?


    My sister-inw works in the food factory, she said it herself.


    She said Shen Mingzhu is now teaching them how to make mooncakes in the factory, and she’s doing a great job at it.”


    “I heard about it too, it’s said that the food factory manager personally visited Shen Mingzhu to discuss cooperation.


    For each mooncake sold, two cents go to Shen Mingzhu.”


    “Hiss, two cents for each one?


    If tens of thousands are sold, wouldn’t that mean she could make two hundred yuan?”


    “Exactly, Shen Mingzhu has found herself a goose thatys golden eggs.


    She can sit at home and collect money every year.


    It’s wonderful.


    If I had a daughter-inw that capable, I’d wake upughing even from a dream.”


    As everyone chimed in one after another, Shen Ban had to believe it whether she liked it or not.


    Shen Mingzhu actually made it into the food factory?


    Became a mooncake master at the food factory?


    And could get arge sum of money every year?


    Her heart was as sour as if she had eaten a hundred lemons.


    In the evening, lying in bed, Shen Ban took the initiative to talk to her husband, with whom she had been coldly at odds for several days, about the matter.


    “…Otherwise, I might also buy a book on pastry making to study at home.


    Shen Mingzhu couldn’t even cook when she was at her parents’ house, but she still made a name for herself.


    I’m much better than her, I refuse to believe that I can’t outdo her.”


    Zhou Shuhuan, although not understanding why Shen Ban always needed topete with Shen Mingzhu, was quite supportive of her wanting to learn a craft, and asked her if she knew what book to buy.


    Shen Ban had no idea, but she already had a n in mind.


    The next morning, Ma Sufen saw two boiled eggs on the table and asked Shen Ban.


    “Why did you boil an extra egg?”


    For the Zhou family, eggs were not a rarity, but they were not so wealthy that everyone could eat them every day; only the grandson, Zhou Hao, had that privilege.


    “Mom, I need it for something.”


    After saying that, Shen Ban took one of the eggs and went into the room where her stepson, Zhou Hao, was sleeping.


    Like every other day, Pei Ziheng entered the ssroom and sat at his own spot without ying or talking with the ssmates around him, taking out books from his bag to read by himself.


    “Pei Ziheng, this is for you.”


    Pei Ziheng looked up, saw the egg Zhou Hao was handing him, and coldly refused, “I don’t want it.”


    Zhou Hao, apparently not expecting Pei Ziheng to refuse, stood there holding the egg in a daze, not moving.


    Pei Ziheng ignored him, looking down and continuing to read his book.


    Zhou Hao, perhaps having held the egg for too long, forcefully pushed the egg into Pei Ziheng’s palm, “Auntie Lan gave it to you, it’s a free-range egg, twenty cents each, very nutritious.


    Eating it will make you grow tall.”


    Hearing that the egg was from Shen Ban, a flicker passed through Pei Ziheng’s eyes.


    “Your stepmother is really nice.”


    Upon hearing this, Zhou Hao grinned andughed, “Auntie Lan said, as long as you do her a favor, she will boil eggs for you every day.”


    “What favor?”


    After school that afternoon, Pei Ziheng took the egg out of his school bag at home.


    Shen Mingzhu looked at the egg somewhat astonished, “Where did ite from?” She and Pei Ziheng both didn’t care for boiled eggs, so they usually steamed egg custards instead.


    “It was given by Zhou Hao’s stepmother; she said as long as I do her a favor, she’ll cook eggs for me every day.”


    As soon as Shen Mingzhu heard this, she couldn’t help butugh, “What does she want you to do?”


    It turned out that Shen Ban wanted to use Pei Ziheng to find out from which book Shen Mingzhu had learned to make egg cakes and mooncakes.


    Shen Mingzhu casually mentioned a list of book titles, and, fearing that Pei Ziheng might forget them, she even wrote them down on a piece of paper for Pei Ziheng to give to Zhou Hao the next day.


    Shen Ban, having sessfully gathered the “intelligence”, was overjoyed.


    She hugged her stepson and gave him two big kisses, then took the piece of paper to discuss with her husband.


    Zhou Shuhuan frowned upon seeing the names of the books on the paper.


    Setting aside whether these books could even be found for purchase, even if the bookstores did sell them, buying all of them would be a considerable expense.


    He asked Shen Ban with some skepticism, “Are you sure you can learn by just buying the books?”


    “If Shen Mingzhu could learn, I definitely can too.


    My grades were much better than hers when I was in school.”


    Seeing Shen Ban so confident, Zhou Shuhuan then took the paper to Ma Sufen for financial support.


    Zhou Shuhuan straightaway asked for fifty, which Ma Sufen was very unhappy about until she heard from Shen Ban that she had gotten these book titles with great effort from Pei Ziheng, and that Shen Mingzhu had learned to make egg cakes and mooncakes from these books, which convinced Ma Sufen to agree.


    “Ban, put in extra effort.


    No matter what, you must outdo Shen Mingzhu.”


    “Mom, don’t worry.


    Once I’ve learned how to make egg cakes and mooncakes, that Shen Mingzhu can go cool her heels!”


    The mother-inw and daughter-inw were full of fighting spirit, vowing to crush Shen Mingzhu under their feet.


    The next day, Zhou Shuhuan bought all the books listed on the paper.


    Fifty yuan wasn’t enough; Zhou Shuhuan even borrowed eighteen from his colleague, which made Ma Sufen very distressed.


    However, the thought of her daughter-inw mastering the making of egg cakes and mooncakes and outranking Shen Mingzhu consoled her.


    Shen Ban, always one for action, started studying the books Zhou Shuhuan brought home that very night.


    Time flew, and before long it was the end of October.


    Shen Mingzhu received her first dividend from the food factory, a sum of one hundred thirty-five yuan and eighty fen.


    Throughout the Mid-Autumn Festival period, the mooncakes Shan Mingzhu cooperated with the food factory to sell nearly seven thousand pieces.


    It was just the time was too short.


    If there could have been even half a month or a week for promotional sales ahead of time, the sales volume could have at least doubled or tripled.


    “Master Shen, wait for next year, next year we’ll give it a good go and aim to sell fifty or eighty thousand of them.”


    It was clear that the food factory’s general manager had confidence in Shen Mingzhu’s mooncakes.


    Of course, Shen Mingzhu herself was also confident.


    This year’s cooperation was too rushed, and the packaging design was not up to par.


    Once she had time, she nned to design different packaging and themes for the different mooncakes, striving to create a nationally known brand of mooncakes, making her time travel worth the while.


    The news of the dividend spread quickly within the residentialpound, and Shen Mingzhu became the talk of the town.


    The older generation praised Shen Mingzhu for being capable; young mothers envied her talents, and the men all wanted to marry a woman as beautiful and intelligent as Shen Mingzhu.


    Shen Ban, still sour with jealousy, was nevertheless hugely inspired by Shen Mingzhu’s sess, dreaming that one day she too could make a fortune from baking pastries.


    That afternoon, after picking up Pei Ziheng from kindergarten as usual, Shen Mingzhu casually asked, “Did Zhou Hao bring you eggs today?”


    “No.”


    Shen Mingzhu was just about to criticize Shen Ban for not keeping her word, but then she saw Pei Ziheng pull out a bright yellow banana from his bag.


    “Today it’s a banana.”


    “…”


    Bananas were much more expensive than eggs.


    Unsolicited kindness often has an ulterior motive.


    Shen Mingzhu chuckled, “What does she want you to do this time?”