The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 411 - 410 Jia Yuemei is Fired

At midnight, the crying of an infant pierced through the silent night.

"Oh, don’t cry, don’t cry...

Jia Yuemei, holding her daughter, tried to soothe her as she paced back and forth in the cramped dormitory room.

Shen Xiangnan, unable to sleep due to the noise, sat up in bed, helplessly watching mother and daughter, "If you ask me, you might as well send Erya back to your parents’ house. She cries during the day and at night, not only affecting the restaurant’s business, but also keeping everyone from sleeping well."

Jia Yuemei flared up upon hearing this, "Is this my fault? Your mother won’t help me with the baby, and neither will your little sister, though it would only take a word from her. If no one helps me with the baby, I have to do it myself, don’t I?"

"What does this have to do with little sister? She’s too busy to take care of her own matters, let alone find time to help you with the baby."

"I don’t care. If my life is miserable, I’m not going to let anyone else have it easy either."

"Keep acting like this and if you really piss off little sister, you’re going to reap the consequences!"

After saying that, Shen Xiangnan covered his head with his blanket and tried to get back to sleep.

Jia Yuemei felt a pang of guilt but then thought about it again; what was she guilty of? It was her in-laws who had forced her into this situation, and suddenly she felt emboldened.

...

Two days later.

Liu Shuqin’s younger sister, Liu Meijuan, smoothly passed the interview and became a waitress at the restaurant.

On the day Liu Meijuan joined, Julie announced something in the morning meeting.

"Starting today, we will implement a mentorship system. From now on, every new employee will be assigned a veteran employee as a mentor."

"If the new staff member performs well and successfully remains with us, the mentor will also receive a reward of ten dollars."

As soon as this was announced, everyone was somewhat excited.

Liu Shuqin was even more eager and volunteered to be her sister’s mentor.

An extra ten dollars for training an apprentice was an opportunity not to be missed.

Peng Ling and Ma Xiaoping remained silent, but their faces also showed a trace of anticipation; being a mentor to a new staff member was also an acknowledgment of their capabilities.

"Let’s have Yuemei be Meijuan’s mentor."

As Julie made the announcement, everyone’s eyes turned toward Jia Yuemei.

Jia Yuemei was both surprised and delighted; she hadn’t expected such good fortune to fall into her lap.

"Yuemei has to take care of her child usually, and it’s inevitable that her work will suffer. If Meijuan learns from her, she can not only pick up skills but also help Yuemei with some of her workload."

Everyone verbally agreed with Julie’s arrangements, but deep down, there was more or less a sense of dissatisfaction.

Everyone’s salary was the same, and yet those who shirked their duties managed to receive favoritism and care. How could that sit well with anyone?

...

Having been promoted to a mentor, Jia Yuemei comfortably assumed the role of an absentee manager, dumping all three private rooms she was responsible for onto Liu Meijuan.

She spent her days leisurely snacking on sunflower seeds with her child, living a life of ease and joy.

Before long, a week passed.

Liu Meijuan successfully completed her trial period and officially became a waitress at the restaurant.

Julie once again gathered everyone for a meeting.

"The restaurant averages around four table reservations per meal, and right now we only need four waitresses to handle it. So, ..."

Facing five pairs of puzzled and confused eyes, Julie said, "One of you here will have to leave."

As the words sank in, a look of panic and unease spread across everyone’s faces, fearful that they would be let go.

Only Jia Yuemei sat unperturbed, not the least bit worried.

She was, after all, President Shen’s sister-in-law. The prospect of being laid off simply couldn’t fall on her.

She even unkindly fanned the flames, "Didn’t Peng Ling say she didn’t want to continue working? Just let her go, and wouldn’t that balance the numbers?"

In an instant, all eyes shifted to Peng Ling.

There was sympathy, but also schadenfreude.

Peng Ling looked at Julie with tearful eyes, silently praying that she wouldn’t be the one to be laid off.

She was the eldest at home, with several younger brothers and sisters still in school, all depending on her wages to pay their tuition fees.

"In my view, all of you are excellent, and I don’t want to lay off anyone. But there’s no choice; an extra person means extra expenses, and none of you would want your current wages reduced, right?"

"I’ve thought it through, let’s just raise our hands to vote, the person with the most votes gets fired."

Everyone exchanged glances.

"I agree."

The first to express agreement was Jia Yuemei.

After making her stance clear, she made eye signals to the Liu sisters while pointing at Peng Ling.

Suggesting that the two vote for Peng Ling.

Liu Shuqin smiled at her, then turned to exchange glances with her own sister.

Noticing the trio’s subtle gestures, Peng Ling felt a chill run through her body, tears swirling in her eyes.

Julie clapped her hands for silence, "Those in favor of dismissing Liu Meijuan, please raise your hand."

No one raised their hand.

Liu Meijuan sighed with relief, her gaze towards Peng Ling and Ma Xiaoping filled with gratitude.

"Those in favor of dismissing Liu Shuqin, please raise your hand."

Still, no one raised their hand, and Liu Shuqin also felt relieved.

"Those in favor of dismissing Jia Yuemei, please raise your hand."

As soon as the words were spoken, Peng Ling was the first to raise her hand, followed closely by Ma Xiaoping.

Jia Yuemei looked at them coldly.

However, the next second, Liu Shuqin also raised her hand, and Liu Meijuan did the same at the end.

Jia Yuemei stared incredulously at the Liu sisters, her eyes nearly popping out.

"Liu Shuqin, why did you raise your hand? Didn’t we agree to vote for Peng Ling?"

Liu Shuqin smiled awkwardly, "Well, Yuemei, sorry, but with your husband earning so much money, you should just go home and take care of the kids. Why suffer here?"

Jia Yuemei was so angry she was about to explode.

Peng Ling and Ma Xiaoping were stunned, clearly not anticipating the Liu sisters’ last-minute betrayal.

Only Julie remained calm, as if this had been expected all along.

She intentionally assigned Liu Meijuan to Jia Yuemei as an apprentice to stir up Liu Shuqin’s discontent towards Jia Yuemei.

Plus, she’d been allowing Jia Yuemei to shirk her duties recently.

Liu Shuqin wasn’t foolish; if Jia Yuemei stayed and continued to be lazy, not working properly, wouldn’t it be their sisters who had to cover for her?

When it came to their own interests, the Liu sisters obviously knew how to choose.

...

There were no surprises in the result, Jia Yuemei got the most votes.

She alone had four votes, Peng Ling and Ma Xiaoping each had one vote, and the Liu sisters got none.

"Jia Yuemei, you’re fired. Please go back and pack your things and leave now. Outsiders are not allowed to stay in the employee dormitory. You can collect your remaining pay on the next payday, or I can hand it over to Chef Shen."

Upon hearing Julie’s announcement, everyone else breathed a sigh of relief, except for Jia Yuemei, who was furious.

"Fine, I see what’s going on here. You’ve all banded together to get rid of me, huh? Dream on if you think I’m leaving just like that!"

Julie walked up to her, "The show of hands was your idea, and now that the results are here, you must accept them whether you like it or not."

Jia Yuemei, pointing at her, cursed, "Miss Zhu, what gives you the right to fire me? I’m Shen Mingzhu’s sister-in-law, what are you in comparison? Don’t you think I could make you pack up and leave with just one word?"

Julie flipped through the notebook in her hand, listing Jia Yuemei’s attendance records of the past days.

"Seven times late, ten times leaving early, seventeen unauthorized absences from the post, several instances of passive work avoidance, poor work attitude..."

With each item Julie listed, a new wave of anger crossed the faces of Peng Ling and the others.

"...If it were anyone else, they would have been fired multiple times over. It’s only because of President Shen’s face that I’ve been giving you chances, which, sadly, you did not cherish."

"Now, everyone agrees that you should be dismissed, and I can’t keep you here. Just pack your things and go, don’t make a scene."

"Miss Zhu, just you wait—this isn’t over!"

With that, Jia Yuemei stormed off to the kitchen, "Shen Xiangnan, your wife is being bullied to death, are you going to do something about it?!"