The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 427 - 426: Uncle Pei Ke

On the way back to the hotel, Shen Mingzhu passed by a pharmacy and stopped by to buy some emergency medical supplies, baby mosquito repellent, and medicine oil for treating mosquito bites that were not available in Fengcheng.

Mingzhu’s skin was delicate and she always attracted mosquitoes; a single bite would result in a big red bump.

When settling the bill, she saw adhesive bandages on the shelf next to the cashier and casually picked up two large boxes.

Adhesive bandages were also rarely seen in Fengcheng, and they were difficult to find in general pharmacies.

Back in her hotel room, Shen Mingzhu remembered the red envelope given by Pei Ke and opened it to find, surprisingly, five one-thousand Hong Kong dollar bills.

Pei Ke lived in public housing and his home was also quite simply furnished, not looking like he was particularly well off.

However, considering he had been struggling in Hong City for over a decade or two, and was not married, it wasn’t strange he had saved some money.

With this thought, Shen Mingzhu comfortably tucked the five Hong Kong dollars into her wallet, planning to go to the mall and buy some snacks and toys for the children when she had time.

In the evening, Shen Mingzhu declined Yan Su’s invitation to go out and instead went to the baking kitchen alone to practice making the pastries she planned to prepare for the next day.

The charity gala was organized by a very famous charitable foundation in Hong City. The venue, food, and beverages for the dinner were sponsored by various families or businesses.

The Ning Family sponsored the pastries.

There were a total of ten pastry chefs, each responsible for two types of pastries.

The pastries Shen Mingzhu was making were Ice Skin Mooncakes and snow-skinned pastries.

She already knew the recipes for these two types of pastries by heart, so this practice was merely to adapt to the new environment and get the feel of it.

After practicing her own pastries, Shen Mingzhu also took the opportunity to observe and learn from the craftsmanship and products of other pastry chefs, gaining a lot.

...

The next day, Shen Mingzhu woke up early.

After having breakfast, she arrived at the baking kitchen just after 8 am.

Originaly, she thought she would be one of the early ones, but upon arrival, she found that the other pastry chefs were all present, and some had even started producing their items.

Shen Mingzhu then felt a sense of urgency and quickly changed into her work clothes to start her busy day.

She worked continuously until four in the afternoon, and only then were one hundred Ice Skin Mooncakes and one hundred snow-skinned pastries finished.

Although there were nearly a thousand guests at the dinner, since there was a variety of foods, the quantity prepared for each type of dish and pastry was not very large.

After all, those qualified to attend the dinner were leaders in various industries, socialites, and celebrity figures who hardly had enough time for socializing, let alone concentrating on eating.

When the other pastry chefs finished their products, their material bowls were basically empty.

Only Shen Mingzhu still had quite a bit of filling, fruit pieces, cream, and dough left in her material bowl.

The other pastry chefs all gave her strange looks.

The supervisor in charge of pastries also scolded her unhappily for being unprofessional and not being able to grasp how much material was needed.

It wasn’t until Shen Mingzhu expressed that she would pay to buy the unused materials that the pastry supervisor held his tongue.

The finished pastries were taken away by the waiters on trolleys, and with that, the pastry chefs’ work was done, and they left one after another.

Soon, only Shen Mingzhu was left in the baking room.

She carefully covered the material bowls with cling film and stored them in the cold room to keep them fresh, then changed her clothes and planned to go back to her room to rest for a while.

Only when she reached her room did she realize that Pei Ke had come and was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back, not knowing how long he had been waiting, with many things piled up at his feet.

"Uncle."

Upon seeing her, a smile plastered on Pei Ke’s face.

"You left in a hurry yesterday, and I didn’t get you anything, so I bought some things today. Take them back for Ziheng and Guoguo; they’re all food and clothing."

Shen Mingzhu didn’t stand on ceremony with him and took the items back to her room after thanking him.

Later, she treated Pei Ke to a simple meal at the hotel’s Chinese restaurant.

By the time they got back to her room, it was already half-past six.

Shen Mingzhu collapsed on the bed and didn’t want to move at all.

After nearly ten hours of intense physical exertion from morning until now, she was exhausted.

All she wanted was a good sleep.

...

In a daze, someone hammered on the door, making a thunderous noise.

Shen Mingzhu got up from the bed, opened the door, and it was the pastry supervisor who had scolded her before.

Seeing her bleary-eyed, the supervisor hastily pulled her along, "There’s a big problem, quick, follow me to the bakery."

Upon hearing there was an issue, Shen Mingzhu instantly woke up.

Without even washing her face or combing her hair, she put on her shoes and hurried out the door.

Along the way, Shen Mingzhu tried to probe several times for information, but the supervisor remained silent, which made her anxiously guess what might have happened.

"Quick, you need to make another hundred Ice Skin Mooncakes and xue mei niang."

As soon as she entered the bakery, the pastry supervisor urgently commanded her.

"Manager Xu, you hurriedly called me here just for this?"

"Yes, oh dear, the banquet hasn’t even formally started, and the Ice Skin Mooncakes and xue mei niang have already been taken; now two empty plates are sitting on display, how unsightly!"

Shen Mingzhu efficiently gathered the ingredients from the fridge, rolled up her sleeves, and got to work.

With Manager Xu and two other pastry chefs as assistants, a hundred Ice Skin Mooncakes and xue mei niang were ready in half an hour.

After the waitstaff took the Ice Skin Mooncakes and xue mei niang to the banquet, Manager Xu patted Shen Mingzhu’s shoulder as if unburdened by a heavy load.

"Thank goodness you had extra ingredients prepared; otherwise, there would have been an accident tonight!"

After saying that, he wondered, "Did you do this on purpose?"

"I like to be prepared for the unexpected, and besides, I have enough confidence in myself."

With the remaining materials in the mixing bowl, Shen Mingzhu made some Ice Skin Mooncakes and xue mei niang for Manager Xu and the two pastry chefs who had helped to taste.

After finishing, all three of them gave her a thumbs-up.

"I didn’t expect the mainland to have such delicious pastries. To train a talented apprentice like you, your master must be even more impressive."

"I don’t have a master; I figured out these pastries on my own."

Upon hearing this, both pastry chefs were surprised.

To stand here, from apprentice to entry-level to master, and then to have a little fame in the pastry world, it had taken them at least ten years or even longer.

Shen Mingzhu, so young, had managed to make pastries that were not only delicious but also innovative, purely on her own intuition—a talent that naturally made them envious.

Seeing the time was almost right, Shen Mingzhu went back to her room to change clothes and put on makeup, preparing to attend the banquet.

Although she didn’t have an invitation, she could enter using Yan Su’s companion status.

The two had agreed to meet at the banquet hall entrance at eight o’clock.

But at 8:05, Yan Su still hadn’t shown up, and Shen Mingzhu didn’t want to stand at the entrance of the banquet hall like a pillar, so she headed to the nearby coffee shop.

The coffee shop was open-air, with round glass tables and wicker chairs.

Shen Mingzhu chose a seat where she could see the banquet hall entrance.

Just as she sat down, she heard a Cantonese conversation behind her, "Who made you insist on vanity to the point of suffering? They’re half a size too small, and you still force them on, your heels are rubbed raw, and you’re going to dance later, what will you do?"

Another younger woman’s voice responded, "Only this pair of shoes goes with my dress, what else can I do?"

Shen Mingzhu turned around and saw a pretty girl dressed in a silver sequined backless evening gown, sitting sideways to her, frowning and looking at her injured heel.

Hesitating for a moment, she opened her handbag, took out two plasters, and handed them over.