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

"Look at you, feeling too good for even twenty bucks now? My little sister said that once we open a branch, she’ll let me be the head chef. Then I’ll get a 10% share of the profits from each restaurant. Isn’t that much more than just a salary raise?"

Only then did Jia Yuemei’s face light up with a smile, "That’s more like it."

She paused, the smile on her face fading slightly, "You’ve been working hard for a year now, earning quite a bit for your little sister, and all she gave you is 10%."

"I heard from the waiters in the restaurant that they’re making a grand a day now. That’s thirty thousand a month! How much do you make a month? Not even three hundred."

"If you ask me, it’s better to go solo. We could start our own place. We don’t have to compare ourselves with your little sister. If we could just sell a few tables a day, by the end of the month, we could make a tidy sum, maybe a thousand or eight hundred, right?"

Shen Xiangnan cast a sidelong glance at her, "Are you dreaming? Do you think doing business is that easy? Buying vegetables, meat, coal, oil, paying rent, wages, do you have any idea how much that all costs a month? Starting a business, do you have the money for that? Even if you do get it started, who takes the hit if it fails?"

Erya on the bed was woken by Shen Xiangnan’s loud voice and started crying with her mouth wide open.

Jia Yuemei picked up her daughter, soothing her while she said to him, "I was just saying it off the top of my head. What are you getting so mad for? Look, you’ve frightened Erya."

"Oh oh, don’t cry, don’t cry..."

Shen Xiangnan continued his tirade, "Look down at the gold earrings and necklace you’re wearing. If it weren’t for my little sister, do you think you’d be living the good life you have now? You better stop badmouthing her carelessly, or I won’t be pleasant with you."