Chapter 41: The Evil Stepmother of the 1970s 8 New Story VIP “Mom I…

Chapter 41: The Evil Stepmother of the 1970s 8 - New Chapter VIP Release "Mommy, I..."

Xu Ziyan couldn't be bothered with her. If it weren't for playing along with the storyline earlier, Xu Ziyan wouldn’t have interacted with these people at all. Her past life had taught her that avoiding the main characters was the safest bet—they had the weirdest logic, and you never knew what crazy thing they'd do next.

Xu Ziyan made sure everyone knew to sleep early. The next morning, before the crack of dawn, she got up and started preparing breakfast.

Xu’s parents were hardworking and excellent cooks. Xu Ziyan had them steam steamed buns with a bit of oil and salt, then make some griddle cakes, also lightly seasoned. This way, customers could eat them all by themselves without needing other accompaniments, and the taste would be satisfying enough to leave you wanting more.

Most importantly, food options were limited in this era, and there were no seasoned flour foods on the market yet. Xu Ziyan had them spread eggs and add some leafy greens to some of the griddle cakes, making them somewhat resemble the later-era "egg-filled pancakes," which also weren’t available here yet.

Xu’s mother worried, "Xiao Yan, these griddle cakes are already fried with oil and salted, which isn’t cheap. Adding eggs and greens will make them even more expensive. Will anyone buy them?"

Xu Ziyan smiled. "Of course they will. You just have to know how to sell it. Say they’re made with the freshest farm eggs, from chickens raised with care, full of nutrients. The greens add vitamins and a fresh crispness—perfect together."

Xu’s mother blinked. "We... we have to say all that?" She glanced at Xu’s father. "We’re no good at hawking wares."

Xu Ziyan shrugged. "Well, practice makes perfect. If they really don’t sell, we can eat them for dinner. You've got to be flexible when selling. If a customer hesitates, praise the steamed buns—say they’re made with the finest flour, hearty and filling, and no ration coupons needed.

Compliment the customer, saying they look energetic and should eat well to work and earn more. Sprinkle in some compliments, like 'buy five, get one free'—everyone loves a bargain. Or price them at eight cents for one, fifteen for two, and so on."

Xu Ziyan reeled off a bunch of selling tricks, all commonplace in later years but completely new at this time. Xu’s parents listened, amazed, feeling like they’d learned a lot. Who knew selling things involved so much strategy? They had second thoughts a bit, but the breakfast was already made—they had to sell it today at least.

After pepping each other up, they packed all the food into baskets, hung them on their bicycles, and pushed the bikes toward town.

Xu Ziyan went with them but didn’t stay to help sell. This was their business—they needed to experience and learn from the start to grow and gain enough experience.

She went to the recycling center and bookstore, collecting all the textbooks and study materials she needed. The college entrance exams hadn’t been reinstated yet, so these were still available. Once exams were announced, bookstores would sell out the minute they opened, and recycling centers would be searched through repeatedly.

Xu Ziyan was getting ahead of the game. She realized the reason her past world hadn’t collapsed was that the male protagonist, Ding Jie, had failed repeatedly and never achieved his destined success. His protagonist halo had dimmed, and he’d basically lost his protagonist status, making him incapable of triggering the world collapsing.

So her method was correct—go through the motions of the plot superficially, then change things after the fact to preserve the small world.

In the original plot, Xu Xiuyun studied hard, got into college, and became the village’s only university student—a big deal. The original Xu Ziyan had been a good student as a child but later slacked off, decided studying was pointless. Even when exams were reinstated, she didn’t care, figuring marrying an officer meant she was set for life. She never took the exams.

Many in the village said the Xu sisters were opposites—the older one was shrewd and capable, destined for success; the younger was lazy, wasting her intelligence and bound to suffer.

Being compared was inevitable; even if they didn't compare themselves, outsiders would, simply because they were sisters.

Xu Ziyan’s goal now was to break that comparison. If the female protagonist wanted to put her down to make herself look better, she wouldn’t let her get away with it. First, she’d outperform Xu Xiuyun in the exams, becoming the village’s most talked-about college student. Of course, she still had to complete her tasks—let the female lead have her little victory first.

Xu Ziyan packed all the books into a bundle, hiding their contents. She picked up developed pictures from the studio, bought some meat, and two bottles of soda before heading home.

"This is so heavy. I should’ve waited for my stingy parents to finish selling breakfast and used their cart instead of carrying these books all this way."

Hearing Xu Ziyan’s voice, Fang’s parents hurried out to meet her. "Let me take that. What’s in this huge bundle? Oh, it’s heavy!"

Xu Ziyan gave them a meaningful look. "Shh, put it in my room." Then, in her normal voice, she said, "Mom, I bought some meat. Let’s have braised pork with potatoes over rice tonight." She called the kids out. "You two handle washing the rice. Make sure you get all the little stones out."

She handed them the two sodas. "Reward."

Fang’s father carried the bundle to her room. When Xu Ziyan opened it, revealing study books, he was stunned. "Xiao Yan, what’s this?"

Xu Ziyan whispered, "When I move to the army base later, I heard I might be able to teach. I want to prepare early. But I’m not sure it’ll work out, so don’t tell anyone—it’d be embarrassing."

Fang’s father nodded uncertainly and left, only to hear Xu Ziyan’s inner voice: *"The exams will be reinstated by year-end. I need to study hard. Luckily, my foundation is solid, and the current textbooks are simpler. A few months of review should be enough."*

Fang’s parents exchanged shocked looks. Reinstated exams? If true, it would shake the nation. Could the immortal really predict this? And she was so studious—planning to take the exams? She was becoming more human-like by the day.

*"I hope that excuse was good enough. Can’t let the news leak, or the plot will derail."*

Fang’s parents glanced at each other again, then pulled the kids aside and warned them to keep quiet. The kids, mature beyond their years, vaguely understood that Xu Ziyan’s inner thoughts were secrets not to be shared. They nodded earnestly, promising to keep them.

To them, Xu Ziyan was their fairy mother—always thinking of them, treating them so well. Of course they wouldn’t betray her secrets.

While this family focused on secrecy, Xu Xiuyun next door, still smarting from her recent setback, couldn’t resist stirring trouble. She subtly led her stepdaughter, Song Jiao, to notice Fang Nan and Fang Bei working again, remarking with feigned surprise, "Oh, they’re picking through the rice so carefully."

Song Jiao, six years old, was spoiled, immature, and loved gossip. Lately, villagers had been calling Xu Xiuyun scheming, and kids had picked up on it, asking Song Jiao if her stepmom was really nice or secretly mean. It embarrassed her.

So when she went out to play with the neighbor kids, she exaggerated, "You should’ve seen it—Fang Nan and Fang Bei were picking out rice grains one by one! Who washes rice like that? We just spit out the little stones. Why bother being so fussy?"

The kids were shocked. Wasn’t their stepmom supposed to be nice? Had she started mistreating them already?

Song Jiao sneered. "My stepmom’s sister is so pretentious, picking at rice like some capitalist’s daughter. Isn’t that ‘a lady’s airs with a maid’s fate’?"

The kids agreed, especially those who’d wanted to play with Fang Nan and Fang Bei. Annoyed that the brothers were always stuck working, they decided to go see for themselves.

Song Jiao added, "But don’t say I told you! If Xu Ziyan finds out, she’ll blame me like she did my stepmom—making her look bad when she was just trying to help."

After much chatter, the kids headed to the Fang house.

Peeking through the gate, they saw Fang Nan and Fang Bei squatting by the well, intently picking stones from rice.

One child whispered, "Fang Nan! Fang Bei! Come here!"

The brothers looked up, smiled, and ran over. "What’s up? Come in."

The kids shook their heads. "Your stepmom’s too scary. We’re not going in."

Fang Bei frowned. "Don’t talk bad about our mom."

A kid retorted, "We know she makes you pick rice grain by grain. Who’s that picky? She just wants to make you work."

Fang Nan narrowed his eyes. "How’d you know? We wash the rice willingly. Clean rice tastes way better." He studied them. "Did you come here to start trouble?"

Another child huffed. "We’re standing up for you! Your stepmom’s awful. Why defend her?"

*"Congratulations, host! Plot completed: Mistreatment of stepsons exposed, reputation damaged. Reward: 1 skill point."*

Xu Ziyan, studying by the window, paused. *"No need to guess—Xu Xiuyun had Song Jiao spread this. She’s bitter after losing face with me but doesn’t dare confront me directly, so she uses a child. Kids just parrot what they hear."*

Fang Nan and Fang Bei immediately understood—Xu Xiuyun was behind this again. They retorted, "Our mom’s great! Washing rice is nothing. Do you guys do nothing at home? Besides, the rice is for the whole family—we eat most of it, not her!

And she gave us soda for helping. Do your parents give you soda for chores?"

They fetched their sodas, taking a sip. The kids were instantly envious. Wow, their stepmom brought them soda from town just for washing rice? That was amazing! They’d wash rice every day for that!

Fang Nan suddenly glared at Song Jiao. "We were at home washing rice—only the neighbors could’ve seen. Did you spread lies about our mom? You’re jealous because your stepmom’s awful and ours is great, right?"

Song Jiao, thin-skinned, burst into tears. "No! I didn’t!"

The other kids pointed. "You did! You said their stepmom was mean and called her ‘a lady’s airs with a maid’s fate.’"

Fang Nan was furious. "How dare you? Our mom’s the best! I’d wash rice for her forever—it’s my choice. Your stepmom’s the bad one. Did she put you up to this? Using you because she’s too cowardly to say it herself?"

Song Jiao wailed louder, drawing neighbors outside. "What’s going on?"