Transmigrated as My Aunt in the 70s

Chapter 501: Chapter 494: Suspicion

Sisi felt that her brain had gotten a lot slower after giving birth; Shen Mingzhu—Shen Baozhu, these two names clearly belong to the same family!

Tian Xinhua advised Sisi not to act rashly; he needed to have someone thoroughly investigate the matter. Ever since the incident with the human traffickers, Tian Xinhua took his wife and child’s safety very seriously and would scrutinize even the slightest disturbance.

Luckily, Ma Xiaoliang had several capable people under him, and Yuan Jin had also trained a group of competent subordinates, all of whom were ex-military. This kind of task was easy for them.

However, investigating these matters took time, and Sisi was not in a hurry. The priority was still to send away the Shen Mingzhu outside.

Although Shen Mingzhu was not particularly likable, the mutton soup she brought was stewed to perfection—rich and fragrant. Drinking a bowl in the morning made one feel much more comfortable.

After breakfast, Tian Xinhua went to work. Shen Mingzhu’s gaze involuntarily shifted towards the majestic Tian Xinhua, but she did it so covertly that if Sisi wasn’t constantly watching her, she wouldn’t have noticed this woman harboring such thoughts towards Tian Xinhua.

Could it be that Shen Mingzhu’s purpose was Tian Xinhua?

Sisi quickly dismissed this thought. Not to mention that Tian Xinhua had never met Shen Mingzhu before, even if Shen Mingzhu had met Tian Xinhua privately, love spurned is like unrequited love in flowers and water indeed!

Moreover, Shen Mingzhu was a married woman with a family; she wouldn’t take such a big risk for something so thankless!

After Sisi finished breakfast, Shen Mingzhu invited Sisi to go shopping for clothes, "There’s a new clothing stall in the mall. The clothes there have good material and trendy designs; you’ll definitely look great in them, Sisi."

Shen Mingzhu eagerly encouraged Sisi to go shopping with her. In her eyes, friendship between women springs from shopping and dining together. If she could shop with He Sisi a few more times, she believed she would soon become close friends with Sisi.

Then, she could get information out of He Sisi’s mouth, which she believed wouldn’t be too difficult given her own talkativeness.

Haha, the days of living a superior life for Shen Mingzhu are just around the corner!

Thinking about her future life in a villa, driving her own car, wearing gold, silver, jade... Shen Mingzhu’s mood was extremely beautiful.

Sisi was originally planning to refuse directly, but then thought, rather than constantly rejecting her, it would be better to play an undercover game!

So Sisi pretended to be persuaded by Shen Mingzhu, feigning interest and asked, "Are those clothes really nice?"

Shen Mingzhu was secretly delighted; she knew that no woman could resist the temptation of beautiful clothes, and hastily said, "Yes, the down jacket I’m wearing is from there. It’s said to be the latest style from Capital City."

The down jacket Shen Mingzhu was wearing was a light yellow knee-length piece with an upright shoulder design that made one appear taller, and the pleats at the waist also had a slimming effect. The bright color and fashionable design indeed made it stand out.

Sisi smiled slightly; she had designed that down jacket herself. Shangguan had said it was selling extremely well and was in high demand.

"What brand is it?" Sisi asked.

"Aifeier’s, a national famous brand," Shen Mingzhu replied busily.

Indeed, Sisi pursed her lips and smiled. When the factory was first established, Yang Shu thought of many names but found none of them pleasant to the ear. It was then that Sisi casually remarked, "Brother Yang, since you’re so fond of Feifei, why not name it Aifeier instead?"

Yang Shu’s eyes lit up upon hearing this; he loved the name for its Western flair and catchy sound. Without a moment’s hesitation and regardless of Shangguan’s shy expression, he promptly went to the Bureau of Industry and Commerce to register the brand name, and on Sisi’s advice, snapped up all the related names he could think of that were associated with Feifei.

"Then let’s go have a look."

There were several Aifeier down jackets at Sisi’s house, one of each color. However, since she had planned on probing Shen Mingzhu, she might as well play along.

Thus, the two women, both with their own agendas, cheerfully got into Sisi’s car to go shopping.

The shopping center was located on the west side of Huangyuan County, an area that Tian Xinhua was planning to develop. Due to the rapid economic growth, the current scope of the county town had become too small. Tian Xinhua and the County Committee members discussed developing the west side and creating a commercial district.

The largest department store in Huangyuan County was this three-story shopping center, with snacks, daily necessities, and general merchandise on the first floor, clothing on the second, and textiles and shoes on the third.

The newly opened stall was located at the entrance of the second-floor corridor, occupying a prime location with three counters, and business was thriving. Several people were already browsing the clothes at the counters.

A dazzling array of clothing hung from the counters, with even the shelves packed with various items. Most of them were down jackets, and surprisingly, some spring attire had also been put on display.

Sisi wasn’t too interested in these down jackets, but Shen Mingzhu was eager and tried on an orange one. Spotting the price tag, Sisi saw it was 175 yuan. No wonder the onlookers, despite their keen interest, were merely looking but not buying.

With a current income of thirty or forty yuan, 175 yuan was almost half a year’s wages, a sum most people couldn’t afford to part with.

Shen Mingzhu quite liked the orange down jacket she had just tried on and, without a second thought, took out her money and bought it. Seeing how readily Shen Mingzhu paid, a thought crossed Sisi’s mind.

To her knowledge, Zheng Guofeng’s salary was quite high, over one hundred forty yuan per month, while Shen Mingzhu’s was only around forty yuan. Their combined income placed them among the higher earners in Huangyuan County.

Yet even this income couldn’t support Shen Mingzhu’s spending habits. Furthermore, Mrs. Wu had quietly mentioned once that Zheng Guofeng’s salary wasn’t actually managed by Shen Mingzhu. It seemed that Mrs. Wu had insisted on Zheng Guofeng giving Shen Mingzhu only thirty yuan for living expenses each month because Shen Mingzhu was too extravagant with money. The rest was to be saved in the bank, and Mrs. Wu would check on it annually.

"All this I have secured for Niu Niu, so she can have some security when she grows up."

To this day, Sisi remembered the look of sorrow on Mrs. Wu’s face. Sisi knew the old lady was worried about what would happen to her great-granddaughter once she and her husband were gone.

Indeed, considering that Zheng Guofeng was an academic and Shen Mingzhu did not seem like a loving mother, Sisi was not sure about Zheng Guofeng’s parents but presumed they wouldn’t treat Niu Niu too well either. Thus it seemed, Mrs. Wu and Mr. Zheng were Niu Niu’s greatest support.

This was also why Sisi had the thought of bringing medicinal wine to Mrs. Wu; not for any other reason but to hope that dear little Niu Niu could grow up happily.

Judging by this, Shen Mingzhu shouldn’t have much money to her name, so where did she get the confidence to buy one 175-yuan down jacket after another?

And considering her spending in other areas wasn’t cheap either, where was her money coming from?

Without batting an eye, Sisi determined to discuss the matter with Tian Xinhua once she returned home and to start the investigation from Shen Mingzhu’s income.