The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 533: Chapter 524: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 12

Anning’s face showed a trace of bitterness.

”Elder sister-in-law, can you really not spare any money? You know I remarried with three children, and now there are six kids to support in the household. Money is truly tight for me. I just want to borrow it for two or three months, at most three months, and I will definitely repay you.”

Zhou Juhua placed the dried noodles Anning had brought in front of her: ”I really don’t have any, why don’t you ask your younger sister to lend you some?”

Zhou Juhua was referring to An Tian, who married in the neighboring county.

Initially, An Tian fell for a young man visiting relatives here from the neighboring county, and later insisted on marrying him despite her parents’ disapproval. She even caused a scene and starved herself to force the Geng family to agree to the marriage.

After An Tian got married, although she thought of her parental home, it was really too far away, and she rarely returned.

This year, An Tian’s household faced a lot of issues, and she didn’t even return when Anning got married.

Zhou Juhua intentionally said this to provoke Anning.

Anning’s gaze grew colder: ”Alright then, I won’t bother you any longer, I have things to take care of at home, I will leave now.”

Anning left the noodles behind and got up to leave.

Zhou Juhua came out to see her off: ”Won’t you stay for a meal before you go?”

Anning waved her hand: ”No thanks, there really are matters to attend to at home.”

As soon as Anning left, Zhou Juhua immediately shut the courtyard door behind her.

”Pssh, borrow money? Even if I had it, I wouldn’t lend it to you.”

Zhou Juhua muttered to herself as she went inside.

Anning knew Zhou Juhua would definitely not lend her the money.

She went to ask just to shut Zhou Juhua up.

Zhou Juhua was really a gossipy person, who loved taking petty advantages. If Anning hadn’t asked for the loan, Zhou Juhua would definitely tell others, ”Oh, I and her brother had agreed to support her, who knows what she was thinking not to borrow from her family if she needed money, probably looking down on me and her brother.”

To prevent Zhou Juhua from benefiting and acting smart, Anning deliberately made this trip.

When Anning returned from her parental home, Li Zhifang also had come back.

He had indeed borrowed some money.

Anning and Li Zhifang calculated that the borrowed money was still not enough.

Li Zhifang started worrying: ”Maybe we should just drop this idea.”

Anning thought for a moment: ”Let’s take a loan.”

”What?”

Li Zhifang jumped up, terrified: ”A loan, are you out of your mind? This...this is borrowing money from the nation, and we’ll have to bear the interest. We can’t do this, just can’t...”

Anning pulled him back to sit down: ”Why can’t we? Loan officers from banks are everywhere looking for people to lend money to. This shows that the nation is willing to let us borrow and supports us. Why should we be scared? There’s a saying, fortune favors the bold and misfortune strikes the timid. I’m not afraid of anything, if you are, we can take the loan under my name, and if we lose money, I’ll take the responsibility.”

”Well, that’s still both of us involved.”

Li Zhifang was somewhat reluctant.

Anning spoke loudly: ”If we really lose everything and can’t repay the loan, we can divorce, and I’ll take on the debt myself, how about that? If you don’t believe me, I can write an agreement.”

Li Zhifang hadn’t lost all conscience yet: ”Alright then, let’s do as you say. Even if I suffer a loss, I can’t let you, a woman, bear it alone. At worst, I’ll go out and find work. I, I will definitely be able to pay it back.”

Though he said this, Li Zhifang really lacked confidence.

But Anning was full of energy.

In the following days, Anning had Zhang Fengfeng help out with the children for a few days while she and Li Zhifang made several trips to the city to finalize the materials. Afterward, Anning went to borrow several thousand yuan.

This money made Li Zhifang unable to sleep peacefully for several nights.

Once the field was plowed and the materials were brought back, Anning hired people to start working on the greenhouse.

The greenhouse wasn’t even up yet, and the whole village already knew about Anning’s loan.

Zhang Fengfeng also felt anxious, afraid that if things didn’t work out, her son would be dragged down.

But among the Li family brothers, each one had a longer vision than Li Zhifang, especially Li Zhicheng and his wife who were cadres in the county, naturally seeing things more clearly and having slightly more courage.

They came back to persuade Zhang Fengfeng not to interfere with the matter, and not to stop Zhifang if he wanted to do it, as it was just a matter of a few thousand yuan. If he indeed suffered a loss, the brothers in the family would cover for him.

Li Zhicheng’s wife, Liu Ru, made a special trip back.

She now worked at the Agricultural and Forestry Bureau and came specifically to ask Anning if she needed any help, insisting that as family, she shouldn’t be embarrassed to ask.

Regardless of how Li Zhicheng and his wife did things, they surely spoke beautifully.

Anning also knew that this couple weren’t petty; on the contrary, they were quite generous and kind people. In her previous life, they had helped her a lot.

She truly appreciated Li Zhicheng’s support, and her words were naturally very flattering.

The Li Family did not stop Anning, but Zhou Juhua made a special trip to advise Anning to quickly repay the loan, and not to engage in such risky business.

Zhou Juhua came empty-handed.

She entered, wiping away tears: ”My dear sister, what are you doing? Is the government’s money something you can just borrow? You are really bold. What if something happens, could you end up in prison...”

Anning’s gaze suddenly turned cold.

”Elder sister-in-law, each family handles their own situation. Whether my family does well or poorly, we bear it ourselves. Why are you worried? I haven’t even started, and you’re already cursing me to go to prison, do you not want me to do well?”

Anning’s words were quite unpleasant, and Zhou Juhua was also quite angry: ”I came here with good intentions to advise you, but you not only refuse to listen, you also speak to me this way. Fine, I won’t interfere anymore, right? Really don’t know what you are thinking about, why bother with such unnecessary trouble when you could be living a good life, isn’t it shameful?”

Anning ignored her, and after sitting for a while, Zhou Juhua felt it was pointless and left.

On her way back, she encountered many people and while walking, she complained about how Anning was not handling her life properly, not living well and instead causing trouble, not knowing what the future would hold, pitying her six children having such a mother, fearing they might have to endure hardships in the future.

The villagers also gossiped a lot.

Most people at that time were conservative.

In general, families either farmed or tried to find work in factories; they didn’t hope for anything else, and growing vegetables in greenhouses was unheard of.

Moreover, Anning having borrowed several thousand yuan was truly frightening.

After winter began, many in the village were idle, and with no other diversions, they enjoyed gossiping about others.

Some village idlers even told Li Zhifang that he had married a restless wife who would eventually squander the family’s wealth.

Many women also advised Anning to keep quiet.

Anning turned a deaf ear, but Li Zhifang was somewhat influenced.