The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 547: Chapter 538: The Stepmother Who Refused to Be a Stepping Stone 26 (Bonus Chapter for 150 Monthly Tickets)

Zhang Erfeng originally wanted to say something provocative to make her sister taste being disliked by a daughter-in-law.

But she then found out that her sister was so hard to deal with. Not only was her sister not on the same page as her, but she also got along so well with a woman who remarried.

This really pissed off Zhang Erfeng.

However, she hadn’t forgotten the purpose of her visit.

She quickly sweet-talked Zhang Fengfeng and then brought up the matter regarding Xiao Yuan.

”Big sis, Yuanzi has been a widower for several years now; it’s time for him to remarry. Look, I’ve matched him with quite a few women, and I’ve also written to him about it, but he just won’t come back. What should we do? Maybe you could help persuade him.”

Zhang Fengfeng waved her hand impatiently: ”Enough, enough, don’t bring this up to me again. Yuanzi is a grown man, doesn’t he have any sense? You’ve already tricked Yuanzi several times; let the kid be this time, I beg you, please stop tricking him.”

Zhang Erfeng was left red-faced and embarrassed by Zhang Fengfeng’s words: ”How, how have I tricked him? I’m doing all this for his own good.”

Zhang Fengfeng was so enraged she almost laughed: ”Good for him? As if I don’t know. Back then, Yuanzi and that factory director’s daughter were getting along so well. You insisted on breaking them up and forced him to marry Wang Chunliu. Look at what has happened now. In my opinion, you should stop trying to meddle in Yuanzi’s marriage matters. The more you meddle, the less good comes out of it.”

Zhang Erfeng initially wanted Zhang Fengfeng to persuade Xiao Yuan, but Zhang Fengfeng ended up scolding her, leaving her both angry and resentful.

”You have six sons yourself, and a bunch of grandchildren, you just can’t stand to see me well. I only have Yuanzi. If he doesn’t get married, our Xiao family line will be cut off.”

Zhang Erfeng wiped away her tears as she complained to Zhang Fengfeng.

Zhang Fengfeng was so angry she nearly passed out.

What kind of person is this?

Just as the two were blaming each other, Anning came over with a basket of eggs.

Upon entering the room and seeing Zhang Erfeng, she greeted her with a smile: ”Auntie Er has arrived.”

Zhang Erfeng was not in a good mood, and she couldn’t even muster a smile upon seeing Anning: ”I don’t deserve your call of Auntie Er. You are a capable person, quite impressive, and you look down upon someone like me who can’t make a public appearance.”

Anning immediately retracted her smile, about to say something when Zhang Fengfeng beat her to it: ”Alright, you better leave now, don’t be a nuisance in my home.”

Zhang Fengfeng jumped off the kang bed and, with a mix of dragging and pushing, shoved Zhang Erfeng out the door: ”In the future, if you can avoid coming, please do. Just pretend you don’t have a sister like me, and I beg you to stop caring about having a sister like myself.”

Being pushed out the door, Zhang Erfeng couldn’t save her face, and since she couldn’t shamelessly cling on, she could only leave in a huff.

As soon as Zhang Erfeng left, Zhang Fengfeng immediately said to Anning: ”Your Auntie Er is muddled, don’t stoop to her level.”

Anning could only muster a smile: ”She is an elder. Whatever she wants to say, let her say it. How can I get angry with her?”

As she smiled, she put away the eggs: ”Mom, we have plenty of eggs at home, you and dad just eat them. If they run out, I’ll bring more.”

”Okay.”

Zhang Fengfeng smiled in agreement and then prepared a big basket of walnuts and chestnuts for Anning: ”Take these back for the kids to eat. Our kids, Liu Qi and Jing Yan, are studying in the county now. The children work hard; they need to eat well. I know you just bought a house and money is tight, but no matter how tight it is, we can’t let the children suffer.”

As she spoke, Zhang Fengfeng also stuffed a handful of money into Anning’s hand: ”Take this, let the children have something to buy treats at school with.”

Anning quickly refused: ”I can’t take it; both Zhifang and I can earn money. The kids’ expenses are covered.”

But Zhang Fengfeng insisted on giving: ”This is a token of my affection as a grandmother, you should keep it.”

Finally, Anning couldn’t refuse Zhang Fengfeng and had to accept it.

She came with a basket of eggs, and when she left, the basket was still full. Along the way, she met people who joked with Anning, ”Did your mother-in-law give these to you again? You really didn’t lose out at all.”

Anning smiled, ”Exactly, my mom is saving them to nourish the kids’ brains.”

The villagers teased her a bit, then asked about Anning’s house buying: ”Anning, do you really think housing in the city will become more expensive in the future?”

Anning grinned, ”That’s what I think. Just consider how much we spent on bricks for building houses ten years ago versus how much it would cost now. Construction is more expensive, so the selling price has to go up too. Besides, they’re building so many houses in the city, and there are more and more people, so land prices are definitely going to rise. When land becomes pricey and construction materials expensive, house prices will absolutely increase. If you have spare money, you should really buy a house in the city. It doesn’t have to be in the Provincial City or the city center; even those in the county are good.”

Upon hearing Anning say this, everyone felt she made sense.

They thought about the prices from ten years ago compared to now, and indeed, it had increased quite a bit.

Those with more active personalities began to consider buying a house.

Due to Anning’s influence, Li Jiazhuang was quite wealthy now, and the villagers had some extra cash. So, that winter, quite a few families bought houses in the county or the city.

Some families didn’t have enough money to buy big houses, so they bought two-bedroom or small three-bedroom ones, but there were quite a lot of buyers.

Afterward, Anning and Li Zhifang worked hard, and in two years, not only did they repay the money they owed to Fifth and the Sixth Family, they also saved enough to refurbish all of the kids’ houses.

The refurbishment was taken care of by Li Zhikang.

Li Zhikang now had his own furniture factory, with furniture that was well-made and stylish, and thus sales were good.

After making some money, seeing that many were building houses in the city, he brought in two construction teams: one for building houses and the other for renovations.

With Li Zhikang’s help, the houses Anning bought were quickly furnished, with high-quality materials and a very modern style, and the money spent was comparatively little.

Once the houses were renovated, Anning took the kids to the Provincial City for another visit.

Liu Qi’s three boys were rather indifferent, but Li Jingyu’s three girls were over the moon when they saw such beautiful homes.

The three girls huddled together, discussing how they would decorate in the future, what kind of curtains to hang, what kind of bed sheets to buy, and that they should even put some stuffed toys in the room.

When Anning took the kids to see the houses, Li Zhifang did not come along.

There were some matters at home that needed Li Zhifang’s attention, plus the fruit trees on the mountain were being fertilized and watered; Li Zhifang was too busy to leave.

He went up to the mountain to supervise the workers pruning the trees and applying fertilizer, then dragged his weary body home.

Anning had told him when leaving that she would take the kids to play in the Provincial City for the day, and if it got late, they might not come back, since they had a house in the Provincial City and it was alright for them to stay a night.

Li Zhifang looked at the sky, thinking that Anning and the kids definitely wouldn’t return today, so he decided to go back and heat up some leftovers instead of wasting time cooking.

But when Li Zhifang got home, he saw someone.

He too was quite startled to see this person.

As Li Zhifang was opening the door, someone suddenly sprang out from a corner, and he quickly dodged in fright. Upon a closer look, it was Wang Baozhu, who had run away from home for many years.