The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 902: Chapter 880: Top Student in the 1980s 8

The reporter and Ge Hongmei sat quietly on one side, without making a sound.

After waiting for about an hour, Anning finished reading a book.

She closed the book: ”Sister Reporter, I’ve memorized the contents of the book.”

What?

No way!

The female reporter thought it was unbelievable, like a dream. How could a child memorize a whole book in an hour? How good must her memory be?

And how could she finish it in an hour? You can’t even flip through it that fast.

”If you don’t believe me, you can test me.”

Anning returned the book to the female reporter.

The female reporter started flipping through the pages, and no matter which page she mentioned, Anning could accurately recite the content, even down to the punctuation.

”You’re amazing, you’re truly a genius.”

The female reporter hugged Anning happily: ”Anning, come with me. How about I support you through school?”

She was thrilled and couldn’t bear the thought of Anning’s potential being wasted.

She had never seen such a smart child before. She believed Anning’s future was limitless. She wasn’t thinking about investments; she just wanted to nurture Anning properly, enabling her to acquire real skills to contribute to the nation’s development.

Many people during this time were very simple-minded, genuinely eager for the country to prosper and become strong.

The female reporter was knowledgeable and understood that the country was still quite poor and backward, in need of talent. The nation was striving to cultivate talent, and she wanted to do her part to raise someone who could contribute.

Ge Hongmei panicked upon hearing the reporter’s words.

She quickly pulled the reporter aside and explained Zhang Heping and his wife’s situation: ”Uncle Zhang and Aunt An want to adopt Anning and ensure her education. Sister, the couple truly has it tough. You wouldn’t want them to grow old with an empty nest, would you?”

The female reporter genuinely wanted to take Anning back, but after hearing about Zhang Heping and his wife, she deeply admired them and reluctantly said, ”Alright, I won’t compete with them.”

When she sat back down, she smiled at Anning and said, ”Later, I’ll leave you my address. Write to me often, and if anything comes up, you can also find me, alright?”

Anning nodded obediently: ”I understand. Thank you, Sister, you’re really kind.”

After the interview, the male reporter began taking photos, took a few of Anning, then called over some police officers and leaders from the Public Security Bureau to take photos with them, and also took a photo of Ge Hongmei holding Anning.

Once the photos were taken, the interview task was officially complete.

The female reporter was particularly reluctant to leave Anning when it was time to go. She ran to the county’s department store to buy clothes and stationery, then went to the bookstore to buy a lot of books to give to Anning.

She repeatedly urged Anning, ”You must read more books. Once you finish these, write to me, and I’ll buy more books for you from the Provincial City, or get someone to buy them from Capital for you if they’re not available. You must not fall behind in your studies.”

Anning nodded: ”I know, Sister. I won’t let you down; I’ll study hard.”

After the reporter left, Anning said to Ge Hongmei, ”Sister Hong Mei, there are so many good people in our country.”

Ge Hongmei couldn’t help but be amused: ”Of course there are more good people than bad; people like Zhang Fugui and his wife are rare. You were just unlucky to have met such heartless people.”

Anning smiled: ”Actually, I’m pretty lucky. Even though things were rough before, I’m really happy now. I’ve met Sister Hong Mei, Sister Reporter, and the police officers. I feel very happy.”

Anning stayed at the Public Security Bureau for a few days, and soon Zhang Fugui’s case went to trial.

The judgment came quickly; Zhang Fugui and He Jian were sentenced to nine years for trafficking children.

If it weren’t for the crackdown, they might not have been sentenced so heavily, but they just happened to run into a strict enforcement period and could only consider themselves unlucky.

Truth be told, Zhang Fugui and his wife, along with He Jian and his wife, all committed crimes. However, both families still had children to care for, and it was not feasible for both parents to go to jail; who would take care of the children then? So only these two were sentenced.

Only after being sentenced did they realize it was Anning who reported them.

As Zhang Fugui and He Jian left the courthouse, they were still cursing, especially Zhang Fugui, who kept threatening Anning.

The angry police silenced them to stop the cursing.

With both sentenced, Anning refused to go to He Jian’s home.

The court sought Anning’s opinion, and after considering various factors, with Zhang Heping and Secretary An also finding connections to appeal on their behalf, the couple was ultimately allowed to adopt Anning.

This adoption was processed with formal adoption procedures, both reasonable and legal. Once the procedures were completed, Zhang Heping and his wife quickly registered Anning as part of their household.

Secretary An looked at their newly official daughter, smiling a joyful smile.

She was so happy that after bringing Anning from the Public Security Bureau, she took her to shower, get a haircut, buy new clothes, and a new backpack. The two brought back a large haul.

Secretary An was actually retired. Her real name was An Shuyu, and she had been the secretary at the cotton spinning factory before retiring. Because An Shuyu sounded like Secretary An, people continued to call her Secretary An even after her retirement.

Since she retired, both she and her husband lived in the steel factory community.

The steel and cotton spinning factories were the two major industrial enterprises in Y County.

The steel factory alone had thousands of employees and was so large it resembled a small town with factories, apartments, and various facilities, including an auditorium, kindergarten, elementary school, clinic, and department store. One could buy almost anything without leaving the factory.

The steel factory was currently doing well, and employee benefits were excellent.

Zhang Heping, being a factory leader, enjoyed even better benefits.

The cotton spinning and steel factories were similarly large enterprises. Although Secretary An had retired, the couple maintained good benefits, having never had children, and had managed to save up a significant amount over the years.

Secretary An rode a bicycle with Anning into the steel factory and straight to the rear housing area.

As a factory leader, Zhang Heping’s assigned house was a single-family courtyard, much better than the average employee housing.

Sitting on the back of the bicycle, Anning noticed two rows of single-family courtyards at the front of the housing area, with four-story residential buildings in the back. These houses were relatively new, likely only a few years old.

Zhang Heping’s home was in the middle of the first row’s courtyard. Secretary An led Anning to the door, got off the bike, and smiled, ”This is our home. Did you memorize the way?”

Anning hopped off the bike: ”An Ma, I remember the way.”

Secretary An held Anning’s hand and pushed the bicycle into the house.

Zhang Heping, who was in the kitchen, heard the noise and came running out without even taking off his apron.

Seeing Anning, he grinned widely, ”You’re back! Wash up quickly, and we’ll eat soon.”

”Okay.”

Anning nodded with a smile.

Secretary An took Anning inside, set down their purchases, and showed her the room they prepared for her.

The couple had indeed put in a lot of effort.

Anning’s room was spacious, facing south, with a 1.5-meter-wide bed. It was made with a new, thick mattress and covered with a pink plaid sheet, matching the new quilt. Everything looked clean and tidy.

Beside the bed was a small bedside table, opposite it a cream-colored desk had a bookcase of the same color. Near the door was a cream-colored four-door wardrobe.

Secretary An opened the wardrobe to hang up new clothes.

The wardrobe already contained many clothes, and adding more really filled it up.

The drawers below contained underwear, socks prepared for Anning, and there were plenty.

Additionally, there were hair accessories and ribbons for braiding hair.

Secretary An told Anning, ”The clothes are here, underwear is inside, hair ties and such are here. Once you’ve settled, I’ll help sort your books into the bookcase. If you want to read any books, just let your dad and me know. Your dad travels often, so I’ll have him bring back books we can’t find here when he’s on the road.”

”Okay.”

Anning replied with a sweet smile: ”Thank you, Mom.”

Hearing herself called ”Mom,” Secretary An felt a warm flutter in her heart: ”Alright, let’s eat first. We can discuss other things after dinner.”