The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 986: Chapter 963: Glory Amidst Chaos 31

The house for the eldest branch was completed, and the three families moved in with the elderly couple.

During the housewarming, Anning and the others didn’t go, but they did send gifts over.

When Xiao Jue was building the house, he was determined to build a larger mansion than the third branch, which had three courtyards; he insisted on building five courtyards. To achieve this, he persuaded Mrs. Zhao to coax Mrs. Wei into spending quite a bit of money.

The house for the eldest branch is indeed large, occupying a huge piece of land. With five courtyards plus the East and West cross courtyards, it truly looks like a wealthy family’s estate at first glance.

Then, somehow, the eldest branch heard about the third branch planning to adopt sons and daughters.

When Xiao Jue heard about this, he was amused.

He turned around and discussed with Mrs. Zhao: ”Why don’t we also adopt some godsons and goddaughters?”

Mrs. Zhao laughed: ”Indeed, indeed, how clever of the third branch to come up with such an idea.”

Isn’t it just so.

None of them here have ever done any work; they’re used to being pampered, so even if they buy land, they can’t farm it. As for house chores, like tending fires or cooking, Mrs. Zhao wouldn’t dream of doing those.

However, hiring servants would be too costly, and for a family like theirs, the number of servants they could employ was limited, at most three or five.

What could three or five people accomplish? They couldn’t even manage to farm the estate’s land.

Xiao Jue was troubled by this too; he used to think about where to find capable servants, but once he heard Xiao Yuan planned to adopt sons and daughters, he understood.

He couldn’t hire too many servants, but he could take in some orphaned children as adopted sons and daughters, which would mean there would be someone to manage the house chores.

The adopted godsons and goddaughters should also be filial to their parents; having sons and daughters work at home is quite proper.

Moreover, adopting sons and daughters wouldn’t require spending money, nor would there be a need to give them a monthly salary; just feeding them and providing them with clothes to prevent starvation and freezing would suffice.

This deal is really too advantageous.

So, after discussing with Mrs. Zhao, they decided to approach the village chief about adopting sons and daughters.

The village chief was familiar with the local area and knew many people from surrounding villages well.

Despite Southern Yi having fertile land, the people lived in poverty, enduring many hardships, with numerous orphaned children unable to survive without parents.

The village chief quickly found many orphans.

Since Xiao Yuan had initially approached him about this matter, the chief brought the orphans over to let Xiao Yuan choose, planning on sending the rest to Xiao Jue.

However, halfway through, Xiao Jue intercepted them.

Xiao Jue intercepted the village chief midway, seeing the dozen or so boys and girls trailing behind the chief, he smiled and said, ”These must be my adopted sons and daughters, I’ll choose from them.”

He picked those who looked good and presentable, dressed not too poorly.

He chose a total of ten, six boys and four girls, planning for the boys to be raised for farm work, while the girls would handle household chores.

After selecting, he cheerfully handed the village chief a string of copper coins: ”Thank you for the hassle, use this to enjoy some wine.”

The village chief squinted his eyes, then continued with the remaining children to Xiao Yuan’s place.

The village chief wasn’t pleased, as Xiao Jue took the better ones, leaving Xiao Yuan at a disadvantage.

Originally, the chief was concerned about what to do if Xiao Yuan refused the remaining children.

The village chief wasn’t heartless, seeing the children living such miserable lives, he wanted to help them find a way to survive, hoping once at the Xiao Family, they’d have a chance to survive with a meal, regardless of the work.

However, he hadn’t expected Xiao Jue would take all those who could pass for good-looking; the remaining children weren’t impressive.

But he couldn’t bear to send them back.

If returned, these children feared there would be no alternative but the path to death.

Feeling conflicted, the village chief took the children to Xiao Yuan’s house.

Xiao Yuan and Anning were present.

Upon seeing the village chief, Xiao Yuan promptly rose to greet him, asking Xiao Fu to serve tea and snacks.

The village chief gestured to the children: ”There were nearly twenty kids; your brother chose ten midway, I brought the rest.”

Xiao Yuan smiled, knowing Xiao Jue must have chosen the presentable ones.

He glanced at the remaining seven or eight children; they were truly less than presentable.

Anning also glanced at the children, smiling as she approached them: ”Alright, now that you’re here, this is your home. Come, follow me, let’s meet the family.”

Xiao Yuan stayed with the village chief chatting, while Anning led the children to the backyard.

The children were anxious and apprehensive, especially upon seeing the house, Xiao Yuan, and Anning, significantly adding to their fear.

They had never seen such a fine house, wide and spacious, impeccably clean and beautiful. Standing in the courtyard, they felt like their presence sullied it.

Upon seeing Xiao Yuan and Anning, they dared not walk or approach further.

To them, the master and madam were astonishingly good-looking, to the point they seemed otherworldly, like immortals descended from the heavens; glancing too much felt like disrespecting divine beings.

But following Anning to the backyard, the children hung their heads, not daring to lift them.

Anning led them to the second courtyard’s West Cross Courtyard, where there was a firewood room, a few cleaned-out empty houses, and a small kitchen reserved for when the house was crowded, all vacant now.

Arriving there, Anning called the two oldest-looking children forward: ”Do you know how to boil water?”

The two children quickly nodded: ”We do.”

Anning smiled: ”Great, there’s a well and firewood in the yard, boil some water and take a bath; I’ll prepare some clothes for changing, and we’ll eat after that.”

The two older children rushed to collect firewood and water, soon gathering a large pot of boiling water.

Anning brought over a few tubs, arranging them in two rooms; boys in one, girls in the other, instructing them to look after each other while bathing.

Then Anning retrieved a few outfits meant for Xiao Ying and his siblings, insufficient as they were, she also asked Xiao Fu to request clothes from the Hui Family.

Once clothes were ready, she prepared bedding and other essentials.

There was indeed not enough, but Anning decided the children should first have clothes and a warm meal, thinking bedding could be made later.

With ample cotton and cloth at home, it was merely a matter of handiwork.

Sending off the village chief, Anning tasked Xiao Yuan with watching over the children in the West Cross Courtyard while she prepared the meal.

With so many people, Anning couldn’t fuss over the meal; she cooked a large pot of rice and another of stew.

The stew resembled Northeast-style stew, containing meat, tofu, various vegetables, mushrooms, and some greens.

When the meal was prepared, the children had finished bathing, donned their clean clothes, unsure where to place their hands and feet upon entering the front courtyard.

Seeing the children clean, Anning couldn’t help but smile: ”Quick, come serve the food.”

The children responded, rushing to serve dishes and take cutlery, swiftly setting the table.

The dining room initially had one large round table, but with more people, another table was added.

With the dishes on the tables, Anning instructed each to serve their portion.

She and Xiao Yuan watched the children serve themselves, halting those who tried to take too much.

The children were too thin, visibly from severe hunger; devouring too much at once could harm their stomachs, so Anning had to monitor them, preventing overfeeding.

Xiao Yuan stopped them, explaining: ”It’s not that you’re being denied food, but eating excessively after starving will make you sick; eat less now, we’ll nourish gradually, and later you can eat as much as you desire.”