The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

”Is this... is what you said true?”

He Fangfang’s heart was pounding, and at the same time she grew even angrier.

Anning nodded. ”We’re already trying to look into it. In a few days we should have the results.”

He Fangfang lowered her head and wiped her tears. ”Why is my life so bitter?”

Anning gave her a hug. ”Auntie, can you listen to a bit of advice from me?”

He Fangfang bit her lip. ”Go ahead, I’m listening.”

”If it really turns out that Fugui is Uncle Xiao’s son, then Uncle Xiao was already cheating more than thirty years ago. That’s marital infidelity, and with solid evidence. You can sue him for divorce, then find a good lawyer who’s good at handling divorce cases. By then we can take the house and the shop back. You, all by yourself, will have both a house and a shop, plus the money your kids give you for filial support. You can spend however you like. Wouldn’t that be a great life? Not only that, living alone is so peaceful, you won’t have to wash clothes and cook and wait on Uncle Xiao anymore. You can move to the county, dance with the old ladies when you’ve got nothing to do, stroll around and shop. Look at my grandma, doesn’t she look so young now? You really should learn to let things go a bit.”

Anning smiled as she said this. ”I’m not telling you this to stir up trouble, I truly have your best interests at heart. After all, you did raise A Yuan. Back then my uncle never took care of A Yuan; A Yuan grew up drinking your milk. When he was little, you were the one who sewed clothes and cooked for him. Just for that alone, we have to help you make good plans for your future, don’t you think?”

He Fangfang kept nodding along under Anning’s persuasion.

Right now she could only think about how good Old Madam’s life was.

Then she started calculating the monthly rent from that shop of hers, plus the money her sons and daughters gave her. No matter how she did the math, she just couldn’t manage to spend it all.

It really was just like Anning said: after a divorce, she would have everything and not have to work. If she wanted to cook, she’d cook; if she didn’t, she’d just buy something to eat. Living alone, not being beaten or cursed at, not having to do so much housework every day—just thinking about that kind of life felt wonderful.

Anning saw that He Fangfang was tempted, so she added another line: ”Auntie, if my uncle comes back, won’t you feel disgusted just looking at him? Every time you see him, you’ll think of all that stuff he did with Wang Shushu. Can you really get past that? At your age, how many more years can you live? Are you really going to spend the rest of your life disgusting yourself like that every single day?”

He Fangfang thought about it and realized she really couldn’t do it.

If Xiao Qun really came back, she’d practically want to kill him. And just thinking about the whole thing felt as nauseating as swallowing a fly.

”I... can what you said really work? Will the court really award the house to me?”

Anning nodded firmly. ”We’ll help you find a good lawyer.”

He Fangfang was finally at ease.

”I’ll go back and think it over carefully. If I’ve made up my mind, I’ll come find you, okay?”

”Okay.”

Anning came out of the small grove with a smile. ”Then I’ll head back first.”

He Fangfang waited until Anning had left before heading home herself.

On her way back, when she got to Yang Dachou’s house, Anning went straight to look for Song Xiaoli.

She and Song Xiaoli went into Yang Jiajia’s room, closed the door, and spoke in low voices.

”Sister-in-law.”

Anning called out first. ”I just asked about Jiajia’s scores. There’s a very good chance she can get into the Provincial City Medical College or the normal university. If she really gets in, you have to make some proper plans for Jiajia.”

Song Xiaoli hadn’t gone to school much and didn’t understand any of this. ”Her aunt, your brother and I don’t have any vision. You help us analyze it. Which school is better for Jiajia, and what should she do in the future?”

Anning said softly, ”Both of these schools are very good. They’re among the top universities in our province. Our Jiajia is doing great; I think there’s a big chance she can get in. But which school she chooses depends on what she likes. If she wants to study medicine, then she should go to the Medical College. If she wants to be a teacher, then she should choose the normal university. For a girl, becoming a doctor or a teacher is both very good.”

This really was very good, and Song Xiaoli also felt that being a doctor or a teacher was great.

”Sister-in-law, what I want to say is, our Jiajia is very smart and can really settle down and study. I think after she finishes university she should still go for grad school. No matter what she does, having higher credentials is always a good thing. If she goes to the normal university, after grad school she could even stay at the university as a lecturer.”

Song Xiaoli just kept nodding. ”Yeah, having more education is definitely a good thing, but your brother and I only have so much ability. I’m afraid we won’t be able to afford it.”

”That’s exactly what I wanted to discuss with you.”

Anning said with a smile, ”Look, Eldest Uncle is gone, and Madam has... gone to prison and most likely won’t ever come out. There’s no one to take care of Grandpa. I’d like to bring him to live with me, but Grandma isn’t willing. Grandma doesn’t want to see Grandpa. If I really bring him over, the two old folks will be fighting every day, and that’s no way to live, right?”

Song Xiaoli instantly understood. ”You want Grandpa to stay here at home and have us take care of him?”

Anning nodded. ”We’ll cover Grandpa’s future hospital bills and his current expenses, and I’ll also be responsible for paying for Jiajia’s university and grad school. If you and my brother can coax the old man into causing less trouble, and if in the future Jiajia ends up staying in the Provincial City to work, I’ll buy her an apartment there. What do you think?”

This was more than fine.

How much can an old man eat, really? Besides, Anning would be paying for his food, clothing, and other needs. All she had to do was wait on him a bit and coax him so he wouldn’t kick up a fuss. That was exactly what she was good at.

She only had to put in this little bit of effort, and the one who’d benefit would be her daughter.

Jiajia’s university and grad school tuition would all be covered, and in the future she might even get an apartment in the Provincial City.

Right now the housing prices in the Provincial City were sky-high. Even if she and Yang Fuyu worked for two lifetimes, they couldn’t earn enough for an apartment.

”Her aunt, taking care of Grandpa is what we should do. Don’t worry, we’ll definitely take good care of the old man.”

Song Xiaoli was overjoyed, her whole face lit up with smiles.

This was Anning planning ahead. Yang Dachou was gone, Wang Shushu was locked up, and by any measure, Grandpa should be taken care of by Yang Erchou.

He had a son, so it wasn’t the grandson’s turn to take care of him.

But Anning really didn’t want to bring Grandpa back to the Capital, and she didn’t want Yang Erchou and Li Cuixia to come back to Yangjiazhuang either.

The two of them were getting old. If they fell ill or had some aches and pains, there would be no one to look after them.

Right now they were in the middle of handling Yang Dachou’s funeral, so no one was bringing this up. But once Yang Dachou’s affairs were settled, Grandpa’s situation was bound to become a source of friction.

Anning went and talked to Song Xiaoli first, dangling money as bait, so that she and Yang Fuyu would take good care of Grandpa, which saved Anning a lot of trouble.

In other people’s eyes, putting a child through university and then buying her an apartment was a huge expense. In Anning’s eyes, this amount of money really wasn’t much at all. After all, anything that could be solved with money wasn’t really a problem.