novelraw Chapter 523: A Cannon-Fodder Tagalong from the 1950s (2)
Chapter 523: A Cannon-Fodder Tagalong from the 1950s (2)
Forget it, now isn't the time to talk about this.
Feeling her little belly growling incessantly, An Ning unceremoniously took the large bowl from her older sister's hands. Carefully avoiding the many large chips and cracks on the rim of the bowl, she then began gulping down the egg drop soup that was practically all water.
Finally, she didn't forget to ask:
"Jie, did Grandma make this soup?"
Receiving the little girl's affirmative nod.
"Grandma said she originally wanted to send eggs, but thought it wouldn't be good for me to cook alone at home! So she just cooked it and brought it over!"
Sure enough, that's the authentic style of the original owner's grandma. An Ning couldn't help but roll her eyes fiercely.
Egg drop soup? In that bowl just now, there probably wasn't even a third of an egg! And sugar? Not a single grain was spared.
Her words are always ten percent, her actual actions not even three percent, yet she always wants people to feel one hundred percent indebted to her.
Right, this is so very Old Li Shi.Truly a "true person" who could trick the original owner's father around her finger, pocket most of the family's salary, and immediately after her own eldest son died, ignore the bunch of starving children at home and take the money in her pocket to run off to the next "good son."
Tsk, her fiery temper! The more she thinks about it, the angrier she gets!
"By the way, Jie, did Grandma specifically say that these eggs were meant for Second Aunt's postpartum confinement, that there aren't many left at home, and that she managed to get them out with great difficulty?"
The five-year-old little girl currently looked no more than three or four years old, with a thin, sallow face. Her eyes, however, were made to look exceptionally large by contrast. Now, rolling her pitch-black big eyes, she imitated someone's speech quite vividly.
One could even say it was remarkably lifelike, vividly capturing the essence of the original owner's biological grandma, Old Li Shi.
Even An Yun, who was still worried about her little sister beside her, couldn't help but snort with laughter.
Afraid her little sister would go over there to "cause trouble" again, the little girl hurriedly pulled her close and comforted her in a soft voice. She then rummaged around in a corner and pulled out a small half-piece of dried sweet potato, stuffing it into An Ning's hand:
"Meimei, eat this quickly! Auntie Zhou next door said, you need to nourish yourself properly when you're injured."
"Meimei, you sleep a bit more. Jiejie will go cook now. Mom will be back soon."
Saying this, the little girl quickly picked up the bowl again and left with her short little legs, not forgetting to stick out her tongue on the way and give the large bowl several good licks.
Ah, children from poor families grow up fast!
After the person left, looking at the "tonic" in her hand—the small half-piece of dried sweet potato—An Ning once again fell silent for a moment.
Wrapped in her little quilt, she silently estimated the time until the original owner's mother would return. Only then did she quickly slip a tiny bit of elixir into her mouth, washing it down with a small sip of Spirit Spring Water.
In the blink of an eye, the wound wrapped in rags, which had only been treated with simple wood ash, healed by more than half.
Based on her earlier probing.
That troublemaker brat ran off fast. At most, he only saw the original owner's forehead bleeding. Given that stingy grandma's nature, even if she later finds out she should be awake, fearing she might have to cough something up from her own pocket, she probably won't come this way for a while.
As for the little girl just now, she didn't witness the first scene and clearly didn't realize the seriousness of the situation. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so easily fooled by Old Li Shi earlier.
That is to say, as long as it's before the original owner's mother returns, the so-called serious injury from before simply won't exist!
Confirming this point, An Ning then curled up under the covers, slowly chewing on the tasteless pastry.
Mmm... I've never felt this pastry tasted so good before.
Even so, An Ning didn't dare eat much now. After eating a few pieces to fill her stomach a bit, she immediately stopped.
As for the soul-bound planting space she finally obtained in her last life thanks to her little nephew, it's estimated to be pretty useless in this lifetime.
But it's fine. Good stuff, just looking at it now is beautiful enough.
With greedy eyes and an even greedier mouth, she glanced at the spiritual medicine covering the ground within the space and the spiritual fish in the pond that weighed several pounds.
A moment later, wrapped in her tattered, drafty little quilt, An Ning decisively closed her eyes:
Forget it, better not look for now.
"By the way, Host, why did you heal the injury so quickly this time?"
"To go to the hospital later and make that brat pay compensation!"
As if it didn't know, that brat, including his father, have plenty of money in their pockets!
Glancing at its host's clearly world-weary little face, the system felt a bit guilty but couldn't help but suggest sneakily.
At the very least, you could pick up the delicate and weak persona again, have that family support you!
"Be supported by others for a lifetime?"
An Ning couldn't help but give a slight eye roll:
"Wishful thinking. Have you even looked at what kind of person that Wang is? Even if he's a Phoenix Man, to have climbed to this position, do you really think he relied entirely on his face?"
Without means, how could it be possible.
Of course, the most important thing is, thinking of her last life, An Ning's gaze couldn't help but darken for a moment:
"And System, don't you find it strange? The marriage arrangements between the two families have just begun. At this juncture, how is it so coincidental that that brat came knocking, and precisely at this time?"
A coincidence? Stroking the wood ash on her head, already soaked with quite a bit of blood, An Ning couldn't help but sneer.
"Wait, Host, are you saying someone did it on purpose?"
It took a while before the system suddenly reacted.
An Ning, however, decisively closed her eyes.
***
About half an hour later, as the machinery factory workers finished their shifts one after another, familiar footsteps sounded outside the door again. However, compared to usual, these footsteps were clearly hurried, and the tone was very anxious.
"Ning Ning, Mom's back. I heard you bumped your head. Come, let Mom see."
It was the biological mother of this body, Wei Qiao.
In the hazy light and shadow outside the door, the figure of a slightly slender and graceful woman was reflected.
Unlike the round faces quite popular at the time. The person before her had an oval face and willow-leaf eyebrows. Currently wearing a similarly half-old, half-new gray-blue cotton-padded jacket, though compared to the one the older sister wore just now, this person's clothes were noticeably brighter. Her waist was cleverly cinched with a few thin threads, making her somewhat slender figure appear even more graceful and delicate.
Twenty-six is the prime of beauty.
Her slightly furrowed brows and eyes were particularly pitiable, a beauty that even her slightly sallow complexion couldn't hide. Now speaking, her voice naturally carried a soft warmth.
An Ning couldn't help but blink.
This mom is indeed a great beauty!
No wonder, as an illiterate country girl, she managed to marry into the city smoothly. If not for the incident with the original owner in the last life, she probably would have succeeded with that Director Wang.
It's just that her reputation isn't great!
Sure enough, after carefully lifting the cloth and examining it closely, seeing only a scab the size of a fingernail on An Ning's forehead and that her daughter was truly fine, Wei Qiao immediately let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"It's fine, it's fine as long as you're okay!"
Unexpectedly, as soon as the words fell, An Ning blew up, waving her little fist very indignantly:
"That's not true! It hurt so much earlier! That bastard Wang Yong Hua, next time, I'll definitely teach him a lesson!"
Hmm, quite spirited!
Raising her eyes to size up the person from head to toe, Wei Qiao felt even more relieved now. Reaching out, she stuffed the remaining date paste cakes into her daughter's hand, successfully plugging the little girl's mouth.
Seeing An Ning eating happily, Wei Qiao's tone softened.
"Ning Ning, Mom knows you've been clever since you were little. Listen to Mom, don't be in a hurry to cause trouble. In a little while, the two of you will be family..."
"Family?" An Ning abruptly widened her eyes.
"Yes, Ning Ning, listen to Mom. So we can't take revenge for now."
Wei Qiao's beautiful eyebrows lightly furrowed, speaking with rare seriousness.
Unlike most parents of this era who liked to hide things from their children, saying it's for their own good, the Wei Qiao before her was not. Perhaps due to poor living conditions since childhood, this person had many tricks up her sleeve and preferred her own children to be clever as well.
For example, now:
"What our family is like now, Ning Ning, you've seen it too. Your deadbeat dad was a fool, tricked by your grandma with a few words into giving the money away, not even looking at what kind of person his mother is!"
Speaking of this, the great beauty Wei couldn't help but feel utterly exasperated!
Think about it, Wei Xiao Qiao, from childhood to adulthood, tricked grandpa, deceived grandma. When she became more sensible, the promises she made were even more perfect. Among all the sisters in the family, she lived the best life.
A country person, yet she hardly ever worked the fields.
There was no one in the family she couldn't handle. And the result? She just had to go blind on the most important matter—marriage.
Said he adored her most, my foot!
Wasn't it just giving large sums of money to that old hag? Does he think she doesn't know? It's because he listened to that old hag's instigation and was guarding against her!
And now, look at the result. As soon as something happened, all the money he earned went to raise someone else's child! Thinking of the family's hard life this past year, Wei Qiao hated it even more.
Actually, over the past year, relying on her beauty, it wasn't that no one had secretly offered her things, but Wei Qiao understood in her heart.
A woman, once her stance is lowered, once she's easily taken advantage of, she truly becomes worthless.
Fortunately, heaven rewards the diligent. She finally found someone with decent conditions. Even though she knew in her heart the other party wasn't easy to handle, Wei Qiao similarly didn't want to give up.
After all, given her conditions, Director Wang was currently the best she could find. She lovingly stroked her daughter's little face:
"Ning Ning, be good, let's endure for now. Don't you like date cakes? In a little while, when this matter is settled, Mom will buy more for you..."
Perhaps completely captivated by the future sweetness, the little person on the bed, though still a bit angry, eventually puffed out her cheeks and nodded.
It was only then that the system suddenly reacted:
"Ah, wait, this marriage, Host, aren't you planning to stop it?"