The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 522 - 513: The Stepmother Who Refused to Be a Stepping Stone (1)

"What is your wish?"

Anning looked at the middle-aged woman and asked.

A hint of confusion flashed in the middle-aged woman’s eyes, followed by a look of deep sorrow: "I... don’t want to laboriously make bridal clothes for others anymore. I want everyone to remember my kindness, and when they live in agony, to still feel guilty towards me."

Anning then drew out the middle-aged woman’s memories with a flick of her hand.

After reviewing them, Anning also felt at a loss for words.

The middle-aged woman was named Geng Anning. Her story began in the late 1970s in a parallel space.

Geng Anning was a village woman, kind-hearted as well as astute and capable, but she had the misfortune of never meeting kind-hearted people or receiving good karma in return.

Geng Anning got married at sixteen to Liu Shan of Li Jiazhuang. She gave birth to her eldest son Liu Qi the year after her marriage, her second son Liu Ming the following year, and her eldest daughter Liu Yuzhen five years later.

Liu Shan was an honest and capable man, and Geng Anning was adept at managing both home and work. The couple was kind and reasonable in life, and with two sons and a daughter, they could be described as blessed with a complete family, living a truly harmonious and happy life.

Unfortunately, good times did not last. When Liu Yuzhen was two, Liu Shan was killed by falling rocks while working on a reservoir.

The family lost its main support, and with all the children still so young, Geng Anning found life especially difficult.

But remembering Liu Shan, and having to take care of her children, she was unwilling to remarry.

Yet a widow with children truly found it difficult to navigate village life.

Geng Anning lacked any impressive skills or prospects to make enough money to support her three children; life for the four of them was incredibly tough.

When Liu Yuzhen turned four, something else happened in Li Jiazhuang. Li Baolai’s fourth son’s wife ran off with someone.

The Li family was one of the most capable in the village.

The eldest son was skilled at managing estate affairs, had great culinary skills, and opened a restaurant in town after the economic reforms; the second son had a high emotional intelligence and made numerous friends, boasting a wide network; the third son and his wife both excelled academically and got into university when the college entrance exams were reinstated, and after graduation, both secured government jobs in the county.

The fifth son of the Li family was the most enterprising, with a lively nature, and had made a good sum of money doing business outside. The sixth son was a carpenter, skilled in woodworking.

Of these six sons, it was the fourth son, Li Zhifang, who was the least accomplished, always working at home tilling the soil, a real introvert.

Yet, paradoxically, Li Zhifang’s wife was a beauty famous far and wide. To marry her, Li Zhifang had a particularly tough time with his mother.

Eventually, the parents could not overcome their son’s insistence and paid a hefty dowry to secure the marriage for Li Zhifang.

After marrying, Li Zhifang and his wife seemed to have a good relationship; she bore him a son and two daughters. However, before the children grew up, his wife ran off with someone.

After Li Zhifang’s wife left, the Li family mobilized many people to search for her, but after a long time, they failed to find her.

Without his wife, Li Zhifang, a man, found life with three children difficult.

He had to be both father and mother, living a life as bitter as though soaked in brine.

Li Zhifang couldn’t expect the elderly parents to help raise the children at their advanced age, and with each of his brothers busy with their own children, none had the energy to help him care for his kids.

Left with no other choice, Li Zhifang started to consider remarrying.

And his eyes fell on Geng Anning.

Because Geng Anning was famously competent for miles around, a kind person, not malicious, also quite decent-looking, and from the same village, Li Zhifang felt he knew her well and chose a time to discuss the matter with her.

Geng Anning’s days were hard; as her children grew each day, their expenses gradually increased. With no one to help, she feared she couldn’t even keep them alive.

Li Zhifang’s life wasn’t comfortable either; as a man, he truly struggled with childcare.

Both felt they knew each other well and had their needs, so after a private conversation, they were both somewhat moved. After a few more interactions, Li Zhifang assured Geng Anning that as long as she took good care of his children, he would also support the three children she had given birth to.

Geng Anning thought it over. With the numerous and capable Li brothers, they would surely support Li Zhifang; marrying him seemed like the best option. For the sake of her children, she agreed.

Only after their marriage did Geng Anning realize that Li Zhifang married her simply to find a woman to care for the children. While she managed the household and took care of family affairs, she and Li Zhifang had little affection as husband and wife.

However, Geng Anning was quite content; she didn’t ask for much.

She treated Li Zhifang’s three children as if they were her own, diligently overseeing their clothing and meals and striving to raise them well.

After seven or eight years, when Geng Anning’s children and Li Zhifang’s children were grown and able to work, Li Zhifang’s ex-wife Wang Baozhu returned—with money, no less.

Not only did she return, but she also frequently interacted with the three children and met with Li Zhifang in secret.

Before long, Li Zhifang spoke to Geng Anning about divorce, claiming that since Wang Baozhu was back, the children should have their birth mother.

Geng Anning wasn’t really angry.

Her marriage to Li Zhifang was merely a marriage of convenience, lacking much emotional substance.

Without any fuss, she divorced Li Zhifang.

Had the story ended here, it would have lacked much bitterness and resentment, and Geng Anning wouldn’t have harbored so much hatred.

But Li Zhifang and Wang Baozhu, this despicable pair, were truly excessive.

Geng Anning had done nothing wrong by them. Having married Li Zhifang, she had dutifully cared for his parents, managed the minutiae of the household, and raised the children well. Wang Baozhu took over a tidy, pleasant home; she ought to have been grateful to Geng Anning, not resentful.

Yet Li Zhifang and Wang Baozhu had twisted values.

Hearing the village gossip and the Li brothers’ dissatisfaction with Wang Baozhu, they deflected the blame onto Geng Anning to keep themselves trouble-free.

Wang Baozhu’s three children began to claim outside that Geng Anning, their stepmother, mistreated them, frequently beat them, and starved them, while Li Zhifang and Wang Baozhu also spread vile rumors about Geng Anning.

The family worked diligently to ruin Geng Anning’s reputation, continuously accusing her of mistreatment.

Because of Geng Anning’s reputation, Liu Qi and Liu Ming, honest children that they were, felt guilty towards Li Zhifang and frequently worked for the Li family, thereby consolidating the notion of Geng Anning’s wickedness.

Due to her tarnished reputation, Liu Qi and Liu Ming struggled to find good marriages when of age, and Liu Yuzhen had an even harder time finding a suitable household.

If it weren’t for the kinder Li brothers, who felt indebted to Geng Anning for her service to their parents, and who arranged jobs for Liu Qi and Liu Ming and found a decent home for Liu Yuzhen in the city, Geng Anning would have been wrought with hatred.

And Li Zhifang’s mother, Zhang Fengfeng, was truly a kind person. Geng Anning and Zhang Fengfeng, having been mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for seven or eight years, rarely quarreled and hardly ever had angry exchanges. Zhang Fengfeng, disliking Wang Baozhu, was sincerely good-hearted towards Geng Anning.

She felt sorry for Geng Anning and often visited her and her children.

Yet such a good person was driven to her death in the heavy snow by Wang Baozhu.

For this, Geng Anning truly began to hate Wang Baozhu.

Wang Baozhu also harbored an intense hatred for Geng Anning, inciting her sons to lure Geng Anning to the foot of a mountain where a local rogue violated her, leading to Geng Anning’s ultimate demise with bitterness in her heart.