The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 528 - 519: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 7

Anning and Zhifang finished packing, and Zhifang rolled out the bicycle he bought for his wedding, which he had barely ridden, and took Anning to the town.

The second son, Zhipeng, had a friend who managed marriage registrations in the town. Zhifang bought two packs of cigarettes to approach him, and it didn’t take long for the marriage certificate to be issued.

Zhipeng’s friend also patted Zhifang’s shoulder and advised, "Now that you’re married, live a good life moving forward. Living a prosperous life is better than anything else."

Zhifang agreed with a smile.

Anning then distributed the wedding candies she had brought to those who assisted with the registration, and then the couple took the freshly issued marriage certificate and went home. First, they went to Zhiyuan’s house to pick up Zhifang’s three children, and Anning returned home to fetch her three children to the Li family’s home.

Among Anning’s children, the Eldest, Qi, was already more than eight years old and quite sensible. He was actually terrified while taking care of his younger siblings at home yesterday.

He was afraid that Anning, after marrying, would not want them anymore.

He didn’t really want Anning to marry anyone, but he also knew that it wasn’t easy for Anning, as a single woman, to raise three kids. Without marrying, life would not be easy for the four of them. He understood more clearly that Anning married to provide them a better life.

But understanding is one thing; he couldn’t accept it from the bottom of his heart right away.

Fortunately, the child was very sensible; even if he had concerns, he didn’t show it outwardly.

He woke up early to make food for his siblings, and after eating, he waited for Anning to pick them up. He became even more frightened as he waited indefinitely.

At that moment, Yuzhen started to cry and search for her mother, and Qi also began to feel sad.

As he was hugging his siblings and crying, he heard the door being pushed open. Following that, he heard his mother outside shouting, "Qi, have you packed up? If you’re done packing, hurry and move with mother."

Hearing this, Qi immediately cheered up.

He responded, but before he could move, Anning entered the room.

She saw instantly that the three children had just been crying and also understood their fears about the new life.

She didn’t rush the children to pack their belongings but instead asked them to sit down. She smiled and said to the three children, "Don’t be scared, I am your real mom, and I will definitely stand by your side. When we get to the Li family’s home, don’t see yourselves as outsiders. What Jingyu and the others have, you will have too; they have their real dad, and you still have your real mom. Of course, we won’t bully Jingyu and the others, but if they bully you, we are not afraid."

With Anning saying this, Qi felt much of his fear dissipate.

He was afraid of living under someone else’s roof and being forced to make compromises with the Li family’s children.

But Anning’s words quickly shifted his mindset.

Yes, Jingyu and the others have their real dad, but he also still has his real mom. Mom loves them and will definitely support them; as long as they don’t cause trouble, no one would dare bully them.

With this in mind, Qi felt greatly reassured.

Ming and Yuzhen, being younger, didn’t quite understand what Anning meant, but seeing their elder brother no longer afraid, they also started to feel happy.

After comforting the children, Anning packed some belongings and took the three children to the Li family’s home.

Over there, Zhifang had already tidied up the room.

Apart from a traditional heated brick bed, there were several other beds in his home. Zhifang arranged these beds and found some quilts and mattresses to lay out.

Just as he had finished setting up, Anning arrived with the children.

Zhifang looked at Qi and the others, rubbed his hands together, and was momentarily unsure of what to say.

Anning smiled and said, "Qi, Ming, call him uncle."

Liu Qi and Liu Ming called out "Uncle," and Liu Yuzhen also softly uttered the same.

Anning said to Li Zhifang, "The children are not used to this yet, and I don’t want to force them. Let’s take it slow."

At this moment, Li Zhifang truly didn’t have any ill intentions; he wasn’t forcing the children to call him dad either.

He smiled, nodded at the three children, and called in Li Jingyu and the other two who were playing outside.

Anning was taken aback when she saw the three children of Li Jingyu.

The original memories of the body knew that these three children were quite good-looking, well-dressed, and very neat and tidy. After all, despite Wang Baozhu being difficult, she was truly beautiful, and naturally, her children wouldn’t be far off.

But now, the three children appearing in front of Anning looked like little beggars.

Li Jingyu and Li Jingyan’s hair was very long, probably because no one had washed it, and their hair was both long and dirty, tangled together. Their faces were black and bluish, smeared with who knows what, and their clothes were extremely dirty, looking really unseemly.

Li Jinghan seemed a bit cleaner, but not by much.

Anning frowned slightly, squatted down to the level of the three children and said, "From now on, we will be living together. I understand what’s in your heart and know that I am not your birth mother. I don’t insist that you call me ’mom’. You can call me whatever you feel comfortable with, ’Mom’ if you wish or just ’auntie’ if you don’t."

With her saying this, the children of the Li family felt much less resistance towards her.

Li Jinghan, being the youngest, timidly called out "Auntie."

Anning responded and gave Li Jinghan a few candies.

Li Jingyu and Li Jingyan followed suit.

Anning gave them candies too.

After acknowledging each of their children, Anning didn’t rush to make lunch. Instead, she went inside to fetch a pack of peach pastries, divided them among the six children, and had them sit in the courtyard to eat. Anning went to the kitchen to boil a large pot of water. Once the water was ready, Anning took out a large basin for bathing in another room and called Li Jingyu and the other two one by one, giving each child a hot bath.

After getting the children cleaned up, Anning took scissors to cut the hair of Li Jingyu and Li Jingyan and also fetched several sets of clean clothes for the children to change into.

The three children of the Li family were indeed quite good-looking. Their real mother, Wang Baozhu, was particularly lazy and hardly ever took care of them. After she left, Li Zhifang, being a man, also lacked the inclination to tidy up. Not only were the children filthy, but the house was also in complete disarray.

Now, bathed, with hair cut, and dressed in clean clothes, they looked pristine and angelic like little fairies.

Even Li Zhifang was stunned for a while when he saw them.

Looking at the three clean and tidy children, Li Zhifang was quite grateful to Anning and felt even more that marrying Anning was a particularly correct decision.

After bathing the children, Anning said to Li Zhifang, "I see it’s getting cooler. We need to prepare winter clothes for the children. I had earlier made some shoe soles, but at that time, I didn’t know about today’s matters and only prepared for my three at home. Do you have any materials prepared for these three kids? If so, bring them out, and I’ll start making them cotton clothes and shoes early."

Li Zhifang was at a loss thinking about shoe soles and cotton clothes, looking rather troubled, "I, I don’t have..."

Anning sighed, "Alright, I’ll think of another way."

After speaking with Li Zhifang, she instructed Liu Qi and Liu Ming, "You two go out and gather some firewood."

Turning around, Anning told Li Jingyu, "You are the eldest in our house now. You take care of your younger brother and sister while Yan and I go into the kitchen to cook."

Li Jingyu obediently nodded, playing with Li Jinghan and Liu Yuzhen in the yard.

She was quite well-behaved at this time and kept a close watch on her siblings.

Li Jingyan was reluctant to enter the kitchen to cook, but seeing her father say nothing, she pouted and followed Anning into the kitchen.

Anning had Li Jingyan start the fire, and while cooking, she talked to Li Jingyan, "There’s a saying, ’Having craft in hand, all lands are one’s own.’ Children from the countryside are used to hard work from a young age. I don’t expect you to work in farming, but I do think about teaching you, your sister, and little sister Yuzhen some household chores. Your mother never taught you, but now that I am here, we need to get a good grip on this. Yuzhen is still young; we’ll teach her in a few years, but you and Jingyu must take turns and learn from me, whether it’s sewing or cooking."