The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 531 - 522: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 10

Anning practiced her spells every night, and by the time winter arrived, she had mastered some magical skills.

Meanwhile, Li Zhifang had been influenced by Anning’s medicated concoctions that made him particularly serene and free of desires. He never made any inappropriate demands of Anning, which naturally pleased her.

As the winter weather grew colder, Anning took the opportunity before the water froze to visit the mountain late at night when everyone was asleep.

She had scouted the location before; this time she went to retrieve the hidden items from the cave.

Indeed, the items stashed in the cave were quite substantial, and Anning spent several days transporting them.

She buried these items deep within the courtyard of the home she shared with Liu Shangai, to ensure they remained undiscovered.

Of course, she did not bury everything; she kept two gold bars and two antiques from the previous dynasty inside the kang (a traditional heated bed) in their house.

When Sunday came, Anning told Li Zhifang that she intended to take Liu Qi to clean up the Liu Family’s house to check for any damages and possibly have them repaired, to prevent the house from deteriorating from disuse.

This was a reasonable thing to do, and Li Zhifang naturally did not object. He even offered his help to Anning.

Anning quickly refused.

Li Zhifang stayed at home to take care of the children, while Anning brought Liu Qi back to the Liu Family’s home.

Upon entering the courtyard, Anning instructed Liu Qi to securely close the door.

Liu Qi, now somewhat older and having experienced hardship after his father’s early death, was living with Anning and had become very sensible.

When Anning asked him to close the door, he quickly secured it tightly.

"Mom, why did you ask me to come here?"

Anning smiled and pulled Liu Qi into the house.

She reached into the kang and pulled out the two antiques and the gold bars.

Liu Qi did not recognize the antiques, but he knew what gold was.

"Mom, is this gold?"

Liu Qi was shocked: "Mom, where did this gold come from?"

Anning spoke softly, "I found a cave while collecting firewood on the mountain, and the gold was from that cave."

As she spoke, she weighed the gold in her hand: "Eldest, we have gold now, but we mustn’t let others know. I can’t use this gold to build a house or buy food and clothes for you. I’ve been thinking for a few days, and plan to take this gold to the market when I sell the medicine, exchange it for money, and with the money I’ve saved and the money from selling ginseng previously, we can buy a few houses in town for you all. What do you think?"

Liu Qi, although older, was still not mature enough to grasp these matters.

But he knew his mother would not harm them and that everything she did was for their well-being.

"Mom, you decide, do whatever you think is best."

Anning touched Liu Qi’s head with a smile: "I know I treat Jingyu and the others well, and it might be hard for you to understand, but as their stepmother, I married their father to ensure a good life for us. I have to maintain our dignity. I need to let everyone in our village know I’m even better than their real mother, and I have never wronged the Li family."

Liu Qi listened intently as Anning explained these matters to him.

Anning did not hide the fact that he was young from him. She explained everything to him carefully to ensure he understood the etiquette of human relationships.

"Your Uncle Li has five brothers and each one of them is capable. As long as we live in this village, we must maintain good relationships. Even if we don’t live in the village in the future, your father was from here. Our roots are here. No matter where you go, you’ll always have a home to return to. I must pave the way for you, earn a good reputation for you, and build a network for you. Your father is gone, and I must always think and plan on your behalf. In the future, not only must I treat Jingyu and the others well, but you also need to treat them well. We need to let the Li family and the whole village know that we are kind-hearted."

Liu Qi lowered his head, looking a bit downcast: "What if they bully me? Should I just endure it?"

Anning touched Liu Qi’s head: "Mom is here, how could I let them bully you? Besides, being kind does not mean being weak, and it certainly does not mean being a coward. We do what we should do, and behave respectfully. If they are unreasonable and bully you, there’s no need to endure it."

Liu Qi then smiled: "Mom, I understand."

Anning spoke a few more words with Liu Qi, and then together they cleaned up the house inside and out before returning.

A few days later, Anning had prepared quite a few herbs. That day happened to be a Sunday, and Anning had already informed Li Zhifang in advance that she planned to go to the city and sell the herbs because there were many of them, and she wanted to take Liu Qi with her to help carry some.

Li Zhifang originally said he would help Anning carry the herbs, but Anning didn’t allow him to go. Anning felt that there should be an adult at home to take care of the children. If both she and Li Zhifang went, who would look after the six children?

Li Zhifang thought about it and agreed, so he did not insist on following.

Early in the morning before dawn, Anning called Liu Qi to go with her to the county.

By this time, the weather was already quite cold. Anning had Liu Qi put on a thick cotton-padded jacket, but walking on the road, both of them still felt especially cold.

When they arrived at the county, Liu Qi’s feet were so numb from the cold that Anning had him stomp his feet vigorously for a good while before he began to feel them again.

Anning stored the bicycle and then took Liu Qi by car to the city.

This was the first time Liu Qi had traveled such a long distance. Curious, he sat on the bus, constantly looking out of the window. After a long while, when the scenery outside was no longer of interest, he leaned against Anning and fell asleep.

When they arrived in the city, Anning woke up Liu Qi, and the two walked to the house that Anning had previously liked.

Anning had been frequently traveling between the city center and Li Jiazhuang for a while, and she had a good grasp of the city’s property prices. Moreover, she had found someone to help look for housing. Now, she had truly found several good properties.

She and Liu Qi viewed each one, met with the homeowners, and felt quite satisfied. They then found a broker, signed contracts, and paid the deposits.

By this time, some of the good shops in the city had just opened.

Anning took Liu Qi into an alley where there was a gold and silver jewelry shop. Anning went in and spoke a few words, and the shop owner came out.

Anning took out the two gold bars, the shop owner weighed them, and after negotiating the price with Anning, it wasn’t long before Anning exchanged the gold for money.

Afterward, Anning found another shop and sold two old items.

With everything sold, she actually had quite a substantial amount of money on hand.

Then Anning and Liu Qi went to find the homeowner and bought a total of three apartments.

These three apartments were all in good locations that Anning had carefully selected. Although they were not currently in the city center, Anning knew that in a few years, the city would undergo major development with many commercial properties being built, and all three apartments Anning bought were within the demolition range.

The apartments Anning bought were not new, but they were in good locations and particularly large. If demolished, the area of these three apartments could be exchanged for about ten new commercial properties.

By the time the demolition was complete and the houses in this area were built up, it would be around the late nineties, and those ten or so apartments would be worth much more than now.

Anning was thinking that by then, Wang Baozhu would probably have come back, and she would definitely divorce Li Zhifang. At that time, she would be able to bring the children to live in the city, and the three brothers, including Liu Qi, could study in the city.

Moreover, Anning was planning that at that time, she would sell a few apartments and then buy another apartment in the Capital or Shanghai for each of the three children.

Of course, these were Anning’s plans, which she had not mentioned to Liu Qi.

However, Liu Qi seemed very happy.

He personally witnessed the purchase of the three apartments, and the property deeds bore his name along with Liu Ming and Liu Yuzhen.

This meant that the properties belonged to the three siblings, and they had nothing to do with the Li family at all.