The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 535 - 526: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 14

When Li Zhifang arrived, Li Baolai had just finished eating and was roasting pumpkin seeds on a small stove inside the house with Zhang Fengfeng.

Seeing Li Zhifang coming over, Zhang Fengfeng grabbed a handful of freshly roasted pumpkin seeds for him.

"Lao Si, is there something wrong at home?"

Li Zhifang set the pumpkin seeds aside, wiped his face, and burst into tears in front of Zhang Fengfeng.

It was truly disconcerting for Zhang Fengfeng to see her grown son crying in front of her.

"Lao Si, what’s the matter? Did someone bully you, or is there some trouble?"

Li Baolai couldn’t even bother to continue roasting seeds, so he took the pan off the stove and hurriedly asked Li Zhifang what had happened.

Wiping his face, Li Zhifang finally opened up in front of his parents: "Dad, Mom, I... I’m fine, and no one has bullied me. I just feel that I’ve really wronged my wife."

"What happened?"

Zhang Fengfeng hurriedly asked.

Li Zhifang detailed everything Anning had been doing these days.

"She goes to the mountains every day to dig for medicinal herbs, not stopping until it’s too cold to find any, and every now and then runs off to the city to sell the herbs for money. She’s so good to Jingyu and the rest, giving all the sweets and treats she buys from the city to the kids. She doesn’t even allow herself a single bite. She buys new clothes for Jingyu’s kids but can’t bear to buy any for her own son. Today, when I was arguing with some folks, she saw it and fought them off with a brick. Mom, I could never have dreamed of marrying such a wonderful wife."

Both Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai were stunned for a long time.

Zhang Fengfeng patted Li Zhifang: "Lao Si, you’re fortunate to have such a good wife. You must treat her well in the future."

"I know."

Li Zhifang murmured, followed by more tears: "I want to treat her well too, but for some reason, I just... I just don’t feel any desire to be intimate with her. It’s been like that ever since..."

Zhang Fengfeng was taken aback.

After a while, she finally asked, "And your wife hasn’t said anything?"

Li Zhifang replied in distress: "She hasn’t said a word, but it’s precisely because she hasn’t said anything that I feel I’ve wronged her even more."

It took a long time before Zhang Fengfeng sighed: "Our family is blessed to have such a good daughter-in-law like that."

Li Baolai, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke: "On this matter, we really let her down. We should make it up to her in other ways. From now on, treat her well, and have your children do the same. Gradually, you’ll warm her heart."

Li Zhifang nodded: "I understand."

Li Zhifang stayed for a long while before leaving. When he left, Zhang Fengfeng gave him some roasted peanuts and pumpkin seeds to take with him.

After Li Zhifang had left, Zhang Fengfeng spoke to Li Baolai: "Do you think Wang Baozhu might be the reason for Lao Si’s trouble?"

Li Baolai wasn’t sure, but he still blamed Wang Baozhu: "Perhaps."

Frustrated, Zhang Fengfeng’s eyebrows bristled, and she spent a long time scolding Wang Baozhu.

In the following days, Anning worked with Li Zhicheng in the greenhouse during the day, and at night still studied with the children.

No one in the family expected Anning to be so smart; despite her age, she took to studying with such brightness.

She finished reading all the first-grade books in no time, then borrowed all the textbooks up to the fourth grade, which she is now reading.

Now that she could read, she was able to teach the children.

Every night, Anning would first tutor the children, then read and take notes herself.

Originally, Li Jingyu was not doing well in her studies, as she failed to learn many things the teacher taught, but Anning was able to teach her in a way that made sense to her at night.

Indeed, in her previous life, Anning was a renowned teacher for a lifetime, capable of turning even the most obstinate of students around. To guide and shape someone like Li Jingyu hardly required any effort from her at all.

Under Anning’s tutelage, the four children in the family who attended school all achieved excellent grades, especially Liu Qi, who ranked first in the whole school in every exam.

Though Liu Ming’s academic performance was not as outstanding as Liu Qi’s, he consistently maintained a position within the top three, competing fiercely with Li Jingyan, sometimes ranking second, sometimes third to her.

Even Li Jingyu’s grades had improved significantly, reaching the tenth position in the last minor exam.

As time slowly drifted into the twelfth lunar month, the vegetables Anning had planted in the greenhouse were ready to be harvested and sold.

She discussed with Li Zhifang and decided to first harvest the leafy greens, planning to pick the cucumbers and tomatoes closer to the New Year for selling.

That day, Anning and Li Zhifang got up early, instructed Li Jingyu to cook, and told Liu Qi to take care of the younger siblings, after which they took their tools and headed to the greenhouse.

They hastily reaped several baskets of fresh vegetables such as chives, spinach, and baby bok choy, wrapped them up with old cotton quilts, and carried them on their backs to the county.

The pair went to the county and found Li Zhicheng and his wife. Li Zhicheng was already aware of Li Zhifang’s vegetable farming and had secured a sales channel for him early on.

Working in government, Li Zhicheng was familiar with leaders from several major county factories and had already given them a heads up.

The logistics leaders, who were troubled with eating the same old radishes and cabbages every day, were particularly eager to try something different. However, amid the deep winter, where could one find fresh vegetables? Hearing that his brother was growing greenhouse vegetables, naturally, they wanted to purchase in bulk.

Moreover, with the twelfth lunar month upon them, factory employees were also preparing for the New Year’s goods. Many, tired of eating cabbage, were keen on buying fresh vegetables, so there was no shortage of interest.

Li Zhicheng accompanied Li Zhifang and Anning to the county’s woolen mill. As soon as they presented their baskets of vegetables in the logistics office, the produce was snatched up instantaneously, leaving those who couldn’t buy any very disappointed.

Anning then told them that there were plenty more vegetables growing at home, and today was merely about bringing some samples for everyone to see. She reassured those who didn’t manage to buy any that they could place orders and that she would harvest more vegetables the next day and make a delivery with a large cart.

Upon hearing they could make reservations, the crowd eagerly surrounded Anning, each stating how much they wanted to purchase.

Anning had brought a notebook and diligently recorded everyone’s name and the amount of vegetables they wanted.

As she was leaving, Anning also mentioned to those interested that cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, and other vegetables would be available to eat in a few days, and she could bring those along too.

Thus, Anning ended up receiving quite a number of orders.

Li Zhifang was ecstatic to see the success; it seemed that the vegetables they were growing could potentially sell out entirely in the county. Thinking of the high prices that the greens could command, he was overjoyed.

Li Zhicheng was also delighted for Li Zhifang and Anning.

After all, as his brother, if Li Zhifang was doing well, Li Zhicheng could rest a little easier.

Anning had her lunch at Li Zhicheng’s house, dining on the very same vegetables she had brought.

It had been a long while since Li Zhicheng and his spouse had enjoyed fresh greens, and the presence of these fresh vegetables meant they ate several more bowls of rice than usual today.

Even Li Jingfang, the daughter of Li Zhicheng’s house, ate obediently and consumed much more than usual.

Li Jingfang was also fondly thinking about the cucumbers that Anning had grown. As Anning was leaving, she whispered, "Auntie, can I come back on Sunday? I want to see how big the cucumbers have gotten."

Anning found it amusing and pinched Li Jingfang’s little cheek: "Sure, the cucumbers have already grown quite large. When you come back, you’ll be just in time to eat them fresh."

The thought of succulent cucumbers almost made Li Jingfang drool.

She looked longingly at Li Zhicheng: "Daddy, I want to eat cucumbers."

Li Zhicheng and Liu Ru had married quite early, but they had initially decided against having children. Later, as they were busy with exams and had no desire to start a family during college, they only had Li Jingfang when they were almost graduating.

However, by then, the one-child policy had already been implemented. After their graduation and subsequent employment, they were government employees and dared not have a second child, which left them with only one daughter, Li Jingfang.

Li Zhicheng cherished Li Jingfang dearly, so when it came to the child’s desires, no matter if it was something as simple as wanting a couple of cucumbers or a more exotic craving, he would find a way to fulfill it.

"Alright, daddy will take you back on Sunday to enjoy some delicious food."