The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 545 - 536: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 24

Anning sneered inwardly.

As she had dug this big pit, Li Zhifang had no choice but to jump in.

Not only did he have to jump, but he also had to do it willingly.

"I’ll think about it."

It was such a big matter that, for the moment, Li Zhifang didn’t know what to do.

"Okay."

Anning did not rush him.

When Anning had some drinks and went to rest, Li Zhifang called Li Zhicheng.

Li Zhicheng and his wife had already been promoted, and they had moved to City; they seldom came back now.

Li Zhicheng was the most capable among the Li brothers, so Li Zhifang liked to consult him on matters.

He told Li Zhicheng about Anning’s intent to buy a house: "Third brother, help me think this through. I just don’t feel confident about it."

Li Zhicheng immediately said: "Buy it. If you don’t want to take out a loan, the brothers will pool money for you. Consider it a loan. Among all our kids, your six are the best students and the smartest. They will surely have promising futures. We can’t let such good children in our family fall behind. Your wife has thought this through well; we definitely need to buy the house. Moreover, with economic development, money held in hand will definitely depreciate, but the value of a house will not. It’s bound to go up in price in the future. Buying it will definitely not be a loss."

Liu Ru happened to be beside him and hurried over to talk to Li Zhifang after hearing what Li Zhicheng said: "Lao Si, listen to your wife. Everything she’s handled over the years has been reliable. Since she says to buy a house, she must believe the prices will rise. Not just you; your Third brother and I have also been thinking about buying houses. Why don’t we buy together? We can get one in Jingfang’s name."

With Third and his wife also saying to buy, Li Zhifang felt reassured.

He turned around and said to Anning: "Then let’s buy it. We’ll go to Provincial City together another day to inquire. If we’re buying for the kids, we should buy the best. If we’re short on money, I’ll borrow some from Fifth and Lao Liu."

"Good."

Anning nodded with a smile.

Once the kids finished school, Anning told them about it.

By this time, the older ones like Liu Qi were sensible and knew buying a house was a great thing, and they were particularly excited.

The two younger ones were also happy seeing their elder brother and sister excited.

Seeing the children all happy, Li Zhifang grandly declared: "Let’s go on Sunday. We’ll all go as a family and let the children choose the house themselves."

Anning was a person of action; having decided to buy a house, the sooner, the better.

Also, she always had a feeling that Wang Baozhu was somewhat suspicious. In the original life, Wang Baozhu had returned after seven or eight years, but recently Anning had this recurring feeling that Wang Baozhu might come back earlier.

Her hunches were often accurate.

She had to make preparations in advance so that Wang Baozhu would gain nothing even if she came back.

When Sunday arrived, Anning and Li Zhifang took the kids to City, and after calling Li Zhicheng’s family, a large group of them made their way to Provincial City with great fanfare.

Provincial City was indeed a metropolis, developing very rapidly; "changing with each passing day" was an apt description.

Today, the city had many tall buildings, wider streets, and a lot more sedans. Shopping in some upscale malls, one could meet many nouveau riche and quite a few white-collar elites.

Most importantly, some plots of land in Provincial City had already been purchased by developers to build properties.

Anning, Li Zhifang, and the couple Li Zhicheng visited several residential areas, and the four of them agreed that buying completed properties was essential, eventually choosing a new district not far from First Middle School.

First Middle School is the best high school in Provincial City, and Anning had plans for the children to attend there in the future, so naturally she wanted to buy a house nearby.

Li Zhicheng was ambitious, thinking of working in Provincial City in the future, and also wanted Jingfang to attend First Middle School, so he was certainly willing to buy a house near it.

Once the four had made up their minds, they went to the sales office and decided to buy seven homes all at once, which startled the sales manager.

The manager personally showed the Li family around to view the properties, and after seeing a few different layouts, Anning declared they should buy the best ones, purchasing the largest available units for the six children.

The properties being developed here were all mid to high-end, and although there were smaller units available, there were also many large units.

The largest unit was a four-bedroom, two-living room layout, boasting a generous one hundred and eighty square meters.

Hearing Anning’s suggestion, Li Zhifang hesitated.

If they bought smaller units, like the eighty to ninety square meter two-bedroom layouts, the money Li Zhifang and Anning had saved would suffice, but the larger units would certainly require borrowing money.

Seeing his reluctance, Anning smiled and said, "We’re still young and capable of earning, why fear borrowing money? The most important thing is to make the children happy."

She called over the six children and asked, "What kind of place do you want? You choose for yourselves, but remember, no regrets after making your decision."

Liu Qi had previously received instructions from Anning and knew they should buy larger units, so he immediately pulled Liu Ming along, saying, "Mom, we want the large ones. We’ll need to establish our own families in the future. We’ll certainly have children, and when Dad and you get older, you’ll definitely live with us. If we all buy large units, it will be convenient for you to come and stay. If you get tired of staying in one place, you can rotate between our homes. If we buy small ones and then have to switch to larger ones when we get married and have children, wouldn’t that be troublesome?"

Li Jingyu always followed Liu Qi’s lead.

Knowing she wasn’t the brightest, she always liked to follow the advice of the smartest Liu Qi.

When she heard Liu Qi went for the big ones, she immediately nodded in agreement, "Dad, let’s buy the bigger ones. Brother’s right. Don’t you and Mom want to live with us when you get older? Buying a large house means we can all live comfortably. Plus, this community is so nice with a park nearby. When you and Mom get old, you can come and stay, and enjoy the park too."

Li Jingyan was smarter than Li Jingyu.

She knew that eventually she would get married and leave the family, and asking her parents for help buying a house after marriage would be difficult. It would be better to ask for a nice one now.

She chimed in with a smile, "Yes, all six of us buying in the same community will make it convenient for our parents to come and stay in their old age. When the time comes, you can choose whose house to stay at, and whose house to eat at, all within walking distance. How convenient is that?"

Hearing this, Li Zhicheng also said to Li Zhifang, "Alright, since all the kids want larger units, let’s buy the larger ones. You’re not without money, and if you really need it, Fifth and Lao Liu and I will help you out. Now’s the time to handle the big matters while we can still earn, to avoid trouble later on."

After thinking it over, Li Zhifang felt the children were right. He and Anning would certainly live with their children when they got older.

He too was eager to move to Provincial City, and seeing the pleasant surrounding environment of the community, he began to look forward to retirement life.

He thought that if he bought homes for all the children, they would all be obligated to treat him well in the future, so it was better to buy large ones. That way, they could alternate living with different children and avoid any disputes from staying at one child’s home for too long.

In the end, Li Zhifang made the decision to purchase large four-bedroom units for all six children.

Seeing that Li Zhifang had chosen large four-bedroom units, Li Zhicheng did some calculations regarding his finances and decided to purchase a large unit as well.

However, there were only seven large four-bedroom units left. Li Zhicheng made sure to select alongside Li Zhifang, ultimately securing six large units for Li Zhifang and one for himself. He also bought an additional two-bedroom unit.

The two brothers made their decisions swiftly, buying a total of eight homes in one day, to the point where they nearly drove the sales manager mad with joy.

The contract signing and processing was equally swift.

Anning paid the deposit and then went back to gather the funds.

Indeed, the money at home wasn’t quite sufficient, but the season had already turned to autumn, and soon the fish in the pond could be sold, and the fruits were about to ripen. These sales would also bring in some money, so there was no cause for concern.

On Li Zhifang’s side, he made phone calls to Li Zhiping and Li Zhikang, borrowing a sum of money from each. In just a few days, each child had a property under their name, and the deeds were all brought back home.