The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 573 - 564: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 52

If it were Wang Baozhu opposing Li Jinghan going to the Provincial City, the Li Family wouldn’t be so angry.

But ironically, it’s his own father, Li Zhifang, who is adamant about not letting Li Jinghan leave Li Jiazhuang, which really infuriates the Li family, yet they are helpless against Li Zhifang.

After all, he is the child’s biological father; what can they do?

No matter how closely related they are, or how much they advocate for the child’s well-being, they can’t overstep the father.

Li Zhicheng specially came back home to talk with Li Zhifang.

He just couldn’t understand why Li Zhifang was so vehemently opposed.

Li Zhifang had said at the time: "Jingyu and Jing Yan are girls. They’re eventually going to marry off anyway, so it doesn’t matter if they go to the Provincial City. Even if they grow distant from me, I can bear it. Even if I try to keep them close now, in a few years, they will belong to other families. How long can I really keep them? But Jing Han is different; he’s my only son. If he goes far away, and Anning entices him, he’s certain to grow distant from me. I would rather he not be educated than let him leave my side."

What muddled thinking that was.

Li Zhicheng’s stomach churned with frustration: "You are confused, how can you think like that? Jing Han is a good student with talent. Our family is not without the means now. Why let the child suffocate in the village? Do you know how big the education gap between the Provincial City and the village is? Do you realize you’re holding back the child’s future?"

"I don’t know about these things; all I know is that my son should listen to me. Whatever you all say, it doesn’t matter."

Li Zhifang stubbornly stuck out his neck, completely ignoring what Li Zhicheng was saying.

"Fine, you’ll regret it later."

Full of rage, Li Zhicheng left.

Neither Li Zhifang nor Li Zhicheng realized that Li Jinghan had been secretly peeking from outside while they were talking. He had heard everything.

Even though the child was still young, he knew what was right and wrong. He felt especially heartbroken.

He actually longed for life in the Provincial City.

Especially since he was often in contact with Liu Yuzhen, who even wrote him letters describing many interesting things about the Provincial City. In Liu Yuzhen’s letters, teachers in the Provincial City seemed engaging, and the schools had many extracurricular activities. She was even learning to play the piano there, with her teacher praising her talent.

Li Jinghan wanted to learn those skills too. He wanted to play the piano, to sing, and to learn many, many other things.

Many of the teachers at Li Jiazhuang’s primary school were substitute teachers, with only middle school education. There were a lot of things they didn’t quite understand, and Li Jinghan felt he knew more than the teachers about many subjects.

Besides, the knowledge taught in class was simply not enough for him. He could pick up those things very quickly, and the homework was sparse. With so much idle time, he didn’t know what to do. He thought that if he went to the Provincial City, he could use all that time to learn a vast array of things and grow quickly.

But his own father had firmly blocked his path to growth.

Li Jinghan was truly disheartened this time.

After Li Zhicheng left, Li Jinghan ran to Li Baolai’s place. Entering the room, he climbed onto the bed and cried bitterly; he didn’t even eat, which made Zhang Fengfeng terribly anxious.

After his sobbing ended, he didn’t mention the matter.

But Li Baolai learned of it from Li Zhicheng’s mouth anyway.

Li Baolai trembled with anger, wanting to give Li Zhifang a severe beating.

But what good would beating do? The son was grown up and stubborn; as parents, they were helpless.

Li Baolai forbade telling Zhang Fengfeng, fearing it would upset her and possibly trigger her heart condition.

Yet, the matter couldn’t be kept secret for long; before much time passed, Zhang Fengfeng found out. She was so furious it nearly gave her a shock, scaring Li Baolai quite a bit.

At a time when the accomplished sons were not around, Li Baolai, though elderly and always strong-willed, could not help but cry.

At times like this, he especially missed Anning.

If Anning were still at home, such an incident would never have happened.

In the end, it was Uncle Qi who found someone to take Zhang Fengfeng to the hospital.

After learning that Zhang Fengfeng was sick, Anning specifically rented a car to pick Zhang Fengfeng up from the county hospital.

She took Zhang Fengfeng, Li Baolai and Li Jinghan to the Provincial City for a while and had Zhang Fengfeng thoroughly checked before sending her back.

In fact, Anning wanted Zhang Fengfeng and the others to stay in the Provincial City.

But Zhang Fengfeng wasn’t willing.

It wasn’t that she felt like a bother or was being inconsiderate to Anning, she was just worried about Li Jinghan.

Li Zhifang adamantly refused to let Li Jinghan come to the Provincial City, so in the future, Li Jinghan would definitely be studying at Li Jiazhuang Primary School. Who would take care of Li Jinghan if Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai went to the Provincial City?

Rely on Li Zhifang and Wang Baozhu?

Don’t joke, those two couldn’t even sort themselves out, how could they take good care of a child?

Lest they lead the child down the wrong path, never to return.

For the sake of the child, once Zhang Fengfeng felt slightly better, she returned to Li Jiazhuang with Li Baolai and Li Jinghan.

Because of Zhang Fengfeng’s sickness, Li Zhiyuan and his brothers had many disagreements with Li Zhifang.

Li Zhifang had no other talents than farming, but over the years the brothers often helped him out, and they would always save a portion of the good stuff for him. What for?

It was for Li Zhifang to take good care of the elders in the village.

But when the elders truly fell ill and needed help, Li Zhifang disappeared without a trace, which disheartened his brothers.

Especially Li Zhicheng.

During the time Zhang Fengfeng stayed with Anning, Li Zhicheng and his wife visited every day.

They wanted to take Zhang Fengfeng away, but she insisted on staying with Anning. Helpless, the couple brought things over every day.

They brought whatever was of good quality from the market.

There was never a shortage of chicken or fish, and they always brought fresh fruit to Anning regularly.

Anning couldn’t refuse them and just let them do as they pleased every day.

After sending the elder away, Li Zhicheng and his wife made a special arrangement to meet Anning outside.

The three met at a teahouse. There, Li Zhicheng had a lot to say to Anning, the main point being that the Li Family would fully support whatever Anning decided to do in the future. Li Laosan also had his connections and could speak on her behalf in many places. He would do his best to help Anning.

Anning responded with a smile.

At this time, polite words were too distant.

After talking with Li Zhicheng and his wife, Anning entrusted the children at home to Liu Ru, and then she went south to the Special Economic Zone with some money.

She stayed in the Special Economic Zone for a while, mainly to be with Xiao Yuan.

Xiao Yuan had a house there, so Anning stayed with him. Later, through some connections, she went to Mingzhu City where she liquidated some jewelry for a large sum of money, then began to dabble in the stock market.

When the summer vacation was over, Anning had made a large fortune in Mingzhu City. By the time she returned, she was already a wealthy tycoon.