novelraw Chapter 574 - 565: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 53
Chapter 574 - 565: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 53
Let’s not talk about how Anning struggled; rather, let’s discuss Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai’s return to Li Jiazhuang from the Provincial City.
As soon as they entered the village, they encountered quite a few people.
Many about the same age as Zhang Fengfeng asked her, "Just got back from the Provincial City?"
Zhang Fengfeng cheerfully responded, "Exactly, Anning even wanted me to stay a bit longer, but I just couldn’t. The city is nice, but a golden nest and a silver nest are no match for one’s own dog nest. I kept thinking about all of you, worried about nobody taking care of home, I couldn’t even sleep peacefully."
Several elders noted Zhang Fengfeng was in good spirits and asked her, "Your health is alright, isn’t it?"
Zhang Fengfeng waved her hands dismissively, "Nothing serious, it’s just the kids worrying about me, afraid that with my age my health might fail. They insisted on taking me there to recuperate. Oh, you have no idea, our Anning is doing so well in the Provincial City, her embroidery skills are truly unparalleled, especially the double-sided embroidery. People say there are hardly a few in our country who can match her skills. She can sell one piece of embroidery for quite some money."
"Really?"
The villagers were particularly surprised and pulled Zhang Fengfeng aside to talk more.
Some noticed Zhang Fengfeng’s new clothes, "Your outfit looks really nice."
Zhang Fengfeng tugged at her clothes, "Pretty, isn’t it? Anning bought it for me. There are so many nice clothes in the big department stores of the city, but they are just too expensive. This jacket nearly cost US$ 100. Oh, it pained my heart to see the price, I was adamant against Anning buying it, but she said that I never enjoyed life much when I was young, nor did I wear many nice clothes. Now that our family can afford it, I should dress up properly. She also said if you don’t eat or dress up now, you won’t be able to when you’re old and can’t move anymore. I thought about it and that made sense, so I let the kids buy it for me."
As she said this, the envy of those elders knew no bounds.
"You really are blessed, Anning treats you so well."
Zhang Fengfeng smiled, "Of course, that child is very sentimental, even closer to us than our own daughter. We live at her place, and she takes care of everything inside and out. She always greets us with a smile, never says a harsh word, and is never impatient no matter what we ask. Sometimes I think to myself, I must have accumulated virtue in my past life to have met someone as good as Anning."
When Zhang Fengfeng started praising Anning, she could really heap on the accolades.
In her words, Anning could do no wrong.
Even Li Baolai, when speaking to others, was all smiles, his face beaming with happiness. After staying in the city for a while, he gained quite a bit of weight, but he looked exceptionally spirited, obviously living well and with no signs of hardship.
Many people were especially envious of Zhang Fengfeng.
Particularly envious of her fine clothes.
Zhang Fengfeng’s promotion at the village entrance only improved Anning’s reputation in Li Jiazhuang.
At the same time, Wang Baozhu’s reputation worsened, and she fumed with anger upon hearing about this.
When Anning was in Mingzhu City, the results of the middle school exams came out.
Zhang Fengfeng had been asking Li Zhiyuan to keep an eye out for them, and when the results were released, they were astonishing. Liu Qi, Liu Ming, and Li Jingyan all performed exceptionally well.
Liu Qi was the top scorer in the entire county; Liu Ming and Li Jingyan tied for second place.
Li Zhiyuan was thrilled when he received the results, and immediately took his family back to their hometown.
On the way, Li Zhiyuan even asked Li Jingming to buy lots of firecrackers.
As soon as they got home, they started setting off firecrackers right from the village entrance, all the way to Li Baolai’s doorstep.
The whole village was stirred, everyone came out to see the commotion.
Li Zhiyuan also distributed candy among the crowd.
"I’m so happy today, my niece and nephews have their middle school exam results, and they did incredibly well. Liu Qi scored first place in the whole county, the top of the county..."
He had barely finished speaking when Li Zhipeng returned.
Li Zhipeng, holding a cell phone, made a call as soon as he stepped out of the car.
After finishing the call, he said to Li Zhiyuan, "Brother, your news is already outdated. Our nephew scored not only the top of the city, no, he’s the top scorer in the entire province."
"What?"
Li Zhiyuan was stunned.
Li Zhipeng laughed heartily: "This test is uniformly issued throughout the province, every student in the province had the same paper, and Liu Qi scored even higher than the kids from the Provincial City. He’s the legitimate top scorer in the whole province, and Liu Ming and Li Jingyan also ranked among the top ten in the province."
"Ha ha..."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhiyuan burst into excited laughter: "Good, good, the kid has really made it! If this were ancient times, that would nominate him as the top scorer."
"Exactly."
Li Zhipeng was overjoyed too, he just couldn’t stop singing praises: "It’s only because the tests differ across the country. If the entire country had the same test, our Liu Qi might even be the national number one."
The two brothers caused such a stir at the village entrance, and in no time, the whole village knew about Liu Qi’s success, that he had come first place in the entire province.
Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai were cooking at home when they heard the commotion and came out to inquire. Upon hearing that their own child’s exam results had come out, and after asking further, heavens, first place.
The couple was thrilled.
They couldn’t even care about cooking anymore and just ran gleefully towards the village entrance.
On their way, the elderly couple ran into Li Zhiyuan and Li Zhipeng. Upon careful inquiry, they found out that Liu Qi was first, while Liu Ming and Li Jingyan were second just within the county. Now, they were even happier.
No need to say more, just hurry and make a phone call.
Zhang Fengfeng snatched Li Zhipeng’s cell phone to call Liu Qi, who was still in the Provincial City, and several others.
After calling Liu Qi, she called Li Zhicheng and then Li Zhiping and Li Zhikang, one by one. Only after all the calls, did Zhang Fengfeng lead the group back home.
The Li Family was incredibly happy that day, but no one had told Li Zhifang about it.
Even though Li Jingyan is Li Zhifang’s own daughter, and it’s her exam results, she should have been the one to be informed first.
However, the whole family somehow collectively neglected this matter.
Li Zhiyuan and Li Zhipeng discussed it at Li Baolai’s place:
"When the kid has done so well, we, as their elders, should show some recognition."
Li Zhiyuan raised a finger: "I’ve already decided, give each kid US$ 1000."
Li Zhipeng smiled: "Big brother gives US$ 1000, and I’ll also give US$ 1000."
In just a little while, Li Zhiping and Li Zhikang also called, saying they wanted to reward the kids.
In reality, the brothers all knew that what they were giving wasn’t just a reward; it was meant for Li Jingyan’s education in the Provincial City.
Li Zhifang and Wang Baozhu, her parents, were just too unreliable. With Li Jingyan going to study in the Provincial City, they definitely wouldn’t provide any money for it.
Although if Li Jingyan were to leave, Anning would surely take care of her,
Li Jingyan is the Li Family’s daughter- it’s fine if Anning takes care of her temporarily, but not right if she had to do it all the time.
After all, Anning doesn’t owe the Li Family anything.
The brothers intended to pool money for Li Jingyan’s education.
But they also knew that they couldn’t put it that way, to say they were pooling money for her tuition; what would the children think? So they said it was reward money.
However, with all three children performing so well, rewarding only Li Jingyan would seem like they were parting ways with Liu Qi and Liu Ming.
Since the brothers weren’t short of cash, they decided to reward all three kids the same.
In any case, they knew very well, that once the money was given to Liu Qi and Liu Ming, these two affectionate boys would surely help Li Jingyan if she ever encountered difficulties.