The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 596 - 586: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 74

Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai really went crazy on their trip to Sanya this time.

The two of them had never left the province before, and seeing the unique scenery of the South China Sea excited and amazed them, awakening a passion that had been dormant for years.

After returning, Zhang Fengfeng was still thinking about everything there.

When she had nothing to do, she would go for a stroll and chat with the old men and women in the neighborhood, telling them how wonderful Sanya was, making them incredibly envious.

Seeing that the old couple enjoyed traveling so much, Anning discussed with the Li brothers the idea of taking the elders out every year, encouraging them to travel and enjoy life while they were still able.

In the blink of an eye, another year had passed.

The factory Anning built in Li Jiazhuang was now making a good profit; the food products from the factory had gained a great reputation and were selling exceptionally well outside. The supermarket she built was also making a good amount of money and was extremely popular.

Anning took the profits and invested in some real estate; her assets were doubling every year.

Xiao Yuan’s pharmaceutical factory was completed, and his cosmetics company had already started producing products. He advertised widely and even rented a counter in Anning’s marketplace, hiring specialists to train counter girls to introduce a variety of cosmetics to the customers.

The cosmetics produced by Xiao Yuan’s company were better than what was currently sold on the market.

He started out in financial trade with plenty of money to spare for advertising, and with good word-of-mouth, it didn’t take long for him to develop a substantial and loyal customer base.

Even though his pharmaceutical factory focused on traditional Chinese medicine and wasn’t as profitable as the cosmetics factory, it was still doing quite well.

Through these two years of development, Anning and Xiao Yuan had become well-known entrepreneurs in the province.

The Li brothers were also doing very well; although they couldn’t match Anning and Xiao Yuan’s momentum, they were highly regarded in the village, the town, and the county. Mention of them was met with a thumbs-up and praise for their capabilities.

However, Li Zhifang and Wang Baozhu had a tough couple of years.

Wang Baozhu was extremely lazy, and with Li Zhifang as the sole breadwinner, the fruit harvests had not been good these past two years, and they were living on quite a tight budget.

Yet, Wang Baozhu still complained that he wasn’t working hard enough, that he lacked ambition, constantly berating him, which sometimes made Li Zhifang truly regretful.

If he had known how things would turn out, he wouldn’t have divorced Anning back then.

Sometimes, when he reminisced about the days he spent with Anning, he felt that those years were the most comfortable and joyous of his life.

Nothing like being with Wang Baozhu, where nobody knew whether you were cold or warm, hungry or full, living as if having a wife or not made no difference—it really made him feel disheartened.

And Wang Baozhu also had regrets.

She discovered that Li Zhifang was not as promising as she had imagined.

All this talk about becoming a big success in agriculture, Li Zhifang was just a simpleton who only knew how to farm and nothing else.

If she was to rely on Li Zhifang to get wealthy from farming, it would probably never happen in this lifetime.

But in her previous life, Li Zhifang had indeed made a lot of money. He had contracted the village’s land, planted various special fruits and green vegetables, expanded into animal husbandry, and later got into agricultural product processing, making quite a fortune.

Back then, Li Zhifang had bought houses in the Provincial City and in the Capital, and even owned several villas. Anning lived a luxurious life, relying on Li Zhifang, wearing gold and silver, and life was truly splendid.

How come since her return, life had changed?

She couldn’t see any signs that Li Zhifang was on his way to getting rich. Instead, she was living in poverty with him. What was going on?

Sometimes, Wang Baozhu didn’t dare to think about it.

But sometimes, another thought would surface.

Perhaps, in her previous life, it was not Li Zhifang who had become the agricultural tycoon, but Anning. It was with Anning’s help that Li Zhifang became wealthy and successful.

Otherwise, how could Anning and Li Zhifang’s life get better and better after their divorce.

She also heard people in the village say that Anning had big supermarkets and sales venues not only in the few factories in the village but also in the Provincial City, Capital, and many other cities, and no one knows how much money she makes.

People in the village feel sorry for Li Zhifang, saying he was foolish to divorce Anning—a real money tree—and marry Wang Baozhu, a woman good for nothing but eating.

At this thought, Wang Baozhu felt truly upset.

If she had known this earlier, she wouldn’t have come back. At least she had a better life before, even though the man she was with had a wife and children. She had money and didn’t worry about food and clothing. With Li Zhifang, she not only gets scolded but also can’t buy nice clothes or eat good food.

Both Li Zhifang and Wang Baozhu regretted it by now.

But neither of them said anything. They didn’t dare.

They could only make do with their life.

Li Zhifang watched as Li Jingyu’s three would rarely come home, and their relationship with him became colder and more distant. Knowing he couldn’t rely on them, he devoted all his attention to spoiling Li Jindong, raising him to be particularly willful and arrogant.

The little child, barely knowing how to speak, cursed at everyone.

Even when he saw Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai, he would curse and spit. Li Zhifang and Wang Baozhu would not stop him but instead sit by and laugh, thinking their son was promising and wouldn’t be bullied when he grew up.

After a few encounters with the child, Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai didn’t want to see him anymore.

Even though he was their grandchild, they really disliked him, and were instead filled with aversion when they saw Li Jindong.

And this year was also the year Liu Qi and three others were taking their college entrance exams.

When summer began, Anning freed up her schedule. She handled company matters over the phone and spent each day at home, coaching the kids, cooking them delicious food, and taking special care of their health.

At this time, Anning looked after Liu Qi, Li Jingyan, and Liu Ming, while entrusting the care of the other children to Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai.

With three students taking college entrance exams at home and company matters to attend to, she truly had no energy left to look after the other children.

Fortunately, Liu Ru had some time this year and helped take care of the other children.

By June, the atmosphere at home became tense.

Now, Anning actually stopped making the kids review too much. She helped them relax, sometimes taking them out for fun or to watch a movie, anyway, she aimed to adjust their mindset.

Of course, they still had to review what was necessary and do their practice questions.

When she sent the three kids into the exam hall, Anning finally relaxed.

During the two days of exams, as soon as the kids came out of the exam hall, Anning drove them for a good time, and then let them go home to sleep well.

As for how well they did on the exams, Anning didn’t ask, and the kids didn’t say.

Not just Anning, but no relatives or friends at home asked the kids how the exams went or which universities they planned to attend.

It wasn’t until the college entrance exam results came out that a faint smile appeared on Anning’s face.

She took out her phone and dialed Li Zhicheng’s house.

The call was answered by Zhang Fengfeng.

Zhang Fengfeng had been waiting up half the night, just to hear the kids’ college entrance exam results.

"Mother, the kids’ results are out. Liu Qi is the top scorer in science in the province, Jingyan is the top scorer in the humanities, and Liu Ming ranked third in the province. They don’t have to worry about university at all; they can attend whatever school they wish."

"Good, good..."

Zhang Fengfeng’s eyes watered as she listened: "Good, they are all good kids."