The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 710 - 696: I’m Not a Shameless Slut (Part 7-2)

Xiao Yuan quickly followed.

The two of them exchanged phone numbers as if they were making a covert connection with the underground party, scanning the surroundings for anyone eavesdropping. Just after they swapped numbers, Xiao Yuan’s phone rang. He hurriedly answered the call and afterwards, he apologized to Anning, "My advisor needs me for something; I have to get going quickly."

Anning waved her hand, indicating that he should hurry off.

After Xiao Yuan left, Anning carried the soy milk over to find Mrs. Jiang.

Mrs. Jiang just happened to be thirsty, so Anning handed her a cup of soy milk to drink first.

It took about half an hour before it was Mrs. Jiang’s turn.

Anning and Mrs. Jiang went in. The doctor examined her, ordered some lab tests, and then it was a series of checks.

While accompanying Mrs. Jiang during the examination, Anning thought to herself that if she had been a doctor, or even just had a bit of medical knowledge, she would have been able to treat Mrs. Jiang’s illness directly and wouldn’t have needed any blood tests or other lab work.

After the inspections, some results came out right away while others hadn’t. Overall, Mrs. Jiang didn’t have any major problems, just gastritis. However, the doctor advised her not to eat spicy food or anything too cold, to have meals regularly, and to eat soft, easily digestible food for the near future.

Mrs. Jiang was really nervous about her check-up today because she had been in a lot of pain from her stomachache the day before.

She feared that the check-up would reveal some serious problem but, having received some of the results and knowing that it didn’t seem to be anything major, she relaxed completely.

She kept the doctor’s advice in mind, promising herself to stick to it.

Anning went with Mrs. Jiang to get her medication. Noticing it was already noon, they hurried home.

When they got back, Jiang Anan was at home; she had finished cooking and was about to start stir-frying. Hearing the door, Jiang Anan popped her head out of the kitchen: "How did it go? Did you get the results?"

While taking off her shoes, Anning replied loudly, "We got it, it’s gastritis. We picked up some medicine. Mom should take it after lunch and get some good rest."

Jiang Anan also relaxed, then went back into the kitchen and started stir-frying rapidly.

Anning asked Mrs. Jiang to rest in her room and went into the kitchen to make some porridge for her.

While in the kitchen, Anning and An Nan spoke in low voices, and An Nan began to talk about some things related to the restaurant where she worked.

Mr. Jiang had started working in the city as an assistant cook in a restaurant, tasked with preparing side dishes. Later, a master cook in the restaurant noticed his sincerity and good nature and took him on as an apprentice, teaching him many specialized skills. Mr. Jiang eventually became a chef at the back of the restaurant and has to this date become a well-known chef in a famous restaurant in the city.

Of course, this involved a lot of hard work on Mr. Jiang’s part. He had started learning late and it took him more than a decade to become a chef, which certainly wasn’t easy.

When An Nan decided not to go to university after finishing high school, Mr. Jiang was worried for her. But seeing that she was strong and skilled with her hands, he taught An Nan some basic pastry work, and then accompanied her to seek apprenticeship with one of his senior apprentice brothers to learn pastry making.

A few years later, An Nan completed her apprenticeship and now specialized in making breakfast items in a restaurant, like buns, char siu, and some Chinese pastries.

Since she was making breakfast, she had to get up very early every day. However, An Nan had made a name for herself by now; once she finished the breakfast tasks, she could go home, which afforded her more freedom in terms of time than others.

Actually, An Nan was thinking about no longer working at this restaurant.

She contemplated opening her own place to sell breakfast items, but she didn’t have enough saved up over the years and doubted that her family would be willing to provide the money for it.

In Mr. and Mrs. Jiang’s view, a girl should find a steady job, marry and have children when the time comes. The idea of starting a business seemed too troublesome to them.

Moreover, Mr. and Mrs. Jiang themselves lacked the determination to start a business; they likely wouldn’t encourage An Nan’s entrepreneurial aspirations even if she were a boy. They thought An Nan had a good job at the restaurant with a decent income and extraordinary job security; venturing out to start a business seemed too risky.

As Anning was cooking the porridge, she discussed with An Nan, "How much money do you have? How much more do you need?"

An Nan pondered, "I’m planning to open a small shop, just selling breakfast. It actually doesn’t require much money, it’s mainly the rent that’s expensive. I’m thinking about renting a place near the University City, and you know how it is with rents over there..."

Anning finished the porridge, turned off the heat, covered it with a lid to let it stew a bit longer, "The rent there is indeed expensive. Renting a place, doing the renovation, it all needs a good amount of money. It looks like you’re quite short; even if I give you all my savings to use, it still won’t be enough. And you can put aside any thoughts of getting support from our parents. They won’t shift their mindset so easily and probably won’t back you up."