Chapter 554: Chapter 545: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 33
Anning went to seek Li Zhichengâs help with Liu Yuzhenâs household registration and school transfer the next day and heard from Liu Ru about the plot against Li Zhifang.
At that time, Liu Ru was quite happy.
She pulled Anning to sit down: "Itâs good that you left, itâs peaceful now, so you donât have to see that disgusting couple in the village."
Anning just smiled and didnât say a bad word about Li Zhifang.
This actually made Liu Ru respect her even more.
"You donât know, when Zhicheng returned to the village the day before yesterday, Jingyan was asking him about you, that child really misses you."
Upon hearing Jingyan mentioned, Anning quickly asked: "How are the children? They havenât been treated unfairly, have they?"
Liu Ru sighed, "You are really too kind-hearted; even though Li Zhifang treated you that way, you not only donât complain, but you still care about the children, you... anyway, if it were me, I couldnât do what you do."
Anning gave a bitter smile: "What else can I do, everyone says a forced melon isnât sweet, I canât be shameless like Wang Baozhu, I canât cling to a man who doesnât love me. To be honest, over the years Li Zhifang hasnât treated me unfairly and has been quite good to my three children. I donât want anything else, for the sake of the children I canât start fighting with him, six children, what would they think seeing us fight? Itâs possible our conflicts could affect the childrenâs disposition, I donât want our children to become narrow-minded or petty, for the childrenâs sake, I must give way, I must endure."
Her words made Liu Ru want to cry.
"Us women really have it tough, we think of the children, but men only think of themselves."
Later, Liu Ru told Anning about Li Jingyan handing over the property deed to Li Zhicheng.
Anning laughed: "Jingyan is the most cunning, she probably did this to avoid any accidents, hence she handed over the property deed to her uncle, it also shows the children trust you guys."
Liu Ru talked a bit more about the Li family, told Anning not to worry about the children, the childrenâs grandparents, uncles, and aunts were looking after them, the children wouldnât suffer.
Anning just smiled in response.
A few days later, Li Zhicheng helped complete Liu Yuzhenâs household registration and school transfer procedures.
Once Liu Yuzhen started school, Anning could free her hands to do other things.
At this time, Anning understood a lot about the Li familyâs affairs; she also found out that Li Zhifang wanted to get a divorce certificate with Wang Baozhu, but all the household registrations were held by Li Baolai.
The local committee also didnât give him the proof, which made Li Zhifang very anxious.
Then, Li Zhiping and Li Zhikang took the IOU written by Li Zhifang and went to him, saying business was tough and they urgently needed funds for turnover, urging Li Zhifang to find a way to repay the money.
At that moment, Wang Baozhu was also there, immediately glaring her eyes when she heard about repaying money.
She coquettishly said to Li Zhifang: "Zhifang, when we bought the house and renovated it was done together for six properties, including three properties for Anningâs children, when repaying, should she also repay with us?"
Li Zhiping glared his eyes angrily upon hearing this: "What does this have to do with you? What are you to our family, why are you causing a fuss?"
Li Zhikang also scolded Wang Baozhu: "Stand aside if you have nothing to do, you vixen with long hair and short wisdom."
Wang Baozhu was scolded by Li Zhikang almost to the point of crying.
"You are real brothers, how can you have no brotherly compassion at all, pressuring your own brother to repay money like this, if you have the capability go ask Anning."
Li Zhiping was almost ready to fight with Wang Baozhu: "If we really didnât care about familial affection, we wouldnât have lent the money at the beginning, and what face do we have to go ask Anning for money? You ask Li Zhifang if he has the face to ask Anning for money?"
Li Zhifang kept his head down and said nothing.
He really had no face to ask Anning.
"Why not, why doesnât he have the face, Zhifang has never wronged Anning even a little."
Wang Baozhu said this righteously.
In her eyes, Anning marrying Li Zhifang was to enjoy a good life. Otherwise, how hard it would be for a widow like Anning who was raising a child alone. Moreover, Li Zhifang even bought three houses for Anningâs child, and that was no small amount of money.
She nudged Li Zhifang: "Arenât you going to say something? The money for the houses and all was borrowed by both you and Anning. Now, paying back the debt should also be done by both of you."
Li Zhifang didnât want to anger Wang Baozhu, but also didnât want to offend Fifth or Lao Liu. He could only mutter, "I donât have any money right now, you have to give me some time to breathe. Otherwise, even if you push me to death, I still wonât have the money."
After Li Zhiping and Li Zhikang left in a huff, Li Zhifang begged Wang Baozhu, "Treasure Bead, donât you have some money? Could you take some out so we can pay back the debt?"
Of course, Wang Baozhu refused.
She felt she shouldnât be the sucker.
"I do have money. If it was only your debt, I would definitely help you pay, but Anning owes money too. Why should I pay for her? Why should I?"
Anyway, Wang Baozhu just wouldnât cough up the money, and Li Zhifang couldnât do anything about her.
Li Zhiping and Li Zhikang asked for the debt several more times. Without money from Li Zhifang, they couldnât kill the man over it, so things remained at a standoff.
When Anning heard about this, Li Zhikang happened to be wanting to open a store in Provincial City and was inspecting the market. Anning took some money and found Li Zhikang.
She first called Li Zhikang to arrange a dinner together.
Li Zhikang thought Anning might be encountering some difficulties, so he readily agreed.
The two agreed to meet for lunch. Anning booked the restaurant. At noon, Anning went to school to pick up Liu Yuzhen from school and brought her to the restaurant they agreed on.
When she arrived, Li Zhikang had just gotten there.
Liu Yuzhen was particularly happy to see him, smiling and greeted, "Hi Sixth Uncle!"
Seeing Liu Yuzhenâs radiant smile, Li Zhikang also smiled and patted the childâs head, "Ah, Yuzhen has grown taller again. How about Sixth Uncle takes you out to play later? Whatever you like, Sixth Uncle will buy it for you."
Liu Yuzhen didnât stand on ceremony: "I have classes this afternoon. Letâs do it after school. Oh, and I saved a lot of study materials for Jing Nian, your brother. Iâll find them tonight for you to take back. If he does the exercises, his grades will surely improve."
Liu Yuzhen and her brothers were particularly good in their studies, always ranking first in their exams.
Her transfer to a school in Provincial City did not affect her academics. The day before yesterday, the school had a monthly exam, and Liu Yuzhen achieved the top rank in her grade again.
The study materials Liu Yuzhen mentioned were indeed very useful for Li Zhikangâs two children. He looked pleased and said, "Alright, let me thank you on behalf of Jing Nian first."
Liu Yuzhen waved her hand dismissively, very maturely saying, "Weâre family, no need for thanks."
Li Zhikang chuckled, then led Anning and Liu Yuzhen to their table.
After the two ordered food, Anning got straight to the point: "I heard about you asking Li Zhifang for money."
As she spoke, she took out a passbook: "This is my part of the debt. Since you are here in Provincial City, Iâll give it directly to you. If you have any cash flow issues, I still have some savings you can use for now."
Huh?
Li Zhikang was stunned.
He had never expected Anning to pay him back.
In his mind, the debt was Li Zhifangâs alone. Anning and Li Zhifang were divorced, and since Li Zhifang hadnât provided Anning with anything, it was even more unreasonable to expect her to pay the debt.
"Did Li Lao Si say something?"
Li Zhikang immediately became very angry.
He thought Li Zhifang was forcing Anning to pay the debt.