Chapter 595 - 585: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 73

Chapter 595: Chapter 585: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 73

Aside from hearing about Lu Yi’s situation, Anning also learned about Li Zhifang and Wang Baozhu’s affairs.

These days, life has not been easy for Li Zhifang and Wang Baozhu.

Li Zhifang’s contracted forests and fishponds have been producing less, his chickens got sick, and after much hurry-scurry, more than half of them died.

And Wang Baozhu was the kind of person who didn’t lift a finger in productive work.

She came back expecting to enjoy life, not to suffer hardships.

All the farming work at home was done by Li Zhifang alone, with Wang Baozhu not offering any help at all.

The key issue was that Wang Baozhu didn’t even cook; Li Zhifang would come home after a day’s work only to find no hot meal waiting for him.

Li Zhifang’s life was becoming progressively harder.

Back when Anning was still around, Li Zhifang used to dress neatly and tidily. Anning always made sure to prepare clothes for him when the season changed.

Now, Wang Baozhu couldn’t care less about such matters. As long as she had food and drink, she was unconcerned with exerting any effort. She didn’t pay any mind to Li Zhifang’s condition.

Li Zhifang wore dirty clothes every day, and Wang Baozhu wouldn’t even bother to sew his torn clothes, making him look particularly slovenly.

Most importantly, they were now out of money, and living a life of extreme discomfort without it.

When it came time for Wang Baozhu to give birth, Li Zhifang couldn’t even afford the money for her hospitalization.

It was only after a few kind-hearted families in the village couldn’t bear to see Wang Baozhu in distress that they lent money to Li Zhifang.

Wang Baozhu gave birth to a son in the autumn, and Li Zhifang was so delighted that he doted on this son to the extreme, completely forgetting his previous three children.

When it came time for the baby’s full moon celebration, Li Zhifang wanted to throw a proper feast, but he had no money.

Later, Wang Baozhu told Li Zhifang not to worry about the lack of money. They could host the celebration, and surely the guests would give cash gifts. The collected cash gifts should be enough to cover the cost of the celebration and leave some extra to pay off debts.

Thinking it made sense, Li Zhifang began to prepare for the feast.

He chose the date and started notifying friends and relatives.

This shameless pair not only informed the Li brothers but also had the audacity to call Anning to invite her, which really made Anning laugh in exasperation.

Li Zhifang must be out of his mind, informing his ex-wife to attend his son’s full moon celebration.

Liu Qi happened to be at home and came over when he heard Anning’s voice: "Mom, what’s up?"

Anning shook her head with a smile: "Your uncle Li’s son is having his full moon celebration, and they’ve phoned me to go."

Liu Qi was puzzled for a moment before he remembered who Uncle Li was.

"Are you going?"

Anning was decidedly resolute: "No, why should I go? What do I have to do with him? They have no shame, but I do."

Anning would attend other Li brothers’ affairs because she shared a relationship nurtured over time with them. But she had nothing to do with Li Zhifang, so why should she feel obliged to attend his family’s event?

Xiao Shiman happened to be at home too and, after returning, she told Xiao Yuan about the situation.

Upon hearing that Li Zhifang had the nerve to call Anning, Xiao Yuan also became furious and did not attend the full moon celebration.

Not only did he refuse to go, but he also specifically called Zhang Erfeng to prevent her from attending.

Zhang Erfeng didn’t understand why Xiao Yuan forbade her from going, but she obeyed him in everything now. If Xiao Yuan said not to go, she really didn’t dare to.

Later, Anning heard from Liu Ru that during the celebration, when Wang Baozhu brought out her child for the guests to see, she implied through her words that their household was so poor they could barely make ends meet and asked the child’s uncles to chip in and be generous with the cash gifts, insisting on a hefty amount at the very least.

Liu Ru was disgusted by these words.

Wang Baozhu’s intention was to match what was given at Li Jingming’s wedding.

At Li Jingming’s wedding, each family had gifted eighteen hundred, so for her son’s full moon, she also expected the same amount.

Sun Xiumei was so incensed by this that she could have slapped Wang Baozhu there and then.

Wang Baozhu had the nerve to bring it up. At Jingming’s wedding, people gifted eighteen hundred, but Li Zhifang only gave a hundred and eighty, and Wang Baozhu hadn’t even shown her face. What right did she have to demand eighteen hundred?

Besides, a child’s full moon couldn’t compare with someone’s wedding. It was incomparable.

The Li brothers paid no mind to Wang Baozhu, giving the cash gift they felt appropriate, which was still more than what most villagers would give anyway.

Each family gave one hundred and ten and left without even staying for the meal.

Liu Ru was exasperated when she left, Wang Baozhu had been asking about Anning; her questions were indirect but she clearly wanted to know why Anning didn’t come.

Liu Ru almost spat in her face.

After talking with Anning, Anning laughed: "Why are you getting angry at her? She’s just a shameless, muddle-headed fool. If we stoop to her level, doesn’t that lower our own standards? Look, I’m not even upset."

"What on earth is going on with Lao Si’s brain, actually ditching his parents and kid over someone like Wang Baozhu?"

Liu Ru really was full of rage.

"Forget these things. Once my supermarket in Capital is up and running, I plan to take a break. How about we head to Sanya for a vacation during the New Year?"

Anning started to discuss the vacation plans with Liu Ru: "Or else, we could also go during winter. It’s just that the kids won’t be on holiday then. If we do go, it would just be the two of us, we can’t bring the kids."

Liu Ru thought for a moment: "Let’s wait for the kids’ winter break. I’ll talk to Li Zhicheng about it. When the time comes, we’ll bring our parents along, and just celebrate the New Year in Sanya to avoid that disgusting Wang Baozhu."

"Alright," Anning agreed cheerily.

Li Zhicheng actually didn’t want to see Li Zhifang either.

Now, he would get a headache and feel uncomfortable at the mere sight of Li Zhifang. As soon as he heard Liu Ru suggesting spending the New Year in Sanya, he agreed immediately.

By the twelfth lunar month, Anning and Liu Ru had not prepared anything for the New Year celebrations.

Initially, Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai were reluctant to travel far away for the New Year. No matter what Liu Ru said, they wouldn’t listen, leaving her no choice but to call Anning.

Anning came over to persuade them: "Mom, do you still remember how you slipped and fell onto the snow last winter and almost passed away?"

Zhang Fengfeng nodded.

"You’ve already been to the brink of death and back; what’s there to worry about anymore?"

Anning didn’t beat around the bush and spoke her mind outright to Zhang Fengfeng: "Both you and dad have one foot in the grave, to put it bluntly, and who knows what might happen any day now. You tell me, why are you still clinging to those old ways of thinking? Look at you, having raised children and now even having grandchildren who are married, shouldn’t you be enjoying life? Let me tell you, if we, the younger generation, give you nice things to eat or clothes to wear, don’t ask about the price, just take it and use it if you like it. If not, we’ll buy new ones."

"What you’re saying is..."

Zhang Fengfeng was about to argue when Anning glared at her: "Other than Li Lao Si, which one of your sons is lacking the money to spend on you?"

She really couldn’t think of any.

"Then why don’t you come to Sanya with us?"

Anning continued asking: "You and dad have only ever been as far as Provincial City in your whole lives, and even there you never really enjoyed yourselves. Why not take the chance while you’re still able to travel and see the great landscapes of our country, instead of being envious of others when you can’t move in the future? Let me tell you, life is about living for yourself."

Zhang Fengfeng stayed silent for a long while before asking Anning: "How much money would that cost? I heard we need to take a plane, and I’m really anxious about it."

"Don’t worry about the money, nobody’s asking you for money. You, just enjoy yourself."

Anning coaxed Zhang Fengfeng a bit more, and eventually, Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai agreed.

Anning didn’t leave and began helping Liu Ru to prepare clothes for the elderly couple, even taking out their summer outfits.

When the kids were finally on winter break and everything was ready, they headed straight to the airport.

At the airport, they ran into Li Zhiping’s family.

Turns out, Li Zhiping’s eldest daughter, Li Jingyue, after hearing from Jingyu about going to Sanya to spend the New Year, started coaxing Li Zhiping to take her too at home. In the end, she claimed that if Li Zhiping didn’t take her, she would go with Li Zhicheng.

Li Zhiping adored his daughter, and once she said she wanted to go, he had no choice but to prepare for the trip.

Hence, they rushed to book the flight tickets and ended up on the same plane as Anning’s group.

With so many family members traveling together, Zhang Fengfeng and Li Baolai felt less nervous.

Once they were in the airport, Xiao Yuan had arrived with Xiao Shiman and was waiting for them.

This year, several families spent their New Year in the south.

After they returned, Sun Xiumei ran straight to Anning to grumble: "Why didn’t you invite us? We were so annoyed by Wang Baozhu."

"What happened?"

Anning asked.

Sun Xiumei fumed: "Well, we initially planned to get together at Third’s place for the New Year. But with you all going down south, we ended up celebrating in town. Who would’ve thought Li Zhifang’s family would come to my house for the New Year? They arrived on New Year’s Eve, stayed overnight, and not only did Wang Baozhu not leave the next morning, but she also started pestering me for New Year’s money holding her child. I was so furious..."

Anning chuckled secretly: "You really did have a hard time. Let’s wait for next year. Next year we’ll go away for the New Year again, and they won’t be able to find us."

Sun Xiumei clutched her forehead: "Next year, even if you don’t go, I must escape somewhere. Even if your elder brother doesn’t go, I’ll make sure I get away by myself."