Chapter 1699: Chapter 1639: Group Favorite Novel Counterpart 69

Anning saw the villagers retreating and no longer daring to plead for Yang Baozhu. With a hidden coldness in her eyes, she slowly walked up to Yang Baozhu and helped her up from the ground where she had collapsed from crying.

"Treasure Bead, it’s not that I’m being unreasonable. You know, we’ve lived door-to-door for so many years, and we grew up together. If I could really help your family, wouldn’t I? If it was only about breaking my rice bowl, I would certainly accept your vegetables. But this is about breaking the village’s rice bowl. You know the situation in Xiaxi Village. We’ve all been poor for so many years. It’s hard for us to find a way out. Who would want to suffer again? We can’t let your family ruin things for the whole village, right?"

Yang Baozhu hung her head, hiding the venom in her eyes.

She knew that no matter how much she pleaded or pressured Anning now, it wouldn’t work.

Even if Anning agreed to accept her family’s vegetables, the villagers wouldn’t agree.

She stood up, still crying.

At this moment, many people began to criticize the Yang Family.

"Treasure Bead, it’s not that we’re being unreasonable, but your family’s actions weren’t right. When we first started planting, Anning told us to buy Nutrient Liquid, and everyone in the village bought it except your family. Now, the vegetables aren’t good, so who’s to blame? You blame everyone except your parents. Pleading with Anning is useless."

"Exactly, you didn’t want to spend money on Nutrient Liquid, and now you’re blaming others. I’ve never seen people like your family."

"You can take your vegetables to town to sell them. Sell them a bit cheaper; it’s almost New Year’s, someone will surely buy. You shouldn’t lose money."

"I..."

Yang Baozhu wanted to say something, but seeing the disapproving looks from the villagers, she could only swallow her pleas.

Anning, having dealt with Yang Baozhu, turned her gaze to Sun Jinhua.

Sun Jinhua was already frightened and quickly slipped into the yard, not daring to show her face.

Yang Laoer pulled Yang Baozhu towards home, apologizing to the villagers as they went: "Sorry, the child is just worried about the family, truly sorry..."

Anning glanced at the Yang Family’s door and said to Pei Laoshi and An Xian, "Let’s go home, it’s very cold outside."

While walking back, Anning thought about Yang Baozhu’s situation.

Yang Baozhu was playing her role addictedly, thinking that by lowering her stance, by putting herself in a weak position, crying a little and saying a few nice words, everyone would side with her?

She must be thinking that the Yang Family is a large clan in the village, with Yang Laoer having brothers and cousins, and they’ve always had a large family. So, just like before, if there was a conflict between the Yang Family and the Pei Family, people would side with the Yang Family without asking for reasons.

But now things are different from before.

Before, everyone was poor, and the Pei Family was even poorer, so naturally, when something happened, the blame was first on the Pei Family.

Now, Anning has helped everyone make money, and this winter, everyone’s lives have become more prosperous, with clothing, food, and other living standards improving by a notch.

People, after living in simplicity, find it easy to adapt to luxury but hard to revert from luxury to simplicity. Having lived better lives, who would want to go back to the old poor life? Who brought these good days? It’s Anning. With that in mind, who would risk offending Anning to stand up for the Yang Family?

The most crucial point is that if someone stood up for the Yang Family, it would harm their own interests. Nobody is foolish. Why would anyone be willing to stand up for the Yang Family and let themselves not earn money?

Thus, no matter how much Yang Baozhu cried or how hard the Yang Family tried to stir things up, as long as Anning laid out the pros and cons, the Yang Family couldn’t stir things up.

An Xian sat on the sofa, laughing.

"Lao Si, did you see Yang Baozhu just now? Haha, who would have thought she’d have today. She always looked down on us, acting all superior because she had three brothers. Now, crying and kneeling doesn’t help at all, it’s really satisfying to watch."

Anning smiled: "It’s quite satisfying indeed."

On the Yang Family side, Yang Baozhu felt truly embarrassed, unable to stay in the village, so she said she’d go work outside. When Yang Laoer brought the vegetables to town and the county to sell, Yang Baozhu took a bit of the money and left.

She thought since Anning made a fortune in Dream City, she might as well try. She wanted to venture into Dream City.

After Yang Baozhu left, Anning knew where she went but didn’t pay it any mind.

Did Yang Baozhu really think Dream City was as she imagined, filled with gold everywhere? Her imagination was too wonderful. She’d learn her lesson after she got there and faced hardships.

After Yang Baozhu left, it soon would be New Year’s, and the Pei Family started preparing for the festivities.

Around the twentieth of the lunar month, An Yi returned.

After she came back, she didn’t stay at home much, going to the factory every day to help, observing how the factory was managed, how accounting was done, learning all the processes, and meanwhile bought finance books to read.

Pei Yu did not return this year; she had called early, saying she was busy for New Year’s and couldn’t return.

By the end of the year, she released another album, and a drama she acted in aired, making Pei Yu popular at the end of the year. More invitations for performances and participation in commercial events came her way.

Generally, the end of the year is when stars make big money. Pei Yu naturally wanted to seize the opportunity to make money. She told Pei Laoshi she’d return after the new year to stay a few days. Pei Laoshi originally thought of telling Pei Yu that the family had money now and she shouldn’t work so hard, but thinking of how stubborn she had been since she was a child, he left many words unsaid.

This New Year, the Pei Family celebrated lively.

On Little New Year’s Eve, the family gathered to eat, drink, and later organized a game of mahjong, staying up for the night.

On the first day of the lunar new year, after eating dumplings, Anning and Xiao Yuan changed clothes to go to the Xiao Family in town. Chen Qiang and Anjing also went back to Shangxi Village to visit the Chen Family. Xiao Yuan drove, first sending them to Shangxi Village and then going to town with Anning.

When they arrived, it was just after nine. Xiao Yuan, carrying gifts, led Anning into the house, greeted by a room full of coldness.

The courtyard was deserted. It snowed a few days ago, and the snow hadn’t been cleared, only a path was swept, leaving the rest of the snow lying in the courtyard.

Inside the house, there was no heating, nor any stove or anything, and the main room was so cold one could shiver.

Xiao Yuan couldn’t help but frown: "Dad, Mom..."

Xiao Daguang and Zhong Liumei responded from the inner room: "Stop shouting, come in quickly."

Xiao Yuan and Anning entered the inner room, where it was slightly warmer. Once inside, they saw Xiao Daguang and Zhong Liumei sitting on the kang, both wrapped in blankets.

"What are you doing?"

Xiao Yuan asked immediately after putting down the things: "Where’s second brother and second sister-in-law?"

Zhong Liumei pointed to another room: "Still not up yet."

Anning pulled up a chair and sat: "Have you eaten?"

Xiao Daguang shook his head: "No, it’s too cold to move. We’ll wait till your eldest brother returns, then cook together."

Anning didn’t know what to say. This family was truly lazy, not wanting to do anything. No wonder after so many years in town, they’re still so poor. If the whole family remained inactive, not cooking unless forced to, how could they ever get rich?

She looked around the room. The table looked like it hadn’t been wiped in ages, dust covered the surface, the thermos was greasy, and the teacups and bowls on the table weren’t clean either. There were sunflower seed shells scattered on the floor, certainly from the previous night, as they hadn’t been swept away yet.

In such an environment, Anning felt she couldn’t stay any longer.

Xiao Yuan didn’t want to stay longer either.

He thought for a moment and asked Xiao Daguang: "What are you planning to eat today? Any feast?"

Xiao Daguang shook his head: "Not much at home, just some meat and a fish. You can prepare it when you want to eat."

Xiao Yuan went to the kitchen for a look, noticing the dishes from yesterday’s meal hadn’t been washed. A basin was placed on the floor with a small thin fish inside. Opening the cabinet, there was only a piece of fatty meat. Other than these, there was nothing else. How were they supposed to eat like this?

When he returned to the room, he heard Zhong Liumei talking to Anning: "Later, chop that piece of meat and mix it with some cabbage to make dumplings. Then stew the fish. Our family isn’t big, it’ll be enough for us."

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