The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

When Yang Xue got married, Gu Anzhen’s family also attended.

Gu Anzhen has now reverted back to her surname Gu, but she has always lived near the county. Ever since Yang Erchou’s family moved over, Gu Anzhen frequently visits them, and her relationship with the couple remains unchanged, as if nothing has ever altered.

The child-swapping incident didn’t actually affect Gu Anzhen much.

After all, she’s an adult now, and one with a husband and children of her own. She has her own small family, so even after finding out she wasn’t born to the Yang Family, and that her biological parents are someone else, she was not overly distressed.

Of course, she was upset at first, but eventually, she came to terms with it.

You can’t blame anyone for swapping children under those circumstances. Back then, for four families to give birth successfully was already quite challenging. Everyone — pregnant women and their families alike — was utterly exhausted, so nobody paid much attention to what the babies looked like. When it was time to leave, they hurriedly parted ways, and never noticed anything different afterwards.

Now that she’s aware of the swap, Gu Anzhen treated it as if she gained an extra set of parents, additional relatives, with very little impact otherwise.

She treats Yang Xue like a sibling and frequently keeps in touch with her Gu family relatives.

Later, Gu Anzhen realized she actually gained a lot more love, and many more people caring for her, so she had even less reason to complain.

When Yang Xue got married, Gu Anzhen sent her gifts, and on the wedding day, she returned as a married daughter with a generous present.

Yang Xue is also a good person, maintaining connections with the Su family while actively embracing ties with the Yang family. Her relatives from the Su side were present at her wedding too, making her marriage one blessed by two sets of parents.

After Yang Xue got married, Xiao Yuan invited several elders from Yangjiazhuang and Sujiatun, along with the village chiefs from both sides, as witnesses, and drafted a settlement contract with the Xiao Family.

The contract stated that Xiao Yuan would provide seven houses and seven storefronts to the Xiao Family, as a form of repayment for raising him. In return, the Xiao Family would cease any ties with Xiao Yuan, and he would no longer be responsible for Xiao Qun and his wife in matters of life or death.

This was Xiao Yuan’s intention, and the Xiao Family agreed. The witnesses had no objections, and the matter was swiftly concluded.

Having resolved matters with the Xiao Family, Xiao Yuan returned to the Su family, where he immediately told Su Liang, ”Dad, you and Mom should prepare some things, and tomorrow, go visit Uncle Yang to propose marriage.”

”What?”

Su Liang was taken aback, ”Which Uncle Yang?”

Geng Shuhua gave Su Liang a look, ”Which Uncle Yang do you think? It’s Snow’s biological father — your son and Snow’s biological sister have been dating for quite some time now, yet you’re not paying attention. We should have arranged this ourselves, but here we are, waiting for the kids to push us.”

Su Liang, caught by surprise, felt mildly hopeful, ”Son, has Old Yang really agreed to let you marry his daughter?”

Xiao Yuan nodded.

Su Liang stood up excitedly, ”This is great news — fantastic news! Son, our ancestors must have blessed us from above, for you to marry the top scorer.”

Geng Shuhua was equally thrilled, ”Oh, look at my handsome son — no wonder he can marry such a wonderful bride. Once Anning enters our family, we’ll have nothing to worry about in the future.”

”Yes, indeed.”

Su Liang hurriedly added, ”With our future grandson having a mother who’s a top scorer, he’d surely be intelligent beyond measure, perhaps even become a provincial top scorer himself.”

The couple was so overjoyed they were nearly babbling nonsensically.

Afterwards, Su Liang and Geng Shuhua rushed to the county. They bought two large hams and a rack of spare ribs, but felt it wasn’t enough, so they went to a fritter shop that’s been operating for over a decade and bought about ten pounds of fritters. They also visited a liquor and tobacco shop to purchase a case of wine and several packs of good cigarettes.

The next day, Su Liang took his wife and son to Yang’s home to discuss the engagement.

Yang Erchou was well-prepared, having started in the early morning with Li Cuixia to prepare the feast.

When Su Liang’s family arrived, Yang Erchou invited Fang Jianhua and Wei Bin to join them for drinks while discussing the wedding.

Su Liang, smiling, clinked glasses with Yang Erchou, ”Old brother, given the relationship between our families, there’s no need for empty words. Let’s speak the truth. Your Anning is truly a good girl. In the old days, people often said ’A daughter in a family attracts a hundred suitors.’ That’s still true today. My son may not be as exceptional as Anning, but they grew up together, they like each other, and they wish to be together. As parents, we can only fulfill their wishes, don’t you think?”

Yang Erchou felt a pang of emotion.

He took a sip of wine, ”When a man comes of age, he ought to marry; when a woman comes of age, she ought to wed — that’s just how it is. If the children want this, I won’t stand in their way.”

”Now let’s discuss the dowry.”

Su Liang felt relieved with Yang Erchou’s agreement.

Yang Erchou waved it off, ”There’s no need for dowries, or anything like that. My daughter is leaving with your family, and I’ve raised her for twenty years. What could I possibly want from you? Let’s not talk about this, it overshadows the sentiment.”

Li Cuixia brought over a dish, ”Uncle, Old Yang’s right. The match is settled, so why discuss dowries or anything like that? Whatever you feel suitable is fine. Even if not, our daughter will still get married.”

Yang Erchou and Geng Shuhua both felt a great relief.

”We should still offer something.”

Yang Erchou mused, thinking, you’re not fooling me — my daughter has already said that Xiao Yuan’s earnings in the Capital are under her control, and the house is under her name. The major assets are in her hands, so who cares about some dowry money?

”We have no objections, whatever works is fine, as long as my daughter is happy in the future, I’ll be glad.”

Yang Erchou had another drink with Su Liang, ”Now that the match is settled, you should offer something, if only to complete the ceremony.”

This was only fair.

Whether in Yangjiazhuang or Sujiatun, the basic rituals were quite similar.

Whenever a child’s engagement is settled, the elders should give the future daughter-in-law a red envelope. It’s meant to be a gesture of welcome and a formal token of the engagement, symbolizing that she’s now family. It’s a thoughtful gesture from the elders, encouraging the child to buy something nice.

”Certainly, certainly.”

Geng Shuhua replied with a smile and called Anning over, took out a sealed red envelope from her bag, and handed it to Anning, ”Take it, and buy something nice when you find it.”

”Thank you, Aunt.”

Anning received it with a smile and expressed her gratitude.

At a distance, Wei Bin and Fang Jianhua were talking quietly.

They were discussing Yang Fugui.

Yang Fugui had returned to the village quite embarrassed several months ago.

When he came back, he had no money — practically penniless upon reaching the county. Near starving and hardly able to walk, Yang Fugui found Fang Jianhua, shamelessly asking for US$ 10 to buy himself lunch. Later, he ran into Wei Bin, who gave him a motorcycle ride back to Yangjiazhuang.

Fang Jianhua began recounting Yang Fugui’s story.

”He’s settled down now. He used to boast about doing big business and looked down on small money, always fantasizing about earning a fortune. His time in the Capital really gave him a reality check — he’s dared not dream of big deals anymore.”

Wei Bin took a sip of wine and said, ”He got quite the scare, didn’t he? Anyone would have been frightened. A big boss lost everything, just like that. They say Boss Yi had numerous assets under his name, but in a flash, it was all gone — now he’s hiding, afraid to face anyone. Seeing all this, how could Yang Fugui not be shaken?”

”It’s good he learned a lesson, kept him from causing trouble everywhere.”

Fang Jianhua sighed, ”Now, Uncle and his family have behaved as if they’ve grown wings, becoming very discreet.”

Anning overheard their conversation, so she sat down and engaged in a few words, then asked about how Wei Bin’s little restaurant was running.

Wei Bin answered cheerfully that it was alright. Although the restaurant hadn’t made much money in the few months since opening, it was enough to support the family. The key was that small businesses don’t incur debts, providing a sense of stability.

Fang Jianhua then mentioned Gu Anzhen’s computer lessons.

”Zhenzhen is doing quite well — she’s fast at typing now and learned some office software and such. She said once she masters it, she can open a copy shop. Ningning, do you think the copy shop can actually make money?”

Anning laughed and replied, ”It’ll definitely make money now. In the future, plenty of things will need printing and copying. Just think, how many people are already running this business in the county? This venture will absolutely not fall short. Oh, and moving forward, the number of shops in the county and town will only increase. Shopkeepers all require signboards, Brother-in-law, you should also get into this business — whether it’s making signs, banners, or carved-letter projects, these can all be added.”

”That can really make money.”

Fang Jianhua gleefully clapped his hands, ”Not far from here, a friend of mine opened a shop and spent over two hundred just on the sign alone. Imagine how much profit is in that. Right, I’ll let your sister know, so she can learn about this too.”