“Shoo! Shoo!”
Li Qinkuai picked up the meat and chased the chicken away.
Who would have thought that living creatures could be exchanged for better things than plants?
Li Qinkuai then went to search in the grass for a non-venomous spider and poked it with a wooden stick.
“Ding! Wild spider discovered. Reward: one piglet.”
A small piglet covered in black spots suddenly appeared in the space…
Just as Li Qinkuai was thinking about continuing to study how to use the space, a book suddenly dropped in front of her. She picked it up and saw that it explained how to use the space.
In short, living things could be exchanged for other living things, while plants could be exchanged for inanimate objects.
However, the exchanged items were random, not fixed. If she exchanged for plants or animals that had gone extinct in the future world, the space would automatically upgrade, and the exchanged items would also upgrade to things like money, coupons, or cloth.
Moreover, there were restrictions on what could be exchanged—only things from the wild could be used. Farmed or cultivated items could not be exchanged.
Still, Li Qinkuai was quite satisfied with this. At least she could eat her fill.
After figuring it out, Li Qinkuai first went to tell her father to come home for lunch at noon, and then she went to find her older brother, Li Qinfen.
Originally, Li Qinkuai had wanted her father to call her brother, but her father was too busy at the moment and couldn’t get away.
Li Qinkuai had no choice but to brace herself and go call her brother.
“Hey, I thought Li Qinkuai wouldn’t come looking for you today, but she still came. That girl is really devoted to you!”
Duan Pengyue listened to Lin Sheng’s voice beside him and turned his head in the direction of his gaze, immediately spotting Li Qinkuai walking toward them.
The sunlight fell on her beautiful face, her fair and tender cheeks flushed with a rosy hue, and fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead, making it impossible to look away.
She really did come looking for him!
Duan Pengyue recalled the words he had overheard last night, his grip on the hoe tightening slightly. His expression visibly darkened, and a cold aura emanated from him as he lowered his head to work, refusing to look at her again.
Lin Sheng, seeing him like this, was somewhat puzzled.
Then he watched as Li Qinkuai walked past Duan Pengyue and went straight to her older brother, Li Qinfen. After saying a few words to him, she left, never once glancing at Duan Pengyue the entire time.
It was as if they were strangers.
This wasn’t right.
Lin Sheng’s eyes lit up, and he said happily, “Hey, has Li Qinkuai lost interest in you? Why isn’t she bothering you anymore?”
Last night, after Duan Pengyue went out, he had returned with a dark expression.
Duan Pengyue turned his head and glared at him fiercely. “Got nothing better to say? Finished your work?”
Lin Sheng immediately lowered his head and got back to work. His intuition, honed from growing up with Duan Pengyue, told him that Duan Pengyue was like a powder keg at this moment—best not to provoke him!
Only after leaving the area where the educated youths were working did Li Qinkuai dare to stop and catch her breath.
She hadn’t approached Duan Pengyue just now, nor had she dared to look at him.
By keeping her distance like this, Duan Pengyue should understand, right?
As long as she didn’t bother Duan Pengyue, the events that followed wouldn’t happen again.
In her past life, she had indeed been in the wrong, and she accepted that.
In this life, she only planned to live her own small life honestly and peacefully.
Li Qinkuai pushed open the door to her home, where Cheng Yun had just finished setting the dishes on the table. In the center was freshly stir-fried pork, still steaming hot.
She walked over, picked up her chopsticks, and took a piece into her mouth. It was incredibly delicious, and she couldn’t help but take another bite.
Cheng Yun laughed and scolded, “You greedy little thing, go wash your hands quickly. Wait for your dad and older brother to come back before eating together.”
Li Qinkuai took another piece of meat and responded while walking to wash her hands.
In her heart, she was already thinking about what excuse she would use next time to bring out the meat from her space for her mother to cook.
Not long after, Li Dafu and Li Qinfen returned.
“Why do I smell meat?” Li Qinfen sniffed the air, as if confirming whether he had smelled correctly.
“I smell it too. Did you buy meat today, dear?” Li Dafu looked at Cheng Yun.
Cheng Yun shushed them, signaling them to lower their voices, and whispered an explanation, “Qinkuai found meat hidden in the grass by someone else. Go wash your hands and eat, but keep it quiet.”
Li Dafu exclaimed in surprise, “In these times, someone actually hides meat in the grass? How careless! Our Qinkuai is really lucky to have spotted it!”
He gave Li Qinkuai a thumbs-up.
Li Qinfen, standing nearby, chimed in proudly, “Of course! My little sister has always been the luckiest person since she was young!”
Li Qinkuai felt a bit embarrassed by the praise and was afraid that if they continued, she might slip up.
“Dad, big brother, come and eat quickly. I’m already hungry.”
“Oh, we can’t let my little sister go hungry! Dad, wash your hands faster!”
Li Qinfen urged.
Li Dafu glared at Li Qinfen with a stern face. “You’re rushing your old man now? No respect for your elders!”
Even as he said this, he quickened his handwashing.
The family happily ate their meal together.
After lunch, it was time for the midday rest.
Li Dafu and Li Qinfen went to sleep, while Cheng Yun washed dishes in the kitchen.
Li Qinkuai thought about the pigs and chickens in her space. She needed to figure out a way to build a chicken coop and a pigpen, as well as find food for the chickens and pigs.
“Mom, I’m going out for a bit.”
Li Qinkuai planned to take a knife up the mountain to cut some bamboo or wood to build enclosures for the chickens and pigs in her space. She also wanted to see if she could find any wild game on the mountain.
“Mom knew you couldn’t let him go. Here, take this and go find him.”
Cheng Yun came out of the kitchen with an “I knew it” expression, holding a bowl in her hand. Inside the bowl was rice and a few pieces of meat.
Li Qinkuai looked at her, somewhat confused, but quickly realized her mother had misunderstood.
After all, during this time, she had done everything she could to attract Duan Pengyue, trying to please him and catch his attention. Whenever there was something good at home, she would take it to Duan Pengyue just to have a chance to talk to him.
And since meat had been cooked at home today, the old her would definitely have taken some to give to Duan Pengyue.
Usually, Cheng Yun, aware of her feelings, would intentionally set aside a portion for Li Qinkuai to take to Duan Pengyue.
Thinking of all her past actions, Li Qinkuai sighed. No wonder her mother had that expression.
“I’m not going to find him. I’m going up the mountain to chop some firewood. We don’t have much left at home.”
Li Qinkuai made up an excuse.
Cheng Yun was half-convinced, but after seeing the knife in Li Qinkuai’s hand, she simply said, “Be careful.”
Li Qinkuai quickly headed up the mountain. She soon chopped some bamboo, placed it in her space to enclose the pigs and chickens, and only after finishing that did she take her knife to search for wild game.
She remembered that wild pheasants were often found on the mountain. When villagers couldn’t afford to buy meat, they would secretly go up the mountain to set traps and catch wild pheasants.
Usually, traps were set near wild pheasant nests.
Li Qinkuai searched around the traps set by the villagers and soon found a pheasant nest in a stone cave, with over a dozen pheasant eggs inside.
Just as she was about to reach in, she heard the voices of two men behind her.
“Since we caught a pheasant, do you think there might be a nest nearby?”
“There is. The traps are usually set near pheasant nests.”
One of the voices was all too familiar to Li Qinkuai—it was Duan Pengyue’s.
Li Qinkuai froze, not daring to move, silently praying, “Don’t see me, don’t see me.”
But the next moment, Lin Sheng called out her name: “Hey! Li Qinkuai, you’re here too!”
Now, Li Qinkuai could no longer hide like a turtle in its shell. She turned around and forced an awkward smile. “Heh, what a coincidence!”
“Li Qinkuai, are you following me again!”