【Congratulations, Host, for obtaining one Strength Pill. 10,000 star coins have been deducted.】
As the system’s notification sounded, a golden pill appeared in Shen Qingyue’s hand.
Without hesitation, she swallowed it.
The pill melted the instant it entered her mouth. A warm current surged through her limbs and bones, filling her entire body with power—it felt exactly like when she used a Strength Talisman.
The only difference was that the Strength Pill was permanent, with no time limit.
Shen Dabiao stomped anxiously in place. Seeing Shen Qingyue standing there without moving, he asked in panic,
“The thugs are waiting for us at the money shop’s back door—what are we going to do? Looks like we’re really done for today!”
Shen Qingyue remained calm.
“No need to be afraid.”
With that, she walked unhurriedly out the back door.
The leader of the thugs glared murderously at her, looking at her as though she were already dead.
“Cutting off someone’s livelihood is like killing their parents. You brought this on yourselves—don’t blame anyone else.”
Villains always die from talking too much.
Before he could finish, Shen Qingyue drove her fist straight forward.
With ten times normal strength—plus the sanda training she’d learned back in the twenty-first century—
In just a few moves, she knocked all seven of them to the ground.
Shen Dabiao was stunned. After the shock came deep worry.
“Changsheng Gambling House has powerful backing. I heard the real owner behind it is an official from the prefectural city—even the county magistrate has to give him face.”
“We’ve offended Changsheng—what are we going to do from now on?”
Shen Qingyue frowned. The gambling house’s backing really was troublesome.
Her cold gaze swept over the thugs sprawled all over the ground before finally settling on their leader. She walked toward him step by step.
The leader propped himself up and dragged his injured body backward, fear leaking into his voice.
“Y-you… what are you trying to do?”
Shen Qingyue grabbed his collar and hauled his upper body up, threatening him word by word:
“You’ve all seen what I can do.”
“Changsheng is rich and powerful. If you insist on tearing things apart with me over a mere thousand taels, then don’t blame me for fighting to the end.”
“With my ability… killing your boss quietly wouldn’t be difficult, would it?”
“Take my words back to him exactly. Got it?”
Feeling the killing intent rolling off her, the leader swallowed and answered shakily,
“I will convey every word to the owner—without missing a single one.”
Shen Qingyue released him and said flatly,
“Take your people and get lost.”
The leader struggled to his feet and fled with the rest in disgrace.
Shen Dabiao finally breathed out in relief, then asked fearfully,
“Will the gambling house keep coming after us?”
“Hard to say,” Shen Qingyue answered rationally. “If they’re sensible, they should know how to weigh the pros and cons.”
She clenched her fingers, feeling the immense strength in her bones.
After taking the Strength Pill, her physical ability was ten times that of an ordinary person.
If they insisted on coming for her—then she would meet force with force.
Shen Dabiao sighed. Since they’d already offended them, they could only stay alert from now on. Then he suddenly noticed that Shen Qingyue’s cloth pouch of gold was gone.
“Where’s your gold?”
Shen Qingyue answered casually,
“I dropped it in the latrine earlier.”
“What?!” Shen Dabiao shouted. “That was ninety-five taels of gold! Even if it fell into a latrine, you’d have to fish it back out!”
“Losing money averts disaster. Since it’s gone, it means the gold wasn’t meant to be mine.” Shen Qingyue quickly changed the subject. “I still have fifty-one taels of silver left. Come on—we’re going to buy an ox cart.”
Thinking it over, Shen Dabiao figured that a common farming family holding that much gold might not be a good thing anyway. If it was gone, so be it.
When the ox cart came up, his spirits lifted immediately.
“When picking an ox, you check if its teeth are strong, test whether its hooves have power, hitch it to a shaft and walk it a few steps to see if it’s willing to work. I know more about choosing cattle than you do.”
Shen Qingyue replied lightly, “Alright—you pick the cart later.”
They headed to the cattle market.
Thirty taels bought them an ox cart.
They also purchased rice, flour, and other grain before heading home.
Shen Qingyue was left with only nineteen taels of silver. She shot Shen Dabiao a sideways glance—the old miser hadn’t spent a single coin.
By the time they finished and returned home, night had completely fallen.
Liu Cuihua and Shen Er-ya were waiting at the door. Seeing the two come back safely, they finally relaxed.
“You two sold wild boar meat till dark—impressive! Don’t tell me you went somewhere to throw money around for fun?” Liu Cuihua nagged, then circled the ox cart with gleaming eyes. “And where did this cart come from?”
Shen Qingyue glossed over the details.
“Had good luck today—won a little silver at the gambling house, so we bought the cart.”
“You two went to a gambling house?!”
After her shock, Liu Cuihua started pinching Shen Dabiao fiercely.
“You cursed man! You actually took Dog-Egg there! It’s bad enough you’re addicted to gambling yourself—now you want to drag her down too? How is our whole family supposed to live after this?!”
Shen Dabiao dodged while bellowing,
“It wasn’t me… she insisted on going herself… stop pinching—ow, ow, ow!”
“You still dare dodge?” Liu Cuihua didn’t believe him and pinched harder. “Dog-Egg may fool around, but she’s never gone gambling before. If you didn’t take her, would she have even thought of it?!”
Seeing this, Shen Qingyue hurried to smooth things over.
“It has nothing to do with Dad—I went on my own.”
“Don’t worry, Mom. From now on, not only me—Dad definitely won’t go to gambling houses anymore.”
Shen Dabiao raised both hands in a vow.
“From now on, even if someone kneels and begs me to go gambling, I won’t!”
He added silently in his heart:
If I don’t quit, I’ll die. Between gambling and my life—life matters more.
Liu Cuihua remained half-skeptical, but her attention was quickly drawn back to the ox cart.
“This cart really does look nice.”
Shen Er-ya was equally delighted.
“The ox can plow fields and carry people. Mom and Dad won’t have to work so hard anymore, and going to town will be much easier.”
With a gambling addict like Shen Dabiao and an uneducated good-for-nothing like Shen Qingyue, even though the elder sister-in-law had always helped them, the Shen family had remained dirt-poor.
The villagers disliked them.
They wouldn’t dare say anything to their faces, but behind their backs they gossiped plenty.
Now, their days were getting better and they’d even bought an ox cart.
Liu Cuihua was so pleased she wanted to ride it around the village right away and show off. She laughed brightly, her voice growing louder.
“Tomorrow I’ll take this cart into town with Er-ya to buy some things.”
“No!” Shen Dabiao stopped her at once. “Town isn’t safe.”
“What do you mean not safe? I just want to ride the ox cart into town—what’s your problem?” Liu Cuihua snapped back.
Shen Dabiao stammered for a while, not knowing how to explain. The family’s little tyrant had offended Changsheng Gambling House—if they were petty, going to town would be walking straight into a trap.
If he told Liu Cuihua outright—
She’d probably be so scared she wouldn’t sleep.
Shen Qingyue cut in solemnly.
“I had a bit of a quarrel with someone. Dad’s worried they might trouble you, so for the next few days, don’t go into town. If you need anything, I’ll buy it.”
Until the gambling house’s stance was clear, it was better not to let the family enter the city.