She couldn’t help but reflect inwardly, mocking herself a little—how ridiculous she was. Just a bit of money, and she was already this happy.
In her previous life, she had been born into a wealthy family and had no real concept of money. Her father and brother ran a large, powerful conglomerate, and the balance on her bank card was so large she could never possibly spend it all.
Yet she rarely spent anything—no dressing up, no makeup, no beauty treatments.
The only thing she truly loved was collecting weapons. Whether it was a cold, gleaming sword or a small exquisitely crafted dagger, she couldn’t put them down. Most of her money had been spent on these treasures.
From childhood, she had lived in luxury and had never experienced the hardship of earning money or the bitterness of a difficult life.
The hardest times she could recall were when she was in the military—enduring intense training and missions. Even so, she never found it unbearable. With her own effort and resilience, she had even earned multiple merits.
This unexpected transmigration was like opening a door to an entirely new world, allowing her to experience a completely different life.
In this life, she silently vowed to make herself better and constantly break through her limits.
In her previous spare time, she had developed a strong interest in cooking and was quite skilled at it.
Every time she returned home, she would personally prepare a lavish meal for her parents and brother.
Because she rarely went home, this became her unique way of expressing filial piety and affection.
She hadn’t expected that in this life, those skills would come in handy.
Today she was in an especially good mood, so she went out to stroll through the market.
The moment she stepped into the bustling marketplace, noisy voices rushed toward her. At that moment, a loud shout from a man beside her caught her attention:
“Live rabbits! Fresh live rabbits! Come take a look!”
Liu Qingyan walked over politely and asked, “Uncle, how much is this rabbit?”
The man smiled and replied, “Little girl, these rabbits are hard to catch. They’re wild and lively in the mountains—hard to find alive. I’ll sell you this one for 70 wen.”
Liu Qingyan looked at the rabbit. It was small, about two jin in weight, not very big.
She asked further, “Is it male or female?”
“It’s a female rabbit. The meat is tender and very tasty.”
Liu Qingyan quickly said, “Uncle, I want to raise it. It would be a pity to eat it so small.”
“Little girl, I’m not lying to you. Wild rabbits are hard to raise. Even when I feed it fresh grass, it won’t eat. You’d better just eat it sooner rather than later.”
“Thank you, Uncle. I’ll buy it.”
Liu Qingyan thought the people in the countryside were truly honest and kind, so she happily paid 70 wen for the rabbit. As a result, the fifty wen she had earned earlier wasn’t even enough.
When she reached a place without people, she placed the rabbit into her spatial pasture.
She then remembered that her home still lacked a rain cape and a bamboo hat—things that would be inconvenient during rainy days—so she went to a shop and bought a set, spending another ten wen.
After that, she bought two wooden basins. After all her purchases, she had not a single wen left.
She thought of going home to eat noodles, but there was no noodle board at home. Helpless, she bought a dough board and rolling pin as well. After that, she was too reluctant to spend any more money, so she slowly rode a ox cart back home.
But when she happily returned, she found the house unusually quiet—no one came out to greet her.
She couldn’t help but feel puzzled. That wasn’t right. Qingyi and Qingyou usually came out immediately to welcome her, and the door was even locked. What was going on?
After leaving her belongings at Uncle Wang’s house, she asked, “Aunt Wang, are Xiaoyu and Tieniu at home?”
Aunt Wang quickly replied, “They’re not at home. They went out to play shuttlecock kicking with Qingyi and Qingyou. They really love the shuttlecock you gave them.”
“Oh, Aunt Wang, I’ll leave my things here first. I’ll go find them.”
“Alright, go ahead. Those kids don’t even know where they’ve run off to.”
Saying that, Liu Qingyan headed into the village.
Not long after walking, she suddenly heard children crying in the distance.
Her heart tightened, and she quickly ran toward the sound.
When she arrived, she saw Qingyou lying on the ground, crying miserably, covered in mud.
As soon as she saw Liu Qingyan, she shouted, “Sister! Brother and Sister Xiaoyu and Brother Tieniu are being beaten! Go quickly!”
Liu Qingyan looked over—and sure enough, several children were entangled in a fight. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be from the Liu family old residence: Liu Dazhu, Erzhu, and Sanzhu.
These three older boys were violently attacking the younger children.
Qingyi’s hair was messy, his body covered in dirt, and several parts of him were injured.
Tieniu had also been badly beaten. Xiaoyu wasn’t injured much, but she couldn’t pull them apart no matter how hard she tried.
Seeing this, Liu Qingyan was instantly furious. A surge of anger rose in her chest. She rushed forward in a flash, kicked Liu Dazhu off Qingyi, and pulled Qingyi up.
Liu Dazhu let out a painful cry.
Immediately after, Liu Qingyan grabbed Erzhu, who was riding on Tieniu, and punched him hard in the abdomen. Erzhu also fell to the ground.
Xiaoyu, grabbed by Sanzhu, shouted anxiously, “Qingyan, beat them! Tieniu and Qingyi are badly hurt!”
Seeing his two brothers defeated, Sanzhu let go of Xiaoyu and ran over to help them.
The three brothers had long been used to bullying Liu Qingyan and her siblings, so they never expected her to fight back today. They immediately felt humiliated.
Liu Dazhu, already sixteen years old and a strong young man, couldn’t accept losing face like this.
So he staggered to his feet, and the three brothers quickly surrounded Liu Qingyan, shouting viciously, “Beat this damn girl to death!”
Having trained hard in her spatial training and nourished by spiritual spring water these past few days, Liu Qingyan was full of strength. She calmly assumed a fighting stance.
Qingyi rushed over and stood in front of her. “Don’t touch my sister!”
Liu Qingyan pulled him aside gently. “Don’t worry, Qingyi. Watch how your sister handles them. Stay back and trust me.”
Liu Dazhu struck first, kicking toward her.
Liu Qingyan sidestepped neatly, grabbed his ankle, pulled him down forcefully while leaning forward, and Liu Dazhu lost balance and crashed to the ground.
At that moment, Liu Erzhu threw a punch. Liu Qingyan quickly blocked it with her forearm, then raised her knee sharply, striking his abdomen. Erzhu cried out in pain, clutching his stomach.