After returning home in total triumph, Li Anquan looked at his younger sister, Li Dujuan, who was standing by the stove and repeatedly licking her lips. Only then did he realize that she had not yet eaten.
Feeling a pang of heartache, he ruffled Li Dujuan's hair with a smile. "Silly girl, don't wait for me to eat next time. If you're hungry, just eat first!"
Seeing her brother had returned, Li Dujuan nodded in agreement and immediately ran to the kitchen to fetch bowls and chopsticks.
The coarse cornmeal porridge was scratchy on the throat, something Li Anquan, a modern man, found hard to get used to. It was fine to have it occasionally, but if he had to eat this every day, he wouldn't stand for it.
Li Dujuan ate until her little belly was round. Once full, she grew drowsy. She obediently went to the bedside, laid out their bedding, and prepared to sleep.
After cleaning up the dishes, Li Anquan finally had the time to check his Trading System. The interface was simple, with only four options: Buy, Sell, Draw, and Dimension.
After a brief exploration, Li Anquan discovered that the entire System mall operated based on modern-day prices. Buying things was not very cost-effective since he was using 1960s money to pay 21st-century prices. Likewise, selling items was based on 21st-century pricing, but at a 10% discount on the purchase value. Then there was the lucky draw, which cost 100 yuan per attempt—undoubtedly a massive fortune in this era.
The top of the Dimension interface displayed Li Anquan's current cash balance: 1,250 yuan. He suddenly slapped his forehead, remembering the money his mother had hidden in the house.
Li Anquan immediately ran to the bed, pried up a brick under the bed frame, and pulled out a small cloth bag. At the same time, he heard the System’s prompt:
[Congratulations, you have obtained 752 yuan in cash. Current funds: 1,802 yuan!]
He stored all the cash in the space provided by the System and prepared to lie down to carefully study what items he should purchase.
Just as he was about to rest, a rapid knocking sounded at the door, accompanied by Qin Huairu’s frail, pathetic voice. "Anquan, are you asleep? Could you open the door for me? It’s Qin Huairu. I came specially to apologize for what happened today!"
A dark line appeared on Li Anquan’s forehead. What good could Qin Huairu possibly be up to?
"I'm already asleep. Let’s talk about whatever it is tomorrow. It’s just me and my sister at home—it’s not safe. You should leave!"
Qin Huairu had already prepared her script, but she truly hadn't expected Li Anquan to refuse to open the door for her. She was not a person who gave up easily. "Anquan, how can you tell such a lie with your eyes open? You’re talking, so how can you be asleep? Open the door; I have things I want to discuss with you!"
Li Anquan had no intention of opening the door and shouted toward the entrance instead, "Can’t I talk in my sleep? Get out of here. Don't you know how annoying you are?"
Qin Huairu was quite skilled at manipulating men, and her specialty was feigning helplessness and shedding tears. But this little brat, Li Anquan, gave her no opportunity whatsoever; he wouldn't even let her into the room.
Not having expected to be shut out so thoroughly, and with her usual tactics failing, Qin Huairu could only sigh at the door. "Anquan, I was wrong about what happened earlier. I'll buy you some candy tomorrow as an apology!"
What good intentions could she possibly have? This was surely a case of a weasel paying a New Year’s call to a chicken!
Li Anquan simply didn't respond, and in the end, Qin Huairu had no choice but to return home, feeling indignant.
Naturally, the other person feeling just as indignant was He Yuzhu. He was not a man who took things lying down! In the original story, he had dealt with Xu Damao quite ruthlessly; he wasn't the type to suffer a loss.
Under the cover of the quiet night, He Yuzhu snuck out of his house. He crept to the front courtyard and stood before Li Anquan’s home, pushing hard on the door, but it remained locked.
A plan formed in his mind. He knocked loudly on Li Anquan’s door, and immediately after, dashed back to the Middle Courtyard to secretly watch the situation at Li Anquan's door.
Hearing the knocking, Li Anquan asked with suspicion and impatience, "Who is it? It’s so late, we’re already asleep! Whatever it is, talk about it tomorrow!"
He received no reply.
Li Anquan had to climb out of bed, go to the door, and peek through the gap, but there was no one there. His pupils contracted; he realized someone was deliberately causing trouble. Since it was just him and his sister, they were indeed vulnerable. Putting together the fact that he had put Qin Huairu, He Yuzhu, and Yi Zhonghai in their place earlier that day, he understood in an instant that He Yuzhu was behind this.
He couldn't do anything to He Yuzhu right now. Even if he reported it to the police, he would have to wait until tomorrow, and he had no evidence. Thinking of this, Li Anquan rubbed his chin, and a lightbulb went off in his head.
He quickly opened the mall and searched for thumbtacks. A box of 100 thumbtacks for 1.5 yuan—a bit expensive for this era, but to punish someone like He Yuzhu, Li Anquan was more than willing to spend the money.
After buying the thumbtacks, Li Anquan used the Dimension to scatter them directly in front of his door. All that was left was to wait for He Yuzhu to take the bait and see if he dared to harass him again.
Li Anquan wasn't in a hurry to sleep. He had to teach He Yuzhu a sufficient lesson; if he couldn't beat him in a fight, he would have to outsmart him.
About 15 minutes later, He Yuzhu, hearing that Li Anquan hadn't opened the door after his initial knock, assumed that Li Anquan was now terrified and preparing to go back to sleep.
He Yuzhu returned to the front courtyard. Just as he prepared to harass Li Anquan again, a sharp, stinging pain shot through his foot, followed by a scream that erupted from his throat.
"Ah!"
Inside the room, Li Anquan revealed a triumphant smile. Although he couldn't see the situation outside, the person had clearly fallen into the trap, and judging by the voice, it was undoubtedly He Yuzhu.
With agonizing pain shooting through both his soles, He Yuzhu sat backward on the ground, quickly ripping off his shoes. Peering through the dim moonlight at the shiny tips of the thumbtacks embedded in his soles, he was instantly filled with rage. "You little brat, you're asking for death! How dare you set me up!"
But then he realized that he had been the one to start it, and even if he made a scene, he would be the one in the wrong.
He Yuzhu felt incredibly unwilling, but the pain in his feet made him afraid to continue the disturbance, let alone approach the door again. He had to pick up his shoes and, enduring the excruciating pain in his soles, hobble back to the Middle Courtyard, vowing to himself that this was not over. He refused to believe he couldn't handle a mere brat.
Li Anquan watched through the door gap. Only after seeing He Yuzhu leave did he use the Dimension to collect all the thumbtacks.
It was truly difficult for a teenager to survive in this era; one had to have at least some ability to protect oneself. With people like He Yuzhu, there were bound to be others even more ruthless. What would he do if someone really had malicious intent?