He started by killing his abusive father, and from then on, he embarked on the road to wealth.

Chapter 10 The Source of Trouble

Meng Ranran was older and thought things through more. She felt both relieved and worried; worried about her family's difficult circumstances and what if Meng Xiaocong made them pay for the medicine?

Meng Ali didn't think much of it. As soon as Meng Xiaocong knelt down, he saw Meng Fuqing standing behind him and immediately rushed into Meng Fuqing's arms like a swallow returning to its nest, his eyes brimming with tears, saying, "Big sister, hit him a few more times, he's so bad, such a filthy devil!"

A smile flashed across Meng Fuqing's eyes. "He's a filthy ghost, and you're a crybaby. Stop crying and stand aside."

Feeling wronged, Meng Ali moved to the side, rubbing her eyes and muttering, "I'm not a crybaby..."

Meng Fuqing walked up to Meng Xiaocong, patted Meng Ranran's head to comfort her, and then looked down at her and asked, "What did you just say? Say it again."

Meng Xiaocong was in so much pain that she couldn't stand up for a moment. Her eyes were bloodshot from holding back her tears, so she simply sat down on the ground. "You—you dare to hit me? Meng Qingqing, do you believe I'll tell my grandparents?"

Meng Ranran had recovered by then, and upon hearing this, she wanted nothing more than to spit on him. "You only know how to run to adults when you're bullied? You're really manly!"

Meng Xiaocong didn't care about any manliness; he was in so much pain that all he wanted to do was cry out loud.

"Your sister whipped my leg like this..."

"Did I draw your name?" Meng Fuqing interrupted him. "I advise you not to lie through your teeth, or I won't mind doing as you wish."

Meng Xiaocong also sensed that something was amiss.

The sharp pain turned into a dull ache in his bones, but the intense pain of that moment was deeply imprinted in his mind, making him fear that he might not be able to stand up again.

He rolled up his trouser leg and took a look, and was dumbfounded—there wasn't even a red mark left on his calf.

His expression, as if he was about to cry, froze on his face. Something had clearly hit his leg, and he could still feel the pain. How could this be…?

Seeing this, the children who had witnessed Meng Fuqing's actions were also completely bewildered. Could it be... that they had seen wrong?

"Xiaocong, were you so scared that you knelt down?" one of the friends asked uncertainly.

Meng Xiaocong wasn't that cowardly. He angrily retorted, "I didn't even see her make a move, what are you so scared of?!"

Seeing that infighting was about to break out, Meng Fuqing said coldly from the side, "Didn't you say that my father only beats his own family? Well, here he is, coming after you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, almost everyone broke out in a cold sweat. Despite the bright sunshine, the surroundings felt eerily cold.

Immediately afterwards, several screams rang out, startling the birds in the forest into flapping their wings and flying into the sky.

Meng Ranran and Meng Ali stared in disbelief as the children who had caused them trouble ran away screaming, and then belatedly became frightened.

Just as they were about to say something, their eldest sister swung the vine in her hand toward Meng Xiaocong, who was running awkwardly. The vine accurately wrapped around Meng Xiaocong's arm, and the next moment he fell to the ground with a thud, crying out "Ouch, ouch!"

Meng Fuqing lifted her leg and walked towards Meng Xiaocong. Meng Xiaocong was already terrified and couldn't keep her mouth shut. She kept backing away as she looked in Meng Fuqing's direction.

"Meng Fuqing, what exactly do you want?!" he shouted in extreme grief and indignation.

Why are you causing us trouble?

These kids who came to cause trouble never liked playing with them before, so there's no reason for them to suddenly come knocking on their door and bully them.

Meng Xiaocong looked uneasy for a moment, avoiding eye contact, and muttered, "What else could it be? I just don't like the look of them..."

"I don't like the look of you," Meng Fuqing repeated. "I don't like the look of you either, but I won't do it myself. At worst, I'll just burn more paper money tonight, right?"

Meng Xiaocong was really about to cry now, her voice trembling with sobs, "Meng Fuqing, my family even helped your family, don't go too far!"

Meng Fuqing didn't care, "Will you talk or not?"

"...I want to help Linlang get revenge, okay? Linlang took the initiative to befriend you, and you're the one who doesn't know what's good for you!"

Meng Xiaocong wiped away her tears angrily, feigning strength as she said, "It was my own decision to come. It has nothing to do with Linlang. If you want to do anything, just target me, don't drag Linlang into it..."

"Get lost," Meng Fuqing said calmly.

Meng Xiaocong, who had just been putting on a brave face, quickly got up from the ground and limped away.

"Sister, why would my cousin cause trouble for us?" Meng Ranran asked, puzzled. This didn't seem like something Meng Linlang would do.

“Didn’t you hear him say that he acted on his own?” Meng Fuqing said. “Let’s go home.”

Meng Linlang's every word and action differed from her memory, but she didn't know what caused this change.

Meng Ali followed closely behind her, grinning, "Big sister, you're really good at hitting people!"

"Big sister, where are you going?"

"Big sister, how come there are rabbits here... two of them!"

"Big sister, is the rabbit ours? Can we eat it?"

"Big sister, what's this?"

……

Meng Fuqing stopped and looked at Meng Ali, who was drooling over the two dead rabbits.

Do you want to eat meat?

Meng Ali blinked and nodded vigorously.

"Then walk properly and don't talk."

Now, no matter what Meng Fuqing says, Meng Ali will agree unconditionally.

He held his two older sisters' hands and walked happily towards home, humming a tuneless little tune, looking very cheerful.

Meng Ranran was also excited to see her sister's harvest, but her sister was a little unfamiliar to her today, and she didn't know what to say for a moment.

After a long pause, she finally managed to stammer out, "Sister, did you hit him just now?"

"He only got a minor scratch, who would have thought he was so afraid of pain, acting like he was trying to extort money from us?" Meng Fuqing said without batting an eye.

In reality, she was quite strong. However, when the vine touched Meng Xiaocong's skin, her healing ability was also transmitted through the vine. The surface was intact, but the inside would hurt for a long time. It could hurt people without leaving any evidence, and it was also easy to use to fight.

In ancient times, such a place with laws and regulations was the perfect place, and Meng Fuqing liked it very much.

Meng Ranran recalled her sister's words when she was trying to scare people, and goosebumps began to rise again. She quickly asked about the rabbit.

Meng Fuqing simply replied, "I was lucky."

Needless to say, the ginseng was incredibly lucky.

When the three of them returned home, Shan Qiyu had not yet come back from the fields.

Meng Fuqing took the ginseng out of his basket, washed it briefly, and then placed it under the eaves to dry.

"Ali, go to the field and tell Mother that we're having rabbit stew for lunch, and tell her to come back early."

Meng Ali hopped in agreement and ran out of the yard like a rabbit.

We usually only eat two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, and lately we're lucky if we get one meal a day.

Having a meal at noon was something he never dared to dream of.

"Sister, what can I do?"

"I'll take care of the rabbit; you just need to start the fire later."

"it is good."

The adult rabbit wasn't small. Meng Shaoyuan had already sold the iron pot at home, leaving only an old earthenware pot. Meng Fuqing planned to stew one, and then clean up the other one to roast.

While cleaning the rabbit, Meng Ranran squatted to the side washing wild vegetables, while also keeping an eye on her sister.

Skillfully skinning, rinsing, gutting, and chopping the meat into appropriately sized pieces, then rubbing it with salt...

"Sister, you're amazing," she said sincerely.

Everything that happened today was something she never dared to imagine before.

Neither her mother nor her older sister had a fierce personality, and her younger brother was still small, so she thought that if she was stronger, she could protect them more.

She never imagined that dealing with bad guys didn't have to be so aggressive or ruthless.

Meng Fuqing glanced at the well-behaved Meng Ranran. The child's eyes were like black grapes, full of purity and dependence.

“In the past, my older sister was too weak to discipline others because she didn’t have enough to eat. Now there are only four of us in our family. We can’t rely on Mother alone. Someone else has to support her.”

That explains her transformation.

Meng Ranran smiled and said, "Ranran will also protect Mother, Sister, and Brother."

"You should just grow up properly first."