A peasant girl travels through time with a hospital, rising to become an empress.

"Brother, it's been almost a month, and Liu's Restaurant is still doing so well, while our restaurant's business has dropped by nearly half. We can't let this continue."

Wang Anji's eyes flashed. "Have you inquired about this family's background?"

Wang Anjie was anxious and didn't understand why his elder brother was asking around and delaying action: "I've followed them several times. Their home is in Qinghe County, but they're just a few country folk."

Wang Anji: "Have you gone into the village to inquire?"

Wang Anjie replied, "I didn't go into the village. It's too small, and everyone knows each other. If a stranger goes in, the whole village will notice and pay attention. It would be too conspicuous. I was afraid of alerting them, so I didn't go in."

Wang Anjie's eyes revealed disdain for Liu Yan and the others. "This family's clothes, manner of speaking and acting are all unsophisticated. They don't seem like they have any powerful backers at all."

Wang Anji was still worried. "My third uncle went out of town these past few days. I'll ask him again when he comes back."

The two men's third uncle worked in the Street Office of the county government, and was the second-in-command within the office. Therefore, the Wang family restaurant had been operating smoothly for many years and had never encountered any problems in handling procedures or in the Street Office's supervision. Few other food stalls had ever caused them trouble. If they had, they would probably have been given a hard time by the Street Office when they went to handle procedures in the future.

Wang Anjie said anxiously, "Third Uncle is away on official business and we don't know when he will return! Besides, if we are going to take action, we must not let Third Uncle know about it."

Third Uncle is the second-in-command of the Street Office. He usually takes care of their business, but if he knew they were going to hire someone to injure someone, he would definitely not agree.

"Brother, I can't swallow this insult. Two clueless country folk with no background have stolen so much of our business with their homemade dishes. If we let them continue, how much money will we lose each year?"

Thinking about the business losses, Wang Anji felt a pang of heartache. He wouldn't hesitate to take down two ordinary rural people; his hesitation stemmed from the fear that the family might have connections or backgrounds unknown to others.

But these two didn't seem to have any powerful connections. He had people keeping an eye on them for a while, but he hadn't seen any big shots come to the small restaurant. However, the restaurant owner would occasionally help beggars and children.

Wang Anji lowered his head and pondered for a while. Then he said in a deep voice, "Okay, then go and inform Brother Biao. Tell him to be careful with the force and not to kill him. Just beat him to the point where he needs to be bedridden for a year or two. The main thing is that woman. She is the chef. If she is injured, this restaurant will not be able to stay open."

Wang Anjie immediately responded, "Don't worry, brother. Brother Biao is an old hand. It's not like he's doing this for the first time. There won't be any mistakes."

Wang Anji retorted, "How could there not be any mistakes? Last time, that guy surnamed Liu was beaten so badly that his right leg was crippled."

A fierce glint flashed in Wang Anjie's eyes. "So what if they're disabled? Even if they report it, they won't have any evidence. The authorities won't be able to investigate."

Wang Anji: "Better safe than sorry. If you kill or maim someone, and an accident happens, you will be hard-pressed to escape imprisonment. But if you only injure someone, you can settle it with money."

Wang Anji's instruction to pay attention to the force was not out of consideration for the person being hit, but rather to leave himself some leeway.

Wang Anjie nodded, thinking that his elder brother was being too cautious. They were just small fry; it didn't matter if they got hurt.

After they finished speaking, the two parted ways and left. The old beggar was still leisurely patting his belly on the steps far away, but his eyes were filled with deep disgust.

In this world, the poor suffer, and those without a background deserve to be bullied. He has always hated evil, and in recent years, having wandered between the city and the mountains, he has come to deeply understand the hardships of ordinary people. These two members of the Wang family are just low-ranking officials working in the street office, yet they dare to hire thugs to injure people. They are incredibly audacious!

Even a single meal's kindness should be repaid, let alone the fact that the old beggar had eaten at Liu's restaurant many times.

As the West Market closed and dusk approached, with hardly anyone around, the old beggar leisurely rose, leaped lightly onto the rooftop, and headed in the direction Wang Anjie had gone.

The next day, Liu Yan and Liu Xiong set up their stall as usual. As they were about to close up shop, Liu Yan waited for the old beggar to appear, but the old beggar did not come to Liu's restaurant as usual.

After packing her things, Liu Yan had no choice but to drive the oxcart back to Qinghe Village before the old beggar arrived.

As they left Fulin County, it grew dark, and the night wind was a bit chilly. Liu Yan tightened her collar and yawned.

As they walked along a slightly muddy section of the road, six men in black suddenly sprang out from behind the trees on both sides of the road. Their faces were covered with black hoods, only their eyes were visible, and their eyes gleamed with ferocity. Each of them was holding a wooden stick as thick as an arm.

Upon seeing the men's posture, Liu Xiong's heart pounded wildly, and he knew something was wrong! Liu Yan had never seen anything like this before, and her face turned as pale as paper.

Big Horse and Little Horse were frightened. They swallowed hard, their hands trembling, trying to remain calm.

Liu Xiong shielded Liu Yan behind him, with Da Ma and Xiao Ma standing on either side of him, blocking Liu Yan. Liu Xiong's voice trembled slightly, "Do you gentlemen seek wealth? As long as you do not harm my siblings and me, I will hand over all the money I have with me."

The group completely ignored Liu Xiong's words. The leader pointed at Liu Yan behind Liu Xiong and said in a deep voice, "It's mainly that woman."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiong's heart sank. These six people weren't just robbing people on the road; they had another purpose, and their target was Liu Yan.

Liu Xiong thought quickly and whispered in a voice only a few people could hear, "Xiao Ma, you take your Aunt Liu and go first. Da Ma and I will hold them off."

Big Horse and Little Horse exchanged a glance, and without the slightest hesitation, whispered their agreement.

Liu Yan grabbed Liu Xiong's sleeve, tears welling in her eyes, "Brother, there are so many of them, how can you and Da Ma stop them!"

Liu Xiong gritted his teeth, his eyes resolute, no longer filled with fear. "We have to stop them even if we can't. Their target is you. If you run away, they won't do anything to me!"

Really? You really won't do anything to him?

The brother and sister both knew at this point that it was a lie.

As the eldest brother, he only had one thought in his mind: to protect his younger sister. Once a person has a thought in mind, he becomes armor and is no longer weak.

"Yan, listen to your brother, otherwise none of us will be able to leave."

Da Ma patted Xiao Ma on the shoulder, "Protect Aunt Liu well."

Xiao Ma dared not make any big moves and nodded slightly. Liu Yan was his benefactor, his elder, and a woman. A surge of passion welled up in Xiao Ma's heart. Today, he would risk everything to protect Aunt Liu.

Liu Xiong's hand stealthily reached for a wooden stick on the oxcart. Just as he touched the stick, he heard the leader on the other side shout a stern order, "Go!"

That single word sent a chill down the spines of Liu Xiong and the other three.

Six men, wielding wooden sticks, attacked Liu Xiong and his companions. Liu Xiong grabbed a stick and shouted, "Run!"

Da Ma grabbed whatever tools he could from the oxcart and followed Liu Xiong to meet them.

The little horse pulled Liu Yan towards the woods. Once inside, the trees would provide cover, and the little horse was familiar with the terrain, so there might be a glimmer of hope!

Liu Yan knew she couldn't hesitate or dawdle at this moment, otherwise she would be a burden. She glanced back at Liu Xiong, and a large, hot tear rolled down her cheek.