How can someone travel through time and space and become a beggar?

Xia Chu sat in bed, lost in thought. She remembered the comfort of hot water washing over her skin, the warm noodles she sipped after washing, and the fried eggs with crispy whites and soft, chewy yolks. But she couldn't seem to recall the taste of them. She only remembered the taste of cold steamed buns, which weren't as fluffy and soft as hot ones, and felt icy cold in her stomach.

"Xiaoliu, what's wrong with you? Didn't you sleep well?" Zhang Zhou turned his head to look at his sister.

"Ah? No," Xia Chu came back to her senses and found that her elder brother and Xiao Wu were not there. "Where are they?"

"I got up early in the morning and didn't ask me to wake you up." Zhang Zhou looked out the window. He also wanted to get up.

Xia Chu noticed his eager eyes and said, "I'll go take a look. Second brother, you take a rest. We'll go together when you're better."

"Yeah." Zhang Zhou nodded and smiled.

Xia Tian found an intact wooden barrel from somewhere and just filled it with water. In addition to water, there were also a lot of debris in the barrel, such as leaves, branches, and grass stems. There was also a pile of debris thrown not far away.

"Xiao Liu, wake up! Let me clean up the well and boil some water for you to drink. I can also give you a bath." Xia Tian cranked the wheel. There was still some debris in the bucket this time, so he skillfully poured it aside. "You talked in your sleep last night and wanted to take a bath."

"I'm still talking in my sleep?" Xia Chu blushed, not knowing when she developed the habit of talking in her sleep. She changed the subject, "Where's Xiaowu?"

"I haven't mentioned it before. Maybe I didn't sleep well last night." Xia Tian smiled, "Xiao Wu said he was going to the flower garden to pull weeds."

"I'll go take a look." Xia Chu said and walked towards the flower garden. Xiao Wu's small figure shuttled among the flowers and plants, and his hands and feet were nimble and he threw out a handful of grass every now and then. "Fifth brother."

"Xiao Liu!" Guan Xu turned around, revealing a sweaty face with a smile on his face. "I'm pulling weeds. My mother said that if there are too many weeds, vegetables won't grow well. This flower must be the same."

There's only so much nutrition in the soil, and the grass will steal it more than the flowers. It's better to pull it out. They didn't seem to think about it these days, but Xiaowu remembered it as soon as he arrived. "Yeah, that's right. But these flowers are sold out today, so I'm afraid we'll have to wait a few days for new ones."

"Brother, the things you fish out of the well can be used as fertilizer if buried in the soil. My mother said so." Guan Xu said without raising his head.

Xia Chu was silent for a while, "Fifth brother, do you miss mother?"

Guan Xu paused for a moment. "Yes, she died tragically. I dreamed of her last night, and she said my new name sounds nice."

"Fifth brother." Xia Chu took two steps forward with some worry.

Guan Xu turned around, looking like she was about to cry, but then she pulled up the corners of her mouth to smile, "I haven't dreamed of her in a long time. It must be because I have the same last name as her. She must be very happy. She said she has been following me all the time, but I just can't see her."

No wonder he kept talking about his mother today. He must have seen his father beat her to death. How did he feel then? How old was he? He looked not much taller than me, and his face was always dark and unwashed. Only a pair of beautiful, petal-shaped eyes were visible. He must have taken after his mother. Speaking of sad things, talking about them too much is just digging into someone's scars. "Fifth brother, go wash your face first. You're the dirtiest person in the family."

"Hey, okay." Guan Xu spread the pulled weeds on the ground. "We can use them for fire after drying them."

Xia Tian was almost done cleaning up. The water in the bucket was crystal clear, and there was no odor. Hearing Xiao Wu wanted to wash his face, he took out a wooden basin from somewhere, rinsed it clean, and poured a basin of water. "Go ahead, I'll go wash that jar and boil water for Xiao Liu to take a bath. It's still early, and the Wang family should have to wait a while."

"Where did you find the basin, big brother?" Xia Chu asked curiously.

"Over there, this bucket and basin feel very sturdy and not broken at all. I feel there are a lot of good things over there. I'll go look for them when I have time in the evening." Xia Tian said as he fetched some water and put it in the kitchen stove. He also picked up some dry grass from the ground and picked up the two stones on the stove that Xia Chu didn't recognize and knocked them.

"What kind of stone is that?" Xia Chu asked curiously.

"Flint." Xia Tian took a long time to light the grass.

"Xiao Liu, do you think I'm clean?" Guan Xu asked after wiping the water off his face.

Xia Chu turned around and saw a delicate and pretty face. If his hair was neatly combed and his clothes were changed, he would definitely be a rich young master. "Fifth brother is so handsome!"

"Hehe, everyone says I look like my mother." Guan Xu smiled, then quickly put away his smile. "My father doesn't believe I'm his child. He always says that my mother had an affair with another man because I don't look like him at all."

Xia Chu frowned and said indignantly: "That must be because your father was born ugly and he is jealous of you and your mother because you are good-looking."

"That's right, he's not good-looking at all, and he's not worthy of my mother." Guan Xu saw that there was still some water left in the bucket, so he washed his hair. After washing his hair, he took off his clothes, leaving only his shorts, and rubbed them in the basin. While rubbing, he said to Xia Chu: "Xiao Liu, take off your clothes too, I'll wash them for you."

Xia Chu was startled and waved her hand to refuse, "No, no."

Xia Tian rushed out of the kitchen, "Why are you taking off your clothes? You, Xiao Liu, go inside and don't look!"

Xia Chu bit her lip and held back her laughter as she walked into the house. Although there was a difference between men and women, Xiaoliu and she were both children, so there was no need to be so nervous.

"Xiaoliu took off his clothes?" Zhang Zhou asked with a smile.

Xia Chu sat down on the edge of the bed, "He's taking a bath and washing clothes."

"It's time to wash," Zhang Zhou said with a smile, "Ever since I washed myself, I've noticed you guys smell weird."

Xia Chu sniffed and said, "Brother is heating up some water for me, but I don't have any clothes to change into."

Zhang Zhou said seriously, "Buy one for yourself."

"We'll see when the time comes." Xia Chu wanted to save money quickly, save a lot of money. She did need to buy some clothes, though, preferably two sets for each person. But they were homeless now, and this deserted house wasn't a place to stay for long; she felt like leaving at any moment.

In addition, they could no longer make do with food. The four of them were skinny and their physical condition was not very good. Fortunately, it was getting warmer these days and it was not too cold.

"Grandma Wang! Brother Xiaocong!" Xiaowu's voice rang out.

"Wow, our little five looks so good after washing them clean?" Grandma Wang looked at him in amazement. She found that none of the children were ugly. She didn't know how the eldest child picked them up, but each one was as beautiful as the other.

"Grandma Wang." Xia Chu walked out of the house, and Xia Tian hurriedly blocked Xiao Wu's naked body.

"Brother, what are you doing?" Guan Xu looked at his brother who was blocking him tightly, puzzled.

"Wash your clothes." Xia Tian turned around and glared at him, then said to Grandma Wang, "Let's go pick some flowers."

"Okay." Grandma Wang responded and went to the flower garden, with Wang Xiaocong following closely behind.

Xia Chu would deliver a bouquet of flowers to Huanniang every morning, and then she would wander around the area selling flowers. By now, many people were familiar with her. Those who wanted to buy flowers would even call her.

"Flower seller, pick me a flower to go with my dress today."

"Give me one too, and go get me a bowl of wontons."

"I want a bouquet. The flowers at home have withered. I can't get used to it if I don't have this fragrance for a day."

Xiachu ran around smiling, handing out flowers. Xiatian was the one who did the shopping. They usually didn't ask for money upfront; they just bought everything and collected it. Since they mostly bought food, the amount wasn't large enough to justify the children's expense. Otherwise, the neighbors would be stabbed in the back.

Some kindhearted people would give them some food. Some asked where they got the flowers, but Xia Chu had already made up an excuse, saying that they were selling them for a gardener and were paid daily.