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

When Wang Xiaocong arrived with the flower basket, Aunt Wang was nowhere to be seen. Guan Xu had already finished two steamed buns. Xia Tian, worried that his sister might be hungry, advised, "Maybe something delayed her. Can I heat up some chicken soup for you?"

Xia Chu waved her hand and said, "Wait a little longer. I'm not very hungry. Go ahead and do your work."

Xia Tian couldn't force her to eat, so she had to follow Wang Xiaocong. As soon as she reached the door, she ran into Dong Xiaohuan, who was hurrying in with a basket. "Aunt Wang!"

Dong Xiaohuan smiled and replied, "Hey, Xiaotian went to sell flowers? Have you eaten yet?"

"I've eaten. I'm going to sell flowers now." Xia Tian glanced at the basket that looked heavy. His sister should not be hungry anymore.

Dong Xiaohuan invited enthusiastically, lifting the cloth covering the basket. "Want some more? I made quite a lot."

A scent of meat wafted out, and Xia Tian quietly swallowed his saliva, but still refused, "No, we are all full, thank you auntie."

It was not easy to force it. Dong Xiaohuan was worried that the food would get cold, so she could only say, "Okay, you guys go and do your work, I'll go and take care of Xiaochu. Don't eat in the afternoon, I'll bring your dinner, be obedient." After saying that, she went into the house without waiting for Xia Tian to refuse.

"Xiaochu, your aunt is here." Dong Xiaohuan stepped in and opened the food basket. The aroma of food immediately came out.

Guan Xu craned his neck and saw a bowl of fish soup, a bowl of roast pork, and a large bowl of rice topped with a few vegetables. He'd only eaten rice once. He licked his lips quietly and turned his head away. He didn't want to eat it anymore because he couldn't see it. "This is for Xiaoliu's health. I just need to smell the aroma." "There's so much. If Xiaoliu can't finish it, can I have a couple of bites?" "I just had a steamed bun and I'm not really hungry anymore. Just a taste will be fine."

"Rice?" Xia Chu's eyes lit up. They had no means to make rice; they usually ate noodles. The fish soup smelled delicious; it had been ages since she'd had it. The roast pork was greasy, a piece about two fingers thick, trembling as it sat on the table.

Dong Xiaohuan saw their eyes wide open, and she felt a little proud. Her cooking skills were undeniable. "Delicious, right? Ask your brother to come and eat with us. What's his name?"

"This is my fifth brother, Guan Xu. My second brother is Zhang Zhou, the one who fell into the water, you know him, big brother." Xia Chu turned his head, waiting to be fed with full anticipation.

"Xiao Xu, come and eat." Dong Xiaohuan brought a few extra bowls, fearing that it would be difficult to divide the food among the crowd, but unfortunately the two of them had left. She divided the bowl of rice for Guan Xu and asked casually, "What about the third and fourth children?"

Guan Xu took the rice and thanked him, "My third brother was picked up by the old monk, and my fourth brother died of illness." He said it easily and inhaled the aroma of the rice.

Dong Xiaohuan paused when she heard that the fourth child had died, but then she thought about it, considering that many of these wandering people had died, not to mention the children, but also the adults, so it was normal. "I blame myself for being nosy."

"It's okay." Guan Xu was only six years old. He had seen life and death in the beggars' den, so his fourth brother's departure had little impact on his life. He might have been sad at first, but as time went by, he had almost forgotten what his fourth brother looked like.

When summer came, the fourth brother passed away, and now I just feel a little regretful.

Dong Xiaohuan finally realized what was happening. As she scooped up a bowl of fish soup, she asked, "You all have different surnames?"

"We were all picked up by our eldest brother." Xia Chu took a sip through the reed pipe. It was fresh, fragrant and rich. Aunt Wang's cooking skills were really good.

Were they all picked up by Xia Tian? He looked no more than ten years old. Even if he was skinny due to lack of food, he was just a child. I didn't expect him to be such a righteous man. Dong Xiaohuan looked at Xia Tian with a higher regard and served him some rice.

Xia Chu felt a little embarrassed, but this was all she could do in her current condition.

Dong Xiaohuan delivered all three meals a day: steamed buns or pancakes in the morning, rice at noon, and noodles at night. Lunch always included meat; if there was no fish, then meat. Xia Chu and the others felt embarrassed to eat and offered to pay for their meals, only to be glared at by Dong Xiaohuan.

Three days passed quickly. After taking medicine and receiving injections every day, Xia Chu could now sit up and would not vomit as long as he did not shake his head.

Xia Tian and his friends continued to visit the deserted house as usual, but they never saw the young man again. They thought, perhaps he wasn't from this area. He had tricked them that day, and Xia Tian was still hoping the boy would show up again. His sister was so badly injured, how could he not avenge her?

Sun Wusi said that I could go home. He charged me 800 Wen for medical expenses and said that I would have to come back later to get medicine and for examination.

Dong Xiaohuan didn't wait for Xia Tian to get the money. She took out a tael of silver and put it on the counter. "Take it from me."

Xia Tian was stunned. It wasn't that he had never seen so much money before, but it was rare for someone to be so generous and kind to them. Adding to that the food for the past two days, it must have cost a lot of money. He was happy about saving money, but also felt guilty about his thoughts. He whispered, "Aunt Wang! We have money."

"Keep it." Dong Xiaohuan had already asked Doctor Sun how to take care of the child when she returned, and left with Xia Chu in her arms.

"Hey," Xia Tian, still holding the purse, at a loss, walked away, "I came to the wrong Aunt Wang."

"That's right, come to our house, I have something to tell you." The group followed her to Anping Bridge.

"What's the matter, Aunt Wang?" Xia Chu asked curiously.

"Is that so?" Dong Xiaohuan said, still a little nervous. "Your Uncle Wang and I have been married for almost six years, and we have no children. Seeing that you are so well-behaved and cute, I decided to adopt you. What do you think?"

After saying that, she cleared her throat and looked at Xia Chu expectantly. Seeing her expression of shock and bewilderment, she added, "If you don't want to, we can still be like before. It's okay." However, she felt a little disappointed.

Xia Chu's first reaction was that her recent attentiveness had paid off, but then she was overcome with guilt. She didn't even dare look Aunt Wang in the eye, fearing she'd see through her despicable behavior. People only saw her as a child, unaware of the adult soul within her childlike body.

Dong Xiaohuan's attentive care and patience over the past few days have greatly increased Xia Tian's affection for her. This is a great thing. In the future, he will have a father and a mother, and he won't have to go out begging or worry about starving or freezing. Xia Tian was overjoyed and stood up suddenly, "Hurry up and agree, Xiaoliu!"

Zhang Zhou also nodded desperately, "Good news, Xiaoliu!"

Guan Xu was still in a daze, nodding along, not sure if he understood or not.

"Are you willing, Xiaochu?" Dong Xiaohuan asked softly.

"I, I," Xia Chu also wanted to agree, but when she thought of her brothers, she hesitated again.

"Xiao Liu, what's wrong?" Xia Tian was very anxious. She was afraid that Aunt Wang would suddenly go back on her word, and she was also worried that Xiao Liu's attitude would make her unhappy.

"Then, what should my brothers do?" Xia Chu said, and then thought of another question. Aunt Wang and the others didn't know she was a girl and always thought she was a boy. "Besides, I'm not a boy, I'm a girl."

"Don't worry about us, we have been fine all these years." Xia Tian said anxiously.

Dong Xiaohuan was already worried that her brothers wouldn't approve, but when she heard the last part, she was stunned. A girl? She carefully examined Xia Chu's eyebrows. Her eyebrows were curved and thin, which was indeed different from those of the other boys. She hadn't noticed it before because she was so pretty, but when she looked at Guan Xu, who was also very delicate, she was shocked to realize that Xia Chu was indeed a girl. Not only her eyebrows, but her nose and mouth looked more beautiful than those of the other boys, and her frame was smaller.