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

Looking around, it was just a shabby shack made of a few pillars and some straw. The children around her looked no more than five or six years old. Thinking of what happened last night, they must all be beggars, including herself.

The two older ones were not there, probably out begging. They couldn't even afford a bowl of hot water, how miserable must their lives be.

She looked at her hands. There was black mud under her nails. She didn't know how long it had been since she had washed them. Her clothes flake off when she squeezed them. Fortunately, it was cold now, otherwise they would stink.

There was even a clump of mushrooms growing in the corner. She closed her eyes, desperate for a bath. But her aching joints reminded her to give up. She wasn't well yet, and there was no hot water. If she took a cold shower, she probably wouldn't survive more than two days.

"Xiao Liu, are you awake?" Xiao Wu rubbed his eyes and sat up, reaching out to touch her forehead. "You don't have a fever, that's great."

She asked, "Brother, where is second brother?" Her voice was hoarse and weak, as if she would not live long.

"I'm going to find something to eat. Are you hungry?" Xiao Wu covered his stomach. "Bear with it. Why don't you sleep for a while?"

Xia Chu's throat started to itch when he spoke, and he coughed twice and shook his head.

"Xiaoliu? Are you awake?" Grandma Wang came over with a bamboo tube, looked around and walked in.

Xia Chu pulled the corners of her mouth together, revealing a weak smile. Xiao Wu raised his smiling face and greeted, "Good morning, Grandma Wang."

"Okay, good Xiaowu." Grandma Wang forced a smile, touched Xiaoliu's face with heartache, and opened the bamboo tube. It was a cup of yellow water. I don't know what was added, but you could smell the fragrance of grain. "Hurry up, drink it, and you can share it with Xiaowu."

Xiao Wu stretched his neck, took a deep breath, and stepped back. He couldn't smell anything, so he didn't want to eat anymore. "I'm not hungry. Give it to Xiao Liu."

"Thank you, Grandma Wang." Xia Chu's heart warmed. She could tell the old woman was living in extreme poverty, and this noodle soup hadn't come easy to her. But she didn't have the right to refuse it at the moment. Only by surviving could she repay her kindness.

The noodle soup was no longer hot, but just warm enough to drink. She drank half the bottle in a few gulps and handed the rest to Xiaowu. Xiaowu shook his head, "Drink it all, you're sick."

Xia Chu shook her head, "I can't drink anymore."

Xiaowu was a child after all, so he believed it immediately and drank the rest in a few gulps.

Grandma Wang took the bamboo tube back and patted their heads one by one, whispering, "Xiaowu, take good care of your brother."

A younger brother? Xia Chu was certain that her body was that of a girl. But after thinking about it, she realized that little girls were easy targets, so it was normal to call her a boy.

She regained some strength and walked out of the shack. This area was almost entirely made up of shacks, scattered here and there, with a few scattered wooden houses looking out of place.

Judging from the height of the sun, it was probably still early. A few snoring sounds came from the shack next to me. There were no other pedestrians outside, so I had no idea where this place was.

She wanted to go outside, but her physical condition obviously didn't allow it.

"Xiao Liu, are you up?" Da Wa had just returned and saw his sister standing at the door. Her frail body was shaky, but she looked much better. He hurried over to support his sister and whispered, "Big brother got a steamed bun today. Come in and eat it."

"Thank you for your hard work, brother." Xia Chu smiled and followed his strength back to the shack.

Big Boy grinned, feeling something was wrong with his sister, but he didn't think much of it. Inside, he split the bun in half, gave half to his sister, and split the other half again, giving the larger piece to Little Five. He tucked the remaining quarter back into his pocket. A bit of vegetable fell from his palm, which he carefully licked.

Xiaowu seemed accustomed to it, stuffing the whole thing into his mouth in a few hasty bites. Xia Chu looked at the half-eaten bun in his hand. It was called a bun, but it was actually stuffed with something, some vegetable, and it smelled a bit bitter. But they couldn't afford such a small piece of bun, and the remaining piece had to be left for another younger brother.

She broke the one in her hand in half and stuffed the larger one into the hands of the eldest child, smiling and saying, "Grandma Wang gave me some noodle soup. I can't finish it. Brother, please help me eat some."

Da Wa was stunned for a moment and looked at Xiao Wu, "Grandma Wang gave us food again?"

"Give it to me." Xiaowu nodded, his eyes lingering on the steamed bun in his elder brother's hand. He felt a little regretful that he ate too fast and should have shared some with his elder brother.

"Then I'll keep it and eat it when I'm hungry." The eldest boy smiled and wanted to put it in his arms again, but his sister held his hand.

"Eat now. Big brother, you haven't eaten for a long time. What should we do if you collapse from hunger?" Xia Chu deliberately acted very worried and scared, and the eldest brother really took the bait.

"Don't cry, big brother is very strong, nothing will happen to you. I will eat it now, don't be afraid, big brother will raise you." Big Brother coaxed while taking out the steamed bun and eating two bites.

The eldest child looked no more than ten years old and was extremely thin. His exposed arms looked like skin and bones, and his face was equally thin and unrecognizable, looking a bit weird and scary.

For the next few days, the eldest and second children went out to find food. Xiaowu stayed at home to watch over Xiachu. He would pull mushrooms off the beams in the shack and throw them away, afraid to eat them for fear of poisoning them. He would also tidy up the grass in the shack and throw the hairy ones out to dry.

The shack was not only small but also low. When Da Wa stood up, his head hit the roof.

One time, Xia Chu felt itchy and hairy on her face. She opened her eyes and saw a black hairy-legged spider hanging from its silk thread falling down from above. She didn't know if it was going to weave a web on her face. She was so scared that she collapsed and screamed.

The eldest and second oldest kids surrounded her to comfort her, while the fifth kid caught the spider and crushed it to death.

Xia Chu sometimes thought that with so many brothers who loved and protected her, it didn’t matter whether she was a princess or a beggar.

That day, the eldest son brought food to his younger siblings. After waiting for a long time, the second son still hadn't come back. He felt a little uneasy, so he gave him some instructions and went to look for him.

Only Xia Chu and Xiao Wu were left in the shack. Xia Chu had gotten much better after resting for a few days, and although Da Wa and Er Wa didn't care how much they ate, they didn't feel too hungry.

Xia Chu had been teasing Xiao Wu, intentionally or unintentionally, and Xiao Wu was completely unprepared for her, but he didn't know much. He only knew that this place was a corner of Lin'an Prefecture's outer city, and nothing else. But Xia Chu could tell from the details that this wasn't modern society anymore, but rather some ancient dynasty.

As night fell, Xia Chu began to worry, constantly looking out from the doorway. From a distance, the eldest child, supporting the second child, slowly approached. The second child's face was bruised and swollen, with blood under his nose and at the corners of his mouth. His eyes were half-closed, and it looked like he was seriously injured.

"Second brother! Second brother!" Xiao Wu rushed over, his voice already filled with tears.

"What happened to Second Brother?" Xia Chuxin was already worried. She stepped forward to help put Second Brother down. "Who hit him?"

Big Boy gritted his teeth, his eyes red with hatred, "I don't know, I found it in an alley. Xiao Er can't speak anymore, I'm afraid he's gone."

Xia Chu felt a pang of palpitations and touched Erwa's shoulders from the top of his head, but he didn't feel any broken bones or swelling.

She leaned over and listened to Erwa's heartbeat and breathing, comparing it to her own. It was normal. Maybe he was hungry, or in too much pain. But she couldn't rule out other possibilities. She only had some basic common sense and didn't understand anything deeper. "Is there anything to eat?"

Xiaowu squatted beside him with tears in his eyes, holding his second brother's hand and wanting to say something.

The eldest child took out half a cake covered in dust and was about to stuff it into the second child's mouth when Xia Chu stopped him and said, "Brother, go get some hot water, or you might choke and it will be troublesome."

He soaked the steamed buns in hot water and fed Erwa a few mouthfuls, which he slowly swallowed. Xia Chu felt relieved a little. He could eat, so he should be fine.

The three children watched over the second child. In the middle of the night, Xiachu couldn't bear it anymore and fell asleep on the eldest child. The fifth child also staggered and fell on the haystack. The eldest child couldn't sleep. Was he going to lose another brother? Why? Why couldn't he keep him? He had tried so hard.

The next morning, the eldest child thought of his younger siblings who had been hungry for a long time, touched the second child's face and said, "Little Er, survive."

After saying that, he left home in the early morning sun.