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

The lights in the yard lit up one after another: the stone lanterns at the door, the sunset lanterns hanging under the lampposts, and the lanterns with the word "Fu" under the eaves. The warm yellow light illuminated the entire yard, like the sun rising.

"Junyang, take your brothers and sisters to set off fireworks." Mrs. Jia smiled and waved her hand.

Jia Junyang bowed to his mother and said, "Let's go play."

Jia Junjie was the most enthusiastic, jumping up and pulling Jia Junyang along as they went. Jia Wanqing quickly followed, and after greeting the elders, Jia Junting and Jia Wanlin followed closely behind.

Xia Chu looked at Jia Qingwu, saw her wave her hand, and followed her.

The front yard was spacious and not overgrown with flowers and trees, making it perfect for this purpose. The servants brought out the fireworks and placed them under the porch, allowing the masters to choose whichever they liked.

Gunpowder was strictly controlled and unavailable to the general public. Happy occasions at home were usually celebrated by burning a few bamboo sticks to make a loud noise, but this had rarely been seen since the beginning of summer.

Jia Wanqing, however, knew all these things by heart. She introduced them to Xia Chu one by one and asked her what she wanted to play.

The names of these fireworks are varied, such as Golden Cup and Silver Platform, Heaven and Earth Lantern, Water Lotus, Ground Mouse, Water Mouse, White Peony, Wasp Out of the Nest...

Xia Chu couldn't figure it out at all, so he could only shake his head and say that he would take a look first and choose later.

When she said that, Jia Wanqing nodded and picked out the ones she liked and gave them to her brother to set off. Although she liked them, she was also afraid of exploding herself, so she always let her brothers set them off.

Jia Junting took it, took the lit incense from the servant, and lit it for his sisters one by one.

Xia Chu looked at the fireworks, marveling at the fact that such beautiful fireworks existed in this era. Cuihua brought her a chair and asked her to sit and watch.

Jia Wanqing jumped and clapped her hands, her little mouth never closing, constantly letting out laughter of exclamation and surprise.

Jia Junting rarely stopped her and followed his sister's wishes to play all the movies she wanted to watch.

Jia Junjie didn't need any help at all, he just played it to his heart's content.

"What does Wanlin want to watch? Brother will show it for you." Jia Junyang looked at his sister and asked.

Jia Wanlin pursed his lips and smiled, then whispered a few.

Amid the endless sounds of explosions, fireworks are constantly opening before our eyes. The colors and patterns are not as rich as modern ones, but they have their own unique beauty.

Xia Chu held the hand warmer, thinking of Zhang Zhou. What was her second brother doing now? She had invited him over several times for New Year's Eve dinner, but he had always declined. She had originally planned to spend the night with him, but he had persuaded her to stay. He said it was so hard to get back to the Jia family, and besides, he would be back next spring. It was just a meal, and it would be the same if he ate alone.

Jia Qingwu said she had accompanied Xia Chu to Zhang Zhou's place for dinner, but Zhang Zhou said he had a drink date that day. When asked who it was, he simply said he didn't know the person.

Xia Chu thought her second brother was strange. He'd been visiting her so often since arriving in Huizhou. Recently, when she went to look for him, he was often away. He'd say he was busy, but she had no idea what he was busy with. Who would eat and drink with him during Chinese New Year? Didn't everyone else celebrate the New Year? Was he lying to reassure me?

Zhang Zhou didn't lie to her, he really had an appointment.

This person was called Yao Hezhi, and he lived alone in the Confucius Temple while studying. The two met at a poetry gathering and became good friends due to their similar interests.

Yao He's family was large, with uncles, brothers, sisters-in-law, and younger sisters, all of whom lived together in a single family. Disliking the noise, he moved to the Confucius Temple just to study peacefully and prepare for the imperial examination the following year.

As for why he didn't go home for the New Year and invited Zhang Zhou to have dinner and drinks with him, Zhang Zhou didn't ask any more questions. Every family has its own problems, so why bother poking at someone's sore spot?

Yao Hezhi was glad to have his good friend Zhang Zhou by his side, so he wouldn't be too lonely during the New Year.

The Confucius Temple didn't prohibit meat, so the two men bought some food and wine and ate in Yao Hezhi's room. After getting tipsy, Yao Hezhi loudly recited a few lines of poetry. Zhang Zhou drank quietly, thinking of his family in Lin'an.

He had witnessed Xia Chu's time at the Jia family and was not too worried.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Jia Qingwu, a married woman, had nowhere to go, so she stayed home. When her nephews and nieces came to pay New Year's greetings early in the morning, she distributed red envelopes.

Xia Chu was worried about Zhang Zhou, so she said goodbye to Jia Qingwu, took the food prepared in the kitchen, and went to find her brother.

Zhang Zhou had been drinking until midnight and had just woken up with a throbbing headache. The servant brought him some sobering tea, but it didn't help.

"Master Zhang, your cousin is here." The servant came to report. Zhang Zhou adjusted his expression and went out to greet her with a smile.

"Second brother!" Xia Chu walked over quickly. Before he got close, he could smell a faint smell of alcohol. He immediately frowned, "You didn't just come back? You still smell like alcohol."

Zhang Zhou tilted his head and sniffed, but couldn't smell anything. He was surprised and said, "He came back at night, showered and changed clothes before going to bed. How could there still be a smell?"

"A little bit." Xia Chu sat down without hesitation, "Have you eaten? I brought lunch." As she said that, she waved her hand, and Cuihua opened the lunch box and placed the dishes one by one.

Zhang Zhou was a little amused and asked, "Why did you bring food?"

"I specially asked someone to make all your favorite dishes." Xia Chu rolled her eyes at him. "I asked you not to come yesterday, and the food was so delicious yesterday. I was half full after just one bite, but it's a pity you didn't get the chance."

Zhang Zhou laughed, thinking to himself, who is as greedy as you? What's the pity? But he didn't say it out loud. He just cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for remembering me, little sister."

"Do you have a headache? You don't look well." Xia Chu stared at him for a few seconds and poured him a bowl of soup. "Drink the soup first to warm your stomach. I'll go back and complain to mom about you drinking so much."

"You're so old and still complaining?" Zhang Zhou knew she was joking, and his heart warmed as he took the bowl and took a sip. He couldn't tell what the soup was, but it was rich and not greasy, and it did make his stomach feel better.

"Are you just taking advantage of your mother's absence?" Xia Chu glanced at him and picked up a few more dishes for him.

"Good sister, please forgive me this time." Zhang Zhou begged for mercy.

Xia Chu snorted softly, unable to suppress her laughter. The two siblings shared a heartwarming meal together. Xia Chu, feeling guilty, spent the entire afternoon with Zhang Zhou. If it weren't for her, her second brother wouldn't be unable to return home. He was all alone in this strange place during Chinese New Year, and no one cared when he went out drinking.

"Go back quickly, it's getting dark." Seeing that they had already finished dinner and Xia Chu still had no intention of leaving, Zhang Zhou couldn't help but urge him.

Xia Chu looked at the sky and didn't want to leave. She wanted to spend more time with her brother. But it wasn't appropriate for her to stay here, and she was struggling with it. "Why are you rushing me? You want to go out for drinks tonight?"

Zhang Zhou didn't expect that she would think of this again. He smiled helplessly and said, "If you don't want to drink, go back quickly."

Unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking, someone came in from outside and said, "Brother Zhang, I brought some good wine. I won't go home until I'm drunk today."

Xia Chu narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhang Zhou with an expression that said, "I've caught you."

Zhang Zhou looked at the two jars of wine in Yao Hezhi's hands and felt that he could not wash them away even if he jumped into the river.