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

"What's wrong with that? If you want to change your household registration, I can ask my father how to change from slave status to free status." After Xia Chu finished explaining, he asked them to get up again.

Cuihua and Cuiya looked at each other and saw tears of disbelief in each other's eyes.

At that time, people were divided into five classes: the first class, of course, was the nobility; the second class, the common people; the third class, the merchants; and the fourth class, the slaves. Slaves had no separate household registration, or indeed, no household registration at all. They were usually registered under their master's name, but without even their names. To become a freeholder, a slave could either achieve great merit or pay a large sum of money to redeem themselves. In either case, their master could not prevent them. However, slaves were not allowed to own private property, and ordinary slaves had no chance of achieving merit, so their future was essentially hopeless.

The last method is for the owner to return the contract of sale. Then you only need to pay a small amount of money and go to the government office to transfer your body back to a good household.

When Cuihua and Cuiya received their household registrations, they burst into tears. Who could understand them? Born as human beings, yet not even their own bodies belonged to them?

"I will serve you for the rest of my life." Cuihua choked, but her eyes and tone were extremely firm.

"Me too." Cui Ya felt as if she had done nothing, but just by following Cui Hua, she actually benefited from such a great honor.

The two of them quickly composed themselves and solemnly put their household registrations into their clothes on their chests.

Cui Ya wiped away her tears and said, "From now on, we will be free."

"I never dared to imagine that there would be such a day." Cuihua forced a smile, and a few tears rolled down her eyes.

"Fortunately, I listened to you that day, otherwise such a good thing would not have happened." Cui Ya was extremely grateful.

"Yes." I just wanted to try it out, to change places. Coming to Lin'an, no one came to me crying poor and asking for money anymore. Cuihua couldn't help but take out her household registration card again and read it over and over again.

"Stop looking, let's go back quickly." Cui Ya now just wanted to go back and kowtow to the young lady.

The two happily returned to Wang's house. Xia Chu was picking out vegetables for lunch in the vegetable garden. When the two maids came back, they fell to their knees, which scared her. "What are you doing?"

"Thank you, Miss." They said in unison.

"Haven't I thanked you several times?" Xia Chu said helplessly, "Go pick the vegetables and get up quickly."

Cuihua and Cuiya responded and took it with a smile.

Lunch was made, and Jia Qingwu hadn't left the house because of what happened yesterday. Xia Chu joined them in chatting, and after a while, there was a knock on the door. Da'an called out to Xia Chu twice and went to open the door himself.

"Is someone coming?" Jia Qingwu had always thought these two dogs were amazing. They could understand simple words, open doors, and deliver things. When Xiao An wanted someone to play with him, he would act pitiful and act like a child.

"It should be an acquaintance." Xia Chu didn't even get up. If it was a stranger, Da'an would shout towards the door, but if it was an acquaintance, he would shout to the family members, as if reporting: I'm going to open the door.

The one who came was Zhao Huazhang, leading the horse that Xia Chu had left behind on the road last time. "Madam Wang, the horse is here for you."

"Thank you." Xia Chu didn't expect that he would send her off personally, and now it was lunchtime, so naturally she wanted to keep him for lunch.

Zhao Huazhang politely declined a few times, and Jia Qingwu just wanted to take a look at this young man, so she also asked to keep him.

"Then I'd better obey your command." Zhao Huazhang felt a little nervous and sat down properly with his eyes lowered.

"I'll go to the kitchen and talk." Xia Chu greeted and walked away.

Jia Qingwu studied Zhao Huazhang. She had heard of the Zhao family before, having attended a banquet. The Zhao family's two legitimate sons were both very successful, one a scholar and the other a warrior. The eldest was an official in Beijing, and the second was an inspector in Lin'an Prefecture.

The Zhao family's second wife had a son and a daughter. The son was still in school, and the daughter was still young. However, she had never seen them in person. With her current status, she certainly couldn't see them.

Zhao Huazhang felt the other person's gaze and sat even straighter.

Jia Qingwu smiled and broke the silence, "How old are you, Mr. Zhao?"

"25." Actually, it's almost 26.

"Hasn't the family arranged a marriage yet?" Jia Qingwu wondered. Rumors had it that the Second Young Master Zhao was extremely picky and arrogant, looking down on everyone. But today, she saw that his eyes were clear and upright, and his brows held a hint of the sharpness typical of a military commander. He didn't seem arrogant. If he were truly arrogant, why would he condescend to personally deliver the horse?

"I've tried to make arrangements, but I just didn't have the heart to." Now that he had someone else in his heart, he didn't want to deal with it even more. Grandma had tried both soft and hard tactics, but he'd hidden away in the military camp several times and refused to return home. Ultimately, the old lady couldn't persuade him, so she gradually let him go.

"But is it too picky?" Jia Qingwu said with a smile.

Zhao Huazhang looked in the direction of the kitchen, suddenly stood up and bowed, "It's not that I'm picky, but I have someone in my heart. It's just that she doesn't seem to have this intention. My mother passed away early, and I don't know what to do. I can only wait and see." After saying this, he felt relieved.

Seeing his sincere eyes, which seemed to be asking for help, Jia Qingwu paused for a moment.

"Hey, why isn't Brother Zhao sitting down?" Xia Chu came over from the kitchen. Seeing that the two of them didn't look like they were chatting, and the atmosphere was strange, she couldn't help but feel curious. "What are you talking about?"

Zhao Huazhang's back stiffened and he didn't know how to answer.

"Just chatting." Jia Qingwu smiled. "What delicious food should we make for lunch? Young Master Zhao has been very helpful this time, so we must treat him well."

"My uncle sent a big fish and beef this morning. I'm going to make fish head and tofu soup, boiled fish fillets, and stewed beef." Xia Chu said with a smile, "Last time I saw that Brother Zhao liked to eat roast duck, so Cui Ya went to the store to get some, and will also eat it with pancakes later."

"Thank you for your trouble." She actually remembered what he liked to eat. Could it be that...? Zhao Huazhang pursed his lips, secretly delighted.

Xia Chu had considered getting some wine, but since there were only two women in the house, it would be inconvenient for them to drink with her, so she gave up. Zhao Huazhang was a frequent visitor and an old acquaintance, so there was no need to be so polite.

During the meal, Xia Chu told Jia Qingwu about how someone had hit her head the first time they met, her words tinged with teasing. Zhao Huazhang could only bow and beg for mercy, but he was also worried that this incident would make Madam Jia have a problem with him, and he felt a little uneasy.

Fortunately, Jia Qingwu looked normal and asked about the follow-up.

Zhao Huazhang breathed a sigh of relief, but his ears turned red when he heard Xia Chu talking about the stupid things he had done while guarding the stall.

The meal was a great success for both host and guest. Xia Chu spoke of her childhood with a certain amount of pride. Although she was lazy now, she had indeed been very diligent as a child.

Jia Qingwu had heard these things several times, but as long as they were related to her daughter, she never got tired of hearing them.

After dinner, Zhao Huazhang was ready to leave, and Jia Qingwu asked Xia Chu to see him off. She had a desire to bring him together. After all, from the stories the Wang family had pieced together, Zhao Huazhang seemed to have good character and a respectable family background. Although he had hurt Xiao Xiaxia in childhood, it wasn't intentional. Given his family's financial situation, if he had tried to force her into marriage, the Wang family wouldn't have been able to resist. But he'd just shown up when he had time, his clumsiness frustrating.