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

Jia Qingwu arrived early, and Dong Xiaohuan was pulled out by Aunt Xu. "Madam, it's New Year's Day, so take a break and let the maids take care of it. I promise they won't mess it up for you. Go talk to the mistress and have some snacks. Just wait for the meal."

"What should I do?" Who doesn't cook their own New Year's Eve dinner? Dong Xiaohuan struggled for a moment, feeling embarrassed to ask others for help.

"Mom, come here and try this." Xia Chu shouted in the room. Dong Xiaohuan no longer cared about Aunt Xu and went over.

"What is it?" Dong Xiaohuan walked over and saw a small golden dessert with a small flower blooming in the middle.

"Date paste shortbread." Xia Chu stuffed another into her mouth. "It's delicious."

Jia Qingwu smiled and wiped the crumbs from the corners of Xia Chu's mouth with a handkerchief. "A little dessert made with golden thread jujubes, sister, try it."

"It's really good-looking." Dong Xiaohuan glanced at Xia Chu in a stern tone. "You look so greedy. It's crispy and delicious, not greasy at all. It's really good."

"They are all made by the chef at home, and this one tastes good too." Jia Qingwu pushed another plate of snacks.

Jia Qingwu brought a lot of snacks, including Huangqiao sesame cakes, honeycomb cakes, fire mushroom crispy cakes, and reunion egg yolk crispy cakes. They were all the specialties of the family chef. Every dish was delicious, and Xia Chuyi ate her fill without realizing it. She covered her mouth and burped, earning another glare from Dong Xiaohuan. "You ate so much, aren't you going to eat later?"

Xia Chu burped again and said with a wry smile, "It's still early."

"Drink some tea and eat slowly." Jia Qingwu poured her a cup of tea and stroked it along her back. "It's not like I haven't eaten before."

"Usually there are only one or two dishes. How could I possibly see such a complete selection?" Xia Chu drank two cups of tea before swallowing the snack stuck in her throat. She added water, which made her feel even fuller.

"It's delicious. I'll send some to Qiu Yu and Guan Xu." Dong Xiaohuan thought of her two sons in the study while eating.

"Gong Shang sent it over. He brought a lot. You can eat it, sister." Jia Qingwu came over but didn't see it. She asked Xia Chu and found out that she was reading a book, so she asked someone to deliver it.

"When will Dad and Big Brother come back?" Xia Chu asked.

"Your father is on duty today, I'm afraid he won't be back. There's been no news from Xiaotian, and I don't know if he'll be back." Speaking of this, Dong Xiaohuan thought of Zhang Zhou who was far away in the capital, and the joy of the New Year instantly faded a lot. On the day of the big reunion, the three of them were not at home. But fortunately, there was another Jia Qingwu this year. She smiled, "This year is the first year that sister Qingwu spends with us, so we have to make it lively."

The three of them sat and chatted, and soon Wang Qiuyu slipped out. He was peeking through the door and was seen by Xia Chu, "What are you doing sneaking around?"

"Hehe..." Wang Qiuyu scratched his head and walked in, his eyes falling on the plate of snacks on the table.

"Qiuyu, come and eat." Jia Qingwu liked Wang Qiuyu's quirky appearance and waved him over, placing the dessert plates in front of him. "Tell your aunt whichever one you like, and I'll bring it to you next time."

"Thank you, auntie." Wang Qiuyu squinted her eyes and smiled, "I like them all."

Dong Xiaohuan teased, "Sister Qingwu, why don't you ask him? Have you ever seen a piglet that is picky about food?"

Wang Qiuyu heard this and arched his nose and made a few pig-like grunts, making everyone in the room laugh. Xiatian came back at this time, covered in dust, with two dogs running around behind him. His handsome face was smiling. Seeing Dong Xiaohuan rushing up excitedly, he opened his arms and gently hugged his mother, "Mom, I'm home."

"I thought you weren't coming back!" Dong Xiaohuan punched him twice and wiped away the tears of joy. She left her son's arms and looked at him carefully. He looked darker and thinner. "Why haven't you come back for more than a month?"

"I told you in advance that I would take a leave for the New Year, so I didn't come back on the previous rest day." Xia Tian explained.

"How can this be?" Dong Xiaohuan didn't understand what was going on. She pulled Xia Tian to sit down and said, "Rest for a while. We'll eat later. Are you hungry? Your Aunt Qingwu brought some snacks. They're not very sweet. Try some." Xia Tian didn't eat much snacks. He didn't even like sweets. He didn't even like sweet and sour dishes.

"Aunt Qingwu." Xia Tian greeted Jia Qingwu and said to his mother who was pouring tea for him, "Mom, I need to go wash my face first. It's covered in dirt."

Wang Yong couldn't leave, but Dong Xiaohuan was happy that her eldest son was back. She kept following her son around, and after not seeing him for a month, she felt that he had lost weight and had suffered.

"Brother! Did you come back on horseback? Where's the horse?" Wang Qiuyu followed Xia Tian's buttocks. "Where's the horse?"

"Oh, Zhao Huazhang's horse is still at the door. I'm afraid Da'an and Xiao'an might scare it, so you keep an eye on them." Xia Tian looked at Xia Chu again, "Xia Chu, go open the back door. I'll lead the horse in."

"Okay." Wang Qiuyu responded, rushing over and holding the two dogs' heads. "Be good and don't move. Don't scare the horses. I still have to go find some horses to play with later."

Xia Chu went to the back door, and Xia Tian came in leading the horse. His eyes lingered on Xia Chu's face, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Xiaochu." Xia Tian hesitated for a moment, then took something out of his arms. "This is for you from Zhao Huazhang."

"What?" Xia Chu blinked and looked at the long box. "What is it?"

"Take a look for yourself." Xia Tian tied the horse into the stable. There was no hay at home, so he went to the vegetable garden and plucked a few vegetables and threw them over. "If you don't want it, I'll take it back when I leave."

Xia Chu touched the box but didn't open it. "Brother, take it back. I don't want it."

"Okay then." Xia Tian guessed that Xia Chu wouldn't want it, so he refused it when Zhao Huazhang offered it to him. But Zhao Huazhang insisted on trying it, so he brought it back. "I'll give it back to him."

Xia Chu nodded, "Brother Zhao, haven't you come back yet?"

"No, he has something to do this year. He has to stay in the military camp and can't leave." Xia Tian patted the horse's neck, "Come on, go in. I'll go wash my face."

"Aren't you going to eat the New Year's Eve dinner?" Xia Chu asked again.

"There are quite a few delicious dishes in the barracks today. Zhao Huazhang even bought a few pigs and sheep with his own money." Xia Tian said with a smile, "He said he wanted to roast a whole sheep for dinner."

"Roasted whole lamb?" Xia Chu's eyes lit up, and she felt like eating it. She had never eaten roasted whole lamb before, and wondered if it tasted good.

"You want to eat?" Xia Tian reached out to touch her head, but when he remembered that he hadn't washed his hands yet, he retracted his hand. "I'll buy a lamb tomorrow and ask Xiao Xu to roast it for you."

Xia Chu was delighted, "Really? Wouldn't that be too troublesome? Third brother has never grilled something this big before. I heard that it needs to be marinated, but I don't know how such a big sheep is marinated. Will it be able to absorb the flavor? What if it doesn't taste good? Will the mutton inside be tasteless?" As she spoke, she became worried again.

"Let's try it first. Let Xiaoxu study it and we'll wait to eat." Xia Tian said. It doesn't matter if it doesn't taste good. At worst, he can just finish eating it himself.