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

Dong Dongdong woke up before dawn and pulled his cousin's arms and legs apart. He endured the biting morning chill and scrambled to his feet. Just as he was about to put on his clothes, he sneezed. Startled, he turned around and found that Qiu Yu hadn't even played a single blow, unperturbed.

I put on my clothes and walked out of the house. The house was completely silent. The sky was dark, with only a faint light shining from the east.

He often visited the Wang family and was familiar with the layout of the house. He first went to the toilet and then prepared to go to the kitchen to wash up. He also boiled some water so that his aunt and the others would have hot water to wash up when they got up.

Unexpectedly, there was already someone in the kitchen, "Brother Tian."

Xia Tian had just heard Dong Dongdong's noise and thought he was just getting up to go to the toilet, after all, it was too early. "Well, go back to sleep, it's too cold."

"I've slept well. Do you want to move the firewood?" Dong Dongdong often did this kind of work at home. He quickly picked up a bundle of firewood and carried it to the kitchen.

"That's enough," Xia Tian lit the fire and left it alone. He dug out a new toothbrush and handed it over, then asked with a smile, "Is Qiu Yu a bad sleeper? Sleeping with him is more tiring than fighting. I'm always afraid he'll squeeze you, so I've been pushing him around all night."

Dong Dongdong was silent. He had switched sides twice last night, but it was no use. Wang Qiuyu was looking for the source of heat, squeezing in wherever there were people.

Xia Tian knew it from his expression and said with a smile, "You should go to your brother Zhou's room to sleep today. You won't be able to sleep well with that kid."

"Okay." Dong Dongdong nodded. He had planned to sleep in Brother Zhou's room yesterday. His aunt had already packed everything, but Wang Qiuyu was not happy about it. He said he hadn't seen him for a long time and wanted to sleep next to him and talk all night long.

It was difficult to take care of the children during the Chinese New Year, so Dong Xiaohuan simply ignored them and let them do whatever they wanted.

"What would you like to eat in the morning?" Xia Tian reached into the pot and looked around. It was just right for washing your face, so he scooped up a ladle and said, "Come and wash your face."

"Thank you, Brother Tian. I'm not hungry now. Anything is fine with me. I'm not picky about food." After Dong Dongdong said this, he rolled up his sleeves and washed his face obediently.

"Let's cook some porridge. Do you want some glutinous rice cake?" Xia Tian looked at the glutinous rice cake soaking in the water tank. He didn't know whether Dong Xiaohuan made it herself or had someone else make it. Glutinous rice cake is not easy to make. It requires beating it with a wooden mallet, which is very strenuous. Xia Tian and Wang Yong had made it before, and even though they were both strong and exercised regularly, they could hardly lift their arms the next day. "Did grandpa make glutinous rice cake this year?"

"We're eating," Dong Dongdong nodded. "We made it together with the villagers. Auntie's portion was also made here." Every year, at that time, the villagers would steam glutinous rice together and beat glutinous rice cakes together in the ancestral hall. Those who had free time would contribute, while those who didn't could pay a few coins. They took turns beating the glutinous rice, so it wasn't particularly tiring.

"Fry and dip in sugar?" Xia Tian scooped up a few pieces and cut them into small cubes.

"Okay." Dong Dongdong went to the stove to help light the fire.

As the aroma of glutinous rice cakes wafted through the air, Dong Xiaohuan got up. Wang Yong, who had been on duty until midnight, was now snoring.

By the time Dong Xiaohuan had finished cooking, everyone in the family, except Wang Yong, had gotten up. The staple food was rice porridge and glutinous rice cakes, and the side dishes were pickled radish strips and leftovers from the New Year's Eve dinner.

We didn't get to eat the roasted whole lamb on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Dong Xiaohuan forbade killing animals on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Yesterday, we went to the Dong family again. Xiatian had wanted to take her to her maternal grandparents' house, but that was rejected. Dong's parents are old, and lamb is difficult to digest and can easily cause internal heat. If they eat it, with Dong's parents watching, that wouldn't be good either.

I happened to bring Dong Dongdong here yesterday. Xia Tian has to go back to the military camp early in the morning on the fourth day of the New Year, so it’s just right to eat today.

That morning, Xia Tian and Guan Xu went to the backyard to kill and skin a sheep. Xia Chu watched over the two children and didn't allow them to join in the fun. The blood from the sheep was splattering, but Wang Qiuyu was curious and pestered Xia Chu to go and see it, to ensure she wouldn't have a nightmare.

When the sheep were slaughtered, Wang Yong got up. He brought porridge and went to the backyard to watch his son work. Skinning was a laborious task, taking a full half hour. He'd save the sheepskin and take it to a fur shop for processing. He could make a leather vest for Wang Qiuyu. The scraps could be made into a pair of gloves, which Dong Xiaohuan was going to give to her younger brother. Dong Xiaomao's hands were frozen from the early morning deliveries.

Wang Yong used firewood to build a rack for roasting lamb at the kitchen door. Guan Xu found the spices he needed and ground them into powder one by one.

"It smells terrible." Wang Qiuyu wrinkled his nose and moved away from the sheep in disgust. "Will it really taste good?"

"You'll know when it's done." Xia Chu was grinding pepper and choked so much that he sneezed several times.

"Leave it here, Xiaochu. I'll grind it." Guan Xu was grinding the dried incense when the smell came from somewhere else. The smell was a bit strange, some people thought it was unpleasant, but Guan Xu thought it was quite fragrant. This thing is expensive, and some people use it to make perfume.

"That's fine." Xia Chu rubbed his nose and couldn't help sneezing again.

After preparing the spices, Guan Xu directly used his hands to smear them on the sheep. The smell of the sheep was masked by the smell of the spices, and the smell of blood was almost gone.

"It doesn't smell bad anymore." Wang Qiuyu came over and started thinking about what to eat later. "Brother Dong, let's eat this leg together later, okay?"

"Okay." Dong Dongdong squatted beside him, wanting to help but not knowing where to start.

"I'm afraid it won't taste good inside." Xia Chu stood by. Guan Xu didn't let others do it, saying that it only took one person to get their hands dirty, and it wasn't a hard job.

"Then cut it open." Guan Xu looked at Xia Tian, "Brother, please help me. Just cut it like this, and I'll smear some inside."

"Here it comes." Xia Tian took the kitchen knife and cut the meat according to Guan Xu's request.

The whole family had never eaten roasted lamb before, so they gathered around to watch the show in wonder.

"Can we finish this?" Dong Xiaohuan looked at the size of the sheep. If not a hundred pounds, it must have weighed at least eighty pounds. It looked like it would take days to finish. Pure meat is very filling. Even the most gluttonous person wouldn't be able to eat much if they only ate the meat.

"I'll take some of the leftovers back to the government office as a treat for the old buddies," Wang Yong said with a smile. "The Jia family has quite a few servants, so they won't have too much to eat. By the way, Xiaochu, didn't you ask someone to invite your mother over?"

"I almost forgot." Xia Chu looked at Cuihua, "Would you like to go there?"

"Okay, I'll go right away." Cuihua bowed and turned to leave.

After finishing the whole lamb, Guan Xu was already smelly and his hands were red from the cold. Dong Xiaohuan ran some hot water and asked him to wash his hands. He washed his hands twice, but the smell was still on his hands.

"Let's use ginger." Xia Chu suddenly remembered that ginger was very effective in removing odors and it didn't leave a ginger smell. As she spoke, she took a piece of ginger, washed it, and crushed it. Guan Xu rubbed it on his hands. Xia Chu poured the ginger powder into hot water and washed his hands. As expected, the odor on his hands was gone.

Dong Xiaohuan sniffed Guan Xu's hand curiously and said with a bit of pride, "My daughter is really smart."