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

"When will Xiaomao leave next time?" Father Dong put down his chopsticks, took out his pipe, and tapped it on the table. Just as he was about to light it, he noticed his new granddaughter staring at his pipe curiously. After a moment's thought, he put it back, lest the child choke.

"Next month, Mr. Luo has something going on at home."

After dinner, they talked about going fishing. Dong Dongdong grabbed Xia Chu's clothes and refused to let go, insisting on going with her sister. Li Xi took the opportunity to come over and said that if the child wanted to go, go ahead and she would watch.

Dong's mother didn't want her to go. She was outspoken and knew the whole story, so if she knew it, it would spread to the next village. "Xiaoxi, have you finished making Xiaomao's shoes? And have you patched up the big tear in his blue robe?"

Li Xi's face froze. "Mom, I'll do it when I get back."

Dong Xiaomao knew what his mother meant and said immediately, "I'm going to wear that blue one tomorrow. You should mend it quickly."

Li Xi stomped his feet angrily and went back to the house.

This time they all brought buckets with them. When they arrived at a section of the river where villagers rarely came, Xia Chu squatted down with Dongdong in his hand and watched from a distance.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Dong Xiaohuan pulled her brother aside and took out the pearl.

Dong Xiaomao's eyes widened, "Sister! Where did you come from?"

"Xiaochu brought them here. She has a few orphans with her. She wants to sell the pearls to help them find homes and register their household registration." Dong Xiaohuan looked at Xia Chu and said, "Don't let your wife see them."

"I know," Dong Xiaomao said, examining the pearl carefully. He had followed Mr. Luo around, scalping goods, and had seen some fine things. He felt around, then held it up to the light, whispering, "This pearl is very valuable. Could it be a keepsake or something? Can I just sell it?"

"It's not a keepsake. Please give me an estimate. I'll discuss it with the child after you confirm it."

"That's fine."

Even though the deal was settled, Dong Xiaomao wrapped the pearls tightly before putting them into his purse, for fear that they would be ruined if they were scratched.

After catching two full buckets of fish, Dong's father pulled out a handful of grass to seal the bucket lids tightly before going back.

It was almost time for Dong Xiaohuan to go home, so Dong Xiaomao borrowed an ox cart and said he would take them there.

"Where did you borrow it from? We..." Dong Xiaohuan wanted to walk back, but thinking of the wound on Xia Chu's head, she turned around and said, "Give me a few cents, don't owe me a favor."

Dong Xiaomao smiled and said, "I know. The cow was newly bought by Qiangzi's family. Don't you know the relationship between him and me?"

Before going to sleep that night, Dong Xiaohuan patted Xia Chu and said, "As for that pearl, your father took it to ask, and he said it could be sold for one thousand taels. But your father is in a government job, so it's not convenient for him to sell it. I'll bring it to your uncle today, and he'll have it appraised. When the time comes, you can decide whether to sell it after seeing how much it can be sold for."

One thousand taels! Xia Chu sat up in shock, "So valuable?"

I hadn't thought too much about it before. Wang Yong had just mentioned that this thing was too valuable. What if someone reported it to the police? "Yeah, I don't know whose child that is. What if they come looking for me?"

At that time, the naughty kid only said that it was from the neighbor, but he didn't know which family it was. One thousand taels is too much. Can it be sold? Will they report it to the police? I originally thought of selling the pearls to pay for medical expenses, but now I am a little hesitant. "I'll go ask my eldest brother and others tomorrow."

"Okay, go to bed early."

Their worries were not unreasonable, but they didn't know that the pearl's owner didn't dare to report it to the police. After all, it was a child who did it, so they could only blame themselves for their bad luck.

As for Zhao Huazhang, the man who lost the pearl, he had no recollection of throwing it at anyone; he simply thought he had dropped it somewhere. It wasn't his anyway, so it was lost. The more distressed the woman was, the happier he was.

His leg was healed, and he could run around again. He'd played everywhere in the house, but it was boring. Looking at the wall, he thought of the kid whose head he'd smashed.

Why not go and take a look? A real man should admit his mistakes. I don't know what happened to that kid. Thinking of the white neck slicked with blood that day, Zhao Huazhang put a few ingots of silver on his body, walked a few steps, and then looked back.

You've lost so much blood, it must be very painful, can you give me some more? He turned around and grabbed two silver bills, which should be enough.

He went there in the afternoon and didn't see the children, but he saw an old woman and a young boy.

Did she move away? Was she scared by him?

Zhao Huazhang felt a little disappointed when he thought about this. He looked down and saw a big man sitting there like a wooden stick. "Hey, who are you?"

Wang Dali heard his voice, glanced sideways, and ignored him. Both his grandmother and brother had told him not to talk to others, ignore them, or even walk away.

"I'm talking to you." Zhao Huazhang took two steps forward.

Wang Dali didn't even look at him.

"Mute? Deaf?" Zhao Huazhang stretched out his hand and waved it in front of him. The other party did not move. Could he be a fool? "Fool?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Dali suddenly swung a punch. Zhao Huazhang was caught off guard and had no time to duck. Fortunately, the opponent had no idea how to react and continued to punch him even though he was squatting.

Zhao Huazhang stepped back and dodged, "Why did you suddenly hit me?"

"Dali is not a fool." Wang Dali grunted.

"What a fool..." Zhao Huazhang muttered, thinking that there was nothing fun to do, so he turned around, climbed over the wall and went back home.

He didn't run into Xia Tian and the others, and Wang Dali wasn't the type to complain. So when Xia Chu came to ask, everyone shook their heads. The escort had never seen any young man.

"Why do you bring this up?" Xia Tian asked puzzledly.

"That's it," Xia Chu pulled him aside, "a pearl. That pearl is extremely valuable and can be sold for a thousand taels. I was thinking about returning it."

Xia Tian didn't feel anything when he heard the amount. It was too large. He usually only handled copper coins, and he couldn't even imagine how much one thousand taels was. "Why should I give it back? He hurt someone and didn't even apologize. We found this pearl, why should we give it back to him? No! Listen to me, sell it and spend it on clothes and food."

One thousand taels, how much should I buy for clothes and food? Xia Chu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Brother, do you know how much one thousand taels is?"

"How much?" Xia Tian only counted to one hundred. The three of them could only count to this much, and it was Xia Chu who taught them.

Xia Chu estimated it, trying to make it understandable to Xia Tian. "One thousand taels of silver weighs one hundred kilograms. It's heavier than you, and maybe even me."

Xia Tian slowly opened his mouth, "One hundred kilograms of silver?"

It took him a long time to come back to his senses, and he hesitated and said, "The beads he carried were so valuable, and he threw them away so casually. It shows that he doesn't care. Are all these wealthy families so rich? Do they eat several plates of meat in one meal?"

You can't imagine how rich they are, they don't just eat meat. Xia Chu thought silently, from what I've heard before, the way those people cook food is something a poor person would never understand in their entire life.