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

The dart leader narrowed his eyes, "Are you serious?"

"Of course! I can give you a down payment!" Xia Chu said, pulling off her purse and throwing it over. She had taken five taels of silver with her today, originally intending to leave it for her grandmother.

The escort leader looked at the silver in his hand and seemed to be thinking.

The servant beside him was already panicking, and said in a timid tone, "You can't do this! The young master won't let you go!"

Xiao An licked his hind legs and whimpered a few times.

Xia Chu suddenly became anxious; Xiao An's injuries were more important. "Here's the money. I'm going to take the dog back to heal." She noticed the escort was hesitant. "This money will cover your medical expenses. It should be enough. This is your fault in the first place. I was just passing through. My family has some influence in Lin'an. If you really want to touch me, my father and brother will not let you go."

After she left, no one would know each other anymore. Xia Chu felt no pressure to brag a little and scare them.

The escort leader lowered his head in thought for a moment, sizing up the woman across from him. Though she was riding a donkey, her clothing suggested she came from a well-off family. But why was she traveling alone? It didn't matter to him, though. He had no interest in her in the first place, and he certainly didn't want to hurt her. And if what she said was true, Young Master Lu had come to Lin'an on business and had already offended a major household there before even entering the city. He was afraid nothing he could do would go smoothly.

Thinking of this, he nodded in agreement, picked up the servant and walked away, threatening as he walked: "We were blocked by a pack of wild dogs. Tell this when we get back. If we don't do it well, we won't be able to report it, and no one wants to be punished..."

As they walked away, their voices faded. Xia Chu breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she wasn't on the same page as Young Master Lu. Otherwise, she'd be in big trouble. She turned around, picked up Xiao An, and tried to put him on Hui Hui's back. But Hui Hui wasn't happy, jumping around and refusing to let her go.

"I'll give you carrots when we get home, lots of carrots. Be good, come here." Xiao An wasn't light, and her arms started to feel weak after holding him for a while. But Hui Hui didn't understand what people were saying, and he didn't want to carry the dog. "Don't move! Hui Hui!"

After struggling for a long time, Xia Chu had to put Xiao An down. She really couldn't hold her any longer. Hui Hui hid aside and kept yelling at her, not knowing whether he was scolding her or scolding her.

Daan circled around Xiachu and suddenly ran away. Xiachu was startled and was about to call him, but then she thought that Daan was always smart and maybe he was going back to find someone to help him.

Xia Chu couldn't carry Xiao An, nor could she ride her donkey and abandon the dog there. It was injured, and it would be terrible if someone caught and ate it. She could only wait for Da An to return. She planned to wait a while. If Da An didn't come back, she would think of another way. For example, she could hide Xiao An on the side of the road while she went back to ask for help.

Fortunately, Daan lived up to her expectations and actually brought people back. They were neighbors from her maternal grandparents' family, Uncle Zhang, Aunt Zhang, and the eldest brother of the Zhang family. They even brought a car with them.

"Xiaochu, are you okay?" Aunt Zhang walked over quickly, grabbed her and looked her up and down, and only felt relieved when she saw that she was fine.

"It's okay, Xiao An is injured." Xia Chu smiled, "Why did Da An call you here?"

"I'm glad you're okay," Aunt Zhang asked her husband and son to carry Xiao An to the cart. "Your Da An is amazing! He went home first. Uncle Dong and Aunt Dong thought something had happened to you and were so worried. But they're old and can't walk fast. I happened to hear the noise and asked about it. Just as we were about to come over with Da An, he ran over to the cart and lay there, refusing to move. We had no choice but to tow the cart here. He got off as soon as we left the house and is leading the way. This cart is really useful."

"This dog is really smart, just like a human." Brother Zhang laughed.

Xia Chu touched Daan's head and said, "Daan has been smart since he was young. I heard people say that these cats and dogs are almost as smart as five or six-year-old children."

"Let's go back first. Who did this? So much blood has been shed? Who did you run into?" Aunt Zhang frowned. She wasn't unfamiliar with Da'an and Xiao'an. Dong Xiaohuan was filial, always returning home with her family to visit her parents during the holidays, and Da'an and Xiao'an would also be there. Although their children were adopted, they often came back to visit the two elderly people, often bringing gifts to their neighbors. They asked them to help look after the two elderly people and lend a hand if anything was needed.

In addition, the Dong family is kind and easy to get along with, and it is only right that they take care of their neighbors over the years.

When Xia Chu told Aunt Zhang what happened today, she was immediately furious and cursed, "How can there be such a beast! In broad daylight, there is no law, right?"

Uncle Zhang listened for a while, frowned, and said, "Xiaochu, don't come back alone next time. If you hadn't brought these two dogs with you, who knows what you would have encountered."

"I won't dare next time," Xia Chu nodded obediently. She had just bought a donkey and was a little proud of it. She hadn't expected to encounter such a situation. It wasn't like she hadn't come back alone before, but she had never encountered such a situation. She had always come back by oxcart, though, and she wasn't alone. She had been careless this time; she hadn't expected such a thing to happen.

Dong's father and mother were anxiously running around at the village entrance. Only when they saw Xia Chu walking back safely did they feel relieved.

There was a barefoot doctor in the village, but he only knew how to treat human wounds and had never seen a dog before. He just treated the dog like a human and applied some herbal medicine.

"Xiao An, you've suffered so much." Dong's mother touched Xiao An's head and promised to give him a chicken leg later. Xiao An understood what she meant and raised his head happily, sweeping his tail across the ground.

Dong's father asked Uncle Zhang to help take Xia Chu back, and Uncle Zhang agreed immediately. Coincidentally, both the donkey and the cart were already available, so they could just harness them and go.

"Eat lunch first, then go back. It's time to make lunch. Her uncle Zhang also wants to eat." Seeing that Xiao An was in good spirits, Dong's mother said to Zhang Cheng, "Eat at our house. It will be ready in a while."

"No need, Auntie. The child's mother has gone back to cook. I'll come over after I eat." Uncle Zhang said this and left without waiting for Dong's mother to say anything else.

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang." Xia Chu walked Uncle Zhang to the door, took a look at Xiao An, and felt that there was nothing wrong. There was no veterinarian in the city who could treat dogs, and there was no other good solution back home. And judging by Xiao An's condition, it didn't look serious. "Okay, then I'll go cook," she said, and went into the kitchen.

Dong's mother let her do as she pleased while she filled some hot water and prepared to wipe the blood off Xiao An's body. Knowing Xiachu loved the dog, she had found an old piece of clothing that Dongdong no longer wore and torn it up. Although it was old clothing, she washed it, dried it, and put it away; it was enough to give the dog a bath.

Da'an lay beside Xiao'an, guarding him. It seemed to know that the medicine had been applied. Every time Xiao'an turned around to lick the wound, it stopped him.

"I'll go kill a chicken." Father Dong turned and went into the chicken coop. The Wang family sometimes sold meat bones specifically for the dog to cook. They'd gotten used to it over the years; they could give the dog the chicken heads, butts, and bones later. The old woman had just said she'd give him a drumstick. Xiao An had suffered so much today, so a drumstick wouldn't be a big deal.