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

The shop had settled down, and Xia Chu felt like a modern worker. Every day, he would go to work after breakfast and close the shop after dinner before going home.

The twelfth lunar month has arrived, and the braised food shop is doing better business. At the end of the year, everyone's money will be loosened up, and they will start to spend money on food and drink, and buy new clothes for their families.

Wang Yong became increasingly busy. He sometimes didn't even come home until the middle of the night, let alone dinner. The children hadn't seen him in days, especially Guan Xu, who would sit at the door every day after returning home. He was young and clingy to his father.

Dong Xiaohuan should have been used to it; the government offices were always busy at the end of each year. But perhaps because of her pregnancy, she was also very anxious.

When Wang Yong came home late, he would sleep in the guest room, so as not to catch a cold and alarm his pregnant wife.

On the 20th, every household began to prepare for the Spring Festival. Every day had different things to do, and they agreed to close the business on the 27th and reopen on the 5th.

Xia Tian looked at the bustling atmosphere on the street and thought of his sister again. He hadn't celebrated the New Year for a long time. Dong Xiaohuan made a new set of clothes for them every day, all in red, festive and beautiful.

On the night of the 27th, Dong Xiaohuan gave red envelopes to her brother and Zhou Qin, along with a braised chicken and five pounds of meat.

Zhou Qin was extremely grateful, thanking him repeatedly. Since she had this job, the family had become much more relaxed. She hadn't expected to receive red envelopes and meat; she could have a good New Year.

Dong Xiaomao looked at his sister and seemed to want to say something, but Dong Xiaohuan didn't notice.

On New Year's Eve, the Wang family slept in. Dong Xiaohuan was heavy, and the children were exhausted.

Because their family was busy with their business, they hadn't prepared many things yet. But Dong Xiaohuan had already bought everything. Today, they were making fried meatballs, fried meat, and fried candies. They didn't have enough time for fish balls, so they had to go buy some.

Wang Yong left early in the morning without having time to see his family.

Dong Xiaohuan was absent-minded, and Xia Chu acted coquettishly to coax her and finally made her laugh.

On the day of the Spring Festival, they woke up early, ate a few bites of breakfast and dinner, and waited for the New Year's Eve dinner.

Dong Xiaohuan, holding her waist, was in the kitchen directing them as they stewed soup and cooked. Xia Tian and Zhang Zhou were in charge of the cooking, Guan Xu was in charge of the fire, and Xia Chu was serving dishes. They were all busy. She stroked her belly and smiled, her eyes glancing uncontrollably towards the door.

This year is the first year that the children have been living at home, so Brother Yong will probably come back for the New Year’s Eve dinner.

Perhaps it is said that if you keep thinking about something, it will definitely have an effect. When there was a knock on the door, Guan Xu jumped up and said, "Dad is back!"

Before he finished speaking, the man had already rushed out.

Wang Yong came back and was surrounded by his wife and children, who asked about his well-being. He felt warm inside and patiently answered their questions.

Once everyone was present, the dishes were served. Wang Yong put his arm around his wife's waist, watched the children bustling about, and quietly asked, "Are the red envelopes ready?"

"Ready." Dong Xiaohuan nodded.

"I bought firecrackers for the kids and hid them under the bed in the guest room. Did you see them?"

"I saw it. How dare something like that hide under the bed? I dragged it out."

"The children didn't see it?"

"No."

"Okay, I'll help serve the dishes. You can sit in the living room."

"Ah."

The family gathered at the table for dinner. Wang Yong picked up his cup. His was filled with wine, while the others were filled with milk. He'd heard his daughter liked it, so he'd gone out of his way to buy a bucket.

Wang Yong said: "May we have this day every year, every year. May your family be healthy, happy and free from worries."

Everyone raised their glasses, "May your family be healthy and happy!"

Wang Yong laughed out loud, "Okay, let's eat meat and vegetables."

Dong Xiaohuan first picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks for her husband and said, "Try this pork elbow. Xiao Zhou stewed it for half an hour."

“It’s soft and tasty, delicious.”

"Dad, try some spring rolls. I helped make them!"

"Good, um, delicious."

Xia Tian calmly pushed the roast chicken with mushrooms, and Wang Yong understood and tasted it and praised it.

"This is the most delicious meal I have ever had in my life!" Guan Xu said with a chuckle.

"You make it sound like your life has only lasted a long time." Xia Chu laughed and retorted to him. He had only lived for a few years, yet he dared to talk about his life.

Guan Xu's memory is actually quite brief. He now only remembers begging for food, often going hungry. Then, with the arrival of his younger sister, he gradually began to have enough to eat. It wasn't until he came to the Wang family that he began to truly live a normal life, and the past gradually faded into obscurity. Perhaps soon, he would completely forget those precarious days.

"You're bullying your third brother again." Dong Xiaohuan picked up a chicken leg for her.

"I think I should be the older sister." Xia Chu said vaguely.

"I'm older than you! You should call me brother!" Guan Xu was unhappy.

"I'm almost taller than you."

"I, I came here first."

"I'm smarter than you!"

"I...Brother!"

"I can't control it."

"Second brother?"

“This elbow is good.”

"father!"

Wang Yong sipped his wine cheerfully and said, "Adults have no right to interfere in children's affairs."

Dong Xiaohuan watched the children bickering and felt that life couldn't be any better.

The meal lasted until dark, and some of the dishes were cold. Wang Yong gave each child a red envelope and took out five taels of silver from his pocket and gave it to Dong Xiaohuan.

Dong Xiaohuan accepted it as usual, "Is the county magistrate giving out rewards again?"

"Yes, it's a reward for the brothers." Wang Yong stood up and said to the children, "Have you finished eating? Go wait in the yard."

"What are you doing?" Guan Xu asked.

"Let's go." Dong Xiaohuan was helped by Xia Tian to the yard. Zhang Zhou had already moved a chair for her.

Wang Yong brought out a small wooden box, but chatted with the children without opening it.

After an unknown amount of time, there were explosions in the distance. Fireworks were set off in the east, and a corner of the sky suddenly brightened. Then, the sound of firecrackers echoed from all directions.

"Wow." Xia Chu looked up at the sky. She didn't expect that such beautiful fireworks could be seen in ancient times.

"It's time to set off firecrackers. Come on." Wang Yong opened the box, which contained firecrackers that he had asked someone to buy. There were only a few of them, but these were rare, so only a few could be set off during the New Year.

This was very crude compared to what Xia Chuxian had seen, but it was the first time they had seen it.

Wang Yong didn't dare let them release it, so he lit it and threw it into the corner of the yard.

With a "bang", Xia Tian and the others couldn't help but tremble, and the small firecracker exploded into a ball of tiny sparks.

"Wow!" Guan Xu yelled in surprise, while Xia Tian and Zhang Zhou also looked on in surprise. The two dogs whimpered in fear, their heads burrowing under Dong Xiaohuan's skirt and trembling.

When the second one came, the four children clapped their hands and laughed out loud. Dong Xiaohuan remembered this time last year. A wealthy family in the city lost something, and all the yamen runners were sent out to look for it.

She ate New Year's Eve dinner alone, watched the fireworks alone, listened to the laughter of the neighbors, and prayed to the Buddha in her heart for Brother Yong's safe return.

Now, she could see her husband's tall figure in front of her, and hear the children's happy laughter in her ears. The baby in her belly suddenly moved. She reached out to touch it and felt the little thing kick her from inside. "Brother Yong, the baby kicked me."

"Let me touch it!" Wang Yong clapped his hands, thinking about the smell of gunpowder, and hurried to wash his hands.

"Mom, let me feel it." Xia Chu leaned over and put her hand on Dong Xiaohuan's belly. Sure enough, she felt something hit her palm. She said in surprise, "It kicked!"

Xiatian felt that she was too old and it was inconvenient, so she could only watch with envy as her younger brothers and sisters touched it.

"Xiaotian, come here." Dong Xiaohuan pulled his hand and put it on her belly.

This little thing is also "rain and dew are equally distributed", everyone gets kicked by him/her.

Wang Yong wiped his hands and came over. He didn't feel any movement for a long time. "No more movement, are you tired?"

"It kicked me just now!" Guan Xu said happily, and the others said that they had touched it.

Wang Yong leaned closer, but still heard nothing. Just as he was about to give up, frustrated, he felt a nudge against his little finger. His eyes widened, a smile breaking out on his face. "You kicked me, you kicked me!"

This year passed with this cry of joy.