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

Xia Chu walked back with the pipa in her arms. Seeing how she cherished it, Xia Tian began to blame himself for not paying enough attention to his sister. Just now, he heard the shopkeeper teasing her that she had come here many times but never had the money to buy it. Thinking of her pitiful appearance in coming to see the pipa, Xia Tian felt so distressed that he couldn't help but reach out and touch her hair, "Next time, tell me what you want."

"No! This is what I want most!" Xia Chu held the zither, smiling like a flower.

"Let's buy some music scores." Xia Tian pulled her into the bookstore and asked the owner to get some music scores.

Xia Chu felt a little guilty holding the music sheet. He even wanted to tell her everything. Otherwise, how could he explain why someone who had never even seen a pipa suddenly wanted to buy one? Not only did he buy it, but he could also play it right away? "Brother, aren't you... curious?"

"I'm not curious. I'm just looking at your music." Of course, he was curious, but not particularly curious. This girl had been acting strangely ever since he picked her up. Life was pretty good now, so why ask so many questions?

Xia Chu stared at Xia Tian, trying to read his face. But all she saw was a doting smile in his eyes. Big Brother was becoming more and more alluring. He was gentle and good-looking. I wonder which girl he would marry in the future. Mom had shown him many girls, but he didn't like any of them.

"Walk properly." Xia Tian straightened her crooked body.

Xia Chu plucked the open strings of the pipa with her fingers as she walked.

"Let's go back and play." The two of them were already conspicuous walking down the street, and the sound of the pipa drew even more attention to Xia Chu. Xia Tian frowned slightly, pushed Xia Chu behind him, and quickened his pace.

When they got home, Wang Yong was just picking up Guan Xu and the others. Wang Yong immediately saw the pipa in his daughter's arms and asked, "Why did you buy this? Do you want to learn it?"

"Yeah, I like it very much." Xia Chu nodded.

"Pipa!" Wang Qiuyu rushed over and reached out to pluck the strings, but his sister dodged him.

"This doesn't seem easy to learn." Guan Xu said.

"She's just learning for fun. She can't embroider, and she doesn't like writing or drawing. She needs to do something." Xia Tian deliberately showed the music sheet, "Let her learn for fun."

"Yeah." Wang Yong had no objection to this. His daughter had always been very well-behaved and rarely asked for anything. It was no big deal to buy her a pipa.

When Dong Xiaohuan heard Da'an's call, she knew everyone had returned. Zhang Zhou also put down his book and came out to greet them.

"Are you back? Did you buy the pipa?" Dong Xiaohuan didn't ask how much it cost because she knew neither of them would accept it.

"Well, Mom, I'll put down the piano and help with cooking." As Xia Chu spoke, Wang Qiuyu finally touched the strings.

"Hehe, I touched it, I touched it." Wang Qiuyu jumped away with a smile, perfectly avoiding Xia Chu's hand that was grabbing his ear.

"Don't be so idle!" Dong Xiaohuan glared at him. "Come and eat after you put down your piano. Everything is ready."

"I'll serve the dishes." Zhang Zhou walked towards the kitchen. The four young men went to help and moved the dishes to the living room in one go.

"Xiao Zhou, will you go to the academy tomorrow?" Wang Yong asked.

"Go again in five days." Zhang Zhou thought for a moment, "Should I go and ask my grandfather out tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Wang Yong nodded.

Wang Qiuyu quickly swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "I want to go too!"

"Aren't you going to the academy?" Dong Xiaohuan narrowed his eyes threateningly. He knew at a glance that this kid wanted to be lazy.

Wang Qiuyu pursed his lips and hummed softly.

"Study hard." Zhang Zhou picked up a chicken leg for him and said, "I'll take you out to play next time I have a day off."

"I understand. Thank you, second brother." Wang Qiuyu was not happy at all.

Guan Xu didn't care what he did, but he loved his grandmother's cooking. "Grandma, are you coming over?"

"Come, tell them the good news that your second brother passed the imperial examination and then we can go to Huibinlou for a good meal." Wang Yong said.

"I want to eat pickled pork with preserved vegetables!" Wang Qiuyu immediately started ordering dishes.

"Eat." Wang Yong nodded.

After dinner, Xia Tian grabbed the bowl to wash as usual. Everyone was used to it and didn't argue with him. Xia Chu put down the bowl and ran back to his room. He touched the strings of the guitar and practiced his fingering.

Actually, there were some mistakes in my playing today, but no one seemed to notice.

"Chu Chu~" A head stuck in from the window, and Wang Qiuyu called her with a grin.

"What are you doing?" Xia Chu glanced at him.

"Play a little tune for me." Wang Qiuyu leaned on the window, and he didn't know whose tone he had learned, but it sounded mean.

"I want to listen too." Guan Xu also stuck his head in. "Can you play it?"

"I just bought it, how can I learn it so quickly?" Xia Chu said deliberately.

"But looking at your fingering, it doesn't look like you don't know how to play it." There are music classes in the academy, and Guan Xu and his classmates have also learned to play the qin, but not the pipa.

"I just played it randomly." Xia Chu put down the pipa and pushed the two heads away. "Go away, go away. You can't just look into a girl's boudoir. Look at you, do you look like a scholar?"

"Something's not right with Chuchu." Wang Qiuyu touched his chin, pretending to be deep.

"Call me sister," Guan Xu corrected.

"Lilililil." Wang Qiuyu made a face.

Before going to bed at night, Xia Chu placed the pipa against the head of the bed and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

After Li Xi's repeated pestering, Dong Xiaomao bought a small courtyard in the city.

Dong's parents didn't want to leave their farmland in the village, feeling confined in the city and unwilling to move in. Dong Dongdong, initially excited about the new city life, couldn't stand it after just a few days. He cried, begging for his grandmother and wanting to return to the village. The children around here were all older than Dong Dongdong, and they were exclusive and didn't like playing with younger children. Dong Dongdong didn't like this unfamiliar place, and especially after being ostracized by the other children, he refused to leave the house.

Li Xi, however, wanted to build good relationships with the neighbors and see how the city people lived. So she locked him up at home and went out to visit people. When Dong Xiaomao came back, Dong Dongdong's eyes were red and swollen from crying. He whispered in a hoarse voice that he wanted to go home and wanted his grandma and grandpa.

Dong Xiaomao held his son in his arms and breathed heavily. Li Xi came back and shivered at his cold gaze. "What, what happened?"

"Where have you been? Why did you leave Dongdong alone at home?" Dong Xiaomao looked at her expressionlessly.

Li Xi was a little panicked and explained that he just went to his neighbor's house.

"The child was crying like this, couldn't you hear it when you went to the neighbor's house?" Dong Xiaomao wiped his son's eyes, but he cried out in pain softly.

Li Xizhen hadn't heard it. It was only then that he realized his son's eyes were so swollen that he could barely open them. "What happened? Was he bitten by an insect?"

"I'll send Dongdong back." Dong Xiaomao couldn't bear it any longer and took his son back to the village that night.

Li Xi was stunned for a moment, wondering why they had to go back after just a few days. When she closed the door and chased out, the father and son had already gone far away.

Li Xi remained the sole inhabitant of the courtyard. Dong Xiaomao gave her some money for food each month, but she rarely returned. Over time, gossip began to spread, with speculation that Li Xi was someone else's mistress, and even harsher accusations. Li Xi argued with others, but as a latecomer, she was isolated and helpless, and suffered many grievances. Finally, she returned to the village in frustration. Dong Dong didn't seem to miss her much; he was happy to have her around, but it didn't matter when he wasn't.

The Dong family still lives in the village, and Li Xi is also there. She talks to the village women about life in the city, with a touch of pride in her words, but no one pays much attention to her.

If someone farted at home in the morning, the villagers might know about it by the evening. Furthermore, given Li Xi's situation at the Dong family, Dong's parents wouldn't say anything bad about her. But anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Li Xi's behavior didn't fit in with the honest Dong family, and everyone felt a bit ostracized. She didn't know if she didn't notice it or didn't care; it didn't affect her bragging rights around the village.

After Dong Xiaomao became rich, he first bought a cow for his family to make farming easier for his father. Later, he bought a mule to pull a cart for easier travel.