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

Chapter 146

After lunch, they chatted for a while. Mrs. Jia noticed that Dong Xiaohuan was a little reserved in front of her, so she said she had something to do and asked Jia Qingwu to take Dong Xiaohuan to Qingwu Courtyard.

Jia Qingwu looked fine when she was not sick. She pulled Dong Xiaohuan and said, "Thank you, sister. Otherwise, Xia Xia would be..."

Although she hadn't finished her words, everyone understood the underlying meaning. Dong Xiaohuan, however, didn't agree. She smiled and glanced at Xia Chu, "Then you're worrying for nothing. Even without me, she'll be fine. It'll just be a few more setbacks, but she'll definitely grow up well. This child has been smart since she was little, and she's full of ideas at such a young age. My shop wouldn't have been a success without her ideas."

Jia Qingwu was eager to know everything about her daughter and asked, "What idea did she come up with?"

"That's a lot..." Dong Xiaohuan smiled and talked about everything from selling flowers to grilled sausages, pancakes, and braised food. She spoke in detail and Jia Qingwu listened carefully.

Wang Qiuyu was tired of listening and glanced at Dong Xiaohuan. "Mom, I'm sleepy. I'm going back to my room to sleep for a while."

Dong Xiaohuan didn't have time to pay attention to her and waved her hand to indicate that she understood.

Xia Chu had no interest in these things and yawned out of boredom.

Jia Qingwu and Dong Xiaohuan looked at her at the same time. The feeling of being stared at by two mothers at the same time, well... was like sitting on pins and needles.

"If you're sleepy, go take a nap." Dong Xiaohuan said.

"Yes, go inside and rest for a while." Jia Qingwu said.

"Then I'll go."

Jia Qingwu watched her enter the room, get into bed, and draw the curtains. Then, quietly, she asked the question she most wanted to know, "Sister Dong, what was Xia Xia like when you first met her?" She knew the answer wouldn't be pretty. She could only imagine what it would be like for a child that young, without the protection of her parents. The thought of it all made her heart ache.

Dong Xiaohuan didn't feel sentimental when recalling the story, but rather a bit sad. "The second child was one of the four children they had together. It was said that the eldest child picked them up. He couldn't remember how old he was. I saw that they looked about fourteen or fifteen. They picked up five children and gave them names in a hurry: Erwa, Sanwa, and Xiaochu was the sixth. They said that Sanwa was picked up by a monk, and the fourth child froze to death in the winter."

She paused and sighed. It was a pity that she hadn't met him earlier. Or if the fourth brother had persisted, maybe he wouldn't have died.

Jia Qingwu clutched her chest, her voice trembling, "Frozen to death?"

"Yes, Xiaochu also caught a cold and had a fever for a few days, but he got medicine and got through it."

Jia Qingwu breathed a sigh of relief and felt extremely fortunate.

"No one knows how the eldest brother managed to keep his adopted brothers and sisters alive when he couldn't even get enough to eat himself. When we first met them," Dong Xiaohuan glanced at Jia Qingwu, "they looked pretty much like you now. Just skin and bones, like sticking out bean sprouts. The second brother was begging on the street and got beaten up. The doctor said he'd have to pay for several hundred coins. He was completely desperate and didn't want to burden his brothers, so he jumped into the river..."

"Oh my God!" Jia Qingwu exclaimed, tears instantly falling. "What happened next?"

"Xiaochu arrived just in time. His father was eating, and after dropping his bowl, he went to pull him out..." Dong Xiaohuan slowly recounted the events, and Jia Qingwu wept silently. It was unimaginable that a four or five-year-old child had survived through her own efforts. Even she, at her age, couldn't guarantee she could survive on her own without the protection of her family.

"It's my fault for being careless. If it weren't for me... she wouldn't have suffered so much. We searched all over Huizhou, but who knew she went to Lin'an." Jia Qingwu covered her mouth, not daring to cry out loud, for fear of waking up her sleeping daughter.

"That's all in the past. That child was very smart." Dong Xiaohuan smiled. "But she's become lazy in recent years and doesn't like to go out. She spends every day at home tending flowers and plants. If you visit my house one day, you'll see the flowers all over the yard, all planted by her one by one. In the beginning, everything she planted died, and she was dejected all day long. Her three brothers spoiled her. The eldest even went to a flower farmer to learn how to grow flowers, and the second and third brothers planted with her to see where she made mistakes. Now, there are flowers blooming in our house all year round. She gets up every day to water the flowers, and everyone in the family has a vase of flowers in their room, and the fragrance fills the air day and night."

Jia Qingwu wiped away her tears, her voice a little hoarse. "She's always been very smart. She started talking in August, walking in November, and could eat with a spoon by herself when she was one. My husband loved her very much at the time. He held her in his arms and taught her poetry every day. By the time she was three, she could recite more than ten short poems. She was lively and cute, smart and clever. Even my parents said that such a smart child was very rare. They said it was a pity it wasn't a boy, but I don't think it was a pity. Either boy or girl is fine. Maybe God couldn't bear it. We were too happy. That year, it was just an ordinary lantern festival, and we went often. My eldest brother held Linlin, and I held Xia Xia. She said she wanted to go down to see the lanterns below."

She pressed her chest, the most painful and terrifying memories of her life flooding back. She could barely speak. Seeing this, Dong Xiaohuan quickly hugged her and said, "Stop talking, stop talking. Come back. She's asleep in the back room. Do you want to go check on her?"

Jia Qingwu nodded and walked in with the support of Dong Xiaohuan.

Xia Chu had fallen asleep, her expression peaceful and relaxed, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, as if she had had a sweet dream.

Jia Qingwu stretched out her hand, as if wanting to touch her, but was afraid of disturbing her. After hesitating for a moment, she withdrew her hand and motioned Dong Xiaohuan to leave.

The two returned to the outer room. Dong Xiaohuan poured her a cup of tea and sighed, "It has already happened and it has already passed. Why don't you let yourself go?"

"I can't help it. Whenever I think about that moment, I regret it so much that I want to kill myself." Jia Qingwu pressed her hand against her eyes. "Linlin was reaching out to pull at the lantern above, and I tried to stop her. I was afraid the candlelight would fall and burn her. When I looked down again, I realized Xia Xia... was gone."

There were so many people that even if they had brought a lot of servants with them, they were powerless. Everyone was scattered, and only Aunt Xu was with her; the other two maids were squeezed away and no one knew where they were. She searched everywhere like crazy, shouting everywhere, but there was no trace of her. They went to the government office that night, and the eldest brother gave her a lot of money. They searched all night, but Xia Xia seemed to have disappeared.

"Sister, sister, come back to your senses, come back to your senses, look at Xiaochu." Dong Xiaohuan saw that her expression was becoming more and more painful, and there was no response when she called out. She simply reached out and pinched her philtrum, which turned red. Only then did she look over at him blankly.

"Don't think about it, don't think about it. It's okay, it's okay. Xia Xia is back." Dong Xiaohuan patted her face.

"Xia Xia, my Xia Xia is missing! Missing!" Jia Qingwu suddenly stood up and rushed out. Dong Xiaohuan was caught off guard and was pushed to the ground by her.

"Xia Xia! Xia Xia!"