The little one's purse connects the two worlds, turning a desolate village into a paradise.

Upon hearing the sound, Granny Liu quickly got up, supporting herself on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). Just as she reached the doorway, she saw the village chief standing in the yard with a large, rough porcelain bowl in his hand. The kudzu root paste in the bowl was thick and still steaming.

Before she could even speak, Ya Ya came running out, her little face upturned: "Grandpa Village Chief, Uncle Zhao is so amazing! With the salt, he immediately found delicious kudzu root!"

"Thanks to our Ya Ya." The village chief's smile deepened his wrinkles, completely erasing the deathly aura of yesterday.

"This kudzu root porridge is very filling. I cooked a big pot and shared it. Since you and Grandma didn't go to the village entrance, Grandpa specially added some sugar water. It's sweet. Eat up." Grandpa, the village chief, handed the bowl to Ya Ya.

"Grandpa, take it back and give it to the others. Grandma and I are full!" Ya Ya tiptoed and pushed the bowl into the village chief's arms.

The village chief thought the little girl was doing what she did yesterday—not eating, but saving it by pretending she had—and was about to put on a stern face when he heard Ya Ya's clear voice: "Grandma, Grandma, quickly bring out yesterday's big meat buns, steamed buns, and sweet cakes! Let Grandpa have a taste! Grandpa Village Chief, yesterday Ya Ya helped the kind auntie with chores and earned lots of food! It smelled so good!"

Upon hearing this, both the village chief and Granny Liu froze. The village chief's face was full of shock, while Granny Liu sighed deeply and slowly walked to the kitchen.

She held onto the cabinet, her fingers groping to open the small brass lock, and took down the silver thermos and non-woven bag.

The village chief saw what Granny Liu was holding from afar, his pupils suddenly widened, and he quickly walked into the house with a bowl in one hand and Ya Ya in the other, closing the door behind him.

The steamed buns and mantou had gone cold overnight, but the dazzling white dough, the oily meat filling, the pile of golden-brown fried and slightly deflated sugar cakes, and the rough, silver object he had never seen before all indicated that the opportunity Ya Ya had received was greater and more significant than he had thought yesterday!

Ya Ya was unaware of the turbulent emotions surging in the hearts of the two elderly people. She was just happily showing off her treasure to Grandpa Village Chief, saying, "This is what Ya Ya gave me for helping a kind auntie with her work. I have to return the bucket. It's full of big bowls of tea porridge, which smell so good! There are also big meat buns, steamed buns, and sweet fried sugar cakes."

She patted the cloth bag with her little hands, "Grandpa Village Chief, when Grandma heats up all the buns later, Grandpa will give one to Little Bean and Little Shuanzi, okay? Children need to eat meat to grow tall!"

Even though she was still a tiny little kid, she spoke so seriously, as if Ya Ya really considered herself the eldest sister of the village children.

"Okay, okay, Ya Ya, be good. Grandpa will go to the kitchen with your grandma first to see how to heat these things and how much to heat. Don't rush."

The village chief suppressed his shock, placed the rough porcelain bowl he had brought on the small table by the kang (a heated brick bed), and pulled Granny Liu to the kitchen.

"Grandma Liu, what exactly happened? Where did Ya Ya get all this stuff?"

Grandma Liu leaned against the stove and slowly began to speak, recounting, word by word, all the events that had happened to Ya Ya twice when she touched the small purse left by her mother, and how she had suddenly been taken to strange, unfamiliar places, neither of which were the same place.

The village chief listened, his heart aching more and more. This child, so young, not even as tall as a person's thigh, went to such a strange place for the sake of the elderly and weak in their village. The child spoke so lightly, but in that unfamiliar place, were she afraid, was she suffering, was she harmed, or did she have to pay a price? They had no idea.

He walked a few steps in the cramped kitchen with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed.

Lotus Village is currently under lockdown and isolated from the world. There are only 21 people in the village, the old and the young, and they were on the verge of not being able to survive. It was Ya Ya who, through this inexplicable opportunity, managed to pull the village back to life.

But how could he possibly place the livelihood of the entire village on the shoulders of a five-year-old child?

But they all knew that Ya Ya was very kind-hearted. If they stopped her and secretly covered it up, she would definitely sneakily give the food to her friends and the elderly in the village. If they forced her to stay, it would only make the child feel wronged.

Even if the village hadn't been sealed off by the mudslide, none of them could have provided this food.

The two looked at each other and saw the same thought in each other's eyes.

Grandma Liu nodded gently. The village chief took a deep breath: "We can't hide it, and we can't stop it. Go to the old locust tree at the village entrance, gather everyone together, and explain this matter clearly."

"Our Lotus Village has only 21 people. We've lived together for generations, and everyone is trustworthy."

"if……"

The village chief paused, a ruthless glint in his eyes, "If anyone harbors any ill intentions, dares to plot against Ya Ya, or dares to leak even a single word about this, I, this old man, will personally eliminate them, even if it costs me my life!"

As the sun rose higher, figures slowly gathered under the sparse shadows of the old locust tree.

Those who could walk helped those who couldn't, and those who could sit were carried to the foot of the tree.

Everyone had arrived and was waiting quietly, their eyes all fixed on the village chief, Granny Liu, and Ya Ya, who was being protected in the middle, on the small earthen mound under the locust tree.

At their feet was a strange little silver bucket and a large, bulging cloth bag that was emitting heat.

The village chief patted the cracked tree trunk with his rough hands and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Old friend, you've been watching." He said, as if speaking to the tree, but also as if speaking to everyone, "This is all the people left in our Lotus Village."

He turned around, his cloudy gaze sweeping over each withered yet familiar face: "The roads are blocked, the food is gone, the salt is gone. We people, the old are old, the young are young, the lame are lame, the blind are blind... Logically speaking, we should lie down and wait to die."

Suppressed coughs and soft sobs rose from the crowd.

"But," the old village chief's voice suddenly rose, "our little girl from Lotus Village, our Yaya, she won't let us die!"

"Yesterday, I lied to everyone, saying that I found that little bit of salty soup, but actually, it was Ya Ya who found it. This child saved the lives of our whole village!"

"Ya Ya brought us these things again today!"

As he spoke, the old village chief shakily reached out and opened the steaming cloth bag, and Granny Liu also stepped forward and gently unscrewed the thermos.

Instantly, a rich aroma burst forth.

The aroma of oil from the meat buns mingled with the savory meat flavor, the sweet wheat fragrance of the white steamed buns, the crispy sweetness of the fried sugar cakes, and the rich rice aroma of the porridge in the thermos all wafted into everyone's noses.

The villagers had been starving for so long that they couldn't even remember what pure wheat flour tasted like, let alone meat and sugar.

Their noses twitched violently, their eyes were fixed on the white, translucent meat buns and soft steamed buns, their chapped lips were unconsciously pursed, and their Adam's apples bobbed.

Some people subconsciously swallowed, but no one reached out or moved an inch.

But slowly, tears welled up in her originally dull eyes.

"Don't ask how she got it. All we need to know is that this stuff can save lives. Ya Ya could have kept it to herself, she could have kept it hidden, but she didn't. She wanted us all to live, not one of us could be missing!"

All eyes in the crowd fell on Ya Ya, who was being protected behind Granny Liu. In those eyes, there was no surprise, no fear, no greed, only a slowly rising, burning heartache, gratitude, and shock.

Grandpa Wang, who was blind, was the first to make a move.

He broke free from his wife's support, groped his way forward two steps, and then slowly and deeply bowed his hunched back towards Ya Ya.

With a "thump," it was the dull sound of a knee hitting the dry, hard ground.

It is not about kneeling before gods, nor is it about begging for alms.

It is an old man on his deathbed who expresses the deepest gratitude of his life to a five-year-old child.