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

Cao Xiulian felt a sudden surge of emotion, a mixture of sourness and heat, and her eyes even started to swell.

She helped Ya Ya without expecting anything in return.

Seeing such a small child, all alone outside, looking so pitiful, I just lent a hand and helped look after him; it was nothing more than a small favor.

She never thought about getting any benefits or anything in return.

But this little child remembered all her kindness, always thinking of her and missing her.

It seems that as she helped, she gained such a well-behaved, sensible, considerate, and lovable little relative.

She took the small bag from Ya Ya's hand, gently patted Ya Ya's soft head, and without saying a word, her eyes were already wet with tears.

A gentle breeze swept through the morning market, and the light from the stove shone on the little red dumplings, so warm that it was hard to look away.

"You silly child, why don't you sell it? It's worth a lot of money! Auntie already ate some last time..."

It took Cao Xiulian a long time to speak, her voice hoarse.

Ya Ya looked up at her, her eyes sparkling, and said very earnestly, "Auntie helps me sell things every day. Thank you so much, Auntie. This is delicious, please give it to Auntie."

Cao Xiulian knew she couldn't refuse, and she couldn't bear to refuse. It wasn't about whether it was worth anything or not; it was about Ya Ya's favoritism towards her.

She had no choice but to steel herself and accept it, pulling the little one into her arms. "Okay, okay, Auntie will keep it. Our Yaya is so thoughtful."

Ya Ya smelled the scent of mushrooms mixed with fried sugar cakes on her aunt and smiled.

It doesn't smell particularly pleasant, but it's as comforting as the herbal scent on my mother-in-law.

"Auntie, I'm going to buy things!" Ya Ya popped out of Cao Xiulian's arms and patted her little cloth bag.

Now she's a little rich woman again.

Cao Xiulian also knew that this little guy would buy things for the villagers every time he came. She had met a familiar stall owner before who had mentioned that there was a little boy from Sheniu who often bought meat and eggs on this street, and that he was very knowledgeable about everything at such a young age.

Sometimes when we buy too much, an uncle from the same village will help us carry the things.

However, no one had ever seen that uncle. Cao Xiulian thought he probably set up a stall somewhere else.

"Drive carefully, watch out for cars, and go home with your uncle as soon as you've finished shopping."

"Okay!" Ya Ya put on her little basket and pushed the cart inside.

Firewood is everywhere on the mountain.

We already have several large bags of rice. We can buy them later and then go to the grain store; there's no rush.

The most important thing right now is oil!

Ya Ya was thinking about going to the meat shop.

"Little one, would you like two pounds of pork belly and two pounds of spare ribs today?" the butcher greeted Ya Ya warmly.

"Uncle, I want to buy the kind that can be rendered into lard, the kind with white, fatty meat." Ya Ya shook her head, propped herself up on the handle of the small cart, and stood on tiptoe to look at the stall.

But she was too small, and all she could see was the cardboard under the meat stall, with pieces of red meat on it, not a single white piece in sight. She was so anxious that she jumped up and down several times.

The stall owner found it amusing, "Don't worry, don't worry, Uncle will find it for you."

As he spoke, he picked up a square piece of pork fat: "Look, is this it?"

Ya Ya's eyes lit up. It was white, thick, and chubby—exactly what she was looking for!

"Uncle, how much is this per pound?"

Clutching her small handbag, she only had thirteen red bills. A hundred coins for a piece of fatty meat wouldn't buy much, and if it was more expensive than where they lived, it might not be enough to buy anything else...

"Seven yuan a pound, this is lard from black pigs. Black pigs have a high oil yield," the stall owner said with a smile.

Ya Ya's eyes widened instantly: "How much?!"

Seeing her expression, the stall owner assumed she thought it was too expensive, so he quickly picked up another piece and said, "How about you take a look at this? It's white pork fat, 5 yuan a pound. There are also some scraps of fat over there, 3.5 yuan."

Ya Ya became more and more confused as she listened.

What? Seven yuan a pound? That's expensive? There are even cheaper ones at three and a half yuan?

This is outrageous!

A hundred coins' worth of fatty meat is only seven pieces here, and those seven pieces are the very best, the finest fatty meat.

Otherwise, why would it cost seven yuan?

She frowned slightly. "At this price, I'll buy the best. If I have enough money, I'll eat well."

Having made up her mind, she called out crisply to the butcher, "Uncle, give me ten pounds for seven yuan!"

The stall owner was also dumbfounded. He was holding a big piece of fatty meat in one hand and craning his neck to look at her. She was small in stature and had a small cart.

"Ten pounds? Can you even lift that? How many people are in your family? How can you eat that much?"

He glanced at Ya Ya's stroller again. "I suggest you buy five pounds first. That should be enough for a while. If it's really not enough, you can buy more next time. Otherwise, you won't be able to push it, and it'll take up too much space."

Ya Ya thought for a moment, then nodded, "Okay."

Anyway, she comes every day.

After weighing the lard, a large, bouncy lump was placed into the cart. It only cost 35 yuan in total, not even a banknote.

Ya Ya was very happy and pushed the cart further inside, wanting to buy salt.

After passing the pork stall, you have to go through the beef and mutton stalls. Ya Ya usually walks very fast because there's always a big sheep's head hanging on the mutton stall, which is quite scary.

But this time, she suddenly smelled a fishy odor, and Ya Ya turned her head to glance at it.

It was a very simple stall, with a few small white baskets on a white cloth, containing all kinds of fish.

There was a large black fish in a basket that was as thick as her leg.

Ya Ya slowed her pace; she had never seen such a big fish before!

She had only ever caught small, miscellaneous fish in the mountain streams, and that was when she went with Uncle Zhao. Those fish were thin and small, with many bones, and a strong earthy taste; everyone had very mixed feelings about them.

We only eat it when we have good conditions and can afford to skimp on oil and salt.

Deep-frying small fish until crispy makes for a hearty dish to improve your meals.

Or they can be salted to make small salted fish, which are a precious side dish to eat with rice; a small bite can be eaten with more than half a bran cake.

What would such a big fish taste like?

Ya Ya's curiosity got the better of her, and her feet wouldn't obey her commands, involuntarily turning in that direction.

It was only when she turned that she realized there was actually a long road running horizontally between the two vertical streets she usually walked on.

This fish stall must have been set up temporarily; they only did it at the intersection because there was no other space available.

There are also many fish shops inside!

Looking to the other side, there were chickens for sale, their feathers completely plucked, displayed whole.