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

(Thanks to the boss "无趣°o_" for the amazing certification~ There's a symbol I couldn't type, so I had to use a similar one (´•༝•`))

(Bonus chapter X2)

Cao Xiulian moved Ya Ya's little basket aside and helped her spread out a picnic blanket and arrange the wild vegetables.

I added a few new things today, so I came out a little late and haven't had time to spread out the cloth yet.

As soon as the cart lid was opened, a musty smell wafted out.

Wang Guifen frowned, glanced down, and saw a cart full of neatly prepared wild vegetables, all vibrant green. Looking closer, she exclaimed, "Oh my, this is wild water celery!"

She dreads this vegetable the most; it's wild Tibetan worms, covered in mud, and incredibly difficult to clean, so she doesn't even want to touch it.

But the water celery in front of me was clean and shiny, neat and tidy, without a single speck of mud.

She reached out and picked one up; it had a faint salty taste.

"This...this has all been carefully cleaned up?"

"Yes, Grandma soaked it in salt water and washed it many times. All the little bugs were washed away," Ya Ya said softly.

Otherwise, she wouldn't dare put it in her little basket.

Wang Guifen immediately gave a thumbs up.

She was truly impressed.

The owner's dishes are always very clean, so it's rare to see them this clean.

What else can I say? Buy it!

Just rinse it when you get home and it's ready to cook, so convenient!

Seeing that there were wild bamboo shoots nearby, I've come here again today.

Cao Xiulian put down her phone; she had just finished checking the prices.

I pulled out a small blackboard; I placed an order on Pinduoduo a couple of days ago and only picked it up at the delivery station last night.

The list already includes the names and prices of several wild vegetables that Ya Ya often brings back; this time, a few more have been added:

Premium bamboo shoots 15 yuan/jin

Premium wild water celery 20 yuan/jin

Without even blinking, Wang Guifen immediately said, "Give me two pounds of bamboo shoots."

She no longer buys everything at once; the boss brings wild game every few days, so she's never short of food.

Even the best food shouldn't be eaten excessively every day; there's still a lot frozen in the refrigerator.

Two pounds of bamboo shoots, one pound to eat now, and the other pound to be diced and used to make steamed buns with pickled cabbage, pork, and bamboo shoots, which will be frozen and eaten slowly.

"Give me a pound of wild water celery too."

Cao Xiulian helped weigh the vegetables and then sent a message to the WeChat group for regular customers:

Today we received fresh wild bamboo shoots and processed, insect-free premium wild water celery.

Her WeChat group gained a few more people, just over 20, all of whom were recommended by regular customers.

Wang Guifen paid extra to buy another vegetable basket, and carried it home with a basket full of soy milk, fried dough sticks, wild vegetables, and sweet cakes.

Before long, several customers from the group arrived, and the wild vegetables sold out quickly.

Many people went grocery shopping and noticed that Cao Xiulian had launched a new product: red date soy milk with fried dough sticks. It sounded quite healthy, so they bought breakfast along with it to take home, solving the problem in one stop, which was very convenient.

Because of the new products, Cao Xiulian was so busy after calculating the money for Ya Ya that she was constantly frying sugar cakes and fried dough sticks, and ladling out soy milk and porridge.

Seeing the fine sweat on Cao Xiulian's forehead, Ya Ya didn't rush to leave. She put most of the water celery and bamboo shoots from her small basket into Cao Xiulian's cupboard.

They quietly stood by, offering help, handing over bags, and fetching small bowls.

With Ya Ya's help, Cao Xiulian gradually became more organized, and her heart was filled with comfort. This little girl was so sensible.

Why didn't she give birth to a baby girl?

Once the peak time at the stall had passed, Ya Ya looked up and whispered to Cao Xiulian, "Auntie, I'm going to buy something!"

"Okay, take care on the road! Take some fried dough sticks and soy milk back for your mother-in-law." Cao Xiulian quickly packed a large bag of soy milk and fried dough sticks into Ya Ya's little cart.

Ya Ya pushed her cart into the morning market and stopped when she passed the egg stall.

The stall owner, an elderly man, greeted his familiar customer with a smile, "Little one, buying eggs again?"

Ya Ya tiptoed and peered inside, her eyes taking in rows of white eggs. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Grandpa, do you have any eggs here that can hatch into chicks?"

The stall owner paused for a moment, "The little one wants to hatch chicks?"

He remembered that his grandson had also asked for a hatching egg last week, saying that the kindergarten teacher had asked them to hatch chicks and observe the growth of life.

We have to observe and record every day, and once they hatch, we have to bring them back to school to show our teachers.

Ya Ya nodded. The village chief only had one egg. Last time he took several, but none of them hatched. This time, he would buy more to take back, half for the village chief to hatch and half for the duck mother to hatch.

"You can't buy regular eggs to hatch chicks; you have to buy free-range eggs, the kind from farms with roosters around. Only then is it possible for them to hatch. The white eggs you bought before, the kind from farms, won't hatch."

"Then... I'll buy free-range eggs."

Ya Ya stared at the eggs that all looked pretty much the same. Which kind of egg was the dumbest?

Was the free-range chicken I saw yesterday hatched from a free-range egg?

"How many do you want?"

"Twenty!" Ya Ya asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"Hehe, okay. Grandpa will help you pick some." The stall owner asked her as he picked out eggs, "Would you like to buy some duck eggs too, they can hatch ducklings, and there are also goose eggs."

Ya Ya was itching to try it; chicks, ducklings, geese—just thinking about it made her excited. "I want it!"

She took out a basket that was still unsold from the cart: "Grandpa, I have a basket, please put it in here for me."

"Hey! Great, perfect timing, let me give you something to eat." He counted ten chicken eggs, five duck eggs and two goose eggs.

"Free-range chicken eggs are 1.2 yuan each, duck eggs are 2 yuan each, and goose eggs are 4 yuan each, totaling 30 yuan."

The little basket was heavy, filled with small hopes.

Ya Ya pushed her little cart toward Grandpa in the red coat, but slowed down as she passed the tofu stall.

The large, white tofu pieces were laid out on the wooden counter, covered with a clean gauze. Next to them were a large pile of dried tofu, strips of white curds, and plump, yellow cubes.

There's plenty of room in the cart to put tofu.

She remembered that she could also buy tofu to take home when she drank the soy milk her aunt gave her.

She had eaten tofu once before. Grandpa Fang's family made tofu and gave Grandma Liu a small piece. It was milky white, and Grandma Liu loved it because it didn't hurt her teeth.

After thinking it over, Ya Ya made up her mind to buy some for her mother-in-law.

She pushed her cart over; the tofu stall was also a small cart, with carts of all sizes huddled together.

The tofu vendor was very talkative. After buying the tofu, I learned that the rolled-up tofu was called bean curd skin and the yellow square tofu was called bean curd puff.

Bean curd sheets can be added to soups, stir-fried, rolled with scallions, or rolled with vegetables.

Tofu puffs can be stewed with meat or sauerkraut, or braised on their own.

I also brought some bean curd sheets and tofu puffs, which cost five yuan in total.

I went to Grandpa in the red coat again. I didn't see him at first glance, but when I got closer, I realized that Grandpa had changed his coat. It was green with big red flowers printed on it.