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

"Grandpa, your clothes are so beautiful." Ya Ya's voice preceded her arrival.

No wonder she spotted him at first glance; the old man's clothes today were truly eye-catching.

The old man had only been setting up his stall for a short time. Today he brought some leafy greens and was covering each of the small baskets with cotton blankets to prevent the vegetables from freezing in the morning chill.

Hearing that soft, sweet voice, I turned around and my eyes immediately crinkled with laughter. "Hey, it's you! Little one!"

"Isn't this outfit nice? My wife bought it online." The old man puffed out his chest, stood up straight, and turned around. Only then did Ya Ya realize that Grandpa's clothes were a complete set. Not only was the top emerald green with large, bright red flowers embroidered on it, but the pants were also green with large red flowers.

It's fluffy and puffy, with neat stitches; it looks warm.

Ya Ya couldn't help but take a couple more glances.

Where is this website? Is it the name of the shop? I'll have to check next time I come to see which shop has this name.

Are you buying persimmons and eggplants again today?

Ya Ya nodded and added, "Grandpa, do you have any garlic here? The village chief asked me to come and buy garlic; it's edible and I can take it back to plant."

"Yes! Of course we have them!" The old man pointed to the side, where rows of round, purple-skinned garlic lay in a bamboo basket. "Homegrown purple-skinned garlic, dry and crisp, not damp or rotten, five yuan a pound."

"How many are in a pound?"

The old man casually picked up a scale, weighed it, spread it out on the scale, and counted it for her. "Look, one jin, exactly six heads."

Ya Ya squatted in front of the stall, counting on her fingers.

One head of garlic can be broken into several cloves. There are more than 20 people in the village. They need to cook and grow more garlic... Six cloves are not enough.

She counted them; there were seven or eight cloves in one head of garlic.

How much should we ask for?

The old man wasn't in a hurry and let her calculate at her own pace.

Ya Ya couldn't understand the calculation after reaching two jin, so she simply shook her head to clear her mind of the jumbled numbers and exclaimed, "I want five jin!"

"You want this much?"

"Okay, if it's not enough, I'll ask you for more." Ya Ya nodded, looking very serious.

The old man was amused by her appearance and moved the basket to the side. "Two eggplants, two tomatoes, five pounds of garlic, do you want to see anything else? I have a lot of vegetables here today, including carrots, bok choy, homegrown sweet potatoes, and green peppers. If we can't finish them, we'll bring some over to sell."

Remembering that the little girl had mentioned wanting to plant garlic, he added, "You can also plant these sweet potatoes back home."

Ya Ya blinked, her gaze following her grandfather's finger to the pile of dusty things, which looked like lumps of mud, some long and some round.

Is this... edible?

"Can this red rat be eaten? I've never seen it before." Ya Ya poked it with her finger; it was rock hard.

Is it called Red Mouse because it looks like a mouse?

"Sweet potatoes are so delicious! They can be boiled, roasted, or steamed. They're sweet, chewy, and soft, and both the elderly and children love them." The old man was very patient. It's already quite good that such a young child can recognize bananas and apples; it's perfectly normal that he can't recognize sweet potatoes.

"If you want to buy them to plant, it's still cold now, so you can't plant them directly in the ground. You have to raise the seedlings in a warm place indoors first, and then transplant them when the weather gets warmer. One plant can produce a bunch of fruit."

As he spoke, the old man scratched the dog-skin hat on his head. What could such a young child understand? He simply reached out and picked out two smooth-skinned, well-shaped sweet potatoes and put them into the box in the trolley.

"I'll give you two. Take them home and show them to your family. If they like them, you can come back and buy more next time."

After thinking for a moment, the old man grabbed a carrot and a small handful of thick, non-spicy green peppers and put them into the cart.

"Take these too, try them all. If you like them, come back to Grandpa's to buy more next time."

This little girl has come several times already; she's a potential long-term customer. If he gives her a little extra, and her parents think the food tastes good, they can sell more next time.

He wouldn't sell them, but he'd be happy to give her some.

She's surprisingly sensible.

As Ya Ya watched the vegetables slowly piling up in the cart, she scratched her little head in response.

She quickly moved the small basket on her back to the front, reached out and grabbed a large handful of tender water celery, handing it to the old man:

"Grandpa, this is for you, please try some."

The old man looked down and his eyes lit up.

With tender stems and green leaves, and a pungent flavor, it's clearly wild water celery.

The leaves are clean and neat, as if they have been carefully washed and arranged.

He originally intended to kindly give the child some vegetables and perhaps expand his sales channels, but unexpectedly, the child presented him with an even more valuable wild product.

The old man was a little embarrassed and quickly waved his hand, then took it back: "Oh! Thank you, thank you, kid! This smells delicious. I'll let my wife try it when I get home. She loves these things."

Feeling a little guilty, he turned around, lifted the quilt covering the vegetables, and grabbed a large handful of fresh bok choy, stuffing it into Ya Ya's little cart.

"Take some more, take some more."

……

Ya Ya pushed the nearly full cart toward the grain store.

She put some water celery in the basket for her aunt. She originally wanted to save it for the fishmonger, but when she looked at the sky, she was afraid she wouldn't have time to find him.

So they gave the water celery to the grandfather who was wearing a pretty green floral jacket.

I'll bring some for my uncle next time; there are plenty more by the river anyway!

I haven't gone to buy food for several days, and there's still plenty of space in the cellar to store things.

While buying tofu, I remembered seeing beans at the grain store, where the auntie had them. She had not only soybeans, but also many other colors of beans, red and green, piled up in sacks.

If only she were a little older, with bigger hands, she could grab several bags.

The grain store owner was sitting in the store, with the iron stove burning. She was scrolling through her phone next to the stove when she heard footsteps. She looked up and saw that it was the little customer who used to come every day to buy a bag of rice and two boxes of noodles.

She immediately put down her phone and warmly greeted him.

"Hey little girl, is it still the same bag of rice and two boxes of noodles today? Come over here and warm yourself by the stove, it's unusually cold today."

Ya Ya left the cart outside and went into the store. Her eyes quickly scanned the area, and when she saw the familiar bags of beans, she felt relieved. She hadn't misremembered.

"Yes, Auntie, I also want to buy some soybeans."

"Buying soybeans? Aunt Xing will pick out some good ones for you, two yuan and fifty cents a pound, how much do you want?" the shopkeeper asked with a smile.

Ya Ya thought for a moment, since the shop owner would deliver it to the alley anyway, saving her the trouble of pushing it herself, and said a large amount, "I want twenty pounds!"

Beans are such a wonderful thing; they can be eaten, stored, and even grown. If you store them in a cellar, they don't spoil easily.