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

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Ya Ya jumped out of bed all by herself.

She was still worried about not having gone to the shopkeeper's place yesterday, as she hadn't yet given him the straw sandals her mother-in-law had made.

The courtyard has already become lively.

Aunt Lin was busy at the stove early in the morning, and wisps of smoke were rising from the chimney. A row of people were squatting by the courtyard wall, all brushing their teeth.

The two tubes of toothpaste that Ya Ya brought back weren't very big, and they wouldn't last long with so many people. Even though everyone was extremely frugal, squeezing out only a tiny bit each time, it was almost empty after more than twenty people took turns using it.

There were times when she couldn't bear to brush her teeth for more than once a day, and if Fang Tiesheng found out, he would give her a lecture.

After rinsing her mouth, Ya Ya started planning to buy a few more from her uncle's shop. After dinner, she would also pick some wild onions, as they always sold well. Picking more would allow her to exchange them for a lot of toothpaste, enough for everyone to use for a long time.

Aunt Lin stared at the two sweet potatoes in her hand. In her more than 20 years of life, this was the first time she had ever seen such food.

Ya Ya brought back four in total. Two were given to Grandpa Liu, who was best at growing tubers, to try to cultivate seedlings. The village chief gave the remaining two to Aunt Lin, saying that they would steam them and make them for everyone's breakfast.

"This is a red mouse, given to me by the old man who runs the stall." Ya Ya's clear voice came from behind.

Aunt Lin turned around and saw that the little one was already dressed. Her eyes crinkled into a smile: "Little girl, you're up! Where are you going?"

"Let's go to the cellar and see how much more we need to fill it up." Ya Ya walked slowly past Aunt Lin with her hands behind her back. Her way of walking with her hands behind her back was about 80-90% the same as Old Man Fang's walking posture.

Aunt Lin looked at her with amusement, then turned around and put the washed sweet potatoes into the pot to steam.

"By the way, Aunt Lin, what's your name?" Ya Ya took a couple of steps, then suddenly stopped and turned back to ask curiously.

Aunt Lin put the pot lid on, her eyes looking somewhat blank, as if she had been stumped by the question.

She's been married into the family for five years, and everyone in the village calls her "Lin Family Member" all the time. Over time, she's almost forgotten that she originally had a name. What was her name again?

Aunt Lin stared at the rising steam from the stove, and seemed to see her mother's gentle face: "The child was born in spring, so... let's name her Chun Tao (Spring Peach), as vibrant as spring, and as lovely and endearing as a peach blossom."

"My aunt's name is Ji Chuntao."

After saying that, she picked up a rag and wiped the moisture off the pot lid little by little.

Ya Ya looked up at her with a puzzled expression: "Auntie, your surname is Ji, so why does everyone call you Aunt Lin instead of Aunt Ji?"

Ji Chuntao paused, the cloth she was using to wipe the pot in her hand. She looked down at Ya Ya's clean and pure eyes and sighed softly.

"Once I married into the Lin family, I became a member of the Lin family, so everyone naturally called me the Lin family's daughter-in-law. As time went on, she became known as Aunt Lin from the Lin family."

Granny Liu, who had just come over and listened for a couple of minutes, nodded gently: "Most girls are like this. Before they get married, they have a nickname, but once they get married, they become someone's wife, and nobody remembers their real name."

Ya Ya frowned. She didn't understand these reasons; she just felt that something was wrong with the whole thing.

"Why is it that once you're married, you belong to someone else's family, and you can't even use your own name anymore?"

In Ya Ya's mind, a name is a very important thing.

But Aunt Lin lost her name, as if... she had completely hidden herself behind the title of "Lin family daughter-in-law," and even her original self had disappeared.

"I'll call you Aunt Ji or Aunt Chuntao from now on. Aunt Chuntao sounds nice, okay?" Ya Ya tilted her little head.

This sounds much better than Aunt Lin's; it smells as sweet as a flower.

Just like my aunt, she is a beautiful and capable person.

Ji Chuntao felt a mix of bittersweet emotions stirred within her by Ya Ya's innocent words; she was illiterate and couldn't express it.

Over the years, she had long been accustomed to being just Aunt Lin, a daughter-in-law of the Lin family. After her husband passed away, she carried his surname, stayed in her husband's house, and lived as a dutiful daughter-in-law of the Lin family.

But they lost the girl named Ji Chuntao.

She nodded vigorously, her voice trembling slightly: "Okay, Auntie likes this title."

Grandma Liu seemed to have her thoughts touched by these words. Yes, why is it that once you get married, you can only be someone else's daughter-in-law, and your own name doesn't count anymore?

She had always thought this was a matter of course, but listening to Ya Ya's words, she vaguely felt that this conventional truth might not be like this at all.

Ya Ya waved her little hand at Ji Chuntao: "Aunt Chuntao, I'm going to the cellar!"

Ji Chuntao smiled and agreed. Watching the little guy skip and jump, a light of her own appeared in her eyes for the first time.

The cellar was extremely large; it took Zhao Hu and his team two or three days to complete.

Ya Ya thought that since she had been carrying things back every day, the cellar should be almost full, maybe half full. But when she went down there, she found that the things she had brought only occupied a small corner, and the huge cellar was mostly empty.

The little guy secretly made up his mind that he needed to eat more milk powder, eggs, and meat to grow strong quickly so that he could bring back more rice and grains at once.

After surveying her newly conquered "little kingdom," Ya Ya ran back to the ground.

Little Bean led Little Shuanzi to wash wild onions by the basin.

Little Bean knew this was a good thing that Sister Ya Ya could take to exchange for money, so when she saw Little Shuanzi playing in the mud again, she simply led him to pick wild onions.

I've already accumulated quite a pile, and it's been washed quite nicely.

Before long, breakfast was ready, and Ji Chuntao brought the dishes to the table.

Two sweet potatoes were cut into small pieces, their golden flesh exuding a soft, sweet aroma.

I never expected that this rock-hard block would turn out so soft and chewy after steaming, with a unique and enticing aroma.

These days, she uses the sauces and spices that Ya Ya brought back to hone her culinary skills, and her craft is becoming more and more refined. She removes the seeds from those few green, pointed vegetables to keep the seeds, and chops up the green skin to use as a seasoning when stir-frying them with meat; the taste is surprisingly delicious with rice.

Grandma Liu picked up a piece of sweet potato for Ya Ya. The flesh was golden yellow and steaming hot, and the sweet aroma wafted into her nose.

Ya Ya took a small bite, and her eyes lit up instantly.

It's soft and fluffy, melting in your mouth with just a sip, and has a chewy, sticky texture.

"tasty!"

Everyone took a small piece, and after taking a bite, they were all stunned.

"Sweet...it's sweet, soft and refreshingly sweet!"

"What kind of magical fruit is this?!"

The elderly person's teeth are not very good, so when they came across sweet potatoes, they ate them one by one with great relish and satisfaction. However, there were only two in total, and they were gone in just two small bites.

Xiao Shuanzi squinted his eyes with sweetness.

"Try this tender tofu and wild vegetable soup, I just sprinkled some salt on it," Ji Chuntao said with a smile.

"And there's tofu too!"

Everyone raved about the meal.

"Lin family, your cooking skills are getting better and better."

"It's because Nannan brought back good things." Ji Chuntao pursed her lips, but she couldn't suppress the smile on her face. She loved cooking, and she loved seeing the satisfied and happy expressions on everyone's faces when they ate the food she made.

"It's Aunt Chuntao, her name is Ji Chuntao, not from the Lin family!" Ya Ya swallowed a mouthful of soft tofu and hurriedly argued loudly.

Everyone was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter.

"So Lin's real name is Ji Chuntao. That's a beautiful name."

"Listen to Nannan, from now on she'll be called Chuntao."

"Spring peach is a name that evokes a sense of freshness and beauty."

Each compliment made Ji Chuntao's cheeks flush slightly, and her heart felt warm.