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

"Oh my dear Yaya, why did you pick these prickly things? This tree is full of thorns! Just tell Uncle what you need and Uncle will get it for you! Your little hands must hurt so much from all the pricks."

Ya Ya twisted her little hands shyly, "Uncle Zhao, Ya Ya thought she could pick it herself. I wanted to bring some food for Auntie, but I couldn't find bracken, shepherd's purse wasn't good, and this is too tender... Everyone is busy, and I don't want to trouble others."

Hunter Zhao's nose tingled again. He poured some water from the bucket and rinsed the small wound on Ya Ya's hand. "Uncle helped you pick it. Don't do this again next time!"

Hunter Zhao cut off the buds and stems of about a dozen thorny trees in the bushes, but left the trunks, thinking they might grow another batch.

The buds of this prickly tree are indeed quite crisp and tender to eat, while the older leaves are not so tasty, though they are a bit prickly. But they are considered one of the most delicious wild vegetables here, no wonder Ya Ya wanted to pick some to give away.

There are also many stinky-leaved trees in the mountains. They look similar to thorny trees, but they don't have many thorns. They smell terrible and eating them will give you diarrhea.

The day before, he was thinking that since he couldn't dig up any kudzu roots, he would just pick all the leaves from that stinky tree.

After cutting off all the buds from the thorny tree, Zhao Hu had piled up what he estimated to be three or four pounds of buds at his feet.

He put the thorny sprouts into the half-empty bucket and called Ya Ya to come back with him, so they could also add water to Grandma Liu's water tank.

Grandma Liu and Hunter Zhao carefully washed the thorny sprouts clean, then pulled up some soft straw, tied them into small bundles, and put them into the non-woven bag that Ya Ya had brought yesterday, which still had a bit of the smell of meat buns and sugar cakes.

I weighed it in my hand; it was a bit heavy. Next time, I'll have to ask Granny Li to make a small basket for Ya Ya.

Before we knew it, it was dusk, and the sky gradually darkened. The village was quiet.

Grandma Liu straightened Ya Ya's thickened little jacket, tied two little pigtails in her hair, loosely hung the cloth bag around Ya Ya's wrist, and rubbed Ya Ya's little head.

Ya Ya touched her brand-new little handbag, picked up the thermos, and said, "Grandma, I'm going now."

Grandma Liu stared intently at Ya Ya, a silver bucket hanging in one hand and a bag of wild vegetables in the other. With a slight sway, her small figure vanished silently from her sight.

May the Bodhisattva protect you, may the gods protect you.

Ya Ya must be safe and sound.

……

The familiar mixed aroma wafted into her nose, and before Ya Ya even opened her eyes, her little face lit up with a smile.

I opened my eyes and saw familiar streets, red four-legged sheds, people busily making preparations, and steaming hot buns.

Grandpa Fang was right, she's here again.

A morning market in Northeast China.

Just as dawn was breaking, Cao Xiulian set up her stall at her usual spot on her tricycle and lit the stove to cook corn porridge.

She was wrapped in a thick cotton coat, and whenever she was making fondant cakes, she would glance at the stone pier, thinking about the little girl from yesterday.

She was afraid the little girl wouldn't be able to find her, so she made sure not to change locations and even set up her stall a little earlier than usual. The little girl had said she was coming to return the thermos today.

About half an hour later, Cao Xiulian looked up at the stone pier again as usual and saw a small figure standing next to it. The figure was wearing the same padded jacket as yesterday, but it looked thicker. The figure was carrying her thermos in one hand, the non-woven bag that Cao Xiulian had given her yesterday in the other, and a small cloth bag on her body. The figure was looking around.

Cao Xiulian quickly called out, "Girl! Over here! Come here quickly!"

When Ya Ya heard the shout, she turned her head and saw Cao Xiulian. Her eyes lit up, and she took a step and ran over to them.

"Slow down, kid! You're crossing the road, watch out for the cars!" Cao Xiulian shouted. Why is this kid always so reckless, rushing headlong into the road?

Ya Ya's little face was flushed from the wind. She ran up to Cao Xiulian, still panting, and handed her the bucket: "Auntie, here's your bucket back. It's clean now!"

Cao Xiulian put the bucket aside and squatted down to be level with her: "Girl, Auntie is telling you, you can't run like that anymore. There are cars coming and going on this main road. What if you, a little kid, get hit if you run too fast?"

"Auntie's stall is right here, she can't run away. No need to rush, it's safer to walk slowly, understand?"

Ya Ya blinked her big eyes, thinking she had done something wrong. She clutched the hem of her clothes, wondering, "Isn't this a road for people to walk on? Why is it called a road? And what's a car?"

But she still nodded obediently, "Okay, Auntie."

Looking at her obedient appearance, Cao Xiulian remembered what the child had said yesterday: that her parents had passed away and she was living with her mother-in-law, whose health was not good. Her heart softened instantly, and she sighed.

Just then, a Wuling minivan sped past. She pointed at the car and said to Ya Ya, "Look at that car, how fast it's going! Your little body is made of flesh, but these cars are made of metal. If you get hit, you won't just be talking about pain, you could die! Next time you cross the road, look left first, then right, and only cross slowly when there are no cars. You can't run anymore!"

Ya Ya stared at the passing bread trucks and electric scooters, nodding vigorously as she memorized the name of the square metal monsters as "vehicles" and the name of the flat road people walked on as "roads."

Cao Xiulian gently patted her little head and said softly, "Auntie isn't blaming you. You didn't do anything wrong. Auntie is just worried about you, afraid you'll bump into something."

Ya Ya smiled, pursing her lips, and handed over the hanging cloth bag with her little hand: "Thank you, Auntie. Auntie, I brought you something."

Cao Xiulian reached out and took the bag. A glance at the girl's small hand made her heart clench. "Hey? What happened to your hand? Why are there so many blood spots? Did you get pricked by a thorn?"

Ya Ya quickly hid her little hands behind her back. "It's okay, Auntie, it doesn't hurt. Uncle Zhao washed my hands and even blew on them!"

Cao Xiulian took her small hand and examined it closely. It was covered with tiny marks from thorns. When she opened the cloth bag, she found bundles of clean, neatly tied thorn buds inside. Instantly, she understood everything!

This child's hand got so injured from picking this for her!

These tender shoots are very precious. They can only be harvested for a short period of time in early spring. The stems and branches are covered with small thorns, making harvesting and processing very time-consuming and laborious. They are easy to prick your hands. Purely wild ones sell for 4 or 50 yuan per kilogram and people are scrambling to buy them!

Scrambled eggs, whether dipped in egg sauce or not, are rare delicacies.

This bag must weigh three or four pounds. She only gave me some porridge and a few steamed buns and mantou. It's not worth such a heavy gift!

Cao Xiulian felt a mix of warmth and sadness in her heart, and her nose felt stuffy. Looking at Ya Ya's expectant eyes, she couldn't speak for a long time.

"Auntie, I wanted to pick some bracken for you, but I couldn't find any. Only this thorny tree has sprouted. I've eaten this before, so it's edible. Next time, I'll find some bracken and bring it to you."

Ya Ya said softly, but her heart was filled with bitterness.

In the past, when villagers visited each other during festivals, they would bring meat, but I would only give my aunt these mountain leaves, which she probably didn't like.

But her aunt gave her so many delicious things; these were the best things she could find.