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

When the group gathered around and saw that it really was wild aralia shoots, and that they were of the best quality and picked at the best time, someone immediately shouted that they would take them all for 60 yuan a pound.

A regular one sells for 40, a better one for 50, but if this person can charge 60, no one will compete with them.

Cao Xiulian kept two bunches, intending to let her son try some fresh wild game and get some nutrition. The rest were weighed, exactly four jin (2 catties), and she sold them all to the person who offered 60 yuan, receiving 240 yuan in return.

She waved her phone at Ya Ya, "Look, your vegetables sold for 240 yuan. Your clothes, rice, noodles, and meat were all bought with these vegetables. Auntie didn't lose out at all!"

The older woman running the stall nearby chimed in, "Girl, your aunt isn't lying to you. These vegetables could easily sell for over three hundred yuan. Your clothes and food add up to about five hundred yuan. If you really feel bad next time, just pick a few more bunches for your aunt!"

Ya Ya was still a bit clueless; she could only count numbers up to 10 and had no idea about the value of money. She could only try her best to memorize it in her little head and wait until she went back to the village to find Grandpa Fang.

Seeing that her purse was starting to respond, she put on her new clothes, followed Cao Xiulian's instructions, grasped the handle of the stroller, bowed deeply to her, and whispered, "Thank you, Auntie. I'll bring you more next time!"

This time she remembered her aunt's words and was extra careful, looking at each step carefully.

Cao Xiulian watched her small figure until she disappeared at the intersection before carefully putting away the two bundles of tender shoots and continuing to set up her stall.

Ya Ya pushed the cart with both hands, muttering to herself, "40 per jin... prickly buds... 240... more than 500..."

Then they returned to Lotus Village with the stroller.

When Ya Ya opened her eyes, she was startled.

The room was lit by a dim candle. It was clearly time for them to be sound asleep, but the village chief, Grandpa Fang, and Uncle Zhao were all there. Grandma Liu was also sitting to the side, barely keeping her eyes open.

Upon her appearance, all eyes immediately fell upon her, shining brightly.

The little cart was still clutched in her hands. The creamy-yellow little dumpling stood on the kang (a heated brick bed), wearing a fluffy rabbit ear hat with two ears hanging down on both sides. She was also wearing a red and white strawberry scarf and holding the cart handles that were as tall as her. This sight made the village chief and the others swoon with delight.

I've changed all my clothes! The fabric and color are so vibrant!

How can our little girl be so cute!

What's this stuff? It smells like meat.

Ya Ya blinked and asked softly, "Grandpa Village Chief, Grandpa Fang, Uncle Zhao, why aren't you asleep? You're all at Grandma's house."

Before they could even reply, she suddenly remembered the numbers she had been repeating all the way. She immediately let go of his hand and ran to Fang Tiesheng, tugging at his sleeve with her little hand: "Grandpa Fang, quick! Quickly help me remember them, quickly help me count them, I can't remember them! I'll forget them all if it's any later!"

Grandma Liu quickly stepped forward, touched the smooth fabric of her clothes, glanced at the stroller, and seeing Ya Ya's anxious expression, asked with a mix of nervousness and curiosity, "Ya Ya, speak slowly, don't rush, what's wrong?"

Ya Ya didn't have time to explain in detail. She counted on her little fingers, trying hard to remember: "Auntie's vegetables sold for 240, yes, 240, plus clothes and food. My other aunt said it would cost over 500, and the vegetables over 300!"

She became more and more confused as she spoke, her little brows furrowed. "How much is 240 for Grandpa Fang? Is it more or less than 500? I can only count to 10, I can't distinguish these numbers."

"They're still 40 yuan a pound left, now they're 60 yuan a pound, let's sell them all!"

The village chief and Zhao the hunter also came over, looking at Ya Ya's brand-new, fluffy cotton-padded clothes and the small, exquisite stroller, and listening to the series of random numbers, they became even more curious.

Zhao Hu scratched his head: "Ya Ya, what's 40 or 60 yuan per jin? What vegetables are over 300 yuan? How come they're so expensive?"

Ya Ya nodded, then shook her head. "Yes, it was the thorny sprouts I picked this afternoon. They were sold! And then my aunt gave me lots and lots of things."

Fang Tiesheng's eyes lit up again. He quickly found a stick and used it to trace patterns on the ground by the candlelight. "Ya Ya, speak slowly, don't rush. Did you sell the prickly buds? Did you sell them for 300 or 240?"

"My aunt sold them for 240 yuan and kept two bundles for herself. Then the aunt next to her said they could sell for more than 300 yuan."

Ya Ya pursed her little mouth into a straight line, trying hard to recall Cao Xiulian's words, and said intermittently, "Auntie bought pork knuckle, rice, noodles, milk, and braised beef, all in the cart. Auntie also bought the cart, I think it cost 50."

He pointed to the small cart on the kang (a heated brick bed).

When Granny Liu touched the cart, the wheels started moving very smoothly. Everyone was surprised again, as the wheels hadn't made a sound.

Zhao Hu pulled the car over and studied how to open it.

After fiddling with it for a while, the clasp clicked open.

Inside the car, on top of everything was Ya Ya's old coat. Zhao Hu carefully placed the folded coat aside, and when he saw what was underneath, he gasped in shock.

Good heavens! This!

Seeing his shocked expression, the village chief immediately went over, and Granny Liu also stood on tiptoe to look into the car. When they saw what was inside, their eyes widened.

Zhao Hu steadied himself and took the items out one by one.

The first thing they brought out was a bag of fine rice. I weighed it and estimated it to be more than a pound (one pound in ancient times was sixteen ounces). The white rice grains were plump and glossy, clean and without any impurities. It was ten times better than the most expensive rice in the town's grain store!

Next came several packets of noodles, the noodles were as thin as silk threads, wrapped in paper, four bundles in total.

The paper used to wrap the noodles was so white it was dazzling. Such good paper, and it was only used to wrap noodles in that place!

Below that was a square box. There were five people in the room, four of whom were illiterate, all staring longingly at Fang Tiesheng, who was still scribbling and organizing numbers.

He squinted and leaned closer to take a look. The characters were all incomplete or missing parts, but the two largest characters were still very easy to recognize: Milk.

"This is milk! Heavens, in that land, milk is readily available! Are there really this many oxen?"

"This is a rare delicacy; only the nobles of the capital can afford to eat it!"

In the far corner, there was a large bag of meat that smelled incredibly fragrant even with the opening tied. Once opened, the aroma of the meat became even stronger.

We've all eaten quite a lot today, but the smell still makes our mouths water.

So delicious!

The large pork knuckle, cut into chunks with a thick layer of trembling fat, and pig ears, and most shockingly, the evenly cut, beautifully textured slices of meat. Ya Ya said, "This is beef!"

Zhao Hu's hands were trembling as he gripped the bag. Beef!

In those days, oxen were precious, and killing an ox was a serious crime. Even committing suicide against one's own ox would result in a year of penal imprisonment. Oxen that died of old age or disease also had to be reported to the government for verification before being slaughtered by the government.

Sending someone to their home privately is still illegal.

Ordinary people wouldn't even dare to dream of it; only princes and empresses in the capital could taste it. I never expected to see it here, and in such a large bag!

Further down, there were several bags with words printed on them. Although the words were missing parts, the word "salt" could still be made out.

When Fang Tiesheng said it might be salt, everyone shuddered.

Zhao Hu carefully opened a package. The contents were whiter than snow, dense and fluffy. He pinched a small amount, tasted it, and found it to be purely salty, without any bitterness, pebbles, or sand.

"This...this is refined salt! It's even finer than the refined salt supplied to the imperial court, and there are two bags of this quality!"

There were also several bottles and jars of various sizes, all of which looked very exquisite. The bottles were smooth and labeled "vinegar," "soy sauce," and "peanut oil."

Everything was laid out, filling the entire edge of the kang (heated brick bed).