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

The three little ones huddled together, fiddling with the cardboard box for a long time. Ya Ya remembered how Cao Xiulian taught her, and groped her way to pry open the straw packaging stuck to the box. Then, she held the straw in her little hand and poked it into the transparent round silver piece. A faint milky smell wafted out.

Ya Ya then helped Xiao Douzi and Xiao Shuanzi insert straws as well, and then took a big sip from her own box. A sweet milky taste slid down her throat, and it was so delicious that she couldn't help but want to stomp her feet.

Little Shuanzi followed suit, took a sip through the straw while holding the box, and his eyes lit up immediately. Then he took small sips little by little. Sister Ya Ya must be a fairy descended from heaven, otherwise how could she conjure up such delicious food!

At breakfast time, steam was rising from Grandma Liu's stove, and the aroma filled the entire yard.

Grandma Li and Aunt Lin mixed the kudzu root that Hunter Zhao had brought back yesterday with some fine white rice and cooked a pot of thick porridge.

Yesterday, they thought eating kudzu root porridge was the best thing ever. But right after finishing the porridge, they were served big white steamed buns and meat buns. They were practically living like county magistrates. But today, things got even better. Ya Ya actually brought fine rice, flour, and meat! It was cooked, and I don't know what kind of braised meat it was made with. The aroma from a distance was so enticing that it made people shiver.

The villagers moved all the tables to Grandma Liu's yard. Without the walls, the yard could fit many tables.

Four large square tables were put together, and all twenty-one people gathered around the table, making it very lively.

A large plate of brownish-red braised pork was steaming on the table. A large piece of braised pork knuckle with bone in it, thick-skinned and glistening with fat, was brought out and was still trembling, looking incredibly tempting!

The slices of meat next to it, the village chief said, were actually beef.

It's terrifying! This is beef! Taking even one bite could land you in jail, and Ya Ya actually managed to get her hands on it!

And then there's the pork heart and pig's head meat. Not to mention on ordinary days, even during the Spring Festival, the village can't get such good food!

With two large bags of salt, Aunt Lin also made a pot of wild vegetable soup. She blanched the vegetables, sprinkled some salt on them, stirred it, and it became a delicious bowl of springtime freshness.

Now everyone knows that the thorny shoots in the mountains can be exchanged for food. With that confidence, they no longer hesitate to eat them and eat their fill without wasting any!

Gather your strength and go back to the hillside to cut thorny shoots. Those with more strength will help Granny Liu with the work. There's also spring plowing. The weather is about to warm up, but the fields haven't been plowed yet. The soil is so compacted; you can't work without strength!

The village chief repeatedly urged, "Don't skimp on food! You need to eat well to have the energy to work! The spring wheat will be ready for planting soon, and loosening the soil and carrying water are all strenuous tasks. Don't let me see anyone deliberately skimping on food and getting sick! I'll nag them!"

The rice porridge was smooth and sweet, the braised pork knuckle was tender and flavorful, and some people even brought the steamed buns, mantou, and sweet cakes that they couldn't bear to finish yesterday. They ate one bite of mantou and one bite of shredded meat, holding their bowls and eating non-stop.

Aunt Lin, who had a bland palate, poured herself a bowl of wild vegetable soup. As she ate, she realized something was wrong and slapped her thigh in distress. "Oh dear! We used to just eat these wild vegetable sprouts casually, finding them too spicy and bland. Now that I think about it, how much good food can these sprouts get from just one bite? It really breaks my heart!"

As soon as these words were spoken, someone immediately chimed in: "That's right, we're so reluctant to eat them, how come wild vegetables are more precious than meat! From now on, we'll even keep the leaves, who knows, we might be able to exchange them. Is there hardly any grass or leaves over there? Are there pigs and cows running around all over there?"

"Could we get some chickens instead? A few days ago, all the chickens in the village were killed and eaten, and now there isn't a single poultry left."

Ya Ya listened intently, memorizing the word "chicken." She also craved eggs. Back when there were still chickens in the village, she could occasionally get one or two eggs, which were fragrant and filling.

Next time I go, I'll definitely look for where there are eggs.

After the meal, everyone got busy with their respective tasks.

The aunties and grandmothers quickly cleared away the dishes, washed the pots and pans.

Ya Ya and Grandma Liu were escorted to the village chief's house. The thatched roof of her house was not dense and was now leaking wind and rain. They were lifting the roof and cleaning the kang (a heated brick bed). The ash underneath had formed black lumps. The old men who were helping to clean the kang were covered in dust.

Hunter Zhao led a group of men into the mountains, specifically looking for thorny buds. If they could find one batch of buds, there were bound to be more sprouting elsewhere.

The village chief followed, leaning on a cane and looking around, reminding her, "If you see any other wild vegetables, pick some too, but don't pick too many. Wash them clean and take them to Ya Ya; she might like them over there!"

"Want to pick some of those smelly leaves? They're similar to thorny buds, all red and purple. They just have a stronger odor."

Someone asked.

After hesitating for a long time, the village chief said, "Let's pick a handful, just in case someone wants some. Let's try them all."

"There are many over there. I saw them last time, but they were just sprouting. I think we can pick them now," Grandma Li recalled.

Zhao Hu also remembered a few places where there were quite a lot of stinky leaves left over because no one ate them.

After searching for almost two hours at the foot of the mountain, the hiking team had made some progress. They filled a large basket with thorny sprouts, along with a few handfuls of stinky leaves. They also gathered a small basket of shepherd's purse from the ground, and finally found a small patch of the bracken that Ya Ya had been longing for in the damp ditch halfway up the mountain.

If you pick it and weigh it, it weighs about three pounds.

Zhao Hu also went to the mountain streams and picked up some small shrimp and snails. These things are small, fishy, ​​and have a lot of mud and sand. In addition, they are in the mountains and the road is far away, so there are quite a few hidden in the mud.

He didn't pick up much, just grabbed a handful of everything and headed back. Seeing that it was getting late, he hurriedly came out of the stream to meet up with the team and head down the mountain.

The roof of Granny Liu's house has been rebuilt, and the kang (heated brick bed) has been connected, but the courtyard is not yet finished, and the stove is not yet built.

There was no other way; there were simply no able-bodied men or women in the village, only elderly people. They managed to cobble together a house that was habitable.

But once the fire was lit in the kitchen, the kang (heated brick bed) became much warmer than before.

Old Fang was leading three little children in learning to count, paying special attention to Ya Ya. If she could count a few more numbers, it would be much easier to buy her something next time. Learning to read also needed to be arranged.

He still needs to study those incomplete characters carefully, and the numbers there are different from theirs. This is something that Old Man Fang figured out by taking apart and flattening all the packaging from milk cartons, vinegar, salt, and so on.

He carefully kept all the papers close to his body; they were all valuable documents.