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

He read through each line carefully.

Even after only a cursory glance at the contents, an overwhelming excitement welled up in my eyes: drought-resistant, easy to grow, and suitable for sloping terrain.

The biggest shortage in their village is land. They have plenty of hillside land, but now that they have these seeds, the hillside land can be put to use. I can't even imagine what Lotus Village will look like next year.

He put down the pumpkin seeds in his hand and picked up the watermelon seeds next to him.

watermelon.

Fang Tiesheng suddenly recalled a scent buried deep in his memory—a refreshing, crisp, and sweet smell mixed with the heat of summer.

He had visited the county town several times when he was young and had seen watermelons sold on the streets in the summer.

With its emerald green skin encasing tender red flesh, one bite releases a burst of juice, refreshing and thirst-quenching—a rare delicacy in the county town.

That year, a whole watermelon cost a full eighty coins, which ordinary families simply couldn't afford. Only wealthy families could afford to buy one to chill in well water and eat slowly.

Ordinary farmers would never even taste it, let alone recognize this rare fruit.

He was lucky enough to try a piece; it was a few leftover pieces that the vendor was selling at a discount as he was about to close up shop, so he was willing to buy a small piece.

The taste, upon closer reflection, doesn't seem particularly sweet, yet it's something you can remember for a long time.

He never expected that such rare watermelon seeds would also be brought back by Nannan.

She had never seen or eaten a watermelon before.

The village chief, Zhao Huliu's grandmother, and the other two rummaged through the small packets of seeds on the table, looking at the patterns. The leafy greens were easy to identify, but what were these two round fruits?

"Sweetie, what's this fruit?"

"These are watermelon and pumpkin seeds!" Ya Ya swung her little feet, recalling the seed shop aunt's introduction in her mind. "The watermelon flesh is red and full of juice, and it tastes sweet and refreshing. The pumpkin is filling and big. The aunt said that these two kinds are drought-resistant and easy to grow. They don't require much care and are not picky about the location. They can take root and grow on sunny slopes on the mountain."

"It can be planted in sandy soil too. I thought I could plant it on the slope at the edge of the village, so I bought it!"

Upon hearing this, the village chief's face instantly lit up with undisguised joy.

The sunny slope, the eroded slope at the entrance of the village, can now be put to use. By utilizing the barren slope, we can not only enjoy sweet fruits in the future, but the seeds that take root can also hold the ground and reduce landslides!

He said "good" three times in a row.

"Let's move the seeds and rice to the cellar. You keep the meat, it'll spoil easily outside. It's getting late, get some rest."

The village chief stuffed several bags of seeds into his pocket, his mind already starting to plan out the plots of land at the beginning and end of the village.

As the crowd dispersed, the small earthen house gradually quieted down.

Grandma Liu helped Ya Ya get ready for washing and then returned to the kang (a heated brick bed) covered with military green bedding.

The soft, thick quilt doesn't feel heavy like a cattail quilt; it has a dry, sun-dried smell, and a faint scent of sunshine and herbs lingers around you.

Ya Ya lay on the soft blanket and couldn't help but curl up and roll around several times.

"Grandma, this blanket is so comfortable!"

Grandma Liu tucked the fluffy blanket into the blanket, her eyes crinkling with a smile, "Get some rest."

After speaking, he got up, picked up the clip-on lamp that was held in the window, and tiptoed outside. He clipped the lamp to a wooden post outside the house, and the warm white light fell on a corner outside the house, gradually dimming the light inside.

The door creaked shut.

She turned around, sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and gently pulled Ya Ya into her arms. The two of them covered each other with the sun-dried new quilt.

The blanket was soft and snug against my skin, and the warmth gradually spread throughout my body, keeping out the cool mountain breeze that seeped in at night.

The little girl nestled in Grandma Liu's warm embrace, surrounded by a clean and pleasant scent. Ya Ya relaxed completely, and her eyelids slowly grew heavy.

……

The lights in the studio stayed on all night.

Su Yuqing and He Miao stayed up all night, their eyes were bloodshot, and their exhaustion was evident in their expressions.

The desktop was piled with a thick stack of crumpled and redrawn design drafts, covered with dense pencil marks, and crumpled pieces of paper were scattered all over the floor.

Most ordinary straw cat beds on the market only have basic styles with simple edging and machine overlocking. Hand-woven cat beds lack originality and have a mediocre texture, making them uncompetitive and indistinguishable from mass-produced machine-woven cat beds.

Customers simply won't be willing to pay for this.

Whether handmade or machine-woven, since they look similar and pets won't mind the subtle differences, we need to carefully consider the applicability and uniqueness of the design.

Otherwise, if you spend so much time weaving, and can only sell at the price of mass-produced machines, you might as well focus on making shoes.

He Miao stared at the scattered sketches on the table, her fingertips pressing against her throbbing temples, feeling utterly frustrated.

The common round and square shapes have long been overdone, and there is no future in simply copying old-fashioned designs. She was determined to create original designs that are durable, sturdy, uniquely shaped, and combine aesthetics with practicality. She drafted and sketched again and again, making countless drafts, but none of them met her standards.

Su Yuqing was engrossed in drawing patterns for straw hats and straw bags. The two looked at each other across the table, both of them looking exhausted.

"Miaomiao, go take a nap first. Later, go find Yaya and ask about the production volume in their village. Order the shoes first." Su Yuqing leaned back in her chair.

They originally planned to stay up all night to make a few sample drawings so that when Ya Ya asked about the production volume, she could take the drawings back with her and ask about it, so that they would only have to make one trip.

Clearly, they overestimated themselves.