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

The store manager subtly glanced at Ya Ya.

Although the child's clothes were brand new, her shoes were very old and worn out, with very thin soles. Her complexion was yellowish, her cheeks were slightly sunken, and there were traces of frostbite on her little hands.

Given that she doesn't even recognize a toothbrush, she must be a poor mountain girl who rarely gets to come to the city with her elders.

His heart softened, and he ordered a box of three toothbrushes. "There are three in a box. There are twenty-one of you, so seven boxes will be enough."

"As for toothpaste, if you use it sparingly, it will last a long time. You can buy two tubes to try and see if you like them. Then you can buy more when you run out."

Ya Ya nodded obediently, quietly counting the number of items the shopkeeper uncle had told her, and neatly placing them into the small basket.

"You can bring a few bars of this sulfur soap. You can use it to wash your hands, clothes, and take a bath. It's especially good at removing oil and dirt, and it can also kill bacteria and disinfect."

The store manager then pointed to the yellow packaging bags in the basket next to him.

Ya Ya's little face was full of surprise.

Can it be used for washing hands, clothes, and taking a shower? And can it also remove oil and dirt?

In their village, people wash their hands with wood ash, but the water is cold and astringent, so their hands don't get clean. Bathing is even rarer; they hardly ever bathe in winter, and in summer they just rinse their hands with river water.

If clothes get dirty, you have to mix them with wood ash and water and beat them until they're clean, which takes a lot of effort.

Such a small thing can do so many things?

She couldn't resist reaching out her little hand and gently touching the yellow packaging bag. Her fingertips felt a soft, rustling sensation, and the touch produced a soft, rustling sound.

Curious, I leaned closer and took a sniff. A faint, indescribable scent wafted into my nose. It wasn't fragrant, but it was very clean, completely different from the smell of wood ash and soil in the mountains.

It was a smell I had never experienced before.

"This...how do I use it?" she asked softly, her voice tinged with trepidation.

The store manager was taken aback at first, then even more surprised.

This child doesn't even know how to use soap?

He glanced at Ya Ya's small, rough hands and, thinking of his own child studying away from home, said gently, "It's alright, I'll take you to the back and teach you how to use it."

He turned and called out to the shop assistant patrolling nearby, "Xiao Zhang, can you keep an eye on the front for me?"

The clerk responded, and the store manager led Ya Ya through the shelves to the sink in the small restroom at the back of the store.

"Here, look." The shop manager turned on the tap.

"Whoosh—"

Clear water gushed out of the silver pipe, flowing continuously.

Ya Ya was so frightened that she took a step back, looking incredulous. How could the water just come out on its own?

The shop manager smiled and waited for the water to warm up a little while before taking her small hand under the tap. The warm water gently flowed over the back of her hand, feeling warm and comfortable.

The shop manager picked up the sulfur soap from the soap dish next to her and gently rubbed it in her palm.

Soon, a layer of slippery, white foam appeared.

Ya Ya let out a "Ya!" and carefully moved her fingers. The bubbles followed, making her feel itchy and having fun.

"Look, just rub it, and the dirt gets washed away by the bubbles."

The shop manager helped her rinse off the soap. Looking at her hands, which were originally a little yellow and covered in fine dust, they were now clean and dry, with even the dust between her fingers gone. Her skin looked whiter and smoother, and she had a faint scent of soap.

Ya Ya looked at her hands, then at the faucet, and then at the sulfur soap still covered in foam, her little face full of shock.

This thing is amazing!

It's a hundred times, a thousand times better than wood ash!

When the weather gets warmer, she'll definitely become fair and clean after taking a bath with this!

She looked up and asked softly but earnestly, "Uncle Manager, is this... also two yuan?"

She couldn't believe it; such a wonderful thing must be very, very expensive.

"Yes, two yuan. Everything in our store is two yuan," the store manager confirmed again.

"There are 21 of you, so one tube per family should be enough. You don't need to buy 21 tubes. This will last a long time, just like toothpaste." The shop manager thought for a moment and then added, "Buying four or five tubes will be fine."

He led Ya Ya back to the shelf by the door, bent down and took five bars of sulfur soap from the basket, putting them into Ya Ya's small basket: "Uncle has put them away for you. They should last for about half a year."

Chen Lei looked at the skinny little girl. He couldn't believe there were still children so isolated from the world in this day and age. *Sigh*

With a sigh, she went to the back and found a pink-packaged bar of soap, handing it to her. "This is a scented soap. It's gentler on the skin when you use it in the shower, less irritating, and leaves you smelling nice."

Ya Ya curiously took it, and a sweet and gentle fragrance immediately entered her nose, refreshing and sweet.

It smells better than all the wildflowers in the mountains combined.

She smiled and said, "Thank you, Uncle."

Then, with great care, he placed the pink rose-scented soap into the small basket.

As customers began to pay, Chen Lei, seeing that she seemed to have no other problems, turned around and went back behind the counter.

Ya Ya looked at the shelf in front of her, then dragged her little basket forward a little further.

This is a full-face hair clip.

Some have small flowers, some have pearls, and some are pink and delicate.

Ya Ya didn't linger and continued dragging herself forward.

She didn't recognize the hair clips, but thought they were pretty. However, they were so small and cost two yuan, so she couldn't bear to buy them.

There were also many hair ties and headbands on both sides. Ya Ya skipped over them one by one. After walking a few more steps, Ya Ya suddenly stopped. This was the stationery section of the two-dollar store. The pretty and cute notebooks and ballpoint pens were placed on the third shelf or higher, at chest level or eye level, which was the most attractive to customers.

The lower shelf is usually used to store larger items such as calligraphy practice paper and watercolor sketchbooks.

Ya Ya could only reach the bottom two layers. Looking at this whole row of clean, white paper, she was completely stunned!

This is paper! Paper for writing!

And they don't sell them one sheet at a time; they're packaged in transparent bags and sold book by book!

Ya Ya squatted down and looked at the papers carefully. She had heard Grandpa Fang say that studying was very expensive. Even the worst piece of hemp paper cost 2 coins, which was more expensive than an egg.

This thick book had labels on it. She didn't recognize the words, but she recognized the number: curved and with circles. 50!

These 50 sheets of paper cost only 2 yuan.

Ya Ya stretched out her little hand, grabbed two notebooks of rough-edged paper, and put them in the small basket.

She didn't bring a shopping cart, so she can't buy too much. There are still so many other things here; she can't just buy paper.

Ya Ya is now an experienced and intelligent child.

She continued dragging her small basket inside, and then saw a row of calligraphy brushes on the third horizontal shelf in front!

Ya Ya covered her mouth. "This is also two yuan?"

She had seen the exact same pen at Grandpa Fang's house, and heard that it cost 200 coins back then, but here it only costs 2 yuan.

She quickly reached out her little hand to grab the hanging pen, but she was too short and couldn't reach it for a long time.

"Little sister, do you want to take the calligraphy brush? You're so young and you're already practicing calligraphy?" A gentle voice suddenly came from beside her.

A slender, fair hand took the hanging calligraphy brush and handed it to Ya Ya.

Ya Ya held the pen and turned around to see a beautiful, fair-skinned young lady who looked like a fairy.

"No, I... I can't read yet. I want to buy one for Grandpa because his pen bristles are all worn out." Ya Ya was a little shy. ⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄ "Sister is so pretty, and she smells so good."

He Miao chuckled, her eyes crinkling into crescents: "What a filial child! Do you still want to choose? Let your sister help you."

She lives nearby and visits her happy old home two-dollar store every week.

I've been watching this kid for a while now; his expressions are really funny.