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

Here, a decent piece of paper costs half a coin, and a decent writing brush costs at least a hundred coins. During festivals, villagers have to use these resources sparingly and carefully when writing couplets.

In their eyes, such a large stack of paper and four fine pens were like a bag of silver.

Fang Tiesheng stroked the pen barrel again and again, "A fine pen... truly a fine pen... In my entire life, I've never touched such a comfortable and exquisite pen..."

Ya Ya lay on the edge of the table, her little face beaming with a sweet smile:

"Grandpa Fang, I bought four! Two for you, one for Xiaodouzi, and one for Xiaoshuanzi!"

Little Bean, who had been quiet all along, suddenly brightened up, staring intently at the paper and pen, her little body stiffening, her lips slightly pursed, looking both expectant and hesitant to approach.

"Oh my! Such good stuff, and this paper, who would want to use it? Giving it to this old codger or these two kids would be such a waste!"

Fang Tiesheng waved his hands repeatedly, gently holding the pen, and not even bothering to open the paper's packaging. "If this were in town, one pen would cost over a hundred coins. Such good white paper, half a coin per sheet would be considered cheap. This thick stack, how much silver would it be worth..."

"It's not a waste. The money that Ya Ya buys comes from all the money earned by the grandpas, grandmas, aunts, uncles and everyone else in the village, so everyone should share what we buy!" Ya Ya said as she took out pens from the bag and distributed them.

Little Bean clasped his hands together, gripping the calligraphy brush tightly, and couldn't help but smile.

Little Shuanzi, who was standing nearby, also got a pen. As soon as he got his hands on it, the little bean immediately grabbed the pen, swung his arm, and shouted, "Hey ha!"

With a whooshing sound, like someone wielding a monkey king's staff, it swung through the air while shouting, "Fight the monster, wield the staff!"

Fang Tiesheng was terrified. He rushed forward and carefully, nervously, snatched the pen from his hand: "Oh my little darling, let go! This is a writing pen, not a twig. I'll be heartbroken if it breaks!"

Xiao Shuanzi was a little unhappy that his hand was empty, but he didn't make a fuss. He just stared at the pen longingly.

By now, Ya Ya had already deftly unpacked the package of rough-edged paper. Fang Tiesheng returned to the table and looked at the paper. The paper was white and flat, and it felt smooth to the touch, not rough at all.

"Good paper... really good paper... worth two yuan a sheet!"

Ya Ya tilted her little head and corrected, "Grandpa Fang, it's two yuan a pack, not one sheet!"

Fang Tiesheng and Zhao Hu were both stunned, and it took them a long time to recover.

This pack of fifty sheets of such good paper only costs two yuan? It's not even worth as much as a bunch of shepherd's purse by the roadside?

What exactly happened in that place?

They just couldn't understand it.

If the road is passable, I can sell some of these things...

Zhao Hu looked up towards the village entrance.

No, no.

We can't protect them.

While the two adults were still thinking, Ya Ya picked up the upside-down mirror on the table and took it apart. The shiny mirror immediately attracted everyone's attention.

She held the mirror up to Zhao Hu: "Uncle Zhao, look! The mirror is so clear!"

Zhao Hu looked down and was startled. The dark, sweaty face in the mirror, with its clearly visible wrinkles, seemed to recoil.

"This...this is me? Oh my, it's so clear!"

This was the first time in all his years that he had seen himself so clearly. Zhao Hu stroked his stubble and said, "I'm really handsome."

Ya Ya ran up to Xiao Shuanzi with the mirror in her hand, "Look!"

Xiao Shuanzi stared blankly at the little doll that had suddenly appeared in the mirror, then suddenly reached out and grabbed at his reflection, giggling and shaking his head.

"Face! Doll! Bright!"

"Is it clear or not?" Ya Ya asked smugly, shaking the mirror.

"I understand, I understand perfectly!"

"Does it look good?"

"Beautiful! Brighter than the moon!"

The people working outside gradually finished their tasks and, hearing the exclamations from the table, curiously gathered around.

crunch--

The courtyard gate opened, and the village chief returned with several villagers who had gone up the mountain to dig kudzu roots.

As soon as I entered, I saw people surrounding the table in layers.

What happened?

Ya Ya, with her sharp eyes, spotted the village chief immediately and ran over, holding a small mirror: "Grandpa Village Chief, Grandma Liu, you're back!"

"Come quick, Grandpa Village Chief has called everyone over to distribute good things!" She pulled the village chief's hand and dragged him to the small table.

The village chief walked to the small table and looked at the neatly arranged mirrors, the square yellow bags containing various items, and the paper and pens! There were also a bunch of strange boxes containing long, thin brushes, various colored handkerchiefs, and boxes of all kinds of bright colors.

I can't take it all in!

He reached out and gently patted the wooden table, his voice loud and clear:

"Don't push, everyone stand still. Everyone's here. If anyone's missing, hurry up and find them. We're having a short meeting!"

The crowd immediately fell silent. Fang Tiesheng counted the heads; there were twenty-one people, not one missing.

Ya Ya stood on a small stool, with Zhao the hunter supporting her so that everyone could see her. She picked up a bar of sulfur soap and tore it open along the serrated edge of the packaging.

With a whoosh, a round, yellowish object, resembling cream, slid out of the bag.

Ya Ya held the soap high, her little face full of seriousness:

"This is called sulfur soap. You can use it to wash your hands, face, and clothes. It cleans very well, and if you have dirt on your body, it will rinse it off in no time!"

After saying that, she turned her head again and said, "Grandpa, could you please fetch me a basin of clean water? Use this ladle; it's lightweight."

Soon, a ladle of clean water was brought up.

Ya Ya picked up a long, thin toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, both of which the old village chief had helped her unpack first.

"This is a toothbrush, used for brushing teeth. This is toothpaste, used together for brushing teeth. Uncle said that you have to brush your teeth every day so that they will be white, not painful, and won't get cavities."

The villagers were all dumbfounded; none of them had ever seen anything so elaborate or novel.

The village chief laughed and said, "Nannan, pick someone to demonstrate for everyone, so we can all learn something and broaden our horizons."

Ya Ya blinked and scanned the group chat. Everyone she looked at unconsciously straightened their chests.

Her gaze finally landed on Zhao Hu beside her, and her eyes lit up. Uncle Zhao's hands were the dirtiest! His fingernails were covered in mud!

"Uncle Zhao, why don't you give it a try!"

Upon being called upon, Hunter Zhao immediately straightened his back. "Uncle Fang, please help me for a moment."

As she spoke, she walked out from beside Ya Ya with her head held high and stood next to the water ladle, looking smug as if she had received a great honor.

People around them craned their necks to stare at the two of them.

"Come on, Uncle Zhao, I'll teach you."

Ya Ya first handed over the round, yellowish-brown bar of sulfur soap.

"Uncle Zhao, please wet your hands first."

Zhao Hu quickly put his two rough hands into the plastic water ladle. The water was cold, and he flinched slightly, but quickly regained his balance and carefully wetted his hands.