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

The people in this strange place are really weird; they eat a few bites of food and then throw it away.

Ya Ya swallowed hard, and seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she cautiously peered into the large tin box. She saw some things that she was sure had been eaten or bitten by someone else, and then quickly reached out, pulled them out, and immediately retreated back into the corner.

She picked up half a transparent jar of sweet water, with a round tube sticking out of it. Inside were four round, plump paper boxes, a small piece of soft pastry sprinkled with sweet, colorful crumbs, and half a string of shiny, sticky red berries.

She would gently lick each item she picked up to make sure it didn't taste strange and wouldn't cause stomach pain before carefully putting it away.

His tattered coat was stuffed full, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

It's so warm here.

Unlike in their village in winter, the wind howls and blows into their coats.

Ya Ya stared longingly at a young man walking towards her. He was holding a large, brownish-red pig's trotter in his hand, his mouth bulging, and there was sauce sticking to his lips.

It's meat, a really, really delicious piece of meat.

Gudong.

Ya Ya swallowed hard.

Perhaps the gaze from the corner was too intense, for the little boy gnawing on a pig's trotter glanced over and was startled when he saw two eyes sandwiched between the trash cans.

The pig's trotter also fell to the ground.

"Mom, there's someone in the trash can... My pig's trotter fell out..." The little boy looked at the pig's trotter that had fallen to the ground with frustration.

The young woman he called "Mom" glanced in the direction he was pointing, then quickly looked away. "Little scavenger, don't be afraid, Mom will buy you another one."

She gently took out a tissue and wiped the sauce off the little boy's mouth and hands.

Ya Ya looked at them with envy. Does "mother" mean "mother"? The little brother's mother is so gentle.

The two walked away, leaving behind a half-eaten pig's trotter on the ground, glistening with oil.

Ya Ya cautiously peeked her little head out from beside the tin box, looked around, took a few steps, and was about to reach out to grab it when the purse on her chest burned her painfully. A familiar feeling of weightlessness came over her, and the world spun before her eyes.

She quickly gathered the things in her arms, hugged them tightly, and closed her eyes.

The rumbling sounds, the cacophony of hawkers' cries, and the voices around me gradually faded away.

Instead, the familiar sound of the mountain wind from Lotus Village could be heard.

In the night market, two uniformed police officers followed several enthusiastic citizens to the trash can they had mentioned.

Empty.

"Huh? We saw a really pitiful little kid, his face was so thin it was sunken, his clothes were thin and tattered, and the kid was very wary of us, so we quickly called the police... Where did he go?"

……

When she opened her eyes again, she saw the familiar, dilapidated wooden door of the mountain god temple. The purse on her chest was cold and dry, with no warmth or vibration. It all seemed like a bizarre dream she had in a daze.

She touched her bosom, which was bulging. The half-eaten braised egg was still slightly warm, and the red berries were sticky all over her. There was also half a bottle of sweet water!

It's not a dream, it's real!

Ignoring her dizziness and weak legs, Ya Ya practically tumbled and crawled towards Grandma Liu's mud house. Her bare little feet trod on the cold, hard yellow mud road, the gravel digging into them painfully, but she seemed oblivious to it all, her mind preoccupied with only one thought:

Hurry, go back quickly and give your mother-in-law some salty food so she can get better!

The wooden door of the earthen house was not closed, and the house was dark. A little light shone through the cracks in the window, barely illuminating the area of ​​the kang (a heated brick bed) and onto Grandma Liu's sallow, lifeless face.

She was still leaning against the wall, her eyes closed, her breathing faint.

Ya Ya rushed to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), her voice trembling with tears yet brimming with eager joy: "Grandma! Grandma! Wake up! There's food! Salty food!"

Grandma Liu's eyelids twitched, feeling as heavy as lead. She barely opened them a crack, her cloudy gaze falling on Ya Ya. Her lips moved, a small crack appearing on her dry, chapped lips, oozing blood, but she couldn't make a sound.

Ya Ya quickly placed the food she was carrying on the earthen platform beside the kang (a heated brick bed), and with one free hand, carefully held the braised egg she was clutching to Grandma Liu's lips: "Grandma, eat! It's salty! Try it, it'll give you strength!"

Grandma Liu smelled a faint aroma of meat, along with a familiar, long-lost taste of salt—a flavor she craved even in her bones.

She struggled to open her mouth, and Ya Ya quickly pinched the braised egg with teeth marks into small pieces and put it in.

The moment the salty taste melted in her mouth, Granny Liu's eyes snapped open, a glint of light flashing in her cloudy pupils.

She chewed slowly, and the salty taste, which she hadn't experienced in over a month, slid down her throat, clearing her feverish mind.

"Salty...it really is salty..." Granny Liu's voice was terribly hoarse. With each word she spoke, her throat felt like it was being rubbed with sandpaper, and she trembled slightly.

Seeing that she had only taken a couple of bites and then stopped, Ya Ya held the clear jar of sweet water to Grandma Liu's lips again. "Grandma, this is for you to drink. It's sweet water. Just suck it up through this little tube!"

Grandma Liu's gaze fell on the strangely shaped transparent jar. The jar was covered with colorful paper, and a small section of white tube peeked out from the top. The unfamiliarity of the jar made her a little stunned.

Following Ya Ya's instructions, she tilted her head slightly, brought her chapped lips to the white tube, and gently sucked—

The sweet taste, accompanied by a subtle fruity aroma, slid down my throat, relieving the burning, dry pain.

She paused for a moment, took two more sips, then gently pushed the can away, saying in a hoarse voice, "Ya Ya, drink... Grandma has had enough."

Ya Ya shook her head vigorously, pressing Grandma Liu's hand with her little hand and pushing it towards her mouth. Her nose still had a bit of dirt on it, but she smiled broadly, her eyes crinkling: "Grandma, drink! There's still plenty! Ya Ya has already drunk some; it's sweet, and it makes me feel good!"

As she spoke, she plucked another half-bundle of red berries from the earthen platform. "These are sweet too. Grandma should eat them; they'll give her the strength to sit up!"

Grandma Liu looked at the half-skewer of candied hawthorns in the child's hand, then at her bare, red, and tiny red-spotted feet. Her cloudy eyes slowly welled up with tears, and she gently stroked Ya Ya's head.

My heart ached as my fingertips touched my child's dry, tangled hair.

"Where did Ya Ya get all this stuff?"

Ya Ya licked the shiny sugar coating on the red fruit with her little mouth and started to ramble on about what had just happened, from the burning sensation in her chest and purse to the dizzying ride into a lively place with colorful lights brighter than the sun, rumbling iron monsters, and lots and lots of food.

As she spoke, she pulled the purse from her chest to show Granny Liu. The dusty little purse was embroidered with crooked little flowers and looked quite ordinary.

"Grandma, look, that's the one that took Ya Ya there. It was piping hot, and it spun around in circles, and we arrived!"

Grandma Liu's gaze was fixed on the purse, the little purse that Ya Ya's mother had sewn for the child.

Is it YaYa's mother in heaven protecting YaYa?

She looked up at the roof, feeling both surprised and amazed, but mostly filled with lingering fear.

She pulled Ya Ya into her arms, her thin, bony hands tightly encircling her small body: "My silly little girl, weren't you afraid to go to that strange place all alone?"

Ya Ya nestled in Grandma Liu's arms, inhaling the familiar scent of earth and grass on her, and shook her head, tugging at Grandma's clothes with her little hands: "There's just a little bit, but only a little bit. Ya Ya wanted to find something salty for Grandma, so Grandma can eat it and that'll be enough!"

Grandma Liu held the small, thin body in her arms, her throat felt sore and choked, and tears finally streamed down her sallow face, dripping onto the top of Ya Ya's hair, warm and comforting.