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

The village chief watched the smoke slowly rising from the chimneys at the end of the village. It meant that Aunt Lin and the others had arrived at Granny Liu's house to cook their second meal of the day, and the stove was already hot.

He gently patted Zhao the hunter's arm. "Let's go, eat first. After we've eaten, we'll go up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables and pick some stinky leaves."

On the other side, in Grandma Liu's courtyard.

Granny Liu and Aunt Lin boiled a large pot of water and used their brand-new, lightweight water ladle to give Ya Ya a nice hot bath.

That pink soap smelled so good, you could smell it from far away, I don't know what kind of flower it was from.

I didn't dare wash her hair because I was afraid she would get cold.

The new towel was so soft; it felt so tender on my little face after wiping it with soap.

As Ya Ya left, she brought with her a fragrant breeze.

Little Shuanzi followed behind like a little shadow, "Sister, Xiangxiang."

Little Bean is still practicing writing stroke by stroke. Grandpa Fang said that once he knows a hundred characters, he will give him a piece of paper and he will be able to write on it.

The two children, one big and one small, dressed in thick cotton-padded coats, laughed and played in the tidy courtyard.

When Ya Ya looked up, she saw the old village chief and Hunter Zhao coming over, and her eyes lit up.

"Grandpa Village Chief, have the eggs from yesterday hatched into chicks yet?"

The village chief chuckled at her question, bent down, and patted her head: "It won't be that fast."

A group of people gathered together for a lively meal. After putting down their bowls and chopsticks, the large group of people carried baskets and hampers and headed up the mountain.

Only Grandma Liu and Grandpa Wang, along with a few other elderly people with mobility issues and poor eyesight, remained at home to help tidy up the newly dug cellar.

The cellar was just behind Granny Liu's house, only a few steps away. It was dug deep and spacious, and the soil inside was compacted.

Everyone put the things that Ya Ya brought back into the box one by one.

Two bags of salt, more than half a bucket of oil, milk, rubber bands, a mirror, eggs... everything was neatly stacked.

Each person received a toothbrush and a towel to take back with them, treating them like precious treasures. There were only five mirrors in total, which was too few, and the villagers were afraid of breaking them if they took them back, so they didn't share them.

They took the largest blue plastic round mirror that was hanging behind Grandma Liu's door, with a big red flower printed on the back.

Anyone in the village who wants to take a picture can come over here; just push open the door and turn your head to get a glimpse.

After organizing everything, the huge cellar took up a small corner of less than half a square meter.

Ya Ya stood at the cellar entrance, her little brows furrowing slightly, then she straightened her chest and patted her hands gently: "I will definitely fill this place up!"

After Grandpa Village Chief Zhao and Uncle Zhao come down, she will go to the kind aunt's place to sell the wild vegetables and see what she can buy.

With a small cart, you won't have to worry about not being able to carry it!

……

Hunter Zhao led his team around the mountains. The thorny shoots were all gone. They had picked a lot of them before when they had nothing to eat, and now they felt sorry for them.

Shepherd's purse does sprout in batches, but it grows so sparsely that there are only a few plants that are easy to pick.

It will only start to appear in patches after a couple of days of rain.

These stinky leaves cause stomach upset for many villagers.

The group of people bent over and picked leaves carefully for a while, filling two large baskets to the brim. Ya Ya said that this stuff is called "Xiang Chun" over there, meaning "fragrant spring". Is that what it means?

The people there are strange; they think everything smells delicious.

Seeing that all the stinking leaves in this patch of trees had been picked, Hunter Zhao wiped his sweat and suddenly remembered that there was another secluded slope a quarter of an hour further on, where the stinking leaves grew even more abundantly. So he waved his hand, "Follow me, there's more over there!"

The group followed him into the back of the mountain. The path became narrower and narrower, and the vegetation grew increasingly lush.

Just as they rounded a clump of low bushes, Hunter Zhao suddenly raised his hand and said in a deep voice, stopping the group: "Don't make a sound!"

The group of elderly people immediately stopped in their tracks, even their breathing became soft.

A rustling sound came from the bushes ahead, as if something alive was moving. Hunter Zhao slowly crouched down and approached, reaching out and grabbing it firmly. The thing fluttered twice, and everyone could see clearly that it was a small wild pheasant!

Hunter Zhao held it in his hand. The little guy chirped and was very thin, probably weighing no more than half a pound.

"It's too small, it's not worth eating," someone whispered.

"How about we keep it?"

Fang Tiesheng, who hadn't said much until now, suddenly spoke up: "Shall we try... whether we can bring any live animals over from Ya Ya's side?"

Everyone was taken aback.

"I've only ever carried things before, never live animals. If it works, maybe we can bring people along in the future, so that Ya Ya won't have to carry so many things back and forth, which is so tiring for her."

Everyone agreed that this made sense.

Zhao the hunter immediately tore off the rubber band from his trouser leg, tied the pheasant leg together, and carried it in his hand.

They had picked most of the wild vegetables, two large baskets of stinky leaves, plus some shepherd's purse. Too much would be too heavy and might tire the little sprouts, so the group didn't linger and excitedly headed down the mountain.

When we returned to the village, it was just after the children had finished dinner. They were still holding warm milk and waiting patiently for us to come back.

Everyone worked together to wash the wild vegetables they had picked, bundled them up, and neatly stacked them into Ya Ya's little cart. The little pheasant was also hung on the cart handle.

"There are chicks too?" Ya Ya exclaimed in shock.

"Ya Ya, take this with you, let your kind aunt have a taste." Hunter Zhao pointed to the little pheasant.

"Wild game from the mountains is something city dwellers crave. Before the roads were closed, it could be sold all the way to restaurants in town. Your aunt has helped us so much, so we should reciprocate in kind."

Ya Ya nodded vigorously: "Yes! I'll bring it to Auntie!"

As darkness fell, Fang Tiesheng carefully checked the scales: "Ten jin of stinky leaves. The scales over there are different, so they won't be bundled into small bunches. Two jin of shepherd's purse. Hu Zi, carry this cart inside. Ya Ya, be careful!"

"Okay!" The wooden door closed, and Ya Ya gripped the handle of the stroller. The little pheasant chirped a few times.

Grandma Liu watched as Ya Ya's figure flickered and disappeared in the blink of an eye, just like always.

Hey, why is there a chicken lying on the ground?

The chicken leg still had the yellow rubber band Zhao Hu had chosen tied to it. Wasn't this the one he wanted Ya Ya to take away?

She picked up the chick, opened the door, and shook her head at the people outside the yard.

Everyone looked at each other and instantly understood: living things couldn't be brought along.

Only Ya Ya can go.