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

Although the guards didn't deliberately make things difficult for him while he was traveling with them, he had to eat whatever he could find and sleep poorly. He had never had a proper hot and delicious meal. It was a rare treat for Xiong Bo to be able to sit in a house and eat a bowl of hot porridge.

He carefully took the bowl: "Thanks, young man. What's your name? I don't know your name yet."

"My name is Fang Daniu, you can just call me Daniu."

Xiong Bo nodded, picked up the spoon, his gaze fell on the porridge in the bowl, and his hand paused slightly.

In these times, with conscription and exorbitant taxes year after year, how could their village serve an outsider like themselves only thick, sticky rice and meat porridge?!

How well must they be eating?

What secrets does this place hold?

Xiong Bo suppressed these doubts and sipped the meat porridge slowly. The warm, thick rice porridge seemed to dispel most of the fatigue that had accumulated over the past few days.

I had only taken a couple of sips when a strange, indescribable taste slowly wafted over.

Xiong Bo frowned, looked Da Niu up and down, and sniffed, "On your body..."

He leaned closer and sniffed again: "Besides a strange soap smell, there seems to be something odd about you? You... have you really been pickled these past few days? You still smell a bit bad."

Da Niu chuckled, peeked out the door twice to make sure Dr. Chen wasn't coming, and then secretly pulled a black cube wrapped in strange transparent paper from his pocket.

"Brother Xiong, you have a really good nose. It's not that I smell bad, it's this." Da Niu handed over the stinky tofu like a treasure.

Xiong Bo instinctively shrank back. Inside the strange paper was a dark, square object. The outer layer seemed to have been fried, with small bubbles on it. There was a hole poked in it, and inside were minced garlic, yellow-green vegetable pieces? There were also strange red fragments, scallions, and broth.

Once the paper package was opened, the strange smell became even stronger, a mixture of the aroma of fried food and the salty and savory flavor of seasonings, smelling quite odd.

"What is this? Its shape and smell are so strange. You're not trying to poison me, are you? The poison is way too obvious. If you don't trust me in your village, just give me a quick death. Why bother with this kind of thing?"

Da Niu waved his hands anxiously, "Hey, Brother Xiong, we're brothers who've been through thick and thin together, don't think any nonsense, how could I harm you! You've misunderstood! This is a rare delicacy called stinky tofu! Not to mention the county town, I dare say even the rich and powerful in the capital don't have the fortune to eat it!"

I barely have any left myself. This is a bite I saved from between my teeth. If you don't eat it, who knows when I'll get another one? You'll know once you try a small bite.

Xiong Bo was skeptical, staring at the piece of stinky tofu for a long time. Seeing that Da Niu was almost swearing to the heavens, he gritted his teeth, picked up the tofu, and put it in his mouth.

Biting through the outer skin reveals tofu soaked in broth and crisp pickled mustard greens, soft yet crunchy, with a unique fermented aroma that fills the mouth, creating layers of flavor.

I don't know what those small red fragments are, they look a bit like dogwood.

The pungent, strange smell vanished completely as the food entered his mouth, leaving only a rich, delicious flavor. He stared wide-eyed at Da Niu in disbelief: "How... how can such smelly and ugly tofu taste so wonderful?"

Even if he were poisoned, he would accept it; being able to eat such an incredibly delicious and unbelievable delicacy was worth it.

Da Niu scratched his head and chuckled, "You just need to eat, you don't need to worry about anything else."

"Is there any left? I didn't even get to taste anything."

"That's all, that's all. I only got a few pieces in total. If it weren't for the fact that you're my brother, I wouldn't have brought them. Remember to wipe the grease off your lips so Dr. Chen doesn't notice, you're a patient."

As dusk settled, Ji Chuntao and her group descended the mountain path with beaming faces, having returned with a bountiful harvest.

The thorny shoots were picked again, and the spot where Granny Li had picked wormwood sprouted again after the rain. The group picked the tender shoots and filled a basket. They also found several clumps of plump leaves on the sunny rocky slope. This kind of wild vegetable is not recorded in books, but everyone in the village knows that it is edible.

The leaves resemble bamboo leaves but are thicker. The tender shoots have a slightly astringent taste, and when chewed, they have a faint sour taste reminiscent of wild grass. Blanching them in boiling water will eliminate the astringency, leaving only a mellow, fresh grassy aroma and a crisp, tender texture.

In previous years, people would usually mix it into bran cakes to eat.

Since they didn't have a proper name, everyone just picked one out of the crowd.

I also collected quite a few snails. I hadn't gone fishing for the past few days, and many of the snails that were hiding had come out. I collected two large baskets full.

Grandma Liu and the others squatted down to wash the wild vegetables, while Ji Chuntao stood by the stove, stirring the soup in the pot from time to time. She took some snails and a whole chicken and simmered them over a low flame.

I don't know if the chicken and snail soup made from this kind of chicken is flavorful enough.

I don't know how the people in that area raise chickens; when you cook them, they sizzle and boil, the flavor is bland, and the meat is tough.

If the meat is too bland, we won't sell it. We'll keep it for the villagers to share. We can cook it with some noodles to fill their stomachs, and then we'll stew it the next day when our daughter buys the kind of free-range chicken with yellow skin and thick fat.

Their flower bud shop's reputation can't be ruined either.

The firewood in the stove was burning brightly when Ji Chuntao suddenly remembered the nest of eggs that the village chief treasured. Calculating the days, they should have hatched by now.

"Uncle Village Chief."

Ji Chuntao walked to the other end of the courtyard, where there was a large blackboard. Fang Tiesheng was guarding the village chief, Zhao Hu, Ya Ya, Xiao Douzi, Xiao Shuanzi, Xinghua, Gou Ya, and a large group of others. He was holding an old book in his hand. When he leaned closer to listen, it seemed to be telling a story about a monkey and a pig fighting a demon.

While telling stories, they also wrote words on the blackboard, allowing listeners to learn as they listened.

"What's wrong, Chuntao?"

"It's nothing serious, I just suddenly remembered that nest of eggs by the river. They should be hatching in the next few days, but I haven't heard you mention them. How are they doing? Hope the hatching went smoothly?"

The village chief chuckled and replied, "Don't worry, everything's fine. I reckon the chicks will hatch tomorrow. There's been a lot of noise inside the egg these past few days. If you listen closely, you can even hear the chicks pecking at the shell."

"Really, Grandpa Village Chief? The chicks guarding the eggs are about to hatch! Can we go see them tomorrow?" Ya Ya's eyes lit up as she leaned closer.

"Of course you can. Grandpa will take you to see it first thing tomorrow morning."

"I want to go too!" Little Bean raised his hand.

"Shuanzi is going too!"

"Okay, okay, everyone go! But Grandpa gets up early, so you can't sleep in!"

Looking at the lively courtyard and the large white horse standing quietly outside, Ji Chuntao felt a warm glow in her heart.

Chicks will be available soon, and horses will be available too. As the chicks grow up, there will be more and more chickens in the village, making it much livelier on weekdays. In the future, horses will make working in the fields and hauling things much easier. As animal husbandry in the village gradually recovers, there will be no shortage of manure in the fields.

With the row of toilets that Nannan brought back, once Uncle Fang and the others figure it out, they should be able to use them by summer, right?

She was also very curious about the magical electricity, the light that turned on with a press, and the water that came out with a flush.

Life in Lotus Village looks increasingly promising.