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

Xiong Bo immediately turned to the village chief, shamelessly approaching him: "Village chief, I can't understand many of these words, it's driving me crazy! Your village has so many strange things, why don't you tell me about them? You're the village chief, you must know a lot! What's a computer? What are electrical circuits like? I heard you've touched electricity before, what was it like? What's a light bulb? Is there a light bulb inside this solar-powered clip-on lamp...?"

Hearing Xiong Bo's barrage of questions, the village chief quickly reached out to stop him, repeatedly shouting, "Stop, stop, stop! Don't ask any more questions!"

Xiong Bo covered his mouth, still wanting more, but his eyes were still fixed on the village chief, making the village chief feel very uncomfortable.

"Stop arguing, just come along. It'll broaden your horizons and help you get used to things."

Xiong Bo chuckled, "Alright! I've got good eyesight. I'll help you two along the way, okay?" He glanced at the flashlight in the village chief's hand and said, "Village chief, you still have a flashlight? That's great, really great. This flashlight is so bright."

village head:……

The three of them walked into Granny Liu's house in a sticky, sullen manner.

The small table in the earthen house was piled high with food, and Zhao Hu was in the kitchen cutting braised beef into small pieces with a knife.

The steaming braised beef emitted an enticing aroma. Ya Ya and Grandma Liu sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) gazing longingly at it. "Uncle Zhao, I want a long strip, it'll be easier to chew."

"Okay!"

Hearing the noise outside, Ya Ya turned her head and saw the village chief and the others entering. She immediately waved her little hand, "Grandpa Village Chief, Grandpa Fang!"

Her gaze fell on Xiong Bo, and she paused for a moment. "How should I address this uncle?"

I've seen her before at dinner, but I don't know her name. Ya Ya was momentarily stumped.

"I'm sorry to bother you. My name is Xiong Bo. You can just call me Uncle Xiong." Xiong Bo cupped his hands in greeting.

Uncle Bear?

Ya Ya tilted her head curiously to look at him. This uncle wasn't furry at all; he was thin and didn't look like a bear at all.

Despite her doubts, Ya Ya still obediently greeted them, showing proper manners.

Zhao Hu brought out a plate of sliced ​​braised beef. When he saw Xiong Bo, he paused slightly, then sat down at the table as usual, handed one long strip of braised beef to Ya Ya, and gave a piece to each of the others.

Even Xiong Bo, who had nowhere to sit and had to stand obediently at the door like a door god, was not forgotten.

"Nannan, how did the noodle soup sell today? Did the people over there like it? Were they satisfied with Chuntao's sauce?" The village chief took the beef chunks but didn't eat them right away.

Fang Tiesheng stuffed the whole piece of beef into his mouth, wiped his hands, and opened his notebook.

Xiong Bo looked at the braised meat in his hand. The meat was dark brown in color, with a layer of glossy sauce on the surface, which reflected light slightly within the meat's texture.

Take a small bite and you'll experience a rich and savory sauce flavor. The meat is firm yet tender, with soft and chewy tendons that are infused with the braising sauce. The sauce seeps into your tongue through your teeth.

The complex and mellow flavor, slowly simmered from various spices, unfolds gently in the aftertaste.

This... what kind of divine cooking method is this? It's so delicious, the meat is so chewy and gets more fragrant the more you chew it!

Ya Ya slowly chewed on the beef, and when she heard Grandpa Village Chief ask her a question, she mumbled, reluctant to swallow: "Today, all the soup noodles were sold out, and all the sauce was gone too. Grandpa Zhang even gave me a lot of clothes, just like the ones I'm wearing, and they were free."

As she spoke, Ya Ya had a sudden thought, and two large bags of neatly folded dark blue work clothes wrapped in transparent plastic bags appeared out of thin air on the kang (a heated brick bed).

"I couldn't help with the sales halfway through, so I went out to buy things." Ya Ya swallowed the beef in her mouth, then gulped down a mouthful of water before continuing, "I bought a lot of braised pork hock, big pig's trotters, and braised beef. The beef was so delicious! I also went to Uncle Short Neck's place and bought some fresh, moving beef! And lamb meat, a black lamb with a huge head hanging on its head."

Fang Tiesheng had grown accustomed to Ya Ya's descriptions, and his pencil flew across the paper.

Zhao Hu happily chewed on the meat. It was delicious again—braised pork knuckle! It was so tender and bouncy; the meat practically melted in his mouth. He hadn't had it in ages.

There's also fresh beef, oh my, amazing!

Xiong Bo was utterly shocked, both physically and mentally. How did those two huge bags of clothes appear out of nowhere?!

What he was holding was actually beef?

What did he hear? This little kid actually bought beef, braised pork hock, and lamb??

Killing a cow without permission is a serious crime, something ordinary people would never encounter. Even he had only eaten it once, and that was a reward he received when making a mirror for the prefect's wife.

But here, it seemed commonplace; these old men and women ate with such ease and composure.

"Grandpa Fang, beef is so expensive! It's 28 yuan a pound, much more expensive than pork! I only bought 40 pounds, and it cost me over 1,000 yuan! The short-necked shopkeeper said I was a big customer, so he gave me a discount and even gave me this for free! I also bought a lot of free-range chickens, and the stall owner gave me two packs of chicken feet for free!"

With a wave of her little hand, two packets of hot pot base and two packets of barbecue seasoning appeared out of thin air on the table in front of Fang Tiesheng.

Xiong Bo rubbed his eyes. He was certain that he hadn't been seeing things this afternoon or now!

This...this is a mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru?

The Vimalakirti Sutra states: "With the height and breadth of Mount Sumeru, a mustard seed could be placed inside without any increase or decrease."

He had always thought that this kind of space was something only those pedantic scholars and monks imagined; it turns out it really exists! ?

Fang Tiesheng had already picked up a packet of hot pot base and started looking through it.

Ya Ya looked at the table already piled high, thought for a moment, put the hot pot and two bags on the kang (a heated brick bed), and then ate a small piece of beef before continuing, "Auntie said that hot pot should be cooked in a special pot, called a 'Yuan Yang pot'. You cook the broth in one side and we can cook mushroom soup in the other side. You can cut the meat into slices and throw them in to eat."

Zhao Hu got up, picked up a pot, and examined it. "This pot is exquisitely made; it's even divided in the middle, allowing you to cook two kinds of soup in one pot. It's truly ingenious!"

"What's this again?" The village chief rummaged through the plastic bag and pulled out a stove.

"This is a stove for cooking hot pot. Auntie said the round plate on the side can control the size of the fire. Hot pot is eaten while it's cooking. The square block next to it is called solid alcohol. Auntie said it ignites as soon as it touches a flame, and you can just put it in this stove!"

Ya Ya's mouth was a little dry from talking, so she took another sip of water and gulped it down a few more times.

Mixed with the saltiness of beef, it's also a beef soup!

"Hot pot? Such an interesting way to eat it! Is this stove on the table? So everyone eats around it?" The village chief picked up the stove, turned it over and over to look at it, and even twisted the knob that controlled its opening and closing a few times.

Xiong Bo stared intently at the stove in the village chief's hand: "I know this, it's a hot pot. In winter, wealthy families would use a copper pot with charcoal burning, boil the broth, throw in slices of meat to cook, and then take them out to eat. It's the same principle. Brother village chief, I... can I take a look at the pot and stove?"

"Uncle Xiong, you actually know about hot pot? That's amazing! Here you go!" Ya Ya looked at Xiong Bo with bright eyes, took out a small stove from beside her, and stretched out her hand to hand it to Xiong Bo.