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

Cheng You put the basket on the kitchen counter: "Hey old man, the way you're talking makes it sound like I never come to see you. I don't like hearing that. Say it again."

"Hey, you little brat, you're going against the grain!" Cheng Huaisong said, feigning displeasure.

"I made a new friend who gave me some vegetables he grew himself. I was so glad I brought them for you because you always say that the organic vegetables Wang Ma buys don't taste good."

"My little Yuzu is so thoughtful, she knows to care about what this old man likes to eat." Cheng Huaisong's eyes lit up, and he got up and went into the kitchen to rummage through the bok choy in the basket.

"Look how fresh and tender they are! They must be the first harvest. Let me try some. Wow, you must have woven this basket yourself, the machine-made ones don't have this quality."

The old man got right to work. He turned on the gas stove, boiled a pot of water, picked out two bunches of vegetable leaves, rinsed them clean, blanched them briefly in boiling water, picked up a leaf and put it in his mouth, snapping it open with a crunch.

The sweet vegetable juice slid down the tip of my tongue and down my throat.

"Oh my, this tastes amazing! This is the fresh, clean flavor that real greens should have! Do your friends grow a lot of this kind of vegetable? I'd like some more; I could use up this whole basket in a day. We won't take it for free; we'll pay!"

Cheng You turned her head to look at her grandfather, her face a mixture of amusement and exasperation: "Old man, you're exaggerating. There are no outsiders here, you don't need to give me special face. How delicious can blanched bok choy be? Your acting skills have deteriorated."

Cheng Huaisong didn't say anything, but used the other end of his chopsticks to pick up a piece of blanched greens and shoved it directly at Cheng You's mouth: "Stop talking nonsense, try it yourself."

Click.

Click, click, click.

Cheng You, who considers herself a carnivore, chewed on the crunchy bok choy, finding it increasingly delicious.

"You ate too fast and didn't get to taste it. Have another piece, ah~~" Cheng You opened her mouth wide, waiting for her grandfather to feed her.

Grandpa Cheng, holding the bowl, said, "Go away, go away. There's not even enough for me. Besides, don't you dislike vegetables? I need to take some up to your grandma."

As he spoke, Cheng Huaisong carried the child up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, taking two steps at a time, and quickly darted up the stairs.

The old man, who always complained that his old legs were like rust, and who would pant after walking a few steps, looked like a big rat, made Cheng You both laugh and worry.

"Old man, slow down, don't fall!"

Cheng Huaisong stopped abruptly halfway up the stairs, then quickly returned to the kitchen, grabbed the entire basket of vegetables, and dashed back up the stairs. Even after he reached the top, his voice still booming, "Aihua! Aihua! Come out here right now! I brought you some good food. Don't stay in the bedroom watching that kind of TV drama!"

Cheng You: ...

or……

If we can't find anything decent and to our liking in Beijing, we might as well buy some vegetables from Ya Ya's village and give them to Grandpa. He should be quite happy with that.

……

In the warehouse, Ya Ya is tightening screws under Grandma Duck's guidance.

She originally intended to take the large silver bucket directly back to the village, but Granny Duck said that it was inconvenient to fetch water in the village and that she would have to go to the mountains and rivers to fetch it, which would be a hassle for her.

The bathroom has running water, and it only costs a few dollars to fill a large bucket with a pipe. After you learn how to do it, you can practice drawing water from the space. Once you are proficient, everyone will no longer have to carry water when using the fish feeding room for showering, toileting, or laundry.

Upon hearing what Grandma Duck said, Ya Ya immediately made a decision and went to fill up the water in the warehouse and take it back.

"This big tank has several openings. You just need to tighten the drain valve at the bottom, then go to the outlet, which is the hole at the bottom of the tank, and connect the faucet. Then pick up this pipe on the ground, stand on a stool and put it into the top inlet, and connect the other end to the bathroom faucet."

The Jiechi lay in a box full of gold ingots, enjoying a delicious meal of squid skewers and stinky tofu.

There was also a can of chilled Coke next to it, bubbling away.

Ya Ya struggled to crawl under the tank, screwed on the drain valve, then tried to screw on the faucet. Finally, she moved a chair over, stood on it, and tried to reach the top with her little hands holding the hose, but no matter how she stretched her arms, she was still a long way off.

She's barely 90 centimeters tall, including her shoes, and the chair is about 40 centimeters high. Standing on it, she's only a little over 1.3 meters tall, but this water tank is a full 1.65 meters.

"Grandma Duck, I can't reach it." Ya Ya climbed down from the chair.

Jie Chi took a big gulp of iced cola, sighed helplessly, and thought that taking care of a child was really hard work, both mentally and physically exhausting.

Not hearing a response from Grandma Duck, Ya Ya's gaze fell on the table in the warehouse. "The table is a bit high, maybe I should try dragging it over."

Just as I was about to go over, a familiar figure suddenly appeared beside me.

"Uncle Zhao?!" Ya Ya's eyes lit up.

Zhao Hu stepped forward silently, first checking the bottom of the tank for any gaps, then retightening the drain valve and faucet. Ya Ya's hands were small and her strength was weak, so even with more force, the connections were still not tight.

Then, a chair was moved over, the hose was placed into the water inlet, and the other end was connected to the faucet.

After finishing these tasks, he pushed the water tank into the warehouse, then clapped his hands and said, "Little cub, eat more and grow taller quickly. I can't do chores for you every day."

Ya Ya looked at Uncle Zhao in surprise. He was fine when he didn't open his mouth, but once he did, his hoarse voice was too obvious.

So it was made by Grandma Duck! Oh dear!

"Okay, Grandma Duck, I'll try my best to grow taller!" Ya Ya nodded her little head vigorously. "Thank you for your hard work, Grandma Duck. Does squeezing Uncle Zhao require energy again? Tomorrow I'll go to Uncle Double Chin to buy meat and egg burgers, and I'll save ten extra for you—no, twenty!"

Zhao Hu subconsciously licked his lips.

The last time Ya Ya took several meat and egg burgers, it didn't even have time to collect the space fee before she took them out and distributed them all. The rich aroma of meat and eggs mixed with the sweet and sour sauce still makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

"At least you have some conscience."

Disguised as Zhao Bo, Jie Chi strode into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. Water gushed into the water tank through the pipes.

"Wow!" Ya Ya followed the water in the pipe, and the water flowed higher and higher. The sound of water splashing against the bottom of the silver bucket rang out.

Because the jar was large and empty, it echoed, as if someone were drumming in your ear.

Zhao Hu casually dragged over a chair and sat down. "Come on, sit down. It'll take a while to fill the water tank."

Ya Ya awkwardly sat down. Grandma Duck, who had become Uncle Zhao, seemed fine when he wasn't talking, but when he did, something felt off. Uncle Zhao's voice wasn't that bad...

"Grandma Duck, when can I bring the villagers over again?" Ya Ya turned her head to look at "Uncle Zhao" beside her, amidst the jingling and clanging sounds.

Why go through all the trouble of making mannequins every time? Why can't they just send real ones over?