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

She felt a warm glow in her heart as her fingertips touched the fabric.

I was busy with chores every day and didn't even notice that my apron was tattered. I never expected that Xiao Yaya would remember it all and go to the trouble of making me a gift.

"Oh my sweet baby, Auntie's heart is so warmed, and you even remembered me." Cao Xiulian immediately put on the new apron, twirled around by the straps, and smiled so much that her eyes were so wide that you couldn't see her pupils.

Although white doesn't stay clean and the fabric isn't oil-resistant, this is the pattern her darling Ya Ya specially chose! She can just wash it more often and be more careful when doing chores.

Zhao Haohao, who was wiping the table, had been secretly glancing at the worktable while clutching the rag.

He stared at Ya Ya's new pink plaid jacket, the pointed hood adorned with little stars—it was both cute and cool. Then he glanced at his mother's newly changed floral apron, decorated with mushrooms and little bunnies, so pretty it was unbelievable, and he suddenly felt resentful. His sister had new clothes, his mother had a new apron, but he had nothing.

He came running over in two quick steps, clutching the rag, and circled Cao Xiulian once, exclaiming loudly, "Oh my! Mom, your outfit is so flashy, with red mushrooms and white rabbits! Everyone online says white makes you look fat! Why don't I wear this apron? I'm slim, it would definitely look good on me!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Cao Xiulian raised her hand and gently slapped the back of his head, both amused and exasperated: "Can't you talk nonsense? You're just spouting off nonsensical things. This is a gift that Ya Ya specially made for me. Do you think I'll just let you wear it however you want? You're slim? Look down and see if you can see your feet through your belly."

Look at Ya Ya, and then look at yourself. You don't know how to be sweet-talking and charming at all.

Zhao Haohao looked down and, lo and behold, he really couldn't see anything.

All I could see was a round, bulging belly.

His mother has changed; she doesn't love him anymore.

He had asked his mother before if he was a little chubby, and what she said was, "Not chubby at all, that's cute and sturdy." She said a little belly is a sign of good fortune, proving she's raising him well, and that he has a good appetite. She said he needs to eat more to grow taller, because growing taller means he'll grow taller quickly.

Now, people say he's fat!

໒꒰ྀི `ヘ´ ꒱ྀིა! !

Ya Ya stared at Zhao Haohao's protruding belly and couldn't resist gently poking it with her finger.

It really was a belly. Everyone was wearing thick clothes now, so she hadn't noticed at first. She just thought Brother Zhao was strong.

Zhao Haohao's face flushed bright red, whether from embarrassment or anger, it was hard to tell. He took half a step back, "What...what are you doing?"

Ya Ya grinned and pulled the green measuring tape from her pocket, handing it to Zhao Haohao: "Brother Zhao, don't be upset. Let me tell you, Grandma said that this means you're lucky and not fat! Tomorrow I'm going to buy some new fabric scraps and ask Aunt Chun Tao to make you a nice apron. You can measure yourself first."

Upon hearing that he would soon have an apron, and a custom-made one at that, Zhao Haohao's earlier annoyance vanished instantly. He immediately puffed out his little belly and moved closer to Ya Ya, saying generously, "Sister Ya, you're so kind! I'll follow you from now on! You can poke my belly as many times as you want!"

After saying that, he raised his hand and patted his belly twice.

Cao Xiulian stood by, watching the two children bicker and make up, and couldn't help but smile, her heart filled with tenderness.

Zhao Haohao secretly made up his mind that he must save the money he earns to buy a lot of beautiful dresses for Sister Ya.

He glanced at Ya Ya's pink plaid coat again. He wondered if Ya Ya would still need new clothes by the time he saved up enough money. But even if she didn't, it didn't matter. He was determined to deliver the gift.

Get to work!

Zhao Haohao, with her pregnant belly sticking out, walked confidently towards the bathroom with a rag, intending to wipe the table twice to make it clean.

Cao Xiulian looked at her son, who suddenly seemed to be full of energy, and shook her head. It's really hard to guess what a child is thinking.

Just as she was about to continue preparing her buns, a commotion arose outside the shop. Wang Guifen and her entire family passed by her window, calling out through the glass, "Sister, boss, we're here!"

Hearing the noise, Ya Ya immediately ran out from behind the counter and pulled open the shop door: "Grandma Wang!"

"Oh my, little boss, you've changed into new clothes again? This one is so lovely! Little girls should wear pink and delicate colors to make them look more charming. Those factory uniforms aren't suitable."

Wang Guifen's son, He Lei, who was traveling with them, quickly stepped forward to hold the door open, saying, "The door is heavy, we can handle it ourselves."

The group entered the store, and He Lei led the others straight to the table at the back. As they passed Zhao Haohao, he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Kid, five bowls of chicken and snail noodle soup, with sauce."

Wang Guifen, on the other hand, knew her way around and went straight to the shelf, grabbed a plastic bag from the side, and started picking out wild vegetables.

Today the shop only has two items: wild onions and cat's paw greens.

They also dug up some shepherd's purse, but Li Guixiang thought it was too old and wilted, so she didn't let them bring it over to sell.

"The shopkeeper is from the village, he's really honest. Every time I buy from him, I have to say that he picks only the tenderest tips, without any old roots or rotten leaves mixed in. He even washes off the mud beforehand, so you can just rinse it with water and cook it right away when you get home."

As Wang Guifen packed vegetables into the bag, she rambled on, "Only people from Northeast China like this kind of food. Many people from other places can't get used to the fresh taste of wild vegetables. This vegetable needs to be blanched in boiling water. If you don't blanch it, it's easy to get an upset stomach. You can't be careless. Xiao Lei, do you recognize this vegetable? It's called cat's paw. It's full of vitamins. Don't you always get mouth blisters? I'll have Xiao Hao cook some for you and put it in your noodles later."

"Okay, Mom."

As Ya Ya watched Grandma Wang picking vegetables, she suddenly remembered that she had brought some bok choy without taking it out. She quickly ran to the large bamboo basket, took out a basket of bok choy, and held it up to Wang Guifen: "Grandma Wang, this is bok choy grown in our own vegetable garden. Please have a taste."

Wang Guifen quickly took the vegetables with both hands, looking at the vibrant green leaves with great delight: "Oh my, these are truly organic vegetables! I'll add some to my noodles later to try some of the vegetables you grew yourself, little boss. Thank you!"

Ya Ya smiled and said, "You're welcome."

Wang Guifen picked five jin of cat's claw greens, and about three jin of bok choy in her hand. She figured it should be enough for her family for two days. Just as she was about to scan the code to pay, she suddenly paused, "Hey, young lady, you haven't written the price on the cat's claw greens yet. Are you charging me a jin?"

Cao Xiulian slapped her forehead, realizing she had forgotten about this. "Thirty-one jin, is that alright, Sister Wang?"

"Okay, this price is reasonable."

It's only early April now. If we wait until the production comes up in the latter half of the month, the price will be slightly lower, but not by much. People are willing to spend money on good vegetables.

With a little processing, they can be made into high-quality products and sell for 40 or 50 yuan per kilogram. She even thought 30 yuan was cheap.

Cat's paw leaf is at its tenderest during the ten days or so of April.