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

Fang Tiesheng put the green dinosaur glasses on Xiao Shuanzi. The round, bluish-green shells were decorated with the image of a small animal with sharp teeth, making it look like a little monster protecting its eyes.

The little yellow jacket and green dinosaur doll, already somewhat rounded, gained an even more quirky and playful charm.

Little Shuanzi was pinching the cinnamon dog with one hand and curiously trying to remove the thing from its nose with the other. Grandpa Liu was overjoyed to see his grandson like this and picked him up and took him inside to look in the mirror.

Little Bean giggled when he saw Little Shuanzi wearing green dinosaur glasses.

Xiao Shuanzi looked at the little doll in the mirror, and then saw Xiao Douzi laughing. He grinned and chuckled along.

"This is a cup, and that little cup for drinking water is called a cup by Uncle. It has a handle, so it's very convenient and lightweight to hold." Ya Ya was still taking things out of her red bag.

Fang Tiesheng craned his neck, wondering how many novelties he had bought.

The object called a cup had an open mouth, was brightly colored, and was decorated with small flowers.

He took a light blue cup, slipped his hand through the handle and held it; it was so light!

No more effort required to hold it while drinking water or rinsing your mouth.

"The shopkeeper said this won't break if you drop it." Ya Ya held a pink cup with a creamy white five-petaled flower painted on it, raising it high in her hand.

Let go of the little hand.

"Ouch! My goodness! No, no, no, don't fall..." Fang Tiesheng's eyes were all scrunched up.

Grandma Liu clutched her chest, and everyone watched nervously as the cup fell.

Clang, clang.

The cup bounced twice on the dirt floor, then rolled to the side.

There wasn't a single crack, not even a chip!

Ya Ya breathed a sigh of relief. She knew the shopkeeper wouldn't lie; it really wouldn't break!

Now Grandpa Fang won't have to worry about breaking the bowl when he drinks water, and Xiao Shuanzi won't have to keep asking Grandpa to feed him because his hands are too small to hold it properly!

A crowd gathered around, marveling at the unbreakable cup.

The village chief also came over, picked up the pink cup, looked at it from all angles, and tapped it with his knuckles. It didn't seem to be made of clay, nor copper or iron, but rather of a similar material to the small box in Ya Ya's cart and the large water ladle.

"Lin family, please take these...cups, wash them, and distribute them to the three children, the Fang family, and the Wang family," the village chief said, looking at the number of cups.

I secretly rubbed it in my hand a few times. Next time I'll mention to my daughter whether we should buy a few more. This thing is really convenient.

Aunt Lin agreed and reached out to take them. The five little curves fit perfectly around her fingers, and she lifted them all up in one go, which was much easier than carrying a stack of bowls.

She rinsed the mud off her head with water, then looked closer. "Huh, what's that strange smell?"

It doesn't smell bad, but I can't quite describe the smell.

Aunt Lin thought for a moment, then boiled a kettle of boiling water and rinsed each of the five cups several times. Only after smelling them did the strange smell gradually dissipate, and she then poured water into them with peace of mind.

One was placed in front of each of the three children's seats, and another was handed to each of the two elderly people.

Fang Tiesheng and the village chief stared at the last things Ya Ya pulled out of her bag: a bottle of jet-black ink, a small wolf-hair calligraphy brush, and two packs of white rough-edged paper.

"I bought this pen for myself," Ya Ya said, holding the pen in her hand and shaking it seriously. "Ya Ya will practice calligraphy and learn to write in the future."

Fang Tiesheng looked at the large bottle of ink and pen, his eyes narrowing into slits with laughter. He reached out and ruffled Ya Ya's hair. "Good, good, good. Our little girl is so good at buying things. She's so thoughtful. Grandpa was worried about running out of ink sticks yesterday! It's good to know how to read. After lunch, you can practice writing your own name."

……

In the afternoon, the village chief led some villagers up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables.

On rainy days, the muddy ground is soft and wet, and no one wants to waste their cotton shoes. They don't wear socks either, and go barefoot in straw sandals, their toes turning red from the cold.

After a night of rain, the mountains and forests were damp, with the earthy smell mixed with the fragrance of grass.

The shepherd's purse, which had just been picked a few days ago, has sprouted again. It is tender, green, and spreads out along the ground. It breaks easily when pinched, and its juice is fresh.

Wild onions are even more troublesome, growing in clumps and clusters, clinging to the roots of grass and in the crevices of rocks. Pulling them up yields a small bundle, and their smell is pungent.

A sharp-eyed observer exclaimed, "There's also lamb's quarters here!"

The gray-green tender leaves spread out on the slope, growing densely, and in no time I had picked half a basketful.

Looking further down into the shady mountain hollows under the tree roots, you can see that the bracken has also sprouted tender tips, curled up like little fists, emerging one by one from the soil.

There weren't any unusual mushrooms, but there were quite a few oyster mushrooms, growing in clumps on the side of rotten wood, grayish-white in color.

No one knew if they could get a good price, but they hadn't tasted fresh mushrooms in a long time, so they just carefully picked them and put them in their baskets.

Someone had been rummaging through the grass for a while when suddenly exclaimed with delight:

"Come look! There are some new mushrooms here, they look like chicken leg mushrooms!"

A small clump of plump, thick mushrooms sprouted from the soil, topped with small brown caps, looking fleshy.

"This stuff is great! It sells for twenty or thirty coins a pound in town!"

Everyone quickly gathered around and gently helped pick them, afraid of damaging them.

The mushroom cap fell off, and the price dropped because the cap was broken. Everyone was very careful, digging it up little by little from the root.

The green hills after the rain are truly a treasure trove.

Everyone kept their heads down, picking vegetables and mushrooms, and slowly made their way into the mountains. The small bamboo baskets behind them gradually bulged, heavy with their harvest.

The deeper you go, the denser the vegetation becomes.

"Anyway, it's deep in the mountains, and there might be wild animals. Let's head back now," the village chief warned in a raised voice.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than someone shouted at the top of their lungs from under a thick old tree not far away: "Village chief's wife, come and take a look! What kind of mushroom is this, all dark and bumpy?"

Upon hearing this description, Li Guixiang, who was just recovering from a serious illness, immediately quickened her pace and, leaning on the village chief's cane, moved over step by step.

The village chief originally didn't want her to go up the mountain, but her old bones had been lying down for two days, and if she lay down any longer, they would become stiff.

Besides, she's the one in the whole village who knows the most mushrooms, so how could she not come?

She crouched down, parted the weeds, and her eyes lit up instantly. She gently stroked the mushroom, her voice trembling, "My God...this...this is a morel!"

"Look everyone, those bumpy, square-shaped things, exactly like the wrinkled skin inside a sheep's stomach, are morel mushrooms! They're truly precious! The town's restaurants sold them for 160 coins a pound last year! They're so fresh you could swallow your tongue!"