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

This is a temporary outpost on the border, specifically for housing these temporarily recruited ragtag troops.

The war went on year after year, and the regular army was wiped out. The imperial court then went door to door to conscript able-bodied men to fill the gaps.

They were just farmers who worked hard in the fields; they didn't know anything about fighting and all they wanted was to survive and go home.

Fang Daniu still remembers that last autumn, government officials rushed into the village and conscripted one out of every three able-bodied men, or two out of every five.

Dog Egg and Stone from the same village were all tied together with ropes. The village's old doctor was also conscripted to work as a medical worker. Several nimble women were also selected to go to the army to pound rice, cook, wash clothes, and carry wounded soldiers.

On the day we set off, my parents cried behind me, and no one dared to look back.

In the first few days after they set off, the villagers could still see each other every day. At night, they would crowd into the dilapidated temple, and the women would be at the back of the procession. From a distance, they could still see familiar figures.

But as soon as they entered the camp, they scattered like sand in the wind.

When Fang Daniu was carried into the wounded soldiers' camp, he was already half dead.

There were no decent medicinal herbs or clean cloths here, only endless basins of bloody water and screams that never stopped, night after night.

The pain from the wounds on my body had gone numb, and my vision was becoming increasingly blurry.

"Da Niu?" Doctor Chen saw the person being carried in; he was emaciated, but one could still vaguely see a resemblance to his former self.

He tentatively called out.

This was the fifth young man from Lotus Village he had seen in the wounded soldiers' camp.

The previous one was Gou Dan, the village chief's only son.

When Da Niu heard the familiar voice, he opened his eyes and saw Doctor Chen. His eyes lit up slightly.

Doctor Chen told him to hold on, grit his teeth, and forcefully gouged out the arrow.

The intense pain jolted Da Niu somewhat awake. He grabbed Dr. Chen's hand and asked if Dr. Chen had seen anyone else.

Dr. Chen didn't say anything for a long time before finally saying in a hoarse voice, "Don't ask anymore. If you can live, then live well."

He still remembered that day, several soldiers carried in a young man whose legs had been trampled by warhorses and was bloody and mangled, and whose face was so swollen that he was almost unrecognizable.

When Doctor Chen took off his clothes, he touched the old scar on his chest and recognized him as Gou Dan, the boy who always followed him around calling him Doctor Chen and who was quick to identify herbs.

Dog Egg was barely clinging to life. He looked at him, his lips moved slightly, and his voice was as soft as a wisp of smoke about to be blown away by the wind: "Dr. Chen... I want to go home..."

Dr. Chen didn't say anything, he just bent down to bandage Gou Dan, his hands trembling violently. He knew better than anyone that it was too late to save him.

In the latter half of that night, Gou Dan stopped breathing.

The people of their village were led into this military camp by an invisible rope.

The journey started with great fanfare, but how many people were left in the end? How many could be recognized? And how many made it back to the village alive?

he does not know.

His old bones might one day become one of those unclaimed, nameless corpses here.

It was the third day since Da Niu entered the wounded soldiers' camp.

With their commander killed in battle, the border garrison sounded the horn of disbandment.

"The imperial court has no grain or pay, so everyone should go home and fend for themselves."

Dr. Chen and Da Niu exchanged a glance. Da Niu, who had been feeling hopeless, suddenly had a glimmer of light in his eyes and struggled to get up.

You can go home.

He wants to go home.

Back to Lotus Village.

Dr. Chen supported Da Niu, who looked completely lost the whole way.

Without food or escort, they would die on the road and no one would care.

Everyone was on guard, carefully avoiding people, picking up wild grass and tree bark from the roadside, eating whatever they could find.

Fang Daniu's wound kept getting better and worse, and he had to rest after walking for a while.

At night, when the two stopped to rest at a dilapidated temple, they heard a noise coming from a corner.

Dr. Chen picked up a stick and carefully approached it. As he got closer, the rag-like figure trembled and raised its head.

"Apricot blossoms?"

The stick in Dr. Chen's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

Xinghua's hands were covered in frostbite cracks, from washing clothes in cold water every day.

The three of them stared at each other blankly, tears streaming down their faces.

Without military orders, without separation, without taboos, the three remaining people from Lotus Village met again in the chaos of defeat, dispersal, and lack of control.

No one asked any questions; they just huddled together in silence.

The three of them walked together from then on, step by step, toward that place called their hometown.

To be alive is the greatest hope.

……

In the courtyard, the warm sunlight shone on the ground. Fang Tiesheng pointed to the seven large characters "firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea" on the ground and explained them to Ya Ya one by one:

"...Oil makes the food fragrant, salt gives you energy; without these two, nothing tastes good. And sauce..."

Ya Ya listened attentively.

She recalled that she had never bought oil and salt before; the village was still using the ones Aunt Cao had given her last time.

No wonder Aunt Lin always uses a little bit of oil when cooking rice, only using chopsticks to pick up a tiny bit.

We need to buy some when we go there in the evening.

Buy some white, fatty pork, put it in a pot, and simmer it until the oil is rendered. You can also enjoy the crispy, fragrant pork cracklings!

As Ya Ya pondered this, her gaze drifted into the distance.

Two winters ago, Grandpa Chen was rendering lard at his house. The aroma wafted out and could be smelled by half the village. She squatted outside Grandpa Chen's courtyard wall and inhaled the fragrance deeply.

It smells so good, it makes my stomach rumble.

When Grandpa Chen came out and saw her, he wrapped two pieces in vegetable leaves.

Ya Ya took one back with Grandma Liu, and they each took a small bite. The aroma of oil exploded instantly, a mixture of salty, meaty, and caramelized fragrances. It was just a small piece, melting little by little as you savored it.

They even licked the spaces between their fingers clean.

Fang Tiesheng looked at the little one drooling almost onto his collar, shook his head helplessly, and asked Granny Liu for the towel that Ya Ya used to use to wipe her drool.

I don't know what delicious food my little girl is thinking about, she's so hungry for it.

Grandma Liu and Grandma Li sat under the eaves, their hands constantly knitting straw sandals.

The pair for Chen Lei has already been made. The soles are solidly reinforced with four layers of straw rope, making them stable and comfortable to walk on.

The two of them got busy again, weaving the kind of light cattail slippers that they had unintentionally given to He Miao before. This time, they even specially chose different shades of cattail grass to weave some patterns, and then embroider some designs on them after finishing the weaving.

Knit a few more pairs and give them to that fairy sister; she can immediately replace them when they wear out.

I'll also buy a few pairs for my aunt at the morning market; these shoes are comfortable to wear in this warm weather.

Grandpa Wang focused on weaving straw baskets, while some of the others went to work in the fields, and others carried baskets up the mountain. Mountain produce waits for no one, so they picked fresh wild vegetables as soon as they saw them, and dried mushrooms that were plentiful could still be stored.

The villagers have a clear division of labor, and there is no confusion at all.

After the sun set, everyone gathered in the courtyard to sort out the day's harvest.

Zhao Hu found a large cluster of morel mushrooms near the deep mountains, with thorny buds sprouting. He picked a whole basketful.

After the three children finished learning to read, they also picked a lot of wild onions. The yard was full of fresh and juicy mushrooms and wild vegetables. They washed them, packed them into baskets, and stacked them into a small cart, making it a full cart again.

The straw sandals were put into Ya Ya's little basket; those not for sale were to be stored separately.