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

Wang Guifen patted her chest, "Hey, you've come to the right person! I know exactly which stalls in this morning market have the best food! I know better than anyone which shops offer the best deals! There's a department store right around the corner, with a wide variety of styles and reasonable prices. Come on, Grandma will take you there to pick something out, I guarantee it'll be useful!"

Ya Ya's eyes lit up, her little face beaming with joy. She turned to greet Cao Xiulian, "Auntie, I'm going to buy a bucket with this grandma. I'll be back soon!"

Cao Xiulian smiled and waved her hand, "Go on, go on, stay with Grandma Wang, and don't run around."

As the number one customer of Ya Ya's stall, she occasionally maintained contact with her and knew a lot about Wang Guifen's situation. The older sister didn't need to ask any questions; she knew quite a bit on her own.

Wang Guifen lives in Xingfu Community next to the morning market. Her family is large, consisting of two sons, a daughter, a daughter-in-law, and a grandson. The elderly couple has high pensions, and their son and daughter-in-law both work in public institutions, so Cao Xiulian is very at ease.

Ya Ya took out several thermos cups and put them in the cabinet under Cao Xiulian's stall cart. She then pushed her own cart and followed Wang Guifen to the department store.

This department store isn't big, but it has a lot of stuff inside.

Upon entering the store, Ya Ya immediately noticed two large rows of kitchen utensils: steamers, strainers, iron pots, pressure cookers, and many silver spatulas, some made of wood. To the right, there were also two stacks of plastic stools, one red and one blue.

If you walk a little further, there are many small woven baskets and crates marked with ten or eight yuan.

Ya Ya was a little confused. She looked around and wondered why the baskets sold here looked sturdier than the ones she sold, yet they were cheaper.

Wang Guifen was looking at the insulated buckets one by one when she saw Ya Ya stop in front of the basket. She took two steps forward and said, "What's wrong, little boss? Want to buy a basket? Doesn't your village make the best baskets? These are all machine-made, they're not very durable."

The department store owner wasn't angry at all when he heard Wang Guifen speak; he was all smiles.

The price is what it is; you get what you pay for, and it's clear whether it's good or bad. Just buy what you need and pay the corresponding price.

Ya Ya suddenly realized, "Oh, I see. They sell baskets here that aren't woven by humans."

After glancing at it a couple more times, remembering the important reason she had come, Ya Ya followed Wang Guifen to pick out a thermos.

She immediately took a liking to a large 40-liter insulated container, and Wang Guifen helped her take it down and put it into the box of the trolley, where it fit perfectly.

The silver insulated container is sturdy and heavy, with clear engravings.

"We sell a lot of these buckets here. They keep things warm, and even ice in them won't melt all afternoon in the summer."

ice!

You can store ice in the summer!

Ya Ya's eyes lit up when she heard this, she wanted it.

Turning her head, she saw small insulated containers on the shelf, the same kind that Cao Xiulian had lent her to take home porridge the first time, so she took one too.

Next time Aunt Chuntao makes something delicious, she can use this small silver bucket to pack it up and bring it to her aunt.

She glanced at the pots, pans, spatulas, and the pretty little red chair next to her, blinked, and decided to remember the way when she went out and come back to buy them later.

After buying the two buckets, one large and one small, Wang Guifen asked the shopkeeper to rinse them with water before placing the large bucket inside the small one into Ya Ya's stroller. Satisfied, she headed back home.

The small bucket is a two-liter, straight, flat-topped, three-part container that can hold not only rice but also vegetables and soup. The owner also gave it to me as a small spoon. It cost me 22 yuan.

The large bucket has three layers of insulation and is thickened, costing 70 yuan.

Since it's something to hold food, and it's something we'll buy ourselves, Wang Guifen isn't keeping a close eye on it, but she can't afford to buy anything inferior.

Halfway there, Ya Ya glanced around furtively, tugged at Wang Guifen's sleeve, and whispered, "Grandma, I... I'll go to Uncle's to collect the snails first. Can you wait for me a little while?"

"Hey, shall I go with you and get some for you?" Wang Guifen craned her neck; this shortcut was all buildings with hardly any shops.

"No need, no need, I can do it myself!" Ya Ya shook her little head like a rattle drum.

Uncle Wu Zhongsheng was always most afraid of adults' concern.

(つ﹏⊂)

Wang Guifen didn't insist, and nodded with a smile: "Okay, I'll wait for you here. Don't rush, take your time, everything will be fine."

Ya Ya nodded vigorously and bowed respectfully to Wang Guifen. "Thank you, Grandma. You've worked so hard. I'll bring you another bowl of snails later!"

Wang Guifen burst into laughter, tapping her little head: "Hey, you little boss, you're pretty good at this! Go on!"

Ya Ya pushed the cart around a corner and quickly reached the deserted alleyway. After checking that no one was around, she tiptoed to take the small bucket out of the large bucket and put it aside. Then she put some of the stir-fried snails from the bucket in her space into the small insulated bucket, and transferred the rest, along with the soup, into the newly bought large bucket.

Then he put the lid on tightly and patted the bucket.

Seeing that the large bucket was securely in place, he then stacked the smaller buckets on top and slowly pushed the cart out.

Within a minute or two, Wang Guifen heard the sound of the cart wheels again, this time the sound was more muffled, obviously indicating that it was carrying a lot of things.

She quickly took two steps toward the sound and saw the shop owner struggling to push a small cart, with a large bucket on top of a smaller one in the cart's cargo box, swaying back and forth.

They quickly lifted the small insulated bucket off the top and then lent a hand to help push the cart.

"Wow, it's quite heavy."

"Grandpa Village Chief led several of us to collect them; there were so many in the stream!"

The two chatted idly all the way back to Cao Xiulian's stall.

The group of people who had been gathered around earlier mostly hesitated because they thought the price of snails was too high, and eventually dispersed. Now, the stalls are mostly occupied by people buying breakfast, with a few others who had tried the snails wandering around.

They couldn't bear to part with the freshness of the food, but they couldn't bring themselves to spend the money, fearing they'd be ripped off.