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

She pushed her cart to the strawberry stand. The red berries smelled even better than the tangerines from before, and they were so beautiful.

The vendor had already cut fresh strawberry pieces and placed them aside for tasting, poking them with toothpicks.

Seeing her come over, he handed her a strawberry: "Try our first harvest of strawberries, they're so sweet! Be careful with the skewer, just bite gently!"

Ya Ya took the toothpick, took a small bite, and found the flesh soft and tender, sweet with a hint of tartness, and full of fresh fruity aroma. It had a milky flavor that the tangerines from before had. Her eyes lit up again, "Delicious! How much is this, Uncle?"

"Jiujiu strawberries, nine yuan and ninety cents a pound, wanna buy some?"

"Yes! Two pounds!"

The sprouts are crisp and fresh, but what does 9.9 yuan mean? Does it mean 99 yuan?

She tentatively took out two red bills and gave them to the stall owner.

"Nine dollars and ninety-nine, not ninety-nine. Give me twenty, two cents back, and two more strawberries." The stall owner didn't take her money.

20, hey, Ya Ya knows this, she took out two ten-yuan bills and gave them to the stall owner.

The vendor packed the strawberries into a small basket, then grabbed a few loose ones and put them in as well. He opened the cart lid and placed them in her basket, saying, "Here you go, don't let them bounce around~"

Little rich girl Ya Ya now probably realizes that she can afford to buy everything here; she has a lot of money.

I can walk around with my back straight now.

Further inside, there's a general merchandise area selling all sorts of things, from Italian reading glasses to stubborn tape...

And the loudspeaker kept repeating: Clearance sale! Clearance sale! Clearance sale on all leftover old-fashioned padded jackets! Limited sizes! Selling cheap! Ten yuan a piece! Everything is ten yuan!

Ten yuan?!

It was something she could afford. Ya Ya craned her neck to look in the direction of the sound. There was a large stall with plastic sheeting on the ground, and piles of colorful old people's cotton-padded coats like small mountains.

They were all thick cotton-padded jackets, with patterns ranging from bright red and green to fuchsia and fluorescent yellow—very tacky. Not only young people, but even the elderly thought they were ugly.

The boss was in a hurry. He bought this batch of goods because they were cheap, and with spring approaching, he decided to sell them all off at ten yuan a piece, just to clear them out and save himself the trouble. But because they were so ugly, no one came to inquire for half a day.

Rolling around, a little child wearing a cream-colored cotton-padded jacket and a rabbit hat pushed a stroller closer.

Seeing this pile of floral jackets, his eyes lit up.

Ya Ya squatted down and touched the jacket with her little hands. It was soft, thick, and very sturdy, even warmer than the cattail quilt at her home! Then she looked at the colors, bright red and green, covered with big flowers, and she couldn't take her eyes off it.

I've never seen such vibrant colors in the village! Even Aunt Lin's wedding dress wasn't as pretty or as dazzling as these flowers!

"Brother, are all these padded jackets ten yuan each?"

The young vendor nodded, "Yes, everything's ten yuan, ten yuan for everything! Little one, are you buying this for your grandparents? How tall are they?"

Ya Ya thought for a moment, then raised her little hand high: "So tall, and so thin!"

The salesman's lips twitched. This was probably less than a meter tall. Oh well, asking was pointless. He mostly stocked small and medium sizes; thinner people could wear them, but too heavy wouldn't. He simply waved his hand: "Anyone under 150 pounds can wear them, just pick one!"

As for the pattern, even if the child picks something ugly, the elderly will still like it.

Ya Ya was immediately relieved. She counted names on her fingers: Grandpa Fang, Grandma Li, Grandpa Village Chief, Grandpa Wang, Grandma Liu... As she counted, she looked up and said, "Brother, I'll buy 20 items! 18 for adults, and 2 smaller ones for my little brothers."

The young man raised an eyebrow and his eyebrows shot up; this was no small business.

Quickly confirm: "Are all the adults in your family thin? None of them are overweight, right?"

Ya Ya nodded vigorously, "They're all so thin!"

The young man was relieved and helped her pick out some simple, classic pieces.

"Brother, this one isn't pretty, I want the flowery one! This red one has flowers! And this green one has flowers, this one is pretty!"

The waiter's lips twitched; this young customer's taste was truly retro.

However, since the customers had made specific requests, he focused on picking out the brightly colored floral items, selecting 20 pieces, folding them neatly, and packing them into a large bag.

"Little one, can you handle that?"

Ya Ya pointed to the small cart next to her: "Could you please put my coats here, brother?"

The young man stared at the tiny cart and box, his lips twitching even more violently. How could anyone possibly fit that in? The clothes might be ugly, but they were thick.

However, we can compress it, tie it up, and stack it on top of this box.

Thinking of this, the young man found a rope and tied all her clothes up, wrapping the rope around twice to prevent the stroller from tipping over.

"There are 20 items in total, costing two hundred. Little one, you'd better call your parents and ask them to come pick you up. This is too high and it's blocking your view; you won't be able to see where you're going."

Ya Ya found two red bills and gave them to him, smiling as she said, "Thank you, brother, I'm fine!" With that, she pushed the cart around a corner and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The carts were piled up to the brim, and Ya Ya stopped wandering around and found a corner to wait obediently for her to go back.

Looking at the stack of coats piled high, and the car with a tray of eggs and two bags of fruit, she was filled with joy.

Wild vegetables are really valuable!

These 20 thick coats only cost two red bills, a mere 200!

Those wild vegetables could be exchanged for more than a dozen banknotes!

In the village, Aunt Lin's nice dress, which I heard cost 800 coins, wasn't as thick and pretty as these clothes she picked out.

Now everyone in the village can dress nicely and stay warm!

With the little purse warmed, Ya Ya, carrying her little cart, darted back to the mud-brick house in Lotus Village.

The huge stack that almost reached the roof startled Grandma Liu!

"Oh my god, what is this?! It's so thick, like a small blanket!"

She leaned back and saw Ya Ya behind the cart, completely unharmed. Relieved, she looked at the mountain of sheets in the cart and exclaimed, "How many sheets are there? They're piled up so high! Ya Ya, how did you manage to push this all the way back?!"

Ya Ya's eyelids were drooping, and she yawned widely, swaying slightly. "Grandma, I brought clothes for everyone in the village... I'll tell you more when Ya Ya wakes up..."

Pushing the heavy cart all the way, Ya Ya had long since exhausted herself, only keeping going with a surge of joy. Now that she was back home, the warm kang (heated brick bed) and the comforting scent of herbs and wood made her completely relax. Sleepiness overwhelmed her, and she curled up in bed and fell asleep instantly.

Grandma Liu looked at her tired little face, feeling both tenderness and love. She gently wiped her face and tucked the blanket in.

Looking at the things wrapped high in the bag, I felt very curious.

I wanted to take a look, but as soon as I touched the plastic bag, it made a rustling sound. In the quiet of the night, the sound seemed particularly noisy.

She hurriedly stopped what she was doing, afraid of waking Ya Ya.

She simply moved the cart a little closer to the corner of the wall, making sure it was firmly against the wall, before carefully lying back down on the kang (a heated brick bed).