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

Ya Ya rushed into Grandma Liu's arms, "Grandma, I'm late!"

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back." Grandma Liu reached out and gently patted Ya Ya's back.

The village chief pulled Fang Tiesheng aside and asked in a low voice, "Why did it take so long this time? What difficulties did you encounter? Did the Duck Fairy run out of magic power? No, that's not right. If she didn't have enough magic power, shouldn't she have sent you back long ago?"

Fang Tiesheng straightened his clothes. What a joke, how could he possibly be chased away?

He's someone who stayed with the Duck Fairy for an extra hour; he's no ordinary person.

Zhao Hu noticed that Uncle Tiesheng didn't seem to be carrying anything. Wasn't he supposed to be taking some kind of bus to buy cement? He wanted to see the magical mud and see if it was as solid and useful as Nannan had said.

"Don't rush, everyone pack up what you're doing and we'll talk about it together." Old Fang said slowly, showing no sign of being in a hurry.

He casually slipped his hand into his pocket, felt a thin stick, and then remembered that there was something new and interesting he hadn't figured out yet, so he immediately took it out of his pocket.

It was a thin, transparent glass cylinder, light and slender in the hand, with a smooth, spherical shape at one end and a small hole at the other, seemingly for threading a rope.

One side of the thin column is engraved with rows of clear and neat small black lines, like the previous soft ruler, one grid at a time, and also marked with numbers, the largest number being 200 at the top.

Inside the glass at the other end of the sphere, there was some red, viscous liquid.

"Uncle, what's this?" Zhao Hu leaned closer.

"This is called a water thermometer, for measuring water temperature. It's for Chun Tao." Fang Tiesheng held the water thermometer up to the light, looking at it from left to right. He remembered Boss Du saying that this water thermometer was fragile and needed to be handled carefully. When measuring, the red end is placed in the water, and the temperature is indicated by where the red line goes.

After thinking for a moment, Fang Tiesheng took the thermometer and went to the stove to find Ji Chuntao. "Chuntao, this is the thermometer over there. Take a look and put the red ball end into the water to test it."

Zhao Hu, Da Niu, and the village chief followed. The group stared at the thin, glassy stick, which looked so flimsy that it seemed like it would break with the slightest touch. Could this thing be put in water? Wouldn't it get boiled?

Ji Chuntao carefully took it and, following Fang Tiesheng's instructions, pinched the end with the small hole and slowly brought the bottom ball closer to the water in the iron pot.

Before it even touched the water, the red liquid inside began to rise slowly. Once the small sphere was completely submerged, the red line shot up a bit and stopped steadily on the small square between fifty and sixty.

Ji Chuntao glanced at the corresponding position on the thermometer and took it out.

"So this is how you measure the temperature? How do you read the temperature?" Zhao Hu scratched his head, not recognizing these winding little numbers.

"Tiger, you'll learn numbers with Xiao Shuanzi this afternoon. You too, Da Niu, and Gou Sheng, come too." Fang Tiesheng shook his head. There would be more and more things to learn in the future, and he would have to learn all ten numbers; they would be used in many places.

Village Chief, Zhao Hu, Da Niu: How did you suddenly become classmates with Xiao Shuanzi?

Can't it be with Xiaodouzi?

How can they save face?

Ji Chuntao added some cold water to the pot and put the thermometer in. The magical scene happened again: the red line slowly fell back and stopped steadily on the stick between thirty and forty.

She counted them, and there were ten squares between each large number, which must be the same as the dots after the numbers in some books.

Once the water was bubbling and boiling thoroughly, she put the thermometer in again, and the red line soared all the way up to over ninety.

How come this scalding hot water isn't even the highest temperature this thermometer can reach?!

Ji Chuntao's curiosity was piqued, so she added two more bundles of firewood. But no matter how much the water in the pot boiled, the red line remained at one hundred, never rising any higher.

"This thing is pretty amazing. I wonder if it can measure fire. Fire should be hotter than water, right?" Zhao Hu asked curiously.

Da Niu immediately gave him a look as if he were an idiot: "Brother Hu, what were you thinking? There's something in here, it looks fragile, how can you put it in the fire? If you really put it in, it'll explode like an egg in a fire!"

Fang Tiesheng was also a little curious and was thinking about trying to put it on the stove. But when he heard Da Niu’s words, he immediately realized what was going on, coughed twice and put on a serious face: “You two, don’t mess around. This thing is called a water thermometer. It is made to measure water. How can it measure fire?”

This thing is very precious; there's only one, and we'll need it for fodder. We can't afford to bump or damage it. Just keep a close eye on it!

While the group was pondering, everyone else in the courtyard put down their work and sat around the table. They were all very curious about what had happened since Old Man Fang had been gone for so long.

"This time, my daughter and I rode that bus. It had four wheels and went really fast. There were dozens of seats inside, and glass windows on both sides..."

Fang Tiesheng picked up a glass of water, sat down in a chair, and began to tell everyone the story of this trip.

"But when my daughter and I got to the building materials market, we found it was already closed, and it was completely dark outside. We couldn't buy any cement, so I'd lost money. Luckily, we met a young man who sold cement, but he needed time to prepare his things, and I only had fifteen minutes left..."

Everyone at the table listened intently.

"Luckily, the Duck Fairy is a kind and generous person. Seeing that we were having difficulties, she was more lenient and gave me more time, which allowed me to get everything sorted out. I rented a large storage room for my daughter at the night market. From now on, we can store cement and gravel in there, close the door, and bring them over. It's very convenient."

After saying that, Fang Tiesheng lowered his voice and said to everyone with a mysterious look, "There's another strange thing. Every main road and alleyway in that area is equipped with something called a surveillance camera, which is like a little eye in the sky. It keeps an eye on everyone's every move on the street at all times. If a child gets lost, or if someone commits a petty theft, these little eyes will remember it."

"Wow! There are such rare things?"

"That area will be so safe! I'll never have to worry about my baby getting lost again!"

"Won't the little girl be watched every time she goes there and comes back? Could she be kidnapped over there?" Grandma Liu asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Grandma Duck! With Grandma Duck's help, Ya Ya won't be mistaken for a monster. Grandma Duck has helped me so much!"

(Two more chapters to come later)