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

"Shoudan, did you sleep well last night?" The village chief tiptoed to the wild duck's nest, carefully squatted down, and put on a very ingratiating smile.

The wild duck didn't even open its eyes, sitting steadily with a nest of eggs in its arms.

"Hey, let's talk about something. Can I take a look at one of the eggs? I've specially scooped up a handful of mosquito larvae for you." The village chief held out the broken wooden ladle in his hand, lifted the gauze covering the ladle to reveal the insects inside.

He retrieved it from the stagnant water in the grassy area before dawn.

The eggs had been incubating for ten days, and he was filled with curiosity about how they were growing inside, but he dared not force it.

If you forcibly drive away the ducks guarding the eggs, and they become angry, they might at least peck the eggs to pieces, or worse, abandon the nest and run away. Then the poultry in Lotus Village will be doomed!

That's why he specifically went to collect some larvae, intending to engage in some social niceties with the ducks.

By the way, "Guardian of Eggs" is the name he gave to the wild duck.

The wild duck sensed something approaching, opened its eyes, and sniffed the wooden ladle closely.

Seeing this, the village chief put the wooden ladle aside, waved it gently, and made a guiding gesture. The wild duck seemed to understand his meaning, flapped its wings twice, got up, moved aside, and buried its head in pecking at the mosquito larvae in the wooden ladle.

He would only glance back at his own nest from time to time.

The village chief's eyes lit up; it was a done deal.

He carefully approached, took out a warm egg, took out a flashlight from his pocket, and shone it on the eggshell.

Light shone through the thin shell, revealing the interior clearly.

The egg was covered with dense, spiderweb-like red blood lines, with a small black clump in the very center, clearly indicating that it was developing very well.

The village chief was overjoyed and examined another duck egg under a light; they were all of excellent quality!

He put the eggs back in the nest and positioned them correctly: "You can rest assured and continue incubating the eggs. You don't need to worry about anything. I'll find some more insects for you later."

Oh, and here's some cooked wheat kernels. I specifically asked Chun Tao for them; they smell amazing. Enjoy them.

The village chief then took out a small handful of wheat grains from his pocket and scattered them around the nest.

After doing all this, the village chief stretched his back a bit and looked up at the sky.

It would have been bright by now, but it was still dark, with only a faint glimmer of light in the east.

From the tops of the distant, rolling mountains, thick, dark clouds slowly rolled up, piling up layer upon layer, and gently pressing towards the village.

The originally dry and cold wind now carried wisps of moisture as it swept through the treetops and forest.

It's going to rain.

This rain looks like it's going to be quite heavy.

The village chief hurried to Granny Liu's yard, intending to use a plastic bag to lay down some branches and weigh down some weeds to build a simple rain shelter for Shoudan.

In the courtyard, Ji Chuntao, along with Granny Liu, Granny Li, and Fang Tiesheng, were carrying buckets and vats from each household outside. Looking at the gloomy sky, their eyes were filled with barely suppressed joy.

Since most people had temporarily moved to nearby houses, many houses had not yet been repaired. Zhao Hu, Da Niu, Gou Ya and others went from house to house to add thatch to the roofs of the houses and simply lay down a mat to prevent rainwater from seeping into the houses.

"It's finally going to rain. If it doesn't rain soon, the rice seedlings in the field won't be able to survive."

"Fortunately, the weather has been fine these past few days, and everyone has been working hard to get all the fodder He Xiannv needed. This rain won't delay the progress."

"After breakfast, I'll go weave shoes. I'm not bragging, but I could weave this shoe design with my eyes closed. I've been dreaming about weaving shoes these past few days," Old Sun said, patting his chest in a loud voice.

"Who isn't? I can knit five pairs today!"

Ya Ya sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), still a little sleepy.

Several clumps of hair stood up in a mess, and he stared blankly as the village chief hurried in and headed straight for the kitchen. After a rustling sound, he picked up a lump of plastic and walked out.

"Grandpa Village Chief, where are you going with that bag?"

The village chief turned to look at Ya Ya, who was still a little dazed, and his eyes softened: "Grandpa went to build a shelter for the eggs to keep out the rain. It looks like it's going to rain, and we can't let the eggs in the nest get wet."

"Okay." Ya Ya waved to the village chief. "Then Grandpa Village Chief, you'd better go and get busy."

After Grandpa Village Chief went out, Ya Ya realized what he had just said: "It's going to rain."

The little guy quickly got off the kang (a heated brick bed), went outside and saw that the sky, which should have been bright on ordinary days, was gray and gloomy. Outside the yard, there were rows of vats, buckets and basins.

"Grandma! It's going to rain. Will the persimmons and eggplants we planted in the backyard sprout soon?"

Ya Ya ran to Grandma Liu's side, her bright eyes staring at her.

"Yes, the seedlings will sprout up all at once as soon as the rain stops."

Ji Chuntao was kneading dough by the stove. The dough she was making was leftover old yeast that had been left over from making dumplings a few days ago and had been hanging under the eaves to dry.

This natural starter is extremely delicate; it easily molds and softens in rainy weather, ruining a perfectly good starter.

Seeing that heavy rain was imminent, she didn't dare to delay and simply mixed all the remaining flour into dough.

Ya Ya curiously approached the stove, watching Ji Chun Tao busy herself. Xiao Shuanzi dragged over a small stool, stood on it, put his arm around Ya Ya's shoulder, and watched with great interest.

Seeing the little ones looking like this, Ji Chuntao casually pinched off a few small pieces of dough. "Ya Ya, take Xiao Shuanzi and Xiao Douzi to wash their hands. You can take these pieces and knead them. Knead one piece and steam it."

"Yay! Quick, everyone wash your hands!" Ya Ya pulled the little sash off her back and led her two little followers to wash their hands carefully, giving each of them a small piece of dough.

The little hands held the chubby white dough balls, carefully imitating Aunt Chuntao's kneading and shaping.

Although the dough balls they sculpted were crooked and uneven in size, each one was incredibly focused.

Once the dough was kneaded properly, Ji Chuntao placed the three little children's figurines on the steamer as well. The firewood in the stove was burning brightly, and soon, wisps of steam rose slowly, filling the entire courtyard with a rich and mellow wheat aroma.

Once the steamed buns were ready, the village chief, who had gone to build a shed for the ducks, and Zhao Hu, who had been building the roof, also returned.

Ji Chuntao lifted the lid of the steamer basket, revealing plump, fist-sized yellow and white steamed buns lying neatly on the gauze, solid and soft.

In the corner were several oddly shaped small steamed buns, made by the little ones.

Ya Ya held the steamed bun she had kneaded herself, along with some milk powder and an egg, and ate it with great relish, feeling a great sense of accomplishment.

Xiao Shuanzi, Xiao Douzi, Grandpa Li, and Grandma Liu, who didn't get tofu pudding last night, each had a bowl of it. The others also ate it with some pickled vegetables and pickled cowpeas, and it tasted delicious.

This round produced nearly seventy large white steamed buns. After everyone had a lively breakfast, there were still quite a few left. Ji Chuntao wrapped them in cloth, put them in a bag, and had Ya Ya store them in that magical space so that she could take them out to eat whenever she was hungry in the future.