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

Hearing about other ways to eat, Ya Ya immediately perked up and turned around to ask, "Auntie, what kind of new food is it? How is it made?"

Ji Chuntao hesitated for a moment, put down Ya Ya, and quickly went to the cellar to get two jars of bright red sauce, which she placed on the large round table.

"What kind of sauce is this?" Ya Ya quickly climbed onto the chair and peered into the small jar.

"This is the sauce my aunt made herself these past two days. I was thinking that the wild snails in the mountains are becoming increasingly scarce, and they grow very slowly. If we continue to sell them the way we used to stir-fry them, we won't be able to keep them going for long."

Stir-fried mountain snails are a significant source of income for the shop over there in our village, so I thought I'd try a different method: stewing mountain snails with free-range chicken. We can buy chicken every day there, and since we use less snails in the soup, we can sell them for a while longer.

The village chief and Granny Liu nodded thoughtfully. It was indeed a good idea, but adding chicken would make it much more expensive. A chicken would cost over a hundred yuan. Would anyone spend several hundred yuan on breakfast?

Ji Chuntao continued, "Chicken soup is already nourishing, so let's stew a big pot of chicken and snails, and serve it with noodles. We can have Nannan's aunt help cook the noodles, and the shop will sell chicken and snail noodle soup from now on. A bowl of warm and nourishing soup noodles in the morning should suit their tastes."

They can also sell it along with steamed buns and dumplings made by Nannan's aunt.

Ya Ya stared at Aunt Chun Tao with bright eyes.

"But I was thinking that our previous soups were all very oily, spicy, and had a lot of chili peppers. Some people might not be used to a light soup, so I've been working on this sauce for the past few days. It's made by simmering minced pork with pickled cowpeas and fresh chili peppers."

Grandma Liu clapped her hands. "No wonder there's been a faint, spicy aroma wafting through the courtyard at night these past few days. It turns out Chun Tao was making the sauce."

"Everyone should try it and see if my method works." Ji Chuntao smiled shyly, pursing her lips.

Unable to go into the mountains these days, she spends her free time making the fabrics that Nannan mentioned during the day, and starts making sauce as soon as it gets dark.

Ya Ya scooped up a small spoonful and put it in her mouth. The fragrant minced meat and crisp pickled cowpeas were neutralized by the sticky chili, creating a rich and delicious flavor in her mouth.

"It smells so good! It's so delicious! With Auntie's sauce, I could eat... three bowls of rice!"

"It's a little spicy." Little Bean frowned, his lips were red from the spiciness, and he was hissing and panting but reluctant to put down his spoon.

"Chuntao's sauce is very fragrant, you should try it."

"A bowl of hot soup noodles in the morning is very good." Fang Tiesheng nodded repeatedly.

As everyone was discussing the new approach, the sound of clattering hooves, mixed with heavy, disordered footsteps, suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.

Fang Tiesheng and the village chief both felt a chill run down their spines. (The question mark at the end likely refers to a horse or

The two quickly rushed to the courtyard gate and used their bodies to block it.

"Dad!" Da Niu spotted Fang Tiesheng and waved happily.

Niu Cuihua, who was in the courtyard, heard a familiar voice outside, her eyes reddened, and she ran out.

"My son is back safe and sound!"

Fang Tiesheng's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. However, his gaze fell on the back of Da Niu and the large white horse beside him that kept trying to break free of his control.

Why did you bring another person with you?

The village chief quickly went to meet them, pulled on the reins, and looked each of the young men over. He was relieved to see that they were all unharmed.

"This is?"

"Don't ask any questions yet, hurry up and call Doctor Chen over, and take the person to him." Xinghua lowered her voice.

Yes, the children can't see this bloody mess.

"This uncle is injured! He's bleeding a lot! Grandpa Chen, come out and help him!" Ya Ya jumped up and shouted to Grandpa Chen in the yard.

"Was it a wild boar that hurt him? Wild boars are so mean, we should chop them up and eat them!"

"Ma Ma looks good!"

The chattering of three children came from the courtyard gate.

The village chief turned his head and saw three children peering out from behind the courtyard gate.

Kids love to join in the fun; if you don't keep an eye on them, they all come running out.

The already restless white horse became even more violent upon seeing so many onlookers, jumping and bouncing so much that Zhao Hu, who was holding the rope, was almost dragged away.

Dr. Chen quickly responded, "Quickly, take him to my room to check his injuries!"

Gou Ya, Xing Hua, and Zhao Hu unloaded the heavy bamboo baskets. "Grandma Liu, we've put the electric mahjong machine here. Please have Nannan keep it. This thing is really powerful."

"By the way, both my and Gou Ya's phones are out of power, and I don't know how to recharge them. Tiger's phone is still working."

Fang Tiesheng hesitated for a moment: "Nannan, keep this for now. We'll go to your aunt's shop tonight to ask how to charge it. Under no circumstances should you try to fix it yourself; it's dangerous!"

Ya Ya nodded obediently.

The group then went to Doctor Chen's house, leaving behind only a large white horse. The village chief struggled to find a sturdy tree to tie the horse to.

Grandpa Wang and Grandma Wang each carried a thermos and a towel, along with their change of clothes, and jogged after them.

"It's cold in the mountains. My dear grandson and Gouya are suffering. They haven't even gained much weight yet, and they're carrying such heavy things on their backs." Grandma Wang felt extremely distressed.

"Grandma." Xinghua and Gouya relaxed their shoulders and lay down on the kang in Doctor Chen's side room without any regard for their image. Back in their familiar village, the sleepiness that had been suppressed earlier came in waves.

"Old man, you go out. I'll wash the two girls and change their clothes."

"I can't see..." Wang Dazhu said, a little aggrieved, touching Xinghua's face. "Grandson, you've worked hard."

"You can't just not see them, they're all young ladies. Go, go, go wait outside, or go listen to Dr. Chen's side." Grandma Wang waved her hand impatiently to shoo them away.

Xinghua covered her mouth and laughed, then yawned as she laughed.

Grandma Wang quickly closed the door. "I brought two kettles of hot water and two sets of clothes. You two can quickly dry off, change your clothes, drink some rice porridge, and rest."

"Thank you, Grandma Wang," Gou Ya said softly, followed by a yawn.

The two girls took off their clothes, and a burning pain came from their shoulders. Grandma Wang looked at the red marks on the shoulders of the two girls caused by the rope and felt a pang of heartache.

"This is too heavy. Next time you'll have to wrap it in cloth more times. Does it hurt?"

Xinghua shook her head. "It doesn't hurt, Grandma. I'm fine. Being able to help the village is nothing."

"I'm going to find Dr. Chen to get some medicine. You two wash up first." Grandma Wang turned her head, wiped her eyes, and opened the door a crack before going out.

The group of four returned, and the one who was in the best spirits was actually Da Niu, who had slept soundly and hadn't suffered any external injuries. A few scratches were nothing to the country bumpkin.

He rested for a while, applied some medicine, and listened to Doctor Chen say that Brother Xiong was not in mortal danger and only had some superficial injuries that required rest. Reassured, he swaggered off to stroll around the village.

I wonder if Nannan has brought any new food these days. Is there still any duck leg left? He's been eating mushrooms every day, and his stomach is practically shaped like a mushroom.