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

Before Ya Ya could speak, he rummaged under the counter and pulled out two large bags of vacuum-sealed hot pot base in transparent paper, stuffing them into Ya Ya's little cart with practiced ease: "This is my homemade beef tallow hot pot base. Take it home, slice beef and mutton thinly, and it'll be delicious! Here, have two bags to try."

Ya Ya stared wide-eyed at the enthusiastic, short-necked uncle, meeting his expectant gaze. Smelling the faint, slightly milky aroma of beef, she hesitated before speaking, "Thank you, Uncle. Well… there are twenty-five, no, twenty-six people in our village. I'd like to buy some to try first. How much should I buy?"

The butcher thought for a moment, "Just a taste, you don't need too much. I'll cut you five pounds of beef and five pounds of mutton to try. It'll be perfect for hot pot, and you can also add some vegetables and mushrooms."

With that, he swiftly sliced ​​five pounds each of beef chuck and mutton strips.

Ya Ya frowned slightly as she looked at the two beautiful lumps of red and white flesh.

She used to carefully consider buying even two pounds of meat, but ever since she bought a hundred pounds of meat at once, she's gotten used to buying in large quantities. Now, when she sees a mere two yuan and five pounds of meat, she feels it's too little.

She tiptoed closer to the cutting board and pointed to a large pile of bones with meat still attached: "Uncle, what's this?"

"The lamb spine stew smells amazing after it's cooked."

"And this?" Ya Ya looked with difficulty at the large pile of snow-white, fatty meat on the other side of the cutting board. "Is this lard?"

"Beef brisket fat can be grilled, used in hot pot, or stir-fried. It's especially good when grilled; it's crispy and has a milky flavor."

Slurp~

Ya Ya swallowed.

"What about this one?"

"The chuck is the most tender cut for hot pot; the piece I just cut for you is it. This one next to it is beef rib, with a perfect balance of fat and lean meat; it's amazing whether braised or grilled! And this long strip is beef tenderloin, the most tender part of the cow."

The tenderest! This one is good.

Ya Ya's eyes lit up, then her gaze shifted back to the lamb cutting board: "What's this? A lamb breastbone?"

Seeing her interest, the owner introduced each item one by one: "This is lamb rib, it's delicious when roasted, and this is lamb neck, the best choice for stewing."

"They all sound delicious, Uncle!" Ya Ya took a step back, raised her little hand and waved it at the cutting board. "I asked about everything, so I want one serving of each, five pounds of each to try. By the way, Uncle, can they all be used in hot pot?"

The short-necked uncle's squinty eyes were practically glued to his face. This little kid was definitely a big customer, eight different kinds, 40 pounds of meat! My goodness!

Guo Youyuan must accept this immense wealth!

"Not only can you have hot pot, you can also have barbecue. Just wait, I'll get you some more barbecue seasoning. Just sprinkle it on here, grill it over a low flame, and it'll smell amazing!"

As he spoke, Guo Youyuan picked up a knife and prepared to cut the meat, but he stopped when the blade touched the meat.

Although the little one wanted them all, she didn't ask the price. Beef and mutton are much more expensive than pork. If the other person thought it was too expensive, she couldn't just cut it off and force them to buy it, could she?

"Little friend, let me explain this to you first. Beef and mutton are priced differently from pork, and each cut is also priced differently. Beef chuck is 32 yuan per jin, lamb spine is 16 yuan, and lamb ribs are 35 yuan..."

He listed all eight types of meat that Ya Ya wanted.

After listening, Ya Ya looked up at the price tag above her head, but quickly lowered her head again after seeing the big black sheep's head.

She just checked; beef is 28 yuan, which can buy 4 jin (2 catties) of pork. She's mentally prepared for that.

How could cattle, such precious livestock, be cheap? And as for mutton, she'd never even seen a live lamb.

Things are valued for their rarity, as Grandpa Fang often said.

Just like their own wild vegetables and mountain snails, there are no wild vegetables or mountains here, so the scarcity of wild vegetables allows them to fetch high prices.

With that in mind, Ya Ya nodded confidently to the short-necked shopkeeper: "Uncle, I know, please cut it for me, I want it."

Once Guo Youyuan got the confirmation, he rolled up his sleeves and started chopping away. He also grabbed a bag of barbecue seasoning and some rosemary from under the stall and stuffed them all into Ya Ya's little cart.

They were piled up so high they were overflowing, and the lid couldn't be closed.

"Here are eight kinds of meat, five catties each, forty catties in total. Uncle will give you a discount, it'll be 1300. Come back if you like it!"

After skillfully paying the bill, Ya Ya waved to Uncle Short Neck and pushed her cart away.

This time, the cart couldn't be closed properly, so she couldn't move too much into her space. She could only quietly put the large pig's trotters and other snacks she bought from the meat stall inside, the forty pounds of fresh meat weighing her down.

I'll go to the chicken stall one more time and then go back.

Ya Ya pushed the cart with some difficulty toward the chicken stall.

The chicken and snail noodle soup sold surprisingly well today, so I'll go get some more free-range chicken. Free-range chicken is expensive, but the soup is absolutely delicious.

When they reached the chicken stall, Ya Ya looked at the stall owner, an auntie, and said in a clear voice, "Auntie, I'd like twenty more free-range chickens."

When the boss saw that it was this generous young girl again, he readily agreed and then casually handed over two large bags of frozen chicken feet.

"Auntie is giving you two packs of chicken feet. You've supported my business so many times, don't be picky. I noticed you haven't bought other parts before. These chicken feet are frozen, but you can put them in a pressure cooker and cook them until they're soft and tender. They're perfect with rice or as a snack."

When Ya Ya heard the word "pressure cooker," her heart skipped a beat.

I haven't seen Aunt Chuntao use the two pressure cookers I bought earlier. I don't know if it's too troublesome to use or if Aunt Chuntao doesn't know what food can be made in a pressure cooker.

These two big bags of frozen chicken feet are perfect for Aunt Chuntao to figure out how to cook, since they're free anyway.

Thinking this, Ya Ya smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you, Auntie Shopkeeper. I'll accept it then! I'll still deliver it to Hua Ya's shop."